Jetty Fishing- Sebastian Inlet Quick Guide

September 14, 2014 by cudamanadventures

I have been asked before and was asked recently to provide information as far as what good times to go fishing, what gear, and what bait can work at Sebastian Inlet Jetties and near shore areas. In many reports of other fishing sites I have posted the same information, but as the years have passed some forum sites no longer exist or others have done upgrades loosing a lot of data. This day I was approached by a boatlessfishing.com forum member by the forum name of Chevy Juan he had the same questions so I realized it was too much to send over text and since this can help others I told him I would write the information on a blog post. So I am going to give him credit for inspiring me to share this bit of knowledge with others. But please understand I can not give all the details and secrets but I am giving you all you will need to catch some nice fish. Perhaps I will give you too much information. My experience comes from fishing these areas on my old boat in the early 90’s and yearly trips there after. I give credit to retired old man Coast Guard Dave from the Newport pier for telling me about this place in the early 80’s. May you rest in peace Dave! I also participated in a couple of CPR tournaments (Catch Photo Release) on the boatlesfishing forum. Most my fish came from this inlet. Pompano, Snook, Redfish, Spanish Mackerel, Bluefish, Jack Crevales, Sheepshead, Black Margates, Black Drums, etc… As I find those pictures I will upload on my blog. I wrote the information I am sharing in a few hours today so I hope it helps the many that will read this post. You can leave comments if you like.

The Sebastian Inlet State Park is located at:

9700 S. State Road A1A
Melbourne Beach, Florida 32951

The best time of year:

So let’s start with what are the good time to go fishing at Sebastian Inlet and let’s add what time of year is best. All year round is great fishing in Sebastian Inlet. You can see this information at:

Click to access sbi-sebastianfishbait.pdf

On the above image from the State public records you can see that Redfish and Snook are there almost year round, but do congregate more in the fall and the same is with many other species. This is because of the annual mullet run. This is no secret but if you didn’t know, now you do. Another factor that determines a good time to fish Sebastian as many other places is to fish there right before or after a storm or a cold front. The change in Barometric pressure makes just about all fish feed more than normal. Again this is no secret.

The best time to go:

as with any inlet and any bridge the best time to go is before the change of tides and stay until at least a couple of hours after the tide changed. If time is in your hands then fish as much as you can all day and all night but ensure that your bait is in the water during the peak times (tide changes). Sebastian is a great place to fish, specially if you want to fish with artificial lures. You will see many people favor big silver spoons and chartreuse flarehawks (a bullet type jig also used in partyboats to catch king Mackerel Fish). This has not changed in over 20 years.

What tackle is best?

Sincerely it all depends on what you are fishing for. In Sebastian Inlet you will see all kinds of tackle getting the jib done. Now days you will see many that go with just one spinning reel that holds 50 lb braid and they put a small piece of mono on it with a 5/0 to 7/0 hook and a small weight just before the hook to guide the bait to the bottom where snook and redfish feed, many call this rig a “Knocker Rig” some will do this the old way, on a spinning or conventional reel using 20 to 30 lb test monofilament line with a free moving sinker, main line tied to a swivel, and a 40 to 50 lb leader to a 5/0 to 7/0 hook . This rig is also known as a “fish finder rig” which is basically a “Carolina Rig”. When fishing for big bull redfish, snook, permit or any other big fish I would recommend an 8 foot rod or longer. When fishing for Pompano and flounder the usual long surf rod can do the job. Some areas of the jetty have under the bridge catwalks where you can use short rods.

What bait for what species?

It is obvious that it is the mullet run in the fall so many fish will be fixed on eating mullet, so bring a casting net and catch a few and have a live-well ready for them. Many other baits work as well and all depends on the species you are after. Stopping by the local Bait and Tackle shop will ensure that you have the right knowledge to know what bait is best during the time of year you go.

Snook and Redfish: You can catch these during the out going or incoming tide from the catwalks to the end of the jetties. Fish the inlet side.

