It has been far too long since we have posted a fishing report and my notebook is overflowing with tall tales of epic angling feats. Therefore, in order to conserve space, we’ll dispense with the usual explanatory introduction and dive right in.

In the winter-time, when the fishing is on, it can be very special. Such was the day Burt Lauderbaugh had on the Indian River near Titusville with Capt. Rocky. Fishing glass calm, crystal clear waters, Burt started his day by plucking a fifty pound black drum from a tightly packed school of a hundred fish. He then nailed a thirty pound redfish followed by a forty, 50 inch redfish. Now imagine starting a day of fishing with fighting and subduing120 pounds of brute power before the sun clears the tree-line. There were other redfish and a number of fine trout also caught on this special day, this very special winter day.

Long-time friends and fishing buddies, Rick Johnston of Cocoa Beach and Bruce Cotton of Jacksonville, recently joined Capt. Rocky for a day of fishing on the Indian River lagoon near Titusville. It was another outstanding winter day with calm, gin clear waters, blue skies and unseasonably balmy temperatures. The fishing duo began their charter by chasing several tightly packed schools of breeder black drum in the shallows, Pitching large, hand-picked shrimp in front of the schools quickly brought success to both anglers. Bruce’s drum weighed an estimated forty pounds while we estimated Rick’s runt weighed thirty pounds. After the drums finally marched off the flats it was redfish time. The first redfish, caught by Rick, was a 45 inch beauty weighing an estimated 30 pounds. A number of other reds followed before the duo decided to target some of the large breeder trout currently lurking on the flats. And both fishermen caught gator trout completing outstanding inshore slams for both of them – congratulations Rick and Bruce. What a great day of fishing!  

Wintertime fishing along the central east coast of Florida is all about the cold fronts. We can have the fabulous blue skies, bright sun, and mild temperature, windless days that are featured on Florida postcards or downright blustery, cloud-covered, front arrival days like the one experienced by Rob Zetterberg of Satellite Beach, Florida and his son-in-law Steve from Savanna, Georgia. The fishing action does not change that much from front to front but the access to and from the fish does. Unable to access the huge black drum and giant breeder reds caught the past several days, Rob and Steve had a blast none-the-less tangling with the gator trout during their winter spawn and mid-sized and upper slot reds lining the sandy shallows. We are not sure of the total number of fish caught but believe it to be in the fifteen monster trout, like the one being held by Steve in the photo below, and four reds range. However, we are sure of the two gallon-sized zip-locked bags packed full of delicious fresh fish fillets and the great time had by all.

Barry Humbert and his wife fled the frigid temperatures of the Quaker State in order to soak up the sun and warmth of our unseasonably warm winter in central Florida. While in Cocoa Beach, Barry spent a day with Capt. Rocky on the Banana River enjoying one of his two great passions – fishing. The day could not have been more perfect weather-wise with temperatures in the upper 70s, blue cloudless skies, and near windless conditions. This allowed the avid angler to devote a significant portion of his charter to sight-fishing in the calm, crystal-clear water. Barry caught a number of solid reds along with a large gator trout on the day and enjoyed a great fresh fish dinner with his wife at Grills Seafood later that night. Pictured below is Barry holding one of redfish.

 Good friends Paul Tully of Cocoa Beach and Joe Schneider of Merritt Island joined Capt. Rocky on the Banana River for some awesome fishing on a spectacular Florida winter day. Downright balmy temperatures triggered an aggressive redfish feed as the local duo landed an impressive number of redfish including two double hook-ups. Pictured below are Paul and Joe holding their doubles.

Rusty from Orlando and Natalie from Indiana could not have had a more perfect half day of fishing than what they experienced over the recent holidays. The weather was gorgeous with balmy temperatures, blue bird skies and light westerly winds. The water was clear and calm. And the fishing was simply spectacular. The duo laughed and worked their way through five dozen live finger mullet, used as bait, while landing 16 big redfish and 15 monstrous gator trout. 

Fishing with Capt. Rocky on an absolutely gorgeous winter day was Jamie Bragg of Cocoa Beach. Jamie, who often fishes in the surf along beach, had never experienced the sheer joy of battling redfish and trout in the lush grass flats of the Indian River lagoon. His introduction to river fishing could not have been more memorable as he caught fish after fish along a stretch of the lagoon between Titusville and Port St. John.

Fishing with our children can be such a rich and rewarding experience. Recently, three generations of the Hughes of Merritt Island (Charley age 77, Bob and Shawn age7) had such a memory-making day on the Banana River with Captain Rocky. Despite a stiff wind from a rapidly approaching cold-front, the Hughes boys had a blast catching and releasing a mess of trophy trout, eating fresh cut pineapple, and enjoying the blue skies and unseasonably balmy temperatures. Shawn also had a blast auditing and managing the finger mullet. Picture below are Charley, Bob and Shawn holding a double catch of gator trout.

The weather conditions could not have been much harsher for Bob and Jeff Herris on their second charter with stiff north winds exceeding 30 mph and cold temperatures. After weathering a slow morning of fishing on the Banana River, the action heated up in the afternoon when the sun cut through the cloud coverage and the temperatures finally rose. ‘Big Fish’ Bob, 85 years young, scored the first large red during a battle that left him bleeding and sore (Check the bandage on Bob’s finger and the waves in the river in the first picture.) while Jeff finished strong nailing the heaviest redfish at the end of the day. And if there were an award for the toughest and grittiest fishermen, Bob and Jeff would be serious contenders for it.

This beautiful fall weather and great fishing is making for some fantastic days on the water!  Schools of redfish and seatrout are schooling up on the flats throughout the area.   Our clients have been catching some of the biggest trout that we have seen in a while, as well as steady action from redfish.  Sightfishing and live-baiting with mullet has been a lot of fun as the waters are starting to clear up and the fish are actively feeding throughout the day.  The following are a few highlighted reports of the past couple weeks.

