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Fishing Reports for Local Area - Location |
    
Drew Cavanaugh (Cavanaugh68)
New member
Username: Cavanaugh68
Post Number: 10
Registered: 11-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 31, 2009 - 10:47 am: | |
May 29th, 2009
May is a time of year here on the Mosquito Lagoon when life comes to life and the action takes off like a rocket soaring to the sky! I mean things start to explode into action - big action. Bait fish are moving through the area by tens of thousands, birds are showing up by the hundreds, fish are moving over the grass flats feeding vigorously, manatees are in large numbers along with dolphins and so on and so on. It is the prelude to an awesome summer and fall of fishing here. No other place on the planet does this happen like it does here on the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River.
After last weeks rains the area has changed, a metamorphosis to say. Spring has fully turned into summer and out of this has arisen a wealth of great fishing. Early morning the past several days has been on fire if you are able to get to the right spots before first light to see this happen before your eyes. By right spots I mean they are really almost every where. Fish, all reds, trout, tarpon and snook have reached out to explore their new feeding grounds. Like kids on christmas morning. Let me tell you, they are happy, they are excited and they are feeding. As the morning goes by the fish seem to be getting more aggressive as noon approaches.
Trout are hitting both top water and pig fish at early day light along grass flats with drop offs and ledges. Then as the day goes by plastics worked along the white holes will produce strikes with them. Redfish are tailing and feeding along banks and shorelines leading into new territory that for months was inaccessible due to the extreme low water conditions out here. Reds are hitting soft plastics and a well placed shrimp for those who want to sight fish them. Reds this week have also been taken by fly, crab and shrimp patterns work the best. Of course a live mullet or mud minnow will always grab the attention of a beautiful gator trout and a stout redfish. Look for those sand holes within grass flats. Smaller tarpon have been seen and caught around moving water with a good amount of bait fish near them. Snook have been moving into the area as the water temps begin to rise into their realm of enjoyment. Pinfish,live shrimp and soft plastics work well for snook. As the summer comes on the snook bite will turn into great action. Tarpon are going after smaller plastics worked slow. As always year around out here on the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River remember ...Stealth, patience and distance will be the key to your success.
It is no wonder at all why Florida is the fishing capital of the world. Along with the Mosquito Lagoon being the Redfish Capital Of The World what a great combination. There is no other place on this planet that the fishing is so good and more people enjoy this fabulous activity by the thousands or even hundreds of thousands each and every year continuously. Or at least not without spending thousands upon thousands upon thousands of dollars to get there along with long and grueling travel conditions. Florida is a close and basically it is a fun destination to go to for family fun and enjoyment. There are so many things to do also along with Florida's great fishing and water resources - great beaches, excellent sites to see, culture events, fine dining, wildlife, and just so much more that I could go on for ever. Or for anything at all just to get outside for a while and take it all in. So for a world class fishing experience of a lifetime this is no doubt the place to be and to catch that memory of a lifetime. I hope to see each and every one of you on the water.
Tight Lines!
Captain Drew Cavanaugh
Florida Inshore Fishing Charters - Oak Hill - Edgewater - New Smyrna beach
http://www.floridainshorefishingcharters.com/ |
Drew Cavanaugh (Cavanaugh68)
New member
Username: Cavanaugh68
Post Number: 7
Registered: 11-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 02, 2009 - 4:46 am: | |
The past few weeks we have had a change in weather patterns. Winds are shifting from their winter north directions to a south-southeast direction. Temps are coming up in the air as well with water temps rising too. Water levels have dramatically come up the past weeks. It always seems that this is an over night thing here on the Mosquito Lagoon. It happens so quickly. With the water coming up the fishing patterns have changed a bit. You can feel spring/summer in the air approaching. Very nice!
Water rising on the Mosquito Lagoon means more feeding grounds for fish. Not only more feeding grounds but new feeding grounds. Areas where there was just a little bit of water two weeks ago now has enough water for redfish, trout and bait fish to roam into and explore.
The water has also turned a bit stained too. This is from the winds shifting and the new grounds it is covering mixing the sand/dirt up some. With this being said the past week or two live mullet have been a great bait of choice. Fish areas that have nice white sand holes and grass beds along edges or banks that lead to safe waters for the fish to get to. Stay in the "red" zone of two feet or less with your mullet. Going into areas stealthy(poling) where you could not get to weeks ago will produce reds and trout feeding aggressively in these new grounds. A properly placed live shrimp for tailing fish will get a day started off on the right foot. Sight fishing at its very best.
The trout bite has turned up a bit. Several nice trout are being landed with top water and Gulps. Some very large trout are being caught with live mullet. Please try to handle these fish with extreme care. I try to release every trout I get over 20 inches or so to make sure there are trout to be caught for the future. Work the new areas with either a Skitter Walk or Chug Bugs or the live mullet free lined. Black drum are being seen, caught and landed within the entire Mosquito Lagoon. Most of the fish are in the 3-7lb class. Live or dead shrimp and even gulps will work for these fish. However these fish are getting a tremendous amount of pressure and a large dose of patience is required to get to them.
I look forward to seeing you out there on the water.
