Florida’s weather roller-coaster ride has continued here on the space coast! Warm days of 65F followed by cold fronts at 30F! As I write this report, it is a balmy 35F with the wind blowing in from the North at 10-15 mph. On the days when the weather will cooperate though, the fishing has been great! Schools of redfish, tailing reds, tailing and schooling black drum can be found all throughout the Indian River, Mosquito Lagoon and New Smyrna Beach backcountry.
A nice Indian River Redfish
On my last couple of charters, the weather has pretty much dictated the bite. Tailing Redfish and Black Drum in the mornings when the wind is down, schooled up reds in sand holes in leeward areas in the mid-day sun. Poling into a bay and seeing large numbers of redfish milling about in a white sandy area is not that uncommon this time of year.
For those fishing plastics this week, be sure to slow down your presentations. Work a Riptide shrimp or Gulp slowly over sandy areas or on the edges of sloughs and creek mouths. When the water temperature is low, fish will be less aggressive, so a slower retrieve is key. I tend to use brighter colors for low light situations such as chartreuse flake w/red tail or golden glow with the fire tail.
The fly fishing has been relatively good this week. Throughout the winter, smaller flies and accurate presentations will still be the key. My most productive fly of the week by far was the Bruja Crab. Several fish were also caught on black crab flies with tan rubber legs tied with red or orange thread for a little bit of color.
Duane from Jackson Hole Wyoming joined my for two days and was able to finally land his first ever redfish! Dave also joined me from Melbourne and battled a difficult day of weather managing to score several tailing black drum and a few redfish on light tackle, as well as quite a few nice trout. All fish were released to hopefully fight again!
