Central Florida Fishing Report

Hernando Beach

Captain Keith Tomlinson — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:06:14 -0400

The fishing out of Hernando Beach has been very productive. We have had a few mild fronts come through from the North which made it difficult to find quality fish some days, but the inshore bite continues to be good throughout the entire region.
The trout fishing has been good, but anglers need to be ready to fish a variety of spots until they locate bigger fish. Drifting deeper grass flats in 8 - 10 ft of water has put some nice trout in the cooler on recent trips. Working a 3" Gulp shrimp or a Lil John jerk bait on a 1/4 oz. jig has been very effective. Work these baits slowly across the bottom, but give them enough action to draw attention. This tactic will also catch small shark, sea bass, blue fish, mackerel, and lady fish.
The red fish off this area of the Nature Coast are feeding best around the high tide. Target areas that have mullet activity. The most productive baits are a live pin fish, white bait, or cut mullet on a 3/0 circle hook and cast to the middle of the mullet. Be sure to fish rocky bottom, mangrove shore line, or saw grass points. I put on a small cork to allow these baits to drift these areas with the tide and cover ground.
The tarpon have not arrived yet. I think the last mild front that came though delayed there official arrival. I expect better numbers to arrive once our area gets a healthy dose of humid Southern air.

Good luck out there and tight lines!

Capt. Keith Tomlinson
Bulldog Fishin Charters
www.bulldogfishin.com
(352)238-3581

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

fishing headquarters — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:05:50 -0400

There is a lot of activity fishing the Fort Lauderdale waters this week. Sharks, sailfish, blackfin tuna and mahi-mahi are all biting on the outside edge of the reef. Wrecks are also loaded up with good fish. Today, we had some folks that wanted to go out and do some bottom fishing and get some fish they could take home to cook up. So we went out and did some deep dropping around the 250-350ft shipwrecks. The fish were biting. We caught about 20 vermillion snappers, a couple jacks that we threw back and a couple nice size snowy groupers. It was a good action trip. Sportfishing and drift fishing trips are both coming in with good catches this week. May is always a good month for fishing and this May is no exception. For the next month or so, we should have the best fishing Fort Lauderdale has to offer, no matter what type of fish you’re after. Let’s get out there and do some fishing while the fishing is good.

Tight Lines,

Capt. Andy Roydhouse
754-214-7863
www.FishHeadquarters.com

Crystal River And Homosassa Fishing Report

Capt Kyle Messier — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:05:39 -0400

We have reached that time of year along the Nature Coast when all things great in the world of fishing collide on the grandest stage Florida has to offer. The weather has reached its perfect state, water temperatures have stabilized, the snow birds/migratory birds have all headed north and the arrival of some of the most sought after pelagic species is in full swing. This is what we have waited for all year. This is what makes the Nature Coast so spectacular!!!!

The Super Bowl of Fishing Opportunities has taken aim at the pristine flats off Crystal River and Homosassa and the stadium known as the Nature Coast will be in the spotlight for the next 2 months. Thrill seekers and World Record Hunters will begin to make their annual pilgrimage to our local flats to take a stab at some great light tackle inshore fishing action. Although the excellent Redfish, Speckled Trout, Black Drum, Spanish Mackerel, and Tripletail action will get the most publicity over the next few months, don’t discount the arrival of the Nature Coast’s top pelagics, Cobia, Sharks, and Tarpon.

In recent weeks my anglers and I have been spoiled with a variety of unexpected fishing opportunities. During a recent trip where Spanish Mackerel were the main targets, my anglers experienced great action all day long until our chum slick was inundated with hungry sharks. To my amazement we spotted over 6 large sharks working with in our chum line at times picking off hooked Spanish Mackerel that were coming into the boat. After witnessing this spectacle we made it a point on our next trip to target Sharks around the same area. After catching a few Spanish Mackerel during the following trip we rigged a few Mackerel strips for bait, which took approximately 5 minutes to be inhaled by a large shark. After a great battle on light tackle we had a 6ft Bull Shark boatside ready for a few pics. On the day we landed more Spanish Mackerel than we could count and 4 Sharks all over 6 ft including 2 Spinner Sharks, 1 Bull Shark and A Huge Black Tip Shark. TALK ABOUT FUN!!!

As incredible as the Spanish Mackerel and Shark Fishing has been, the real surprise has been the large schools of Cobia that have been roaming our flats and staking claim to some of the areas local structures. When targeting Cobia my favorite structures to target are Channel Markers, Crab Buoys, and Rocky Structures adjacent to sandy bottom. On a recent trip with Jay and Nancy Allen of Leesburg we targeted 2 large sandy areas adjacent to sponge beds and coral flats and were rewarded with a 10 fish day featuring 4 Cobia that would have fell into the 33” slot with 2 of the fish exceeding 40” (30lbs). Sandy areas make a great habitat for cruising Rays (which normally have Cobia following them this time of year). It may be hard to believe but the baits of choice for targeting these fish are small catfish with their fins clipped.

*** REMEMBER MAY IS TARPON TIME ALONG THE NATURE COAST!!! Every year anglers come from all over the globe to target the migrating Tarpon that will be cruising along our flats this time of year. With a number of World Records landed off of our coast and 3 straight years of huge numbers of Tarpon migrating through now may be the time to blow the dust off of those fly rods and plan a trip to the Nature Coast. Fish are already being spotted, so stay tuned to the website for what could be another banner year. ***

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

Fort Lauderdale Fishing

fishing headquarters — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:05:21 -0400

Drift fishing is going good this week. A lot of action on the reef catching kingfish, bonitos, blackfin tunas, snappers and grouper. The action always gets better for us this time of year. There are schools of baitfish on the reefs and all around the wrecks right now, making plenty of food for bigger game fish to congregate. Schools of blackfin tuna are patrolling the reef. Several big blackfins and many small to medium ones are being caught drift fishing in 100-200ft of water. A few sailfish are here and there as well, more than a few were caught this week. The kingfish bite is hit or miss. On some days they bite good and we catch a bunch of them. Other days, we can’t get a kingfish to save our lives. Fortunately, if the kingfish aren’t biting, snappers and groupers on the bottom give us some good action. Bonitos are beginning to show up for their big summer migration. Just a few to start, but in a month or so, large schools of them will be biting.

