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June 2020

Florida Beach Fishing

Florida Beach Fishing

By Cocoa Beach Surf Fishing Charters

Florida beach fishing report along the Central East Coast has been touch and go this past week. While the rainy weather snubbed out a lot of days, when chance has presented itself, rewarding opportunities have been found. Rain and easterly wind created murky water for surf fishing from Cocoa Beach to the Sebastian Inlet, however, anglers have been doing well catching fish that don’t rely on optimal water clarity.

Beach fishing charters and individual anglers are catching sheepshead, margate, whiting and snook. The beauty of fishing from the shore is that you never know what’s going to grab hold and bend your rod. Be ready for anything and have a mixed bag of bait and presentations. The majority of “dead stick” fishermen with rods in pole holders have been consistently catching margate and sheepshead on the rocky beaches of Central Brevard County. Bait of choice are fiddler crabs, fish bites, sand fleas and peeled shrimp. Dedicate time to observe the structure off the beach before casting surf fishing equipment. The majority of concentrated catches will come from areas where large rock ledges drop off on the west side of the shelf. Casting accuracy plays a vital role in your rate of success for catching or snagging rocks and losing surf fishing rigs. Properly positioned pompano rigs with extra small hooks combined with the bait mentioned above will increase your probability of snagging one of these sought after species.

Snook fishing in Florida this time of year heats up at a feverish pace. If you’ve always wanted to land a beast snook in the surf, now is the time to gear up. Surf fishermen are reporting catches from the north end of the county near Cocoa Beach south to the Sebastian Inlet. While fishing near Melbourne Beach provided some hot snook reports, catching a snook this time of year will depend on how much time you dedicate, as well as the snook fishing rigs you utilize.

Highly successful anglers are employing snook fishing rigs that combine live bait with mobility. This approach allows you to present a live croaker, mullet or pin fish naturally while covering larger areas of shoreline. Recommended surf fishing equipment and snook fishing rigs for this task would be to combine a 7.5 – 8’ medium to medium heavy action rod, 4000-6000 thousand series reel, 20-40 pound braided line tied to a 2-3 foot, 30-50 pound fluorocarbon leader, followed with a 2/0-5/0 live bait hook or circle hook depending on bait size. Use this snook rig to walk up and down the beach deploying your live bait into the first few yards of the shoreline. Focus on fishing the trough and current run-outs for maximum effectiveness. These ambush predators use these areas to lay and wait for opportunity. Fishing Florida beaches with this snook fishing tackle will allow you the possibility of hooking a trophy fish. Good luck!

Florida Beach Fishing

Florida Beach Fishing

 

Sheepshead for dinner!

Central Florida Surf Fishing Report June 2020

By Cocoa Beach Surf Fishing Charters

Central Florida surf fishing report

Central Florida surf fishing report covering areas from Port Canaveral to Sebastian Inlet. Beaches are open, sun shining and people are smiling. This is what we are supposed to be doing this time of year. Families and individuals alike enjoying the beach and the things to do outside. With that being said, we had a great week of surf fishing here in Central Florida. A smattering of species being caught off Brevard County beaches with a wide array of tactics and strategies being employed.

Multiple reports from the rockier coastline areas including southern Patrick Air Force Base down to north Indialantic have reported great catches of sheepshead and snook. Believe it or not, multiple snook have been landed on fresh sand fleas, which is not the typical bait for that target species. In regards to that, I would draw the conclusion that their feeding patterns are adjusting to the lack of baitfish compared to late summer and fall when they mainly focus on live baitfish. Right now they’re heating up and being opportunistic feeders, including any crustacean that crosses the wrong path. So don’t be surprised if your pompano rods go off with a nice snook.

The sheepshead bite has proved best on either side of the high tide.Be sure to cast smaller hooks with small baits near structure to increase your opportunities. How to catch sheepsheads : Use small hooks size 1/0-2/0, makes sure they’re very sharp. Bait choices: sand fleas, clam or shrimp, use small pieces the size of your fingernail, get tension immediately when they begin to bite. They have hard small mouths perfect for bait stealing, so be ready to set the hook.

Surf fishing near Sebastian Inlet has been up and down depending on the time of day and tide. Fishing around a high tide recently has proved better with fish chewing in the stages of the tide change. Don’t count out an outgoing tide completely though. Just with recent catches, more water seems to be key. Look for cleaner water clarity with the greens and blue tints north or south of Sebastian Inlet to be the best grounds. A handful of nice sized pompano continue to swing through and provide that excitement only that they can. Whiting will generally be caught in larger numbers closer to the shore near outflows and rip currents. Fish bites and sand fleas continue to be the successful baits of choice, with fresh shrimp having a nice catch ratio as well.

Sheepshead for dinner!

Sheepshead for dinner!

Snook in the surf.

Snook in the surf.

Florida Pompano

Nick with a couple Florida pompano

 

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