Tight Lines!
Captain Drew Cavanaugh
Florida Inshore Fishing Charters
Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Guide
Oak Hill/Edgewater
352-223-7897
http://www.floridainshorefishingcharters.com/ |
Captain Tom Van Horn (Mosquitocoast)
New member
Username: Mosquitocoast
Post Number: 104
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, February 28, 2009 - 3:39 pm: | |
Mosquito Creek Outdoors Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Forecast, March 2009
by Captain Tom Van Horn
For those who have followed my fishing reports over the years, you’ve grown to appreciate the same signals I anticipate and look forward to every spring. The sweet fragrance of orange blossoms carried across the lagoon on the shoulders of a west wind, the magnificent bloom of the azaleas and camellias, and the brightly colored pristine buds on the hardwoods and cypress trees all signals springs arrival and the beginning of the fishing season for blue water anglers.
The Indian River Lagoon’s unique diversity has established it as an estuary of national significance. Consisting of three distinct inshore lagoons, five ocean inlets, and 156 miles of inshore, near-shore and offshore reefs all nurtured by warmth and richness of the Gulf Stream distinguishes the IRL as one of the three most diversified biomasses in the world. Transitioning from tropical to temperate climate zones, the IRL system both inshore and offshore supports over 700 species of fish, and some of the best angling in the world.
As the ocean begins its gradual warming phase, 67 to 68 degrees, watch for the progression of baits schools (Atlantic menhaden and silver mullet) from warmer waters into the near-shore waters bringing the cobia and other predators with them. The warmer waters will also draw manta rays into the shallows shadowed by pods of cobia. Other notable species are tripletail around the buoys and under flotsam, heavy weight jack carvalle, large redfish, and sharks shadowing bait schools. Currently, both the cobia and the rays are a bit behind schedule due to a colder than normal spring.
Moving out into deeper water, the spring kingfish run should begin with the smaller kings showing up around the middle of March, followed by the smokers, 30 to 50 pounds, in April on the near-shore reefs and wrecks like Pelican Flats and 8A reef. If the bait moves in close to the beach, look for the larger kingfish to follow them. Also, April marks the beginning of the fishing season for many of the blue water anglers with the start of the April/May northern migration of dolphin in 120 feet of water and beyond, and the early part of the run usually includes some of the largest bulls taken all year. Again, colder water may delay this migration a bit.
In the inlets and along the beaches, whiting, pompano, bluefish, and Spanish mackerel should remain a staple with sheepshead and black drum holding on jetties and rock piles. As we move into the later part of April, watch for the snook and tarpon action to improve in Sebastian Inlet and then move north following the bait progression.
On the lagoon, rising water levels will draw the slot size redfish schools up onto the shallow flats, with the larger breeder schools holding along the deeper edges and sand bars. On the cooler days, focus your attention on sand pockets or potholes, and once the afternoon sun warms the water, look for tailing fish on the shallow flats. Also, April signals the return of silver mullet to the estuary, and the beginning early morning and late evening top water sea trout and redfish action. Remember, April is the month when sea trout become egg laden for the spawn, which happens just before the full and new moons, so it is very important to release the large females with extreme care; fore their survival is essential for the proliferation of the species.
As always, if you have any questions or need information, please contact me.
Good luck and good fishing,
Captain Tom Van Horn
Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters
407-416-1187 on the water
407-366-8085 office
www.irl-fishing.com
Visit www.mosquitocreekoutdoors.com for your outdoor adventure needs, its Where the Adventure Begins! |
Captain Tom Van Horn (Mosquitocoast)
New member
Username: Mosquitocoast
Post Number: 103
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, February 02, 2009 - 5:28 am: | |
Mosquito Creek Outdoor’s Indian River Lagoon Fishing Forecast, February 2009
By Captain Tom Van Horn
As winter seasons go here in Central Florida, we certainly can’t complain about the cards dealt to us thus far. With the exception of a few really cold days, I mean really cold, gorgeous fishing condition has prevailed and we experienced so excellent fishing as well.
Inshore on the flats, water levels have fallen to levels lower than I have ever seen. These low water levels have forced the redfish, black drum, and sea trout into the deeper pockets on the flats where they have become trapped in some cases. These concentrations make for a good number of tight schools, but shallow conditions also make access both difficult and dangerous for those not familure to the area. Also on colder days, falling water temperatures force most fish to seek deeper locations in search the warmest water they can find and they become very sluggish. As the sun warms the water, all it takes is a degree or two of change, and the fish will begin to move and feed in the shallows. On the sunny mornings, it is not uncommon to find redfish and trout holding in the sand pockets or potholes within the shallow flats where water temperatures raise faster. Additionally, warming water temperatures combined with sunny spring days and crystal clear water make February one of the best months to site fish for redfish, large sea trout, and black drum on the lagoon flats. Also, now is the time to target tailing black drum in the Banana River Lagoon “No Motor Zone”. For larger sea trout, fish at first light, sunset, or at night with natural baits, and target areas where mangrove edges, docks, and other structure are adjacent to deep water dredge holes, sloughs, or canals. These same areas will also hold concentrations of small trout which can be caught throughout the day on small jigs and shrimp imitation baits like DOA Shrimp fished very slowly along the bottom. Also, when fishing in deeper darker water try using nightglow colors with Woodies Rattles inserted in them to add the element of sound.
