Treasure Coast Fishing Report June 2011

Fort Pierce - Port St Lucie - Vero Beach - Jensen Beach
May 29, 2011

Inshore:
May has been a wonderful month for both weather and fishing around the Treasure Coast.  Lots of great action on the flats and lots of fun out on the Indian River.  June should prove to be yet another fantastic fishing month around the area.  Have some fun and get out there fishing!

We had a mix of both redfish and trout the past week.  Most of our action has been north of Fort Pierce on the usual flats around Harbor Branch, Queen's Cove and Round Island.  We have had our best success with DOA shrimp and live bait for the trout and redfish.  Two colors we have recently added to our arsenal have been the 332 - red glitter/chartreuse and 408 - red/gold glitter.  Both have proved to be great colors for the trout.  Greg and Alan were out on a day where we found trout and redfish on the flats.  Vater and sons, Max and Ludwig, from Sweden had fun with the trout bite.  Ludwig even landed his first redfish on the trip.  Roy and Steve were out to celebrate Steve's birthday (a surprise gift from his wife, Robin) we had to search for the trout bite with the cold water that had moved into the flats, but found them up north and had some good catches to finish off a great day of weather.



June Fishing Forecast
Summer has arrived and you can bet on hot afternoons and lots of great fishing action around the Treasure Coast during June. The mornings will be calm and it is certainly to your benefit to get out early to beat the afternoon heat. Being on the water at first light is worth the effort to watch the sun rise. Expect a chance of afternoon thunderstorms each day…we could sure use some rain around the area this year! It’s a fantastic month to fish.

Inshore will provide lots of redfish, snook and trout action on the flats. Get those top water lures cleaned up and plan an early morning to get some of that explosive action in the shallows. Switch to DOA shrimp or a CAL jerk bait as the sun warms up to continue your success. Watch for bait schools on the flats and you can be assured there are fish nearby. You can expect the fish to be feeding shallow early and move to the edges of the flats as the sun rises. Look for sand holes on the flats! Fish are traditionally lazy and love to sit in a sand hole and wait for the tide to bring the food for them to ambush.

You should be able to find plenty of redfish around the shallows. The population this year has been outstanding and they have been growing all spring. Lots of schools will be feeding on the flats, so be on the lookout for them. Most will be slot size to just over the slot. I love using a DOA shrimp while fishing for reds. Try along the mangroves as well. Lots of fish will move under the mangroves as the sun heats up for the day.

Trout will be on the grassy flats and feeding on the same food out there. Move out to three to five feet of water as the day heats up to continue your action. A Deadly Combo can provide inexperienced anglers with lots of fun learning to fish artificials. Don’t forget to fish the docks around the river. Lots of big fish will be hanging around many of the docks along the Indian River. Live bait, TerrorEyz and DOA shrimp can find some exciting action in June. Harbor Branch, Queens Cove and Bear Point will all be hot spots for action all summer.

Snook will provide lots of action around the bridges and jetties this month. Night anglers will be heading to the jetties for catch and release snook and maybe some tarpon action. Top water lures, feather jigs, TerrorEyz and Bait Busters can all get you in on some fantastic action. Handle the snook carefully and release them quickly and safely so that they will be there this fall. Jacks will also be hanging around the inlets and give you some rod bending activity.

Make sure you take plenty of water with you. It will be hot out there. Drink plenty of fluids to keep yourself hydrated and reduce the risk of heat stroke. Slather on lots of sunscreen! Sunburn isn’t a good feeling at the end of the good day of fishing. A little common sense and a few minutes can a big difference. Make that part of preparations for your adventures on the water. It will just make a great day even better!

As always, remember, fishing is not just another hobby....it's an ADVENTURE!!

Good Fishing and Be Safe,

Captain Charlie Conner
http://www.fishtalescharter.com
email: captaincharlie@fishtalescharter.com
772-284-3852

(Captain Charlie Conner has been fishing the Indian River Lagoon for over twenty-five years.  Specializing in light tackle fishing in Fort Pierce, Vero Beach, Jensen Beach, Stuart and Port St Lucie, Florida.  His weekly South Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report gives you the latest inshore fishing information for the Treasure Coast area on the Indian River Lagoon.}

Sarasota Tarpon 5- 2011

Capt. Rick Grassett’s Sarasota Fishing Report
5/28/2011


Anglers fishing with me on my Action Craft flats skiff the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, had lots of shots at tarpon with both fly and spin tackle during the past week. Tarpon are plentiful and many are in large schools along Sarasota beaches. As is sometimes the case, they become finicky and focused on migrating and spawning rather than eating, especially early in the season. We worked everything from singles, doubles and small schools to a couple of massive schools of hundreds of fish.

