Jack Chamblin of Merritt Island has been on a mission over the past year or so to introduce his sons and grandsons to the wonderful world of our local bull reds. And each of his grandsons have caught big, bragging-sized reds. This time it was Shawn, his youngest son’s turn on the Banana River with Capt. Rocky. The charter started mid-morning amidst the calmest, slickest part of the day and the fish were super spooky in the bright sun and clear water. The scarce fish were extremely sluggish as if waiting for conditions to change before starting to feed. Then the sea breeze finally kicked and that’s when history was made as Jack hooked a huge redfish not more than a half mile from his own dock. The monster stripped line time and again and had to be ‘chased down’ repeatedly in order to put line back on the Shimano Sustain 4000 reel and the battle royal raged for nearly an hour testing the considerable skill of aged angler. As the beast was finally subdued and lying in the net, no one could believe their eyes – the redfish measured 53 inches and weighed 46.9 pounds. It has to be one of the largest redfish ever caught in the Banana River. Now when the Chamblin clan gathers to brag on tales of by-gone bulls, there is no doubt who will own ultimate bragging right – the 80 year old patriarch, Jack for a fish passing into angling lore!

Will, Tom, and Josh fished with Capt. Peter for a full day of fishing in Ft. Pierce, Fl.  The majority of the day was spent casting live baits to feeding fish holding over grass-flats.  There was non-stop action most of the trip…the anglers caught over 15 gator trout up to 30 inches, six redfish up to 32 inches, bluefish, jack crevalles, and a couple of 60lb stingrays.

The weather was the only thing that did not go as planned for George Litrrell on his recent fishing charter with Capt. Rocky. Dodging isolated rain showers throughout the day in the Indian River near Titusville, George caught fish after fish after fish as the reds and trout turned super aggressive in advance of an approaching front. When the day was complete, the final tally showed 15 redfish (seven in excess of 20 pounds) and 20 sea trout (all but two over the 20 inch trophy threshold). So despite the occasional sprinkle, it was still a great day on the river.

Long-time customers of Capt. Peter, Howell and Gene Riggs, traveled down to Florida and fished two with Peter in Ft. Pierce.  The first day was spent targeting numbers of fish. The water was crystal clear, and the weather perfect.  They started the day off fishing catching gator trout after gator trout around spoil islands.  As the sun climbed higher in the sky, they switched gears and sight-casted to schools of redfish up on the flats.  In about an hour, the husband and wife duo landed over a dozen redfish.  After moving off the redfish to give them a break, the anglers landed a dozen trout up to 26 inches before heading to the “Tiki Bar” for a dockside lunch.

On the second day of fishing, Capt. Peter picked Howell and Gene up from their hotel dock, and headed out to the fishing grounds as the sun broke the horizon.  The second day’s target was snook.  Fishing the falling tide, Howell and Gene drifted live baits along mangroves and grass flats.  Most of the snook were between 35 and 40 inches, providing some spectacular fights.  Those 20 pound snook soaring into the sky with water gushing from their gills is a sight that really gets the heart pounding.  The anglers also caught a handful of trout up to 27 inches and a few redfish.

Orlando is considered the convention and vacation capitals of the world and when the two capitals can be combined, as was the recent case for Jared, Karissa and Rich, an Orlando trip will be fantastic. Coming straight from the Orlando International Airport to Kennedy Point Park on the Indian River in Titusville, the threesome, along with four other colleagues, jumped aboard the ‘Flat Broke’ captained by guide Rocky Van Hoose for an afternoon of fishing and relaxation prior to the opening sessions of their business conference to be held later that evening. We are not sure about the relaxation part of the formula but the fishing part was fantastic as they caught fish after fish after fish. Many of the redfish caught were in the 20 to 30 pound range while the trout measured 20 to 28 inches in length. The other four anglers, guided by Capt. Peter and Capt. Robert and fishing in close proximity, also caught numerous fish and shout of exhilaration and exuberation echoed back and forth from boat to boat to boat in the redfish capital of the world.

