WEEKLY FORECAST
12.10.2024 – 12.16.2024
CENTRAL FLORIDA’S BEST FISHING REPORT
A beauty of a red grouper caught out of Port Canaveral with Fired Up Charters!
This week, it’s last call for snook season (Dec 15). If you’re hoping to bring one home for supper this week, you should probably try to get out ahead of the expected cold front on Wednesday. Meanwhile, we’ve got a big giveaway WINNER to announce — find out if you’re the lucky owner of a brand new Fish-N-Mate Beach Cart below!
WEATHER & CONDITIONS
BITE OPPORTUNITY INDEX
OFFSHORE
INSHORE
SURF
FRESHWATER
Weather Overview
It looks like we have a windy week ahead. Tuesday afternoon we will start to see the winds increase and continue to get stronger over the next several days. Tuesday (SE) and Wednesday (SW) the winds will be predominantly out of the south. Wednesday late afternoon is when our next cold front pushes into the area. There is a 50% chance of rain Wednesday as it comes in as well. Thursday (N) is when the cold front is here with high temperatures in the mid 60’s. Friday (ENE), Saturday (ENE) and Sunday (ENE) the wind is projected to switch out of the ENE.
Resources
GIVEAWAYS
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Congrats to this Fish-N-Mate Cart winner, Stan Snajkowski, Palm Bay
Weekly Strike-Zone Giveaway
Each week, we’ll randomly draw a name from our email subscriber list to award a $20 Strike-Zone Fishing Gift Card. To enter, all you need to do is subscribe to our weekly forecast email (once subscribed, you’re eligible to win EVERY week).
Congrats to this week's winner, John Applegate, Melbourne
NOTICE: If you are announced as a winner, you must EMAIL US within 5 days to claim your prize (please include your phone number and mailing address), or your prize will be forfeited and added back into the giveaway pool for future winners.
LATEST Reports
Good Fishing Ahead Despite Cool Front
The fishing continues to be hot across the waters of New Smyrna Beach and Mosquito Lagoon. The weather has been cooperating for the most part this past week making for some great sight fishing in the shallows. We also continue to have a good bite further north into Daytona Beach area with a lot of fish holding in and around the structures of docks and bridges. Looking at the long forecast into next week it looks as though winter is not quite through with us here in Central FL, as a late season cool front will dip down for a couple of days. The temperatures should not affect the fish as the temps should only hang around a day or so.
The bait is starting to show back up around the backwaters of New Smyrna Beach and on the flats of Mosquito Lagoon. We have been boating a variety of species like redfish, trout, black drum and snook. They have been chewing well on shrimp and mullet but spoons and soft plastics can entice a bite as well.
This Week’s Fishing Report
Fishing has been absolutely phenomenal lately, with the only obstacle being the wind! When we’ve been able to get out, I’ve been targeting a variety of structures, including flats, mangrove shorelines, and docks.
Flats Fishing
The flats have been teeming with life, including schooled-up redfish in extremely shallow water. Snook, trout, bluefish, and jacks have also been plentiful on the flats. Keep an eye out for large schools of sheepshead cruising the shallows.
Mangrove Fishing
Mangrove shorelines have been highly productive, especially during the early morning and late afternoon hours. Look for fish to congregate under shady overhangs during the brighter parts of the day.
Dock Fishing
Docks have been yielding a mixed bag of species, including some impressive sheepshead. These fish are still exhibiting aggressive behavior, making them a thrill to target.
Overall, fishing conditions have been excellent, and I’m excited to see what the coming weeks bring!
Exploring Turkey Creek & The Sanctuary
Turkey Creek Sanctuary
Happy Monday Spacefish!
