FINELINE FISHING CHARTERS—COCOA BEACH AND EAST ORLANDO FISHING REPORT
COCOA BEACH AND PORT CANAVERAL-Mangrove snapper are holding around the rocks and piers within the Ports’ basins. Live pilchards, shrimp, mud minnows or fingerling mullet rigged on a 1/8 to1/2 ounce (depending on water depth of the structure you’re fishing) HookUp style jig head or VMC 1/0 to 2/0 circle hook should get you into the game. Flounder, jack, snook, and an occasional redfish may also be possible for anglers using these types of baits. White bucktail jigs with Bang or Pro-Cure scent applied to them are another good lure option. Snook, bluefish, jack, and Spanish mackerel will strike these baits on almost every cast when a concentration is found. Along the beaches outside of the Port, anglers will still be catching tarpon, shark, and king mackerel. The various types of sharks and the kingfish will usually scale from about 10 to 35 pounds. The tarpon however will run from about 50 to 150-pounds on most days. Live menhaden (pogies) rigged on an 8/0 or 9/0 sized VMC 7385 circle hook are your top producer when it comes to the tarpon. The shark and kingfish will generally get caught on a wire stinger rig adorned with a lively menhaden or mullet. You can also cast large plugs around the bait pods found along the coast with good results on most days.
EAST ORLANDO- BANANA AND INDIAN RIVER AND MOSQUITO LAGOON-Speckled trout will be prowling the flats during the early morning periods. Anglers getting on the water at first light will have the best chance to get one of the larger “gator” trout on a topwater plug. Walk the dog style plugs like the Rapala Skitterwalk are very good choices on most mornings. Some of the new “wake” baits that have come out into the market over the past few years can also be very productive on slot-sized and over slot-sized trout. One of my new personal favorites is the Rapala waking minnow. This type of lure has a very pronounced wobble to it so less experienced anglers can work it very easily even if they’ve really never fished before. These wake baits are deadly on those bigger fish when worked near a mullet school that are milling around on the flats at daybreak or dusk. Saltwater Assassin 5-inch soft plastic jerk baits rigged on a weedless weighted worm hook are another great type of lure that can be used to excite big trout this month. The Gold pepper shiner and native shiner versions are two colors that every angler should have in their tackle box. Redfish, tarpon and even a shark or two can be found in the Lagoon this month. Live pinfish, pogies, and mullet rigged on a VMC circle hook similar to the ones mentioned in the paragraph above for tarpon are the best way to get hooked into one of these big fish. These live offerings should be “free-lined” or fished under a cork in the 4 to 8-foot depths where baitfish are present. Cut baits can also be effective at times on these three species, especially in the mid-day periods.
Until next time…..Catch a memory!!!!!
Captain Jim Ross