Clark Keator and his son, Clark, from Orlando, FL, fished a couple of days with me last week. Young Clark, jumped and landed a 90-lb tarpon on a live crab on Monday. We measured both length and girth to get an accurate weight estimate and took a DNA sample of the fish for Mote Marine Laboratory’s tarpon research program. I had a couple of experienced tarpon anglers who have caught and released numerous tarpon with me in the past, on Wednesday and Thursday. We had lots of good shots at tarpon with both fly and spin tackle but they ignored us.

Conditions were great for sight fishing on Friday and tarpon got in a better mood. We jumped a tarpon on a fly and had a couple of hard follows. We also had a tarpon try to eat a CAL shad tail fished at the surface on a weedless hook. A very exciting strike!

Next week’s tides are great, particularly the outgoing tides in the afternoon, as we approach the new moon on June 1st.  Fishing tarpon along the beaches, trout, reds and more on both shallow and deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay and snook in the surf or in the ICW at night should all be good options next week.


Tight Lines,

Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.flyfishingflorida.net and www.snookfin-addict.com



Clark Keator, from Orlando, FL, caught and released this 90-lb tarpon on a live crab while fishing the coastal gulf off Sarasota with Capt. Rick Grassett.

Mosquito Lagoon June 2011 Fishing Outlook

June's Fishing Outlook

Yes, the heat and humidity are rising, and so are fishing prospects along the Indian River Lagoon Coast of Florida. Hot summer days can be brutal, so the prudent angler and the fish will take advantage of the cooler nights and early morning and late evening hours to feed and stock their prey, and then they snooze in the shade and deeper areas once the heat turns up. So adjust your routine in June, July, and August, by fishing at night, during the predawn hours, and in the late afternoon after work and reap the rewards of the summertime fishing prizes.

Look for the tarpon and shark numbers to increase along the beach, and let's not forget about the schools of jumbo jack crevalle and the tripletail as both of these fisheries are cranking up. Remember, snook season closes this week, so let's give them a chance to relax and get jiggie. Try not to target them, and if you do happen to catch one, please handle it gently and release it with extreme care.

When the summer doldrums set in, the waters clears, and the seas flatten out, the window of opportunity opens for smaller boats, so near-shore opportunities are typically the best you'll see all year along the beach. June is the time of year when the kingfish move in close shadowing schools of Atlantic menhaden (pogies) along the beach and in the Port Canaveral buoy line, and slow trolling live pogies can result in some outstanding catches.

Offshore, look for the dolphin bite to slow as the schools begin to spread out. The kingfish concentration will remain good along the inshore reefs and wrecks of 8A Reef and Pelican Flats, so again slow trolling with live pogies will produce the best action. Additionally, bottom fishing will remain good for grouper until the first summer squall (hurricane) blows in and muddies up the water. The cold water currents which arrived early are starting to dissipate and the water is showing a gradual warm-up.

On the flats, focus your efforts between 5am and 9am, and in the late afternoon after the thunderstorms dissipate. Night fishing will also produce descent catches of redfish, snook, and trout. When fishing the flats at night, I prefer fishing real slow with glow in the dark shrimp imitation baits like the DOA Shrimp with a Woodie's Rattle Capsule inserted. If you can only fish during the heat of the day, target the docks with deepwater access. In the early morning look for trout and redfish up in the skinny water around concentration of bait, and toss them your favorite top water plug. Also look for schools of bay anchovies (glass minnows) in deeper waters. These schools can be located by watching for small terns and other sea birds working, and they usually are shadowed by concentrations of small trout and ladyfish. These fast moving schools produce fast and furious action for fly anglers casting small top-water popping bugs.

Remember as the days heat up, long battles will kill fish, so if you plan on targeting large fish, you may want to step up your tackle to shorten the battle. Also, dissolved oxygen levels are low, so leave them in the water as much as possible, and revive them completely before releasing them.

For up to date fishing forecast by all Coastal Angler Magazine Orlando captains visit:

http://coastalanglermag.com/orlando/.


As always, if you have any questions or need help, please contact me.

Good luck and good fishing,

Captain Tom Van Horn
Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters
(407) 416-1187 on the water

Visit www.mosquitocreek.com for your outdoor adventure needs, its Where the Adventure Begins!

