Fishing action along the central east coast of Florida has exploded as the fall mullet run is underway. Each year millions and millions of mullet migrate south and invade our shorelines, rivers and lagoons. This triggers a massive feeding frenzy among our predatory species and produces the very best fishing of the year. Check out the following fishing reports from the beginning from this month-long phenomena.

Fishing this past weekend in the Hunt for Reds in October Tournament, Christa Deeks scored a phenomenal Banana River slam near Cocoa Beach. Guided by her brother, Capt Peter, and assisted by friend and neighbor Dante Bustamante, Christa caught numerous redfish, gator trout and tarpon. Check out the smiles on the faces of Christa and Peter with a tarpon and Christa and Dante with a gator trout.

Mike and Michael Rinkus, a father and son duo from Colorado, along with Uncle Dave from Minnesota, had a blast with Capt. Roland near the mouth of Sebastian Inlet. Fishing in the midst of the migrating mullet, the three visiting anglers caught double digit redfish, trout, jack, snook and bluefish. Check out the size of these trout in the following pictures:

Californian Shawn Rae and his two buddies Joe and Pete have been traveling to Sebastian Inlet every year since 1982 to take part in the phenomenal fishing associated with the fall mullet run. This year the action was so frenzied on their half-day charter with Capt. Roland that there was not time to snap pictures until they approached the cleaning table. By the way, near continuous action is typical of the ‘mullet run.’

As the mullet run progresses, large breeder fish will begin to ‘stack’ in the inlet. These huge redfish, snook, tarpon and sharks wait in the throat of the Inlet for the mullet to run. The best way to describe the ensuing action is a feeding binge. Brothers Walt and Joe Cobb, along with buddy Jay, got a foretaste of this big fish scene during their charter with Capt. Roland last week. Among the many redfish they battled was this ‘breeder’ being held by Joe. It was caught in the Inlet.

For more information on charters targeting Sebastian Inlet during the fall mullet run, check out the page of our website What’s New

Living along the seashore in Florida offers some interesting challenges in terms of hosting unexpected guests from time to time. For instance, Tropical Storm Faye dropped in for a visit to the Space Coast. Unfortunately for our community, she overstayed her welcome by refusing to leave for a whole week while dumping some 30 inches of rain in the process. And to make matters worse, she invited her friends Gustav, Hanna and Ike to pass through the area after she left. Needless to say, our rivers and lagoons are flooded to historic levels and our fish are currently foraging over formerly dry land – interesting challenges indeed. Nevertheless, we have a number of successful charters to report.

Our first report features James Phillip and his father-in-law Dexter Clyde. Fishing the high water and out-flowing creeks of the Indian River near Titusville, Capt. Rocky guided the pair from South Carolina to near non-stop action on their half-day charter. Included among the catch were eleven redfish anchored by the 20 pound monster held by James in the following picture:

Capt. Peter was the guide in our next report as he entertained Orlando residents Dip, Gewen, Sabita, Sias and Sewsankar with fantastic fishing action aboard his 22 foot Pathfinder. The Indian River in Titusville was the location for this half-day charter. Among the dozen redfish and trout were the following held by Dip and Sabita and Gewan:

The third report features our good friends Gary and Scott Martin from Satellite Beach. These two opted to use their own boat and were guided by both Peter and Rocky. Returning to Titusville again we caught several outstanding fish before an afternoon thundershower drove us out of the water early. Pictured below is Scott followed by his dad – both are holding redfish.

The fifth report stars Kelly Reed, Calvin Ripley and Mike Moody. These three Orlando residents chartered Capt. Roland for a half-day of fishing near Sebastian Inlet. Unfortunately the water was abnormally dirty from all the rain but the trio did manage to catch three reds, two ladyfish and a snook. (Pictured below are Calvin and Kelly, each holding a redfish.)

Our final report is an oddity as it features Capt. Peter in his other passionate pursuit – hunting. Early September is alligator hunting season in central Florida and there is not a better venue for hunting these oversized aquatic lizards than the St. Johns River, just east of Orlando. Pictured below is Peter with one of his four trophies from this year. By the way, all were taken with a bow.