This morning’s drift fishing trip aboard the Catch My Drift was decent action. We had 17 anglers on the boat and caught a sailfish (biggest fish of the day), 6 bonitos, a 20 pound kingfish, and about a dozen yellowtail snappers. Capt Dale, our night fishing captain is reporting some very large mangrove snappers biting at night as well as a few big mutton snappers. He says that the yellowtail bite is off and on, some nights really good and then some slow nights on the tails. Grouper season just opened up and some red groupers are biting on both the day and the night trips. We can finally keep them again. We’re cathcing not more than 1 or 2 on a trip, but they are biting some. We’re getting into the season when the drift fishing boats really shine and a lot of fish are caught. Good luck fishing this week everyone.

Tight Lines,

Capt. Andy Roydhouse
754-214-7863
FishHeadquarters.com

New Smyrna Backcountry / Mosquito Lagoon

Capt Michael Savedow — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:01:25 -0400

Summer 2013 is knocking on the door, water temperatures on the rise, subtropical baitfish and birds such as the beautiful pink Rosette Spoonbill have come back from the south. Big schools of mullet have returned to the flats of Mosquito Lagoon Florida, afternoon rain showers are beginning, live bait pigfish are getting big enough to be caught in nets, all these signs say summer fishing patterns have arrived. We will be prowling the pristine healthy grass flats on the hunt for Redfish and Seatrout, at times using the mullet schools to point the way to shallow water game fish which hang with the baitfish because of food such as shrimp and baby crabs disturbed from their hiding spots by the rooting mullet digging algae from the grass. Also searching grass edges and mixed bottom which are favorite under water locations for lagoon fish. New client Chris came all the way from Colorado to fish with me for 2 mornings last week, he was rewarded with great fun fishing trips, all catch and release for the traveling angler, here he is with a fantastic 28” Seatrout,

and Chris with his largest Redfish at 30” of the 6 he caught on his visit, also catching uncountable fun Ladyfish and Jack Crevalle on the mixed bag backcountry part of his charters.

Just a few mornings ago, regular clients Dr. Ray and son Jeff from Ohio came on a flats fishing charter, Jeff with his biggest ever Seatrout at 25”,

and Dr Ray with his biggest Redfish of 30” weighing about 10 lbs, plus catching a few more Reds on their trip, I love helping my clients catching some of their best fish, and taking the pictures for them to remember forever.

Manatees are back in force as usual for summer around here on the Florida Indian River, as we see them and Dolphins up close and personal on just about every trip out, along with great bird watching on every trip as a plus while we are busy chasing fish. Summer is a great time for my Backcountry Mixed Bag trips also for a much easier kind of sure thing catching, about 10 different species of fish most trips, most being Trout, Jack Crevalle, and Ladyfish, and always several other surprise species caught.

MY BOAT COMFORTABLY ACCOMMODATES 1 TO 4 ANGLERS
Located close to DAYTONA BEACH, NEW SMYRNA BEACH, ORLANDO, KISSIMMEE, DISNEY WORLD, SPACE COAST, COCOA BEACH, EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA. Saltwater Inshore Backcountry Fishing. Feel free to contact me at any time with questions you may have about my fishing charters. Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Guide. Flats Sight Fishing, Inland Fishing, also Eco-Tours, Sightseeing, Bird Watching, Photography Trips.

CALM WATER INSHORE SALTWATER FISHING – NO SEA SICKNESS
CALL ME ANYTIME AT 386-689-3781
CHILDREN ALWAYS WELCOME – FAIR PRICES

Capt. Michael Savedow
Edgewater River Guide, Inc.
386-689-3781
email> EdgewaterRiverGuide@cfl.rr.com
Website> http://EdgewaterRiverGuide.com

South Indian River Fishing Report 5/3

fishtales — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:00:40 -0400

Inshore:

May begins with lots of rainy days and some super fishing on the Treasure Coast. Mornings have been nice most days, but by noon you can look for rain and thunderstorms to be building around the area. Plan your trips safely and keep an eye on the sky. Water temperatures are in the mid 70's. The fish have been hungry and we have found some big fish around the Indian River in Fort Pierce this past week. Winds have tapered down somewhat most days lately as we continue the transition into the summer weather patterns. The main channel between the bridges in Fort Pierce is now open to the 30 mph speed limit.

Sea trout have been our best bite this week. Not a lot of small trout on our catch list, but some big trout. Most have been over 20 inches with some at 30 - 31 inches. Tim Freeman was back down this year with Paul to enjoy a couple days on the river. He topped his best trout from last years 29 incher with a fat 31 inch trout. He caught this years in the exact place that he landed last years trout. Mark Amorello and I enjoyed a morning on the water and he boated a 31" trout to top off his day. Don Foreman boated two slab-o-trout on his adventure that measured 29 and 30 inches. Captain Joe Ward and I managed to sneak away for an afternoon trip and boated three trout well over 20 inches. All the biggest trout were released to continue to populate the fishery. Look for sand bars or flats that have plenty of sand holes scattered across the area. The big trout will sit in those spots waiting for a meal. Top water or DOA Airheads in early morning works great this time of year and switch to DOA shrimp, Deadly Combos or live baits in two to five feet of water. It's a great time of year!