Tampa Bay Black Drum Under Bridges

The big Black Drum bit has turned on under many of Tampa Bay’s bridges. Targeting these behemoths on light tackle has proved to be a rod and back breaking experience. Anglers aboard the Ms. Guided were treated to double and triple header action all week. Unfortunately Captain Jay only has one set of legs and was forced to make some rough decisions and usually stuck with the biggest fish first. Doc’s Goofy Jigs and a variety of artificial led to hook-ups, but the best and most consistent bite was on free-lined halved blue crab right on the bottom. There may be a few break offs due to the pilings, but you have to love staying in the shade during the middle of the day.





For those not familiar with the Drum Family or saltwater fish in general, several species have a tendency to grunt, croak, and/or chatter a bit when you pull them out of the water. In the middle of taken one gentlemen’s photo this week, the Black Drum he was holding began to grunt in the deepest, lowest resonating vibration, barely in the audible range, which penetrates the body, and in the case, literally scared the color out of his face, as I feared he was going to have a heart attack on the spot. Perhaps I should have told him before hand: Everyone else, consider yourselves warned… To learn more about saltwater fishing in the greater Tampa Bay area or to schedule your next adventure with Captain Jay Schroeder with CJ Flats Saltwater Charters, call 1-877-463-5420, visit www.cjflats.com or email reservations@cjflats.com.

Captain Jay Schroeder
CJ Flats Saltwater Charters
www.cjflats.com
1-877-463-5420
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jay-Schroeder/541903130

Red Hot Nature Coast Fishing 5-2011

The Monsters of May!!!
Report Date: May 15, 2011



Tarpon Time!!!!

What a great time of year to live in Florida!! With great weather, beautiful sunny days and unbelievable fishing it’s no wonder why people are coming from all over the world to enjoy a little fun in the sun here along the Nature Coast. And with over 20 different species homing in on our local waters right now, the sky’s the limit as far as options and availability.



Here's one slob of a Redfish.

Typically this time of year our mornings are spent either stalking Redfish in knee deep water or patrolling the miles of flats off of our shores in search for Giant Tarpon. May and June have always been prime time for these 2 species and it all has to do with the elevated level of visibility and the close proximity in which both can be targeted. And it’s ironic that we can fish for these fish almost simultaneously at times. It is nothing to work a beautiful mangrove laden shoreline for tailing Redfish, only to notice a far off push or wake of a Giant Tarpon off in the distance. We are using both spin and fly gear right now for both and with most Redfish ranging from 2-15lbs and the Tarpon coming in at 60-180lbs, Life is Good here along the Nature Coast.



Check out Steve with his first TripleTail!!!

Once our search has been exhausted for the Bull Reds and Silver Kings on the flats lately we have been turning our attention to another great sight fishing opportunity in the Tripletail. With the strong tides of May and June comes the arrival of one of the Nature Coasts most sneaky and tastiest pelagic’s. Tripletails are a fantastic challenge to spot and even more of a challenge to catch on light tackle. Normally swimming amongst floating grass or debris, these Tripletail can blend in to look like any type of flotsam. With most Tripletail ranging from 4-15lbs, their hard charging runs and acrobatic jumps makes this one of the most exciting species to target along the Nature Coast.



Mike Dalton did a great job of landing this 30lb Cobia during a recent Red Hot Fishing Charter!!!!

MAY AND JUNE IS PRIME TIME FOR COBIA FISHING

Cobia are in PRIME TIME during these next two months!! With so many ways to target Cobia and a recent abundance in this species the next 2 months could reveal quite the trophy for a lucky angler. Already this year I have had 3 lucky clients land a 20lb, 30lb and a 50lb BEHMOUTH!!! Sight fishing around Sting Rays, Turtles, Manatees, and Markers has provided us with the best luck but chasing a Cobia down while free swimming on the surface has always provided the most success. While looking for Cobia we tend to pack our rods loaded with either an eel pattern or some type of swim bait. Berkley Gulp! 7” JerkBaits have been absolutely deadly along with any type of live baitfish or crabs.

One final note on Cobia fishing. Remember that these fish are as hard of fighting fish as the Nature Coast has to offer. Make sure you are prepared for doing battle with these fish considering most fights average around 30 minutes and can take as long as 2 hours. Light tackle provides my anglers with the most hook ups and because of that this can be considered work, but can also be extremely rewarding.

So if an action packed fishing adventure that will provide you with stories for the rest of the year is what you’re after, Give Red Hot Fishing Charters a call today, we’ll get you Hooked Up!!

Capt. Kyle Messier
(352) 634-4002
kylemessier@yahoo.com
WWW.FLORIDAFISHINGADVENTURES.COM