They say no news is good news but that isn't always the truth. We hav had a very bad fish kill this winter and lost a lot of due to 13 days of below freezing temperatures. It has happened before and it will happen again, we live on the northern edge of the tropics and our fish are very temperature sensitave. The redfish did ok, the trout, we lost a few. The Snook and Tarpon got hit hard but they will return, they always do. 1988 was a very bad kill and we got over that. In the late 70's we had a very hard freeze, it killed a lot of our Mangrove trees even as far south as Mosquito Lagoon and we got over that also, so time will tell.

1571 Comments

Some days are good days and others are great, this was a great day for John Manske and grandson Zack. The trout bite was off the scale if you were throwing a DOA jig, if you were using a live shrimp forget it. John got one trout on live shrimp, Zack and I got some where in the neighborhood of 30 up to 3 pounds. Everywhere we went in the Tomoka River this morning there were trout. One redfish and snook zero, they didn't seem to like the falling barometer. Oh well it was fun, it always is whern kids catch fish.

1184 Comments

Some days it's better to move rather than get mad. Last Monday I fished by myself, I was in the North end of Tomoka Basin fishing the Mosquito Canals. I heard an approaching boat, it ran to with in 50 feet of me, 2 older fisherman motered by me so close that I could hav reached them with the tip of my fly rod. One of them looks over at me smiles, waves to which I replied I hope I'm not in your way, to this I got a lokk of what did we do wrong. With that I just left, went up river and proceded to catch 3 snook on fly, one 18 inches, one 24 inches and a third 28 inches. On the way back to the ramp I passed the same boat and they both smiled and waved, go figure.

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Everyone has heard of the bite before the front, well today was the day. It was rather nast in the weather department, fog, mist and overcast. Just what the snook doctor ordered. I didn't get on the water until 9:30 AM. I went straight to the north end of Tomoka Basin and it was dead, very little bait. I decided to head south and fish the docks on the intercostal, great move. The water temper was 64 degrees, wind 10 mph, NNE and good water clarity. I started with a redfish about 3 lbs, next a 3 1/2 flounder. From there on out it was strickly snook, I ended the morning at 12:00 and had hooked 8 snook. 2 got off, big fish bothe over the slot of 32 inches, 1 came home with me, a 28 inch, and the rest released, all of those fish were between 3 and 5 pounds, not bad for a few hours of late morning fishing.

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Finally, the water temperature has begun to drop. Sunday morning was 63 degrees as was Wednesday. Both days were great Sunday we has 3 redfish, the largest 9 pounds, with 15 trout up to 3 pounds and 1 flounder 3 pounds. Everything was caught on artifical lures, both flukes and paddle tail jigs. Wednesday the bite was pretty much the same, 3 redfish, no big ones this morning, i flounder and 18 trout. The fish were caught on both artificial lures and flys. The schools of bait are every where, find bait and the bite is on. We still seem to be on an early morning schudle for the trout bite.

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In my last report I said as soon as the weather changed it would start to get good. Well, this last front came through and the fishing went off the scale. Fisging Tuesday was so so but Wednesday the day before the frong the fish went nuts. I fished with a friend, Capt. John Miller out of his Glades Skiff, we were way back in the marsh where onlt that boat of an air boat will take you. We caught trout up to 3 lbs., snook to 5lbs, and a few lady fish. We each lost a big snook, just couldn't handle them in the close quarters on a 7 wt. fly rod.

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To say October was a strange month would be an understatement. Every kind of weather you could think of happened and the fish went crazy trying to figure out what was going on. Yes, we caught fish but it was never the same 2 days in a row. One day you would find the redfish on the banks crawling with their backs out of water and the next day they would be off shore in the same areas in 3 feet of water. The snook have never really shown up except in one area, the Bulow Creek area just north of the Tomoka Basin seem to be holding some nice fish, George Sharp, a snook fisherman plus had one week where he got into them and caught 6 or 7 keepers. The Tarpon have been few and far between this summer. The rains eaelier this year seem to have run them out ot the upper Tomoka River system, hopefully the cooler waters of winter will bring them back up river. The water is just now starting to clear up to the point you can see several feet down, as soon as the water temperature drops below 64 degrees the brown alge will die and the clarity will get lots better. Hopefully November will bring good fishing.

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Finally the rains have started to demenish, the freshwater content in the Tomoka river and surrounding area are dropping and the fish are starting to act normal. The mullet run is just getting started along with the shrimp which are being washed out of the marsh. This has made for some intresting fishing to say the least. If you can catch an out going tide on the creeks that lead from the marshes the activity in out standing. You notice will get very frustrated sometimes watching it because when the snook, tarpon redfish and trout are zeroed in on a patricular bait it is very hard to get them to eat anything but their quary. If you can however get them to bite it is out of sight. Friday I ran into that situation and ended up with 6 trout, 6 snook and 3 redfish, not a bad morning.

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It is deffinately snook time. Tuesday was very humbling, I went 6 for 11 in snook. 3 cut me off on the docks I was fishing, just coulden't handle them on 20 pound casting tackle. Next day I fished Dr. Jill on the same docks using heavy tackle an mannaged to get 3 hits, what a difference a day makes. Next day I had a charter and we got 6 snook, 2 of them were between 8 and 8 1/2 pounds, go figure.

