The following Bait Shops Carry

4-12-07

4-13-07

Surf & Piers

Don Benware at the Daytona Beach Pier said the pier's anglers have been totaling 40 or 50 flounder in a day. On Thursday a bit of a rip current knocked that bite down a bit though, he said. A few drum, whiting, pompano and blues are biting, too, he said.

Roy Mattson at Roy's Bait House said the flounder run is at the Flagler Pier, too, and live and dead mullet are bringing in 4- to 8-pounders.

Offshore

Capt. Chris Forman of the Lady J II said the trolling bite from 10 days ago has changed dramatically and for the worst. The sharp temperature and color breaks are gone and the bite is now spotty on dolphin, wahoo and sails. He said the action is now mostly in 120 to 145 feet. Bottom fishing has improved since the current has let off, he said. Try the Steeples, he said.

Tomoka Basin area

David Wiley at High Bridge Bait & Tackle said on Tuesday some blues and whiting were caught at the bridge. Snook, trout and flounder are also doing very well, he said.

Halifax River

Bill Allen at Howard's Bait & Tackle said a few smaller flounder have been caught, but there's no sign of the run that's at the beach. He said some snook and trout have been caught, reds and jacks are very active, and a Spanish mackerel was caught at the docks this week.

Ponce Inlet area

The water is still just 71 degrees, Capt. Fred Robert said. He said he caught a 24-pound cobia in 60 feet, Spanish mackerel have been running in 35- to 40-foot depths south of the inlet, some big jacks, like 20-pounders, are in the river, and lots of blues and lookdowns are around the inlet. Reds in the inlet channel have been picking up and some big snook have been on the hunt. Capt. Robert said he's starting to see 50-pound tarpon rolling by the Coast Guard station.

4-14-07

Today looks like it is going to be a day made for fishing, with light winds. The surf, jetty and inshore anglers will have an early-morning low tide and a midday high tide.

The Amelia By the Sea anglers are reporting small black drum, flounder, blues and whiting this past week.

Many of the Amelia by The Sea anglers are reporting good luck using the Gotcha plugs for blues and trout.

Intermittent flounder have been reported from the banks of Fort Clinch along with trout. Pam Powell of Nassau Sound Bait & Tackle reports blues, whiting and puppy drum catches from the George Crady Bridge State Fishing Pier. Frozen finger mullet will also give you plenty of strikes especially when the blues are schooling along our surf.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

I don’t know about you but I’ve about had it with this springs crazy weather. It’ll beautiful one day, a cold front and wind the next day. Let’s hope this all settles down so we can get to some serious fishing. Historically this is one of the best times of year to fish. Inshore, big snook start to show up along with gator trout and big jacks. Along the beaches flounder have one of their biggest runs of the year and the water temperature is just right for pompano with cobia not far behind. We’ll miss the cobia run if the wind keeps the surf riled up. With a little luck the fish gods will smile upon us and turn things around.

Ocean piers: Believe it or not, there were some hearty souls fishing in the gale-force winds Sunday and Monday, and there were fair catches of whiting, pompano, black drum and bluefish at the Jacksonville Beach Pier. At the St. Augustine Beach Pier on Wednesday, there wasn't much biting. Most of those who were fishing were driven off the planks by the

4-20-07

GOOD TO FAIR

Flagler Beach Pier regular Bob Burns reported that "Flounder" Joe has caught limits just about every day this week, with most of his fish being in the 1 1/2- to 3-pound range and the best bait being live mullet.

Burns said a few veteran pier anglers have caught some flounder over five pounds, Bob Callaway landed 2 flounder, two big trout and a 26-inch red, Luci Hillaert got a flounder over 3 pounds and "Harley" tore up the Spanish mackerel. Plus blues are hitting on pier plugs, he said.

A little farther south in Ormond-by-the-Sea, Ed Countryman at Ocean's Bait & Tackle said the weather fronts this week really picked up the action, with blues, whiting and black drum turning up in "feeding frenzy" numbers.

Tomoka Basin area

Countryman said snook in the river are really starting to hit on a more regular basis lately.

"I took pictures of three nice ones this week," he said, "two of which were caught in broad daylight in the afternoon around the docks on John Anderson. The third was at night around the Clinkers Islands in the basin."

