black drum

This past week brought me so much joy. The families that I’ve had out fishing on the lagoons and near-coastal waters have been a blast to be with. To be able to share in their memories is truly a blessing from God. The Space Coast continues to produce really good catches even though we only had a couple of nice days of weather.

Inshore- Black drum remains the star of the show. Fish from 1 to 15 pounds are readily available in almost every canal from Merritt Island southward to Melbourne. Live shrimp rigged on a light jig head or small hook with a split shot for weight are the best way to catch them. The fish that are about ten pounds or more are trying to spawn right now so you may see them “floating” in small groups of 10 to 20 fish near mangroves or docks in these areas. Larger fish in the 20 to 50 pound class are schooling in the deeper areas of the northern Indian River and southern Mosquito Lagoon. These schools often contain 200 to 300 fish each. Large shrimp or cut crab are the best way to get these fish to eat.

Along the near-coastal waters snook, redfish and tripletail are doing pretty good, but the run of giant bluefish at Port Canaveral has been incredible! These big fish do not show up here every year so to have four straight weeks of action on these fish has been such a great thing for my customers. We’ve put lots of big fillets on smokers in that time.

I’ll be back down in Islamorada for the entire month of May. I’ll have half day and full day trips for bonefish, tarpon, yellowtail snapper, permit and other species that we don’t catch up here on the Space Coast. If you’re interested in joining me down there please give me a call at 321-636-3728. If not, you can always book a fantastic day on the water up here with myself or captain Justin on our secure website. At Fineline Fishing Charters we want to get you out to catch your next memory!!