Shrimp – Stop at the Bait shop and ask for the largest shrimps you can get. Ask for hand picked shrimp, some of the local shops do sell tiger shrimps which are larger than the normal shrimps.
Croacker – you will need to catch these your self. You can use sabiki rigs with small pieces of shrimp. Right before you get to the bridge you will see the river banks on the side. You can get croackers there. You can also catch them a few feet from the shore, just toss your small pieces of shrimp in the trough (the area between the shoreline and the sand bar).
Pinfish – same as above but you can also use squid.
Mullet – certain times of the year finger mullets are not allowed to be sold at tackle shops but you can cast net them yourself at the river banks
Pigfish (tomtate grunts) catch them at the river banks with squid or shrimp.
Artificial – snook can be caught with bucktail jigs right along the edges of the jetty bouncing them on the bottom and also casting towards the middle of the cut and also bouncing the jigs along the bottom. Redfish can be caught on artificial lures along the shorelines of the river.

Pompano: You can catch these from the bend of the North jetty to the second bend just cast towards the North.

Shrimp – Stop at the Bait shop and ask for live clams, if no live clams ask for frozen clams. Do take a few sandfleas if you can but the clams will work best.

Shepshead: You can catch these from the second bend to the end of the jetty fishing on the ocean side.

Fiddler crabs – Stop at the Bait shop and ask for live fiddler crabs
Shrimp – You can actually stop at Publix and get fresh peeled shrimp, place it in salt to make it a little tuffer and use the headless pieces with 3/0 hooks and a “fish finder rig”

Snappers: Fish directly under the jetty where the water seems to get deeper until you find them. On ocean side and inlet side.

Shrimp – Stop at the Bait shop and ask for live shrimp.
White bait: Go on the catwalks with a casting net and try to catch sardines and thread-fin herrings. Cut the tail off and use them with “knocker rigs” or “Fish Finder rigs” You can use them live and this way you might catch snook and tarpons as well.

Gulf Flounder: Fish the catwalks on both sides and from the rocky areas at the begining of the jetty (riverside). Also on the south jetty all around the tip and towards the beach. Flounder usually starts with the mullet run and start to get thick in November and December but it is a mad house out there so I usually avoid fishing because of that. Use a fish finder rig with a short leader, make sure you have a loose drag but not too loose as flounders have a soft mouth.

Finger mullet – certain times of the year finger mullets are not allowed to be sold at tackle shops but you can cast net them yourself at the river banks.
Mud minnows – Stop at the Bait shop and ask for live mud minnows
Shrimp – use whole live shrimps
Artificial – use scented shrimp like or mullet like artificial lures along the shore lines of the river. You can suspend them under a cork/float while wading in the river. You can also get both species with hardbait artificial lures, just cast toward unusual moving waters in the shallows.

Black Margate: Fish the end of the jetty on the ocean side, these like the snappers are usually right next to the jetty. No need to cast out far.

Shrimp – use whole live small shrimps or cut shrimps
Squid chunks, about 1/2″ size

Black Drum: this is another crowd gatherer in Sebastian inlet as you can catch Black Drums in the 10 pound range and above, but most will be smaller in size. Use a “Fish Finder Rig”.

Shrimp – use whole live shrimps and cut shrimps
Squid – 1 inch wide chunks
Clams, fresh or frozen

Spotted Seatrout: Not at the jetty but at the river bank you will notice that after sunrise many will be wading in the river right before you get to the park. Use a float and shrimp under it. The bottom of the river has massive amounts of algae. if you decide to wade be prepared to get stuck in the sandy mud.

Shrimp – use whole live shrimps
Pigfish (tomtate grunts) catch them at the river banks with squid or shrimp
Finger muller – certain times of the year finger mullets are not allowed to be sold at tackle shops but you can cast net them yourself at the river banks.
Artificial – trout love artificial baits – Anything that looks like a shrimp or a sardine/finger mullet

All the bait above can work for many other species such as Jack Crevales and Bluefish. So tossing your bait out will be the best way to find out what is biting out there as one day the fishing will be excellent and the next it will just be sit and wait. Blue crabs work well with many of the species mentioned. Cut mullet will also work.