Ponce Inlet area

Capt. Fred Robert said the water isn't warming up enough to drive in the tarpon. It's still hanging around 70 degrees. He said cobia have been just offshore in the 35- to 60-foot depth range. A lot of ladyfish are in the river attacking things he said. Capt. Robert said he has pulled some snook from 8 to 12 pounds off the jetty by casting live fish on the surface to the end of the rocks, and more inshore, the big trout have been very active around their dockside and mangrove haunts. He said he's only been able to hook-up with a few small reds lately and the jacks that have been around are down in size from the 20-pounders of recent weeks.

4-25-07

Jake at Flagler Beach Bait and Tackle repots that trout are being caught at the pier in the early morning hours and that flounder up to 6 lbs are still being. Black drum, whiting and bluefish round out the rest of the fish being landed. Jake also reports his other shop, Highbridge Bait and Tackle, has reports of lots of snook coming from the Highbridge area along with good catches of gator size trout. Jake took some time to fish last week and had snook of 30 and 27 inches. He used a shad tail on a bucktail jig to land the fish.

4-27-07

GOOD TO FAIR

Flagler Pier regular Bob Burns said the last cold front chilled the surf to 68 degrees and rough waves turned up a lot of mud, putting a damper on fishing. The surf is forecasted to calm down to near flat this weekend with light westerly and sideshore winds, so conditions will improve. Recent catches included a few flounder a day, Burns said. Jeanne Pizzo caught a 19 1/2-inch drum and Larry Altman got a 22 1/2-inch red, he said.

He said whiting, weakfish, drum and trout were sporadic and cats and bonnet head sharks were the main action.

Dan Mehler at Mosquito Lagoon Beach Side said pompano and a few reds kept lines tight from Bethune Park south.

Ponce Inlet area

Capt. Fred Robert said the water is 74 degrees inside the inlet. He said the big reds are back cruising the channel bottom and Capt. Luke Pearson got one at least 50 inches long. Capt. Robert said snook are hitting in the rocks on the incoming tide when there's not too much current and a few Spanish macks are around.

4-28-07

Whiting seems to be what was biting this past week. The incoming tide seemed to be the tide to fish for the best whiting action. Jim Smith reports 16 whiting on Wednesday evening fishing the surf after work. Bill Burk and Heath Greason also reported a nice mess of whiting this past week. Burgess Lewellyn also had several productive days fishing this past week. Burgess also has been picking up some legal pompano. Shrimp, skinned and with the head removed, fished on the bottom, rigged on a sinker slide rig will help you catch the delectable whiting.

The surf and pier are producing whiting, pompano and a few flounder.

5-3-07 Whiting have remained slow inshore and in surf, Whiting have remained slow inshore and in the surf, Kerr said. There have been some pompano, but they have been slow as well. Some cobia have also been caught at the beach.

5-5-07

Surf & Piers

Flagler Beach Pier regular Bob Burns said mornings have been slow with a few flounder being caught, but afternoons have produced lots of ladyfish, blues and some Spanish mackerel up to 24 inches. White pier plugs with red heads have worked best, he said.

"On the big poles at the end (of the pier) 5- to 6-foot sharks have been running with these schools," he said. "Lucy Hillaert caught the flounder of the week, being about 4 pounds. There have been some pompano and whiting caught, but not in great numbers."

Halifax River

Ike Leary at Granada Pier Bait & Tackle said a few flounder are being caught and the Sea Breeze and Granada bridge are turning up a lot of snook.

5-9-07

A low weather pressure system that has been sitting off the coast has wreaked havoc with fishing this past week. The strong gusty northeast winds kicked up the ocean to the point it almost looked like a hurricane with waves crashing and hitting the bottom of the pier and tearing up the dunes along the beach. I live on the mainland side of Flagler Beach and the surf was so rough I could hear the loud roar of the surf when I stood in my yard.

And this week there were some consistencies. Matt Wrann at Devil's Elbow, Bob Joiner at the County Pier and Bill Kerr at Hook, Line & Sinker all sounded like they were reading from the same playbook on a few species. They recounted the Spanish just off the beach, the appearance of black drum in the surf and bluefish everywhere.

Ocean piers: Action at the Jacksonville Beach Pier was decent when folks could fish it. Black drum were the most consistent bite. There was one short - but strong - run of pompano early in the week. Whiting are still scarce. At the St. Augustine Beach Pier, the water is "gorgeous," but the fishing isn't. There were some black drum caught, along with spurts of Spanish mackerel early and late in the day. A cobia was hooked on

Once the crazy weather cleared by the weekend, local fishing provided plenty of opportunities.

