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CaptainIDS (Captainids)
New member
Username: Captainids
Post Number: 29
Registered: 9-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 05, 2007 - 10:09 am: | |
Are you a Licensed Coast Guard Captain?
This is for you
http://www.captainids.com/ |
Capt. Chris Myers (Fishcamp)
New member
Username: Fishcamp
Post Number: 15
Registered: 3-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, December 15, 2006 - 10:22 am: | |
Poor weather has limited my fishing the past two weeks but when I have been able to get on the water, the fishing has been excellent. The water has continued to drop in the Mosquito Lagoon but has been very clean.
Last week, Mark L. from Massachusetts, joined me for a half day of fly fishing the Mosquito Lagoon. The weather was near perfect with the exception of a few clouds. Temperatures were in the mid 70's and the winds were light. We found several schools of redfish on a shallow grass flat. Mark, who is used to tossing his fly into a feeding frenzy of northeast stripers and bluefish, was amazed at how spooky our shallow water redfish can be. He also found the small strike zone of the fish to be equally amazing. After a few warm up shots, Mark was able to land his first Florida redfish on an olive and gold #4 bendback pattern. Unfortunately, he had to leave just as thing were heating up and we left the fish tailing.
The next day, Capt. Tom Van Horn brought his flyrod and we returned to see if the tails were still there. We found a couple schools which had over one hundred fish and we each landed a few before our day was rudely interrupted by the arrival of a cold front. The twenty knot winds were not conducive to fly fishing.
Between bad weather and fishing seminars, I did not return to the water until Tuesday of this week. Had I known the wind was going to be howling all day and the cloud cover so heavy, I probably would have stayed home. All was not lost, though, as I was able to catch three reds on a chartreuse and white bendback fly before I got tired of fighting the wind. I changed to a DOA CAL tail and finished the day with six more redfish.
Wednesday, the clouds were even thicker making visibility poor but there was no wind. Luckily for me, the reds helped direct me in by waving me over with their tails. What's better than seeing a redfish tail? Seeing a bunch of them all at once.
I saw multiple schools and singles tailing throughout the day and spent as much time taking pictures and watching them as I did fishing. I landed seven reds on a variety of flies including tan and gold bendbacks as well as some awesome topwater bites on a purple deer hair slider.
Thursday brought more clouds but the wind remained light. Despite the temptation, I did not return to check on the fish from the previous day but, instead, checked out some different locations. My third cast resulted in a strike from a tailing red on the deer hair slider. For the next couple hours, almost all the fish I saw were too shallow for me to approach with the trolling motor. Fly fishing from the poling platform is not practical so I continued searching until I located some fish tailing in slightly deeper water.Using the flies mentioned above, I caught four redfish. I topped the day off with four nice seatrout and got off the water just as the rain arrived.
Moderate winds forecast for the next several days and above average temperatures, look for the reds to continue prowling the shallow water and actively tailing throughout the day. With the low water levels, those fishing from a kayak or canoe will have access to fish that most other boats cannot reach. When casting to fish that are cruising the flats with their backs exposed, cast well in front of them and let them find your lure. Allowing your cast to drop next to a ultra shallow water fish is sure to spook them.
Capt. Chris Myers
Central Florida Sight Fishing Charters
http://www.floridafishinglessons.com |
Capt. Chris Myers (Fishcamp)
New member
Username: Fishcamp
Post Number: 14
Registered: 3-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 05, 2006 - 5:49 am: | |
The high winds, clouds, and rain during the past week made the sight fishing conditions along the east central Florida coast less than perfect. The fish, however, did not seem to mind a bit. The cooler water temperature has brought about a significant increase in the amount of schooling redfish. I have also been seeing an increase in the numbers of tailing redfish during the past few weeks. This means it is time to bring out the soft plastic crabs and shrimp. There are still plenty of mullet around, however, and with the fish feeding aggressively, almost anything you throw to them will work.
Monday's trip to the Mosquito Lagoon was a perfect example of the variety of the redfish diet this time of year. I landed ten redfish and had quite a few more bites on a variety of baits. The gold DOA Baitbuster is still drawing aggressive strikes from redfish of all sizes. I have been working this bait on or just under the surface with a moderate and steady retrieve. After catching a few fish on this bait, I began experimenting with other lures. The fish responded well to everything I threw at them. The DOA crab, a Captain Joe's Shredder, a CAL jerkbait, and a green/white bendback fly all landed fish.
Thursday, I returned to the Mosquito Lagoon with the hope of spending the day fly fishing. The wind and the clouds were more of a factor than I had anticipated. I switched from a 7 to a 9wt flyrod to overcome the stiff breeze but the cloud cover made it difficult to spot the fish until they were only a few yards away. I managed to land two redfish on a green/gold #2 bendback pattern before switching over to spinning gear. Seven more reds were brought to the boat on a gold 4 inch CAL jerkbait and the gold Baitbuster. I spotted quite a few large trout in shallow sand holes but with the poor visibility, most of them saw me before I saw them.
As we progress through the cooler months, tailing redfish will become a common occurrence in the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River. These fish can be some of the most aggressive feeders but can also be the most difficult to hook up. When the fish are rooting in the grass attempting to dig out a crab or shrimp, they are often oblivious to their surroundings. If you are quiet, you can get extremely close to these fish without spooking them. Because they are so focused on the bait in the grass, it is often difficult to draw their attention to your bait. I like to cast past the fish, bring my bait directly in front of their nose and let it lie still until the fish raises it's head. A slight twitch of your lure at that moment will usually draw an instant strike. Using small crab or shrimp imitations works well. Some anglers prefer to add a rattle to their baits to draw the fish's attention.
Capt. Chris Myers
http://www.floridafishinglessons.com |
Capt. Chris Myers (Fishcamp)
New member
Username: Fishcamp
Post Number: 13
Registered: 3-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, October 28, 2006 - 6:37 am: | |
The first significant cold front of the season arrived this week dropping water temperatures in the Mosquito Lagoon into the lower 60's. The change has signaled the redfish to begin schooling and sent the big trout into the shallows.
This week began with a nearshore trip with Capt. Ron Presley on board his Pathfinder 22 as we searched along the beached south of Port Canaveral hoping to find a tarpon feeding frenzy. We covered over 20 miles of beach and saw little to no activity. We spotted a few rolling tarpon near Satellite Beach and tossed out a few baits. Capt. Ron hooked a tarpon in excess of one hundred pounds that quickly came off. A few minutes later he landed a large spanish mackerel which would be our only catch of the day.
The cold front arrived Monday and high winds forced me to reschedule my Tuesday charter. By Wednesday, the winds had calmed and the skies were clear. Paul Huffman and I took a trip to the Mosquito Lagoon. We saw schooling reds, tailing reds, and big trout throughout the day. Again, the gold DOA Baitbuster accounted for eight redfish and one big seatrout.
Thursday, I returned to Mosquito Lagoon with the intention of fly fishing. Just as I arrived, the clouds rolled in and the wind picked up. I caught one red on a green and white bendback before going back to the spinning rod. I landed four more reds to 35” and another nice trout using the Baitbuster, a Capt. Joe's Shredder, and a DOA Crab.