I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, and finds themself in good health and full of happiness. Today, I am going to write about a trip last weekend in which I fished, but put more of my focus in exploration. There are several reasons that I chose to spend a day doing more exploration. Honestly, it is something that I need to do more often. Number one, it is fun. I can’t speak for all kayak anglers when I say this, but personally, I actually got into kayaking first. I really enjoy the aspect of paddling to explore and see things. I enjoy nature, I enjoy the trees, the animals, the peace & quiet, the time to think. Especially the time to think. That is something I don’t get very often these days. At home I am a father/husband, at work I am a teacher/coach. As much as I love those roles, I don’t get much quiet reflection time. Most of the time I spend alone is fishing. But sometimes I fall into a trap of being so focused on the results of fishing I forget to slow down and enjoy the things that drew me to it in the first place. We are in the season of Lent as we approach Easter Sunday. Besides abstaining from meat on Fridays, and abstaining from tobacco, the other part of my Lenten reflection is to slow down and enjoy the scenery more. I think not dipping has also led me to crave more peace and quiet (lol).
When I was out on this trip, I encountered quite a few people on rented kayaks and paddle boards that rented these solely for the purpose of paddling the sanctuary. I think anytime you can combine kayak fishing with the sightseeing opportunities people pay for it truly is a win-win.
I also have two other reasons that are less holistic. Last year I made a goal to catch Tarpon from every major “creek” that empties into the Indian River Lagoon in Brevard County. I got close, but did not achieve my goal. Partly, I started it too late. So this year I vowed to start earlier, but I also made a goal of exploring more of these tributaries to find more “spots” so that when I am really getting after it, I have more bullets in the gun (metaphorically speaking – I promise I am not going to shoot a Tarpon).
The other reason is because I wanted to run the whole length of Turkey Creek. From Castaway Park all the way back to the spillway. I didn’t quite achieve this goal. I got off to a late start due to the chilly morning temps last Saturday, I also ended up stopping and talking with different people. I really slowed the pace down once I got into the sanctuary due to pulling my kick fins out of the water and going with a paddle over pedal approach. There are so many downed trees in the sanctuary, it’s easier to navigate by paddling than pedal drives and motors.
But I do plan on making trips to Turkey Creek here in the future that will be more focused on fishing, but I also want to do more exploring starting from the kayak launch in the sanctuary and I’ll go back to the spillway from there.
Launch Spot
So let me start by saying there are two boat ramps that are open to the public on Turkey Creek. But I have been avoiding boat ramps since I got the Hobie since I don’t want to get the bottom scratched up. I decided to hit up my favorite Turkey Creek launch area, which is Castaway Park. They renovated the park this past fall, and while it is aesthetically pleasing, and they did a good job, it now sucks as a place to launch kayaks. They put rocks up everywhere and it’s a total pain in the you-know-what to get a kayak down to the sand. On the next trips I will be using Paddling Paradise and the Kayak Launch in the sanctuary. I have never launched from either one, but I have parked and walked down to the sanctuary launch. It will be challenging logistically to get all my stuff down to the water, but the big perk there is starting way back.
Fishing Report/Tarpon Scouting
Turkey Creek Largemouth-Bass
I did not catch many fish on this trip. I spent large stretches of the day pedaling and paddling. But I would stop in areas where I saw Tarpon swimming by, or the occasional roll. They seemed to be pretty inactive on this trip, I reckon the day starting with upper 40’s probably had them sluggish. But I did see a pair cruising by and made a cast in front of them. This was about a mile east of the Port Malabar bridge. That was one of the first casts I had made for the day. I casted a few feet in front of them and as soon as the DOA Tiny Terror Eyez hit the water it was immediately eaten by a small Snook. I don’t think I have ever been disappointed to get a Snook eat, no matter how small the Snook is. I can’t say I was disappointed, but it scared those two Tarpon away.
I got a few “Tarpon taps” after making casts in the sanctuary. That was the closest I got to catching a Tarpon on this trip. I saw a bunch back in the sanctuary, and definitely saw Tarpon with nice size back there too. I ended up skip casting under lay downs and overhanging cover hoping to catch more Snook, I caught several Bass instead, but it was fun. When I go back I am going to bring a few more soft plastics in darker profiles since I know there a good number of Bass there. I am thinking Black/Gold, and Purplish colors since this is an area where you are likely to catch Snook, Bass, and Tarpon in tea colored, tannic water. I caught all 3 of my Bass on the Savage Gear Loose Body Pulse Tail Mullet on a 5/0 Owner Twistlock hook with a ⅛ oz weight.