According to Glenn Laudenslager at Camachee Island Sportfishing and Charters, there were lots of dolphin being caught at the Gulfstream over the weekend.

At the 21 Fathom area, the catches of snapper, grouper and triggerfish were strong, he said.

The 100-foot area had lots of the same. Anglers were catching vermilion and genuines. Some kingfish were being caught there, as well.

Closer inshore, redfish and flounder are still biting. There have also been some catches of pompano and a few black drum. Whiting remain mostly absent.

Pompano have also been turning up in the surf.

Laudenslager said the freshwater reports have been very positive for brim and shellcrackers.

5-21-07

Ed Countryman at Ocean's Bait & Tackle said since the surf has calmed down lots of "very large whiting" are getting caught on dead shrimp. He said he's also seen blues, big drum and a few pompano.

Tomoka Basin area

Countryman said the trout in the river are really starting to strike on a regular basis now and plugging Bulow Creek has landed some real gators.

Offshore

Tropical Depression Andrea has kept the big boat reels from singing for a while, but Capt. Pete Knopp of the Heavy Hitter was at the Fishin' Store, and he said a few boats got out Wednesday and Thursday, finding big amberjacks and some gaffer dolphin. The bottom is still pretty stirred up for any good action there, he said.

Halifax River

Ike Leary at the Granada Pier Bait & Tackle said drum and sheepshead are around the bridges, flounder are coming up the river now and reds are active in the north end.

Ponce Inlet area

Capt. Fred Robert reported that 50- to 100-pound tarpon are rolling in the inlet's 75 degree water. He said a lot of jacks, blues, flounder and snook have been caught. The best tide for tarpon is incoming and the reds are feeding on the inlet bottom on the outgoing, he said.

5-25-07

Surf & Piers

Ponce Inlet area

Capt. Fred Robert reported that the inlet water is 74 degrees. He said he has often been the only boat out in the severe chop and strong winds, and it's earned him some 50-pound reds, some nice flounder and a lot of snook.

5-31-07

The wind was responsible for trimming the Northeast Florida Marlin Association's Bluewater Invitational to an abbreviated two days. Anglers fished Monday and Tuesday, but the wind officially forced it to get called Friday. Prior to the tournament, the wind was even stronger.

"Nobody's going out, the wind's still bad," said Don Edwards of the Avid Angler. "The wind just hasn't laid down."

Glenn Laudenslager of Camachee Island Sportfishing and Charters said he was finally able to take a trip on Wednesday for the first time in about two weeks, although the choppy waters made it a bumpy ride.

Laudenslager said that his fares limited out on redeyes during a six-hour trip and had to throw back a good amount of snapper because they were too short.

The inshore reports have been steady, with flounder and reds consistently mentioned. Trout have begun drying up after good reports. Offshore, dolphin have been steady for the boats that could get out there. With the KingBuster 400 a week away, reports of kings have been spotty.

6-1-07

"Wind. Wind. Wind. Every day the wind blows. The best fishing has been in the mornings from about 7 a.m. 'till noon. After that, the wind and rip currents are in full command," said Ed Countryman at Ocean's Bait & Tackle, who noted that the bluefish are the main bite.

To the north at the Flagler Beach Pier, dedicated recreational angler Bob Burns reported that "all this wind has some strange things happening at the pier." Flying fish are jumping out of the water and lots of manatees are swimming by, he said.

Turbid water has turned the surf into bluefish territory, Burns said. The best blues bait is cut mullet or white jigs with red heads, he said.

Burns said Bob "Flex" Souza caught two barracuda at the end of the pier, Carmine Pantuso got a nice black drum and Jackie Popp caught one of three legal reds landed this week.

6-7-07

Ben Williams' river report

The big news here in the river remains the saltwater fish. Last week a couple of confirmed snook catches were reported, one of them a fish of 9 pounds caught in the Fruit Cove area.

There were also more reports of flounder around the Buckman Bridge and continued reports of all sorts of good happenings (trout, drum, reds ...) around the Shands.

6-8-07

Surf & Piers

Ponce Inlet area

The kings are everywhere, and there are 15-pound reds, snook to 30 pounds, and tarpon from 40 to 100 pounds being caught, said Capt. Fred Robert, who expects bigger tarpon to arrive within one week or two.