We continue to find some redfish under the mangroves. Most have been in the upper slot sizes. Try a gold spoon, DOA shrimp or live bait along the mangroves in two to four feet of water. May is always a good redfish month so keep fishing the flats as they become more active in shallow water. Our snook fishing has been best around docks and mangroves. We continue to get broke off by some slobs, but that's part of fishing those areas. You will continue to find more activity around these areas now that the water has warmed up in the river. Snook season will close at the end of May, so you have plenty of time to catch that slot fish.

Bridges and docks have held sheepshead, snapper and some black drum. The inlet has been holding bluefish, jacks and mackerel around the jetties. Beaches are yielding whiting, bluefish and jacks. Grouper season opened May 1st and you will see many anglers trolling along channel edges for a chance at a keeper fish. Ladyfish, jacks and bluefish have been plentiful around the river. It's a fantastic month to enjoy some fishing so plan a trip out soon!

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
captaincharlie@fishtalescharter.com
772-284-3852

Tampa Bay To Sarasota

anna maria island fishing — Thu, 02 May 2013 23:45:27 -0400

Tampa Bay May 1 Fishing Report

We just had one great week of fishing this past week, inshore and offshore I mixed it up about 50/50. We caught fish everywhere and every stop and a lot of them. We are in & out of summer time patterns now with a light wind out of the East, calm in the afternoon and then a sea breeze. I switch over to Tarpon this week and that will make up about 95 percent of my trips for the next 3 months. I will be leaving some awesome inshore and offshore fishing in search of Tarpon, but that’s ok, Tarpon are the most exciting thing in the world to catch as far as I am concerned and my favorite fish to catch.

Inshore the Snook and Redfish are on fire. On the days we targeted Snook we have been averaging 40 to 50 a day with Reds mixed in. We had a lot of smaller Snook, but a few up to 30 inches. The days we targeted Redfish we killed them. Yesterday we caught 60 and with a few Snook mixed in and never pulled the anchor once. The Reds were between 23 and 30 inches, probably more than half where between 26 and 30 inches. We wore out some arms yesterday.

Tampa bay fishing charter report at www.captainmatt.com

Trout fishing has been ok the few times I have targeted them, I had one day last week where we caught a pile of 18 to 23 inchers.

The offshore fishing has been exciting. Kingfish are still thick & most are in the 10 to 25 pound class with a few larger. The False Albacore and monster Jacks are mixed in for an added bonus. We had some Jacks over 20 pounds, talk about a battle. The Gag Grouper fishing is better than I have ever seen it and we have been catching some nice keeper Reds. We also caught 3 big Goliath Grouper last week, a 150 pounder, a 200 and a 300 pounder. Man did that 300 pound Grouper pull; I thought he was going to snap the butt of the rod taking the reel and everything with him.

May 1st marks the beginning of Tarpon season for me. So I will be out there every day from this point on Tarpon fishing. Look for next week’s Tarpon report.

I hope you have enjoyed the report. Let me know if you want to get out there and catch a Tarpon, my associates and I have a few dates still open.

Capt. Matt
941-447-9888
Tampa bay fishing report at www.captainmatt.com

Tampa Bay To Sarasota

anna maria island fishing — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 09:39:26 -0400

Tampa Bay April 20 Fishing Report

Typical April fishing means everything is biting, just got in from a three quarter day charter with a single person, we landed 30 plus Snook and were heading in by 1 in the afternoon. The past two days before I spent offshore. We just absolutely destroyed the King fish, all you want as fast as you can drop a line in the water we caught 8 to 30 pounders.

Inshore the Snook and Trout have been very strong this past week. We have been catching as many as 50 Snook a day. Plus some good size ones up to 34 inches. I have been catching a lot more Snook over 30 inches than last year which is great to see.

There are Trout everywhere. We are still catching lots of 20 plus inchers along with a ton of 16 to 18 inch fish for the cooler.

Tampa bay fishing charters report at www.captainmatt.com

We are still getting a few Reds but not like it was a week ago. That can change quickly though with some strong incoming tides.

The offshore fishing is at its peak right now. The Kingfish are as hot as they can get. We have been landing fish up to 30 pounds on every trip.

Grouper fishing is crazy as well. You can’t keep the Gags but it’s hard to keep the 8 to 20 pounders off your hook. I mean that literally, even on the high Kingfish lines they have become a nuisance when targeting Kingfish. It’s a good problem to have though. The Red Grouper are biting as well and there are lots of 20 to 23 inch keepers along with the occasional larger one. The False Albacore, Mackerel, and Sharks are all mixed in with everything else and are fun bonuses. I haven’t been targeting Snapper because with the fishing as fast as it is high in the water Colum you are lucky to get bait down to them, but I am still catching a few on the Grouper rigs. I have heard a few reports of Sailfish, though I haven’t seen any myself. The wrecks have a few Cobias on them and I should whisper when I say this, a few Permit as well. Like the one we landed on my weekly fishing report picture.

There are a few Tarpon in the bay now and we are gearing up for main migration as we count down the days. I hope you have enjoyed my report. Enjoy the warm weather and great fishing.

