Spring has finally sprung along the Space Coast and we are, at long last, fishing in short sleeves and short pants while enjoying bluer skies and much warmer temperatures. The fish are also overjoyed that this long winter of harsh temperatures, gloomy skies and north winds has finally left us. Our fishing activities now pivot around successive high and low pressure systems accompanied by shifting winds and wind speeds pushing their way into the area. As a result, fishing can be spectacular one day and maddeningly difficult the next as the following individual reports indicate.

We start our fishing reports with a spectacular fish caught nearly two weeks ago. Jerri and Natalie Van Hoose spent part of sunny Saturday afternoon with husband and dad, Capt. Rocky, catching some rays (sun rays, that is) and leisurely fishing. Leisurely, until a monster redfish from the Banana River changed the entire
ambience.Pictured below is Natalie holding her trophy redfish.

Capt. Peter and Capt. Roland spent nearly two weeks pre-fishing the Grant area in anticipation of the first Florida Flatsfishing Tournament of the season. They marked numerous schools of fat redfish and trout during this time and could not wait for last Saturday to arrive. However, a low pressure system pushed through the region Friday and the entire fishing landscape changed overnight. Even though both captains caught many fish the following day, it was the crew on Capt. Roland’s boat consisting of Mike and Michael Rinkus of Colorado that did the best.. Pictured below is young Michael holding the fifth place redfish which measured exactly 27 inches and weighed 6.56 pounds. (The team also weighed the fifth place trout in the tournament).

Capt. Roland and I pre-fished the Grant/ Sebastian Inlet stretch of the Indian River on Tuesday in preparation for charters booked for later in the week. Again, a wind shift from northeast to west occurred overnight and drove the fish away from their previous haunts. This time we adjusted our tactics correctly and located a number of pods of hungry fish along with a school of the largest redfish we’ve seen on the flats in Grant in fifteen years. Pictured below are Roland and me holding two of the five reds caught from this school. By the way, the fat slob of a red held by Roland measured over 40 inches and weighed between 25-30 pounds. We are used to catching such fish in the Banana River of Merritt Island and the Indian River in Titusville but to find them in Grant was exceptional.

After the Saturday tourney, the rest of the Rinkus family flew into Orlando for a week of spring break on Melbourne Beach and little more fishing. Mike, Michael, and Jacob joined Roland in the Grant area on a beautiful sunny Wednesday. The fishing was great because of the school of giant reds found on the flats the day before. Many fish were caught from reds to trout. The highlights from the charter were Michael with a 6 lb trout and Jacob pictured below with the fish of the day and his biggest ever, a 20lb redfish. The smile on this 7 year olds face says it all.

Bob Hughes from Merritt Island along with two of his buddies, James from Brooksville, Florida and Buck from Fontana, North Carolina recently joined Capt. Rocky on a gorgeous day for a redfish hunt in Titusville. In pre-fishing the flats the day before there were hundreds of happy reds and black drum feeding, tailing and lollygagging about. However, the wind changed and the fish disappeared overnight. Sometimes fishing can be maddening. We did manage to catch one glorious monster red, fought and landed by Buck, and it made all the difference for the day.

Jonathan Dodd, recently moved back to Cocoa Beach from Vancouver, Canada, joined Capt. Rocky for a fishing adventure on the Banana River last weekend. They were sought shelter from the shift spring winds along several barrier islands and bumped into a school of gator trout doing the same thing. Pictured below is Jonathan with a monster trout caught and released.

Capt. Peter observed that with the recent strong winds, the schools of redfish and trout have moved into coves, and protected docks. Jonathan Painter (visiting from North Carolina), and Zack Spurlock (Satellite Beach), reaped the rewards of fishing mangrove coves with him during a blustery day by sight-fishing schools of redfish in the Banana River. Jonathan and Zack put the hook into eight pretty reds including the two shown below.

Josh, Matt, and Anthony joined Capt. Roland on a rare beautiful clam sunny day early last week for a fabulous day of fishing. The fish are starting to move into the shallow water for warmth and food. The day started a little slow but as the sun warmed the water it got better and better. Everybody caught trout from 20 to 27 inches and 1 red also made an appearance. Pictured is Josh with a 27 in trout. The final tally was 20 trout and 1 redfish.