Over the past few weeks, I have been trying to land my first Tarpon of the season. I have been throwing a variety of downsized baits, but the Gold DOA Tiny Terror Eyez has gotten the most taps/bites so far.
I can’t really say with any confidence at this time that there are specific spots to go to for Tarpon. I was pleased to see them pretty regularly once I got far back in there. Turkey Creek has a healthy population of Tarpon, they will be out towards the mouth in the summer, right now there seems to be a population in the back, which is why I want to go back and target them while they are in the backwater sections before summer.
Wildlife of Turkey Creek
Turkey Creek Osprey
So I know I touched on the fact that Turkey Creek is a top-tier sightseeing, nature observing paddle destination. I did want to touch on some of the wildlife that you are likely to see when paddling this beautiful creek.
Dolphins, Manatees, Osprey, Pelicans, Wading Birds, Alligators, Turtles, Snakes, Raccoons have all been animals I have seen at one point or another while kayaking and fishing on Turkey Creek. One of the cool things about taking the trip at the mouth around Castaway Point going all the way back through the sanctuary is that within a few miles you can see how the environment changes from the salty Indian River Lagoon through brackish water, until you are in a predominantly freshwater river/creek system.
If you have never spent the day kayaking or paddling down Turkey Creek, I highly recommend it!
Turkey Creek Alligator
Kayak Fishing Hack
Once you get beyond the Port Malabar Road bridge and enter the sanctuary you will start to get into areas that you really don’t want to have 7 foot rods sticking straight up in the air. On this trip, I already packed light since I was doing more scouting anyway. But only bringing two rods I was able to hold one and have the other secured using the retractable bungees that connect to gear tracks on the side of the Hobie Outback. I went back and forth between my rod with a DOA Tiny Terror Eyez for Tarpon, and the other rod which I had a Savage Gear Pulse Tail (Purple) Mullet on a 5/0, ⅛ oz hook.
Kayak Fishing Hack
If you have a Hobie, I am sure you have the built in capabilities to do this, but if you don’t have built in bungees like this, I have done something similar in the past using the gear tracks that almost all fishing kayaks come equipped with and macgyver it using small cheap bungees from wal-mart. I usually only have to worry about this when I am fishing in certain river/creek systems, but these are the places that can be really cool to fish, but my advice is to not overpack. Less is definitely more when going through these types of creeks.
Conclusion
I am really looking forward to fishing this area more and focusing on areas. I hope to start scratching Tarpon caught in different tributaries off my bucket list soon! The last couple of weeks I have been fishing way back into Crane Creek, Turkey Creek, and Horse Creek. I can’t say enough about how valuable it has been to have a do-it-all kayak like the Hobie Outback. The ability to cover miles of water with the pedals, but then become an easy to paddle kayak in tight areas is really nice, coupled with the storage features and all that it comes with, it makes for a very nice set up. If you are interested in the Hobie line up, go check them out, and test drive one for yourself at Kayaks By Bo!
I hope everyone has a fantastic week ahead! Stay safe, be happy, and go catch some fish!
Central Florida’s Biggest Gar
First, let’s clear up a common misconception. There are no alligator gar in central Florida. Biologists estimate there could be less than a thousand alligator gar in the entire state, and all those are found in a few rivers in the Panhandle. Alligator gar are so rare that fishing for them is illegal in Florida.
According to John Knight, biologists for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, there are two gar species in Central Florida, the Florida gar and longnose gar. Florida gar have a broader snout and stockier body looking much like a miniature alligator gar. Miniature is a key word as Florida gar don’t grow that big. A particularly large specimen may approach three feet long and the state record weighed 9.44 pounds.
