OUTDOORS

Fishing Report: Enjoy your turkey, then target the trout

Rob Ullery
robert.ullery@news-jrnl.com
Mike Doerr, one of the owners of Papa’s Pride, caught this red snapper on live grunts recently. He caught about 12 this size and 50 overall. [CAPT. DOUG DAVIS]

It’s Thanksgiving, so while the fish haven’t slowed, fishing has. The weather was still a little challenging last week, but the cooler weather moving in will be welcomed when the anglers get back out.

Reds are still hitting even though the season has ended, and trout seem to be plentiful.

OFFSHORE: Capt. Doug Davis (saltybonesnewsmyrna.com) said in an email that he fished about 35 miles offshore last Saturday on Papa's Pride. “The ocean was a bit testy going out,” he said. He reports catches of over 50 red snapper, of which at least 12 were over 20 pounds each. “We also hooked up with a huge shark which we got to the boat three times and finally gave up the fight and cut the line.” He said they brought back some keeper sea bass, triggers and lane snapper.

PONCE INLET, HALIFAX RIVER: Fishing Shack Bait & Tackle in Daytona Beach Shores had probably the strongest report of the area. Off the Sunglow they had reports of sheepshead, and redfish are starting to show up in the surf, along with a lot of nice whiting and some pompano. The Jetties are producing red drum, sheepshead and a lot of big jacks. The snook bite remains strong. In the river, there’s plenty of trout and reds. Snook are getting more plentiful and there’s some sheepshead around the bridges and docks. The baits of choice have been mullet, with the snook hitting jumbo shrimp, reds biting blue crab and sheepshead mostly striking shrimp. You can also pull out some bluefish on lures and cut mullet.

SURF, PIERS: The Sunglow Pier reports some really big reds were being caught last week along with some whiting, trout, a few saltwater catfish and a small shark. Weather conditions haven’t been the best for pier fishing the last few weeks.  The Flagler Pier remains closed after receiving hurricane damage.

The Fishin’ Hole in Daytona Beach says the surf has produced mostly whiting with a stray black drum here or there and some bluefish and ladyfish.

TOMOKA BASIN, RIVER: There’s a good variety out there right now, according to The Fishin’ Hole in Daytona Beach, which reports a few red drum and some trout. Around the bridges it’s been mostly snook, tarpon and jacks with some trout around the dock lights, using shrimp and artificials.

MOSQUITO LAGOON, INDIAN RIVER: Capt. Michael Savedow (EdgewaterRiverGuide.com) said he got out a few times last week and reports the lagoon is producing a few reds and trout on topwaters and soft plastics in the early morning. He added that around mullet schools, in the Edgewater backwaters, there are “lots of schooling trout, still a few pompano and whiting,” and that they’re starting to catch a few sheepsheads. In the backwaters, he advises using live shrimp. “Water levels are looking normal on the outgoing tide, but still flooded on incoming,” he said.

MATANZAS INLET, RIVER: It’s Thanksgiving and that means lots of flounder, according to Capt. Chris Herrera (palmcoastfishing.com). “There’s a lot of small fish around, some reds, some trout, some flounder,” he said. “The flounder are the bigger fish right now. … Typically about Thanksgiving the flounder are all around.” He said that on lower tides they’re biting shrimp, but you can also use jigs. He said the inlet is most alive on the incoming tide.

ST. JOHNS RIVER: The bass are in full swing at Highland Park Fish Camp in DeLand, according to Capt. Bryn Rawlins. “The bass fishing is good, catching them on wild shiners,” she said. “Capt. Rush (Rawlins) had nine bass (Monday) up to 5 pounds.” She added that the speck bite should be coming on. “We’re waiting on reports on specks. Not many people have been speck fishing, but we hope the cooler weather will spur them on.” She added that the water has receded to just below the dock. “It’s still high, but we have an open air dock now,” she said.

SEND PHOTOS: We want to see your most recent catch. Email your fish photos to robert.ullery@news-jrnl.com. Be sure to include type of fish, size of fish (weight and/or length), where the fish was caught, first and last names and hometown of angler who caught the fish, and first and last name of person who took the photo. If a child is in the photo, please include their age. The News-Journal will use one or two photos in print each week and the other photos submitted will go into the online gallery called "Readers Fish Photos."