A few things you must take with you when you hit the water are: lots of water, a cooler "it should be a Yeti" full of ice and more water, sunglasses, more water, a hat " the straw style ", I bring a BUFF, and most important thing is sunscreen, I like the WATERMANS Applied Science brand because it doesn't take the grip away from my hands. I am on the water before the sun is up most of the time and off it by ten or eleven after that is just too hot and the bite slows anyway.

The bait run is here in full swing and the inshore waters are full of mullet and little porgies. The other day I had a few hours to burn before work so I put in near the SR528 Causeway in the Indian River Lagoon around eight forty and paddled to one of my favorite flats in hopes to catch just one redfish before work. Well about two to three hundred yards from my launch area I saw my first fish, not a big fish but it was a redfish so I give it cast and nothing. I try again and this time the fish jumped all over my Pearl White Bass Assassin Blurp shad tail bait Rigged on a 3/0 Mission Fishin 1/32 oz Weedless Jerk bait hook. After a short fight I had my first fish of the day. I moved on down the flat looking for another tail when I came upon a very large school of Mullet. As I got close to them I saw what looked like the tip of a Redfish tail breaking the surface so I make another cast and Fish on... With my video camera rolling I know I got some good shots from above water so I say to myself " self let's see what's going on under the water and man did I get some good stuff. I land this fish and take a quick picture and set it free. This continued for another seven fish then it was time to head in and to work. All the fish I found were around the Mullet pods but not feeding on them rather they would just fall in line behind the school and wait for the Mullet to flush something from the grass and then the Redfish would rush in and scarf down whatever swam out.  

My Hot Spots for Inshore are:

Hit the Flats from Port St John thru Titusville and From SR 192 to Sabastian Inlet, look for the bait fish schools and use live bait fish, shrimp, or crabs for Trout and Redfish or look for deeper water like around the Haulover Canal or the Rail Road bridge to find Black Drum. For the Drum I would use frozen shrimp or a 1/4 of a crab rigged on a circle hook.
Flounder are still holding inside Port Canaveral. For those looking for a Flatfish or two for dinner rig a Mud Minnow or a small finger mullet on a sliding egg sinker rig, or as we call it a Fish Finder Rig and work the deep areas of the Port.

Looking off the beaches nothing has changed from my last report. The Kingfish, Tarpon, Sharks and other species are still on the beach around the bait pods and the Manta Rays. Look for Cobia to still be on the Rays but make sure you eat your Wheaties before hooking up with some of them. Here is a photo of my buddy Ryan with a monster “not caught from a YAK but still a great catch. He found this fish on a Ray in fifty foot of water. Live bait works the best but you can use dead bait or even jigs, topwater plugs and sub surface lures in and around the bait pods.

My Hot Spots for the Surf are:

Patrick Air Force Base, Playlinda Beach, Melbourne beach south of Indialantic, and Sabastian Inlet I would take a sibiki rig with you catch a few live baits and then free line them around the bait pods with a live bait hook and sixty pound fluorocarbon.

I have not had any good reports from my Freshwater guys so I am sorry to say you are on your own with this one.

Good Luck, Tight Lines and Calm Winds