Redfish, by far, the most popular inshore species in the East Central Florida region, and my personal favorite to target. Nothing gets the heart pumping like poling the boat up to a school of 50 or more redfish with tails piercing the water's surface, indicating that they are in feeding mode, and more than likely willing to accept the offering you're about to present to them. You've made a perfect cast without spooking any fish. Then the water erupts as one of the fish takes your bait, suddenly he feels the pressure of your line and begins a drag testing run in an attempt to do anything but come boatside.

Snook Fishing, Snook rank right up there with redfish for being a popular East Central target species. Here in the Banana River I like to skip a jig or a jerkbait under docks or mangroves for snook. They are often times found laying around the sandy potholes on the grass flats, but the excitement of trying to muscle one of these brutes out from under the mangroves is intense. We also have an excellent snook fishery just a short boat ride away at Port Canaveral. Snook can be caught most of the year as long as the water temperature doesn't drop too far in the winter.

Trout, I love using a topwater lure for trout during the low light hours of the early morning and evening. The explosive strikes are a sight to be seen, whether on the shallow grass flats or along the mangroves of one of the many deeper canals in the Banana River. The trout in this area range in size from 14 inches to over 10lbs. They can be caught on a variety of baits and artificial lures. Anything from jerkbaits and jigs, to plugs and spoons. Although live bait such as mullet, shrimp, and pigfish can't be beat

Black Drum, typically I find Black Drum roaming around mangroves or old docks. I always keep a few live shrimp ready for an offering. Other times of years we will find them schooled up on the flats and will often succumb to a slowly reeled artificial bait.

Tarpon, we often spend a lot of time depending on the time of year chasing these silver kings. Tarpon fishing can be fantastic in the Indian and Banana River. We sometimes find live bait is the best bait but often times a small artificial offering is all you need to send one airborne. May tarpon battles last all the way to the boat soaking everyone.

Ladyfish and Jacks, certain times of year we get large concentrations of ladyfish, small trout and jacks busting on baits. Throwing small jigs and top-water baits at these can be a blast for old-timers and young ones alike.

These are the usual suspects but fish have no fences...you really never know what you may catch. Sharks, snapper, tripletail, bluefish, spanish mackeral and many many other species roam the Florida waters we fish.

- Capt. Mike Gulick