Word of advice:

Do not take so much tackle that you cannot keep track of. If you fish more than one rod be aware of them at all times as your gear will find a way to walk to the parking lot and get inside of someones car. Unfortunately this is something that has not changed in so many years. If you did not understand then; There is a lot of theft in this Jetty as many people from all walks of life go there and sometimes only go there once or twice a year. But do not misunderstand, most people are very nice and will even give you advise or offer you some bait, just watch your gear for the rest.

Below you can see where the fish are biting. In this case I believe it was Black Drums and Sheepsheads. It will not take long to figure out what is biting and what bait is working best. This happens at most piers as people follow the schools of fish, but sometimes people just think there is only one spot where the fish will bite.

Below I am catching the baits mentioned to be caught on the river side.

Below are nice size Bull Redfish caught from the North Jetty at Sebastian Inlet around 2007 and 2008 in winter and fall.

Below are a couple of small sheepshead caught one in the river the other at the North Jetty in the Winter.

Here are some links you can use to get some information on what is biting at Sebastian Inlet Jetties.

http://www.sebastianinletcam.com/

http://www.sebastianinletdistrict.com/

http://www.sebastianinletdistrict.com/fishing.jhtml?method=list

Permit Fishing at Long Key Bridge 8-23-14 The Run Away Trains

August 23, 2014 by cudamanadventures

It was a new moon’s dark night, fair nice breeze, decent current, and the usual short walk we make to one of Long Key’s Bridge fishing platforms. It felt like the day of fishing would be promising. Here is my recollection of this day.

I got off work a bit late and rushed home to eat dinner with my family and then pickup my gear. It was about 7:30 pm by the time I left home to pickup Nilson and then was to our usual stops to get some blue crabs, thread-fin herring, and ballyhoo for bait. The commercial fishing for ballyhoo is closed in August so we had to buy frozen and hoped to be able to catch some bait for snappers at the bridge. We wanted to be there before the tide change but barely made it to slack tide. On this trip I went light meaning I only brought five fishing rods with me. I normally bring 10 to 12 fishing rods since there is always ample room to fish at the bridges in the Florida Keys. I brought two 9 foot bridge rods with6/0 Penn Senators filled with 80 pound test line. Well these are my inexpensive party boat trolling reels and since my Accurate 600’s were filled with braid I did not want to un-spool and re-spool with 50 lb test mono filament line. While fishing in the Florida Keys bridges I like to fish with monofilament line since it does not break so easily on the bridge’s arches or pylon’s barnacles. I took one 9 foot rod to fish for snappers, this one had an old Penn Jigging Master with Accuplates and was filled with 30 lb test mono filament line. Additionally, I brought two small bait rods; One for a sabiki rig and another for hook, line, and sinker to get small grunts and also use it a light snapper rod.

Nilson and I got to the fishing platform and after setting up we waited for Ron and Ricky to show up. We casted our rods for permit fishing and as Nilson was cutting bait for snapper fishing he dropped the only bait cutting knife we brought. We had to improvise so out came a file I use to sharpen my hooks and became a bait shank. We cut a few bits the best we could and out the snapper baits went in the water. A few small snappers were caught but back in the water they went. By this time the tide started to change and zzzzzzzzzzzzz Nilson’s rod started singing but by the time we got to it the permit fish dropped the crab, Nilson missed his first and only permit bite of the midnight tide change.

Ron and Ricky arrived shortly after and started fishing for snappers. The night was nothing but slow pickings of lady fish, bonnet head sharks, a possible nurse shark, and a few short sized mutton snappers. Bait was scarce but we did manage a few grunts to be used for snapper fishing.

Below is Nilson with one of the Ladyfish caught. It was used for bait and a short while later a nurse shark, a bonnet head and a small mutton snapper was caught.

