Florida forecast for fishing
June 4th, 2006 by Fishing admin
Fishing forecast
Florida Saltwater : Dolphin are scattered offshore Port Canaveral, Sebastian and Fort Pierce inlets where anglers are finding them anywhere from 80 to 500 feet of water. Scattered weedlines and flotsum are ideal for targeting the dolphin, but even then the fish are very scattered. A few sailfish are showing up in the same areas as the dolphin, especially east of Sebastian and Fort Pierce.
Kingfish are a good bet offshore the three inlets, with most of the larger fish being found within a few miles of the beaches. Port Canaveral’s buoy line is another good area to target kingfish, with some jack crevalle and tripletail also being possible. More consistent catches of smaller kingfish, up to 15 pounds, are coming over regular haunts such as the 8A reef, Pelican Flats and Chris Benson reef, all east of Canaveral. Offshore Sebastian and Fort Pierce, the northeast bar is a good area to target kingfish.
Seatrout are still the best bet along the Indian River Lagoon system, particularly over shallow grass flats during the morning. Top-water plugs are best during the first hour or so of daylight, after which most anglers are switching to live baits and soft jerkbaits.
Florida Freshwater : The Kissimmee Chain of lakes is producing good catches of panfish and bass for anglers concentrating on early mornings and late afternoons. At West Lake Toho, south of Kissimmee, scattered lines of hydrilla is the best bet for bass. At Lake Kissimmee, anglers are finding bass around outside edges of shoreline vegetation, particularly areas where two or more types of vegetation are mixed.
Panfish are scattered, with shellcracker being found in more open water, generally outside grass lines. Bluegill are up around lily pads and other shoreline vegetation, as well as in and around canals. Use live red wigglers for the shellcracker and live crickets or small popping bugs for the bluegill.
– Beth Sinclair, for FLORIDA TODAY