The full force of summer has hit the central east coast of Florida with warmer temperatures, higher humidity, frequent afternoon thunderstorms and sizzling fishing. Along with the changes in the seasons, we have experienced several significant changes in our charter activities as well – Capt. Rocky went on an extended, non-fishing related, mission trip to Mongolia – Capt. Roland exchanged his 2005 Pathfinder for a 2008 edition, complete with a bigger Yamaha engine and Power Pole – Capt. Peter finally received his long-awaited official notification from the US Coast Guard that his certification process is complete. These changes have been exciting to us personally but we are also excited to report on great fishing action as well. Read on!
Yesterday, Capt. Peter and I combined efforts in guiding Rob and Heather Ferrari of Seattle, Washington for a little redfish action on the Banana River in the Cocoa Beach area. We caught a number of redfish and trout during the full day charter including two reds in the 30 pound range. Rob caught the first big fish after a 30 minute, reel screaming, rod arching and back aching fight in shallow water. What a memory for Rob, however, it may be Heather’s epic 45 minute struggle with her nearly 40 pound fish that becomes part of our local angling lore. The battle included an attempted assault by a demented dolphin thwarted by Peter some 75 feet from the boat, an aborted landing attempt 15 feet behind the boat during which the landing net broke into pieces and a subsequent, incredibly acrobatic, somersault over line and fish by the new captain. Pictured below are the Ferraris with their monster redfish and a triumphant Capt. Peter soaked but smiling.
epic redfish battle)
On Thursday, it was the same comical duo of captains, Peter and Rocky, guiding the father and son team of Dexter and Greg Simms. These North Carolinians, vacationing in Orlando, also fished on the Banana River. The trip started out as frustrating as any in recent memory as a tropical low pressure system accompanied by a rare north wind pushed across the region. The fish that had been so plentiful along the western side of the river simply disappeared. However, a change in tactics toward the end of the trip proved golden as both Greg and Dexter hooked and landed big, memory-making redfish just before the thunderstorms hit the area. Pictured below are the 30 pound red caught by Greg and 12 pounder caught by Dexter.
