# Cape Canaveral Air Force Station



## mblanken (Nov 4, 2003)

Went surf fishing off Camera A Road Beach on CCAFS after work today using dead shrimp for bait. If 8 inch whiting were dollar bills, I'd be a millionaire. Nothing much going on at all other than that. Caught a few 14 inchers, but most were tiny. The sunset was worth the trip, though.


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## 222222 (Jul 20, 2001)

Hello, mblanken. I like to ask a few questions if I may.

1. Could you keep an 8-inch Whiting in FL? What's the legal size there?

2. How far from shore you have to cast out in order to reach these Whiting? More than 30 yards or less?

I just read somewhere that in FL you can NOT keep a bluefish shorter than 12 inch. We're talking about bluefish that commercial fishermen wouldn't even take a second look at, right??

Thanks.


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## 222222 (Jul 20, 2001)

P.S. I thought only military personnel can fish at the airforce station, no strangers can approach it without getting shot!


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## Beachbms (Jan 10, 2003)

No size limit and anywhere from 5yds out!!


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## mblanken (Nov 4, 2003)

Beachbms is right, as far as I know...I've never heard about a size limit. Although an eight inch whiting (even the bucket-full I could've taken home) isn't really worth the trouble. Sometimes you can cut 'em in half and the bluefish will hit them, but mostly they steal your shrimp. When they get up over 16 inches, I've taken them home a couple times...they're not bad to eat. I catch the biggest whiting around the buoys outside Cape Canaveral when I'm out in the boat.

As to where they were hitting, Beachbms is right on again. It didn't matter where you casted...they were everywhere. I was trying to avoid them, and they still found it whether I casted out forty yards or fourteen.

And yes, I assume we're talking about the same bluefish. You'd be suprised how many people DO keep them. I'm not really THAT suprised, though...I saw a proud tourist with a bucket full of jack crevelles one time...I bet he was disappointed. Anyway, I think blues are too "fishy," but I hear saoking the fillets in lemon juice is supposed to cut that down some (but I don't buy it). They're fun to catch when they get up over 5 or 6 pounds.

Fishing is restricted at CCAFS, but recently, the higher ups decided that anyone with a permanent badge (someone who works there) can fish from the beaches and in the Trident Submarine basin from the pier as long as no operations are going on and the security level is at its lowest. Prior to 9/11, you could bring a guest, but they cut that out. If things stay calm for a while, they might reinstate it...which would make my wife happy...she can't go out either. I work for an Air Force contractor, so I can fish, and there's a bunch of us who fish there pretty regularly.

Camera A Rd is a pretty beach and (best of all) it's mostly empty, but you pretty much catch the same stuff you'd catch at Playalinda or Jetty Park. The Trident Basin is more fun if the pomps, blues or jacks are running through.

mblanken


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## Beachbms (Jan 10, 2003)

My neighbor love blues, I bring him home some each time I'm out and there running. they have to be bled and put on ice directly after taken off the hook. I have also heard you can to the same thing with jacks. When I lived in the Northwest we used to soak Sturgeon in milk for 20 min before cooking to rid it of some of the oil, don't know if it would work with blues.


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## sandcasting (Jan 25, 2003)

my dad told me that back in the 60's, everyone who was catching blues was trying to give them away. but, they told anyone that they gave them to, that they should be soaked in milk to take out the fishiness. he says it works. the only time i ever ate blues, i soaked them. but they were fried, and almost anything that is fairly thin, and fried is good.


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