Jack Chamblin of Merritt Island has been on a mission ovewr 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 Sean, 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-in 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 as 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 rights – the 80 year old patriarch, Jack, for a fish passing into angling lore!

Posted by native on Friday, April 13th, 2012 at 8:58 pm

Capt. Peter guided client Derek Szczepaniak to a pending world record snook this past week. Fishing the Vero Beach/Ft. Pierce stretch of the Indian River, Peter has been putting his clients on some monster snook for the past several weeks, but none bigger than the one Derek caught. The big linesider measured 98 centimeter, eclipsing the current IGFA ‘All Tackle Length’  world record by six centimeters.  For a full account of the catch see the write-up in Florida Today @ the following link - http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20120401/SPORTS05/304010013/First-snook-might-world-record?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Sports|s&nclick_check=1

Photos and more news to follow.

Posted by native on Sunday, April 1st, 2012 at 10:07 pm

Fishing the Indian River Lagoon system during the winter months can be simply spectacular. In addition to our redfish and trout, we’ll welcome schools of huge black drum to the flats (see photos below). These monsters can weigh up to sixty pounds while forming tightly packed schools as they maraud the shallows foraging for food while spawning during the winter months. Black drum are usually sight-fished in the crystal clear cooler waters of the river. Our large ‘gator’ trout also spawn during the winter months and can be found in the shallowest, bright sandy sections of the flats in groups of two to six fish. These pods of trout are typically comprised of a larger female accompanied by several smaller males and range in size from 19 to 30 inches. They are super abundant during the winter too. The only downside to winter fishing is dodging the arrival of cold front and we’ll get five good fishing days along with two weather-issue days during a typical winter week.

Posted by native on Saturday, January 28th, 2012 at 9:19 am

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.

Posted by native on Wednesday, November 9th, 2011 at 4:04 pm

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.

Posted by native on Thursday, July 14th, 2011 at 3:19 pm