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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

 

June 18, 2020
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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

 

June 9, 2020
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Florida Pompano

Florida Central East Coast Surf Fishing Report May 2020

By Cocoa Beach Surf Fishing Charters

May 2020 Florida Surf Fishing Report Central East Coast 

Surf fishing Florida during the month of May has offered family fun fishing experiences due to the opening of beach accesses across Florida. Getting to the beach has been one of the top things to do outside on the Space Coast. Incredible weather and social distancing measures are a few factors that make beach fishing Central East Coast of Florida a top choice. Use the opportunity to get surf fishing equipment down to the waters edge to provide a fun-filled fay for all members of the family.

Florida Surf Fishing Pompano

Florida surf fishing pompano

Surf Fishing Treasures

Surf Fishing Treasures

The cooler weather patterns that graced us during early May made mornings crisp and clear. Look for that to become a thing of the past as we steadily creep towards the dog days of summer, accompanied by high temps and humidity. Surf fishing conditions from Cocoa Beach to Sebastian Inlet for the first weeks of May were challenging due to the wind, waves and onslaught of seaweed that blitzed our coastline. Water clarity was one of the few positives that kept things interesting amongst the negatively contributing factors.

Pompano fishing the surf in Brevard County continued to remain consistent. Moreover, fish that have stuck around are providing beach fishing anglers with the perfect chance at catching, cleaning, and cooking this Florida delicacy. Catching your limit of six fish has proved more difficult compared to months prior when the water temperatures were more conducive. With the surf fishing water temps currently holding in the 75-76 degree range, anglers have been reporting fewer fish. How to catch Florida pompano: Cast pompano rigs with a variety of colored floats and no floats, baited with Fishbites (sandflea, crab, clam) and a live or frozen sand flea. Cast surf fishing equipment various distances from shore to ensure you’re targeting areas of concentration. 

Snook fishing the surf has steadily increased as the water temperatures continue to climb. Focus your efforts on area beaches around Sebastian Inlet and Melbourne Beach. Beach fishing for snook around a high tide with live mullet or croakers have received the best results. Catching snook in the Florida surf requires slightly different equipment than traditional surf fishing. Make sure to beef up your tackle with braided line, 30-50lb fluorocarbon leaders and hook sizes that match the bait size accordingly. Snook fishing Florida beaches will continue to heat up, so get out there and dialed in for the rest of the season. 

Surf fishing equipment

Surf fishing equipment

May 22, 2020
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Pompano and Whiting

May Cocoa Beach, Melbourne Beach and Sebastian Inlet

By Cocoa Beach Surf Fishing Charters

Florida Surf Fishing Report, Central East Coast, May 2020

Florida surf fishing along the central east coast has provided plentiful opportunities for the beach fishing anglers prepared for multiple scenarios. The weather patterns have provided an abundance of calm days and clean water. These ideal conditions make it suitable for individuals and families to do things outside on the Florida beaches. This time of year truly has an amazing assortment of catch options beach fishing in central Florida. Targeting the Atlantic Ocean waters from Cocoa Beach to Sebastian Inlet gives fisherman the chance to land a 200 pound tarpon, snook, sharks, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, pompano, or whiting.

Shore fishing the beaches from Melbourne Beach to Sebastian Inlet has provided a red hot bite for Spanish Mackerel and bluefish. How to catch Spanish Mackerel and bluefish effectively in the Florida surf requires fishing with smaller spinning rods 7-8 feet in length and reels in the 2000 to 4000 series range. Rig light tackle fishing set-ups with 10-20 braided line attached to a two-foot piece of 20-40lb fluorocarbon leader. The lighter the leader generally leads to more strikes, but at the expense of lost tackle due to the toothy predatory fish at hand. Using Gotcha lures and silver spoons retrieved rapidly have provided the best results for beach fishing near Sebastian Inlet.

Surf fishing charters in Brevard County utilizing live baits have resulted in great catches of snook, tarpon, and flounder. The annual bait migration of pogies and thread fin herring is underway. In other words, large predatory fish will be taking advantage of the all-you-can-eat buffet line. Beach fishing Snook and Flounder in Cocoa Beach, Fl south to Sebastian Inlet is best utilized with a live mullet, pogie, or thread fin. Rigged on a fish finder rig cast in the nearest deepwater trough closest to the shore. Learn how-to catch a tarpon in Florida by exercising the benefits of a free-lined mullet allowing the bait to swim weightless into the outer surf zone where the tarpon can be seen crashing schools of baitfish. Use large capacity reels ranging from 6000-9000 series with heavy braided line and a 60-80 fluorocarbon leader. Our surf fishing trips in central Florida provide ample gear to stand any chance against these leaping and charging acrobats.

While the widely recognized snook and tarpon are beginning to make appearances regularly in the Florida surf, the recent cool weather has dropped ocean temperatures to keep the pompano around a bit longer. However, best bites have been at dusk and dawn on the first few hours of a falling tide. Fishbites (sandflea flavor), clams, shrimp, and live sand fleas have been producing consistent results of Florida pompano and whiting.

Surf fishing can be a fantastic opportunity to get out and make memories especially during these social distancing times. Make sure to give us a call or book online to learn to surf  fish Florida like a pro or take a family fun fishing excursion charter on our local beaches.

Pompano and Whiting

Catch, Clean, and Cook

Sunrise

Florida Surf Fishing Setting

Florida Whiting

Family Fun Fishing

 

May 10, 2020
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