Indian River Fishing With Capt. Charlie
Much to my approval and pleasure, my son moved from South Miami, upstate to the Sebastian and Vero Beach area of East Coast Florida. Not that there is anything wrong with the Miami area, NOT if you LIKE congestion, crime, traffic, high taxes and a host of other adjectives that reflect the way of life in South Florida.
The Sebastian, Vero Beach and Fort Pierce areas are a saltwater angler’s paradise! Miles and miles of the Indian River are accessible from virtually dozens of public boat ramps, affording the small boat angler almost limitless opportunities to enjoy this aquatic paradise. Fish species such as Snook, Redfish, Sea Trout, Grouper, Snapper, Jack, Lady Fish, Tarpon, and Flounder, just to name a few, provide plenty of action throughout every season of the year.
My dad and I fished this area on a regular basis, when I was growing up in Florida during the 50’s and 60’s and enjoyed much success on many of the aforementioned species. When my dad passed away several years back, he was cremated and his ashes spread on an incoming tide at the Sebastian Inlet. I still feel his presence whenever I fish there now and someday I will join him there again.
I have fished this area with a couple of different guides since my son has moved there, but have not found a guide who fits my needs and expectations… Until now that is! My son was lining-up a “fishin’ outing” for us, during my recent visit there, and inquired about a guide from his buddies at work. The name Capt. Charlie Conner’s “Fish Tales” charter service came up several times and we decided to give Capt. Charlie a try. GOOD DECISION!!
Captain Charlie Conner has over twenty-five years experience fishing the Indian River Lagoon from Stuart, Fort Pierce & Port St Lucie to Titusville, Florida. He is a licensed and insured Coast Guard Master Captain specializing in light tackle fishing along the flats and islands of the Indian River. He welcomes the experienced as well as the novice angler and will take the time to improve your fishing skills and show you tips on fishing these waters. He also has a GREAT sense of humor and a deep seated love and respect for the environment and all of God’s creatures living there.
Let me interject a bit of philosophy here. It has often been said and written that “It is NOT the fish that an angler truly pursues, but the total experience of fishing” and I happen to totally agree with this statement. If you HAVE to catch fish, every time you go fishing and if you cannot enjoy and be awed by the surroundings, the birds, the sunrises, the wildlife and the total package of God’s creation, then perhaps you should look for another way to spend your leisure time. I have spent most of my life in the outdoors, fishing and hunting, and I am still fascinated, awed and excited by what I see, hear and experience. When I hook a big fish, I am still that excited little boy who plied the waters of his youth so many, many years ago, and if that feeling ever ceases, then put me in a box, for I am surely dead.
SORRY… Didn’t mean to get off on a philosophical tangent there, but I felt the same kinship, respect for nature and excitement from my host of the day… Capt. Charlie Conner. His sense of humor, his friendly and helpful attitude and his love of the sport were all too apparent and I will surely fish with this gentleman many times in the future.
My son and I met Capt. Charlie bright and early at the Seaway Drive Public Boat Ramp in Fort Pierce on a calm and clear Tuesday morning. The weather had been windy and unstable for about two weeks, and two hurricane systems had dumped nearly 24 inches of rain on the area over the past few weeks. There was no telling how these events and the huge influx of fresh water into the lagoon system would effect today’s fishing, but Capt. Charlie reassured us that the fishing had been picking up the past few days and that we were in for a good day.
We idled from the boat ramp area, turned south and Capt. Charlie put the throttle down on the 115 horses pushing his 18’ Key West made Flats Boat “Stealth”. After a short run, we idle down and crept into a likely looking flats area. The water was alive with school after school of finger mullet and shiners. Huge schools of Jack, Redfish and Snook were pounding on this tasty morsels and it was almost an effort to stop watching the show, as hundreds if not thousands of baitfish scurried for their lives, and start fishing. Capt. Charlie tied a Mirror Lure “Top Dog” to a 61/2 foot Medium Action spinning outfit, mated with a smooth operating Okuma reel and spooled with “Suffix” braid line and handed it to me with instructions to “have at it”! I was “walkin’ the dog” when a sizeable Jack Carville nailed my “dog” and as the line pealed from the reel and the dray sang my favorite tune, I turned to Capt. Charlie and said “Hey Cap… I think I have a bite”. This remark cracked him up and I knew we were in for one HECK of a day. After a brief but hectic battle, we brought the Jack to net, snapped a few pics and got back to business. Schools of mullet and shiners were everywhere and predator fish were slamming into them from all directions. Capt. Charlie kept on the trolling motor, trying to stay with the fleeing schools of “victims” while Ty and I hammered away with topwater lures.
After a couple of hours of straining our casting and fish battling muscles, Capt. Charlie decided it was time to search for a quarry all true saltwater angles aspire to… The mighty Snook!
We idled off of the flat and made the short run back across the Inland Waterway Channel to the west shore of the river. Long private boat docks dotted the west shore for miles and reached from the shoreline out into the lagoon by 50 to 100 yards. The water was shallow, but the incoming tide made the docks ideal ambush points for Snook, Redfish and other lagoon predators. On our first stop it didn’t take long for a nice sized Snook to attack my unlucky live Pinfish bait and after a nice fight, we boated a beautiful “Lineside” Snook. We concentrated on the outermost ends of the docks and back along the sides of the docks on those that offered deeper water. Almost every dock held a Snook or two, of varying sizes, some we boated… Some we didn’t, but they were all FUN!