Capt. Matt
www.CaptainMatt.com
941-447-9888

Tarpon Time In Hernando Beach

capt josh — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 09:39:20 -0400

Spring has sprung and summer heat is all ready here. Fishing in and around Hernando beach is very good both inshore and offshore. Red fish are holding in there summer spots all ready. Look for them around the outside points and islands with a good water flow and mullet schools, Live bait will get there attention faster than a lure. Pin fish and green backs are my top choice for bait, use a 2/0 to 3/0 circle hook with a 25lb leader no weights or bobber's just free line the bait into the strike zone and hold on, most of the reds are running in the upper slot and over 26" to 34". Trout are out in the deeper grass flats 6 to 12 feet around spotty and grassy bottom. Try a 1/4 ounce jig head with a white lil jon soft plastic or a white gulp shrimp. Bounce the jig across the bottom i like to drift fish for trout you will cover more ground faster than putting the anchor out. Along with the trout out there you will also run into sea bass, mackerel, flounder, sharks, cobia, and lady fish. Late April and into May and June we have one of the best Tarpon action in the state of Florida, people come from all around the world to tangle with a potential word record. when targeting tarpon work from Bay port North to Homosassa from 3 to 6 feet around the sandy bottom areas. Make sure you have a stout rod and reel with a lot of line, I use a quantum blu 40 size reel with 30 pound power pro line with 250 yards of line on each reel. A good rod will be a 7 foot 6 to 8 foot rod with good back bone and a fast tip 15 to 30 pound class rod will do fine. Lures are what most anglers use and they do work great try a white jerk bait, purple demon soft plastic, green, or yellow in soft baits work. For bait nothing will beat a green back or live crab. Please if you see a boat push polling around give them some room they will do the same for you there are a lot of tarpon that move in and out in this area so take your time and be ready to BOW TO THE KING.

Book your Tarpon adventure now May is all most filled up or book your inshore fishing trip ASAP.

Mosquito Lagoon

Joe Porcelli — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 09:38:52 -0400

Redfish Pounding Bait

Fishing has been ONNNNN fire for the most part with only one day not as good due to a low coming through. The water level in the mosquito lagoon has raised a bit spreading the playing field giving you more options. We have been covering ground with shrimp hooked Capt. Joe style casting to redfish and trout in the white holes on the grass flats. Big schools of redfish are still happy to take anything you toss at them when they are ready to eat. Over slot reds have been in good numbers on the deeper edges of the shallow flats cruising, sucking up pinfish, crabs and mullet.

Most of the trout we took this week were legal size and the largest was 7+ #s. He was escorting a school of redfish around the flats and waiting for something to scurry out for him to eat. The smaller trout are in greater numbers in the deep holes but the bigger fish are on the flats. Bounce a Gulp shrimp hooked on a ¼ oz jig head. Or you can use a clicker cork rig if you are working the deeper grass flats. A few flounder should be caught using the jig bouncing as well. We caught a few ladyfish in the mix this week letting you know summer is almost here.

Big black drum can be caught in many river locations using a blue crab soaking on the bottom. I don’t fish for these as much as I used to but they are a lot of fun when I take someone that has never caught a slob before. Also in the river you can catch some nice snook, trout, redfish and many other species that live and feed there.

A dock is an inshore artificial reef that has snapper, grouper, sea bass, flounder etc. living under it. Bounce a jig under one and you will be surprised what you will catch. Practice your casting before you do this because you will lose lots of jigs and fish if you don’t. I up my gear a little while dock fishing so I can pull a critter out from under it when I hook up. I use 30# spider wire with 30/40# fluorocarbon leader is what I like to use. If I get rocked I can grab the line and straighten the hook so I don’t leave junk in the water.

Remember! Think like a fish to catch fish.

Or just call me. 386 314 5656

South Indian River Fishing Report 4/23

fishtales — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 09:38:41 -0400

It looks like the rainy season has set in on the Treasure Coast. We have had lots of showers around the area lately and the plants are turning green again. Look for chances of afternoon rains now and watch the weather out on the water. We dodged a lot of rain clouds recently, but haven't gotten too wet yet. The winds are still blowing most days and that can affect your fishing more than wet weather. We have had lots of good fishing in spite of conditions.

Redfish and sea trout have been our best bite most days. Look for big trout to be holding in sand holes on the grass flats. Working Deadly Combos, DOa shrimp, live pilchards and top water lures can help find some of the big gals on the flats. We have been fishing two to five feet of water this past week. Our redfish have been under the mangroves most days. They usually hold under the trees so you have to get your lures under them to find a bite. CAL paddle tails are an excellent choice for artificial lures under the mangroves. With all the recent rains, try the drain pipes along the mangroves when the water is moving. There are lots of juvenile snook around the mangroves righ now as well.

You can also find some big bluefish around the area as well as jacks and ladyfish. I don't recall seeing so many snapper around the river. There are lots of keeper size, but lots more small ones. The surf has been tough to fish lately, but when you can get out on the beach look for whiting to be the best catch. Bridges have held sheepshead, snapper and a few black drum. The jetties has had a pretty good snook bite on the high ends of the tides with live baits.

I had a lot of great anglers on the boat the past week. John and Jim were back out with me and caught a nice redfish and a couple big trout on a super windy day. Brad, Evdakiya and little Adam braved the winds to find a variety of fish biting for them. Rick and Ernie caught some nice sea trout. Marcia and Don boated a nice variety of fish as well. Pam and Jerry had a fun day that included snook and other species on their trip. JoAnn, Doug, Debbie and John all caught big trout on an exciting flats adventure. Ben was out with his sons, Cooper and Will, on a day that was not only beautiful, but exciting for the boys. Cooper hooked up on a couple big bluefish that had him and Will working as a team to get them to the boat. Lots of smiles and laughter for us this past week!

Expect more winds and rain as April comes to a close. May will find more chances for afternoon storms and the winds will slowly die down to our summer weather pattern. Fishing will continue to improve and May will provide lots of exciting days on the water. Have fun out there!

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

South Indian River Fishing Report 4/11

fishtales — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 09:17:54 -0400

Inshore:

We had a fantastic week on the water with great weather and hungry fish around the river. It is still windy most days, but very fishable and lots of places to hide from the worst of it. Expect this type conditions for most of April as we transition into summer patterns and less windy days. Water temperatures have been in the mid 70's and the fish have been feeding on the flats. It was a fun week on the water!