Offshore, kingfish are still present along the inshore reefs and wrecks, and they will remain there as long as the water temperature stays above 68 degrees. When targeting kingfish this month focus your efforts on the areas of 8A Reef, Pelican Flats, and Bethel Shoals to the south for best results. Look for cobia and amberjack to be present on the inshore wrecks like the Carol Lee, Dutch, and Sub Wreck out of Port Canaveral. Additionally, live bait is tough to find this time of year, so always carry a box of frozen Spanish sardines with you as backup.
Near-shore, look for tripletail concentrations to improve greatly along the Port Canaveral buoy line and under floating weeds and structures, and for cobia to move in shadowing manta rays if the surface water temperatures reach the upper sixties. Now is also the time for shore fisherman to target pompano, bluefish, weakfish, small black drum, sheepshead, Spanish mackerel and whiting in the surf and larger redfish and flounder around the inlets and jetties.
Last but not least, windy days in February are a great time to check out those freshwater fishing holes on the St Johns River. Currently good catches of American shad, speckled perch, warmouth perch, and largemouth bass are being reported. The shad run has been really kicking this year with more fish then we have seen in years. This past week, good reports of shad came from the Marina Isles to Mullet Lake section of the St. Johns River, as well as a good number shad being taken south of Lake Harney. As the run progresses the shad should be moving into the shallows flats south of Hwy 46, so fly anglers don’t hast.
Remember when planning a fishing trip in February, keep a close eye on the weather, and fish whenever you have a chance.
Also, be sure to check out the new Coastal Angler Magazine Orlando in print and online for free at www.coastalanglermagazine.com.
As always, if you have questions on need information, please contact me.
Good luck and good fishing,
Captain Tom Van Horn
www.irl-fishing.com
mosquitocoast@cfl.rr.com
407-366-8085 office
407-416-1187 on the water
For all you outdoor shopping needs, visit Mosquito Creek Outdoors at www.mosquitocreek.com. |
Drew Cavanaugh (Cavanaugh68)
New member
Username: Cavanaugh68
Post Number: 5
Registered: 11-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 30, 2009 - 6:54 am: | |
With the past few weeks going up and then down then back up again in the weather department the fishing has remained pretty great for a few weeks now. Big schools and some smaller ones of redfish are moving all over the lagoon. There really is no one particular hot spot. The key is to find them and fish them. Simple....Well not quite.
The redfish have been getting quite a bit of pressure between beautiful days and the low water the fish have been easy prey. The key is if you spend some time and patience and look around or more so, explore, you will locate several of these elusive schools that have not been targeted yet all over the Mosquito Lagoon. When the fish get pressure there is only so much they can take. They will move. Plain and simple. Think like a fish! Now with the weather these next few days dropping some much needed rain things should change big time. The rain will open some new doors to say.
Reds are being landed using methods of sight fishing a live shrimp into them(remember-soft presentation to them) or a gulp if they are really eating and feeding aggressively. Along with the big schools of reds are very nice trout too. This past week a few of my clients landed and released some very nice trout using soft plastics with the sun at our backs. Again, use stealth and patience to get these fish. What's your hurry right? It's fishing, it is supposed to be a pleasurable event. Grass flats can be a great area to look for tails and gator trout. Secluded flats with sand holes will hold nice trout too. Use a slow and go method with water temps in the 50's and 60's and different times.
I look forward to seeing you out there on the water. Happy days and tight lines always!
Captain Drew Cavanaugh
Florida Inshore Fishing Charters
352-223-7897
Oak Hill, Florida
http://www.floridainshorefishingcharters.com/ |
Drew Cavanaugh (Cavanaugh68)
New member
Username: Cavanaugh68
Post Number: 4
Registered: 11-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 20, 2009 - 4:49 am: | |
Capt. Drew Cavanaugh
January 20, 2009
Mosquito Lagoon
With the recent snaps of cold fronts that central Florida has been having the fishing has snapped too. It has snapped into a good thing, winter red fishing on the Mosquito Lagoon is here! By this I mean it is changing and you too should change your tactics. A sunrise start is not always the ticket.
When cold weather moves into the area the fishing on the lagoon tends to change a bit, for the good and even sometimes the GREAT! The fish will bunch up into large schools and will move into the shallow warming waters of the flats throughout the day. Remember the key with this are that fish are not mammals...they are cold blooded animals that will adjust to their surroundings. They need to warm up and then get active.
As the days warm up, the fishing will pick up. Take your time when fishing colder days. Fish tend to be a bit more sluggish. Let them see your bait, let them think the bait is slow or worn down, a free meal. You almost can not work it slow enough. Sight fishing is always my favorite choice but working white holes and bars can produce very good numbers of fish too. Throw shrimp or plastics into the holes and work areas thoroughly but slowly. Adapt to the days surroundings. Remember sun rise will warm western banks up first and as the day progresses it will warm eastern banks.
