Fishing report: River shrimp run has anglers excited

Everybody gets excited when there is a shrimp run in the Halifax River.

PONCE INLET, HALIFAX RIVER: The big news right now for anglers is the river shrimp run. Gene Lytwyn at The Fishin’ Hole said those casting for the tasty crustaceans are having the most luck near Highbridge and Dunlawton Causeway areas. Capt. Jeff Patterson (smallboatbigfish.com) has been fishing the inlet area extensively in the last week. “Still been picking at the flounder here and there around the inlet with quite a few 3- to 4-pound fish in the mix,” he said. “There are lots of tarpon, but haven't been able to get them to bite the last couple days.” Patterson said redfish we on and now they have switched off. “I can't figure out the redfish,” he said. “I had a couple really good days with both slot fish and over slot and then nothing the past few days.” Fish or no fish, the inlet water has been extremely clear. “We are able to see 20- to 25-feet down some days,” Patterson said. Lytwyn had reports from up and down the Intracoastal. “Inshore fishermen are having fun catching snook of all sizes,” he said. “They’re picking them up, in Tomoka, downtown around docks and bridges and the Spruce Creek area.”

OFFSHORE: The Sea Spirit party boat has been busy thanks to nice weather and a calm ocean. Capt. Michael Mulholland filed this report from Ponce Inlet. “Mango and grouper are still coming over the rails both on a full and half day trips,” he said. “We are also seeing and catching quite a few amberjack along with kingfish and flounder.” Lytwyn said his customers, who prefer to troll offshore, are reporting nice catches of kingfish – “We have seen several real smokers being caught” – along with some dolphin. “Bottom fisherman had success, too,” Lytwyn said. “Fishermen fishing the near shore reefs caught a variety of flounder, croakers, snappers, kings and barracudas.”

TOMOKA BASIN, RIVER: Capt. Kent Gibbens (backcountrycaptain.com) “We had a great morning this week,” he said. “We ran straight to where I left a school of redfish two days ago and they were still there. That is unusual these days with all the traffic. We landed three fish in the 5- to 7½ - pound range, plus a flounder and several jacks and ladyfish.” Up the river, Gibbens said he found a mess of juvenile snook up the river. He moved away from that spot and got on to keeper-sized mangrove snapper. “When we were done, we had caught about 20 fish,” he said. Capt. Barry Englehardt (fishwithcaptainbarry.com) said the snook bite continues to be active along with keeper snapper as long as 17 inches. “The redfish bite is improving and flounder continue to be a staple.”

SURF, PIERS: Lytwyn offered this news from the beach. “Surf fisherman are still catching whiting, croakers and sharks,” he said. “The ocean pier anglers have scooped up a few whiting, flounder, black drum and sharks.”

MOSQ. LAGOON, INDIAN RIVER: Capt. Michael Savedow (EdgewaterRiverGuide.com) has been working the Edgewater Backcountry. “We are catching a few snook up to 29 inches, plus trout, mangrove snapper, whiting, jacks,” he said. “We caught another little bonefish, too.”

MATANZAS INLET, RIVER: Englehardt said between Highbridge and Highway 100 in Flagler County finger mullet are plentiful. “So there are jacks and flounders are there to be had,” he said. Dave Farlow at Salty Dawg Outfitters Highbridge said the “early bite is on fire.” He said redfish, trout and snook are chasing bait early in the morning. “Most anglers have experienced the best bites up until about 9 or 9:30 a.m.,” he said. “The flounder have been stacked up at inlet.” Farlow said there is an abundance of catfish. “They are out in overwhelming numbers,” he said.

ST. JOHNS RIVER: Capt. Bryn Rawlins at Highland Park Fish Camp in DeLand said the panfish bite is strong right now. “The weather is not the only thing that's hot because our bluegill fishing is on fire,” she said. “We are seeing catches coming in from around the Lake Woodruff area. Fishermen are pitching crickets against the tree tops and banks to target these fish.” Bass fishing is making a comeback, too. “The most important thing is to start early,” she said. “With the temperatures heating up, so does the water and this makes bass less aggressive. Our water level has been low, but we are now starting to see some improvements.”

SEND PHOTOS: We want to see your most recent catch. Email your fish photos to godwin.kelly@news-jrnl.com. Be sure to include type of fish, size of fish (weight and/or length), where the fish was caught, first and last names and hometown of angler who caught the fish, and first and last name of person who took the photo. If a child is in the photo, please include their age. The News-Journal will use one or two photos in print each week and the other photos submitted will go into the online gallery called “Readers' Fish Photos.”