Allen and Art,

Today is the first day that the winds have laid down, they blew 25-30mph most of the week. Actually, it was a beautiful day. Allen and Art are locals in Melbourne Beach. I picked them up at the Inlet. Bait was no problem. A lot of pins and pigs. Its nice to see the water coming back to normal. It seems like the water has been cleaning up. The tide is incoming right now through the early evening. It switched around 9 p.m. to outgoing.

After bait fishing we moved into the inlet and spotted the Jacks feeding on the schools of greenies. I rigged up a topwater plug and Art and Allen each caught a few small Jacks. I noticed the Snook doing cartwheels through the schools of mullet. We fished them but couldn’t hook up. It was getting dark and I was thinking maybe a few Reds with the incoming. Art was first to hook up and land a nice big Redfish. He caught a few Reds through out the night. As the tide started to lighten we started to hook up with the Snook. Allen figured it out pretty quick. He caught 2 or 3 before getting a keeper Snook and few others. Art took a bit longer to get the feel for it but once he figured it out it was on. He caught his share and put a keeper in the boat. He ended the night with a fat oversized Snook and a few big Reds. It was a good night of fishing. I hope you guys enjoy your fish. Let me know how you cook it up! Thanks again!

Red and Josh

Red is from Long Island, N.Y. Josh is from there as well, but has recently moved to Melbourne Beach. Red and Josh have heard of the great Snook fishing in the area and were wanting to give it a try. We met up at Capt. Hiram’s. We went straight to the bait spot and had no problem catching our pigs and pins. The weather was nice with a light wind and clear skies. The tide was outgoing in the evening and switched at 9:00 p.m.

When it got dark the tide was moving pretty fast, it was difficult to fish. We tried the tip and set up a few drifts. After about an hour the tide started to slow. The bite was on. Josh hooked up first catching one that was just a bit short. On the next drift he put a nice keeper 32″ Snook in the box. Red was getting in on the action as well. He put a nice 31″ Snook in the box. We continued to make a few drifts and Red and Josh caught a few more Snook. Josh also caught a big Bull Red. Josh was on fire, he really had the feeling for the inlet fishing. Most of the Snook were too big, 34″ - 36″ range. Josh put the 3rd keeper on the boat, it was 29″. It was a great night of Snook fishing. Thanks again Red and Josh. It was really fun to take you two fishing. It was my pleasure and hopefully we can do it again.

Jesse, George, Jason, and Julian

Up on vacation staying at Oyster Point. Jesse, George, Jason, and Julian are all related. I was telling Jesse about the Snook fishing during the day and we were on. I picked them up at Capt. Hiram’s around 11 p.m. We went straight to catch croakers and had no problems catching them. We probably caught near 40 baits. The weather was perfect again. Sunny, clear skies, no winds, and hot. The tide was switching around 1 p.m. and I knew the bite was on at 2 p.m. We made our way in and set up to fish. It didn’t take long and Snook on! Let’s just say I was busy, busy, busy. It was ON! the snook were biting as fast as the bait was getting to the bottom. Jesse put the first keeper in the boat. Julian put a nice keeper on the boat as well. We ended with our limit of four and released 20-25 snook in all sizes 30″ to 36″. What a great day. These guys were worn out. Jesse, George, Jason, and Julian definitely got to see Snook fishing at its best. Thanks again Jesse. George, Jason, and Julian it was a pleasure to meet you. Enjoy the fresh fish.

John A. and Chipper

Wow, what a day. The weather is perfect, no winds and not a cloud in the sky. Still a little hot though. We started off the day catching some pigs and pins. The tide was incoming and was switching around 1 p.m. We were ready with a few baits. Th bite went off as suspected. I hooked up and landed my Snook first. It was a perfect 32 inch Snook. Chipper caught the second keeper another nice 31″ Snook. I was on fire, catching a few more Snook. Before I knew it we had our limit of 3 Snook. We continued to fish even though we had limited. John turned on catching his share of Snook. We did have to leave twice and go catch a few more croakers. It was quite ridiculous, I was even catching Snook twice on the same bait. It was on FIRE! If you want to catch fish, you should book your Snook trip now!

George and Mike,

George and his friend Mike showed up around 6 p.m. George claimed to know were the bait was hanging. There have been tons of catfish in the river right now and a lot of my spots have been nothing but cat’s. So, I was listening and decided to let him navigate the way. Well, nothing but catfish there as well. What was I going to do? It was getting dark. There was one spot that I have been wanting to try lately. With about 45 mins. of light left we made it back and got anchored up on a great little spot. Mike found them at first and then the three of managed to put 3 dozen pins and pigs in the well.