As you would expect from their name, longnose gar have a long, slender snout and a body to match. They don’t approach the gargantuan dimensions of an alligator gar, but they still grow to impressive sizes. A trophy longnose can top five feet in length. The Florida record is 41 pounds caught in Lake Panasoffkee.
Longnose gar are ambush predators. They tend to lounge almost motionless just under the surface where they use their long jaws lined with needle teeth to quickly snap up any unfortunate baitfish that wanders too close. Longnose gar’s tendency to laze near the surface and roll like tarpon makes them prime targets for sight fishing. They readily strike lures, although they generally won’t chase down fast moving baits. Use baits that can be fished slowly at, or just below the surface. Work the lure past the eye of the gar and a subtle twitch or two is usually all that is needed to elicit a strike.
There is a unique, hookless lure that works well on gar that is made from about a four inch length of nylon rope. Melt or bind one end of the rope where you will tie your fishing line, and then use a comb or other tool to fray out the strands. The rope lure has a seductive wiggle in the water. When a gar strikes, don’t set the hook, just tighten up and the rope strands will tangle up in the teeth and ensnare the gar. Don’t use the rope lure on light line because if you break off a gar it can’t free itself from the rope and will likely die of starvation.
Longnose gar can certainly be caught on a live, dead or chunks of baitfish. It is usually best to suspend the bait below a bobber within couple feet of the surface. Terminal tackle doesn’t need to be complex. Wire leaders are not required. Gar’s teeth are like needles without cutting edges like a barracuda or mackerel. A couple feet of 30 or 40 pound test monofilament leader is sufficient or you can tie similar strength braids straight to the hooks. Speaking of hooks, small single hooks, like a 1/0 Daiichi D73Z are all you need, even for the biggest longnose gar.
Good Bite but Tough Conditions
Greg Barrow, owner of Snookside Charters shows offf a 29 or 30-inch slot snook caught on his boat using live threadfins for bait.
Good morning all you Sebastian Inlet fishing fans, I hope everyone had a great weekend, a bit windy, but was nice. This report is going to be another brief one due to the ocean conditions we had the last several days, gusty ESE winds, and big 5-6 ft seas, not making it good to fish, but there were some fish biting. And just another reminder when fishing the north side around the bridge, you ARE NOT permitted to fish anywhere on the rocks east of the fencing marked with the three “NO TRESPASSING” signs, and anywhere along the rocks all the way out to the jetty, and you ARE NOT permitted to climb under the jetty at the beach/jetty point either, it is also marked with signage, that entire area is designated a construction area, and if caught by FWC, you will be cited for trespassing. It is for your safety! Thank you.
Now, on to the fishing. It has been a little slow, but while I was down over the weekend, there was a pretty good snook bite for a change, most were small undersized, but plenty of them, and I did see several mid slots taken as well. So here is the scoop.
There was a pretty decent snook bite, but sides, both tides. A lot b of shorts, but I did see several slots kept, and some overs released. South jetty incoming, shrimp and threadfins, in the back, south side, majorras and thumper shrimp jigs, and threadfins, the majorra were plentiful. The hot spot in the back was by the t dock, and cleaning table, both tides. North side I saw several snook caught in the back by where the mangroves start, along the rocks, incoming tide. The boats were catching quite a few west of the bridge along the shoreline we can’t get to because of the construction and being OFF LIMITS. Was a pretty active day on Saturday. Best I have seen in a few weeks!
North side baits were live threadfins and majorra. That’s pretty much all there was going on, didn’t see much of anything else being caught except for a few kitty fish, jacks and a couple of small nurse sharks. Good thing about it all is the water is gradually warming up, 73 degrees as of this writing. With the easterly flow of winds, the water will continue to warm up some more. It just need to calm down in the wind department, and clean back up.
That’s all I have for now guys and gals. It’s supposed to be a great week all week, more springtime like it should be. 2-3 ft seas, and lighter winds, no more 15-25’s. Lol. So, grab your gear, water, sunscreen and go out and catch some fish!