If you are looking for east central Florida's ultimate sight fishing challenge, trophy seatrout will provide multiple opportunities throughout the winter months. Although they are often caught making long blind casts, sight fishing for big trout requires stealth, good eyes, and a quick accurate cast. These masters of camouflage are ambush feeders and lie motionless waiting for a passing meal. When you spot them, you often have only a few seconds to make your cast before they discover your presence. I encourage you to practice catch and release with these big fish as they are the breeding stock that keep out fishery healthy.
Capt. Chris Myers
http://www.floridafishinglessons.com |
Capt. Chris Myers (Fishcamp)
New member
Username: Fishcamp
Post Number: 12
Registered: 3-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 06, 2006 - 3:08 pm: | |
Wind, wind, and more wind. That was the dominant factor in this weeks fishing adventures.
Visit my website at http://floridafishinglessons.com/FishingReport.html for pictures from this week.
Tuesday, I fished the Mosquito Lagoon hoping to find some hungry fish for my upcoming charters. I found a school of slot sized fish right away and caught one on a gold Capt. Joe's Shredder rigged weedless before moving on to another area. My next stop held a few cruising singles and I caught 2 more slot reds on a gold DOA 4 inch jerk bait. As the wind picked up, I switched over to the gold DOA Baitbuster which has been very productive the past month. I caught one over slot red and lost two more before calling it a day as the cloud cover thickened and the water became choppy.
The next two days, I fished with Marshall and Gary from south Florida. High winds and a white capped Lagoon limited our fishing options. We decided the most comfortable and easiest way to deal with the conditions was to put out some bait and let the fish come to us. Wednesday afternoon, we fished only two spots and caught six reds from 26-32 inches on cut ladyfish. Thursday morning, we managed to get in a half hour of trout fishing
and the guys caught 8-10 trout using a rootbeer DOA Shrimp under a Cajun Thunder float. As the wind increased, we tucked into a lee in the Indian River and caught six more redfish from 25-31 inches. A quick stop in the Mosquito Lagoon yielded two more redfish. Despite the adverse weather, Gary and Marshall landed 14 reds in two days and we had a few more that got away.
Although the water level in both Lagoons is continuing to recede, the winds of the past few days dirtied the water on all but the shallowest flats. As soon as the wind subsides, however, the sight fishing should be outstanding.
Capt. Chris Myers
http://www.floridafishinglessons.com |
Capt. Chris Myers (Fishcamp)
New member
Username: Fishcamp
Post Number: 11
Registered: 3-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, October 01, 2006 - 4:30 am: | |
The tarpon have returned! With the cold fronts pushing further and further south, they won't stay around long but it will be fun while it lasts.
You may visit my website at http://www.floridafishinglessons.com/FishingReport.html for pictures of fish from this week.
Sunday, my Indian River charter with John and Jason Brandt began with the beautiful sight of large tarpon rolling all around us. The father and son team were excited, as was I, but the tarpon were not as cooperative as we had hoped they would be. John put a fish of about 70 pounds in the air on a rootbeer DOA TerorEyz and another struck a live bait we were drifting behind the boat while we cast lures. No tarpon were landed but were certainly saw plenty of big fish. We searched around for some reds but only saw a few so we decided to go after some trout. Using a DOA Deadly Combo, they caught at least 30 trout which were holding in 2-4 feet of water around schools of small mullet. Near the end of the day, I spotted a school of larger redfish cruising along the edge of the flat. John was able to get a gold DOA Baitbuster in front of the fish and was hooked up instantly. The 34" fish topped off a good day of fishing.
Monday, I returned to the same area but a stiff breeze was keeping the tarpon down. I saw a few fish rolling and the Terroreyz launched another 70-80 pound fish into the air but the fight was short-lived. I had some rod bending action with ladyfish until the wind died down and the tarpon began to show themselves. During the next several hours, I used the TerrorEyz to get three bites, jumped two fish and landed one around 50 pounds.
Tuesday, Captains Ron Presley and John Kumiski invited me to join them on board Capt. Ron's Pathfinder for a nearshore trip out of Port Canaveral. We hoped to find a feeding frenzy of large fish feasting on mullet. We saw a few mullet schools, a ton of scattered menhaden, but no preadators. We ran almost to Melbourne before giving up without a bite. The following day, Capt. Kumiski travelled to Ponce Inlet where he went 4/5 on tarpon including a fish of over 200 pounds.
Wednesday, George Wessell treated his son Kyle to a fishing trip in Mosquito Lagoon before Kyle is deployed with his Army unit to Iraq. Heavy cloud cover dashed our hopes of sight fishing for redfish. After several hours of blind casting with only one nice trout landed, George and Kyle elected to try their luck with some cut ladyfish. Between catfish bites, they were able to land six nice redfish to 34".
Thursday, my wife and I planned on paying a visit to some Indian River tarpon. The wind had the river in whitecaps when we arrived and the few tarpon we saw were well out of reach. After several hours with only one redfish and a few ladyfish caught, we gave up on the tarpon and moved over to Mosquito Lagoon. We saw quite a few fish but with the wind and clouds, most of them saw us about the same time we saw them. Julie was able to land one nice redfish before we called it a day.
Friday, I was joined by Frank and Wendy from Boynton Beach. We planned on targeting the tarpon but the wind was still not in our favor. We left the Indian River after having caught only two trout and moved over to the Mosquito Lagoon. We began to see redfish right away but the fish at our first stop proved to be very spooky and only gave us a few shots. We moved around a bit and Frank was able to connect with his first red caught while sight fishing. He fooled that fish and one other with a gold DOA Baitbuster.
Wendy had one fish break off and landed another that proved to be the biggest of the day.The water levels in the Lagoons has been dropping steadily during the past few weeks and should concentrate the fish which have been scattered as of late. The lower water should also improve visibility and the sight fishing.
Capt. Chris Myers
http://www.floridafishinglessons.com |
Capt. Chris Myers (Fishcamp)
New member
Username: Fishcamp
Post Number: 10
Registered: 3-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, September 23, 2006 - 10:48 am: | |
Fishing in the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River was tough, at times, this week but was getting better as the week progressed.
Monday, I started in the upper end of the Indian River. After doing much searching and seeing no fish, I moved over to the Mosquito Lagoon. I didn't see many redfish but the boredom was interrupted by the furious feeding frenzy of a large school of 3-5 pound jack crevalle. Getting the jacks to eat was easy, keeping up with the fast moving school was not. I managed to pull two fish out of the school, one on a DOA chug head with a CAL tail and the other on a pink/white Captain Joe's shredder. Knowing I had a flat trailer tire to fix at the ramp, I left the water early.