During the last two months Capt. Rocky has been limited in his guiding by his devious dermatologist while undergoing some long-needed skin treatments.  However the lure of the water proved to be too much at times and he would slip out to keep tabs on the fish. During one such trip, Rocky took Richard Leong and his friend Wilson to the Banana River near Cocoa Beach where they redfish and trout before the glare of the sun drove them from the water. Pictured below is Wilson holding his very first redfish. By the way, the forced sabbatical has ended and the crusty-skinned captain is cruising the waterways on a regular basis once again.

Mike and Mike from Milwaukee, Wisconsin flew down for some great warm weather fishing.  The duo chartered Peter for two days of fishing in hopes of experiencing some of the different types of fishing Central Florida has to offer.  One day was spent on the open water grass flats and the other day was spent both back in back mangrove creeks and islands and inside Sebastian Inlet.  The first day, the anglers caught redfish and trout on the flats until their arms were sore.  The Mikes boated 14 redfish up to 40 inches and 10 trout up to 24 inches on light spinning tackle. 

On the second day Capt. Peter took the anglers to Sebastian where they fished different environments.  The day was split with the first part of the trip back inside mangrove lined creeks pitching live shrimp under overhanging mangrove trees.  The second part of the day was spent casting live mullet at feeding redfish and trout along the edges of sandbars and mangrove shorelines.  The final tally of the second day was 10 nice trout (four over 24inches), two black drum, four redfish, and a bluefish.

Local legend, Mike Ramsey, retired FWC officer and fishermanextraordinaire, teamed up with Capt. Rocky for a fishing fest recently in thenorthern stretches of the Indian River Lagoon system. Both Mike and Rocky had agrand day chasing tailing reds and trading tall tails of past fishing exploits.Pictured with Mike below is one of the many redfish hooked and landed duringthe outing.

Dr. Ralph spent an afternoon flyfishing with Capt. Peter on the crystal clear grassflats near Sebastian Inlet.  It was a lot of fun sightfishing trout, redfish, jack crevalle, bluefish, and ladyfish.  Starting the trip off with spinning gear, Dr. Ralph quickly landed some trout (two of which were between 28 and 30 inches), and redfish.  After switching over to the fly rod, Ralph got one of the 30 inch trout to take a shrimp imitation, as well as smaller trout, jack crevalles, and bluefish.  They finished the day by staking off on the edge of a flat and sightfishing jack crevalles as school after school passed right under the front of the boat – its an awesome sight to see 10 big jacks fight over your fly five fee from the boat over and over again.  The final tally were numerous trout (three over 28 inches and one 30 incher), two redfish, and assorted jack crevalle and bluefish.

Dave Reinbold, recently driven south by the first big snows in Pennsylvania, found a gorgeous day last week and fished the Indian River near Titusville with Capt. Rocky. During his half day charter he landed a dozen dandy reds and five fine trout while enjoying some of the best fall weather under blue skies and calm winds. Pictured below is Dave holding one from his dandy dozen.

While in town for an alligator hunt with Capt. Peter, the Kerrie and Jim decided to do a little fishing during one of the afternoons.  Due to the weather, they were only able to fish a couple of hours in between rainstorms and that afternoons gator hunt.  Fishing the edges of sandbars and mangrove islands in the Banana River produced half a dozen trout up to 24 inches, and two redfish up to 32 inches. 

Fishing along the central east coast of Florida could not be any better than it has been over the past several weeks. Capt. Rocky, fishing the Indian River near Titusville and the Banana River near Cocoa Beach, has been guiding clients to huge numbers of huge redfish, including a three day charter sequence last week that tallied 44 redfish, averaging better than 20 pounds, 12 gator trout, and numerous black drum. Meanwhile, Capt. Peter has been concentrating on the Banana River near Merritt Island and the Indian River between Vero Beach and Ft. Pierce with great success. Indeed, let’s start our individual reports with Peter in Ft. Pierce.

 The snook and trout fishing in Ft. Pierce is on fire right now.  Capt. Peter has split his time over the last two weeks between the Banana River near Cocoa Beach and the Indian River in Ft. Pierce.  The water in Vero Beach and Ft. Pierce is very clear and is providing great sightfishing.  The early mornings are spent casting to tailing trout in redfish along the shallows or rolling tarpon in along the channel.  Once it’s bright enough to see through the water its game on for sightfishing snook and trout!  The big snook and trout are holding along sandbars and grassflats, and are eating baits well.   Ten trout over 20 inches were caught in one morning in less than two hours with four of them going 27’’, 28’’, 29’’, and 30’’.   Some of the snook caught have even gone over the 40’’ mark.  There has also been good numbers of mangrove snapper and flounder near the Ft. Pierce Inlet.  These fish have been providing quick action and good dinners. 

Recently married, Chad and Janel Smith of Redding, Pennsylvania were spending their honeymoon week in Orlando which included a custom fishing charter on the Indian River Lagoon with Capt. Rocky. Now Chad was the experienced angler of the pair as he had fished many times with his father and his skill was obvious over the course of the outing. However, Janel was the lucky one on this particular day as she landed the first redfish and the biggest redfish (weighed 23 pounds). And she may well have landed the most reds too if she hadn’t decided to give fishing a rest in order to catch a few sunrays and read a book. This allowed Chad to pull ahead and finish ahead in the fish count. The pair caught 12 reds, all fish well over slot-size, and two fine trout. It was a great day of fishing as well as a great way to start a marriage. Congratulations and best wishes to Chad and Janel.

