It’s the time of year when anglers can expect good numbers of small fish working just off the shorelines where mangroves are present. Soft plastics like the 4 inch Salt Water Assassin Shrimp or Sea Shad tails rigged weed-less on an 1/8 ounce head are your best options right now. Cast out in front on cruising fish and slide these lures across their path. Once the reds see the offering, let them approach it and strike. Don’t move the lures too quickly, this often spooks these fish and they rarely give you a second chance.

With the extremely windy conditions we’ve had over the past week Captain Justin and I have been concentrating our efforts in the Indian River lagoon system with our customers. Black drum action remains very good on most days. Saltwater Assassin jigs tipped with crab or shrimp scent have been working best on these fish.

Black drum action continues to be outstanding in the Indian River this week. We’ve had a group of larger fish move in from what we had previously been catching. These new fish are in the 30 to 50 pound class. We are having to tackle up to pull them away from the structures they are holding on using our cobia rods instead of our typical flats fishing rods.

The black drum bite continues to keep our customers’ rods bent this week. Most of these fish are striking live shrimp rigged on a ¼ ounce Saltwater Assassin chartreuse colored jig head. When the fish are not grouped into schools, we switch tactics. We often rig cut crab on a sliding sinker rig with a 5/0 to 6/0 sized VMC 7385 circle hook. Fish this type of bait around bridge pilings, rocky areas and docks for drum that are 30 plus pounds.

Tripletail action along the near-shore waters has been very good over the past week and a half. Live shrimp or small baitfish on a jig head are the best way to get them to strike. Floating debris and buoys are good places to search for these tasty fish. Bait pods are holding sharks, bluefish, cobia and bonito which are all possible catches when you cast a live pogie, jig or top water plug around the pods. Some of the sharks are running in the 150 pound class.

Cooler temperatures and clearing water conditions are creating a good bite in the northern Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon for redfish and speckled trout over the last few days. Live shrimp seems to be the top natural bait to use for these two species at this time. We are rigging our shrimp a 1/0 or 2/0 sized VMC circle hook and prospecting sandy potholes in grassy areas or sight casting to fish we see cruising along the shorelines.

This week the nearshore bite has been strong. Bluefish, Spanish mackerel and jack crevalle have been very active on top water plugs such as the Rapala Skitter Pop. Find the bait and fish the bait pods cruising up and down the beach and cast around them. There have also been big sharks and redfish around the bait pods as well.

Our bite in the Indian River and Banana River has turned on this week. The approaching new moon phase seems to be bringing these fish into the shallows despite the dirty water conditions that we have in some areas. Our best catches are coming around areas were mullet are congregating on the flats. Soft plastic jerk baits like the Salt Water Assassin 4 inch Sea Shad in the avocado green with red flake Houdini and Mama’s 14 K color patterns have been getting great results when rigged on a 1/8 oz. jig head or weed less weighted worm hook.

Despite the red tide in the area we are still managing to work around in the cleaner water areas and find quite a few fish. Bluefish, Jack, ladyfish, flounder, snook, and redfish are the main species for us on our charters this week. Live fingerling mullet and Rapala X-Rap size 10 or 12 lures are working best for most of these species. Silver Krocodile or Gator spoons ranging from 1/4 to 3/4 ounce will also get many of these fish to strike.

Inshore we have noticed an increase in the trout activity around the docks on both sides of the Indian River. Using top water baits in the morning and swapping over to twitch baits as well as subsurface lures as the sun starts to come up, seems to be the best way to get a positive response from these fish.

“If you want to!”

A big daddy black drum caught with Capt. Jim Ross!

Red Snapper soon is just around the corner with dates soon to be announced…

Capt. Jim Ross says he catches mangrove snapper like this one with light leaders and small hooks, which will get you more bites on the mangroves than standard bottom tackle.

Beating the storm, hitting that black drum bite!

The black drum bite is still booming in the Lagoon!

Big barracuda caught with Capt. Jim Ross