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It's Snook time. The weather is getting just a bit nasty and the snook love it. This morning was a perfect example, the skys were overcast and the barometer was just starting to drop. The tide had just started in and I was totally under gunned. I was 6 for 11 on snook and one redfish in the boat. 4 of the snook were to much to handle on 20 pound tackle, 3cut me off on dock pilings and one on fly came unbuttoned, that was the only one I really had a chance at landing, the other 3 were around docks on the river. If you are going to do it don't bring a knife to a gun fight. Good luck.

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This week has been right up there with the good ones. Tuesday Mike Dimpsey and son fished with me for a all snook moening. Wednesday Dr. Jill and I got one redfish and 4 snook, her's was the best at 10 pounds. Thursday William Heresnick from Maryland, a trout fly fishing guide got 5 snook and jumped 2 tarpon. All in all not a bad week.

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Fishing in the Tomoka River area is starting to get back to normal, whatever that is. After all the rain we have had nothing is the same from day to day. Wednesday I got 4 Snook on fly up to 27 inches, today with a charter we got 5 Snook up to 29 inches, the best part was a 12 year old girl got a 5 pounder. If you plan fishing the Tomoka area don't even think about live shrimp, the water is so fresh they will not live.

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this is another test please delete

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The full moon has been a bear again this month, it seem as though the winds will never stop blowing, ad to that the full moon and it is first light or nothing. The last trip of the week started to change. Bob Orluk and son Jim mannaged to pick up 2 nice snook Jin got a 31 incher on a DOA jig and father Bob a 28 incher on a live shrimp. Both fish were up river, the Basin is very hard to fish on the weekend because of the amount of trafic. On that thought it is not a bad thing to fish the Intercostal and work the docks, no one hardely ever fishes them and there are lost of good fish there.

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This was another good week, it started on Monday fishing some old clients from a long tie ago, we started in the Tomoka Basin at daylight, the trout bite was off but we found some snook hold up in the NW corner of the basin, we did not mannage to hook up so up river we went, this move gave up the second Tarpon of the year, it was in the 15 pound range not a monster but a fun fish.
The following day I fished with Dr, Jill Kerr, we went to the north end of the Tomoka Basin where I caught my largest Snook on fly, it was 31 inches and weighed 9 1/2 pounds. It was in the same location at those from the day before. During the fight my fish scared several more that were laying in the same spot.

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This week was better than last week, the winds were mannagable and the fishing was good. Tomoka Basin has been good if you can find the bait. One morning it is everywhere others it is no where to be found. The trout bite has been great at daylight for about 45 minutes then it is over. The snook are scattered all over some in the basin some up river. The tarpon are still just as moody as ever and they are everwhere driving me nuts and that is a short trip some days.

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Today was overcast but we were still feeling the results of the full moon on the 9th. One trout came out og the Tomoka basin. We tried to fish the north end where I have been catching trout at first light but when someone runs over your spot and throws an anchor out on top of the oyster bar you intended to fish it not going to happen. This guy must really like me becausr he did it again up river about an hour later. In spite of it we mannaged 2 snook one about 18 inches the other got away before we layed hands on it, this fish was about 29 inches. Remember to check your knots between your braided line and your mono leader I forgot and it cost us a nice fish, and oh yes our friend came plowing by us and anchored in front of us on the shoreline we were working.

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Fly fishing in gale force winds is not for the faint of heart but Bob Lubarsky is not your average fly fisherman. Winds were supposed to be 15 to 20 MPH but they were more like 25 to 35 gusting to 43 MPH. Bob mannaged to catch 2 snook today, not monsters but under those conditions it was great.

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Scott and Linda Martin with their son Hunter fished live shrimp this morning. Hunter started the morning with a sea trout in the Tomoka Basin but the wind got up very early and it got real ugly so we went up river. Hunter again was the man with a redfish, next came linda with a 30 inch Snook followed by Hunter again hooking up with a 28 inch snook, this time he need a little. Scott came up with a big fat zero for the morning but was happy to see everyone elsr catch fish. Check out the photo gallery for Scotts picture holding the fish back at the boat ramp.

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Some times it seems as though the wind will never end this time of the year, this was one of those days. Neil Dorsey and Mike Klingensmith 2 seasoned fly fisher man knew how to handle mother nature and her temper. The redfish in the Tomoka Basin are still on a day time hunger strike due to some anglers whe think they can run and bump them like in Mosquito Lagoon, some day these cowboys will learn these fish will not stand fo that. We found several scholls od redfish with 50 plus fish in each school but you could not get close enough to them even on the push pole to get a cast to them. Up river the fish were not much mor receptive we put in 6 hard hours without putting a fish in the boat, the 2 that wer hooked (Snook) jumped off.
After dropping my clients off I han North into a small mosquito cana l and caught a redfish and 2 jacks and lost something else that never was seen.