  

Big redfish and a front row seat to the last shuttle launch made for a great day.  Michael Kirkpatrick and Diane were guided by Capt. Peter to a unique day in the Banana River.  Starting the morning off fishing a group of large redfish holding on a sandbar produced six large reds with most of them close to or over 40 inches.  To get to the best location to view the shuttle launch, the anglers left the redfish biting and made a run north the southern border of NASA security zone.  Being closer than everyone but the VIP’s, Michael and Diane had a spectacular view of the Atlantis.  The rest of the afternoon was spent fishing spoil islands and grassflats for more hard fighting redfish. Michael and Diane were able to boat another five big redfish before the storms rolled in.  It was definitely a day to remember for all!

Charles Coleman from Isle of Man, Great Britain was in town to visit his mom and chartered Capt. Rocky to chase some reds and enjoy some rays. Charles brought along his good friend James who had only been fishing once before. The two fished the stretch of the Indian River Lagoon near Titusville on a beautiful summer day with blue skies and calm winds. They caught 12 reds, all over ten pounds, and one trout. James had the hot rod for the day catching 9 of the reds while Charles got the trophy red measuring 39 inches and weighing 18 to 22 pounds. Needless to say, James is now thoroughly hooked on fishing.

  

Dr. Z treated his son, Bryce, and son’s friend, Dre, to a fun time tugging on fish before moving out of the area.  It was a beautiful day on the river with clear skies and a light breeze.  Capt. Peter poled the boat up on the flats where the anglers could cast to groups of redfish sitting in potholes and sandbars.  Accurate casts awarded the anglers with hard fighting redfish and beautiful gator sized trout.  These guys were great anglers and a ton of fun to fish with!  The final tally for the day was 11 redfish and a handful of gator trout. 

Edgar Luna and his two sons Andre and Tony, Chicagoans now living in Austin, Texas, chartered Capt. Rocky recently for a day of redfishing on the Indian River Lagoon. It was one of those magical days on the river where the redfish flooded the flats in search of food, fame and fortune … and they found gold in the abundance of bait served by the Lunas. But when the day was done, the fame belonged to Andre, Tony and their dad because they caught 20 redfish along with a confused gator trout. One redfish measured in the slot and every other fished went at least 36 inches and weighed a minimum of 20 pounds. The two biggest reds were 30 pound monsters. What a glorious day on the river! 

 

A family fun day quickly turned into a big fish day for the Deeks family.  After fishing all morning, Capt. Peter invited his family out on the boat to spend a couple of hours playing on the sandbars in the Banana River.  But before they made it to the islands, Peter poled up to a nearby flat that had produced 10 or so big reds and some trout for him earlier that day.  In an hour and a half, Pete, Marilyn, and Christa brought in red after red.  The two schools of redfish were heavily feeding all day and were busting mullet into the air and taking the bait as soon as you could get one near them.  Most of the fish were in the 32-35 inch range with the exception of one slot fish and one massive red that Pete brought in for a quick photo and release. 

 

Dave Reinbold splits his time between his residence in the Pennsylvania and West Melbourne. He is an active, accomplished angler who loves to pursue big fish in the shallow waters on the Indian River Lagoon. The last time he chartered Capt. Rocky, Dave and his wife fished the Sebastian Inlet area and caught snook, redfish, trout and giant Jack Carville. This past week he was guided to the grass flats of the Banana River is search of big redfish. Over the course of his half day charter he caught eight big reds (most were in the 15 to 20 pound range) and eight gator trout (the largest measuring 31 inches and weighing close to 10 pounds). He also had the strange experiences of lassoing a ladyfish and landing a sheephead which tried to eat a mullet. Indeed it turned out to be both a wonderful and weird day for Dave. Pictured below is Dave holding one of his better reds, his monster trout and his tiny sheephead with a giant appetite.

“Gator” was given an early Father’s Day present, a half day of red-fishing with Capt. Peter, by his loving wife, Tianne, and son, Boog.  It was a half day trip in the afternoon in the Banana River.  Most of the time was spent casting to groups of redfish holding in “holes” along the flats.  Gator got most of the attention - due to the nature of the trip… but Tianne’s luck and Boog’s skill kept showing up dad on his very special day…HaHa.  They were a great family and their positive sense of humor is always welcomed on the boat.  The trio caught 10 redfish, and a nice trout.  The biggest fish award goes to Tianne for her 42’’ bull redfish – It was all she could do to refuse Boog’s money offers’ to hand the rod off during the fight. 

Tony and Maria were invited on a fishing trip by CR Hall while visiting beautiful Florida.  Little did they know it would be a trip that will be talked about for a lifetime!  The morning started off fishing for the big “over-slot” bull redfish.  Capt. Peter positioned the boat up on the grassflats where schools of redfish were feeding on the edge of sandbars.  Casting big baits to big fish in shallow water never gets old – especially when they are as aggressive as they were on this trip.  Sore muscles, full cameras, and CR’s passion for grilled redfish helped make the decision the finish off the day targeting keeper sized redfish and trout.  After boating 14 redfish, some gator trout, and a nice mess of fish in the cooler they called it a day – and this is where the trip went from fun to memorable. . .

About two miles from Kiwanis Island Park, driving back to the boat ramp, everyone was watching as a seaplane took off across the rough water and eventually headed into the sky.  As soon as it became airborne, all eyes came off the place except for CR – who gave a quick elbow to Peter after about 20 seconds after liftoff.  Just then Peter looked to see the plane falling nose-first into the water which became a massive explosion of water and plane parts.  Everyone emptied their pockets of cell phones and belongings as the boat raced to the crash site, visualizing a very bad scene and hoping for the best.  Arriving on the scene, there were pieces of the plane floating about and a wrecked plane slowly sinking…just then a person popped up out of the water (the pilot – no passengers) and asked for a ride!   With only a banged up knee, and some bruises he was plucked from the water and carried to shore where paramedics, firemen, and police officers were already there waiting.  It was an amazing relief that the pilot was in such good shape!

