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The winter season of fishing is upon us. Some species are more active and some species are less active, the typical setup for any fishing season. Snook and tarpon have migrated away or are seeking thermal basins to stay safe and warmer through the winter while other species like black drum, redfish and sea trout are active all through winter. During this cooler period of the year, we tend to fish more in the back country areas adjacent to the inlet to find the most active fish.
One of those areas lies just to the south of the inlet called Mosquito Lagoon. We fish this area during the summer as well but it really shines during the winter months with crystal clear shallow water and active fish. This provides us some great fishing even on the days we are dealing with windy and wintry weather. On the calmer and more sunny days, we focus on sight fishing which is one of the most fun ways to catch fish. It requires spotting the fish in the water, making an accurate cast, and showing the fish the fly, lure or bait without spooking it. It can be quite addictive once the technique is mastered! Many people escape the winter weather of the northern parts of the country by spending time in Florida. Don’t miss out on the year round quality fishing we have in this area while you’re here!
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Winter is here and with fall and most of 2024 in the review window, it’s time to look forward to what 2025 will bring with all the seasons of exciting fishing ahead of us. The coming year is sure to have many days of exciting fishing for us and I’m looking forward to all of them!
Winter season fishing changes the metrics around the inlet and nearshore area. Many of the warm water species like snook, jacks and tarpon have migrated or slowed down their activity significantly. We switch gears to spending more time fishing inshore in the backwaters and lagoon just to the south of the inlet which is the headwaters of these areas. Winter fishing in these areas is highly productive with some of the best fishing of the year for our temperate weather tolerant species like sea trout, redfish and black drum. The flats and back country fishing for these species is a great way to spend the winter months and an exciting change from our summer weather tactics of fishing closer to the ocean. Sight fishing is the name of the game and when we have the right conditions, we spend our days spotting these fish in the water to target with fly rods and light spinning gear. If conditions don’t allow sight fishing, we use other techniques to stay on the fish. Winter fishing is yet another fun option and allows us to have a year round fishery with great fishing in every season. Don’t miss out on the opportunities that we have in what’s considered an off season for many other fisheries. As we push though the middle of our fall season in the Ponce Inlet, New Smyrna and Daytona Beach area of Florida, the typical events of the season are happening. Good fishing for snook, redfish, jacks and on some days, shots at tarpon. On the weather side of things, cooler temperatures and lower humidity make our days on the water very pleasant. We had a couple recent brushes with hurricanes but the impact to this area was not detrimental to the fishing and the bite after the storms has been good.
The fall season brings large numbers of redfish and snook to the area and gives us some of the most fun action of the year. Lots of bait movement happens as many baitfish species that were born in the spring are now mature and are making their way to the ocean to complete their life cycle. The big predatory fish know this and make the most of the opportunity. They are packing on the calories for the coming winter season and are eager to feed on most days. Mullet are continuing their “run” and it’s always exciting to see big schools of jacks and tarpon making schools of mullet shower as they get demolished by the onslaught of predators. This will continue through mid November as we progressively get cooler temperatures before the arrival of winter in December which brings another fun season of fishing. The fishing stays strong all through the fall season so make some time to enjoy the great fishing and air conditioning like temperatures! September can be a great month for fishing, and so far it’s starting out strong. Snook and redfish are the main targets this month but we also have opportunities at large jack crevalle and occasionally tarpon as the mullet run continues.
Redfish in the 10-40lb range are in the Ponce Inlet area in full force this month. Large schools of fish can make for excellent fishing opportunities with 5-10 fish days a common occurrence, sometimes even more. This can make for an incredible day of fishing for anglers of any skill level. When the bait like mullet are around, we can get shots at large tarpon around Daytona Beach and New Smyrna Beach, and as the month progresses we get opportunities at big 8-12lb jack crevalle as well, which are extremely exciting and powerful, often taking topwater plugs or crushing a live bait just feet from the boat in the ambush areas they use to feed. The end of summer/beginning of fall offers more comfortable temperatures and excellent fishing on many days, don’t miss out on some of the better fishing of the entire year! The last part of summer is wrapping up but the fishing is only getting better. Fall is a special time of year with unmatched fishing opportunities as the fish do many things from spawning to migrating during this time of year. The mullet run has already started and will continue through the first cold fronts of the year.