I met lots of great anglers this past week, but Bonnie and Brice had the best day of all. Bonnie wanted to catch a trout and boated a fat 29" one on the shallow flats early in the day. She also wanted to catch a redfish, which she and Brice boated 9 up to 25" around the mangroves for a fun day on the river. Cindy, Leanne and Rhonda were a blast to have on the boat. The guys were talking smack from the other boat to them, but the ladies held their own. Leanne topped off the day with a fat trout. Fred wanted to catch a redfish and boated three that morning. Greg landed three slot reds on his afternoon trip with me. Collin and Dean were out with mom and day for lots of fishing action. Dean boated a nice 20" sea trout, but was topped by mom's. Erin, 25" redfish to end a beautiful day on the Indian River. Every trip ended up with lots of smiles this week. There has been a good variety of fish for us to enjoy with the bite continually improving each week.

The trout bite was probably the slowest for us this week, but every trout we caught were slot or better fish. With warmer water, you can find them in shallow water at first light, moving to two to five feet as the sun gets higher. Top water, Deadly Combos, DOA shrimp or live bait are good ways to fish for trout this month. Redfish can be found around docks, mangroves and drop offs on the sand bars. Most of our fish have been around the mangroves. CAL grub tails, DOA shrimp or live bait can all help find you a slot fish. Snook fishing around the jetties has been good on the high ends of the tides. Most are using live baits out there. We continue to get snook up to 24" around the mangroves which means a good population of big fish are growing out there. Sheepshead and drum fishing is slowing down now as the bigger fish are heading out of the river. You can still find nice size ones, but it is slowing. Snapper fishing is improving for us. We have had a number of 12" to 14" mangroves lately around docks and mangroves and lots of undersize muttons everywhere. Jacks and ladyfish continue to haunt the river April is proving to be another good fishing month on the Treasure Coast.

The surf has been slow due to the steady easterly winds most days. Not as many anglers are braving the conditions to get out on the beach. The inlet has mackerel, bluefish, jacks and ladyfish coming in with the tides. I think I can finally pack away those sweat suits and long johns for another year. It's nice to have 80 degree weather again! Time to get out and enjoy some good fishing action!

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

Mosquito Lagoon,New Smyrna Bch,Daytona Bch April 2013 Report

patrick rood — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 09:17:27 -0400

It seems as though summer has arrived it's almost like spring never showed up this year. Well with that being said the water temps have risen into the low 70'S and the bait has started to show up in large numbers through out the Lagoon. The redfish and trout bite has been great with not only quanity being caught but also quality. There is still large schools of redfish through out the lagoon system as the water is warming look for them to move up on the shallow grass flats. I have been catching them on many different baits from Aqua Dream spoons to Bass Assassin soft plastics. For live bait finger mullet, pin fish,and shrimp have all been a go to bait. The trout bite has also been really good with numbers of 3lb to 7lb fish being caught. If artificial is you choice of weapon then top water plugs thrown along the grass edges is a good choice for the larger trout nothing beats a live finger mullet free lined in the bait pods. I have started to see some schools of jacks moving in the northern lagoon which always make for a fun fight I like to throw spoons and twitch baits and also a top water
for a nice explosion.

Good Luck and be safe.

Capt Patrick Rood
www.spotntailcharters.com
(386)566-1394

Tampa Bay To Sarasota

anna maria island fishing — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 11:47:43 -0400

Tampa Bay April 7 Fishing Report

Wow, the fishing has been spectacular, pretty much if it swims in these waters it biting. We have been destroying the fish. We still had to work around some interesting weather but it hasn’t slowed us except for yesterday’s thunder storms. We still got a couple hours in on some big Snook.

Inshore fishing has been really good. Snook are biting like crazy. The day before yesterday we caught over 50. Over 20 of those Snook where on a fly rod and one was 32 inches. That’s a good Snook on the fly anywhere in the world. We have been catching a lot of good size Snook up to 34 inches. Pretty much every day we are catching them over 30. I want to stress to people that yes the closed Snook season is working, but there is still a huge amount of water that used to hold thousands of Snook that really has few fish. So yes the Snook fishing is great in certain areas but with the amount of guides on the water if the state were to reopen Snook season it would only take the fishing guide about a month to clean out the big fish. Even if we had a population like we had 50 years ago. If they where to reopen Snook it would only take the fishing alone one year to decimate the population. In this day and age it’s really not possible to kill Snook and keep a strong population. It takes too long for them to grow and there are way too many good fishermen catching them. If they leave it closed we will be catching 40 plus inchers on a daily bases in another 10 years. It’s just that simple, I have been doing this too long to be wrong about that statement. The Coast Guard also needs to put a moratorium on handing out Capt. License, there are way too many out there already. Could you imagine if we had Snook fishing with 40 inch fish being the norm? Tampa bay would be the world’s greatest fishing destination.

The Redfish are on fire as well as keeper fish mixed in with the Snook. There are also large schools of Bull Reds biting fast enough you can’t keep your bait in the water when they are really on the feed. The larger schools of Reds have a lot of fish in the 25 to 33 inch class. Tremendous fighters on light tackle. If you want a few more fish to eat big trout are still biting well. Last time out we had one that was 28 inches, a true trophy.

The offshore is really heated up as well. The Kingfish are starting to gear up; this should be a big week for them. Red Grouper is in season and there are plenty of keepers out there. The Gages are out and there are some giants biting. One of my buddies had a 40 pound Gage a few days ago. The Tunny and Mackerel are thick as thieves. All the Flounder you can catch. Mangrove Snapper are an added bonus and there are a few Cobias around.

There are some Tarpon in the bay feeding now; it will continue to heat up from here on.