Inshore fishing remains red hot along the central east coast of Florida as charter after charter are catching memory-making hauls. Capt. Rocky has been unable to branch out of the stretch of the Indian River near Titusville because of the giant reds while Capt. Peter is smoking the reds, snook, tarpon and trout in the Banana River near Cocoa Beach and the Indian River near Melbourne Beach. We have numerous individual feats to report this month so sit back, read on and be prepared to be amazed.

Scott, the 13 year son of Gary Martin, had been dreaming of this day for many weeks, a day chasing big redfish on the shallow grassflats of the Indian River.  He had been following the recent reports of monster reds through our website and through a stream of emails exchanges with Capt. Rocky. His ‘day’ finally arrived last Thursday. Scott did not have to wait long once the boat was stealthily poled into position and staked down. On the first cast, with the first bait, the slick, calm water erupted with the unmistakable explosion from a big red and barely fifteen minutes into the day, Scott landed a 34 inch, 17 lb redfish. It was just the beginning of an amazing day. Thirty minutes later both Scoot and Gary were posing with similar sized fish from a double hook-up, the first of two doubles on the day. By noon the count was approaching double figures with the bigger fish measuring 32, 33, 34, 36, 40 and 42 inches (Scott had caught the two biggest). Action slowed down and a change of position and strategy followed. Good move, real good move because the next redfish will never be forgotten. Pictured below is Scott holding a 48 inch, estimated 40 lb. monster red which, we suspect, will revisit him in his dreams about for a long, long time.

John and Joe Jachino recently had a stellar day out on the water with Capt. Peter.  The trip started out early in the morning inside of mangrove lined creeks along the Indian River sight-fishing tarpon and snook.  The anglers landed multiple tarpon and snook while jumping off many others.  They also had shots at many snook over 20 pounds that seemed to have “lock-jaw” that morning.

After fishing the creeks and canals, it was decided to make a long run to fish the schools of redfish and trout in the Banana River.  Casting into groups of feeding redfish provided fun for the rest of the day.  John and Joe landed around 12 redfish from 25 to 35 inches as well as some solid trout.    Congratulations John and Joe on your Grand Slam!

 

After spending the last eight months in grad school in West Lafayette Indiana, Natalie van Hoose, a native of Cocoa Beach, was anxious to return to home for some restful days of relaxation which would include a fishing trip with her dad. She picked a rare day fishing in early June when the afternoon thundershowers arrived in the morning forcing the fishing to be postponed until the afternoon. It turned out to be a great thing for Nat, aka ‘the Champ’, because the redfish held off feeding until the clouds cleared and the waters calmed. Pictured below is Natalie holding one of the several big reds caught on the day. This fish measure 45 inches and weighed an estimated 30 pounds.

 

Allan and Anna spend two half on the water with Capt. Peter on their annual vacation to Florida.  The first day was spent fishing for redfish and trout in the Banana River Lagoon.  Fishing the grass flats near Cocoa Beach, the duo caught a bunch of redfish up to 33 inches and some nice trout for dinner.

On the second morning, the goal was to change things up by fishing deep into mangrove creeks and islands in search of snook and tarpon.  Sight-fishing the many schools of snook and laid up tarpon was a ton of fun for everyone – the fish were very cooperative and gave some incredible acrobatic fights.  Along with the snook and tarpon, the anglers caught some giant gar and redfish.  Once Allan and Anna had their fun with the tarpon and snook it was time to fish for some food.  Capt. Peter anchored over a pile of submerged rocks and the anglers caught close to a limit of 12 – 15 inch mangrove snapper for the grill.

 

Richard Fuller of Merritt Island and his good friend from Nashville, TN, Allan, along with Allan’s oldest daughter Kassandra, chartered Capt. Rocky last Saturday on the Indian River near Titusville. There were several wishes they had on this typical sunny Florida summer day including having Kassandra catch a redfish, having Allan catch a big, big redfish and being able to take home a bag of fresh trout fillets for an evening fish fry. The trio accomplished all three and had a great time doing so. Pictured below are Kassy and Allan with Kassy’s redfish 15 pound red, followed by all three anglers grouped around Allan’s 30 pounder.

 

The fishing near Cocoa Beach has been very good recently.  CR, Melvin, Dean, and Scott would agree with this after an afternoon of redfishing with Capt. Peter.  Many schools of redfish, varying in size, are up on the flats right now and actively feeding.  Only having a couple of hours to fish in between a work related convention in Orlando and some afternoon thunderstorms, these guys made the best of it and caught over 14 redfish up to 35 inches, a couple of nice trout, and a 40 pound stingray. 

Just about the time one thinks he has figured out the ways of a fish, it’ll change behavior patterns in order to confound the once over-confident angler. Such was the case on Thursday with Capt. Rocky as he guided the Mahaffeys of Atlanta (Todd, Todd, Jr. and friend Ford) on the Indian River near Titusville. Where there had been an abundance of super-aggressive redfish, big redfish, those turkeys suddenly went on a hunger strike and refused all offerings. The day started with great promise, two reds in the first thirty minutes and then went downhill. For hours, with tailing fish everywhere, the lock-jawed giants taunted the crew.  After frustration built to a high pitch, a careful search of cargo revealed source of our curse- a banana had been brought aboard. Okay, actually it was only Banana Boat Sunscreen but as soon as the bottle had been discarded the fishing turned red-hot. Over the final hour, the Mahaffey clan caught fish after fish including those pictured below. Warning to all would be wise anglers, do not tempt fishing fate by smuggling any kind of banana aboard your vessel!