Redfish have been seen and caught in good numbers on the flats using live shrimp. Schooling reds are what I personally have been seeing. Some schools I have hooked into have had over 200 fish in them, and even more, these are just what I have been able to see. Along with a few singles here and there tailing and feeding happily. However, the exciting thing are the amount of trout I have been seeing. Gator Trout if that.
The other day we were poling a flat edge that went from about 10 inches to about 18 inches along an area of about four football fields in size. On the out side of this area it is about 2-3 feet deep.(A drop off ledge nearby) We saw over 30 plus trout in this area. I know you are saying wow....30, not that many! Well these trout looked to me to be each over 30 plus inches with some that looked like a yard sticks. The unique thing was that they were moving along with finger mullet along the edges of this flat. Just back and forth. There must have been at least 10,000 mullet in that particular area. This is what I would call a food source for these trout. Or I like to call them "The Special Forces" of the Mosquito Lagoon. Now mixed in with these fish were several single medium slot reds and a bunch of lower slot trout. The key with attempting to land a true gator trout out there is big time patience and just keep trying. Just do not give up. Again, soft plastics or live shrimp work very well in this situation.
I look forward to seeing you all on the water this year. Again I want to wish every one a happy and productive new year.
Tight Lines and Happy Fishing!
Captain Drew Cavanaugh
http://www.FloridaInshoreFishingCharters.com/
Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Guide
352-223-7897 |
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
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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)
New member
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)
New member
Username: Captainneal
Post Number: 2
Registered: 2-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, February 07, 2006 - 3:25 am: | |
January Week three
The day started out just beautiful, no wind and not too cold. It wasn't very long after we left the dock before we ran into a small school of reds. With two clients on board the first fish caught was a small one, only 15 inches long. The big ones were there, but they just did not want to bite. Sometimes you can see the fish but they just won't take anything you throw at them. We hated to leave good fish to go and look for more, so we decided to slip the anchor over the side and wait them out. About an hour later they started to get hungry and things started happening. One of my clients hooked and lost a big one. The next fish landed was outside the slot at 28 inches. Next was a double hitter, both keepers. One was right on the money at 27 inches and the other was 20 inches. I don't usually fish when I have clients onboard but the school would come in close and then dart back away from the boat. I threw a live shrimp out and we had a triple. All three of us with a red on the line. We kept one making our limit and released the other oversize reds. Time to leave that school. They were still biting but there was no need to hammer them. I hate to say this but, we went looking for trout and could not find them so we called it a day. All in all, it was a good day! |
Capt. Rob Blake (Capt_rob_blake)
New member
Username: Capt_rob_blake
Post Number: 7
Registered: 6-2005
Rating: 
Votes: 15 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 16, 2005 - 8:34 pm: | |
Orlando Fishing - Mosquito Lagoon - Indian River Fishing Report- Only 30 minutes from Orlando!
Fishing on the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River has picked up from a somewhat slow week before. Every day has been nearly slick calm, making it very easy to see the redfish tailing and pushing wakes. The big fish we have caught have been a test in patience, but my anglers have been up to the task and walked away with a trophy fish.
Those targeting trout should have absolutely no problem staying very busy with top water plugs and jigs. In the very near future, we’ll use the top water plugs on the big reds and watch them knock the plugs clear out of the water. This action can be so good that there have been times we remove the hooks form the plugs just to watch 20-40 pound reds “blow-up” on them.
The FLW Redifsh Series is in town next week, so I’m heading to the Keys. There are over 145 boats entered in this tournament and we are already seeing significantly increased pressure on the lagoon. Next week should be “wall-to-wall” boats running all over the place…I needed an excuse to get back to the Keys anyway.
Photos from recent trips:
Mosquito Lagoon Fishing just 45 minutes from Orlando! Catch Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River Lagoon Redfish, Seatrout and more with Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Guide Capt. Rob Blake. Premier Orlando Fishing destination...Multiple Boat and Corporate Fishing Charters available. Call 1-866-RED-DRUM toll free or 321-544-5041 cell.
Capt. Rob Blake
www.redfishonfly.com
1-866-RED-DRUM |
Capt. Rob Blake (Capt_rob_blake)
New member
Username: Capt_rob_blake
Post Number: 1
Registered: 6-2005
Rating: 
Votes: 2 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, June 11, 2005 - 8:22 am: | |
Mosquito Lagoon Redfish Fishing Report
We are still catching big bull reds in Mosquito Lagoon. These brutes are ranging from 15-40 pounds. Catching one of these fish on light tackle gives new meaning to the word “tug of war” and the fight often lasts for several minutes, if not more. We are sight casting both live shrimp and cut mullet to these big fish, and soon pigfish will be available- favorite of bull redfish.
A few skilled and lucky fly anglers are also cashing in on big bull redfish catches. An angler\'s ability to cast great distances has been the deciding factor on fly this past month.
Photos of recent catches can be viewed at:
http://www.redfishonfly.com/reports
http://www.redfishonfly.com
As the summer heat approaches, early starts will be rewarded with tailing fish on the flats. Redfish and trout will be feeding heavily the first hour of the morning. Soft plastic jerkbaits and topwater plugs will be the lures of choice.