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Not every fishing trip involves catching fish, today was one of those days. One of my regular clients who lives in New Smyrna Beach called me at 11:30AM and ask if I could take him and 2 of his friends from Wyoming fish. It seem that his motor on his boat would not run over 2000 RPM's and that's not going to get them to Mosquito Lagoon and back. The wind was less that favorable but you learn to deal with it. We fished the Tomoka river thinking we could get out of the wind, Oh foolish me. It was one of those afternoons that the wind blew so hard it just followed the water no matter where you went. We ultimately ended up in the upper reaches of the Tomoka at old ST. RD 40, now that about as far as you can go exceot in a canoe. There lots of birds and other wild life to see, manatees, alligators and otters plus lots of wild flowers. It was just a little bit early for the wild orchards.

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MOSQUITO LAGOON;
You have to love the place wheither you catch fish or not, the water is clear and the sight fishing is spectacular even when they don't want to eat. Neil Dorsey spent the day trying to feed fish that didn't want to eat for one reason or another. The boat trafic was horrible which tends to make the fish not really care if they eat or not. We were just after the full moon and the fish were still eating at night and if you want to throw in it was Friday the 13 go right ahead. Every place we tried to fish there were 2 or 3 boats ahead of us. Trying to get used and abusrd redfish to eat a fly is not the easiest job in the world, all in all it's better than working.

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March has been just another March so far the wind has blown, the fish have been crabby and I have failed to keep up on my reports.
The Tomoka Basin has been off and on again, we are getting into our summer patterns. The water temperature is just now getting in to the low 70's which means the alge blooms is in full swing, the water color is not as clear as it was this winter and the fish will be getting less spookie. The snook will be getting ready to leave the backcountry and head for the docks and bridges along the Inter Coastal. The redfish will move back into the marsh areas and the trout will be strickly a first light bite. The tarpon up river will start to get more active, this will be an early morning or late evening bite either way don't for get the bug spray.

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Tomoka Basin was less than calm this morning, the wind was south at 10 to 15 MPH winds and the water temperature 57 degrees at 7:00 AM. With this wind direction the basin was dirty with blown up sediment, not my choice of conditions but you make the best of what you are given. Dr. Jill and I got a late start this morning, there were already several boats fishing the west shore of the Tomoka Basin but none in the spot I wanted to fish. We started at the first mosquito ditch and proceded north until I hit the oyster bottom I was looking for. At this point we power poled down and started to catch a few small red fish on DOA jerk worms and paddle tail jigs. Next came a 26 inch snook and then Jill caight a 8.14 poinder, her biggest to date. Just as quick as the bite had started it was over. We moved up river but it was just casting practice. That made the morning along with a few trout. Not bad for a nasty morning weather wise and all on artificial lures.

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Today was one of the days I fish with Dr. Jill Kerr, always a pleasure. We launched at the Granada bridge and made the run to Tomoka Basin in just under 20 minutes. We went straight to a school of redfish and let them run us around for the better part of 1 hour with out as much as a bite. With that we went to the north end where I had fished a school the day before with good results. We shared the school with another boat and caught our share of rat reds. We next went to the docks on the Inter Costal Waterway to end our morning. It was great we each caught several nice redfish as well as getting cut of, one each by fish we could not get out from under the docks. We laugh we call this combat fishing, it can be very humbling. Jill also caught 2 nice trout which home for the evening meal for her family. Not a bad morning.

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The morning started out as many mornings this time of the year, very little wind but wait, by 8:30 it was starting to blow and not out of the direction it was supposed to. That's the life of a fishing guide, like it or not you are supposed to produce fish. We did, the water temperature started the morning at 56 degrees and by mid day had reached 61 degrees. There were no trout to be found this morning just redfish and that's not all bad. The Tomoka Basin started to get dirty early in the morning so we concentrated our fishing to the river. We ended the morning with 10 redfish the largest just over 5 pounds. By the time we made our run to the launch ramp, 5 miles south ot the basin it had gotten pretty nasty but we had it coming from behind and that makes for a smooth ride.

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Today was supposed to be fun fishing with Dr. Jill Kerr and it did start that way. The wind was supposed to blow out of the southwest at 10 to 15, not the best but fishable. We started fishing the docks on the Inter Costal Waterway north of Ormond Beach. This can be great fun if you can cast well and Jill can do that after speendinf a number of years on the lady's Pro Bass Tour fishing for Bass Pro Shop. This woman is deadly with a fishing rod in hand. First fish of the morning was a 6 pounder with 10 spots caught by the captain followed by a 5 pounder off the same dock by Jill. Several docks later Jill missed a fish and that was the las strike of the morning. We moved to the other side of the river in an attempt to get out of the wind but to no avail, with that move we decided to call it a morning, 9:30AM, and a short one it was. The good thing was we didn't get skunked.

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TOMOKA RIVER
Back on home waters today but the winds from Wednesdays trip followed us back home. A south wind is one of the most difficult to deal with in the Tomoka River and Basin, it dirtys up the water and makes life very difficult. The entire basin is no more that 5 feet deep with a mud bottom, this can even cause problems in the river if you have several days of wind. Today was no exception, the wind had things dirty for several miles up river eventhough the tide was falling. We ended the morning with one snook, one redfish and a ladyfish. When it's bad it's bad and I make no excuses for that.

