Happy Fishing in Old Homosassa!!!
Capt. "Red Ed" Brennan
November 22, 2011
Homosassa - Saltwater Fishing Report
Happy Fishing in Old Homosassa!!!
Happy Thanksgiving to all, enjoy the time with your family and friends, and please save some pie for me! Special thanks to everyone that fished and scalloped with us this past year, you've made this our most memorable and rewarding season yet! We hope to see you all again next year and don't forget to book your Scallop charters and hotel rooms early as that is our busiest time of the year.
In-between fronts and when the wicked wind isn't blowing out of the East, we've had some beautiful days on the water here in Old Homosassa. Yesterday for example was 86 degrees, sunny with very little humidity. Just another day in paradise, aah yeah!! On another "Chamber of Commerce" day fishing with Rick Sharpless from N. Tampa, Brent (we couldn't spell his last name), from Lutz and Lou Sansom also from Lutz we had one of those days that always happens the day before or after you have your charter scheduled. We've all heard it before; you should have been here yesterday! While drifting the lush flats near the Trout Bar, South of Chassahowitzka Point, we caught well over 100+ plus fish! The day's total included 69 Speckled Sea Trout, 1 Spanish Mackerel, 1 Pompano and an assortment of other what we call trash fish. We also caught a Lionfish that day, which is the first time one has been caught on my boat and I've not heard of anyone else ever catching one here in this area. We did keep 19 Trout, 1 short of our legal limit, with the largest one being a "Gator Trout" of 21 inches caught by Lou! We were using a combination of Berkeley Gulps and MirrOlure scented soft baits popped behind a Cajun Thunder cork. I'm starting to lean more towards the MirrOlure over the Gulps for a few reasons, one the bait fish don't eat them so they last longer, two you can leave them on the hook overnight without them getting as hard as a rock, plus they don't smell as bad and last but not least they're cheaper than the Gulps. Try the 5 inch Provoker, in the following flavors: Watermelon Red Glitter, Gold/Red Glitter, Strawberry/White Tail, or the Opening Night. When there is enough water to get back into the creeks the Redfish bite continues to be good. Most of the Redfish I've cleaned lately have been full of Shrimp. Try the edges of the mangrove shorelines or rocky points on an incoming tide and toss a Shrimp and wait for the explosion. If the bait fish keep cleaning your hooks try cut Pinfish or Ladyfish. Redfish always fight like true warriors and you never get one in the net the first time it comes to the boat!
As I mentioned above and also in last month's fishing report the Speckled Sea Trout fishing has been outstanding since the end of September and now we hear about this potential change that could erase the strong gains in Trout populations accomplished by more than a decade of tight harvest regulations. With the new Trout proposal commercial anglers would get more leeway to keep fish? To be honest with you I wasn't aware that any commercial fishing for Trout was legal in Florida. I guess the reason for my ignorance is that commercial fishing for Trout here on Florida's Nature Coast is not as big as other parts of the state, especially on the East coast. The proposal would add two months to the current three month commercial harvest season. The rule would also allow two or more commercial fisherman, currently allowed 75 fish daily, to combine in a single boat and bring in 150 Trout daily. The rule would also allow a by-catch allowance of 75 Trout, (a trip limit), for commercial fisherman using beach or haul seines for other species. Currently, Trout can only be harvested by hook and line or cast nets. Catching a few Trout on occasion by accident in seines set to capture Mullet is one thing but allowing expert commercial fisherman with years of experience on the water to legally use seines to catch Trout in cooler months when the fish are often stacked by the hundreds in potholes is an invitation for abuse. Add to the fact there is often not enough on-the-water law enforcement along Florida's coasts and its clear this rule is a huge step backwoods to the days before the net ban. If approved, the new regulations would take effect January 1, 2012. For more details on this proposal or to send comments to the Florida Wildlife Commission, please visit www.myfwc.com.
Remember those hard to buy for anglers on your shopping list with a Gift Certificate, available on our Home Page at www.HomosassaRedfish.com, for a memory and adventure that will never be forgotten! Our first time, "Introductory Offer", of $299.00, for an all-inclusive full day charter for one to four anglers would even make Santa a very happy fisherman!
Take a spouse, child, friend or your entire family on an exciting outdoor adventure here in our tiny fishing village and experience Florida like it was hundreds of years ago! Come bend a rod with us in one of Florida's last best kept secrets, the beautiful and productive waters of Homosassa and Chassahowitzka!! Let's go CATCHING!!!
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