08-05-2003, 10:44 PM
[#000080]7/16/2003 Flats fishing report for the Titusville & Cocoa Beach area. By Capt Doug Blanton[/#000080]
[#000080]Is it fall yet? Just wishful thinking. Well it has been hot on the water for the past few weeks and I'm not just talking about the fishing. Summer is in full swing. Every afternoon you can count on thunderstorms pushing in by 3 pm. The only problem is we still haven't had enough rain to bring the water level up. The good news is that even with the water so low there are still plenty of summertime fish willing to play.[/#000080]
[#000080]Redfish[/#000080]
[#000080]Redfishing continues to get better every day. There have been a few nice schools of reds willing to pull drag on most flats on both the Indian and Banana Rivers. The main thing to keep in mind when staking these fish is stealth. These fish are very leery of motors.[/#000080]
[#000080]The reds have been a little picky about what they will hit this week. One day all they would hit was a clear DOA shrimp. The next all they would take was a gold spoon. Yesterday the reds finally can back around to top water. What a great feeling that was. [/#000080]
[#000080]Most of the reds I have found over the past 2 weeks have been in 2 feet or less. There have been a few larger fish holding just on the outside edge of the flats in the 20+ lbs range but most have been unwilling to take a lure. All of our reds on the flats have been between 11 to 18 lbs and have been in schools between 20 to 60 fish.[/#000080]
[#000080]This past week we caught or reds on Near clear DOA shrimp. Gold Silver Minnow Spoon and 3 1/4 inch Florida Special Rip Roller rigged with a #4 Daiichi's 3x Bleeding treble hook.[/#000080]
[#000080]Trout[/#000080]
[#000080]Trout fishing has continued to get better over the past few weeks. The bad news is most are small and must be released unharmed. With that in mind, many of these schools have hundreds of fish in them so you may want to consider only using single hooks and crushing your barbs. We have had our best luck with a pink and white 3 inch Cotee shad rigged on a red jig head. This is a great time to get the little one out on the water. They can catch a lot of fish and go home feeling like a real fisherman. [/#000080]
[#000080]Now the good news, there are a few larger trout out there but you need to get out on the water as early as possible if you want to get that gator. Most of these larger fish have been holding in 2 feet or less near schools of bait. They have been willing to take top water too so throw something noisy. We have had our best luck with the 3 1/4 inch Florida Special Rip Roller or the 3.25 Pop Roller. Remember if you really want to find the big boys you need to be as quiet as you can and cast as far away from the boat as possible. These fish didn't get as big as they are without being weary of their environment. [/#000080]
[#000080]Everything else[/#000080]
[#000080]The tarpon are here and hard to catch. One day they are on the next you couldn't pay them to take a bait. We have had a few over the past few weeks bust a 3.25 Crank[/#000080][url "http://www.indianriveradventures.com/doug's/pic's/tarpon2.JPG"][#000080][img]http://www.indianriveradventures.com/doug's/pic's/tarpon2_small.JPG[/img][/#000080][/url][#000080] Roller but most just don't want to eat anything except flies that look like a glass minnow. The good news is as the summer starts to peek and the mullet run gets closer they will start feeding on larger baits including top water. Last year we put a few of these inshore fish in the boat up to 60 lbs. What a blast that was. 60 lbs tarpon on 8 lbs test on top water it doesn't get any better than that.[/#000080]
[#000080]The snook have been a little shyer these past few weeks. What we need is a few good days of 2 to 3 inches of rain. If I get my wish, keep your eyes open around those runoff areas near the residential cannels. There are few things that turn our snook on more than the fresh water after a good down pour. [/#000080]
[#000080]Large schools of ladyfish continue to feed around the outer edge of the flats all over the banana River. Just look for the birds. We have found a few schools over the past few weeks that hold ladies up to 5 lbs. [/#000080]
[#000080]Get out there and catch a memory. Capt. Doug[/#000080]
[#000080]For more information on Flats fishing with Capt. Doug [/#000080][#312c98][url "http://www.indianriver.cc/fishing_trips.htm"][#000080]click here[/#000080][/url][/#312c98][#000080].[/#000080]
[#000080]Here are a few pictures of our fish[/#000080]
[#000080] [/#000080][url "http://www.indianriveradventures.com/doug's/pic's/red8203.JPG"][#000080][img]http://www.indianriveradventures.com/doug's/pic's/red8203_small.JPG[/img][/#000080][/url][#000080] [/#000080][url "http://www.indianriveradventures.com/doug's/pic's/red72803.JPG"][#000080][img]http://www.indianriveradventures.com/doug's/pic's/red72803_small.JPG[/img][/#000080][/url][#000080] [/#000080][url "http://www.indianriveradventures.com/doug's/pic's/DSCF0019.JPG"][#000080][img]http://www.indianriveradventures.com/doug's/pic's/DSCF0019_small.JPG[/img][/#000080][/url][#000080] [/#000080][url "http://www.indianriveradventures.com/doug's/pic's/DSCF0017.JPG"][#000080][img]http://www.indianriveradventures.com/doug's/pic's/DSCF0017_small.JPG[/img][/#000080][/url][#000080] [/#000080][url "http://www.indianriveradventures.com/doug's/pic's/trout6103.JPG"][#000080][img]http://www.indianriveradventures.com/doug's/pic's/trout6103-small.JPG[/img][/#000080][/url]
[left][#000080][size 4]My Fishing Tips[/size][/#000080][/left] [left][font "Comic Sans MS"][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do%3Dpost_write%3Bforum%3D21=Post+New#Fishing edict Part one, how close is to close 8/5/2003"][#000080]Fishing edict Part one, how close is to close?[/#000080][/url][#000080] [/#000080][/font][/left] [left][font "Comic Sans MS"][url "http://www.sightfishing.com/fishingtips.htm#Choosing the right lures. 6/15/2003"][#000080]Choosing the right lures.[/#000080][/url][/font][/left] [left][font "Comic Sans MS"][url "http://www.sightfishing.com/fishingtips.htm#Sight fishing flat, clear, skinny water"][#000080]Sight fishing flat, clear, skinny water[/#000080][/url][/font][/left] [left][font "Comic Sans MS"][url "http://www.sightfishing.com/fishingtips.htm#Sight catching fish with Top Water!!! 3/27/2003"][#000080]Sight catching fish with Top Water[/#000080][/url][/font][/left]
[#000080]Here is a page I put up to try to help out with expectations when hiring a guide. Let me know what you think and if there is anything I need to add. [/#000080][#312c98][url "unsaved:///doug's/expect.htm"][#000080]Click here [/#000080][/url][/#312c98]
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