Ron and his undersized mutton snapper.Time went by, the tide had already fullychanged and the bite slowed down so I fell asleep like a pancake on the floor. I did not bring a chair or a sleeping bag and not even a yoga mat to sleep on. Like Nilson told me “man I have never seen you so unprepared”. Well it was true. I had no tme to think about what I brought to fish with. One thing I was prepared for was to catch a permit which was my main goal. I positioned my weather gear bag next to my fishing rod and used it as a pillow and fell asleep on the pavement right next to my rod. My rod was set on free spool and the clicker was set to prevent the spool from releasing any line unless a permit would pick up my bait and would start swimming away with bait in mouth. What can I say sometimes it’s all about timing I woke up at 6:30 am and as soon as I woke up the loud clicker started to sing zzzz zzzzzzz zzzzzzznnnnnn… and the line started to rip away from my reel like a run away train. I woke up like a ninja and nefore I knew it I ad the reel and rod in my hands and started to reel in the line making sure not to set the hook as I was using a 7/0 circle hook. I was not able to see which way the line was going since it was still dark but the tide had started to change and the Permit swam 3 bridge arches to my left and headed to go under one of them. The guys were telling me wich way the line was going and I dashed to follow the run away train. If it wasn’t because I had such a heavy line I would have lost the fish. The guys assisted with the landing of the fish. It was a nice 24.5 pounds fish. The fish had smashed it’s head against the pylons and it’s mouth was destroyed so I decided to keep it.

My permit barely fitting in the landing net.

My Permit Fish weighed in at 24.5 pounds.

There were six rods out in total with crabs on them and as the tide continued to change Nilson’s rod got hit and as he jumps and runs to pick up his rod the line mysteriously popped. This was to be the second permit he lost since midnight but it was not long before he would get another chance and this time it was a longer runaway train that did not want to stop. The fish swam very fast away from the pylons and decided to make a swim towards the arches under the bridge. Nilson ran towards the direction of the run away train trying to catch it. We guided him so he could concentrate on reeling the line in/ It was now the 4th bridge arch and Nilson was able to turn the fish away. We got the fishes head out of the water which usually means the fish gave up and could be ready to be landed, but as Ron drops the landing net in the water the fish flipped and swam with a mad dash towards the bridge arches again, Nilson ran reeling and reeling until finally he caught up with it and again the fish head almost out of the water but zzzzzzzz another mad dash to another arch, and again Nilson runs to catch up with the run away train until finally he turns the fish and the head was once again out of the water. Ron dropped the net in the water but the net got caught up on the bridge so I had to assist him with it and as I guide Nilson to place the fish over the net and I start to pull the fish out his hook tip broke, but the fish was already in the net and with a little difficulty we were able to pull it on the bridge.

And again the fish barely fit in the landing net.

Nilson proud of his catch.

On the scale that we used to get the fish weight. The Runaway train weighed i at 29.7

Ricky and Ron did not have takers this time but hopefully next time it will be different. As we left the bridge we gave our left over crabs to another fisherman that was to fish the bridges until Sunday. He had already caught some nice size mangrove snappers in the rocky areas of the bridge. As we left in this hot summer afternoon it was off to play Tetris with our gear and our cars. On the way people were asking how we did and so I told them we only got two fish. They looked back at us with the thought that it was not a good day of fishing, but to me it was great fun as it always is with our crew and Nilson and I walked away with fish to last us 6 dinners at home. 🙂

Captain Yuri’s Boat Fishing With Bait – July 2014

August 20, 2014 by cudamanadventures

This report is now way over due, what can I say, I have been a busy bee. As always work gets in the way of fun with the family and fishing but I can still find a way to balance life in a way to include some fishing and going out with my family. The grass in my back yard has waited quiet a while now but “Oh Well!” I don’t go on my back yard that often anyways. When I agreed to go on this trip I knew it was in July and I knew it would be hot, but didn’t know it was going to be scorching hot! There was no wind and no current. I don’t think that Captain Shane needed to drop the anchor at all, but he did. Many think that because you go on a 6 pack you will catch your limits on every species but that is not the case. Most fish like current so they can ambush their pray and it’s been my experience that while fishing offshore and inshore they do not feed much when there is no current and so it was the case on this trip. This is the reason this report will be sweet and short 🙂

When we got to the dock the boat was not ready, they had to fill the coolers with ice and had to fuel it.