The fishing for redfish and snook can be “as good as it gets” over the next couple months. Large numbers of fish will gather and provide us with many opportunities. Many of these fish are quite large and really make for some fun fishing. Countless anglers have caught their personal best fish with me during the late summer and fall months over the years. Nearshore fishing is wrapping up with sea conditions changing from the calm days of early summer to the bumpier conditions that come with passing hurricanes and eventually cold fronts. It’s not big deal though because the inshore fishing is so good this time of year that we rarely have a need to fish elsewhere. The summer fishing around the Ponce Inlet area has been a lot of fun with some big fish coming to the boat. As we wind up July and head into August we enter the tail end of summer and begin the slow transition into fall. The fishing patterns shift as well but only for the better as we get some of the best fishing of the year.
Nearshore fishing off of Daytona Beach and New Smyrna Beach, we are still looking for tarpon, jacks, albies and other migratory fish that pass up the coast of Florida during the summer. The Atlantic is at its calmest during the summer and fall so long as it’s absent of tropical weather. We take advantage of these conditions to target these species. Around the inlet and river areas the targets will continue to be snook, redfish, large jack crevalle and tarpon. This time of year brings the beginning of bait runs and other events that can lead to great days of fishing so I’m looking forward to this end of summer transition and the days of fun fishing to come. The summertime patterns we have been waiting all winter for are finally setting in nicely. Migratory species are returning and opportunities abound. Mornings this time of year are generally beautiful and calm followed by several hours of sunshine until the afternoon storms possibly arrive long after we get off the water.
Nearshore fishing off Daytona Beach and New Smyrna Beach is a summer specialty as our migratory species such as tarpon and false albacore tuna make their annual passage along our coast. These species are fierce predators and the smallest albacore and the largest tarpon will both make their appropriately sized reels scream. Some days allow us to target these fish with fly tackle as well. In the Ponce Inlet and river areas, we will be looking for redfish, snook, and large jack crevalle. These species are all active during the summer months and the snook especially are high on our priority list. We have been getting some big snook with a few even pushing 40”, great fish that we did not always get this far north in Florida. The early part of summer is some of the nicest weather and best fishing of the year for our largest gamefish. Don’t miss out on this season of fishing! Capt. Billy Rotne Ponce Inlet Charters http://www.ponceinletcharters.com (386)290-9897 Spring is transitioning into summer here in the Ponce Inlet area. This means some of our warm water species are once again arriving and becoming active and giving us some of our awaited summer time opportunities. This early part of summer is still more quite as hot as July and August yet to come so being on the boat is still nice and pleasant temperature wise.
The summer season brings with it our migratory tarpon and false albacore tuna. These are both some of the most powerful gamefish pound for pound and it’s a blast to spend the day nearshore fishing targeting these species with light tackle. Other fish are also giving us good opportunities inshore such as snook and redfish. We are also still fishing out of the skiff down in Mosquito Lagoon where sight fishing is the name of the game. Redfish, sea trout and black drum are the targets for this light tackle and fly fishing. We will continue to fish the lagoon intermittently throughout summer but our main focus will be on the nearshore and inlet fishing in the coming months. Don’t miss out on the early season bites for these species, some of the better tarpon fishing happens earlier in the summer! Spring time is definitely here in the Ponce Inlet area. The water and air temperature are both warming up quickly and some of our spring fishing opportunities are starting to happen. Species that have been mainly absent during the winter months are not coming back to the normal areas we find them in during the warm months. It’s a nice change after a few months of our winter fishing and exciting to be catching species like snook and soon tarpon and albies as well.
In the inlet area we will be targeting snook and redfish along with some seasonal opportunities like big bluefish. The tarpon will arrive shortly and we will be ready for them. Big jack crevalle and false albacore tuna will also be here later in the spring season. We are still spending a lot of time in Mosquito Lagoon which is just to the south of the Ponce Inlet and New Smyrna Beach area. Spring fishing in the lagoon for redfish and sea trout along with some black drum can be some of the best fishing during the spring. Trout will especially be our focus as they prepare to spawn. Some of the best sight fishing of the year happens in the spring before the water gets hot during the summer months ahead. |
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December 2024
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