Reid, Rick and Roy spent a day fishing with Capt. Peter in the Banana River targeting redfish and seatrout.  These trophy hunters did not want to keep many fish, so most of the trip was spent going after the big boys.  The trio had a great day of fish catching.  They landed over a dozen redfish up to 40 inches and some big trout up to 25 inches with a couple of double headers.

John White, along with his son-in-law Scott, fished with Capt. Rocky several years ago. Returning to Florida again this spring, John decided to book two charters and bring one of his grandchildren on each day. Fourteen year old Jill was the first to enjoy the fishing with dad and granddad and she was the star of the day catching so many fish we lost count. Eleven year old Kevin had the following day and his adventure was even better than the previous day. Again we lost count but believe the totals for the half day charter were close to forty trout and redfish. The location of the charters was the Indian River Lagoon near Titusville.

Dan booked a half day fishing trip with Capt. Peter in hopes to show his good buddy Danny some Florida redfishing.  The trip was spent fishing groups of big, overslot redfish that were feeding on schools of mullet.  Fishing in the Banana River, they keyed in on the schools of redfish that are moving up and down the shallow sandbars in the clear water.  The anglers caught over a ten big redfish up to 38 inches, and half a dozen big trout.

Merritt Island winter resident Jack Chamblin has been on a quest over the past several months to take his sons and grandsons fishing and with each successive trip the fishing results have gotten better and better. This past Friday Jack brought his son Rocky and fished with Capt. Rocky in the Indian River Lagoon near Titusville. The two Chamblins absolutely smoked the fish catching somewhere between 40 and 50 fish during their half-day charter and, let me tell brother, that’s a lot of fish! Most of the large number of trout caught was in excess of 20 inches with the longest measuring 26 inches. Three of the redfish caught exceeded 35 inches with the biggest exceeding 40 inches. By the way, Jack who is 80 years old, graciously let Rocky Chamblin catch the big reds since he himself battled and landed an enormous 53 inch, 46.9 pound redfish with Capt. Rocky on his previous charter.

Local wood turners Joe from Merritt Island and Herb from Titusville recently took a turn out of the shop for a fishing adventure with Capt. Rocky on the Indian River. Leaving the dock at noon, a time when many fishing charters are returning, the duo polished off every piece of precious bait in subduing 13 redfish and two trout. And every fish caught was a true trophy with the two smallest reds weighing 15 pounds and the largest brutes tipping the scales near 30 pounds. The near constant action resulted in plenty of sore mussels, broad smiles and remarkable memories. What an absolutely awesome afternoon of angling!

Tim Dobson, now of Ft. Worth, Texas, recently vacationed near Disney World with his wife and two daughters and was rewarded for his diligence to domestic duties with a half day fishing charter on the Indian River Lagoon with Capt. Rocky. Fishing in the shadow of Kennedy Space Center property, Tim, a former lumberjack from Michigan, had an absolute blast enjoying the finest of natural Florida waterlife and cutting down fish after fish.  Pictured below is Tim with a 28 inch gator trout and one of several 20 plus pound redfish caught on the day. 

Skilled anglers Mark and Brenda Moore from Leesburg chartered Capt. Rocky on a day when a late spring cold front approached the area. As the front approached, the winds swung around to the southwest and scattered the fish. The big gator trout were still abundant and the Moores caught a bunch of them with several in the 25 to 28 inch range. The reds, plentiful the day before, were harder to locate but Brenda was able to uphold the family honor by catching two bulls, one measuring 43 inches and weighing 25 to 30 pounds.

The weather is often the wild card in spring inshore fishing. The fish gather in fairly familiar patterns for their daily activities, it is the weather that either allows or prevents us access to them. If we can access the fish, we’ll have big banner days on the water. If we can not access the fish, we’ll scramble but still catch enough to make the charters successful.  Jack Chamblin and Cody, Jack’s grandson from Illinois, booked a half day charter with Capt. Rocky where the forecasted weather was iffy at best. Navigating the charter around the stiff winds and rain possibilities proved to be challenging but not impossible. And they still caught fish. Well, that may be a bit understated since they actually caught quite a few fish; nine redfish and three trout. The reds were all over-sized, ranging from 15 to 30 pounds while the trout were big and plump and went home with the Chamblins for a fish fry later that evening. Best of all, everyone had a blast, despite the iffy forecast.

