Spring Fishing Trips
with On The Hook Charters
in Daytona Beach, Florida

Everything is biting in Daytona Beach in the Spring Time!

Spring is one of the absolute best times of year to go fishing in Daytona Beach, Florida. Twice a year, during the Autumn and during the Spring, giant schools of bait fish (food for larger species) migrate along Daytona Beach’s Atlantic Coast as the weather changes. In the Autumn, bait fish head south along the Atlantic Coast heading for warmer water. In the Spring, these same fish head north along the Atlantic Coast as the coastal waters warm.

Everything is biting in Daytona Beach in the Spring Time! Following these schools of bait fish, in the Autumn and the Spring, are the large predator fish species we all love to catch including Mahi-Mahi (Dolphinfish), Sharks, Sailfish, Wahoo, Kingfish, Amberjack and our favorite catch this time of year, Cobia!

Sight Fishing for Cobia in the Spring

March through May is by far the best time of year to go fishing for Cobia near Daytona Beach! How do you find the Cobia? By sight fishing for Giant Rays! No, we don’t target the Rays, we’re after Cobia. (Large rays such as Devil Rays and Manta Rays are protected in Florida state waters and federal waters. The smaller stingrays are not) Cobia love to swim in the shadows of large rays! When you find a large ray, there’s often Cobia swimming just below in the ray’s shadow.

Cobia are highly mobile but are also attracted to buoys and other floating objects where they feed on fish, crabs, shrimp and squid. To the Cobia, the wide shadow cast by a large Ray resembles a large floating object where they can expect to find a food source. These large rays are pelagic species meaning they swim in open water like Tuna or Sailfish. During the Spring, they can be found swimming in shallow coastal waters such as off the Daytona Beach shoreline, 1/2 to 5 miles offshore, in 30 to 60 feet of water.

Like whales, large rays breach, for unknown reasons. Large rays love to swim at high speed and then leap high above the surface. It may be part of mating behavior or to dislodge parasites. Either way you can spot them from a mile away and there’s probably Cobia swimming below in the ray’s large shadow.

Leaping Manta Rays and Big Cobia

Imagine seeing a 16 foot Ray leaping out of the water! It’s more common than you think in Daytona Beach waters during the Spring and there’s probably large Cobia swimming just below. Either way, Captain Corey is an expert at spotting these leaping giants as they burst out of the water as well as spotting them as they swim just below the surface of the clear Atlantic waters. In a moment, it’s full speed ahead toward the giant ray and casting for Cobia is just minutes away.

Using this technique, Captain Corey has caught a 68 pound Cobia just a couple of miles off the Daytona Beach shoreline. Even Cobia in the 20 to 40 pound range put up a great fight and will make your Daytona Beach fishing charter with Captain Corey a memorable trip!

Inshore Fishing in Daytona Beach is Great in the Spring, too!

As the weather warms, and all fish species become more active. Inshore species such as Redfish, Snook and Speckled Sea Trout are biting more and more. Popular inshore fishing waters near Daytona Beach such as the Halifax River and Spruce Creek offer a maze of brackish water estuaries that are home to a large variety of desirable species. In addition to Redfish, Snook and Speckled Sea Trout, the brackish inshore and backcountry waters near Daytona Beach are also home to Black Drum, Flounder, Sheepshead and even many species typically associated with offshore fishing such as Sharks and Barracuda. And don’t forget the tasty Mangrove Snappers, at home along the mangrove lined shorelines of the Halifax River near Daytona Beach.

Captain Corey Simmons, a Daytona Beach native, knows these backwater estuaries like the back of his hand. His inshore fishing charters launch just 6 miles south of downtown Daytona Beach on the Halifax River in Port Orange.
Captain Corey can launch from any public boat ramp you choose in the Daytona Beach area!

For prices on Captain Corey’s Fishing Charters please see his Fishing Charter Rates page.