Tuesday, Capt. Keith Kalbfleisch invited me to join him for a day of fishing the Indian River in Cocoa. The wind was up due to the approaching cold front and the water was high and dirty. Despite the adverse conditions, we both managed to catch a snook, trout, redfish slam. Capt. Keith caught 3 reds, a few trout and one snook.I caught 2 redfish, 3 trout, and one snook. The gold flake 4” cal tail on a weighted worm hook accounted for all but one of my fish.
Thursday, Ron Whetstone and I fished various areas throughout the Mosquito Lagoon. Compared to the amount of effort we put in and the water we covered, the fishing was poor. We saw only one school of reds and only a few dozen singles. Ron had three reds bite his black/silver Baitbuster but they never found the hook. I had one hooked on a gold Baitbuster that came unbuttoned. I managed to catch 6 slot reds and a couple trout on the 4” gold CAL jerkbait. Bait was everywhere but the reds were mysteriously absent.
Friday, Steve Melvin spent his birthday fishing with his favorite fishing partner, his daughter Tiffany. Steve's wish was to catch a big redfish. The day started out very slow and had us wondering if we were going to catch any fish. After catching only two trout on a DOA shrimp we began searching for some better action. The first few spots resulted in only a few sightings of slot reds. As the sun got higher, we found some bigger fish in two feet of water. The monster reds, however, were nowhere to be found. Steve and Tiffany did end up with three redfish each.
We saw quite a few more fish we did not catch and a day with a slow start turned out to be a success. As we passed through the Haulover Canal at the end of the day, we finished by watching a jack attack and a curious manatee.
Capt. Chris Myers
http://www.floridafishinglessons.com
321-229-2848 |
Capt. Chris Myers (Fishcamp)
New member
Username: Fishcamp
Post Number: 9
Registered: 3-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, September 09, 2006 - 1:38 pm: | |
Last Sunday the seas had calmed after having been roughed up by a tropical depression. Paul Huffman joined me for what we hoped would be a tarpon and kingfish catching adventure out of Ponce Inlet in New Smyrna Beach. Although we had perfect weather, the fish were nowhere to be found. We covered about forty miles of ocean and saw neither gamefish nor baitfish schools. We never even put a line in the water.Tuesday, I went to both Sykes Creek and the Banana River to search for tarpon. Although there was clean water and baitfish, the bigger tarpon were nowhere to be found. I did find some smaller tarpon and had several bites but none were landed. While fishing along some mangrove shorelines for the tarpon, I did catch several redfish, a trout, ladyfish, and a black drum all on a rootbeer DOA TerrorEyz and a Tiny TerrorEyz in the same color.
Wednesday, it was back to the Mosquito Lagoon to look for some fish for an upcoming charter. The morning began with some ominous clouds and wind making sight fishing difficult. I ducked into a secluded spot and landed two juvenile tarpon on the Tiny TerrorEyz. A short time later, I was able to find some slot sized redfish along the leeward shoreline. After trying several lures which were totally ignored, I moved on to look for some more cooperative fish. The skies cleared and the wind calmed by mid morning. As the weather improved, so did the fishing. During the next several hours, I caught five reds and five trout. All the fish were located in clean grass flats less than two feet deep with an abundance of mullet. A gold DOA Baitbuster, a gold Capt. Joe's shredder, and a gold DOA CAL jerkbait accounted for all the fish.
Thursday turned out to be a day I will not soon forget. After a fish less morning checking several spots in the north Indian River, I went back to Mosquito Lagoon to see if the redfish were still in the same spot as the previous day. After finding that they were, I left to look for some more. My next spot held some upper and over slot redfish. As I was getting out my flyrod, I saw a huge tail sticking up out of the two feet of water I was in. The fish was cruising slowly towards the boat. To my surprise, it was a tarpon in the 100 lb class far from any deep water. With a 7wt flyrod and 15lb bite tippet, I didn't even bother casting at the beast. I did, however, get out my bigger rod I keep on board during tarpon season just in case an opportunity presents itself. I watched the tarpon as it cruised the flat, occasionally stopping to demolish a baitfish. To my delight, the fish decided to make a u-turn and began swimming back in my direction. I quickly picked up my bigger rod rigged with a DOA Baitbuster and 50lb leader. I cast it out in front of the fish and kept it moving so that it was just in front of its face. The tarpon tracked the lure until it was less than five feet from the boat. Just as I was about to give up hope of getting a bite, I watched as it opened its mouth and engulfed the small mullet imitation. Within the next 15 seconds, the huge fish stripped almost all of the line from my reel. With no deep water around, all the fish could do was make run after run. I was able to get the fish boatside and had the leader in the rodtip several times. As I was alone, I was unable to handle that fish without having to fight it to total exhaustion. I finally popped the leader leaving only a hook in the top lip and followed it for a while as it cruised away looking no worse for wear. This was, by far, the biggest fish I have ever caught in less than three feet of water.
Friday did not yield any spectacular catches and I was again disappointed that the space shuttle launch was canceled when I would have had a spectacular view. I did, however, have an enjoyable day fishing the Mosquito Lagoon with the always entertaining Capt. Joe Hebert. We saw a few tarpon in the morning but got none to bite. We saw even more redfish but only caught two. Most of the reds we saw were buried in the grass and would run off when we got near. They clearly had no interest in feeding. It could have been the full moon or the five degree drop in water temperature from the four inches of rain that fell there Thursday afternoon. Capt. Joe caught several trout using his shad tail and I caught one using his chartreuse Beavertail lure. A pearl jerkbait accounted for my only red.
The flats of all three lagoons are filled with mullet of all sizes. Water levels are much higher than they were a month ago. Although this is a great time for topwater baits, much of the flats are covered in floating grass making topwater fishing impossible. I found some of the redfish to be very picky about what they would eat. If you are being met with refusals, try using a small bait. If I present a lure to three fish and none of them eat, I change it out.
Capt. Chris Myers
Central Florida Sight Fishing Charters http://www.floridafishinglessons.com
321-229-2848 |
Capt. Chris Myers (Fishcamp)
New member
Username: Fishcamp
Post Number: 8
Registered: 3-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 27, 2006 - 8:12 am: | |
Fishing in east central Florida the past couple weeks has been hot, if you find the spot. Inshore, the redfish action has been steady. The schools of oversize redfish have been tailing along the deeper edges of flats early in the day. If they are not subjected to excess pressure, they will eat a well placed offering.
Last week, Paul Fondo of Orlando, joined me in the Mosquito Lagoon with his friend, Don Mathis. They both caught their biggest redfish ever with Paul taking the largest fish of the day.
In the Indian River Lagoon, big tarpon were providing us with consistent action. We jumped and caught fish from 50-125 pounds using a rootbeer colored DOA TerrorEyz with 40-60 lb leader. On several days, we fished near other anglers using live baits and the TerrorEyz produced much more action.
This week, most of the tarpon moved on, but several in the 100 pound class were jumped on the same lure.
Tuesday, Dennis and Brad Prokopowicz fished with me in the Mosquito Lagoon. The brothers wanted to catch some big reds and the fish cooperated. Dennis caught the big fish of the day, a red af about 30 pounds, but Brad was not far behind.