If you're casting from the jetties, reds are moving with the outgoing tide, said Ira Loveday of Loveday's Bait & Tackle in New Smyrna Beach. On the incoming tides, the north jetty's been good for black drum and flounder.

From the surf Roy reports Tom Dawson with 3 pompano, 1 bluefish and 1 flounder. Paul Norton had 6 pompano and 4 flounder while fishing with clam strips.

6-15-07

Ponce Inlet area

And around the river's spoil islands in Port Orange, Earl Jackson of Sanford and Mike Halaiski of Deltona had a six-footer, species unknown, bump one of their kayaks.

The channel is full of redfish in the 20- to 25-pound range, with bonito over 15-pounds in the mix, said Capt. Fred Robert, who noted that the bite has been on the outgoing tide only.

Kings have been elusive, said Capt. Summer, mangos are everywhere, big jacks are in the river and tarpon are showing up sporadically and hitting crabs.

Surf & Piers

There's still time to try for a kingfish at the Flagler and SunGlow piers. In Flagler, where water temps have hovered around 80 degrees, "Clicker" Chris O'Connor landed a 28-pound, 11-ounce king Sunday morning, said Bob Burns, a pier regular. That afternoon, Forrest Duncan got a 40-pound, 6-ounce smoker. There have been hits but no kings landed since, Burns said, and the smaller poles are bringing up whiting, blues, keeper drum, and a 19-inch drum landed by "Doc" Albovies. At the Daytona Beach Pier, flounder and black drum prevail.

There has been though, some good catches of flounder coming from the ICW. A party I had out this past week had 3 nice flatties in the 15” range. Other people have been getting them in the same range. Capt. Mike Vickers had one last week that tipped the scales at almost 6 lbs. There is also some flounder being caught in the surf and on the pier. Shrimp, mullet or mud minnows are all good baits for flounder.

6-21-07

Jimmy Beach at the St. Augustine Marina said anglers have been finding whiting in the surf on small pieces of shrimp.

6-22-07

Surf & Piers

Ed Countryman at Ocean's Bait & Tackle in Ormond-By-the-Sea said the whiting bite has been best in the morning using dead shrimp and catches have averaged seven per angler. Blues are hitting cut mullet and at the old pier, some sheephead, drum and pompano are hitting, he said.

Roy’s Bait House reports that Jeff Mullaney fished the surf for 12 whiting and 4 pompano. Matt Snyder had 2 black drum, 4 pompano and 1 keeper redfish. Ray Johnson fished the ICW for 2 mango snapper, 2 lane snapper,5 trout to 19” and a 25” snook (released). Bill Woodfin – 5keeper trout to 18”. Mike Pusateri had a 26 ½”- 6.03 lb trout that he caught on a live pigfish. Troy Berthon- 21”trout, 18” redfish. Offshore Ronald Gorney had dolphin a couple of dolphin – 11.08 Lbs and 10.05 lbs.

As for inshore fishing, Laudenslager said the catches of flounder have been better than last year, which was also a good year.

People are also getting redfish, flounder and trout. There have also been strong reports on pompey drum, whiting and pompano.

6-29-07

Surf & Piers

7-6-07

Ed Countryman at Ocean's Bait & Tackle said "impressive numbers" of whiting, an 18-inch pompano and a few sheepshead are the catches of the week. "No sign of our run of June mullet yet this year," he said. Sand fleas have also been scarce.

7-13-07

Surf & Piers

Jake Jaquish at Flagler Beach Bait and Tackle reports black drum, flounder, whiting and ribbon fish are being caught. He also says there has been an early morning bite of Spanish mackerel in the 15” to 20” range.

7-20-07

Surf & Piers

Flagler Pier regular Bob Burns said Angel Nieves caught a 16-pound, 8-ounce king off the end of the pier. Lots of spots, a fair amount of whiting, a couple of nice black drum and some flounder up to 6 pounds are being caught as well, he said. No mullet run yet, though.

7-25-07

On the inshore waters the flounder bite continues to be good. The best trout fishing seems to be at night under dock lights. Snook fishing remains good and should stay that way until the water gets cold in the late fall. John Inman and I explored new waters last week and in 2 ½ hours had 6 snook to 7 lbs while throwing artificial baits.