 

 Matt Colello from Rockledge, recently relocated here from the northeast, wanted to learn to catch oversized redfish. Capt. Rocky guided Matt into the beautiful grassflats of the north Indian River lagoon in search of the bronzed giants last week and the big reds were more than willing take Matt to task. Pictured below is Matt holding several of his numerous teachers from the ‘charter school.’

Cocoa Beach businessmen Steve and Duane finally took a day off of work to do some fishing and relax on the water. However there would not be much relaxing on this day as Capt. Rocky guided the pair on the Banana River after redfish and trout. Finding slick calm conditions early, breeding trout went on a feeding frenzy and Steve and Duane boated over 25 gators before the winds began blow. This finally fired up the redfish and 6 of them found their way to the boat before the bait was exhausted. Pictured below is Duane with a monster trout and Steve holding a big redfish.

 Fishing action has continued red hot this May as large redfish and tasty trout have been aggressively assaulting the shallows grassflats of the Indian River Lagoon system. Tarpon, snook and bull sharks have also begun to appear in recent weeks in our creeks and tributaries. Thus we’ve had a number of great charters over the past few weeks as the following summaries and photo bear witness.

 Doug and Ginna Edwards from Raleigh, North Carolina came to Orlando for a business conference and decided to do some fishing while in the area. We are not sure if anything memorial happened at the conference but it sure did on the Indian River near Titusville as Capt. Rocky guided them to a school of huge redfish that had taken up temporary residence in the shallows. Pictured below is Ginna with a monstrous red measuring 48 inches and weighing an estimated 40 lbs.

The tarpon and snook fishing has really started to heat up!  Schools of 15 – 40 pound tarpon and big snook hanging around mangroves and are readily taking baits.  Capt. Peter spent a day fishing for these guys with Jason Stumphauser.  Jason sightfished snook, tarpon, and a bunch of bullsharks.  Sightfishing the schools of very aggressive bullsharks was the highlight of the day, as they were very aggressive and some were pretty large and in charge.

 

Todd from Nebraska and Chris, his brother-in-law from north Georgia, braved the strong southern winds rushing to greet an oncoming cold front on Wednesday. Guided by Capt. Rocky, these hardy anglers had a fishing trip of a lifetime battling redfish after redfish intent on packing away enough protein to survive several days of gale force winds. At the end of the day Todd and Chris had boated over 15 reds and 8 gator trout. All but one of the reds weighed 10 pounds or better with the largest one weighing between 25 and 30 pounds.

 

Matt and Jason, the boys of Capt. Mullet’s Bait and Tackle, fished with Peter recently. They fished a half day in the Banana River near Cocoa Beach under blue skies and calm winds.  Schools of redfish were actively feeding up on the grassflats throughout the afternoon, which provided great opportunities throughout the entire trip.  Matt and Jason landed over 15 redfish up to 18 pounds, and three trout up to 24 inches.

 

Fishing the day following the arrival of a cold front can present some special challenges. With much lower air and water temperatures, a strong north wind, and a thoroughly churned river, most fish will opt to wait for a warmer, calmer time to feed. Last Saturday was such a day. Mike from Orlando, Nate from Daytona Beach and Dick from North Carolina were up to the challenge as they joined Capt. Rocky on the Banana River for a cool, blustery day of fishing. The trio were able to boat seven reluctant reds, the largest caught by Mike which weighed about 25 pounds. They also added six trout, the largest caught by Nate, and sting ray.

Capt. Peter spent a day chasing giant redfish with his good buddy, Anthony Vargas.  Fishing a schools of bull reds in the Banana River provided a super fun morning.  Around ten redfish were caught, with most of them between 20 and 30 pounds.  Pictured is Anthony with a beautiful specimen.

 

Fish can be like small children at times in that they occasionally will refuse to eat. These times can be frustrating for seasoned anglers but, fortunately, these times typically do not last long. Rick Johnston of Cocoa Beach and Bruce Roberts of Jacksonville weathered such a time this past Monday with Capt. Rocky Van Hoose. Fishing the Banana River where the action had been red-hot in recent weeks, the fish simply refused our best offerings all morning. The afternoon portion of the charter was a better for the long-time friends as they landed three reds and four big, gator trout. All in all, despite the slow morning, a great time was had by all.

The tarpon have just shown up inside the Indian River Lagoon.  Capt. Peter and Justin Stumpfhauser spent an afternoon sightfishing schools of them this past week.  They were able to get five to eat, with Justin landing his first – Congrats Justin!  The fish were not rolling much, but were holding near the surface in tightly packed schools.  Most of these tarpon have been laying-up on the surface, and readily responding to a well placed bait.  Fishing for these smaller fish (up to 50 pounds) is a ton of fun, and is done on calm waters in a peaceful atmosphere – unlike fishing in passes or off of the beaches.

C Malcolm Smith, III from Redding, Pennsylvania, vacationing in Orlando was theme-park out and anxious to get out and do some serious fishing. Joining Capt. Rocky on the Banana River last Friday, Malcolm had a banner day catching eight big reds and several large trout despite a big wind and constant threat of thunderstorms.

Prof. Kenneth McClure of Merritt Island and David, his son from Melbourne Beach, fished with Capt. Rocky on Saturday on the Banana River. Fishing started strong while there was NW wind, went slack during slick condition in late morning, and finished very strong when the eastern sea breeze finally kicked in during the early afternoon. The father and son duo caught a number of big reds and several large trout, including a monster, caught by Kenneth, weighing close to ten pounds. However, David caught the biggest redfish weighing about 20 pounds. At the conclusion of the day, David mused that he’d had caught more fish weigh-wise during than he’d caught over the entire span of his previous fishing trips. Indeed, it was a gorgeous day weather-wise and a wonderful day fish-wise.