After leaving the reds, the brothers used a DOA shrimp under a cajun thunder float to catch over a dozen trout in leass than an hour. Fishing around schools of mullet was the key .
The next two days, I fished nearshore with friends. Capt. Tom Van Horn and I searched outside Port Canaveral. We found the water to be quite cool and the bait along the beach was scarce. After finally finding menhaden well south of the Port, we trolled in various locations with only one barracuda to show for our efforts.
Thursday, Paul Huffman and I tried the waters outside Ponce Inlet in New Smyrna Beach. Bait was plentiful but the preadators were not. A big jack crevalle was the only fish that saved us from a shutout.
Cold water has hampered the nearshore bite throughout the summer. The next couple months, however, should bring more stable water temperatures and an increase in bait as the fall mullet run begins. Inshore, redfish will continue to provide steady action. Pompano will begin to invade the flats of the Indian River and can also be found staging around the many causeways.
Capt. Chris Myers
Central Florida Sight Fishing Charters
http://www.floridafishinglessons.com |
Capt. Chris Myers (Fishcamp)
New member
Username: Fishcamp
Post Number: 7
Registered: 3-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 08, 2006 - 11:28 am: | |
Monday of this week, Mr. Paul Huffman and I joined Capt. Ron Presley aboard his Pathfinder 22 for a day of nearshore fishing out of Port Canaveral. Although the sea conditions were less than ideal, with a close period swell, dirty water, and tons of weed, we found plenty of menhaden south of the Cocoa Beach Pier. While looking for the bait, we saw a couple tarpon rolling. After loading the livewell, however, we did not see a fish for several hours. We ran south of Patrick Air Force Base and back to the mouth of the Port before we spotted a small school of large jacks. Capt. Ron hooked up immediately, but a sudden surge by the jack after a 20 minute battle parted the line. We searched for a couple more hours but never saw another fish. Others reported similar action.
Wednesday, I fished Mosquito Lagoon with Alan and Lucas Kill from Missouri. After netting a few mullet for bait, we found a school of large redfish. Alan struck first with a fish in the 30 pound range. Lucas quickly followed with fish of his own. Father and son then combined for a double hookup. Despite the fish running in opposite directions, they were able to land both fish. We left the fish biting and moved on to another location. We found a second school of big fish which were not as cooperative as the first. Unable to convince them to eat live or cut mullet, we decided to do some trout fishing. Lucas made a perfect cast with his baby bass jerk bait to the first fish we spotted in a shallow sand hole. We watched the fish inhale the worm and it was brought aboard for a quick photo and then released. We saw more trout and reds throughout the day in 1-2 feet of water. As the afternoon storms began to get near, we moved to some deeper water near the ramp where father and son both landed several more trout on a cajun thunder and DOA shrimp combo.
Thursday, I had the pleasure of guiding Rich Giguere of Connecticut for a day of fly fishing the Mosquito Lagoon. The wind was not our friend and the big fish we hoped to get a shot at did not show. Rich jumped one tarpon about ten pounds and landed a smaller one on small black minnow patterns. We tried for some redfish as the sun came up but cloudy water and choppy conditions made it difficult to spot the fish before they saw us. A true fly fisherman, Rich stuck with the long rod but did not land another fish.
Friday, Capt. Joe Hebert from the west coast of Florida and I went to Mosquito Lagoon for a day of fun fishing. Thick clouds and high winds at daybreak were not the conditions we had hoped for. We saw only one school of redfish all day that was being fished by several other boats. We elected to find some other fish and moved on to some areas that have been very productive the past few weeks. The fish, however, were nowhere to be found. Before we were chased off the water by storms, we each landed a few small trout on Capt. Joe's soft plastics. Not one red was caught all day. As we both know all to well, however, fishing does not always involve catching. I did receive a well deserved ribbing from Capt. Joe, however, for failing to put him on the tons of redfish I had promised on my home waters.
Capt. Chris Myers
http://www.floridafishinglessons.com |
Capt. Chris Myers (Fishcamp)
New member
Username: Fishcamp
Post Number: 6
Registered: 3-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 26, 2006 - 8:29 am: | |
Fishing along our east central Florida beaches had been steady producing tarpon, jack crevalle, kingfish, and sharks before tropical storm Alberto. Several days after the storm, I fished out of Port Canaveral with Robert Hylinski. Bait was tough to find and the fishing was even harder. We searched for miles south of the Port and only saw a few tarpon and a couple small groups of jacks, none of which wanted to eat. I have received reports from others who have fished this same area during the past week with similar results. Although the bait has returned to the beach and the water temperature is ideal, the fish have not been present.
Fishing in the Mosquito Lagoon has been a bit more consistent. The fish have been somewhat easier to locate, but getting them to eat can sometimes be a challenge. June 17th, I fished with Harry Russo from Daytona. Our half day trip only produced a few redfish sightings but the trout were more cooperative. Harry used a Cajun Thunder with a rootbeer DOA shrimp to catch eight trout over a sand/grass bottom in two feet of water.
After dropping of Harry around noon, I went back out to explore some areas we did not have time to fish. Using a gold jerk bait, I was able to land a 28” trout and several slot reds along the edge of a flat.
Monday, I fished the Lagoon with Maj. Tim O’Brien. We checked the Indian River first but the action was slow. Moving to the Mosquito Lagoon, with fished a sand bar that was holding slot sized reds and some large trout. Around noon, we moved to a shallow flat where the reds were cruising shallow sand holes. Although we saw fish consistently throughout the afternoon, they did not seem to have much of an appetite.
Tuesday, Clay Lewis and his father Warren were on board for a day of fishing the lagoon. Although Clay was an excellent caster for such a young age, his father provided some assistance when we spotted a school of large reds. Dad hooked the fish on a chunk of fresh blue crab and handed the rod to Clay who did a great job of fighting the fish. It was his first redfish.
[img]http://floridafishinglessons.com/sitebuilder/images/June2006red2-479x3 56.jpg[/img]
We had a few more shots at the fish before they moved off but had no more takers. While moving to another location, we spotted some trout busting mullet schools. Using bucktail jigs, Clay and Warren each caught a few trout. The next spot held some slot reds and some large trout. Clay struck again landing the biggest trout of the day on a silver spoon. The 25” beauty was released to fight again another day.
Wednesday, I was going to fish the beaches outside the Port but after receiving several fishing reports, I decided not to go. I fished the Lagoon instead. Although I saw fish consistently throughout the morning, I could not get them to eat any of my usually productive soft plastic baits. Around noon, I discovered a huge school of reds. Still no takers on the soft plastic. Switching to a Redfish Magic spinnerbait, the fish began to bite immediately. They were fighting to get the lure out of the hooked fish’s mouth. I caught eight reds on the spinnerbait and four on a spoon fly before calling it a day.