As spring tries to push ole man winter into the recent past there are hungry fish emerging everywhere in the Indian River Lagoon from Titusville to Sebastian Inlet. Capt. Peter and I have been having a blast fishing the east side of the river up north as a massive school of huge black drum continues to entertain along with big redfish, our normal residents. And Capt. Roland has been catching big numbers of a variety of slot-sized fish along the west side of the river from Melbourne south to Grant. Here are summaries of our most recent trips.

Tuesday the weather was perfect with near calm winds and mid 70 degree temperatures. I had the day free to scout fish for upcoming charters and grabbed a couple of dozen hand-picked shrimp from Capt. Roy Allen’s Bait Shop before continuing north. Since there were several boats already staked on my intended flats I headed even further north in search of solitude and tranquil waters. My tack could not have been better suited for the day. Staking down amidst numerous tailing drum, I abandoned ship for the serenity of wading amongst the schools. Over the next two hours the two dozen shrimp disappeared as huge drum after huge drum was hooked, fought and released. The smallest fish weighed 20 pounds with several twice that size. Add a couple of communal redfish to the constant parade and you’ll understand why my arms ached at the end of the afternoon. By the way, I estimate that this school of big drum has fanned out across five miles of shoreline. It was a perfect day of fishing with a perfect day of weather to enjoy it.

Capt. Peter had a similar experience several days before with locals Chuck and his son Mason in some of the same waters. They hooked a number of the big drum in the morning before switching over to the long rods to throw a few flies at the beast. Peter estimated seeing 1500 fish on the day with reds running to 30 pounds and the drum ranging to 50 pounds. Peter was so preoccupied on the poling platform that the only photo snapped from the charter was of a 30 pound sting ray caught by Mason on a fly.

I was also on the water at the same time since my charter canceled the night before and wound up spending part of the day protecting Peter’s crew from two other boats curious about how he was catching so many fish. At one point the two boats had poled and trolled to within a boat length or two of Peter to watch. When not having to protect Peter flank, I stalked several of the big redfish lurking nearby. It was a great day of fishing all around and I felt sorry for the party that had been scheduled but declined to participate.

During this same stretch of time Capt. Roland took three charters into the Indian River from Melbourne to Grant. His Saturday crew consisted of Vince and Aubrei Blumberg down from Michigan for the third straight year. This time around 12 year old Aubrei bested her father catching a dozen fish to his six. The biggest fish was a 32 inch redfish which brought a huge grin to Aubrei face and archived by Vince’s camera. The Blumbergs are already looking forward to next year.

On a rare Sunday charter for Roland, the Kalb family joined him in the Grant area for a fabulous day of fishing. The gorgeous sunny skies and mid-70 degree temperatures fueled an intense feeding frenzy in which the Kalbs landed an estimated 25 fish consisting of upper slot reds, black drum, sheephead and trout. The action was so hot that at one point during the feed Capt. Roland had to stop the fishing so he could finish unhooking and releasing fish already boated. Everybody in the family of five caught fish except for mom who was too busy taking pictures to pick up a rod. The two photos below were shot by her, by the way.

On Tuesday Gary Greenough from Arizona and Dwight Entwistle from Indian Harbor Beach chartered Roland in the same waters. The skies started out overcast and there were a few sprinkles before the weather cleared and the serious fishing began. Using shrimp on light tackle Dwight and Gary caught an estimated 15 fish including numerous reds, black drum and trout on their half day charter. The couple wound up taking the following red and drum home for a fish fry later that evening.

Fishing over the past several days reminds me of the title from an old Clint Eastwood western – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly- as we have had some great fishing charters, some not so great charters and some downright ugly weather were we dared not venture forth, discretion being the better part of valor. Let’s lead off with a really, really good report.