 

Ken and Wiegle and his two sons Garret and Greg from Pennsylvania took a break from the theme parks of Orlando to do some backwater fishing with Capt. Rocky. Fishing the Indian River near Titusville the trio of skilled anglers caught 15 reds – two slot fish and the rest 12 to 20 pounds. Garret had the hot rod on the day with eight redfish while Greg caught the biggest. Dad had the biggest adrenaline rush  as he got absolutely smoked by a monster red. It was a gorgeous day with half of the charter spent wade fishing on the lush grass flats.

An old fishing buddy from Maryland, Ray Duvall, joined Capt. Rocky for a half-day on the Banana River last Monday. Ray came along to assist the captain in pre-fishing for several upcoming charters scheduled for later in the week. He caught seven reds and several trout during the excursion and was trilled to return home with a solid bag of fresh fillets.

Wow! I have been writing and posting fishing reports on this website for better than a decade and have never been presented with so many compelling stories, outstanding angling and great fish as this submission. So many terrific accounts and photos in one month made editing and culling nearly impossible. I simply suggest read on and marvel. 

Capt. Jon Brett and Kyle Nalls, of Fishbuzz TV, traveled over to the East Coast to film some big redfish with Capt. Peter.  Fishing two schools of big reds near Cocoa provided some fantastic video and still footage.  Peter only had to move closer to the school of fish three times during the entire morning, as the redfish were extremely cooperative.  Both of the schools let the anglers anchor the boat right next to them and pull in red after red without having to chase them down.  The primary purpose of the trip was to create a Fishbuzz video with Peter guiding Jon, the host, to the big redfish.  But that all changed when “fun” got the best of them and Kyle (the cameraman extraordinaire) put the camera aside to jump in on the action.  It was a fantastic day with multiple double headers and non-stop action, with at least three fish hitting the 30 pound mark and many more jumping over the 20 pound mark.  When the video comes out we will put some of it on our site – there was some really awesome footage captured.

As a grandfather and fishing guide, one of the great joys of life is being able to take the grandchildren out on the water for a day of adventure and excitement. Recently I had that experience with Jenny and Rockett, ages 5 and 3, on their spring break from the cold temperatures and gray skies of Huntsville, Alabama. During our outing we watched dolphins, manatees, alligators and all kinds of water birds. Jenny helped the captain drive the boat and Rockett kept all in stitches with his humorous remarks. We also took some time to do a little fishing. Pictured below are Jenny, Rockett and their dad Rusty holding several of the redfish they caught during the day. Grandfather was smiling broadly behind the camera.

 

Perfect weather conditions greeted good friends, Paul Tully and Joe Schneider of Cocoa Beach,  for their recent fishing charter with Capt. Rocky on the Banana River. The blue skies and calm water provided a gorgeous backdrop for a day where double digit redfish were caught including a pair of double hook-ups. The first double was a pair of 13 and 14 pound fish while the second pair were identical twin 27 pounders.  There were also four fine trout landed during the trip including an outstanding 27 inch, seven pounder. At the conclusion of the charter Paul declared it had been a perfect day of fishing. 

 

 

CR Hall treated his friends, Calvin and Jagger, to a fishing trip with Peter last week. The weather was absolutely beautiful with a light north wind, bright sun, and cooler temperatures.  Fishing in the Banana River near Merritt Island, the target for the day was to catch some fish for dinner, and some big fish for photos.  The trip was Jagger’s first saltwater experience, and he started it off with a bang – catching a 30 inch redfish within the first 3 minutes.  The anglers continued to set hook after hook (with Calvin really setting the hook) steadily through the entire morning.    “The Dudes” boated over a dozen reds up to 37 inches, and three trout up to 24 inches.

 

CR couldn’t get enough redfish this week and chartered Peter for another day in the Banana River.  Gidget and Joe were also in on the fun.  The day began with the anglers fishing a group of large redfish.  After eight or so bull reds to start the morning, it was time put some meat on the table.  After running up the river to a school of slot fish, a limit of redfish and some nice trout were quickly put on ice.  The water had cleared up as the day progressed making for some beautiful fishing conditions on the grassflats.  Once they had enough fish for the table, it was time to have fun with the groups of large redfish that are roaming the flats.  Gidget and CR finished the day with back-to-back bull redfish…wonderful way to end the day!  The total tally for the day was 24 redfish (four over 40 inches, seven slot fish, and the rest were mixed over-slot fish).  Gidget put on a “Gun Show” while teaching the boys a thing or two by catching the largest and most (including catfish).

 

 

Richard Dixon and his son Richard spend part of their time in Florida and the balance up north. Before returning north this year they wanted to do some fishing and build some memories. Capt. Rocky guided them on the Banana River recently in pursuit of both goals. After a frustrating, and somewhat comical, start where the Dixon duo missed eight fish in succession, Richard and Richard settled down to a solid morning of angling. By the end of the half-day charter they were masters of the seas and caught everything that bit including their last six redfish and trout in a row. And it turned out to be a great day of fishing and memory making despite the start.

 

 

Dave, Dave Jr., and Dan had a fun day on the water with Peter in the Banana River recently.  Fishing on the shallow, grass flats provided a lot of fun redfish.  The guys landed 11 redfish, with a variety of sizes from 25 – 38 inches.  Dave Jr. made his dad very proud by starting the day off with a 37 inch bull red – his first redfish ever, and at 6 years old is one fantastic catch.  But Dave Jr., also known as “Dave the Wave” or “Mullet Tail”, didn’t stop there – he built his biceps on big redfish all morning long!  These guys put a “hurtin’” on some great fish.