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MOSQUITO LAGOON
This has to be one of the greatest places to fish in the winter, the clear water makes you feel as though you are in the Florisa Keys and the fish are just as spookie. Phil Wise of Jacksonville, Fl. found that out today. The morning started of overcast, not the best weather to sight fish in, rather like playing darts in the dark. The wind was out of the southeast fron the moment we got on the water so we ran tothe furthest point south I had planed to fish and started fishing to the North. First stop gave up a trout of 5 pounds on the first cast (not a good omen) next pass on the school of fish it was a redfish of about the same size. The school of fish dissapeared after that. Next stop heading North we found a school of redfish approximately 250 fish and they would have nothing to do with us. We stayed with them for about an hour but no luck. The next stop was one of defence, trying to get out of the wind but that was not to be. The rest of the day was spent trying to hide fron the wind.

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Saturday morning started off very cool, not as cold as the last 2 mornings but cold enough. The water temperature in Tomoka Basin this morning was 44 degrees. As soon as the sun broke over the horizion it started to warm quickly. We found redfish as soon as we got to the west bank of the basin, only one problem, they would not bite. They were in 6 inches of water and just laying there, Dr. Jill Kerr and I threw jigs, hard bates and jerk worms, nothing. We left those fish and went south to the pocket and found a school that was more receptive. I had snaged a mud minnow on my jig earlier and kept him for just this situation. I flipped him into the path of the moving school and we were hooked up, at the same time Jill threw a 5 inch DOA jerk worm into the school and she was hooked up. My fished was in the 7 pound range and Jill's was 13 pounds, way to go girl.
After several more failed attempts at these fish we went into the river south of the park where we have been doing very well on trout and redfish. We were not dissapointed we ended the morning with 10 trout up tp to 3 pound and 6 or 7 more redfish up to 5 pounds. Not bad for a cold morning, by the way the temperature topped out at 57 degrees. These extreem temperature changes make for moodie fish and tough fishing.

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Wednesday was one of the worst weather days I have fished in quite sometime, it was very cold and the wind was blowing a solid 20 MPH out of the northwest. The fish were in the Tomoka Basin but they were very much on edge. About 10:00AM in the morning I got to watch a pod of dolphin hit a very large school or redfish. If you have never seen this you have missed one of the wonders of nature, redfish were going everywhere including straight up. After such a show the fishing tends to be just a little margenial. I did however manage to get 5 redfish, the largest 8 1/2 pounds plus 4 trout up to 3 pounds. Not to bad for such nasty weather.

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Sunday was the perfect example of just because everything is right the fishing is going to be right. We had cold air temperature and cold water temperature but the tide was high and the fish had a very indifferent attitude. Don't get me wrong, we caught fish both trout and redfish but we saw many more than we caught.

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It's funny how people complain about the cold weather and they don't want to go out in it to fish. If you follow my report's you will see that the very best fishing comes on the worst weather, the colder the better. Today was a prime example of this the water temperature was up to 64 degrees and there were fewer fish that yesterday and much fewer that last Saturday. Not to complain, we got a 3 1/2 and a 4 1/2 pound trout while missing several others. No redfish, after going up river where we had fished the day before we got 1 snook about 22 inches, no trout and no redfish, they had moved withe the warm weather. Pray for cold weather and cold water.

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Fished Gary Robinson from Illinois, great fisherman, he can cast and it makes a difference. We fished Tomoka Basin early for trout and redfish, we caught about 8 or 10 mixed bag. Went up river about 10:00 AM and found a creek with trout and snook mixed in. Caught about 6 more trout up to 3 pounds and 4 snook, the largest 26 1/2 inches. Water temperature was up to 57 degrees which slows the fishing down.

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Fished Tomoka Basin with Dr. Jill Kerr, launched at the State park at 6:45 AM, water temperature 46 degrees, the coldest of the year so far. Fishing was outstanding, we caught a mixed bag of trout and redfish. Trout up to 8 pounds, redfis up to 13 pounds, all on artificial lures Mirro Lures, Cordell Redfins and DOA jigs. Not bad for 6hours of fishing, I love cold weather fishing.

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It was cole, nasty and I wish I had not made the run north to the blow out just south of High Bridge. The water was so low I hit bottom running Dr. Jill Kerr's Ranger Phantom going through the north cut out of Tomoka Basin. That is saying a lot because the little boat has a jack plate and runs really shallow. We got to the blow out and it was impossible to fish, there were crab traps every where. No place to cast and god help you if you got a fish that wanted to run. Went back to the Tomoka Basin, the Long way this time, when we got on the northwest shore there were redfish every where hitting very small mullet. We each got one fish, mine was 3 1/2 and Jill's 4 1/2. I saw some very large trout buried in the mud but by the time you see them they are heading out. The wind never did give us a break that morning.

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Tofay was a really fun day Tonald and Ivory Chavas from New York State were jut a lot of fun to have on board. The water was extra low and we were not able to get into some of the spots I wanted to fish but we madt the best of it. Ivory started the morning with a4 1/2 pound redfish follower by ronald missing his fish. Just that quick the reds shut down so we moved up river to where the Black Drum have been bitting, just not this morning, sowe just started going from one hole to another. we ended the morning with redfish, black drum, sheepshead mangrove snapper and oh yes the ever present catfish which chased us out of a few spots. It was great fun and they were good sportes.

