Central Florida Catching Report
Capt. Joe Porcelli
January 17, 2013
Daytona Beach - Saltwater Fishing Report
The fishing has been off the chain lately with big schools of redfish and trout eating bare hooks. Yes we have taken our share of trout on just a jig head. Most of the trout that eat a bare hook are on the small side but just the same. The water is so clean and the redfish schools are like looking into an aquarium at sea world. It is not uncommon to have ten fish fighting over your bait as you rip it through the school. Then when U least expect it the gator trout appears out of know where and crashes your bait before one of the ten redfish could. I call these escort trout, they cruse the edges of the schools of reds foraging on the baits that are moving away from the school of reds that are combing the bottom. Trout are faster that most redfish and they are smart enough to use the reds for their carpet sweeper. Gulp shrimp in natural color will do the job if you don't have the real deal. The water level dropped about three weeks ago concentrating the reds in big schools. So if you are not sure you can make it over that flat don't try it. Last month it may have been OK but things change in the lagoon making many fishing spots only excess able by tunnel hull. If you have a skinny water boat that floats shallow chances are you will have to poll a long way to access some of the good spots. Most of those hells boats float real shallow but if you try to run them in shallow water they tear up the bottom trying. So don't try to follow a tunnel hull for the grass beds sake. Just sayin LOL. Tara got to catch here first sight casted redfish from the lagoon on a calm morning. She made a perfect cast and had the redfish hit the bait three times before he could get lock on it. At this point the fish was only ten feet in front of us before he got it. Many yards of line ripped from the real before she slowed him down, he was an over slot fish.
Sarah and Ryan joined me for an afternoon trip with great success catching ten reds and ten trout on the shallow flats. One of them above in the photo. We watched tails pop up for hours waving like it was Flag Day. It was definitely an espn moment for all of us. If you want numbers of fish it is not uncommon to catch eighty to a hundred fish in the deeper water. Most of the fish are small but the action is bar none. Bouncing gulp jigs on the bottom is also producing a few flounder. Not every trip is perfect but the majority of the trips that we have fished are not far from it. Think like a fish to catch fish or just call me at 386 314 5656 I guarantee you will.
Daytona Beach Fishing Forecast:
Good and better
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