DELAND — Anglers for the Crappie Masters fishing tournament begin their quest for $100,000 on the St. Johns River in DeLand from Jan. 26-27.
The top prize goes to the overall winning team on a 17-city stop, which concludes in September in Clinton, Missouri. This is the fourth consecutive year the Crappie Masters have started their season in West Volusia.
The St. Johns River is recognized worldwide as a crappie (speckled perch) fishing mecca — a big drawing card for the competitors.
Fishing times for the two-day event are set from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day. The official weigh-ins are scheduled at the Ed Stone Park at 4:30 p.m., located along the St. Johns River adjacent to S.R. 44 before the Whitehair Bridge.
Professional and amateur anglers alike can get more information on how to enter at crappiemasters.net. Late registration is set for Jan. 25 at the Sanborn Activity and Event Center in DeLand. Registration starts at 5 p.m., with the rules meeting set for 6:30 p.m.
A free Kids’ Rodeo Fishing Contest will be held on Jan. 27 at Highland Park Fish Camp, with registration from 8-9 a.m. and fishing from 9-10 a.m.
ST. JOHNS RIVER: The speckled perch are getting bigger and bigger, says Capt. Bryn Rawlins, whose family owns Highland Park Fish Camp in DeLand. “People are trolling (Lake Woodruff) for them using artificial jigs,” she said. “They’re coming in 2 to 2.5 pounds. That’s been the biggest weight so far, and they’re going to get bigger throughout the season.”
MOSQ. LAGOON, INDIAN RIVER: Both the lagoon and river have been pretty quiet, says Greg Noel. “Not much fishing. The weather has a lot to do with it,” he said. When anglers are getting out, they’re mostly targeting sheepshead and Wednesday morning say some good strikes of trout. “I had two friends go out and between them they caught 30 trout. They didn’t keep them, but they were pretty good-sized.” He added that some fish have just disappeared. “I think the weather being cold and windy and rainy has a lot to do with the disappearance of some fish.” He cited two in particular, black drum and flounder.
SURF, PIERS: There were no reports from the piers other than the water has just been too rough.
OFFSHORE: Things are still rough offshore, according to Capt. Doug Davis (saltybonesnewsmyrna.com). “Poor boating conditions will continue for most of this week due to a high pressure system pushing through midweek,” he said in an email. “Then another cold front will pass through (this weekend).” About the only good report from offshore came from Greg Noel, who said a couple of friends had success hauling in some golden tilefish. And, according to him, they are “some good eating.”
PONCE INLET, HALIFAX RIVER: Richard Siano of Don’s Bait & Tackle reports strong catches of black drum with snook in the creek and redfish in the river. All are being caught on shrimp and mullet. He added the sheepshead catch remains steady, using sand fleas. He doesn’t expect much of a downturn with some cooler weather returning this weekend, but added, “The rain keeps some people away. With rain the fishing gets better, so it’s bad for the fishermen but good for the fishing.”
Capt. Jeff Patterson (smallboatbigfish.com) has done some "scouting" this week, he said in an email. "Tuesday before all that rain the trout bite was really good. They weren't huge but slot fish and a bunch of them. Got a few black drum and some snook as well. That's a good sign after the last cold front. Saw a handful of dead snook, mostly juvenile, between some parts of the Tomoka and up by High Bridge and one really nice one stunned but still very lively. The water temp has gone up significantly it was under 48 at one point and (Thursday) saw it up to 64."
MATANZAS INLET, RIVER: Cold, cold, cold was the report from Rob Ottlein (flagerfishingcharters.com). “I’ve been through the canal and snook are cruising the banks trying to get warm,” he said. “But it’s been too cold to get out.” Devil’s Elbow Fish Camp reports much of the same, but said if you do get out target sheepshead on fiddler crab and redfish if the sun comes out.
TOMOKA BASIN, RIVER: Capt. Kent Gibbens (backcountrycaptain.com) says he hasn’t seen too many dead fish in the area, but it’s still been too cold to get out. “On the second day of the cold snap, I went out and I didn’t find any dead fish that day, but I also didn’t find any fish that day.” He has seen some since. “I saw a few dead fish, mostly tarpon in Strickland Creek, but not many snook.” Gibbens advised looking for trout if you do get out. “Sometimes if you look real hard you’ll find some big, big trout. They look like an eel squirming around. And you usually find them in pairs,” he said.
SEND PHOTOS: We want to see your most recent catch. Email your fish photos to robert.ullery@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.”