Off the beach and Lagoon
Capt. Joe Porcelli
April 3, 2011
Daytona Beach - Saltwater Fishing Report
I have been so busy it's been a while since my last report. Been busy catching fish, lots of fish. Mostly redfish, they are schooled up with fish chasing bait like schools of jacks. The finger mullet have been pouring on the flats and the reds and trout are all keeping track. The bigger trout bite has turned on around the mullet schools. You always see escort trout when you fish the schools of reds but they are here in numbers. It is a good time for top water plugs but I usually stick to something that is going to catch my client's fish GULP. You can cast a Gulp shrimp fifty times and still have it at the end of your hook when the pin fish are chewing. That is if you could keep the fish off your Gulp for fifty casts, LOL.
But a real shrimp will only last about three casts because the pinfish tear them up easily. More time casting and fishing rather than baiting hooks. The best thing to do is cast in front of hundreds of redfish and you won't have a pinfish problem. That is exactly what Izzy and Jacob Rabinsky did for hours. Tossed baits into hundreds of fish. Jacob is definitely hooked on the sport and I can't think of a better place for a young man to spend time. These father and son trips are my favorite; it is such a pleasure for me to see parents spending Quality time with their kids. They had a blast and can't wait to come back and catch some cobia with me this month.
Speaking of, we have been catching some south of the inlet on 6" Gulp squid in the amber glow color. I also recommend the 4" Gulp crab in the molting color but make sure you use a weight to control the cast. Hook them to a circle hook and you have the best chance to catch one. The cobia got a lot of pressure down at Cape Canaveral last month. Some of the reason is that so many species are closed offshore that the pressure is on the cobia fishing. I wonder if the South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council thought of that. Plus the bottom fish that are open offshore are hard to catch because the red snapper are so thick it is harder to get a bait past the red snapper. I don't know where the SAFMC got there data from but it is not from someone that knows how to fish. OK I will get down now. The cobias were on the rays, but now most of them are on the bait pods. Look for some tripletail while you are fishing for cobia and check all the weed lines that you come across. The bait is here off the beach and the kingfish, Jacks, Tarpon and sharks are right behind them.
Back to the Mosquito lagoon Chris and Evan Cofland joined me for a morning trip and caught many redfish and trout. I have watched his sons grow up fishing with me for many years and it is such a great bond for parents and kids to fish together. They had four double headers on fish over the slot, to finish the day. I also saw the biggest school of pompano in the lagoon I have ever seen, so that is a good sign. Book your spring and summer trips early so you get the dates you want. Remember think like a fish to catch fish or just call 386 314 5656 or visit captjoeporcelli.com
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