Thursday, I fished with Dr. Randy Turner and his father-in-law, Tom Lewis. I was certain they would catch 20+ redfish after experiencing great action the previous day. We returned to the same area and found a school of several hundred reds. Dr. Turner cast the spinnerbait into the school and immediately was hooked up. When the fish was boatside, we discovered it was a flounder, one of this biggest I have seen caught in this part of the lagoon. The fish threw the hook before we could grab it for a photo. Dr. Turner caught two more reds from the school while Tom’s identical bait went completely ignored. Just as we decided to switch to some natural bait, the school vanished. After much searching, we finally found some cooperative trout and ladyfish that provided some action.
Friday, Capt. John Kumiski and I went fly fishing in the Mosquito Lagoon. We found some reds which were tailing and backing in and around some shallow grass early in the morning. After multiple refusals and several fly changes, Capt. John finally found a crab pattern they would eat and hooked a nice upper slot red. I was able to land one on a similar pattern and we both had a couple fish that struck and missed. The action was slow at our next few spots but Capt. John was able to fool another red on a Mosquito Lagoon Special. The wind picked up and we called it a day.
Saturday, I went on a canoe trip to the Banana River No Motor Zone with the Central Florida Flats Anglers. I fished with Ron Whetstone. Action was slow, to say the least, Thick grass clogged most of the flats and the bait schools were scattered. Ron and I scored a double hookup on trout using topwater baits. After miles of paddling, we found several schools of redfish only to be run off by some large and aggressive gators but not before Ron caught one red on a gold jerkbait. During our long trip back to the launch site, we never saw another fish.
Capt. Chris Myers
http://www.floridafishinglessons.com |
Capt. Chris Myers (Fishcamp)
New member
Username: Fishcamp
Post Number: 5
Registered: 3-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, June 10, 2006 - 11:36 am: | |
The fishing was great this week although the catching varied.
Sunday, I fished with my wife Julie. We spent hours casting to baby tarpon using live mullet and an assortment of lures. For all our effort, we landed one poon and jumped another, both on a tiny terroreyz.
Monday, I fished just outside Port Canaveral with Capt. Ron Presley. With one throw of the net, we had more live menhaden than we could have used in ten trips. We moved through the same area we had caught the boat using the trolling motor and tossed the menhaden on a circle hook to rolling tarpon and bruising jacks. I caught one tarpon around 70 lbs. and jumped a larger one. I also lost a big jack. Capt. Ron caught a huge jack that he fought for over thirty minutes and broke off another. We were less than one mile from the beach when we landed the fish. We were much closer in when we hooked it. The surf is alive with bait and the tarpon, sharks, kingfish and jacks are shadowing the bait schools. Slow trolling a live menhaden on a double hook rig is an effective method to catch all of these species.
Tuesday and Wednesday, Capt. Tom Van Horn and I traveled to southwest Florida to chase tarpon with Capt. John Kumiski. We fished along the beaches just south of Boca Grande Pass. Capt. John took us to hundreds of big tarpon, many of which were swimming in circles known as a “daisy chain”. When the fish are in this formation, they allow you to make multiple casts to them which is exactly what we did. We cast a wide variety of flies, some soft plastics, and even some live baits to the fish for hours. As is sometime typical of tarpon, they showed no interest in our offerings with only a few half hearted follows. The only consolation was we did not see any of the other boats in the area jumping fish either. Capt. John is a well known guide in the Mosquito Lagoon but offers tarpon charters in Lee County each year in the early summer. If you have never experienced fishing for 100+ lb tarpon in less than ten feet of clear water, I encourage you to contact him. His website is http://www.spottedtail.com.
Thursday, I was back in the Mosquito Lagoon for a charter with a couple of brothers who wish to remain nameless. The morning was dead calm and hot and we soon found what we were looking for, tailing redfish. The fish were very shallow and extremely spooky. We saw a ton a reds but hooked none. My clients were surprised by the tiny strike zone of these fish. Ultra shallow water redfish and trout normally allow little room for error. Cast too far away from the fish and they will change direction before you can bring the lure into its path. Cast too close and the fish makes a beeline for deeper water. Bring your bait towards the fish too quickly and the flee. Don’t reel fast enough and it goes behind them. Success in shallow water sight fishing is very dependant on precise lure presentation. The type of lure or bait you choose is a distant second. Casting accurately is a skill that must be learned and practiced to maintain a level of proficiency. Your neighbors may think you are strange, but if you practice casting to small targets in your yard before you hit the water, your catching rate will increase dramatically. Although no reds came to the boat, the brothers were able to avoid the skunk by catching some nice trout on white/pink Capt. Joe’s Shredders.
Capt. Chris Myers
Central Florida Sight Fishing Charters
http://www.floridafishinglessons.com |
Capt. Chris Myers (Fishcamp)
New member
Username: Fishcamp
Post Number: 4
Registered: 3-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 28, 2006 - 4:59 am: | |
Fishing in the Mosquito and indain River Lagoons continues to improve now that the weather has stabilized. Water temperatures have reached the 80’s and some tarpon have begun to appear. On two days this week, tarpon, redfish, trout slams were caught on board my boat. The topwater trout bite has been steady with walk the dog style plugs producing the best results recently. Ladyfish and jacks can also be caught on the same lures around the many mullet schools. A slower retrieve seems to work better for trout, while the ladyfish and jacks prefer a fast retrieve.
Several schools of oversize reds have been providing consistent action as long as they do not receive too much pressure. A slow steady approach to these fish will allow you to get extremely close to them. Live baits cast in front of the schools have been resulting in hookups. Mark Massey, from Georgia, landed a 52” monster on a live blue crab.
http://floridafishinglessons.com/images/52506red.jpg
Slot sized reds are also tailing in the morning hours in extremely shallow water. Soft plastic jerk baits will fool these fish. A few large trout can also be found in these same waters. Gold jerkbaits produced both reds and trout catches this week.
Capt. Chris Myers
http://www.floridafishinglessons.com |
Max (Unregistered Guest)
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Rating: 
Votes: 2 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 19, 2006 - 9:26 pm: | |
Hello, visit following sites about adipex online (buy)
http://atolka.h.fc2.com/buy-adipex-online.html http://atolka.h.fc2.com/buy-adipex-online.html |
Capt. Chris Myers (Fishcamp)
New member
Username: Fishcamp
Post Number: 3
Registered: 3-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 18, 2006 - 7:34 am: | |
High winds kept me off the water for most of last week. Friday, the winds subsided and I began a three day fly fishing adventure with Dr. George Wheeler from New York City. We began in the Mosquito Lagoon. Although the bait was plentiful, the reds were not in the same locations they had been the previous week. We found some oversize fish which completely ignored the fly. Moving on, we located some slot sized reds in sandy holes. The fish were laid up and when presented a fly, they would show no interest. Late in the day, we found a small school and landed one red on a brown and gold bendback in very shallow water. One ladyfish was caught fishing a clauser under the mullet schools in the deeper water to end a slow day.
