Let’s Get Weird

Happy Monday Spacefish!

I hope everyone is well, and enjoying their summer! It’s been H-O-T out there, but along with the air temps, the bite has been red hot as well!

Launch Spot

For this trip report, I launched from the Eau Gallie Boat Ramp- once I launched, I went under the eastern causeway bridge (the short one), and then went north along the eastern shoreline until I got adjacent to Dragon Point, then I went over and fished around the point, then I went south again, and spent a few hours fishing the docks and shoreline, before calling it a day.

It’s Getting Weird Out There

Recently I have started using some of the products from Clarity Lures – which is based in Cocoa. They make a phenomenal product, and they donate 6% of their profits to non-profits such as Captains for Cleanwater, and various other groups that are working diligently to clean up Florida’s Water Ways! A cause we can all get behind! One of the hot colorways for me recently has been “Weird Water.” On this particular trip, this color was highly productive, I used the 3 inch chunk on a ⅛ oz jighead, and I used the Fluke on a 4/0 Owner Twistlock hook, with a ⅛ oz weight. If you’re interested in supporting a local bait company, that supports Florida’s waters, and catch a lot of fish in the process, then check out Clarity Lures!

The House of the Dragon

Speaking of Weird Water…. Imagine discovering a fallen river dragon while out on a misty morning fishing outing. I always wondered what happened to Annie the Dragon, when my kids ask me what happened to the Dragon, I always tell them “she belongs to the stars now.” In all actuality, she is laying facedown in the water right off Dragon Point, RIP Annie. We lost a lot of good men (female dragon statues) out there. If you want to learn more about one of Brevard County’s fallen landmarks, and become a little more knowledgeable about weird Florida history, check out this article from Space Coast Daily.

Snook Like Getting Weird

I able to catch two quality slot sized Hook, and 2 more smaller ones on the Weird Water colorway Fluke – I was finding productive areas and catching tons of schoolie Trout, but I was able to use the skipability of the Clarity fluke to skip into tight areas. When fishing areas with a lot of residential docks and man made structure, I have always had success with Snook in those areas where docks and mangroves meet, usually the bites are generated by skipping back into a shady spot and putting it back where the Snook hangs. Very rarely do I ever see any Snook hanging outside of structure and cover, and when I do, they usually have no interest in eating. When I say usually, I mean never lol, at least for me any way. Usually they just stare at me, and when I cast to them they either spook off, or they just continue to stare and laugh at the idiot in the kayak trying to target them.

Pictured above is one of the productive areas I mentioned. I would start on the outer edges targeting the Trout that are schooled up around the areas the depth changes, the Snook were in tighter tucked in around the bottom of the dock and the mangroves. When you have an area like this with depth change, and different forms of structure, it can be highly productive, especially when the winds is pushing water through the dock. The water was pushing in from the south, so I posted on the north side of this area. Pictured below are some Snook that were caught on the Fluke throughout the day.

Trout Bonanza

I caught a ton of small Trout on this trip, whenever I would catch one, I would stop and pick the area apart. The smaller ones like to school up on depth changes with moving water, it can be a lot of fun to sit in an areas and catch a good handful of Juvie Trout, these are one of the most reliable inshore species to target in the Banana River area because the little ones are aggressive and it can turn a slow day around to catch a good number of these schoolie’s. I tend to do better with Trout when I bounce a small soft plastic on a jighead in these areas. On this trip they tore up the Weird Water Chunk (3 inch paddletail) from Clarity Lures, and I also caught a few on the Clarity Ned Shrimp on a ⅛ oz Mission Fishin’ Chartreuse Jighead. The colorway I used for the Ned Shrimp was Pocket Penny, which is a great crustacean color!

Conclusion

When I saw the Weird Water color offered by Clarity Lures, I just had to give it a shot, one of my favorite and most oft said phrases as I navigate through a life of raising a family, coaching high school football, teaching high schoolers, and being a semi-professional fishing dude, and doing all of these in the state of Florida is… “it’s going to get weirder.”

I don’t care what it is, whatever it is, I promise before it will get weirder. Now you are probably asking yourself as you read this, “what does that even mean?” – to that I say, it means whatever you want it to mean. However, this color rocks, and it has been getting smoked by Snook, Trout, and Redfish as I have been out fishing with it.

The Eau Gallie Causeway is a convenient launch spot, that is in close proximity to some areas that hold fish, I don’t fish this areas as often as I should but everytime I have, I have caught some combination of Trout, Snook, and Redfish with our friend Jack Crevalle and his girlfriend the Ladyfish mixed in as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read this report, and thank you to Kayaks By Bo for being our Paddle Partner! It’s been blazing hot out there people, make sure you are taking a cooler full of cold waters, and Gatorade out there with you! But if you can stand the heat, the bite is hot too!

Tight lines everyone. Until next time!