In the meantime we walked around the Stock Island Marina and found all the changes to be very pleasing to the eyes.

I was very pleased to see that the water clarity was so good that coral heads were growing under the docks and some hogfish were spotted.

Once the boat got back we loaded our gear in.

After loading up we left Captain Yuri at the dock since Shane and Yuri’s nephew were to Captain the boat on this day.

Soon after we were in the Dry Tortugas area where things were a bit slow. Scot even had to measure a red grouper which he was happy to know it made the measurement.

It was then that the pain in the ARS (Amerincan Red Snapper) showed up and so we had to move.

The first Dry Tortugas Sunset came and the fish cooler was sad looking.

Night time yielded a couple of fish and of course the known King Mackerel of the Dry Tortugas.

It was now morning time and as we saw a funnel cloud develope the muttons started to bite. Jimmy was eating his breakfast when his rod started going off and then finish the by landing the famous Dry Tortugas Mutton Snapper.

I also got my hands on one.

Adam landed a nice size mutton.

Scott did as well.

Ed found himself a mutton size Mangrove Snapper, as a nice school passed by at almost noon.

In the after noon we hit a batch of red groupers and scamps mixed with Yellow Eye Snappers.

Sharks, ARS, sharks, and more ARS. The Sharks were a pain in the ARS! Here are two that got hit but only one survived the attack.

And then Ed found himself a nice size Mutton Snapper.

Another beautiful Dry Tortugas sunset fell upon us together with the humidity and heat, it was like being in a sauna for the entire trip. Most of us were exhausted as many sharks were caught specially by me and Scott.

This strange looking fish that resembled a Star Gazer fish was caught by Scott.

Below is what was to be the last shark of the trip an estimated 8 foot bullshark fought by Ozzy.

It was very slow pickings in the heat but we manage to fill our coolers.

Hopeful next time I fish in July there will at least be a small breeze.

Panama City Beach – Grouper Madness – 8-10-14

August 16, 2014 by cudamanadventures

Back in August my son and I took a drive up to Panama City Beach for a friendly Tournament. Getting out of Florida always seems like it takes for ever specially when you have to drive through unfamiliar back roads and ghost town look a like places. On the way we almost hit a dog and some deer that seem to appear on the road like holograms in the foggy night. Scarier thing is to stop at a gas station and been asked “you lost? You ain’t from around here ha?” I have to thank to that darn GPS for always taking me in the back roads and neighborhoods with 1 pump gas stations. Well, once we got off the I-10 highway it was a dark ride all the way to Panama City Beach but we got there in one piece. As we arrived at the hotel we went to get some subs and a drink then shortly after we went straight to the hotel and prepared for an all day of vertical jigging. My plan was to start with a long jig for AJ and then to use the slow jigging method combined with what I refer to as Yo-Yo technique (not Yo-Yo California Style; drop, reel fast, drop again, repeat). Simply drop the jig to the bottom and slowly pump it up and down. Then after a few up and downs slowly pump and reel, pump and reel in a slow manner.

It was morning time, we got some breakfast and then we had to hunt down for the Marina’s location. Once there we loaded the boat with our long list of gear and a couple bags of ice. The boat left at high speed to the fishing grounds just to find another team fishing the same wreck we were going to fish as our Captain positioned the boat we heard a shout saying that we were already fishing for second place as they had caught a big Amber Jack. We thought they were joking so we began to fish the other side of the wreck where a small jack was caught but nothing else was interested in our Metal Vertical Jjigs.

