Fishing Report Daytona Beach

With the cooler weather here and water temperature is down. This can make for a great time to be fishing, The back waters, creeks and flats in the Daytona Beach area you are going to look for Flounder, Trout and Reds in the feeder creeks of the flats. The reds are going to be cruising around the shallows parts of the creeks feeding on shrimp and crabs at the bottom of the tide. This is a time to down size your artificial baits to a 3” Gulp shrimp, 3-4” Bass Assassin shad or to a Slayer swim bait. I like to use a more natural color on the small swim baits and new penny or molting is a good color in the gulp shrimp. If you want to use live bait, try a 1/8-1/4oz jig head, free lining or a popping cork with a live shrimp, mud minnow.
For the ones looking for a Snook this time of the year, check the Bridges and deep docks around Ponce Inlet. Bounce the largest shrimp you can find on the bottom and wait for the hit. The plug fishermen try using a deep diving lipped plug in the same areas. Don’t forget about old faithful the buck tail jig. There are many versions to use and the Flair hawk is the new-old style. The two best colors are clown and red and white.
The colder weather in Florida means that the Sheephead and Black Drum are here. You can find them on bridges, docks, rocks and oyster bars. The fenders on the bridges and old docks with structure around them would be one of my first stops with fiddler crabs, fresh dead shrimp and fresh cut claims, Use just enough weight to hold the bottom and a leader 12-18 inches long. Jacks, Bluefish and Ladyfish are here in the main rivers and deeper creeks. All will eat shrimp and small jigs. This is a great way to keep your kids busy with a bent rod. There are also Pompano in the river and along the beach. I like to use peeled shrimp, claims and sand fleas on a small jig head for the ones in the river and a double rig along the beach.