Saturday, we decided to change tactics and try the Sebastian River for tarpon and snook. The water was a bit cool in the morning and the fish were not showing themselves. We spooked a few large laid up snook and only saw about a dozen tarpon rolling. A few other boats in the area fishing baits were also having no action. We moved out to the Indian River around the inlet. A few jacks and a lookdown were boated before we moved in along the shoreline to look for reds and snook. We saw several oversize snook, one large red, a few smaller reds and a half dozen large trout. None showed any interest in the fly. The water temps had reached 80 when we went back to the Sebastian River. We located a section holding numerous small tarpon but, again, not one bite.
Sunday Morning, Dr. Wheeler and I fished the Indian River. We found a large school of oversize fish and presented them with at least ten different flies which were totally ignored. A few other boats were casting live pinfish and hooking up but we also saw chunks of fresh blue crab go untouched. After three hours of casting to these fish, we moved to the Lagoon. By now, the winds had picked up making fly casting difficult. Dr. Wheeler, however, made some amazing casts into a stiff breeze to multiple slot size reds and upper slot trout. Two redfish were brought to the boat using a small crab pattern.
[img]http://floridafishinglessons.com/sitebuilder/images/April16red-434x321 .jpg[/img]
Monday morning, I fished with Bob and Pam Lunsford from Maryland. We found some big fish early, but they quickly disappeared in the high winds and cloudy conditions. We located several small schools and Bob and Pam used gold Exude jerk baits to land about a dozen reds and two trout in a couple hours. Considering the weather conditions, it was not a bad half day of catching.
[img]http://floridafishinglessons.com/sitebuilder/images/April17double-505x 375.jpg[/img]
Tons of mullet have returned to the Mosquito and Indian River Lagoons. Jacks, ladyfish, and trout can be caught fishing topwater plugs or jigs around the mullet schools. Most of the larger trout have left the shallows but the redfish remain. The reds have been concentrated in small areas and you may have to cover a lot of water to find them. Look for large mullet, stingrays, and catfish to be in the same areas the reds are holding.
Capt. Chris Myers
321-229-2848
www.floridafishinglessons.com |
Capt. Chris Myers (Fishcamp)
New member
Username: Fishcamp
Post Number: 2
Registered: 3-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 10, 2006 - 10:09 am: | |
Fishing in the Mosquito Lagoon last week was hot if you could find the spot. Some days the fish were plentiful but the next it could be a struggle to locate a few. More and more mullet are returning to the lagoon and are invading the flats. Topwater baits fished around schools of finger mullet should bring strikes from hungry trout. Just because the mullet are present, however, does not guarantee the trout will be under them. Tim Payne, Terry Hill, and I found this to be true on Friday. The first several spots which we visited had held multiple schools of redfish several days before. We could not even locate a single. The fourth spot of the day finally produced two schools of reds and one hookup on a Capt. Joe’s rootbeer/pink shredder.
After that fish, the school ran into the howling wind and we could not keep up with them.
The high winds made casting tough but it did keep the crowds down so we decided to try for some bigger fish. We found several schools but the conditions made keeping track of them difficult. They would appear for long enough for a cast or two and then submerge in the cloudy water or move out of range. Persistence was the key and Terry finally hooked and landed a 36” red.
We tried and tried to get one for Tim but between the wind and several boats that arrived with trolling motors, the majority of the fish stayed submerged in the deeper and dirty water. We left the big fish and went searching for a redfish of any size. Checking several more spots where I had seen and caught fish earlier in the week we found nothing. Several of those spots had zero visibility as the high winds had muddied the water. We gave up on the reds and tried for some trout. After several moves and many casts, they each landed a few with most of them coming on a DOA shrimp/Cajun Thunder combo. The fish were on the small size and were not nearly as plentiful as I had hoped but considering the weather, we were luck to have caught what we did.
The forecast for most of this week is calling for more wind but mild temperatures. I have heard reports of the tarpon and snook bite turning on in the Sebastian River. As soon as the weather allows, I plan to investigate for myself. If you are planning on fishing the lagoons this weekend, look for areas of clean water with plenty of mullet. Topwater baits will draw strikes as will soft plastics. The pinfish and puffers have returned in full force so be prepared to lose plenty of soft plastic tails to them if you are blind casting.
Capt. Chris Myers
Central Florida Sight Fishing Charters
http://www.floridafishinglessons.com
321-229-2848 |
Captain Tom Van Horn (Mosquitocoast)
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Username: Mosquitocoast
Post Number: 62
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, March 30, 2006 - 6:12 pm: | |
Indian Lagoon Coast Fishing Forecast, April 2006
Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters
As I reflect on my forecast for April, I cant help but get excited about the many different angling prospects spring delivers to the Indian River Coast of Florida. I’m grateful for the opportunity to live, breath, and fish on these waters, and if March has been a prelude to what we can expect in April, look out!
Some of highlights of fishing on Florida’s east central coast in the spring is the weather is still cool and enjoyable, and as the waters warm up, the fish begin to shift into their prespawning feeding mood. Some examples of this behavior are the cobia moving north up the coast, and the spotted sea trout moving into their traditional spawning areas on the inshore flats. Like many saltwater species, the cobia and sea trout spawn in aggregations or groups, not on beds. In the case of the cobia, traditional spawning areas are off of the central east coast of the US, and in the northern Gulf of Mexico. As the fish migrate north, they feed heavily along the way, hence the cobia run we are currently experiencing. On the flats, the smaller male sea trout move up into the shallow flats first, and then call the females in to spawn by drumming loudly just after dusk when the conditions are right, usually around the beginning on the first new moon or full moon in April, and then again on the new and full moons throughout the summer.
Offshore, April marks the beginning of the fishing season for most blue water anglers. It represents the start of the April/May northern migration of dolphin in deeper water, 120 feet and beyond, and usually brings in some of the largest bulls taken all year. April also marks the beginning of the Easter kingfish run on the near-shore reef outside Port Canaveral. It’s the time of year when most of the larger kings, 30 to 50 pounds, are taken off 8A Reef, and Pelican Flats.
As we move in near-shore, tripletail should become more dependable, and look for a late season cobia run. The cobia run thus far has been hot; with hordes of bait pods (Atlantic menhaden or pogies) working inshore bring the cobia with them. Also included within the bait pods are Spanish mackerel, bluefish, redfish, giant jack crevalle, sharks, and smoker kings. Concentrate your efforts in areas of bait pods. When you see areas of bait balled up and pushed to the surface, there is a high probability that feeding game fish are pressuring the bait from underneath.
In the inlets, look for good numbers of flounder, sheepshead and black drum around structure such as jetties and docks, and Spanish mackerel, blues, and large jacks in open water. Also look for the nighttime snook and tarpon action to heat up in the Sebastian Inlet.
On the lagoon flats, fish the early morning and late evening with your favorite top water plugs for extreme trout and redfish action, and soft plastics and jigs in deeper water, 2 to 3 feet after the midday sun settles in. April is one of the months when trout are egg laden for the spawn, so it’s very important to handle and release the larger females with great care. If you are looking for snook and tarpon action inside, the Sebastian River will be the place to go.
