Dear Flagler Sportfishing Club Members,
We have been heard, on September 11th 2025 a small group of us (anglers) stood
before the Flagler Beach City Commissioners in protest of the impending city ordinance
2025-13 Surf Fishing Restrictions.
A number of us from the club stood up and spoke to them about wanting to take part in
the drafting of this ordinance. We know that it is coming, they are going to restrict surf
fishing in Flagler Beach, however we have the chance to affect this ordinance. As some
of you are aware we started a petition opposing (to reject) this ordinance. As of now we
have a total of 492 responses, 476 to reject the ordinance, 15 in support of the
ordinance, 1 prefer not to answer. I am going to allow the petition to continue until we
have an approved ordinance.
I received an email from Mr. Dale Martin (Flagler Beach City Manager) thanking us for
wanting to be part of the solution and wanting to assist in developing this ordinance. At
this upcoming meeting I will be asking for volunteers (there will be a sign-up sheet) that
will be available on a Monday or Friday (Date TBD) to sit with myself and Mr. Martin to
draft an ordinance to present to Flagler Beach City Commissioners. We may also want
to have a meeting prior to meeting with Mr. Martin so that we may present a draft
ordinance. This is your opportunity to stand-up and have your voice heard.
Fishing Report by Captain Mike Vickers JR: Well the calendar says that Summer is over
and Fall begins, however here in North-East Florida that is not the case. While we will
have some slightly cooler temperatures, there is no real change for us.
Unlike our temperatures going down slightly, our bite will start heating up. As the
northern waters start cooling down the fish will once again be migrating to warmer
water. We can start looking for the Pompano to start their run south, trout should
become more active and the fall flounder and sheepshead bite is just around the corner.
The Redfish (Red Drum) have been the target fish of many anglers as the fall mullet run
has been sporadic. This week I learned a few things about mullet.
Since I was a child, I have always thought that mullet jumped from the water to escape
a nearby predator. That is not the case, they are trying to get more oxygen and to flush
irritants (sand/algae) from their gills as stated by H. Dickson Hoese Department of
Biology, University of Southwestern Louisiana in his paper “Jumping mullet – the internal
diving bell hypothesis,” Environmental Biology of Fishes Vol. 13, No. 4, pp. 309-
314,1985.
Redfish are being caught in Matanzas Inlet. There are multiple ways to fish for them
from the bridge or the shoreline. From the bridge I like using a 5oz-6oz egg weight with
a 12”-18” leader using a 4/0 circle hook. Using this rig, I will use live or whole dead
finger mullet, hooking the live mullet through the upper lip and slightly in to the boney
structure of the nose. With a dead finger mullet, fillet from the tail up about mid-way
through the bait on both sides of the back bone and then hooking them through the chin
and out the boney structure of the nose. Doing this allows the fillets to remain attached
and flutter in the current like a struggling live bait or cut it into chunks. From the shore
you can use the same rig as above with the exception of a weight change. From the
shore I will replace the egg sinker with a pyramid sinker if fishing from the north bank.
On the south bank where there are rocks, I would use a bank style sinker as it has a
rounder shape and less (not guaranteed) likely to get hung up in the rocks. The first of
the outgoing tide seems to be the key to the bite; however, the turn of any tide should
provide nice fish. If you are fishing the bridge I would recommend getting there early as
the spots fill up fast.
In the back or mud flats our local captains are reporting Flounder, Trout, small Snook
and Redfish. The docks have been holding some nice Mangrove (grey) snapper. For
those of you looking for that slot snook the intracoastal bridges from Palm Coast to High
bridge have been reported with slot snook using Live croaker, mullet or a suspending
bait early mornings or at night under the lights.
As always, stay safe, keep the rod tip up and the lines tight and remember that the
“Fishing Lies Start Here.”