As a reminder, the water is beginning to warm significantly and extra time is needed to revive caught fish. That ultra-light spin outfit or 6-weight fly rod you were using during the winter is not such a good idea this time of year. Warm water means less oxygen saturation and fish can become very exhausted in a long fight. Use heavier gear to get the fish in quickly and give it the best chance at post-release survival.
Mosquito Lagoon Fishing just 45 minutes from Orlando! Catch Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River Lagoon Redfish, Seatrout and more with Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Guide Capt. Rob Blake. Premier Orlando Fishing destination...Call 1-866-RED-DRUM toll free or 321-544-5041 cell. |
Champion Pro Guide Serv
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 05, 2002 - 3:54 pm: | |
Subject: Central Florida Fishing Reports
We here at Champion Pro Guide Services want to wish Everyone a Happy holiday, and we want to thank all of our loyal clients, new clients, and the people who read our reports for all of your support. We look forward to a great and exciting new year.
Lake Tohopekaliga ( December 05, 2002 ) - Bass Fishing on Lake Toho right now is great, Water levels are down about 2.5 feet from normal and we are getting some great fish. Just this last week our clients have caught 5 bass over 8 pounds. Check the Photo Album to see the latest additions.
With the water level dropping, navigation is starting to be very tricky, the hydrilla is topped out all over the place. Fishing on the lake right now is just getting better daily. with all of the cold winds, the water temperature has dropped between 57 and 64 degrees, depending on the day, and the winds. The pattern that we are doing best with right now is fishing a Rattle Trap in Chrome/Blue on schooling fish in open water. We are fishing out in 5 to 6 feet of water, which is usually around toped hydrilla. Other artificial lures that are doing real good right now is the Zoom Super Fluke in Smokin Shad, A Black and Chrome Little George, A Carolina rigged 6 inch Black and Blue tail worm, and a White Spinerbait with gold tandem willow leaf blades. All of these are producing good results. We are even catching some Huge Crappie up to 15 inches long on the Rattle Traps.
Of Course the very best thing that is producing a lot of the Trophy Bass right now is Large Wild Shiners. The bigger, the better. Some of the other fishermen on the lake are using smaller shiners, and catching some good numbers, but when you are using the Large stuff you get fewer fish, but when you get them, they count. As we get closer and closer to Christmas, and lower levels of water, I expect fishing to get even better. The State of Florida is making the fishing on the lake Catch and Release ONLY between January 1, and June 31, 2003. This means any Trophies caught between these times will have to be replicas. We are expecting to be very busy between now and the end of March. We have already taken quite a few reservations, so if you are planning to come down and want to get on the water, please call as far in advance as possible.
Indian River, Mosquito Lagoon ( December 05, 2002 ) Right now on the Saltwater side, fishing is doing good. There are schooling Mackerel and Blues just outside of Port Canaveral and Sebastian Inlet. Water temperatures are holding around 68 to 70 degrees near shore, and you can also find some big Reds and Tripletail to show up just out of Port Canaveral Buoy Lines. In the Indian River Lagoon area you can still find nice reds, and some large trout in real shallow water up until the water temperatures drop to fast. These big reds, and trout will be holding around sandy areas in the sun. Another thing that is getting ready to start happening is the Black Drum getting ready to spawn in the shallows. They should be moving in shallow about now getting ready, and tailing in the shallows around the Locks at Port Canaveral and the Banana River Heading for the No Motor Zone.
We want to wish Everyone a Safe and Happy Holiday Season this year and say we look forward to fishing with you all next year. Don't Forget we still have Gift Certificates that make great Holiday Gifts.
God Bless & Tight Lines,
Capt. Tony Weatherman
Champion Pro Guide Services Central Florida
Toll Free - 1-888-715-7661
http://www.championbass.com
|
Champion Pro Guide Serv
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 01, 2002 - 7:18 pm: | |
Subject: Central Florida Fishing Reports
As of November 1, 2002 the Drawdown of Lake Toho on the Kissimmee chain will start. Now is the time to reserve your trip to fish this lake, and a wonderful opportunity that will only happen once in a while. Between now and the end of next May, Bass Fishing will be incredible. Forget about Stick Marsh and Okeechobee. Forget about California and Mexico, you need to fish Lake Toho during the Drawdown. Records can be broken.
Lake Toho ( October 31, 2002 ) - The word is given. The Drawdown of Lake Tohopekaliga in Kissimmee will commence on November 1, 2002. Bass Fishing is going to take on a whole new meaning. If you ever wanted to tangle with a Trophy Bass, and possibly get your name on the records, you need to be here sometime between now, and next May. Forget about Okeechobee, and the Stick Marsh. Forget all you read about California, and Mexico. This is going to be an experience. The last time there was a full drawdown of this lake in the mid 80's, it was not uncommon to catch 75 to 100 bass per day, and catch several of these fish over ten pounds, Every Day!
This has been one of the best fishing lakes in Florida in the past several years. Back in January 2001, Dean Rojas set Two World Records with his amazing performance on Toho, and our clients have been catching bigger fish in the last few years than ever. Now all of these wonderful fish that swim in this 22,000 acre lake are going to be condensed down to a lake about 12,000 acres. It will be like fishing in the deep end of a shallow swimming pool. For more information about this wonderful time, read our article entitled "Drawdown".