 

Jack Chamblin of Merritt Island and his grandson Nick from Chicago decided at the last minute to take advantage of the outstanding spring weather and do some serious Banana River fishing. Since Jack lives on the river Capt. Rocky picked up the duo on his dock and planned to fish productive shorelines within easy wading distance of Jack’s home. An unusual early morning dense fog settled in and changed plans a bit and the charter started with fishing for trout. After several fine trout the fog lifted allowing the hunt to begin. The grandfather and grandson pair hooked up immediately on a double (pictured below). A number of other reds were added as the morning progressed capped by the big red being held by Nick in the following picture.  

 

 Rusty and his two boys, Nick and Andrew, fished with Capt. Peter in the Banana River.  The angler were in town visiting family, and decided to see what the fishing was like near Cocoa Beach.   The trio landed around a dozen redfish (most over 30 inches) and a couple of nice trout (one of which went 26 ¾ inches).  Fishing groups of redfish that were holding up on the shallow flats that were actively feeding was the key to success.

 

Georgia anglers, Lee his son Ryan, wanted to experience some Florida fishing on the Space Coast.  Peter guided the duo on the Indian River Lagoon near Cocoa Beach.  Not wanting to take any fish home, Lee and Ryan wanted to target redfish (the bigger the better).  Fishing groups of large redfish that feed up on grassflats and points, the anglers landed 10 redfish from 33 to 42 inches, and two 23 inch trout.  

The fishing along the central east coast of Florida does not take a back seat to the NCAA basketball tourney with our own version of March Madness. The fishing this time of year is awesome with outstanding balmy weather and aggressively hungry fish. We had a number of great charters over the past several weeks including the following individual accounts.

Late morning conditions this past week have provided good sight-fishing for redfish and black drum.  Drew Lowery spent a morning sight-fishing with Capt. Peter along the flats of the Banana River Lagoon near Cocoa Beach.  Casting at schools of black drum and redfish in the clear water made for a fun day on the water.  Pictured is Drew with a hefty red.

 

Jack Chamblin of Merritt Island and his grandson Nick from Chicago decided at the last minute to take advantage of the outstanding spring weather and do some serious Banana River fishing. Since Jack lives on the river Capt. Rocky picked up the duo on his dock and planned to fish productive shorelines within easy wading distance of Jack’s home. An unusual early morning dense fog settled in and changed plans a bit and the charter started with fishing for trout. After several fine trout the fog lifted allowing the hunt to begin. The grandfather and grandson pair hooked up immediately on a double (pictured below). A number of other reds were added as the morning progressed capped by the big red being held by Nick in the following picture.  

 

 

David, his son Brandon, and his nephew Bo spent an afternoon with Capt. Peter on the Banana River.  The main goal of the trip was to get Bo, visiting from Kentucky, hooked up to some of Florida’s famous “bull-reds”.  Fishing the grassflats with live mullet, the anglers landed 14 redfish and one trout (not to mention a “trash-fish slam” – a pufferfish, stingray, and catfish).  The goal was achieved as Bo bested a big red at the end of the day while Brandon did the same with a great double-header.

George Littrell returned to Cocoa Beach last week from Maryland in time to do some fishing with Capt. Rocky before his next trip back. Opting to join Rocky to assist in the daily ritual of catching the bait, the charter started pre-dawn. (It was a real pleasure having someone along to help with this chore.) Pushing south of Ramp Road the charter commenced with some early trout action. After catching a half dozen it was time to wake up the late rising redfish. A number of reds were caught over the ensuing hours. The charter ended with sight-fishing redfish in the full sun and clear waters. Pictured below is George holding one his ‘concrete blocks.’

 

C.R. Hall celebrated his birthday out on the water this week with Gidget and his mom, Mami.   Due to the conditions, Capt. Peter opted to take the anglers out during the afternoon instead of the usual morning routine.  Capt. Peter quietly polled up to and around mangrove Islands and along grassflats while the trio fished along the edges of the flats and along the sandbars.  The trio caught six reds up to 32 inches and five trout up to 24 inches. 

 

Capt. Peter spent some time down in Fort Pierce last week with tournaments and a couple of guide trips.  One of those trips was spent guiding John, an avid bass angler from Okeechobee.  John wanted to fish for trout and reds with artificials.  The early morning top-water bite produced some good surface strikes.  Once the fish quit hitting off of the surface, spoons became the lure of choice.  Dragging the spoon across sandbars in the clear water had the best results.  Mike caught a bunch of trout up to 22 inches, some redfish, and bluefish during his time on the water.  Switching from bait to artificials can be fun every now and again – especially in areas like Fort Pierce where there is such a variety of fish.  There’s nothing like watching a big trout explode on a topwater lure in the golden, morning light.

It has been a couple of weeks since our last fishing report was posted and the guides of Native Sons Fishing Charters, LLC have been super busy. While we are trying to gather pictures and accounts of these charters, we thought it high time we post a few highlights in order to give our readers an idea of just how fantastic the fishing has been thus far in February. By the way, we promise to add other summaries and photos to this report when we finally get a minute to catch our breath.

Some fishermen are born great while others have greatness thrust upon them. We are not sure how George Littrell achieved angling greatness but we are certain he has it. George, who splits his residency between Maryland and Cocoa Beach, is a long-time friend of Capt. Rocky. Recently he and Rocky hooked up to chase some redfish on the Indian River near Titusville. Conditions could not have been more perfect with calm seas, bluebird, sunny skies and moderate temperatures. George caught over a dozen reds with most exceeding twenty pounds. It was simply a ‘great’ day of fishing, by George!