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Mr Lawton and I fished Mosquito Lagoon today, it was his primary goal but yesterday the wind would not allow it. The water level is really low and the fish are concentrated into very specific areas. It was good however, we found one of these spots early in the trip which began at 11 AM. We made 3 passes on this particular flat and each time got a redfish on fly. All were between 3 and 5 pounds. We saw lots more fish but they were very spookie.

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Happy New Year:

The weather is still on the questionable side but the fish are still around. Today I fished Mr Lawton and his girlfriend Ninna. Lawton is a fly fisherman and not bad at casting. Today he mannaged 3 snook on fly, not bad since it has been 3 years since he cast a salt water rod. The snook were not big but any snook on fly is a good snook.

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Tomoka River is starting to show her nasty side, the weather has warmed up and the witer temperature is on the rise. This is causing the snook to spread out and get really pickie. Donald Huntzberry did mannage to get 3 in the 20 to 24 inch range on artificials today but we pounded a lot of shore line.

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last week was different to say the least. The weather can't make up its mind what it wants to do, one day it's cold (good fishing), the next day it's warm (not so good fishing), the next the wind will blow you off the water. It's getting to the point if you can't drop everything and go fishing it's hard to produce. When the weather warms up the small snook and redfish seem to be everywhere, just not in big bunches. Let it get cold and the fish will pile up in deep holes and off the edge of the channel on the Intercostal Waterway and 50 fish catches are not uncommon. Hopefully the weather will get into some kind of predictable pattern come the first of the year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR

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Fishing this last week has remained out of sight. The Trout and Redfish just do not seem to know wher to stop bitting. Throw in a few snook and you have a full house. Saturday morning Dr. Jill Kerr and I fished for for 4 hours and mannaged to catch 15 trout up to 4 pounds one redfish and one snook. That was a slow morning. The weather has warmed up and today it is supposed to reach 81 degrees and that is not good for winter time fishing.

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Still feeling a bit full of turkey from yesterday I set out again withe Dr. Jill Kerr and her daughter Kala. Same spot different conditions. The 26, winds NW and cold, water temperature, 57 degrees. Today winds SW water temperature 54 degrees but the air temperature very nice and the fish were not at home, we mannaged about 25 fish total nothing like the 26 but respectable and Kala got to catch her own fish, great fun. I however got my rear end kicked by the good doctor, you have to be carefull teaching these lady fisherman to much it will come back to haunt you.

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Today was one of those days it was impossible to do anything wrong. I fished Dr. Jill Kerr, we started early, on the water by7:00AM and fishing after a short 15 minute run in very cold conditions. We both looked like modles out of an outdoor cataloge but we were warm. The first cast produced a nice 4 pound trout, now don't missunderstand me but first cast fish can be bad luck sometimes, not today however. For the next 5 hours it was non stop catching both trout and redfish. As we were leaving our spot Jill said she had only heard of such fishing, never experienced it. Thats quite a statement coming from a lady who once fished the lady's professional bass series. We stopped om the way back to the launch ramp in Tomoka State and just for kickes got into the trout again, just a few and Jill also got a snook just for something different. By her count the catch was somewhere around 100 fish for the morning.

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Today wa just plain fun, I fished by myself and had a great time. The trout were hungary on the last of the incoming tide and were hitting everything I through at them, most were caught on fly, my preference. I also caught 6 redfish and 8 snook, all this by noon.

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If last week is any indication of things to come this winter I don't know if I can stand it. Our of 4 trips the least number of fish caught was on Friday with a catch of 25 to 30 mixed trout and redfish. The other 3 days were all above 50 fish. It gets to the point you try to find something they won't eat rather than what they will eat.
The one thing that has me worried is the schools of redfish have not shown up in the Tomoka Basin and we are on our second cold snap with another one on the way. Last year by this time we were hip deep in over size reds. I guess only time will tell. The small snook are starting to pack into the upper reaches of the river which is good news for fly fisherman.

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I have done something I promissed I would not let happen. I have gotten very far behind in reporting.
October was an OK month, nothing spectacular except for the one cold snap the end of October. That one made up for all the slow days getting there. The month produced snook, trout and a few redfish, nothing to shout about. However the second day of the cold snap made up for all the other slow days that month. For 3 hours it was non stop catching, both redfish and trout. In that time period we caught somewhere between 60 and 70 fish, the largest being a 5 and a 6 1/2 pound trout in one spot. After that we moved to the flats and caught 3 redfish on fly rods the largest 7 pounds. Not bad for a half day trip. As I am writing this we are on the first day of our second cold snat for the winter hopefully it will be a productive.

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Today was a great day, the weather has been just a bit questionable but we have been able to get the fishing done before noon. Todat Mr. Robbins and son from New Mexico fished with me, all artificial, the son was a great fisherman, a guides dream come true, he could cast with the best of them. We started the morning at 6:30 AM in the Tomoka Basin with 2 trout on top water. Switched to DOA jigs and got 2 redfish. At this point the bite slowed down which is normal for mid summer heat so we went up river where we proceeded to catch 12 snook, not bad for a moenings fishing.