7-27-07

Flagler Beach Pier angler Bob Burns said the action from last Thursday through Saturday "was the best fishing in years." Pogy pods were everywhere and thick with kings and tarpon. Burns reported that Bob Sousa landed four kings from 11 to 23 pounds; 11-year-old Joey Cortese landed a 36-inch king; and three tarpon were beached Tuesday ranging from 38 to 100 pounds. Plus whiting, flounder and pompano were caught.

Jake Jaquish of Flagler Beach Bait and Tackle reports king mackerel being caught on the pier along with pompano, bluefish and whiting. Jake also reports trout and snook around the Highbridge area.

8-4-07

Ponce Inlet area

Big kings and tarpon are still in the inlet and reds to 20 pounds are active on the outgoing tide, Capt. Robert said.

Surf & Piers

Anglers are reporting the odd permit being caught in the surf from Port Orange to Titusville.

Slot-size reds have been running close to shore, said Luke Zona at the Sunglow Pier.

Larry Lytle said mangrove snapper and black drum are in the mix at the Daytona Beach Pier and farther north.

Sand fleas have been popping up in quantity the past few weeks, said Ed Countryman of Ocean's Bait & Tackle. And the pompano are there feeding on them. Last week, an angler got two real quick, he said.

8-8-07

The action in the surf is mostly small pompano and whiting. An unusual catch made in the surf this week was a 16” permit caught by Steve Watson. This is the first permit I have heard of being caught in the Flagler surf. Permit are usually caught on offshore wrecks and much farther south of here. This doesn’t surprise me though as small bonefish are being caught around Ponce Inlet. King mackerel are being caught from the pier.

8-11-07

Surf & Piers

The report from the pier's Flagler Beach Bait & Tackle said fishing has been best from 6 to 9 p.m. However, Neil Foglia caught a 52-inch, 58 pound king at 2 p.m. Thursday and two other kings came in, too.

At the Daytona Beach Pier, Donny Benware said the bite's been drum, sheepshead, a few pompano and flounder.

8-15-07

Other than kings the pier is also yielding whiting, pompano and black drum.

8-18-07

Surf & Piers

On the Flagler Pier, anglers landed eight kings last Sunday but none since, said pier regular Bob Burns. The heat's keeping many away, but the night bite's been solid with drum and keeper sheepshead, he said.

I like to start my day fishing for snook at daybreak when they are still actively feeding near the surface or in shallow water. If you’re using spinning rod or a baitcasting rod start with a topwater plug such as a topdog jr., skitterwalk or a highroller rip roller. All these plugs make noise to attract fish. If you fly fish use a topwater popping fly. My favorite is the 2/0 Rainy bubblehead fly. Once you properly learn to work this fly snook find it irresistible.

8-24-07

In the last week, five kings and a 'cuda were caught off the Flagler Beach Pier, said pier regular Bob Burns. A couple of tarpon got away, he said. But that's it for the big stuff. Some drum came in and Owen O'Reilly landed a 25-inch red on his 12th birthday, Burns said. The whiting bite has been good, too, he said.

At the Sunglow Pier, Luke Zona said the whiting and drum bite of late has been the best it's been all summer. One guy got 24 whiting and four drum. Zona said a few reds were caught, too.

8-29-07

Pier fishing has been slow. Small reds, pompano and blues are the report. Look for the fishing to pick up in a couple of weeks when the mullet and pogy runs begin. The action in the surf is mostly small pompano and whiting. An unusual catch made in the surf this week was a 16” permit caught by Steve Watson. This is the first permit I have heard of being caught in the Flagler surf. Permit are usually caught on offshore wrecks and much farther south of here. This doesn’t surprise me though as small bonefish are being caught around Ponce Inlet. King mackerel are being caught from the pier.

8-31-07

Ed Countryman at Ocean's Bait & Tackle in Ormond-By-the-Sea said even with water temperatures in the 80s, "the locals are logging whiting (catches) in the double-digit numbers."

Apparently the warm surf is feeling tropical lately. A bone-

fish and several pompano turned up this week and the cold water-loving blues slacked off. Countryman said a few blues still did take cut mullet on outside sandbars at dead low tides.

Flagler Beach Pier regular Bob Burns reported the bone-

fish in the surf catch. Ed Sweeney caught the little silver bullet off the pier. "I guess we don't have to go south to get them anymore," Burns said.

Burns said redfish, flounder, black drum, whiting and blues are around, too. "Some of everything, but not a lot of anything," was his description of the action.