Bass fishing over the last few weeks has been pretty good. We had a 2 boat trip out just last week for an afternoon 4 hour trip, and between the two boats we caught an impressive 60 fish, with 5 over five pounds, and one that weighed over 8 pounds. Most of our trips have been equally as successful on lake Toho lately. The bass are schooling out in open water around hydrilla. Large wild shiners are accounting for more of the larger fish, but we are having great success with Zoom Super Flukes in White, Smoking Shad, and Watermelon, Rattle Traps, Spinerbaits, and even early using Chug Bugs. Over the last week, the fish have been active all day long.
Right now we recommend a 6 or 8 hour trip on Toho. It is still a little warm in the middle of the day, but the fish are biting all day, and most of the bigger fish are being caught after 9am. We do expect the temperature to start cooling down as early as next week. Call us now to make your reservation to catch your next Trophy Bass.
Indian River, Mosquito Lagoon ( October 31, 2002 ) Just yesterday, we were on the flats in mosquito lagoon. The wind howling about thirty miles an hour, and the Redfish were being difficult. We did get a few nice blow-ups, but the fish were non-committal so we decided to take a little run to find some small Tarpon in the river. What a great Idea this was. We sat in a small area and found some tarpon rolling around on the surface. We threw some Live finger mullet to them, and then it got exciting. We had jumped over 14 tarpon, and got several nice ones to the boat. You can see the pictures of them on our saltwater photo album.
Tarpon season typically is in May and June around south Florida which is when they are best, but there is a small window in late October and November when you can find some smaller tarpon running around in the Indian River. These are usually around 20 to 90 pounds, and very exciting on light tackle, and fly rods. We have found several places where these tarpon are holding up. When winds allow, fly fishing for a 30 to 40 pound tarpon on a nine weight fly rod is a blast.
Most of the saltwater flats trips as of late have been pretty good. We are finding some nice schools of reds, and plenty of trout. Right now most of the trout are holding out in 3 to 5 foot of water on grass flats, and the reds are cruising through the shallows feeding on finger mullet. Plenty of these in the river right now too because of the fall mullet run! We are finding most of our trout on 1/4 ounce Cotee Jigs with 4 inch Gotcha Grubs in White, Red or Chartreuse. We are also getting some great trout on Storm's Chug Bug. Trout on top water is a blast. Reds are feeding on finger mullet, and we are also getting some good ones on Gold Spoons, and Zoom Super Flukes in white, or bubble gum. They are also hitting pretty good on Mirror Lures Top Dog in Black or Green. Winds are a big factor in where, and how to fish for them.
On a last note, Bass season is picking up and the spawn is close at hand. If you are coming down to do some fishing you might want to give the bass an equal shot. With the drawdown of Lake Toho confirmed, bass fishing is going to be spectacular. Be sure to check our photo's and look for some new client video's recently added.
God Bless & Tight Lines,
Capt. Tony Weatherman
Champion Pro Guide Services Central Florida
Toll Free - 1-888-715-7661
http://www.championbass.com |
Champion Pro Guide Serv
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 11, 2002 - 2:46 pm: | |
Subject: Central Florida Fishing Reports
Important News - Snook season opened September 1st , and we still do not know about the draw down on Toho. keep checking here for the latest updated information.
Lake Tohopekaliga - ( September 11, 2002 ) The rough weather from the tropical storm has dumped yet more water into the Kissimmee Chain, and the water is moving again. Fishing for bass is getting better as we start getting ready for a nice fall pattern. The best time to fish right now is early mornings. After 11 am the bite goes slow, and the fish are really sluggish. The method that is doing best right now is to fish live shiners over hydrilla in moving water. For the artificial person, we are still doing great with the Zoom Super Flukes, and the French Fry rigged Carolina style in moving water, and around the Kissimmee grass. I still recommend that you try to fish two half day trips right now for the bass, instead of one Full day trip. The bite is so much better in the mornings, and not so good in the afternoons. As far as size, the bass are averaging 2 to 4 pounds with a good size coming in between 6 to 9 pounds more frequently. Stick Marsh, and other area lakes right now are still very slow. The Kissimmee chain is doing the best for large fish. For even bigger fish you may want to try the saltwater fishing right now. We are catching great fish. read the report, and check out the photo album to see for yourself what our clients are catching.
Saltwater Flats - ( September 11, 2002 ) Saltwater Fishing is at the high point in the season for Trophy Redfish, Snook, Real big Jacks, Bonita, Mackerel and some permit thrown in on the south end of the Indian River. We have been averaging between 13 to 25 redfish per trip, with some as big as 35 pounds. These really big horses are riding in on tide changes near the port, and other inlets in the area. Snook season started on the first of September and the snook are very eager to pull a line. On the flats in Mosquito Lagoon last week we nailed 8 nice Reds and about 40 trout in just under 6 hours on the water. During a recent client trip to Sebastian Inlet we pulled in 29 Redfish all of which were over the slot limit. The fall mullet run will bring in some of the bigger redfish to feed, along with other species eager to feast upon the swarm of mullet that will invade the shallow waters. Have a look at our photo album and see some of these big fish coming in, then call us to get your reservation to catch your own fish like these. See ya soon.