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This morning was the beginning of the bad weather with tropical storm FAY. Richard Pachero and I got 3 hours of fishing before the first rain bands hit us. We did however mannage to get 2 snook a red fish and one jack cravalle before the rain and wind moved in. For the next 5 days it was to be wind and rain. The snook however didn't seem to mind I heard all kinds of storys from fishing friends of mine. One was of 2 fisherman fishing just north of the Tomoka river that got 5 snook up to 17 1/2 pounds. It was an official weight not just hear say. Goes to show the fish eat no matter what the weather throws at them.

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we started a little bit later this morning, fishing Ben Bishop of Ponta Vedra, Fl. and son. This morning started later because we have been getting bit later. We mannaged a 3 1/2 pound pompano on a small buck tail jig, only one however there were lots of them skipping in the basin. The snook bite never happened this morning, just a few small fish in the 2 to 3 pound range, none of the big girls.

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This morning was just another morning in the land of the big Snook. I fished Chuck Coleman and his son this morning. Starting in the basin we got a couple of trout, saw a bunch of pompano but no takers. We headed up river and got a couple of small snook then Chucks son hooked the fish of the morning, it was a 33 inch 11 pound fish, along with several smaller fish it turned into a great morning.

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This morning started the same as most fishing Dr. Jill Kerr. We launched a 6:15 AM and started our morning in the Tomoka Basin, there were a few small trout but the most interesting thing was the number of pompano we saw this morning, they were everywhere. As we drifted the basin they were skipping out from under the boat, I was not prepaired for them, no small buck tail jigs. Later in the morning we went up river to our snook spot, again only one bite. It was however one of the monsters I am always talking about that live in the river. It hit a jig on the bottom in 10 feet of water an went straight for the shore jumping twice then it turned and ran to the middle of the river jumped again and cut a 40 pound florocarbon leader.
Just another Tomoka River fish story.

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This morning started just a bit slower than yesterday, I fished Rev. John Medlock and his son. We started in the Tomoka Basin with a few small trout, one was about 4 pounds but jumped off right at the boat. Around 9:oo AM we went up river for the snook bite but it just wasn't happening, I guess we hurt them to much yesterday. After several passes on the snook shoreline I just had to join in because the fish just weren't responding. On my first cast I hooked a 9 pound 31 inch snook we got it to the boat for a few pictures but that was all the snook action for the morning.

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Snook fishing has remained very good, this morning Bob Kawka, a high school friend fished the Tomoka river in the same places I have been for the last several weeks. To say the fishing was outstanding would be an understatement. We put 7 snook from 5 to 11 pounds in the boat, all were released, it's closed season. We jumped off 7 more and missed a good number more. We also started the morning with 2 trout both keepers that were sent home for his super. The great thing about the snook bite is it hasen't started until about 9:30 AM each morning.

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Today was my day I started at day light in the Tomoka basin, got a small trout and a 15 inch redfish. From there I went up river and mannaged to get 3 Snook, 2 on the fly rod the largest a 28 incher, great fun.

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Again it is the Tomoka River that is holding the fish. The Snook seem to be everywhere Dr. Jill Kerr fished with me today and got here first taste of snook. We didn't put any in the boat just jumped a few.

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Tomoka basin is still on the down side all action is in the river due to the water temperature. The river uis deeper and most fish are right on the bottom in water from 5 to 15 feet deep. Most fish have been taken on jigs fished down and slow. The exception to the rule was a nice 8 pounder David Braddish got on fly using a popping bug. Time of day doesn't seem to matter as long as the tide is moving.

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Fished the Tomoka River and Basin this morning and again it was slow until we went up river about 10:30 AM. Snook, I like them because they are like people unpredictable and they will eat when they are hungry, no matter the time of day. Between 10:30 and 11:00 we got 2 snook one was 27 inches and weighed in at 7 pounds the second on was 31 inched and just under 13 pounds. Both were fat, they have been eating. We missed 2 others but I will never turn up my nose at 2 like the one's we got.

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Fished the south end today with Claude Fenema and wife Debbie. We met at 6:30 AM at his house in New Smyrny Beach, fished the back country in the mangroves, the tide was super low this morning, it was the new moon. The new and full moon will give you the highest high and the lowest low of the month and today was no exception, you could walk in lots of places and not get your feet wet where normally there would be several feet of water. We found a slough across fron the Coast Guard Station at Ponce Inlet where there were a few Spanish Mackeral and some Blue Fish, the most we got from them was cut off. Next we went to a big sand bar across fron Inlet Harbor Resturant where we caught some small bonefish last but they haven't shown up yet. We did however find a good number of Bonnett Head Sharkes, they were everywhere and eating anything you got in front of them. We didn't land any but did mannage to get the hooks and splitrings torn off of several plugs. The show was worth getting up to see. I have fished the same area before and caught one of two but never saw them in the quanity as that morning.