Windy Spring Days Continue
We had a little bit of wind last week which has been the continuing story this spring. Wind and cold fronts that are making the fishing harder than it should be this time of year. The snook bite is starting to improve inshore as the waters warm and the trout bite stays pretty consistent but mostly smaller fish. There’s been some tripletail around but they won’t last long as everyone wants to eat them for the excellent table fare they are. We are starting to see more bait in the lagoon which will only help the bite.
Fishing the beach has been typical this time of year with plenty of jacks, bluefish, mackerel and sharks with a few pompano in the mix if you catch the tide right. Artificial baits have been most productive as you can cover more water and get that reaction bite. As the water warms, the snook bite will keep improving as the bait will become more abundant as well. Let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope these winds lay down and we can get back to normal fishing conditions.
Artificial Bite @ Headwaters
Finally, an artificial bite is happening on Headwaters this past week! I only fished this past Tuesday before the wind fans kicked in to Gail force stuff. We boated over 20 bass with the biggest 2 weighing around the 6 pound size. The best lures that worked for us was a 7” Gambler Fat Ace worm in watermelon with red flake and where the hydrilla was just under the surface I was throwing a Yo Zuri Surface Minnow AKA “Wake Bait. The spawn is pretty much over by now so dust off your topwater lures because the bass will be on the hunt from here on out.
Spring Time is Coming Quick!
Finally, one of my favorite times of the year! Spring is typically a few of the more windy months throughout the year, but thankfully our inshore fishing really starts heating up and the wind has little impact most days and can even help in some situations.
This time of the year and lately the snook fishing is really starting to get good. Anglers can find lots of good fish regardless of being stuck on land, wade fishing, or by boat. Most of the inlets from Ponce all the way to Fort Pierce can be really productive this time of year and are loaded with snook and even some redfish. Look for these fish around the mouth of the inlets along the rock jetties, or even sometimes pushed way up on the beach.
The “go to” baits are definitely gonna be big shrimp, live pig and pinfish, croakers, and you can even get a good bite using artificial lures such as the gulp shrimp, flair hawk jigs bounced slow along the bottom or with lipped plugs like the bomber windcheater and nlbn 5inch swimbaits.
Not only does the inlet bite pick up but the inshore fishing around docks, sea walls, deeper mangrove shorelines can be great places to find snook this time of year. Look for areas that have larger sandbars with small drop offs, docks that have been broken or run down, or mangrove lines that are starting to have larger mullet along the edges. Early morning topwater fishing can be incredible, and as the sun rises switching to sub surface lures such as the no live bait needed little mullet can be great choices! The live bait guys can find a good bite using the small silver mullet tail hooked fished along these Same areas, as well as your larger baitfish like pigs and pinfish.
The warmer it gets the more of an appetite these fish will start to have therefore the larger baits will start to draw more attention. The next few weeks are setup to be some phenomenal fishing!
Redfish & Trout in the Shallow Flats
The fishing has been good from Daytona Beach south to New Smyrna Beach and Mosquito Lagoon. The redfish and trout have been up on the shallow flats mixed in with the bait pods. We have also had some large pods of black drum scattered throughout Mosquito Lagoon as well. Lets not leave the snook out they have been in good numbers in and around structure throughout the waters of Daytona Beach and New Smyrna Beach. With the recent shrimp run it seems as all the species have been focused on the shrimp but artificial’s have been working well also. It looks as though we are going to have some possible showers first part of next week but after that the weather looks to be great.
Shark Trips Didn’t Disappoint
With the consistently strong winds last week it pretty much had us focusing on shark trips near shore and boy oh boy it didn’t disappoint. Capt. Joe put on a clinic putting our customers on some big old toothy critters. If you have never locked horns with a big shark, this is a great time to do it. They are here and willing to play!
Give us a call to book one of these awesome shark trips.