Last but not least, freshwater largemouth and striper bass action has been hot on the St Johns River. Look for schooling bass at first light feeding on menhaden from the Osteen Bridge to Lake Harney. My favorite locations are in the river bends near the power lines at Lemmon Bluff, and at the south end of Lake Harney were the River dumps in. A good way to locate these schooling fish is to look for white pelicans and other wading birds congregating along the shore. When in the feeding mode, these fish will take most swim plugs, and small live shiners. Also down south in the Stick Marsh and Farm 13, the largemouth bass fishing has been extremely hot, with one guide reporting catching over one hundred bass on a two-day charter.
In closing, I would like to thank those of you who facilitate my reports by providing me with current information and insite, and also the readers for your responses and inspiration.
As always, if you have questions or need information please contact me.
Good luck and good fishing,
Captain Tom Van Horn
www.irl-fishing.com
captain@irl-fishing.com
407-366-8085
866-790-8081 toll free |
neal goodrich (Captainneal)
New member
Username: Captainneal
Post Number: 11
Registered: 2-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 28, 2006 - 2:40 pm: | |
I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see how much the pole and troll zone is going to help fishing! I believe it's going to take a little time, but not too much, until you start seeing more gator trout on the flats in the zone. I can remember when you would see more gators than redfish on the flats.
Sure everbody doesn't agree with the idea of only poling or trolling the flats, but think of it this way; you wouldn't hang around your favorite resturant in the country if there were a giant lawn mower running over your head every time you went to dinner there. Sure, to start with it's going to take more time to look for fish. But, I believe in a few years it will be better for all. Bigger trout will be caught and in less time. It will save on gas, equipment and time spent fishing.
It will take a litte time to educate the people about the zone. That is where we can all help get the word out, about both of the zones in the Mosquito Lagoon.
The jack carvelle are showing up in the Lagoon. They are great fighters. You can tell when you hook a jack because all they want to do is circle the boat. As far as eating; I am told they make the tastiest fish cakes you could ever want to eat. I presonally like my fried redfish and trout. Fried might not be all that healthy... but fried fish is where I make an exception!
There are still a lot of reds around. On trips eairlier this week my clients caught 21 reds and 15 reds and six trout respectively.
The trout are about to turn on as soon as the wild bait shows up.
Reds, tarpon, jacks and black drum are still strong around the power plants.
Jacks are also strong around both causeways in New Smyrna.
Try to go fishing more, and take someone with you. When you are out on the boat with a hook in the water, relax and just forget about your problems.
Good fishing to everyone!
Captain neal Goodrich
www.fishingfrenzy.org
Captain Neal@fishingfrenzy.org
(386) 690-0473
(386) 345-1006 |
Capt. Chris Myers (Fishcamp)
New member
Username: Fishcamp
Post Number: 1
Registered: 3-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 25, 2006 - 5:32 pm: | |
Not much to report this week as I only fished two days. Sunday I fished with George and Brandon Opre. The father and son team had not fished in Mosquito Lagoon before. We started the day by looking for some bigger redfish and black drum that had been around all week. This day, however, they were nowhere to be found. We moved in closer to shore and began to see a few redfish and trout sitting in the sand holes. George caught a respectable trout on a gold Exude jerk bait to break the ice. Spot two produced a few smaller trout on Capt. Joe’s Shredders and a DOA shrimp under a Cajun thunder style cork. We moved again still searching for some redfish but again, a spot they have been for the past few weeks was full of bait but the gamefish were lacking. George landed another trout around 21” on the same gold Exude. By now the wind had picked up and clouds began to move in making sight fishing and casting difficult. We spooked a few more reds at the next spot but had no legitimate casts at them.
Wednesday, I fished in the St. John’s River with Rick Roberts hoping there may be a few shad still roaming the river. Fishing south of the SR46 bridge, we did not find any shad but we did catch around 50 fish made up of a mixture of bass, bluegill, redbreast, and mudfish. The fish were caught on a 5wt flyrod with small weighed flies in chartreuse or pink and a chartreuse roadrunner on ultralight spinning gear.
Be aware that the pole and troll zones in the northern Mosquito Lagoon are in effect and will be enforced. This main part of the zone covers the Tiger Shoals area. A marked channel has been established for boaters to enter and exit the zone. Once outside the channel you may use a trolling motor or push pole only. Boats in the zone must have a draft of 12” or less. The northern entrance/exit to the zone was mistakenly placed over a sandbar so exercise caution of running through this area. The officers enforcing this zone have told me that they may not always be visible and violators may not get stopped on the water but their hull numbers can be recorded and tickets sent out via mail. Three violations will result in fishing privileges being revoked. Anyone fishing in the Mosquito Lagoon must have a self issuing fishing permit. When obtaining this permit, you are stating you have read and understand the fishing regulations for the Lagoon. These regulations, a map of the poll/troll zone, and the fishing permit can be obtained at http://www.fws.gov/merrittisland/fishing/index.html .
Capt. Chris Myers
http://www.floridafishinglessons.com
321-229-2848 |
Captain Tom Van Horn (Mosquitocoast)
New member
Username: Mosquitocoast
Post Number: 61
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 24, 2006 - 5:48 pm: | |
Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report, 3-24-06
Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters
Fishing on the Indian River Lagoon Coast this past week was difficult for the most part, due to our typical spring weather patterns. On the nice days, fishing opportunities abound, and on the blustery ones, fishing is tough. In March, the tough angling days generally out number the nice ones, 2 to 1.
The major story this past few weeks has been the cobia and tripletail run near-shore. On Monday the sea conditions were fishable in the morning, and good number of cobia and tripletail were taken between 40 and 50 feet of water along the lagoon coast between Port Canaveral and Sebastian Inlet. I was honored to once again join my good friend Scott Bradford aboard the Afternoon Delight, accompanied by Captain Butch McCoy and Mark Blythe who boated his first cobia in the 35 to 40-pound range.
Most of the fish were concentrated within bait pods (pogies), and as the wind and sea conditions progressively increased, catching opportunities decreased. On a positive note, the number of concentrated bait pods seems to have increased this year, which should make for a good early summer near-shore kingfish run, and good tarpon bite during the summer..
Today, we wisely postponed my charter for tomorrow (northwest 15 to 20), as another front has again kicked up the seas and eliminated offshore opportunities for the next few days. Once conditions improve, anglers shouldn’t hesitate to take advantage remaining run of cobia before they move north. I also spotted sizable bait pods moving north this afternoon from the south end of Playlinda Beach, so those of you who fish from Ponce Inlet, get ready.
On the inside, redfish schools have and will continue to form up and move into the skinny water, but again choppy water conditions have made sight fishing difficult. Additionally, the trout bite has shown improvement with several quality fish finding their way into my boat last week, so look for some larger sea trout to begin forming up for the spawn in April. Also, the new troll/poll zone has been implement on Tiger Shoals in the Mosquito Lagoon, and be aware that the north marker in the running channel was installed in the wrong location, missing the Mail Box cut by 50 feet. In addition, the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge has renewed their commitment to enforcement of the fishing permits required by all anglers fishing within the boundaries of the refuge, so go online or stop by any of the informational signs at the entrance of the refuge and fill one out.