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They say some days you win, some days you loose and then there are those other days, we all have names for them but we won't go there today. The morning started off as usual early morning, nice day fish every where, redfish pushing ahead of the boat and we threw everything at them that was legal and caught one small red fish for our efforts. By 8:30 AM the water was getting hot so up river we go looking for Tarpon, there were very few to be seen and those we did see were doing the quick roll with the tail flip and heading straight for the bottom. That was the morning, pretty weather wise but not so fish wise.

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Father's Day and what a great day it was, I spent the morning fishing with my oldest son Kurt on the Tomoka river and basin. As with last Wednesday we found redfish everywhere but coulden't make them bite.
We are both fly fishermen and prefer to do only that but after a while we did switch to spinning. I missed one small trout, got a very small redfish with 12 spots and jumped a lady fish. Not very great fishing but a great morning with my son. We met up with my other 2 boys at River Grill on the Tomoka for lunch. Can't ask for much more than that, I got to see my daughter in law and my new 6 week old grand daughter and that not all bad. Oh yes we made it back to the launch ramp before the afternoon storm hit.

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This wa the kind of morning when you are glad you have a very experienced fisherman on board. Dr. Jill Kerr and I fished in her new Ranger Phantom this morning, my firsed experence with a 4 stroke motor, nice and quiet, no bad oil smell but a bit on the slow side on the hole shot.
The red fish were everywhere along theWest shore but getting them to bite, well that was another story. We threw everything in the boat at them and nothing would entice a bite. Oh well thats why they call it fishing and there will be next Wednesday.

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Dan and Pam Canton, what can you say except they are great fun to be with and fish. We didn't set the world on fire but we did mannage a super slam, trout, redfish, snook and tarpon. Not bad for a relaxing morning on the Tomoka River Besides that we caught a few jacks and the always present mangrove snapper.

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I like to say I know how to catch Tarpon in the Tomoka River but some times I think I only catch them when they let me. Bob Allison would agree I am sure. We have tried for several trips to get him one but the best we seem to do is watch them roll and flip their tails at us. Trout, red fish, snook, everything else we can catch but the elusive tarpon is still out there some where waiting to be caught.

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fished with Rick Taylor and party, rick is local and his friends were from Wyoming, both freshwater fly fisherman. We fished the upper reackes of the Tomoka river and released 5 Tarpon up to 35 pounds and 2 snook both in the 5 8 pound range, all were caught on spinning tackle throwing Mirro Lures, both top water and suspending. We got a late start due to Rick's friends comming in from Orlando, you can only get people up so early. Everyone had a great time, the guys from out west saw a whole new side of mother nature. Welcome to Florida and the Backcountry.

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Fished Tom McFaelinand his family from Tennessee, on of my regular clients, fishing wa slow but the day wa great, we caught some small jacks, a bonnetthead shark and a huge lady fish, probably a healthy 3 pounds. Great fun for Tommy and his little sister. Not what fishing was last year Tommy caught a redfish his father had mounted for his birthday, what a nice present.

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For once I got to fishfor all the good it did, but I had a great time with my oldest son Kurt for 2 days. Saturday broke very cloudy and windy we had no sun until approximately 12 noon. Not the greatest for sight fish. The first spot we ran to in Mosquito Lagoon had 11 boats there ahead of us, so much for plan "A". By 1:30 we had several under size trout one under size redfish, then we found the tournament winner but she would not bite, this fish was about 8 or 9 pounds and as is tipical of large trout she payed no attention to anything we showed her.
Day 2 we fished a few of the docks just south of New Smyrna trying to catch a trout on fly, none to be found, although we did find some 2 to 3 pound mangrove snapper and located the first tarpon I have seen this year in that area. After going to the lagoon about 8:00AM we found a few redfish but they refused every fly we showed them. We ended the tournament with just some great memories of father and son fishing together.

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As with most mornings this time of the year the morning started with a slight breeze out of the northeast, by 8:00 AM it was howling and the water was dirty. The strange part of it was there were Spanish Mackeral all over the mouth of the creeks in the North end of Tomoka Basin. The bad thing was they were zeroed in on something and wouldn't eat any of our offerings. Neither fly or spinning lures would get a hit.
leaving the basin we headed up river to look for tarpon and snook. We were able to get out of the wind in places but the snook were no where to be found. Tarpon however were there and we mannaged to jump one aboyt 30 pounds. We were late getting up river and the wind was starting to put the tarpon down.
The big jacks are everwhere right now and the salinity is very high all the way to the State Road 40 bridge, good for salt water fish, bad for large mouth bass. Our trip ended about 2:30 having caught a number of jacks, some large mangrove snapper, gar fish and the one tarpon.

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Tomoka river and Tomoka Basin were the same as the Lagoon yesterday, very windy and the water was not very clean until we went up river.
The Trout bite was early which we wer not, coming from Orlando you can only get people up at a reasonable time to make the drive to the coast. We did mannage a few large Mangrove Snapper and a couple of Jack Cravelles on fly.
There were other things to do however, there were manatees, aligators and we watched a 5 foot rattle snake swim the river. On the way home we ran into a pair of dolphins heading up river to feed on the mullet.