We moved to a second spot where the action was hot from the start it was an all out Porgie (White Snappers) madness by the guys. Below is the first Porgie on the boat, this one was by Ray.

Here is Jeff and the second Porgie on the boat. In total there were 7 porgies caught and most were from this stop.

Finally on the third spot red grouper after red grouper started coming up, but for me it was slow as I was the only one with a long jig in pursuit for a big AJ. After seeing that my jig did not produce on the first two spots I changed it to a smaller length H4L Goober 300g and finally started to catch them groupers and in between them there were several Red Snappers and a couple of Bonitos caught.

Below is Captain Charlie helping Ray with his Red Grouper. He was using a Jigging World JW-A141 170g Vertical Jig.

Here is Jeff and the biggest grouper of the tournament. A 19 pounds Gag Grouper.

Rey with another Red Grouper.

Below is a double with a Red Grouper by Ray and a Scamp by me.

A keeper Gag liked my H4L Goober 300g jig.

Red Snappers also liked my jig, but most of this one was taken by the tax man in the Grey Suit (a shark).

Here is James with some bendo action.

After the Grouper and ARS mayhem things slowed down a bit, then my son was able to nail an Lesser Amberjack.

There were lots of American Red Snappers caught on our boat. Below is Ray and in the back you can see James with another one.

Here I am with another ARS as well.

Then my last Scamp Grouper came in. I caught 3 Scamps and a Gag on this trip.

After that scamp we had a 5 consecutive hook up. Here are three bent rods on this pic. It ended being a mix of groupers, American Red Snappers, and a Bonito.

This spot has an all out mix of fish. Here is my son with a Porgie. He was catching all his fish on an 80g Maxel Dragonfly.

Then he managed to get an Amber Jack on the same small jig on a different spot.

That was it for us it was getting late, we had a box full of fish and most of us had our grouper limit for the day so we called it the day and headed home.

Back at the dock we tallied our fish and took a quick picture. The total came out to 27 fish caught between 5 of us. 6 Red Groupers, 8 Scamp Groupers,2 Gag Groupers,7 Porgies, and 4 Almaco Jacks. We waited for the other teams to show us their catch but one of the boats had bad luck with the weather in the area where they went and turned back a lot earlier than we all expected. The second boat showed up with a 70 pound Amberjack, an 18 pound grouper, lots of peanut dolphins, and some Vermillion Snappers taking the winnings since they caught the biggest fish and Pelagics plus Snappers.

It was the end of the trip and we all got together to share some stories before we headed home. Below is a group shot, but the camera flash did not work properly so it didn’t come out correctly. We stayed for a little while before heading home for our 10+ hour drive. It was plenty fun and the fishing in Panama City Beach seemed well worth the stop for a future trip.

Below is a link to a video of this trip.

The gear my son and I used were a Jigging Master Power Spell 200g Rod with a Jigging Master PE3 reel, a Jigging Master Terminator 400g rod with a Jigging Master Ocean Devil PE6 reel, a Spinal 250g Rod with a Shimano Saragossa 10K, and a Phoenix Hybrid rod with a Stella 8000PG. This last rod fought many hard battles against Amberjacks and Groupers but on this day it broke below the reel seat.

Hope you all enjoyed and perhaps it helped someone with some Vertical Jigging information.

Out Of Control IV Pulley Ridge- 360Tuna Jig and Crank!

July 28, 2014 by cudamanadventures

As many people already know that after 59 pages of forum talk and over 25,000 views on the Yankee Capts thread for the 360tuna.com charter the trip was a go but as I docked from another fishing trip I learned that unfortunately the Yankee Capts boat’s generator stopped working. Captain Greg made the calls but was not able to get a replacement on time for the switch for our trip. It was unfortunate that the trip was canceled and had many running around looking for different charters as many were driving from Georgia and the New Jersey area. Then the Out Of Control from Fort Myers stepped up and allowed David to make the deposit for an unscheduled Pulley Ridge trip. Thanks to Capt Bill (hawkboat) for the phone calls to set this last minute trip.

