Surf Fishing:
 

When the first cold front hits our area and the water temperature at Playalinda drops to around 78 degrees, the resident pompano in the lagoon system which normally remain in the river will start to make their way out to the beach where they meet up with the migratory fish coming down from North and South Carolina.

For the past week, surf anglers have been battling seaweed along Space Coast beaches making decent presentations all but impossible.  The anglers who persevered were rewarded with catches of bluefish,whiting, Jack crevalle, pompano, and lots of sharks. 

Most of the pompano caught have been under the legal size limit however, some nice fish like the one here are being caught when the conditions are right.
 
The surf fishing up north around Volusia county has been producing outstanding catches of bull whiting, some keeper pompano, and large schools of bluefish for surf anglers who could find a spot without weeds or with light concentrations of weeds.  

With cooler weather moving in this week, the larger pompano should be moving south out of the Jacksonville and St. Augustine areas towards our beaches. 

The anglers who have shown persistence were using crab and clam flavored fish bites, and live sand fleas on standard pompano rigs with either purple or red beads. 

Although the largest whiting and pompano are holding out well past the first sandbar, it pays to run multiple rods fanned out along the beach until you find the area where the fish want to feed for that day.

Around Playalinda Beach, most anglers who braved the weeds were catching whiting and slightly under size pompano.   Pompano fishing should become more consistent with a drop in water temperature that we anticipate with the upcoming front.  We can also expect better numbers of large whiting and smaller black drum with the approaching cold front. 

Most surf fishermen at Playalinda have been using standard pompano rigs with fresh shrimp for bait, however, sand fleas and fishbites are highly recommended.

Coco Beach surf anglers are also reporting too much salad in the waves to be able to properly present a bait or lure.  The anglers who managed to fish the area reported some success with live sand fleas for pompano, fishbites and shrimp for whiting, and cut mullet for bluefish.   There had been lots of mullet around but as the weeds showed up, the pods disappeared.

Although the water clarity has improved, most surf anglers are crossing their fingers hoping for the seaweed situation to improve. 

Shark fishing from the beach has been outstanding along the east coast of Florida and should continue throughout the month. 

 

 

                                                                            

Until next time,

Tight Lines and bent rods!