Central Florida Report

  • Ralph Wiggum
    Maple Grove, MN
    Posts: 11764
    #2070865

    We finally took a trip that’s been in the works for nearly 2 years. We visited New Smyrna Beach, which is just south of Daytona Beach and had a wonderful time.
    A while back, someone here had recommended On The Hook Charters. I chatted with Captain Corey several times and let him know what I was looking for (I wanted action for our 10 and 8 year olds), and he was excited to take us out.
    Our original plans were to go out and fish a reef and maybe chase some sharks. Unfortunately, it got quite windy out in the ocean, so we decided to stay in the rivers and creeks and take what we could get.
    We didn’t end up with anything big, but we caught a lot of fish and a huge variety. If I remember correctly, we caught mangrove snapper, cravelle jack, sheepshead, a small red grouper, flounder, sea trout, and a puffer fish.
    We had a blast, and I can’t say enough good things about Corey and Melissa. They were attentive, knowledgeable, fun, and made sure our kids had success. I’ll definitely fish with them again if/when we get back to the Daytona Beach area.

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    Ralph Wiggum
    Maple Grove, MN
    Posts: 11764
    #2070870

    A few more pics. We couldn’t get the puffer to puff up. (

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    Ralph Wiggum
    Maple Grove, MN
    Posts: 11764
    #2070874

    And a few more. The cravelle jack were the most fun to catch.
    We also took surfing lessons– something the FW and I have wanted to do for a long time and tons of fun. We had a 4′ spinner shark just about 20′ from us while surfing!

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    gim
    Plymouth, MN
    Posts: 17862
    #2070887

    Looks like a good trip. I have caught a few of those species when I was saltwater fishing in Florida. The jacks are freaks of nature. It’s the hardest fighting fish I’ve ever caught. Tarpon are awesome too.

    Ralph Wiggum
    Maple Grove, MN
    Posts: 11764
    #2070891

    Tarpon are awesome too.

    Definitely. We did a tarpon trip in Puerto Rico years ago.

    stevenoak
    Posts: 1719
    #2070894

    Love the variety in salt water. Think I had 17 of 19 different fish last year in 2 months. Looking forward to going back.

    Matt Moen
    South Minneapolis
    Posts: 4400
    #2070919

    Great looking trip. Jacks are awesome to catch. We got on a school of 8-10# jacks in the keys a couple years ago. Most insane 30 minutes of fishing I’ve ever had.

    Agree on tarpon, too. I’ve been lucky enough to get a couple over a hundred pounds. Nothing like when a 135# tarpon goes 6 feet out of the water.

    Ripjiggen
    Posts: 11844
    #2070933

    Very nice. Variety is the spice of life for kiddos IMO.

    stevenoak
    Posts: 1719
    #2070970

    Being a Sod buster new to salt water “Picture Fish” app was a blessing. As I only could identify a few common fish I remembered from scuba diving 35 years ago, and magazines

    gim
    Plymouth, MN
    Posts: 17862
    #2070971

    Nothing like when a 135# tarpon goes 6 feet out of the water.

    Is that the one in your profile photo? When I caught one in Florida, state law didn’t even permit me to lift one out of the water.

    Matt Moen
    South Minneapolis
    Posts: 4400
    #2070975

    <div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Matt Moen wrote:</div>
    Nothing like when a 135# tarpon goes 6 feet out of the water.

    Is that the one in your profile photo? When I caught one in Florida, state law didn’t even permit me to lift one out of the water.

    Yep. Caught that in Puerto Rico where you can take them out of the water. Same experience as you in Florida…released them at the side of the boat.

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