I hope you enjoyed my report. Enjoy yourself on the water.
Capt. Matt
941-447-9888
captainmatt@captainmatt.com
www.captainmatt.com

New Smyrna Beach, Edgewater, Mosquito Lagoon

Capt Michael Savedow — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 11:47:28 -0400

After a very mild mid winter, March arrived with chilly winter conditions in east central Florida, dropping water temps back into the upper 50’s for much of the month. Spring time is great for backcountry mixed bag fishing, returning from south Florida are the schools of inshore migrating gamefish eager to feed as they make their way north on an annual trip from winter haunts, following the rising water temperature change and ending up by summer as far north as the Outer Banks NC area. Joining our resident backcountry Spotted Seatrout, Redfish, Sheepshead, and Black Drum will be larger numbers of Jack Crevalle, Bluefish, and Ladyfish making for lots of fun rod bending. Light tackle free line fishing with live shrimp and soft plastic DOA lures are my main technique for fast action. Samantha pictured with a good Seatrout while on her family’s mixed bag trip with me.

Mosquito Lagoon grass flats are our location of choice for hunting Redfish, now in a transition between winter and summer pattern for Reds, schools will be breaking up into smaller groups and some single fish as the water warms now that April has arrived. Larger amounts of bait fish also returning from the south will be targets of our attention as Reds and Trout have a habit of shadowing mullet on the grass flats as the baitfish root in the grass for algae, thus displacing shrimp, minnows and other easy pickings for the shallow water game fish. Local clients Derrick and daughter Katlin pictured, were with me recently on a chilly March morning hunting the flats catching a few good Reds and also a couple quality Trout.

We have great wildlife viewing during every trip here on the Florida Indian River, with Dolphins up close and personal, Manatee sightings on most trips, not uncommon to see a Bald Eagle soaring above, and a large variety of wading birds and Osprey every day.

MY BOAT COMFORTABLY ACCOMMODATES 1 TO 4 ANGLERS
Located close to DAYTONA BEACH, NEW SMYRNA BEACH, ORLANDO, KISSIMMEE, DISNEY WORLD, SPACE COAST, COCOA BEACH, EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA. Saltwater Inshore Fishing. Feel free to contact me at any time with questions you may have about my fishing charters. Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Guide. Flats Sight Fishing, Inland Fishing, also Eco-Tours, Sightseeing, Bird Watching, Photography Trips.

CALM WATER INSHORE SALTWATER FISHING – NO SEA SICKNESS
CALL ME ANYTIME AT 386-689-3781
CHILDREN ALWAYS WELCOME – FAIR PRICES

Capt. Michael Savedow
Edgewater River Guide, Inc.
386-689-3781
email> EdgewaterRiverGuide@cfl.rr.com
Website> http://EdgewaterRiverGuide.com

Tampa Bay

Cpt Rick — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 11:46:22 -0400

Winter Tampa Bay Fishing – April 8th, 2013

Wow what awesome weather we have had this winter until March...the fishing had been very good also. The mild temperatures in January and February have kept the white bait around and it is plentiful in Tampa Bay. Snook bites have been coming on each charter with lots of trout and small reds mixed in.

While heavily chumming the snook grounds, we have seen some over 30" snook pop on our baits, yet, the birds have been difficult to fish through. The starving gulls have been blowing up the snook holes, and in one spot we even had to move on leaving the fish behind.

Here are some other fish from these recent trips:

Each winter brings the commercial mullet roe season, and we had a few days where we took advantage of this resource. Catching mullet in cast nets is a lot of work, but that is something that Captain Rick enjoys doing by himself. Mullet season is over and now our focus is on the coming King fish run and then Tarpon migration in May. Florida fishing is always great. Get out on the water and enjoy what the Sunshine State has to offer.

http://www.captainrickreddick.com
http://www.myclearwaterfishing.com
http://www.mycharlestonfishing.com

Hernando Beach, FL.

fishdaddy — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 11:32:09 -0400

Holy Mackerel !!

The Spanish Mackerel bite has been off the hook off the Nature Coast. Find clear clean water in 8 - 10 feet with either rocky bottom or grass. I like to drift these areas jigging rubber twitch baits till I start getting bites. I will then drop an anchor and chum the area. Usually the Macks will be all over your baits. Be ready to have alot of extra jigs, you'll have alot of cut offs. You can try using a steel leader if the bite is strong and they wont mind the leader, if the bite slows. go back to a flouracarbon leader. Good fishing and stay safe.

Capt. Joel Gant
Fishdaddy Charter
fishdaddycharter.com (352) 279-1615

Tampa Bay To Sarasota

anna maria island fishing — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 11:31:54 -0400

Tampa Bay April 1 Fishing Report

Let’s keep our fingers crossed for no more freak cold fronts! For certain we must be done with them, I hope. We pounded on the fish right before the front. The day before the front we absolutely destroyed the Snook and Redfish; we even had a 28 inch Trout that day. The first day of the cold air we still hammered on the Snook, actually caught 36 of them and 3 Reds and two Flounder. After that it was a bit of a scramble as the water temperature began to plummet into the 50s. I must say we still did well though despite the strong wind and bitter cold. We fished every day and had good catches. On the colder day it was mostly Trout, but nice size ones and a lot of 10 to 21 inchers. We also caught a lot of Flounder, some Redfish, a few Mackerel and plenty of nice size Sheepshead. Thank God for the good Trout fishing though, it was my fall back for good action thru the cool down.

Things have changed quickly though. All it takes is one warm day like today with the longer days of sunshine and the flats explode. We started off the beach this morning because the water was a little cool. We caught a limit of Flounder, several Mackerel and a few small Kingfish. The water temp climb quickly as I predicted and the Snook went on the feed on the flats. I would say we killed them but we probably caught 15 in a couple hours. Tomorrow should be a huge day for Snook as the water temp should make it just high enough to trigger a heavy frenzy.

Tampa bay fishing charters report with www.captainmatt.com

Inshore and offshore fishing is going to explode over the next few days. It always does after a strong late cold front followed by a warm up. Inshore the Snook, Redfish and Trout will be on fire and big ones too. Before the last front I was catching Snook over 30 inches pretty much every day and some of the larger ones where approaching 35 inches? There is a lot of nice keeper size Redfish around and all the gator Trout you want.