9-1-07

Surf fishing continues to be producing whiting on dead shrimp. The whiting seem to be everywhere, so any of your favorite beach accesses should work just as well. I prefer the incoming tide to fish the surf, but wetting a line with family and friends is just great anytime.

Good news for surf and pier anglers, the mullet run has started along the beach. The mullet will bring in spanish mackerel, king mackerel, redfish, flounder and tarpon. When the Spanish mackerel show up a large silver spoon tossed from the beach will work, just make sure you use a metal leader or you’ll lose your spoon. Spoons will also catch king mackerel that might come in close to the beach and don’t rule out connecting with a tarpon. When fishing from the pier a “gotcha” plug will do the trick on the Spanish. A whole frozen mullet, live mullet or a fresh chunk of mullet is your best bet for reds and flounder.

9-8-07

Anglers labored to crank reel handles strained by the weight of some heavy fish on Labor Day weekend. The extended weekend yielded eight king mackerel up to 33 pounds at the Flagler Pier, said regular Bob Burns. Plus a 27-pound, 58-inch barracuda was landed by Tyler Kuback, 13, of Palm Coast.

Burns said legal and oversized reds, lots of black drum, plus sheepshead and whiting were also caught. The murky water that developed this week slowed down the action though, he said.

By around noon Thursday at the Daytona Beach Pier, Larry Lytle said at least three reds, more than 20 black drum and a mess of whiting were caught. So murky water slowed things down, but didn't stop the bite. A good swell, plus the beginnings of a mullet run have a lot of big fish tight to the coast.

9-15-07

Surf & Piers

Burns said last Sunday, 10 legal-sized reds were caught at the pier plus there were some oversized releases.

"The whole week there have been nice catches of reds, black drum, flounder and sheepshead," he said. "There have also been blues, whiting and some Spanish in the early a.m. and late p.m."

Ed Countryman at Ocean's Bait & Tackle in Ormond-By-the-Sea said the mullet are out beyond the second sandbar. Tarpon, kings and sharks can be seen feeding on them, along with pelicans and gulls diving on the scraps, he said.

Countryman said locals are getting lots of whiting, drum, blues and bonnet head sharks in the first trough at high tide.

9-19-07

Locally, redfish and flounder are being caught at the pier. Look for the bite to get better as the surf calms down. Sunday Lou DeFazio and I did some fly fishing and faired rather well. I was throwing a top water fly and only had one hit. Lou was throwing a streamer fly and landed 3 snook, 2 trout and had numerous strikes, he also lost a big snook when the hook pulled. Watching this I changed flies and landed a snook and also lost a large one when the hooked pulled.

9-21-07

Surf & Piers

Fishing in the surf and from the pier has also picked up. Johnny Garrett at Flagler Beach Bait and Tackle on the pier reports that reds from 26” to 35” are being caught on the incoming tide. Flounder to 23” are also being caught. Bluefish, pompano and Spanish mackerel have all began to make their presence.

9-27-07

9-29-07

Bob Burns at the Flagler Pier said a lot of sharks and reds are being caught, with Jackie Popp catching the largest red, at 35 inches. Burns said flounder and pompano have moved in, but most are undersized. Burns said they're seeing big schools of blues mixed up with ladyfish.

Ponce Inlet area

Capt. Fred Robert called in from his boat Thursday with a tally of nine tarpon from 90 to 140 pounds, with one near 180 that shook the hook. He said he has had a half-dozen tarpon a day since Tuesday.

"They are everywhere," he said. "I'm not even fishing for reds. There are a lot of snook. There is a big run of mullet. I'm fishing close to shore in 35 to 50 feet of water."

The water temperature is 82 at the inlet and the water clarity is a bit cleaner, he said.

There were a few people fishing the rough water from the pier on Tuesday and they were landing slot size reds, black drum and bluefish. Look for the surf and pier action to pick up once the surf dies down.

10-5-07

Surf & Piers

As for the fish, reds have been steady catches in the surf. Regular angler Bob Burns at the Flagler Beach Pier said they've been getting, "Reds, reds and more reds.

"Live mullet, dead mullet, live shrimp, dead shrimp, it just doesn't matter which bait you use. The trick is being there when the schools come through. Between the beach and the first sandbar is the best spot," he said.

Lines south of New Smyrna Beach are getting whiting, blues to 20 and 25 inches, pompano, reds, some kings, flounder and many sharks, according to Mosquito Lagoon Beachside.