We start our fishing reports for the past week with a great charter to Titusville on Friday with Fred and his son Reid. The occasion was Reid’s 13th birthday and this skilled fishing duo wanted to celebrate by doing some shallow water, sight-fishing, Mosquito Lagoon-style redfish hunting. The day was picture perfect with calm, slick waters, bright blue Florida skies and downright balmy temperatures. The conditions were so favorable that we stripped down to short sleeves, short pants and bare feet in order jump into the river to stalk our prey while wading across the lush grass flats. We quickly spotted a large school of large black drum lollygagging and tailing in the shallows. Approaching the school on foot, we lobbed large, free-lined shrimp into their midst and it did not take long for the black drum to find our offerings. Reid caught several nice drum from the school while his dad did his best to keep the school intact by graciously missing hook-set after hook-set. After standing in the middle of several hundred thumping drums we decided to leave the premises to find a large redfish or two. Two hours later we wondered why we ever ‘left fish to find fish’ and marched back to the drum line to finish off the half-day charter. While herding the drum down the flat once again, Fred suddenly spotted an enormous red tail waving to us about 60 yards down range. Staking down with the stealthy Power Pole, we bombed a large finger mullet into beast’s general direction. Within minutes the hungry brute to found the silver mullet and the birthday boy got to spend the next twenty minutes hanging on for dear life. Pictured below is Reid with our best black drum and redfish of the day.

Now journeying back to the previous Saturday, we’ll continue the reports in a chronological manner. Capt. Peter gives us the following account of his charter on that day. ‘The fluctuating temperatures and strong winds this week have the redfish, trout, and black drum on both the flats and drop-offs. Lately we’ve been splitting the day between pitching shrimp under deep-water docks, and sight fishing the flats.
A great trip I had this week was with a trio of diehard angles. The weather conditions were less than favorable, but we worked hard and picked our way through the little-guys to some good fish. The “Illinois Deer Commander” bested the younger guys this trip, with a 25″ trout and a 26.5″ redfish on the flats. We also caught black drum and sheepshead around the deep water docks.’

A nasty-ugly cold front pushed through area on Sunday and Monday, churning the rivers and sending the fish fleeing for any kind of safe haven. Such starts the pattern during our winter months; a front blows out fishing for a day or two, recovery slowly begins the day after and continues to improve until a glorious climax is reached the day before the next front arrives. The cycle usually last five or six days before repeating itself until spring finally arrives in mid-February or early March.. We’ll demonstrate with the following accounts.

Fishing Tuesday, the day after the front arrived, Capt. Peter braved the elements with a charter on the Banana River. Battling a stiff, cold northwest wind and wigged-out, lock-jawed fish, Peter’s hail and hardy crew still managed a redfish and several trout along with a few small black drum and sheepshead. Sometimes, no matter how skilled the captain and crew, the fish will make catching tougher than a two dollar steak from IHOP. This was one of those times. And if there were metals awarded to pluck and grit over the water, Peter’s crew from Tuesday surely earned them.

On Wednesday I pre-fished the Banana River for charters the next days to try add to Peter’s information passed along from the day before. Even though the weather was a bit warmer than Tuesday, the bait was found still shivering at the far ends of the canals on Cocoa Beach. This gave me a clue as to how any success for the day would unfold – fish would be found, if any could be found, along the sandy shorelines and in the sandy potholes near the deeper troughs. Three redfish were landed with the largest being a 17 lb sow caught in the warmest part of the day and the warmest segment of the river. Interestingly, the usually super aggressive reds were slow and sluggish in chasing and chomping my live finger mullets.

The weather Thursday turned even warmer, actually hitting the low 70s, and the wind softened from the day before. We had the pleasure of fishing with Lee and Angie Harp from Wichita along with Lee’s Uncle Ken (aka Fred and Ralph). Since Capt. Roland had pre-fished the Grant area on the prior day and marked numerous redfish and large trout patrolling the clear shallows of the Indian River, we headed south. As in previous trips with Lee and Angie, it was the gal in the pink hat that had most of the luck. Angie caught the first two redfish and handed the third off to Uncle Fred to the finish the fight. We also landed a bewildered trout before the winds blew us back to the ramp. Angie’s pink hat was so crucial to our success on the day we are posting two pictures so readers will have a better understanding of which kind of pink hat works the best.