In closing, it is time to mark your calendars for the Coastal Angler Magazine’s Boating and Fishing Expo, to be held in Melbourne on May 19th , 20th, and 21st.
As always, if you have any questions or need information, please contact me.
Good luck and good fishing,
Captain Tom Van Horn
www.irl-fishing.com
407-366-8085 office
407-416-1187 on the water
866-790-8081 toll free |
Fishcamp (Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 18, 2006 - 11:36 am: | |
Last week I fished the Lagoon with Mark Patterson and 11 year old Josiah Allison
from Canada. Windy conditions made it difficult to keep track of the big fish so we elected to go for some slot sized fish. Mark was the first to hook up with a small red on a baby bass jerk worm. He landed another red on the same bait and then Josiah caught his first ever redfish on a gold Exude RT Slug.
An excellent young angler, Josiah was ready for more. Mark caught one more red before the fish moved on as did we. The next spot was full of trout and Josiah landed three of them with his gold worm.
Monday, I fished the Lagoon with Mike Pollock. The march wind was howling but we found a few fish. The first cast into a school of black drum with a gulp crab produced an upper slot trout. The next few dozen casts were ignored but I did manage to finally land one drum around 15 lbs.
We could not convince any more black drum to bite but Mike landed his biggest red ever of 35" nearby on the same gulp crab.
We left the bigger fish and moved to some shallower water and each caught a few smaller reds and trout to complete the slam.
Tuesday, I had the pleasure of hunting cobia with Captains Ron Presley and Tom Van Horn aboard Capt. Ron's 22 Pathfinder. Although the conditions were not ideal, we did spot seven cobia, cast to five and land two. Both Cobia were caught on jumbo live shrimp. We saw a few tripletail, one of which I caught on a live pogie.
Thursday, I fished with Mr. Bob Murray. We had a short window of calm winds in the morning and found a few schools of fish. Using a new shad tail lure from Capt. Joe Hebert (captjoefishing.com), we caught and released several reds using a gold and a mullet colored jig. The wind picked up and we moved to several other spots throughout Mosquito Lagoon and caught several more reds and trout on a Capt. Joe Shredder in rootbeer and pink.
Friday, I was joined by Chuck Hicks from Georgia and Todd Reichard of South Carolina. The day began overcast and breezy and the fishing was slow with only a few small trout. The sun broke through and we went searching for some bigger fish.
We eventually came upon two schools of black drum and a school of over slot redfish. Chuck was able to hook and land his first ever redfish, a 35” beauty, on a jumbo shrimp and 10 lb braid.
Todd hooked up next but a small knot in his line got caught up on the reel and broke off. We stayed with the fish for several hours but could not get another bite even with a variety of natural baits. We tried hard to get Todd his first redfish but it was not to be. Several other locations did not even result in a sighting. Other anglers reported slow or sporadic action as well.
Capt. Chris Myers
http://www.floridafishinglessons.com\popjpeg |
neal goodrich (Captainneal)
New member
Username: Captainneal
Post Number: 8
Registered: 2-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 15, 2006 - 4:35 pm: | |
I believe that spring has now arrived! If you fish much with live bait you know what I mean. When you throw a live shrimp out, if you're not right in the front of school the little fish are going to tap on your shrimp, first starting on the legs and then just nibbling it to pieces. If you can, you need to fish with artificial bait. Berkly gulp is a real good bait to use. The trout love it, the reds are crazy about it and the little fish can't nibble it to pieces.
Fishing still has been fair to good; depending on the weather and the time of day. There are some small pompano starting to show up around the Titusville area. You can catch them on sand flies or you can use jigs.
The bigger trout are starting to show up better. And just as soon as the croakers are big enough to use for bait. The big trout bite will be on.
There are a lot of big and small redfish around the power plants in Port St. John. When I say big ones I mean 30 to 40 pound fish.
If you are fishing around the power plants you will stay busy catching lady fish. The reds and lady fish are not alone. There are some good tapon moving around the area as well.
So go and make some great memories. Go Fishing!
Captain Neal
captainneal@fishingfrenzy.org
www.fishingfrenzy.org
386-690-0473 |
neal goodrich (Captainneal)
New member
Username: Captainneal
Post Number: 5
Registered: 2-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 03, 2006 - 7:32 pm: | |
The weather has been beautiful this week; Feb. 27- March 2.
The fishing has been great too. The redfish have been bitting good. But there are still a lot of little trout. Sometimes It seems like they never grown up, but we know that is not true. I believe the little trout are just quicker to chase the bait. The big trout are out there in schools just like the little trout, but they don't always bite as fast.
If you get out early in the morning you will make some good catches of trout and redfish. This time of year you have got to try different kinds of bait; live and artificial. Don't be afraid to try something new. I actually caught a trout on a piece of my white T-shirt by tearing a small strip off and tieing it to the hook. So try anything you think might work and then try everything else.
If you can't get out early, try a late afternoon trip and fish up past dark. Sometimes, they bite better late in the afternoon than they do in the morning.
There are some huge black drum in the Haulover Canal. It was a good school too. So just grab your tackle and pole and get out on the water. The fish are out there. And take a friend or a family member, even if you don't catch a fish every hour you just can't beat the time you spend on the water.
You are making great memories. So, go fishing! |
neal goodrich (Captainneal)
New member
Username: Captainneal
Post Number: 4
Registered: 2-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 8:22 pm: | |
Full Moon
Have you ever thought about how much the moon has to do with fishing? Here it is past the full moon. I can tell you this, about four or five days before the full moon the fish are just slow to bite. It takes about two or three days after the full moon to get a good bite going. This might not be true everwhere, but from my 45 years of experience here in the Mosquito lagoon, that is the way it has always been.
I have been out at night when the moon was bright and there was no wind. You could see and hear the fish feeding. Think about it, a big Red or a big Trout laying on the bottom looking up at a bait fish on top of the water or just under the surface. The moonlight casting a shadow off of the bait, it's just like daytime on a bright night. It makes it hard fishing around the full moon. This is when the shrimp will start their run to the inlet. There is plenty of food at night around the full moon for the big fish to eat.
Now for the report; It has been a slow bite this week. Feb. 11th thru the 15th. There was plenty of reds the first trip on the 11th but only two keepers. School after school and not one would bite anything. We threw everything we had on the boat at them. Live mullet, cut mullet, cut ladyfish, live shrimp, dead shrimp, gold spoons, berkly gulp, DOA shrimp and still no takers. It was that way all the way up to the 16th with few exceptions and then they started bitting better. This next week will probably be a better week.
The whitting have been bitting good in the surf on shrimp and sand fleas. The sheephead have been bitting good closer to the inlet. A good bait to try on the sheephead is, believe it or not, barnacles. So until next time good fishing to you all and remember a bad day fishing is better than a good day at work!
Captain Neal
Email: captainneal@fishingfrenzy.org |
neal goodrich (Captainneal)
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Username: Captainneal
Post Number: 2
Registered: 2-2006
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