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Tuesday in Mosquito was very windy, lots of fish but they acted as though it was the full moon rather than a new moon. During the course of the day we saw 100 plus redfish and didn't put on in the boat. 2 good fly casters and plenty of fish should have added up to some good numbers. Both Dick Gerding and his son had a great time on the water together, father is a lawyer and his son is a doctor so time is something they don't have to share very often.

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The full moon in mosquito lagoon played the same song as in the Tomoka River with the exception of there were lost of redfish to look at, not to catch just look at.
Julian Smiley, one of my customers for the last 7 years fished live shrimt to these fish for 6 hours and got nothing he cast to at least 50 fish and they would either run or smell the bait and swim on past it. This is not uncommon for the full mook on the flats, the only way to get a a fish is to throu a chung of mullet or ladyfish in a sand hole and put your rod in the holder and read a book. Not exactly my kind of fishing, I can teach a monkey to turn the handle on a reel when the line goes out.

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This months full moon really played hell on the fishing in shallow water, along with a high preasure system it mad fishing or should I say catching very slow.
The bite was very early and was primarly just trout in the Tomoka River area. The jacks are starting to show up as well as blue fish and spanish mackeral, yes spanish mackeral 20 miles from the ocean.

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This mornings trip was with Mike Maslak and daughter Julia. Julia was a real trooper, a good fisherman and a good sport. The weather was less than perfect and there was no live bait, a must have when fishing children as well as some adults. Only one fish was taken, a snook by Julia on a top water plug. Way to go girl.

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The bite was early again this morning, Dr. Todd McCall got 3 nice trout in the 3 pound range, all on top water. After the early bite there was nothing but boat traffic, the Tomoka Basin looked like a ZOO. I personally thing this amount of boat traffic is having its affect on the overall fishing on the entire river.

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As quickly as the trout appeared they seem to have disappeared, this morning gave up only 1 trout at day light but the baid was very scarce. Up river we found jacks and snook, neither in great quanities. There were some roving schools of large jacks but always just out of rainge. the weather was great except for the wind.

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Again this morning the bite was at daylight, the summer pattern is starting to take over early this year. Fishing with Troy Boulware and his brother Steven from St. Louis we got on the trout as soom as we got on the water, only this time there were no redfish and the average size trout was larger, starting about 2 pounds up to 3 1/2 pounds. Up river the tarpon have again done there no show trick, we saw a few but nothing like yesterday. The joys of fishing tarpon in the backcountry, if you are not already nuts they well drive you there quickly. We did however pick up one small snook. The Large Mouth Bass seem to have gone elsewhere again. Tomorrow is another day and another challange.

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Fishing is finally startint to pick back up inspite of the steady barometor. Bob Bausum and his uncle Jim hat a good early morning bit of trout and redfish, most of the trout were in the 15 to 20 inch range and the reds were all about the same.
up river between US1 and I95 the tarpon were everywhere,fun to watch but no takers. This is the first time this spring they have been this plentiful hope they decide to eat in the next few days.

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Neil Dorsey fished Mosquito lagoon, we had a great time. Neil is a very good fly caster and got a 10 pound redfish on a 7wt just as the morning started. We saw redfish everywhere, there were tailing, they were finning with their backs out of the water in 6 inches of water, it was great.
We saw more fish than I have seen in the lagoon in a very long time, the big reason was that other boats were not around and when they did discover us they couldn't get that shallow. Thank you Hell's Bay for your great boat.

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This will prove to be the most fun I will have had for the entire year when we look back on it. I had 2 gentlemen from Japan, Kiminori Shitashima and his friend Hiroshi Ishida. We went to the Tomoka Basin and sure enough right on schedule there were the Redfish who had gone missing 2 days before. The only thing they forgot was they were supposed to eat the fly when it is presented to them. We worked the school for the better part of 1 hour and finally departed for the upper reaches of the river where we were not dissapointed. the bowfins were happy to see us, several were taken on artificial lures but no takers on fly. After lunch we departed for a more salty part of the river wherer we found a few snook sunning themselves. One on fly and one on artificial. A very memorable trip for everyone. We also had close encounters with manatees and alligators.

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This time of the year weather is everything, Dan Lewis and party did not have the best weather but is was fishable. The tomoka Basin was up to it's old tricks of hide the fish. The Redfish school that has been there for several months has taken a leave so we went up river which is to the south, Tomoka River is one of those that flows south out of the Tomoka Forest area. This proved to be the right move, we found a flat where the Bowfins were starting to gather to spawn. Great fun for catch and release fishing. In the middle of everything a very large Snook got into the act and made one short run over a log and cut 20 pound braided line like it was nothing. The morning ended with a 4 pound Large mouth bass. That"s what is so great about Tomoka, varity.

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Welcome to the back country. This page will be kept up to date on the basis of fishing trips both with customers as well as just fishing. I will try to be as consice as possible and give you as much information as possible as to where, when and on what the fish are caught on.
So far this winter we have been catching trout and redfish with the main intrest on redfish in the Tomoka River and Basin areas. Some trips have been to Mosquito Lagoon with mixed results both on artificial lures as well as fly fishing. The fish have been there but they are beat up so badly they are not eating well.

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