Friday was our aforementioned special trip to Titusville which brings us to yesterday and the arrival of our next cold front. Dodging the effects of the weather system, Capt. Roland and Capt. Peter combined on a two-boat charter with old friends from Colorado, the Rimkus clan. They fished the Indian River in the Grant area under grey, threatening skies and high northwest winds. Before the afternoon thunderstorms arrived, the Capt. Roland’s crew, in the larger 22 foot Pathfinder, caught a couple redfish, 18 inch black drum and sheepshead on shrimp on the flats north of Jorgensen Park. Capt. Peter’s crew, in his new 19 foot Hewes Bayfisher, sought protected shelter in the historic Honest John Canals and had a blast catching an assortment of fish in near-continuous action. Their tally for the day included 13 rat reds, a drum full of black drums, mangrove snapper, and several huge sheepsheads. Even though the winds created havoc on the more exposed open waters of the river, a great time was had by parties on both boats.

Contrary to popular belief, we do have winter in Florida. Admittedly it bears little resemblance to the winter most everywhere else but it is winter nonetheless with lower temperatures and stiff north winds. The big differences in our winter are severity and length. We may have a cold front push through the area and plunge the temperatures into the forties on Monday only to return to seventies by several days later. And this kind of drop in temperatures affects our fish population.

Throughout most of the year our game fish live comfortably on and around the lush, shallow grass flats that blanket our inshore waters. However, when the temperatures plunge the fish seek shelter and warmth in deeper holes and backwater canals. The migration for the fish often occurs rapidly which test the skill of local guides.

Capt. Roland recently guided the Reed family from Denver, Colorado (son Darious, daughter Kia and dad Paul) on a very cold morning with early morning temperatures in the mid 30s. He took them into the legendary Honest Johns Canals near Sebastian Inlet. They caught three reds to 33 inches, three black drum, six sheephead, one bluefish and a rare two foot eel. (Pictured below are Darious with his big redfish and Kia with a nice Black Drum).

The following day the temperatures improved and the fish cleared out of the canals to forage on shallow grass flats. Capt. Roland took the Turner clan from Orlando on a short charter in search of prey. Among the fish they found was a school of big jacks marauding near the mouth of Sebastian Inlet. Pictured below is Bryson Turner and Capt. Roland with one of the bigger jacks caught on the charter.

Another charter over the holidays featured Chuck and Larry his father-in-law from Orlando. They timed their fishing perfectly weather-wise and enjoyed almost balmy conditions with comfortable temperatures and lots of bright Florida sunshine. I guided them to redfish heaven in the pristine waters of the Indian River near Titusville, Florida. After searching for a bit, we found several nice schools of redfish taking advantage of the warm water over the flats to feed. Pictured below are Chuck and Larry holding two trophies from the day.

Capt. Peter has also been busy over the last several weeks. He is our lead hunting outfitter so duck hunting has consumed much of his attention but he did guide a couple of charters as well. Pictured below are several of his fishing clients holding their catch.

The cold north wind blew Vince and Tony Blumberg down from Chicago. Even though the weather was on the chilly side for Capt. Roland, the Blumbergs thought it was a lark and fished in shorts, T-shirts and cowboy hats. Since this crew had fished the Grant area several times prior they opted to change the venue to the Banana River near Cocoa Beach for variation. It turned out to be a good choice as Vince and Tony caught redfish, trout, stingrays (an oddity) and catfish.

Capt. Roland had a very special charter with father and son duo of Roger and Cory. Cory was home on leave from serving at Ft. Hood where he witnessed the recent terrorist attack. Needless to say, he was due for some wind-down time. They fished the Melbourne Beach stretch of the Indian River on a knock-down gorgeous day. The fishing was a bit slow but they did manage to catch redfish and jacks. Pictured below is Cory holding one of the jacks.

Our final fishing report comes from another father and his children charter. Rusty from Huntsville, Alabama spent a morning fishing with daughter Jenny (age four) and Rockett (aged two). Granted, these kiddos are awful young for a fishing charter but their grandfather insisted. (Did I mention that I am the granddad here?). We had a blast zipping down the river, fishing, exploring a pirate island and eating a picnic furnished by grandma. Pictured below are Jenny and Rusty holding her very first fish and the three enjoying grandma’s vittles on one of the spoil islands in the Indian River.

Wintertime fishing along the central east coast can present some challenges. There are days where the weather does not permit us to leave port but there are many other days where the fishing is the stuff of which life-long memories are made.