Capt. Doug Blanton's Cocoa Beach Fishing Report
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Flats Report for Cocoa Beach & Titusville areas
August 12th, 2008 fishing report by Capt Doug Blanton
Summary
The Bull are Charging! The red fishing has been great over the past week. We have a few nice schools of bull reds starting to work the flats here in Cocoa Beach. We also have a lot of single and smaller groups everywhere. The top water bite has been pretty good during the first dozen or so casts on the schools until they get a little spooky.
The snook bite has been pretty good in the early mornings. Our best fish have been by watching and waiting around docks. The trout bite has been okay. There have been a lot of smaller fish on the outside edge of the flats but the larger fish have been a little harder to find. We also have a good number of tarpon that are willing to eat every now and again.
This is turning into a great late summer bite. So grab your rod and get out for the action.
Redfish
Most of the reds we have been finding are in very shallow water. This goes for the big boys too. All of the bait has been working the deeper part of the flats and doing a good job staying out of the skinny water. As I said we have been doing pretty good with these fish on top water until they get a little spooky. On top water we have been catching all or fish on High Rollers 4.25 Florida Special High Roller. The reds have been eager to take this walk the dog lure but have preferred a slow walk until they start to chase it. If they miss it on the first strike, speed up your retrieve a little to make it look like it is running from them.
Once the top water bite has slowed down we have been having our best luck with the 4 inch Molting Shad by Bass Assassin. We have been rigging this lure on a Capt. Mikes weedless jig head. Most of the reds we have been fishing are in a lot of shallow grass so this jig head has been a great help in keeping the grass off.
On Fly we have been doing pretty good with a few flies. My favorite is the Rattle Mullet but we have also been doing well with the EP baitfish flies and Capt. John Tarr's Sexy Slider . The great thing about fishing fly has been the fish don't get spooky after a few casts like they do with top water spinning. These fish have also been great for someone that has a hard time with longer casts. Most of the fish we have caught on fly have been hooked within 40 feet of the boat.
Trout
The trout bite has been pretty slow over the past few weeks. We have picked up a few fish in the one to two pound range but this has been rare. Most of these fish have been caught in areas with a lot of glass minnows and mullet nearby. The drop-offs have held a lot of fish but most are real small.
Tarpon and Snook
The snook and tarpon bite has been hit or miss. We have been boating a lot more snook than tarpon. All of the snook we have been catching have been caught in the early mornings on small top water lures like the Pop Roller or sub surface twitch baits like the Yozuri 3D Minnow. On fly we have been having our best luck on EP Glass Minnows.
One the days when the tarpon have been eating for us we have had only been able to catch them on small brown and yellow clousers. Once again this old fly has proven why it has been the most popular fly for saltwater fishermen for so long. I wish I could say we have even had a strike on spinning but we haven't been able to get them to even look at a lure.
Other stuff
We have had a good number of jacks and lady fish working the drop offs and flats in Cocoa Beach for a few weeks now. I know a lot of people don't get excites about many of these fish but they can be a lot of fun with light tackle or lighter fly rods.
Many of you have asked me over the years about the Fishing Lanyard I wear. I have started making them for the Fly Fisherman and they now have them in both stores. These make a great gift for the fisherman that has everything else. I now also have them on my website at this link Fishing Lanyards.
until next time.....
Get out there and catch a memory.
Capt. Doug Blanton
To book a trip with Capt Doug click here or call 321-432-9470
Pictures of fish caught on my charters
Here is the "Inshore Flats Kit" High Roller put together with my favorite High Roller Lures. This is a must for redfish, trout, snook and tarpon. Click on this link for more information on High Rollers Inshore Flats Kit.
Places to find the lures I use.
In Titusville go to the Fly Fisherman or call 321-267-0348
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Tips for catching redfish in Cold Water
Tackle I use. rods, lures and more
Sight fishing flat, clear, skinny water
Sight catching fish with Top Water
Links to weather forecasts I use
Here's one for all you that I have convinced their is a science to fishing.