Offshore should be incredible. Kingfish will be on the bite everywhere in the next few days. Mackerel are already thick. Grouper come into season on the first of April. If it swims offshore it will be on fire over the next few weeks. April is traditionally one of our very best months offshore.

There are a few Tarpon in the bay and there will be a lot more action on them very soon. I still have a few days available during peak migration, May thru July, so if you’re interested let me know ASAP.

I hope you have enjoyed my report. Until next time, good luck fishing where ever you are headed.
Capt. Matt
www.captainmatt.com
941-447-9888

Crystal River And Homosassa Fishing Report

Capt Kyle Messier — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 11:31:48 -0400

April has long been considered the primo month for anything and everything sight fishing. With so many fish actively feeding along all of our local structures a variety of sight fishing situations will be available to all anglers. Redfish, Speckled Trout, Tripletail, and Cobia will all be top sight fishing targets this months and chances to land all or most of these species with in a day is very possible. The key to targeting all of these species with in a day is to be ready. I rig most of my rods this time of year for the added possibilities. The key to being ready is to have baits and lures on board that appeal to all possible game fish. Live Shrimp, Cut baits, Soft Plastic Shrimp, and Swim baits make great all round baits and should be carried in a variety of sizes and colors.

The appeal to April fishing is the Great Weather and Fantastic fishing. With limitless possibilities and the chance to land a fish of a life time occurring everyday why not think about a Florida Fishing Adventure during your next visit to the NatureCoast.

Capt. Kyle Messier

(352) 634-4002

kylemessier@yahoo.com

WWW.FLORIDAFISHINGADVENTURES.COM

WWW.CRYSTALRIVER-FLYFISHING.COM

South Indian River Fishing Report 3/26

fishtales — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 22:15:43 -0400

Treasure Coast Fishing Forecast - April 2013

As March blows out of the area, you can still plan on some windy days ahead in April. The transition into the summer pattern is well under way and soon the winds will die down and you can enjoy those calm days of summer once again. Expect the fishing to be especially good this April as the water temperatures have remained warmer this year and the fish have been active all winter. March was a little cooler, but the water is warming back up to suit the fish. As the river fills with bait schools, you can bet the fish are hungry and will be feeding heavily. Have fun!

Redfish and trout will be active around the flats. They will be shallow early and gradually move to the edges of the flats as the sun get higher in the sky. Look to areas like Bear Point, Harbor Branch and Round Island for trout to be feeding on the flats. On a calm morning, break out the top water lures and switch to jerk baits, like a DOA CAL 4” Arkansas Glow or Watermelon. Shallow running Mirrolures will also entice the trout into biting. Don’t forget to use the Deadly Combo or new Airhead for more exciting trout action on the grass flats. There has been a lot of redfish activity throughout March and it should make April a fantastic month. Redfish can be found on sandy flats around the docks or try the Moorings and Bear Point for a chance at a nice size red. DOA shrimp or CAL grub tails in root beer or glow colors are great ways to find a redfish along with a trusty gold spoon.

The snook season has many anglers out seeking that slot fish this year. The bite has been good around the inlets and will improve on the flats as well. Snook season will close May 1st so you have this month to find that slot fish. Docks will hold sheephead, jacks, redfish and many other species. I like either a DOA shrimp or TerrorEyz around docks. Fish them slowly to keep them under the dock as long as possible. Drop a live shrimp or pinfish under a dock as well for a great chance at hooking up. There are many great areas to fish so plan on getting some fishing in this month.

Bridges will continue to hold sheephead, jacks, bluefish and some black drum. The big jacks will be invading the river this month. They are not great to eat, but provide a tough battle on light tackle. Ladyfish will be all over the river and keep the kids smiling. The inlet will continue to hold bluefish, jacks and mackerel. While April might be a little windy, it is a great month to fish the Indian River.

April is the first month that fish can enjoy all the many baitfish schools and they will be feeding heavily on the schools around the flats. The water has already been warming up and you can see the changes in the bite already. Early morning can bring lots of good results this time of year. It was a mild winter this year and the fish are anxious to enjoy some warmer weather…..and so are we!

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

Enjoying the fishing this week with Captain Charlie

Hernando Beach

Captain Keith Tomlinson — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 22:15:23 -0400

The inshore fishing out of Hernando Beach has been fantastic. Trout, Spanish mackerel, pompano, cobia and more are giving my clients non stop rod bending action.

Spanish mackerel have began their Spring invasion, and can be caught from Aripeka to North of Bayport in 6 - 10 ft of water. Near shore rock piles or grass flats will have these hard fighting toothy critters ready to test your tackle. Consider deploying a chum bag to get the bite going and bring them to the boat. Free lined white bat, small pin fish, or shrimp are good baits to use on a 3/0 2x long shank hook. Use the longer shank hooks to prevent cut offs. White jerk baits and small silver spoons work very fast are my preferred lures for mackerel. Keep an eye out for cobia near the boat following the scent of the chum, and have a bait on stand by ready to pitch to one.

Pompano are starting to show up again with the recent warming trend. Target the many near shore rock piles on a strong moving tide. I have had a lot of success with the Mini Miro-dines because the treble hooks ensure more hook ups. The Miro-dines also resemble a small white bait which is what the pompano feed on.

Spring is in the air and the fishing right now is proof! Get out on the water and enjoy this great weather and awesome fishing.
Good luck out there and tight line!