Capt. Peter had some friends come down to visit him from Delaware and Maryland in hopes of spending a day on the water in Central Florida.   A.B. Cullen and Jay Fleming wanted to get some good photos of black drum and redfish.  Jay is a professional photographer who travels around the world observing wildlife and sharing his experiences through film.  The first day of fishing was spent sight-fishing schools of black drum and then tailing redfish.  One of the schools of drum that Capt. Peter has been fishing has in excess of 50 drum between 20 and 40 pounds.  These fish offer great sight fishing opportunities and are a great fighting fish.

Photos in order: Jay Show’s off one of his drum – Capt. Peter and A.B. show off a double – A.B. shows off a nice trout – Capt. Peter with another nice drum.

Jason Garey, along with Brian and Brad, two buddies from Houston, TX , had had enough of their hotel room in Orlando and decided to do some serious redfishing. The trio picked a day when most would have never gotten near the water due to the stiff north winds whipping the river into angry ‘tempest tossed.’ Braving the winds and the waves, Capt. Rocky guided the Texans to one of the very few sheltered shorelines on the Indian River. During the afternoon charter, the threesome displayed outstanding skill, strength and stamina while catching three redfish over fifteen pounds, the largest a 45 inch beast caught by Jason and estimated to weigh between 25 and 30 pounds, along a number of big trout. There were several other big brutes battled, including another heartbreaking monster lost boat-side. All in all, despite the nasty conditions, it turned out to be an awesome day on the water for Jason, Brad and Brian.

Capt. Peter had the privilege to fish with Vince Blumberg and his kids Aubrei and Elliott.  Prior to becoming “first-mate”, Elliott started the morning off with a nice seatrout.  Elliott did a fantastic job driving the boat and catching bait until his time ran out and had to be reunited with his mom for a beach date.  Vince and Aubrei were then able to enjoy some father/daughter time and fantastic flats fishing in Florida’s beautiful Space Coast.   Aubrei and Vince caught a variety of fish including redfish, black drum, and trout. (The final picture is ‘first mate’ Elliot having a blast driving the boat.)

Three good friends, Mike, Tim, and Tom, enjoyed a great day of fishing the flats with Capt. Peter this past week on the Banana River near Merritt Island and Cocoa Beach.  Fishing schools of mullet in the early morning provided a good trout bite.  Once the sun warmed the water, the grass flats came alive with schools of big redfish and trout foraging for food.  Concentrating on the sandy potholes near the edges of flats, the trio of anglers caught 13 reds up to 38 inches, and six trout up to 27 inches. Pictured below are Tom and Tim holding a pair of trophy redfish.

Three generations of the Murphy boys, Tom, Peter, Jacob and Conner recently chartered a day of fishing with both Capt. Rocky and Capt. Peter. Leaving Kiwanis Park in Merritt Island, both captains opted to fish along the Sykes Creek arm of the Banana River. Peter and Conner went with the ‘old man’ guide and had a blast catching redfish and big trout. Conner, the youngest Murphy, caught the biggest redfish – a 37 inch, 17 pound bull – while his dad Peter caught the biggest trout measuring 27 inches and weighing an estimated seven pounds. And since both fish are considered trophies, one can imagine a life-long argument insuring over which had the better catch. (The first two pics are of Conner while the final pic is Jacob holding his big red.)

C.R. and Gidget Hall enjoyed the beautiful weather we have been having this week out on the water with Capt. Peter.  The morning was spent fishing schools of black drum and redfish on grassflats on the Banana River.  C.R. and Gidget show off two of their beautiful redfish.

The monthly calendar may have changed but the red-hot redfish action has not. February started the same way January ended with a great day on the Indian River Lagoon chasing tailing redfish for the guests of Native Sons Fishing guides.  The following are accounts of individual angling performances over the last week.

 February began with a bang for Andrew and Rebecca Partridge from Dallas, TX who had a blast on their half-day charter with Capt. Rocky. This father and daughter duo enjoyed a gorgeous winter morning on the Indian River near Titusville, FL with temperatures touching the mid-70s, a far cry from the massive snow and ice storm ripping through their hometown. After some dolphin and manatee watching the pair proceeded to stalk tailing redfish on the flats.  Rebecca caught first red on the first cast at the first stop in the first fifteen seconds of fishing. She then nailed a spotted trout with her second cast and hooked into another redfish on her third cast. Andrew eventually joined the fray with a fat upper slot redfish and a beautiful 24 inch trout on back to back casts. He also caught the last and the largest redfish, a 45 inch, 30 pound beast. What a way to spend a winter day!

 

  

Lee Harp from Wichita, KS and his Uncle Ken from Orlando helped draw the curtain yesterday on one the best months of redfishing in recent memory. The weather was absolutely perfect with balmy temperatures, slick, calm water and bright sunny skies. The redfish took advantage of the spring-like conditions and flooded the flats in search of food. They were served live finger mullet by the Harps and aggressively attached the baits. The final tally on the half-day charter reached doubled digits and featured a pair of double hook-ups of 20 pound plus fish. The largest fish of the day was caught by Lee and weighed nearly 30 pounds.

 

 

Fishing with Dr. Pat Holden and his son Dr. Carlos Holden was a real paradox, pardon the pun. The two docs caught the day after the arrival of our last cold front and were greeted by a low barometer and cool north breezes. This combined to make the fish a bit scare and a tad sluggish. Nevertheless, the Holdens were patient and nailed a couple of very impressive redfish including a monster caught by Carlos and an unbelievably beautiful, 59 spot specimen by Pat. We suspect both fish will be long remembered by the ‘pair of docs’.  

 

 

John, Joe, and Jack fished the flats of the Banana River with Capt. Peter.  The cooler temperatures had the fish seeking warmth.  During the morning, the best fishing came from deeper creeks and canals.  Once the sun warmed the flats, schools of redfish and black drum moved up on the shallows to feed.  Sight-fishing a school of sunning redfish produced this beautiful fish for Joe.