Banana River Fishing Information

The Banana River with its abundance of marine life offers more then just fishing and boating opportunities. Adrian Gray from the IGFA recently took Merritt Island residents the Redwine’s on a collecting mission around the Banana River. Adrian just took delivery of his brand new Inshore Power Boat and desperatly wanted to get it wet despite the bad weather, what better way to break it in on a very windy day but to pull up on the leeward side of some Banana River islands break out the seine nets and start seeing what you can find.

A 10 gallon aquarium set up on the bow of Adrian’s IPB made for the perfect temporary collecting station for Alden. Adrian’s new flats skiff allowed them to glide quietly  and effortlessly in the ankle deep water as the Redwines netted up small crusteceans, pipefish, needlefish and and juvenile gamefish in the rich river seagrass.

The Banana River with its miles of skinny flats and abundant wildlife creates the perfect stomping ground for an eleven year old kid armed with a net and bucket. The Redwines’ prove you don’t need an arsenal of expensive tackle to enjoy all the Banana River has to offer.

We told you about the new 16 foot Inshore Power Boat now check out the poling skiff deal they are offering.

Boat, motor, trailer and much more for under $10,000

A quick trip from the Banana River by boat through the Port Canaveral locks you can enjoy cold beverages fresh oysters and much more. Rusty’s seafood has been the locals hangout for as long as I can remember. They now have dock slips to accommodate boating traffic.

Rusty’s Seafood and Oyster bar is a “come as you are” family restaurant where you can enjoy the cozy southern feel of dining inside, or on our outside patio overlooking the water. They have a full service inside bar with friendly bartenders who will shuck you fresh oysters if you desire. Rusty’s has 42″ flat screens and other various tv’s that play water related video entertainment and sports.

Rusty’s Website

628 Glen Cheek Drive • Cape Canaveral, Florida 32920

Telephone : 321.783.2033

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January 9, 2010 Banana River along with the entire state of Florida experienced some of the coldest temperatures on record. The extreme temperatures were the ending to a week of cold days and freezing nights. Unfortunately we lost many of the Banana River inhabitants during that week. Although this was devastating to many of us there there is so hope. Many guides and anglers fishing the Banana River have seen large schools redfish, trout and snook still alive and healthy. Here’s a video a couple Merritt Island locals shot during the cold weather.

We stumbled across this neat little skiff the other day and thought it would be a perfect match for the Banana River. The price point on this skiff was very affordable. It was setup to fish with a poling platform and front casting deck. This one had a 50 tiller and screamed. We discovered their construction methods are second to none in their class. If you are in the market for a versatile, affordable, quality flats skiff then you need to check out Inshore Power Boats 16′.

Flats boat

Reel Job Sportfishing sent us a report from his last charter on the Banana River he said he had slick calm conditions, great anglers and chewing redfish for his half day trip. Captain Mike Gulick says he found a nice school of redfish and his clients Henry and John took full advantage of the good fishing. Between the two of them they caught 9 redfish. “I consider that good fishing and it’s always rewarding to get some great kids and their grandfather out on the water.”

If you would like to check out more reports from Reel Job Sportfishing click here – Fishing Reports

Here’s a series of pictures from their charter.

First redfish of the morning

Fighting a nice redfish.

Double header redfish!

The Banana River has some nice populations of big redfish. Although sometimes these breeder reds can be finicky and other times they will eat what ever you throw at them. When you can find slick calm conditions in the river it makes it a lot easier to locate the school.

BIg Banana River Redfish

This big one was caught on a yellow exude fished on a weedless mustad hook rig. Tyler says they were on a bunch of tailers and this one decided to jump on their bait! Congratulations on the redfish guys!

At the entrance of the Port Canaveral, Florida lies an unassuming little spoil island. On the weekends this small piece of land turns into a gathering place for boaters. Boats in every size, shape and color pull up to the island or sandbar for their piece of the Jimmy Buffet lifestyle. Many of the weekend visitors make a day of it while some visitors drop by to share a beverage after a long day fishing the Banana River or the Port. Most of the boaters have been very responsible keeping ski island pristine.

Word is Captain Mike Gulick of Reel Job Sportfishing has been putting himself and clients on some real nice speckled sea trout around the Banana River. He likes to throw top waters and white jerk baits around mangrove shorelines for trout. What ever he has been doing many clients have been happy with the results. If you would like to fish the Banana River for sea trout or any other available species we suggest you give him a call.

Captain Mike with a nice trout

Captain Mike Gulick – Reel Job Sportfishing

We had an exceptional year for tarpon fishing in the Banana River. Many local flats were over run with tarpon in the 3-15 pound range, some lucky anglers caught fish over 50. Live bait is most commonly used but Banana River tarpon will easily fall for flies or properly presented artificials. May old salts are saying this is some of the best tarpon fishing they have seen in 30 years around Brevard County. By the numbers of tarpon we found the past two weeekends it doesn’t look like it will slow up anytime soon. Many of the local canals that have not had tarpon in the last few years are suddenly full of them. There are many guides around the Space Coast who specialize in chasing tarpon give one a call today and catch a silver king.