The moon is almost full. The tides are strong. The wind has finally laid down. Once we started to fish, Mike was the first one to catch a fish. It was a 25 inch Snook. I think he caught the first three, all a little short. George got his Snook and a few more. Tons of action, the bite was on, just a lot of small fish. Maybe when we get away from this full moon. I’m not a fan of the full moon. Thanks again George and Mike.

Thom, Justin, and Suzie

Bait is still a problem. A lot of small pins and pigs. The tide was incoming till 9:30 p.m. The weather was decent winds were still quite strong out of the south. We played with a few small Jacks that were hitting the schools of mullet. We tried the back of the inlet for Snook and did not have much luck. As it got dark we moved into channel and began to work the fenders. Thom was on fire he caught his share of small Snook and a decent Redfish. Justin and Suzie each caught a few Snook as well. Overall, there was some action but they were a lot of small fish, no keepers. Oh yea, only 20+boats in the inlet.

Jay, John, and Glenn

These three, Jay, John, and Glenn are from my old stomping grounds, Pinellas County, Fl. They are staying at the oyster point time share next to Capt. Hiram’s. I picked them up at 5 p.m. and the winds were strong 15 to 20 out of the SSW. The tide was incoming at the Inlet and slack was around 8 p.m. Bait, that is the question it’s tough. Catfish were thick, they were everywhere it seemed like we couldn’t get out of them. We managed to get about a dozen baits. Luckily, Capt. Curtis was just finishing fishing and gave us his left over baits. All together, we had about 2 dozen.

We tried a few spots before dark and no luck. I noticed a few schools of mullet moving through and seen some fish popping on them. We made a few drifts threw and Glenn hooked up with a Snook. It was a smart fish swimming right at the boat it managed to give a gill plate. Glenn also had another good fish on and was doing everything correctly. I can’t explain it but, it got off some how. The line came back like have never seen. Maybe a rock or structure of some sort? Once it got dark we moved to the fenders and the tide was starting to slow. John missed a nice snook. Well, the fished jump ran and jumped about the same time the boat Signed In pulled into close and ran John’s line over. Enough said on that. On the first drift on the new tide Jay and John doubled up. I thought for sure it was two nice keeper Snook. John landed his first and it was a 31′ Snook. Jay was a few seconds later and pulled in a nice 17-18lb. Red.

It was a tough night overall, the winds were strong the bait situation was limited and the water is still high and dirty. Thanks again Jay, John, and Glenn. Glenn you will get that trophy you just got keep fishing and don’t let it bother you’ That is just the way it goes sometimes. Every fisherman goes through there hot and cold cycles. You know the saying, it’s fishing not catching. I say, what fun would it be if fishing was easy.

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Thom (2nd night of Snook season)

The fishing was hot on the first night and hopefully it would be the same this night. We went right back to the inlet to catch bait. Once again I am the bait champ. Thom almost had me but I made strong comeback near the end and finished with a dozen first. The real skill is in the bait catching. Just kidding, but it is fun! The tide was was slacking at dark and incoming after dark. We were ready and I had the rods ready to go. we just needed the tide to turn.

Once the tide started to come in, Thom began to hook up. He put a nice 32″ keeper on the boat right off. He also caught a Redfish that was 29″. He caught a few more Snook that were a bit short, one of them was just 28″, but I decided to release it in hopes of a bigger keeper. Thom pulled it off, he was on fire. He landed another 32″. That was it 2 keeper’s. We even made it back to Capt. Hiram’s for a quick dinner. That was another great night. I love that inlet when the fishing is good. Thanks again Thom for everything!

Thom (opening night)

Snook season is open! The weather was pretty windy. We were going to fish Sunday night but the weather was bad. The tides are still really strong and the water is still dirty. There are hurricanes popping up everywhere. The bait was my main worry with all the fresh water in the river, would we be able to find bait. We moved around a bit and found a few small pins and pigs near the inlet. I won the bait race to 12, although Thom tried to shave points. The tide was outgoing before dark and slack at dark.As the tide began to flow in, the Snook began to hit. The tide picked up pretty strong. Thom was having a hard time feeling the bait with a ounce split on. I would of never thought but he convinced me to put 1 more ounce on and just like that he hooked up. I believe that one was a bit short. On the next drift, Thom put a keeper on the boat, 28 inches. The bite was on every drift he hooked up. Thom finished with a nice fat 32″ Snook. That was a good night, only a few boats in there as well. Opening night was a success.