Slick, calm water greeted Cliff and Mark Watton from Atlanta for their half day charter with Capt. Rocky on the Indian River Lagoon. Using a variety of fishing techniques, including sight-fishing the sandy potholes, the Watton boys caught a mess of fish – eight reds to 25 pounds and 15 trout, all longer than 20 inches – making it a perfect fishing day as well as a perfect weather day. 

Paul Gaston from West Virginia had promised his father-in-law from Pittsburg, also named Paul, a fishing charter as part of an extended Florida vacation. They had originally wanted to book an offshore trip out of the Port Canaveral but high winds and seas, along with some very good advice from Dan Deihl of iOutdoors, convinced them there might be a better option. Instead of roughing it out on the ocean, the twosome enjoyed a fishing adventure of a lifetime in the wind-protected, shallow waters of the Indian River lagoon near Titusville with Capt. Rocky Van Hoose of Native Sons Fishing Charters. And boy oh boy did they ever have a blast catching a mess of redfish and trout. The biggest trout went 27 inches and weighed close to eight pounds while the bigger redfish, the three bigger redfish, pushed the scales past twenty pounds with the largest weighing an estimated thirty pounds. It may have been rough off-shore but the two Pauls hardly even noticed the winds during the day, commenting at the conclusion of the charter what a wonder day it had been. The moral of this story is ‘it pays to heed to good advice’.

Wayne and Julie from Topeka, Kansas, fishing nearby good friends Lee and Angie Harp, spent a beautiful spring day with Capt. Rocky on the Banana River in the midst of millions of finger mullet. Now the annual advent of the mullet, known the spring mullet run, has caused our predator fish to do some surprising things. Firstly, it has moved the fish from places where they have been holding for many months. Secondly, since their appetites have been thoroughly satiated, it has caused them to be less than enthusiastic about chasing down live bait. Thirdly, it has changed their feeding times from early mornings to later in the afternoons when the winds are highest giving them maximum protection and camouflage over the flats. Wayne and Julie had to wait through mid-morning and early afternoon for the fish to begin an aggressive feed. However, when the fish finally ‘turned on’, the bite was impressive. And pictured below are several of the reds caught their charter.

Jack Chamblin from Merritt Island with grandson John from Hollywood, California fished with Capt. Rocky on a very calm spring afternoon. Chasing waking and tailing reds and even wading in the slick still waters yielded a number of monster trout and several outstanding redfish including the one being held John in the picture below.

Photos and more news to follow.

 With the start of spring fast approaching, big redfish, black drum, and seatrout are schooling up on the shallow flats in some areas of the Lagoon.  Carl, a Melbourne native, chartered Capt. Peter for a day of sighfishing the schools of black drum and redfish.  With an early start, Carl was greeted with schools of 20 – 30 pound drum and redfish as the sun broke over the horizon.  The calm conditions made peter’s job easy as he polled the boat within range for Carl to make a cast to the dozens of tails sticking out of the water.  Standing on the bow of the boat, Carl fished three schools of black drum, two very large schools of redfish, and a school of trout.  Accurate casts landed Carl multiple black drum up to 30 pounds, redfish (all between 35 and 40 inches), and a dozen sea trout….all in a half day of fishing.

Success in fishing is mainly due to preparation, knowledge and skill. However, it is also dependent upon a bit of luck. When seasoned anglers Fred and Earl Rafferty booked their charter with Capt. Rocky, the long-term weather forecast was less than promising but when the actual day arrived, the skies were blue, the winds calm and the temperature balmy … and the fishing was outstanding. The two brothers from Michigan were treated to one fine day on the water and caught six reds – four well over slot size – fifteen trout – all but three well over twenty inches – and a big, bad, black drum weighing around twenty pounds. Pictured below are Fred and Earl with a rare pair of double hook-ups and catches – both doubles involved different species – black drum and red the first time and trout and red the second time.