Great Fishing During the New Moon
We’ve had some great fishing with the new moon targeting schools of redfish and black drum. With the water warming up we’re starting to get some reports of tarpon showing up. The numbers should increase over the next couple of weeks. The spring mullet run is getting underway, which will turn the top water bite on, especially in the early mornings and on overcast days. We still have some rays with cobia along the beach, I’m expecting that to last for another week or two.
It’s a great time to get out and fish East Central Florida. I have dates available in April and May if you want to get on the tarpon. The first run in late April and May can be very rewarding! You can call me at 386-295-5991 or go right to my website.
Fear & Loathing on Crane Creek
Crane Creek
Happy Monday Spacefish!
I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! Friday was the first day of spring, but I wouldn’t have known it when I woke up to temps in the 40s. I mean, what the hell was that??? Anyway, fishing conditions can be challenging this time of year when the temps swing 25ish degrees from the morning to mid-afternoon. With the high winds, bluebird skies, and weird temperature fluctuations – my confidence has not been super high when gearing up to fish – so I decided to make a trip to Crane Creek, and explore some areas that I haven’t been to before and do my best to catch a Tarpon. And well, I made it back to Babcock Road for the first time, and enjoyed some breathtaking scenery. As for the Tarpon, there’s a reason I called this report “fear & loathing.” Sidenote, I also am a big fan of Hunter S. Thompson… IYKYK.
Going Down the Creek: Jack Crevalle
With morning temps really low, I got off to a later start and fished throughout the afternoon. I launched directly from the shoreline across Melbourne Ave from Riggs Outpost. I unloaded right there in front of Rigg’s and parked in the public parking back up Melbourne Ave close to the promenade.
I said I was going to run down until I got to Babcock, or had a chance to cast to rolling Tarpon. I ended up seeing bait being harassed close to the shoreline and cast an NLBN K-Tail in Kalutta into the fracas and immediately hooked up with a nice little Jack Crevalle. I ended up spending an hour or so between the railroad tracks and the water plant, just running and gunning chasing the Jacks that were feeding. I was able to catch quite a few on the day, none super big but knowing conditions may not suit me well for Tarpon, I wanted to make sure I got tight on something.
Local intel has been that Jacks are pretty heavy in Crane Creek right now, I don’t think it matters a ton what you throw if they’re feeding, topwater for sure, but I just threw the NLBN on a 2/0 BKK screw lock hook because that was the heavier of the two baits I had rigged at the time, and I could make the casts to where they were busting bait.
Crane Creek Jack Crevalle
Moving on Back: Largemouth Bass
So as I moved on back through Crane Creek I ended up getting to the part where it gets skinny and the trees are big. There were so many juicy-looking shady pockets, on the off chance some Snook were sitting in there, I was hoping I could catch one or two while I continued to make my way back and look for Tarpon. Anticipating the overhanging oak trees I decided to only bring two rods on this trip. One with a DOA Tiny Terror Eyez for Tarpon, and the other with the NLBN for Snook. I caught a small dink of a Snook, and a few casts later I made a nice skip cast under a log jutting out from the shore and got smacked while the bait was still skipping. I just knew it was a nice Snook from the explosion, but low and behold a Bass! I ended up catching two Largie’s way back in Crane Creek. I just knew after catching a Snook and Largemouth Bass, my Tarpon was somewhere and I’d be able to complete the “backwater slam.”
Crane Creek Largemouth Bass
Fear
As I rounded the corner from where I caught the Bass, I froze as a Gator, roughly 5-6 feet in length was spooked by my appearance coming around the corner and exploded out from the sandbar into the water. When this happens I usually just stop and let the metaphorical dust settle and let the spooked Gator find refuge in deeper water before I continue my rambling. Well as I sat there I happened to look up to the next point and say this large lizard lying on the bank.
I froze in fear for several moments, until I saw what I had been looking for all day. Rolling Tarpon. Right. Next. To. The. Gator.
Paddlers Beware
What would you do? I stood up in the kayak and started gently pushing forward, ready to back out if it entered the water. It wasn’t moving a lick. Also, he looks a little stony. Wait is that a statue? I got closer…it was a statue.
