Ole Florida Fishing Reports

Sunday, February 06, 2005

Capt. John Meskauskas - Stuart

Most of the good fishing has been on the grass flats and along the mangroves of the lower Indian River. Days have been a mixed bag of fish including Snook, Pompano, Ladyfish, and Bluefish. Simple weighted flies like Chartreuse/White Clousers and Schminnows have worked best. The night fishing for Snook under the lights has picked up. A lot of the dock lights have been fixed since the storms and night trips are an excellent sight fishing experience. You can see the Snook cruising and popping small baitfish in the shadows and directly under the lights. Clear intermediate lines are key to keep the fish at ease. Throw small white flies like Polar Fiber Minnows, Eat Me Flies, and Ole Florida's What Up Dock.


Capt. Scott Hamilton - Palm Beach

The weather has been a bit snotty the last few days so most of the fishing has been inside the Intracoastal and PBI. There have been a fair number of Jacks up to 6-7lbs inside the Inlet. These fish have been feeding on minnows near the surface so Crease Flies and Poppers are excellent choices. Barracuda fishing has been excellent inside. Fish around the sailboats and on the colder days, blind cast in shallow water with dark bottoms. The past week produced fish up to 40lbs. Scott uses 45-60lb knotable wire shock tippet tied into long flourescent green Tube Flies made from Flexi-Cord. These flies twist and rotate like nothing else and drive Cudas crazy. There's action on the outside when the weather permits. The Spinner Sharks are still not here yet in force, but there have been some stragglers around. The fly-fishing off the beach has been good for Bluefish, Spanish Mackerel, Ladyfish, and Pompano. A little farther offshore there's been good bites on big Dolphin and huge Skipjack Tuna. The Tuna school that Scott fished last week were oddly mixed sized fish that ranges from 5-15lbs. Chasing them for a while was neccessary until they were able to be cast at. There also have been some small Yellowfins mixed in.