 Sky and his son Dalton, visiting from California, spent a day experiencing Florida’s trout and red-fishing.  Capt. Peter guided the anglers to both trout and redfish by  livebait fishing with mullet and sightcasting to schools of redfish on the flats.  There’s nothing more exciting than watching 30 big redfish swim over your line in 18inches of crystal clear water and fighting over your bait. Sky and Dalton pose with a double header

It was a truly remarkable fishing feat accomplished by Mitch and Shawn from Las Vegas, Nevada. Taking a break from a recent real estate convention in Orlando, the twosome rolled the dice and chartered Capt. Rocky for a day of chasing redfish and gator trout on the Indian River near Titusville, Florida. And man-oh-man did they ever hit the jackpot! Coming off four days of cold hard weather, the fish were super aggressive and hit every form of food offered. When the live well had been completely emptied, Mitch and Shawn had hooked, fought, landed, photographed and live released 49 fish – 30 large trout, 19 solid reds and one very determined arctic tern. The fights were non-stop and featured four double-hook-ups and one triple hook-up – all within a four hour time frame. And brother, that is some flat awesome fishing!

Capt. Peter spent a morning with his lovely girlfriend, Monica, on the Banana River Lagoon.  The calm conditions made it very easy to sightfish the big redfish sunning in the clear water.  Long, accurate casts helped Monica land a handful of great fish – including a 35 and a 45 inch redfish.

The two Herris boys from Miami, Bob and Jeff, his son, had waited for months for the black drum schools to make their annual appearance on the shallow flats. When they read our last fishing report (see January 28^th) and saw the pictures, they made plans to return to our waters to do battle with the brutes. However, when their weekend arrived, Mother Nature had just paid us a visit with the advent of our coldest, windiest fronts of the year and the drum had vacated the flats for deeper and warmer waters. Fortunately for the Herris boys, the redfish and big trout weathered the cold fronts on the flats and they had a great time battling these staple species in the Indian River near Titusville and Banana River near Cocoa Beach. Pictured below are Bob and Jeff holding fish from their charters.

The Oliver boys spent a half day of fishing with Capt. Peter in the Banana River.  The morning started off with the anglers fishing the edges of mangroves sightfishing seatrout and sheepshead.  Once the water on the shallow flats warmed, they switched gears and targeted redfish and black drum.  Dr. Oliver holds up a nice black drum that was sighfished in two feet of water using light tackle.

Our good friend, recent returned winter visitor George Littrell of Maryland, joined Capt. Roland and Capt. Rocky for a day of hunting monster snook in the Grant/Sebastian area of the Indian River. These big bruisers have begun their spring patterns early this year and started to gather around the islands near the inlet in crystal clear water – sight-fishing for them is fodder for major memory-making adventures. And there is one particularly large snook that none of us will soon forget. Pictured below is George holding one of a dozen breeder-sized trout caught near the end of our adventure.

John, Joe, and Steve enjoyed the warm weather and sunshine with Capt. Peter in the Titusville area. Fishing schools of trout and redfish along the shallow grassflats, the anglers caught 10 trout up to 25 inches and six redfish up to 35 inches.

Dave and Tammy Davidson chartered Capt. Peter for a trip to experience the Space Coast’s flats fishing.  Fishing a warming trend after a cold front, the fishing technique was to target the gamefish as they moved up shallow to warm.  Capt. Peter positioned the boat on schools of redfish and trout that were sunning on white sand bars in clear water.  Casting live mullet, Dave and Tammy pulled on hard fighting redfish and trout throughout the trip. Dave is pictured holding up one of his reds

The hardest part of winter-time fishing is trying to plan trips around the passing coldfronts.  About once a week an unavoidable low pressure system sweeps through the area and you have to make the best of it.  Mr. and Mrs. Fox were unable to schedule around one of these fronts and decided to fish on the only free day they had.  Capt. Peter kept the boat in calm waters and fished the leeward sides of islands and shorelines where the fish were schooled up trying to get out of the rough water.  The anglers were rewarded for their efforts with 5 beautiful redfish and big trout.

Capt. Peter recently fished with his brother Jon (for his birthday) in the Lagoon for gator trout on topwaters.  Pictured is Jon with one of his nice seatrout.

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.

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. 

 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!