If you would like to make a reservation to fish with us, please call our toll free number at 1-888-715-7661. Check out the updated photo's on our website, and be sure to call in advance for reservations.
God Bless & Tight Lines.
Capt. Tony Weatherman
Champion Pro Guide Services Central Florida
http://www.championbass.com
Toll Free Number - 1-888-715-7661
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Champion Pro Guides
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, August 24, 2002 - 1:41 am: | |
Subject: Central Florida Fishing Reports
Still waiting for word on the draw down for Lake Toho. As soon as we know something it will be posted here. Snook season opens on September 1st, and our fall mullet run should be getting under way very soon as well. Fishing is going to be great this fall. See you here.
Lake Tohopekaliga - ( August 24, 2002 ) Fishing for bass the last couple of weeks has been really frustrating. In the last couple of days bass are starting to pick up. On the last 3 trips out we managed to get between 20 and 40 fish with some of them going as big as 7 pounds. The best advice for bass fishermen right now is to take 2 half day trips, instead of just one full day, if your schedule allows for it. The best bite is coming in the morning to about noon. The method that is working best on the Kissimmee Chain is to work moving water with a Carolina rig French fry by Zoom, or a small worm about 4 to 6 inches. Live bait is doing good also with a few of our big fish coming in on these. There are a lot of reports about how well the Stick Marsh is doing right now, and I can tell you that is not true. We have had 5 trips down to the marsh in the last 2 weeks and only average about 8 fish for a full day trip. The grass is gone, and the water is not moving down there right now. I recommend if you are going to go bass fishing to just take half day trips right now in the morning, and go in the Kissimmee chain right now, most other area lakes and rivers are not producing any fish. Of course if you really want to catch some great fishing action, try some Snook and Redfish on right now. What a blast.
Saltwater Flats - ( August 24, 2002 ) It is amazing how things work out. Just when you think it just can't get any better than this, BAM, It does. Saltwater right now is breath taking, Rod Bending, Reel Screaming FUN. Every trip over to the east coast has afforded our clients the opportunities of a life time, and it keeps getting better. Check out our saltwater photo album to see some photo's of some 56 inch redfish, and Snook weighing in at over 30 pounds. We are catching everything that swims on the east coast right now, including a short run from a very aggressive Barracuda just this week which only lasted a moment before he broke the line. Right now we are catching Snook, Redfish, Trout, Jacks, Spanish Mackerel, Bonita, Shark and Blue fish. The Best method is anything that moves. Our Biggest Reds are coming in on Piggies, and Mullet, but we are getting a good amount on spoons, Zoom Flukes in yellow and White. Snook are busting great on Mullet and Shrimp, with these also being caught on Flukes and D.O.A. Shrimp around docks and Mangrove roots. The Jacks and Bonita are being caught on 4 inch Yozuri Crystal Minnows around the inlets during tide changes. With Snook season opening, and the fall mullet run just around the corner, things are going to heat up on the flats, and just off shore. Get down here and get your flats action in now, it is going to get better and better between now and December.
If you would like to make a reservation to fish with us, please call our toll free number at 1-888-715-7661. Check out the updated photo's on our website, and be sure to call in advance for reservations. Remember, we are the Original Full Time Professional guide service just minutes from Disney Specializing in Trophy Bass and Saltwater Flats Fishing. Do not be fooled by an imitator.
God Bless & Tight Lines.
Capt. Tony Weatherman
Champion Pro Guide Services Central Florida
http://www.championbass.com
Toll Free Number - 1-888-715-7661
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Capt. Rob Blake
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, August 21, 2002 - 2:54 pm: | |
Subject: Mosquito Lagoon Report
If you want to see the best laser light show in town, just launch your skiff before sunrise into the waters of the Indian River Lagoon. This time of year the phosphorescence is absolutely incredible. You can just about run in the dark and rely on the green glow to guide you…but I wouldn’t recommend it.
A few weeks ago we had a slight cool down and the fishing really seemed to take a step up. Over the past month, we’ve had several double-digit days for redfish. Of significance, Mike Carlson of Melbourne caught 28 reds to 14 pounds one morning by 10am. Captain Bob Menegay made the trip up from Jupiter, Florida to fish the Mosquito Lagoon…we caught so many fish that I literally lost count. I am sure I’ve forgotten a few names here. For a few days we were consistently ravaging through 4 dozen live shrimp by 10am. When the sun was high enough, sightfishing was on the agenda.
Congratulations to Joe Boulanger, VP of the ICEE Company (you know the slushee drinks) on catching 3 monster redfish on Mosquito Lagoon. His first cast of the morning to a tailing fish was an 18 pounder. His next fish was a 19 pounder and his last fish of the day was a 29 pounder that was cruising in 2 feet of water. All it took was a good cast and the fight was on. Joe’s monster reds can be found on the photos page of my website. Good job Joe!
