Mike Renfro jetty snookSo far this winter has been much warmer than usual, which has led to some great fishing along the beaches outside of the Port. Giant Black drum, shark, snook and even tarpon have been caught in recent weeks. If this weather pattern continues into March, we should continue to see much of the same. For the tarpon, live baits such as pinfish, pogies, and mullet fished in the 20 to 40-foot depths will be a good choice. The big black drum should hit live shrimp on a ½ ounce HookUp jig head or larger “cobia style” jigs cast in front of the school. Snook are hitting Rapala X-Rap plugs and ½ to ¾ ounce jigs cast into the surf, or around the Cocoa Beach pier and both jetties at the entrance of Port Canaveral. Live shrimp and small baitfish will also get the snook to bite. Pompano and whiting catches remain good along the beaches as well. “Goofy/” style jigs in orange, yellow, chartreuse and pink are working best for them. Anglers can also try a sand flea or piece of cut shrimp tipped on these jigs, or on a standard surf rig and have good success. We probably will not have much of a cobia season again this year. The warmer than average temperatures have kept the main group of cobia well to our north off of St. Augustine and Jacksonville.
Captain Jim Ross W-321-636-3728 Book your fishing trip at FinelineFishingCharters.com Catch a Memory Outdoors Radio show host-Live shows Saturday mornings from 7:00 to 9:00 am on 1510 am, 99.9 fm and 100.7 fm
