Florida:
Atlantic Coast

Santa brings the BIG reds to the Indian River

To all the hardcores out there who find themselves surfing for fly fishing information on Christmas Eve, more power to you. Have a great time on the water this Christmas, and thank you for reading Reel-Time. Our Next two features in the upcoming weeks will focus on:

• Jack crevalles on the fly, and
• black drum in the Indian River system.

Don't forget to send me your own reports, and until next week...

Tight Lines!

Thorne Sparkman

Florida's Atlantic Regions

Jacksonville

In the Jacksonville area, Capt. John Bottko of the Salty Feather Shop and Guide Service (888-847-2589) has had a very busy week in the store helping the Christmas shoppers, but he did manage to fit in one day of fly fishing. Capt. John found both redfish and sea trout, when he concentrated on the shallower creeks north of the St. John's. Bottko caught three redfish and six specs for the day.

Port Canaveral

Captain Rodney Smith of Coastal Angler Magazine (407-777-2773) has had been finding some of the Indian River Lagoon's biggest redfish – fish from 35 to 40 pounds – and he's been helped by the dropping water levels in the lagoon system, and the increasing clarity.

This is a part of the seasonal pattern for the lagoon system, in fact, as the winds are predominantly out of the east in September and October which blows more water into the backcountry. The water subsequently drops as the winds switch to the north.

Rodney, who will be fly fishing tomorrow, made a point of saying that these are not easy fish. These are resident fish, unlike many other redfish populations, so Captain Smith, and others who are on the water as regularly can come to know the habits of specific schools. Rodney described the characteristics of two of his favorite schools, for instance, in the Banana River.

Stuart to Jupiter to Palm Beach

In the Jupiter area, Captain Scott Hofmeister of Blue Hole Fishing Adventures (561-747-2101) reports top notch fly fishing in the ocean north of Jupiter Inlet. Today, Scott guided anglers Ed and Teddy Borg into a horde of blues spanish macs, ladyfish, and jack crevalle up to ten pounds. The fish were smashing threadfin herring and driving them into the waiting maws of pelicans, gannets and assorted gulls. Ed Borg landed two of the big jacks on Scott's sporty five weight fly rod

Inshore there are still some jacks up to five pounds in the Loxahatchee River, but anglers should expect the upcoming cold snap to hasten the upcoming Winter patterns, which will witness increasing numbers of bluefish offshore and in the rivers. Capt. Hofmeister anticipates an upturn in the action in Peck's Lake: an offshore lake or depression that holds bait and fish.