Where do we start? It was HOT! As Captain Greg said “it’s Africa Hot”. We all had bought water and Gatorade for the trip but it was not necessary as the boat included all you wanted to drink water in the $65 meal plan. I found out too late as I had already loaded it in the boat. Well, I had forgotten that part as I had already been on that ship. Oh Well! We waited for the mates and Captain to load and ready the boat for our trip. We loaded up, we used their carts to get our 50 pound jig bags and rods. I did not take a cooler as they did not allow coolers bigger than 50 quarts in the boat. Afterwards we went to get a bite to eat at the nearby restaurant but we had to take our food to go as they took over an hour to get it ready. It was now almost 9 pm when we left the dock for our 12 hour journey to Pulley Ridge.

It was about 10 am according to the time in my pictures that we started fishing in the 200 foot marks and were not lucky to find the fish, the Captain kept moving the boat over and over looking for the ones that wanted to bite in the 0 knot current and 0.1 knot wind if that much! That did not help with finding the hungry fish. The boat just wouldn’t move. Then the Captain decided to move the boat as we went for deeper and deeper waters plus a Westerly route.

In between the moves some people like Q were trolling, they hooked up a few times but the fish came off the hook that many times as well. No fish hit the decks on the troll this day.

It was almost noon when the first few fish decided to start chewing in about 300 feet of water. We were jigging pure metal but a couple of people were using electric reels with bait and were the first ones to hook up (David and Q). I hooked my first on the jig and so did Bill, Garriga, and Jay plus many others as the day went through.

The day went by and not many fish were landed. We were all worried that we were going to be skunked. It was not the jigging with pure metal that did it as some had tried with cut baits and live pinfish. Then at around 4 pm things started to sporadically pick up and we started catching some fish again.

Below is Q and a nice snowy that barely had spots. He caught this one around 6 pm. This is around the time Garriga gave up on the jigging and then I gave up on the jigs after only catching three snowies on pure metal. Soon after me Jay (redneck_billcollector) gave up on the purist jigging and added bait as well. He outlasted us on the pure metal jigging, even with his foot gout problems.

By 11 pm Garriga hooked up with a horse eye jack on a jig. My self, Jay and him kept going back and forth on the jigging and tipping jigs with bait. It was past midnight and after one mutton snapper caught we were all waiting for the blackfin tunas to appear. At about two am I took a nap and when I woke up, Jay told me that young Dennis had caught a wahoo on a live flyer. I went to look at the first fish box and found it decently full.

At morning time the Captain took us to deeper water but our luck was going in the same direction as the previous day. Gilbert and I spoke to David and suggested that we should just go to the deep wrecks or the Towers in the Ft. Myers area. David gave it a thought and ran it by the Captain. The decision was made to give it a few tries in deeper waters and then we would move to the wrecks. The Captain move the boat to 500 feet and told us that the fish were about 30 feet from the bottom. The Captain was good at letting us know at what dept the fish were so we were able to efficiently target them. By this time the current had picked up just a bit to about .4 knots if I remember correctly plus we had a small breeze that made it feel more comfortable. 9:30 am HALELUYA!!! QUEEN SNAPPERS!!! Yes, the queens started biting and the the yellow edge groupers did as well!

Jay with a supper double. A yellow edge grouper and a queen snapper on the Dennis Cluster Phuck Rig.

Gilbert with a super nice Queen Snapper.

Me with a queen and Garriga with a yellow edge grouper.

David with a double.

Bill and his Queen.

Jay and what I think was the heaviest fish of the trip.

Chichi landed a hell of a Queen Snapper.

That bite lasted until about 1:30 pm. Then it was move and move until the captain decided to go to the wrecks just outside Pulley Ridge. This is where Dennis landed a nice red grouper on a jig. Picture below.

