Fishing report for catching Dec. 31, 2010
Richie Knuth at the Fishin' Shack in Daytona Beach Shores said there has been a lot of drum action at the Sun Glow Pier and nearby surf.
"A couple guys said they were catching 15 and 20 of them in a day; the hard core (anglers) and some people going for just a few hours are catching four or five," Knuth said.
A few reds and whiting have come in as well. Surf temperatures have been down in the low 50s for weeks now, and the pompano have all gone deep and south as a result.
The science on pompano shows that these fish follow water temperatures of 70 to 82 degrees and the coldest water they'll tolerate before moving is 65 degrees.
Ponce Inlet
After several days of un-Florida like cold, a choppy channel and rough currents, the sun came out and the fish have been taking advantage.
Capt. Fred Robert reported catching at least 30 redfish Wednesday, with most of these just larger than the slot size maximum length of 27 inches.
Inshore around the bridges in New Smynra Beach, Mike and Yvonne Halaiski of Deltona reported a slow but productive trip on a windy day with 14 sheepshead, four of them meeting the 12-inch minimum size limit, plus a sea bass and two sailors choice.
Offshore
A lot of boats are going offshore to catch grouper before the state's Jan. 1 seasonal closure. Knuth at the Fishin' Shack said sea bass, triggers and red snapper have comprised the bulk of recent catches.
Donald Parksey at Don's Bait Shop on the Port Orange causeway said boaters stopping through are also reporting catching some jacks, cobia and grouper.
Tomoka Basin & Halifax River
A canoe-trip party on Spruce Creek called in to report seeing thousands of dead fish in the water near Cracker Creek.
Anglers can help the state monitor impacts from recent freezes by reporting fish kills to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's "Fish Kill Hotline" at 800-636-0511.
Rich Soboloski at High Bridge Bait & Tackle said, "They're really nailing the reds along High Bridge Road. I've seen fish up to 15 pounds."
Soboloski said these fish are hitting all manner of baits, from flies and soft plastics to frozen shrimp. The key is a moving tide, he said, and this action is all going on in the creek along the road between High Bridge, Cobb's Corner and Low Bridge.
Parksey said the river in Port Orange has had a good bite for black drum, but the most common catch lately is bluefish. He said some shovel head sharks, aka bonnet heads, and some small hammerhead and sand sharks have been caught around the causeway as well as a few flounder.
Parksey said the water temps around the bridge are 51 degrees.
Mosquito Lagoon & Indian River Lagoon
Capt. Shane Ryan said he hasn't had a day under 50 reds in the last three weeks. Of course, targeting the warm-up days amid all these cold nights is a big key to that.
Ryan said he's throwing jigs and shrimp as well as a gold-colored spoon fly called a Cabe Wobbler. He's fishing the north end and getting as far back into the skinny-water coves as his skiff can bear.
And he's finding big schools with fish numbering from 500 to 1,000.
Matanzas Inlet
Randy Manucy at Devil's Elbow Fish Camp said a bunch of slot reds are coming in. The schools are heavy. Going as west as you can get at low tide is the key to finding them.
Mud minnows are a good bait, Manucy said, and he noted that a good sheepshead bite can be found using fiddler crabs.
St. Johns River
Capt. Bryn Rawlins at Highland Park Fish Camp said a catch of 14 specks came in from Dr. Mike Karges on Lake Woodruff on Thursday.
Rawlins said that's a good sign these fish are responding to warmer weather. Anglers are still trolling deep for specks, she said. Cork and jig fishing in the shallows for specks is still a few weeks away, she said.
Bass are still very slow and will take a much longer duration of warmer weather to pick up their activity level, Rawlins said.
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