I ended up talking to the owners of the statue and they got it to keep the other (real, live) Gators in the area from laying on the bank. Apparently, it works. Also, I ended up seeing 4 total Gators in Crane Creek on this trip, 3 were small, and one was not. So if you decide to head on up the Creek, in a kayak or paddle board, just keep an eye out and be careful.
Loathing (Tarpon)
If there is one fish that can leave me stranded in the doldrums of self-loathing, it is the Megalops Atlanticus. I love the poon, but I also hate it. God I hope not, but God I hope so. I can’t live with it, and now that I have tasted the misunderstood glory of backwater Tarpon fishing, I can’t live without it.
My recent Tarpon trends have not been good. I haven’t caught one since December. Yes winter is a tough time, usually, I don’t try and target them till the summer. But still. I have been trying the past two weeks. I am 0/8. As in 8 Tarpon hooked, 0 landed. This report is about my fishing last weekend, this past weekend I was 0/5 in different areas. Now part of that is because finding them far back in these creeks presents quite a few challenges. They don’t have the room the run so they jump high, and they jump into things, and having a Tarpon jump under an oak tree with Spanish Moss is really fun and exhilarating until one jumps and your line gets tangled up. When that happens more than once per trip… “Serenity Now” (Any Seinfeld fans in the house?)
So since I don’t have any silver to show you, how about this nice picture I took of a Turtle? Serenity Now….
Crane Creek Turtle
So I went at the Tarpon in an area they were concentrated in not once, but twice. In between I made a run back to Babcock. There is a spot in the creek where a big sand bar rises up blocking the water from coming over. All I saw on the other side of that were Gar, and Gators. I’m sure once the water levels rise again with the rains, the creek will open back up, and when the summer rains come, there will be Tarpon everywhere.
Serenity Now, Insanity Later.
Heading Back: Snook
So after the Tarpon frustrations, my mood was improved partly from the Turtle, but partly because I was cruising along standing up paddling with my extra long Bending Branches paddle. Still looking for Tarpon, because like any sane person, I like getting my ass repeatedly kicked. I gave enough respect to the fallen timber in the water to have my rudder up, and my pedal drive up and out of the water. But not enough respect to look down and see if I was about to hit a piece of it. Eyes up, scanning for Tarpon, I hit a log and immediately lost my balance. I was able to pull off a miraculous recovery and keep myself out of the water. That put things into perspective. I may suck at catching Tarpon in Crane Creek, but at least I’m not soaking wet on top of it.
As my mood started to rebound, I decided to start skipping the NLBN again. In the last hour or so of daylight, I caught 7 more Snook and a Jack. None of the Snook were very big, but at least I left with a shred of dignity.
Also, the weather towards sun down started to get chilly and I had to put my sweatshirt back on. Where is the heat and humidity? I know we complain about it in August, but man, I want it back!
Crane Creek Snook
Conclusion
To summarize…Cold weather sucks, Crane Creek is a good place to catch Snook & Jack Crevalle. Tarpon suck, but I also love them. Serenity Now. Gators are present, statues aren’t scary, and turtles are dope. That’s all folks.
But seriously, Crane Creek is beautiful. It has that jungle river vibe once you get far enough back, and can make for some really fun fishing in tight quarters. I highly recommend to all kayak anglers of the Space Coast!
If you are looking for a vessel to pedal down to the backwater areas of places like Crane Creek, but also can go rudder up, and pedal drive up without being uncomfortable, I cannot say enough how well the Hobie Outback can fit those needs. It’s also really stable when standing, and is a good kayak to navigate with a paddle when necessary. If you are interested in one, go test drive and shop for one at Kayaks By Bo in Cocoa!
Thank you for taking the time to read this report. Stay safe, be happy, and catch lots of fish! Until next time!
CAUGHT ON CAMERA
CATCH A BIG SMILE WITH JASIN YOUMANS DMD!
LOCAL EVENTS
SEE YOU NEXT TUESDAY!
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