Then it was AJ and Almaco madness as everyone got hooked up and as many almacos were gaffed some AJ’s were sent back into the water with injuries. Some were attacked by the barracudas as if attached by piranhas. Below is Chichi and crew hooked up.

Below is Bill hooked up.

Below is Garriga and his AJ that was released.

That was to be be the last few fish that jumped into the coolers. By now we were satisfied customers as we found some quality fish in the slow picking of the days of fishing. Then again it is called fishing not catching. I checked the live wells and saw just as many pinfish made the journey back with us. All the rods were packed away on the top deck and off to bed we all went.

The next morning we woke up to eat breakfast and pack our items to get ready to dock.

Back at the dock.

The group Picture and our catch.

Dennis went high hook.

Davis with his catch.

Chichi and his group with their catch.

All in all the trip had an extremely slow start but gradually got better and better. The Captain was great as always and the crew worked very hard to get all the fish and tangles as fast as they could in that extreme heat. A special thanks to the Co-Captain Dennis who was also our chef cooking all the meals. He catered to everyone’s needs for the food. This trip was basically an exploration trip for the Out Of Control IV group. They have now found the fish so their next trip should start with a strong bite.

A big thanks to the http://www.JiggingWorld.com crew for sponsoring the trip with their donations.

Update: This boat is no longer on the West Coast of Florida. I was renamed to Super Sealegs and now operates from the East Coast.

Lauderdale By The Sea Reef – Snorkeling/Freediving 6-21-14

June 22, 2014 by cudamanadventures

After a night of fishing at Anglins Pier in Lauderdale By The Seas, we headed to the beach for some snorkeling on the reef South of the pier. Fishing that night ended with a released mutton snappers, a puffer fish, 3 goggle eyes and a hookup to a sawfish that cut my line off, plus someone caught and released a nice size lemon shark. I fished at Anglins pier for many years and had not gone to explore the reef in the area. This time we made plans to snorkel the reef after a night of fishing. On the pier I asked my friend Tom what were the buoys that light up at night over the reef. He explained these were solar panels for a coral growth project (Bio Rock Project) and under it there is a wire mesh structure with coral growing on it. I wanted to see it my self so in the morning we headed to the beach and as we entered the water we were greeted by schools of sardines and then after a few short minutes we were on top of the reef. I was delighted to see the growth of coral and sea life. I had better luck on this snorkeling trip than I had in some of the Caribbean Islands these past few years.

It took me longer to unravel my float line than getting to the reef, as soon as we we were on top of the reef we saw a diver exploring the sea floor and my son passed right by his trail of bubbles.

Below are pictures of the reef. We were in water deeper than 15 feet where camera filters are necessary to appreciate the true colors of the reef. I apologize ahead of time as I do not have these filters, but I can assure you that in person the reef is very colorful and can be highly appreciated.

Here is a picture of the Bio Rock structure.

Close to the buoy, but not too close.

A picture of Anglins pier from the reef area.

Here is my nephew’s son. He grabbed on to my float and used it as a flotation device to help him see the reef.

At the edge of the reef on my way out this little fellow decided to model for the camera.

A tarpon waved good bye as we were on our way back to the beach.

I don’t know why but I just love taking pictures of the sand underwater.

At the end of the day we sat down and ate breakfast at the Pier’s restaurant.

Here is one last picture of the relaxing day. In the background you can see the buoys marking the Bio Rock Project.

Fishing was not productive but the snorkeling was very rewarding. I left with a satisfied soul and will be glad to comeback and do it over again. If you decide to go snorkeling or diving on this reef, it is located at the end of Commercial Boulevard, when you see the pier just walk towards the South and you can start snorkeling after the buoy marker that signals you are too close to the pier. Remember there are people with fishing lines in the water so stay as far away as possible from the pier.

Here is a short video I took.

I did some searches on the Bio Rock Project and found some videos with information:

ShoreBound Adventures

Fishing, fun, reports, and some reviews

Author Archives: cudamanadventures