Wednesday morning I spoke with Johnny Garrett at Flagler Beach Bait and Tackle (pier) and he said it looks like the red tide is finally gone. Thank goodness! Johnny said it didn’t seem to affect the fishing too much. Lots of big reds are being caught at the pier, fish in the 20 lb bracket. Mullet or shrimp, live or frozen, are doing the trick. Black drum to 23” are also being caught along with lots of whiting. Look for flounder to start to show soon also.

10-12-07

The red tide is dying out and the bluefish bite is coming to life, with good catches of blues on cut mullet, said Ed Countryman of Ocean's Bait and Tackle. He also said black drum are hitting dead shrimp.

At the Flagler Pier, regular Bob Burns said the red tide is just about undetectable and the bite has been excellent. Blues, most in the 3-pound range, were hitting so hard Wednesday that, "we couldn't keep our regular baits in the water. They'd snatch it right off," Burns said.

Redfish up to 40 inches long are biting too, he said.

Ponce Inlet area

A lingering red tide hasn't seemed to kill fish or, for that matter, slow the bite, said Capt. Fred Robert. He reports healthy schools of mullet, jacks, snook, tarpon and reds galore, especially on the incoming tide. Plus, jetty anglers are having good luck catching snook lately.

10-17-07

Now for some fishing news, the pier reports blues and redfish but you have to fish out past the breakers.

10-19-07

At the Flagler Beach Pier, Bob Burns said, "The red tide here is terrible; bronze water, foam and dead fish on the shores."

Nevertheless, anglers are coughing up catches of oversized and legal-sized reds, plus blues and pompano, he said.

Burns said reds being kept out of the water for the extra time it takes for pictures and measurements aren't fairing well upon release, as they are already stressed out by the red tide. So please release fish quickly.

The big story on the beach is that a week-plus of strong currents and onshore winds have littered the sand with random bits of decaying ocean life, including the sargassum seaweed line where baby turtles live.

And around 3,000 turtles have been rescued, said Capt. Scott Petersohn, spokesman for the Volusia County Beach Patrol.

If you find an exhausted baby turtle, don't put it back in the ocean, he said.

Get it to rescue crews by picking up the turtle and bringing it to a beach approach toll booth worker, a tower lifeguard or a beach patrol, he said. Or call the Main Street beach patrol station at (386) 239-6484. In New Smyrna Beach call (386) 424-2345.

Ponce Inlet area

Boats outside the rocks anchored up have had some good days on reds by sending live and cut bait to the bottom. And Capt. Luke Pearson said the water in this vicinity has cleaned up a lot compared with the worst of the last week and high and low tides are back to normal.

"The backwater is stacked up with tarpon in the 10- to 12-pound range and the quiet presentation of a fly is the best way to catch them," he said. "There is also a lot of black drum in the river and inlet."

Capt. Pearson also said ladyfish are getting into big schools and the inlet water temperature has dropped to 78 degrees.

Johnny Garrett at Flagler Beach Bait and Tackle reports lots of blues being caught on mullet, black drum and whiting using shrimp and pompano on shrimp or clams.

They have also been having good luck with the redfish in the same area.

He added that he also saw someone catch a good-sized snook this week from the pier.

Michelle Kerr at Hook, Line and Sinker added that the redfish have been "wide open" along with trout and jacks. She said she hasn't heard of many flounder reports recently but expects them to be favorable. Pompano and whiting have been found in the surf.

There was a bit of disappointing news from Kerr, though.

"The red tide's been so bad I haven't had many customers in here," she said Wednesday.

10-27-07

Surf & Piers

Southwest winds have blown away our red tide worries.

Ed Countryman at Ocean's Bait & Tackle said "the blue- fish bite is in full force now," with limits of 4- to 6-pounders coming daily. He said he's seen pompano caught on boiled sandfleas, and whiting and drum caught on dead shrimp in the first slough.

At the Flagler Pier, regular angler Bob Burns said blues and whiting are an afternoon bite.

"In the last couple of days there have been nice catches of legal reds," Burns said. "Terry Cureton landed a 21-inch red, a 21-inch black drum and a couple of whiting."

As for the fall flounder run, Burns said only one was caught at the pier this week.

11-1-07

Fishing wise not much to report on this week due to the weather. In the ICW snook, trout, flounder, blackdrum, jacks and ladyfish are being caught if you are brave enough to fish in the wind. It looks as if things should start calming down this weekend and getting back to normal, let’s hope so.

11-2-07