While fishing one dock, we noticed a BIG Snook chasing bait on the next dock down from us. We baited-up with fresh live Pinfish and Capt. Charlie maneuvered the boat into position, and Ty made a perfect cast into the Snook’s lair. It took about 6 seconds for the Snook to grab the Pinfish, Ty to set-up on him, the Snook to run through the dock and make a left turn, heading for the channel and break off, as the drag hummed and Ty leaned into the bruiser, trying to stop his forward progress. Short lived action… But extremely exciting!!
Suddenly, a giant sized shadow appeared behind the boat, and much to my pleasure a HUGE Sea Cow (Manatee) appeared behind the boat and surfaced right behind me. I reached out with the tip of my fishing rod and scratched her head for a few moments, until she quietly swam away. Just another awe inspiring perk for those who enjoy all of God’s great creations. Finally the tide went slack, and so did the “Catching”, so we idled back out to the channel (idle speed only when you are out of the channel, to protect the gentle giants of the Indian River Lagoon, the Manatee).
We ran several miles up the river and idled into a quite lagoon filled with Mangrove islands. Mullet and other baitfish were in abundance everywhere, but someone forgot to ring the dinner bell for the predator species. The slack tide had everything shut down, but we fished the edges of the Mangrove overhangs with lures and live bait and did manage to hook and boat a couple of nice sized Jack.
We didn’t waste much time on the Mangrove flats and headed back down river to one of Capt. Charlie’s “Secret Spots”. The tide had begun to flow out and Capt. Charlie knew where the good ole bigguns’ would be lurking, waiting for baitfish to be flushed from the shallow coves. Capp anchored the boat just up-tide from a long pier jutting out into an out-flowing estuary. We flipped live pinfish, impaled on a 1/4oz. jig head, under the dock and it didn’t take long for me to hook into a nice Redfish. Not only are these wonderful fish hard fighters, but they are some of the best eating fish in saltwater, so after a short but hard fought battle, this “slot fish” went into the livewell. It wasn’t long until I had another “Red” hooked, and he too was a legal “keeper” and joined his brother in the box.
Capt. Charlie rigged up a heavy duty baitcasting outfit, spooled with 80# test braided line, set it up with a basic “Carolina Rig” and tied on a 1/0 size Circle Hook, hooking a 6 inch Pigfish through the nostrils and tossing it out under the dock. He placed it in one of the rear rod holders and within minutes the rod bent double and the drag started singing my favorite tune. Ty grabbed the rod and bore down on whatever had eaten the unlucky little “Piggy”. A big fish surfaced on the opposite side of the dock (we couldn’t tell if it was a Snook or a Red), and made a spectacular run, abruptly braking off on the barnacle encrusted pilings. We hooked and lost 5 more fish in this fashion. There was nothing wrong with the tackle we were using, or Ty and my abilities… They were just too big and powerful to handle. I LOVE THIS STUFF!!!
Action finally slowed on this spot, so we pulled the hook, motored out into the channel and headed back up the river to another “Charlie Spot”. We fished along the lee current side of a breakwater and on my first cast I hooked and boated a 15-20 pound Goliath Grouper (we’re not allowed to say “Jewfish” anymore… Politically correct fishin’ you know). For the next couple of hours we continued to fish the breakwater with much success. Ty boated a 19 inch Flounder and we both landed Grouper, Snapper and Snook with arm wrenching frequency.
Time to move again and the clock was winding down on a GREAT day of fishing and “male bonding”. We motored over to another one of Capt. Charlie’s “secret spots” (one amasses quiet a few of them with more than 25 years experience on a body of water) and began dropping live Pinfish and Pigfish into 20 to 25 feet of water, along a steep drop off. Within moments I felt a slight tap on my line. I took up the slack and leaned into something BIG! Capt. Charlie and I both thought I was hung on the bottom for a few seconds, until the bottom started to move. My big 7 ˝ foot heavy-duty Penn rod bent double, the 80# test braid line strained to it’s max, and the drag yipped in short bursts as the behemoth fish moved about at will. It only took a minute or two for my foe to find something sharp or barnacle encrusted to cut me off on and I was almost glad to see him get away. It’s a lot like WORK battling a fish this size! NOT!! I was a little heart sick… But THAT’S fishing! We figured it was a BIG Grouper of some type. We hooked and lost a couple more big fish on this spot and the sun was beginning to sink into the western horizon. My arms ached and I was OK with the idea of calling it a day. It had been quiet a fishing experience and one of the most fun-filled and memorable days of my fishing career.
We motored back to the dock and while Capt. Charlie and Ty loaded up the boat and put our gear back into the truck, I went to the cleaning table and filleted our dinner… Two nice big Redfish and a tasty Flounder.
I hope you enjoyed reading this little “Fishin’ Tale” as much as I enjoyed writing it! I thoroughly enjoyed my day on the water and the chance to spend some quality time with my son. I can most HIGHLY recommend Capt. Charlie Conner and his “Fish Tales Charters” and I can assure you… The next time I go south for a family visit, I will be giving Capt. Charlie a call. Check out his web site at www.fishtalescharter.com and strongly consider a trip to the Sunshine Coast of Florida in the near future.
Until next time… Safe boatin’, good fishin’, keep your net wet and…………
Tight Lines,
Will Whitehead
"Pro Staff" Director
And Jesus said to his disciples… “Follow me and I will make you fishers’ of men”!
|
