DOA Writers Conference, Huge Success in Jensen Beach
Capt. Ron Presley
July 21, 2010
Indian River Lagoon - Saltwater Fishing Report
The River Palms Resort in Jensen Beach was the site of the annual D.O.A Lures Writers Festival on July 18, 19 and 20. Outdoor writers from all over the country were hosted for a fun filled weekend and a chance to catch some fish on D.O.A. lures. Instead of guiding I was privileged to fish with a couple local guides in the area.
The first day I fished with Capt. Tommy Thomson, Executive Director of the Florida Outdoor Writers Association. We were on the boat of Capt. Fred Calmotto (772.334.2145), who along with his dad Henry operates the Snook Nook tackle shop in Jensen Beach. The next day I fished with another local guide, Capt. Paul Strauss (772.485.8229), who operates his charter fishing business in the area.
Each guest was presented with a large assortment of famous D.O.A. lures, hands on instruction on how to use them and the opportunity to fish with experienced D.O.A. fishing guides. The Jensen Beach/St. Lucie Inlet area is world known for big snook and trout and the reputation was well verified in two days of intensive fishing.
Despite the windy weather numerous snook, trout and other varieties were caught, photographed and released, all proving the effectiveness of the D.O.A. line of lures. Snook to 44 inches and trout to 30 inches were at the top of the list.
Some of the favorite lures in the Jensen Beach area are the original D.O.A. Shrimp, TerrorEze, Bait Buster and Big Fish Lure (BFL). Some of the best reports on the TerrorEze came from area bridges. The lure is bounced along the bottom near the pilings to attract big snook like the one pictured above. Best results tend to come when the water is moving so pay attention to the tides.
The Bait Buster lure was responsible for catches around the bridges and in the inlet where floating the current and casting the Bait Buster to the shoreline will also produce big snook. The inlet can be rough at times so pay attention and be prepared for waves caused by passing vessels.
One of the newest lures in the D.O.A. line is the BFL 5.5 inch swim bait. This is one of the most realistic looking baits I have ever seen. It literally looks like a mullet swimming in the water. Its adjustable lip allows the angler to adjust the depth it swims to fit the fishing conditions. I had not used this bait before, but I will use it plenty in the future. I am especially looking forward to pitching it to some nearshore tarpon before the summer run is over.
Finally, the old reliable plastic shrimp was responsible for numerous catches of a wide variety of fish. It's no secret that saltwater fish like to eat shrimp and nothing brings them to the hook better than the D.O.A. Shrimp. You can't be picky with this lure, everything likes to eat it. The big bluefish in the picture above was caught on a D.O.A. shrimp by my fishing partner on the second day, Capt. William Toney. Big trout, snook and more were also reported on the imitation shrimp.
For the uninitiated the acronym D.O.A. stands for Deadly on Anything and it was aptly demonstrated at the writers festival.
That's what it's all about. Good fishin'.
You can view reviews and purchase my book, Secrets from Florida's Master Anglers on the Snook Foundations website with proceeds going to the foundation.
http://www.snookfoundation.org/support/147-secrets-from-floridas-master-anglers.html
Up Coming Events:
This weekend I am heading back to Jensen Beach and the River Palms for the Addictive Fishing "Mogan Mania" event. My plans include hooking up with one off those monster snook on a D.O.A. TerrorEze or Bait Buster.
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