Capt Keith Tomlinson
Bulldog Fishin Charters
www.bulldogfishin.com
(352)238-3581

Anna Maria Island ( Tampa Bay)

anna maria island fishing — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 11:20:58 -0400

Tampa fishing charters report a www.captainmatt.com
Hello from Anna Maria Island. Spring fishing Started off great then we had a few fronts to deal with, but we manned up fished through all of them and still had great fishing. Despite recovering water temperatures the fishing remains strong. Yesterday I cleaned fish for an hour we had a limit of flounder, a limit of redfish, several trout, and a few mackerel for 4 guys. We hammered the fish. Today we started off offshore and caught grouper, snapper, flounder and false albacore. Then we came inside for the second half of the day and destroyed the snook. We caught better than 30 in two hour the largest about 34 inches.
The inshore fishing for Redfish has been very good. I have had them chummed up a few days this week where it was as fast you could get a line in the water. Most all of the reds have been between 22 and 27 inches.
The trout fishing has been much the same. We destroyed the trout this past week. On my better days we had trouble catching fish under 22 inches and the biggest where just shy of 27 inches. One couple on my boat both landed trout over 26 inches those are really nice trout. I swear 2 days about we had a trout on that was over 30 inches it would have been the biggest trout I have caught in years. The trout fishing definitely has a bright future.
The snook fishing lagged a bit on these strong cold fronts, but it only took on hot day to spur the action. The snook fishing should be very good from here on out. When I left the flats today the water temperature was almost 73 degrees in 3 feet of water.
Tampa bay fishing charters report at www.captainmatt.com
The offshore fishing has been good as well. The grouper fishing will be awesome when they open the season. We have been catching a lot of nice gag between 26 and 30 inches and plenty of nice keeper size reds as well.
The flounder fishing has been tremendous. It’s all you want getting a limit has been a walk in the park which in nice when the grouper are out of season.
We have also been picking some mackerel and hard fighting false albacore. I also just got a report that the kings where biting today which is really exciting news. Hopefully we will see some permit soon too.
Well I hope you enjoyed my report. I still have a few peak tarpon dates available if anyone is interested in doing battle. See you on the water. Capt Matt
Tampa bay fishing report at www.captainmatt.com

Capt Matt Ercoli 941 447 9888

Lake Toho

HookedOnFishingCharters — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 11:20:50 -0400

The fishing on Lake Toho has been good this week using live wild shiners. My half day trips averaged 10-12 fish per trip. The biggest bass of the week was 7 1/2 lbs. Outsides grasslines have been productive as well as slow trolling edges. Bass Assassin's fished weightless and rattletraps got us some decent fish as well. The fishing should continue to improve as the weather warms.

Capt. Rob D'Andrea

South Indian River Fishing Report 3/14

fishtales — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 11:20:07 -0400

While spring is still on its way, March continues to roar like a lion most days for us. Every time I think we have had our last cold front....another comes our way. It can't last forever! Even with the windy days, we have continued to have good catches along the river while hanging close to the mangroves and sea walls. We have enjoyed one or two days each week without the prevailing winds chasing us. It has been fun, but can get a little choppy around the area.

Once the water temperatures warm back up after the cold fronts blow through, we have enjoyed catching redfish around the mangroves on DOA shrimp and live baits. Duncan Haley was out with me this past week and we boated three slot reds from under the mangroves. Bob Altieri and Dave were back in Florida and enjoyed some great action on another windy day. They both boated a nice redfish among a host of species caught that day. Keith, Turner, Frank and Bob were also back in the area. Turner and Frank doubled up on a redfish and snook during a fun morning. Ron, Mike and Timberly were out with me on a beautiful morning and boated lots of sheepshead along with trout and pompano to round out their trip. Tom and Eric found a variety of fish around the river while fishing the flats and docks. Jim, Joy and Ian were visiting and we had a great afternoon trip that found assorted species biting, including redfish, trout, sheepshead and drum. It has been an exciting week on the Indian River.

Water temperatures have been up and down lately. It has been in the low to mid 60's most of the time for us. We have found our redfish hanging under docks and mangroves and willing to take a DOA shrimp. Trout have been in three to five feet of water. CAL jerk baits work great on trout right now. Try the new Airhead lures from DOA. It's gonna be a great asset this Spring on the flats. Sheepshead and black drum have been around docks and under mangroves. We have found a few pompano around the river along with bluefish. We have been fishing south of Fort Pierce most days, but the recent gusty weather has pushed us back in the mangrove islands to the north of Fort Pierce. The water on the incoming tide has been dirty the past several days from all the winds. It has been difficult to fish in the surf most days. With a forecast for nice weather this coming weekend, the water will have time to clear up and warm back up to the upper sixties. It should be a fantastic weekend on the water!

Dress in layers for a while longer. Some days you will find nearly a 40 degree change in temperatures on the water. We seem to end up with a pile of coats, sweatshirts and assorted warm clothes in the corner of the boat by noon each day. Sunscreen is essential this time of year with the wind and the sun wearing on you. It can't be much longer before it warms up to Spring weather! Have fun out there fishing.

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

New Smyrna Beach,Daytona Beach And Mosquito Lagoon

patrick rood — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 21:36:53 -0400

The start to spring is upon us and with that brings warmer days and alot more bait scattering the flats. For the last couple of weeks we have
had strong winds from the north pushing alot of the water out of the north Lagoon making it extremely shallow, along with the cooler water
temps has pushed alot of the fish into schools. I have seen schools of redfish in the numbers of ten to a hundred and even more at times
there is also some schools of black drum through out the lagoon system in the hundreds as well. With the cooler water temps the trout have also
gathered up in the sand holes on the shallow grass flats. I have had success with many different artificals from jerk baits and other soft plastics to
Auqa Dream Spoons. As far as live bait finger mullet,shrimp and cut bait has been all good go to baits.Hopefully soon we will be able to trade
in the jackets and pants for board shorts and flip flops good luck and be safe.

Capt Patrick Rood
www.spotntailcharters.com
(386)566-1394