I have been fishing quite a bit with my girlfriend lately as well. She, as usual, is catching everything in sight. She just has that great casting ability that we all wish we had. But, about two weeks ago, I finally caught my own red of about 23 pounds. According to her, that was enough for me, and back to poling the boat I went.
Fishing is great right now. All you need is a good cast and you are hooked up…enjoy the calm weather pattern we are in now. As Fall kicks into gear, the slick calm days will be few and far between.
Capt. Rob Blake
www.redfishonfly.com
1-866-RED-DRUM Toll Free
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Champion Pro Guide Serv
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 24, 2002 - 2:45 pm: | |
Subject: Central Florida Reports
We are still waiting for word on the draw down of Lake Toho scheduled for this November, it looks like it will most likely happen, and if it does, Records can be caught during this time. Check back here for the latest developments.
Lake Tohopekaliga - ( July 24, 2002 ) Bass fishing on the Kissimmee chain has been hit or miss. Some days on Toho you can catch 15 to 35 bass, and other days it is slower with just a 8 to 15 fish. Size has been a little smaller with our largest fish over the last few weeks weighing in at 7 pounds. Most fish right now being caught are weighing in between 2 to 5 pounds average. Several of the trips in the last few weeks have been great though. Right now the best fishing is early in the morning. We are catching bass on small shiners right now, and doing real good with Zoom Flukes and Carolina rigged French Fries. hot colors are Watermelon, and Smoke. The best tactic we have been using is to find moving water. With all of the rain lately, this is not a problem. After the sun gets up good, fishing starts to slow just a bit. This is when you want to slow down and fish near deeper grass lines with a worm, or slow roll a spinnerbait. If you are coming down to Florida to go bass fishing try to schedule yourself for 2 half day morning trips if you can, instead of one full day trip. Also consider fishing the flats for big Redfish right now, they are doing fantastic. See you on the water.
Saltwater Flats - ( July 24, 2002 ) The Saltwater Flats are doing absolutely fantastic. We are averaging between 5 to 14 Redfish per trip, with some over 30 inches. Trout are also doing exceptionally well right now with some of these going over 25 inches. Each trip out on the flats we are catching between 20 to 50 trout per trip, and many of them on Got-Cha grubs. Most of the Redfish are caught on live mullet, but we are doing good with Mirror Lures Top dog in Black, and Zoom Super Flukes in White, Lemon, and also Bubble Gum. Most of the Redfish are lying real shallow right now, but you have to find some clear water. With all of the rain in the lagoon lately, there is a lot of dirty water, and the saline content is low. All of the bigger Trout have been coming from water depths of 3 to 5 feet deep. For off shore action, we are doing real good with Shark, and last week, some clients caught some dolphin, which are a blast. Bonita and really big Jacks are also on the off shore menu. With bass fishing slow, and saltwater fishing doing so well, come on down and try it out.
If you would like to make a reservation to fish with us, please call our toll free number at 1-888-715-7661. Check out the updated photo's on our website, and be sure to call in advance for reservations. Remember we are the original Trophy Bass and Saltwater Flats Specialists in Central Florida, everything else is just a copy!
God Bless & Tight Lines.
Capt. Tony Weatherman
Champion Pro Guide Services Central Florida
http://www.championbass.com
Toll Free Number - 1-888-715-7661
|
Capt. Rob Blake
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 09, 2002 - 1:38 pm: | |
Subject: Mosquito Lagoon Report
Capt. Rob Blake’s fishing report from Florida’s Mosquito Lagoon and Upper Indian River-updated July 9th 2002.
The Big Reds are here! If you have ever wanted to have a chance at catching a bull redfish, you need to get on the water!
Several schools of oversized reds into the upper 30-pound class are roaming the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon. While finding these fish takes patience, and catching them takes an accurate cast, the fight of a big bull red you will never forget. On average, spin/bait fisherman can expect to fight these fish for up to an hour. Fly fisherman can expect the same-if not longer. Practice your casting!
Quick story…John Brazelton of Redington Fly Rods was aboard a couple of weeks ago and wanted a shot at the big reds he had always heard about. As we poled down the flat, I could see a school approaching, finning on the surface as they drew closer. I pointed out the school to John and he said, “…those are porpoise!” I had to politely correct him that they were in fact reds and his jaw hit the deck of the boat. After repeated presentations with the fly, he hooked into a 30 plus pounder only to have his fly pop out as the fish neared the boat-what a heartbreaker!
Slot size fish are also being found tailing at sunrise. As the flats warm these fish will become less active concentrate in slight depressions adjacent to the flats.
Its hot out there…and only going to get hotter, but the fish are here and waiting!
Capt. Rob Blake
www.redfishonfly.com
1-866-RED-DRUM Toll Free
1-321-633-0923 local
1-321-544-5041 cell
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Champion Pro Guide Serv
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, June 29, 2002 - 5:50 pm: | |
Subject: Central Florida Reports
Here is the latest fishing report for the Central Florida area. Check our website for updated photo's and Video's.
Lake Tohopekaliga - ( June 29, 2002 ) There has been a tremendous amount of rain in the Central Florida area. Water on Lake Toho is moving, and the fishing is still very good. Over the last 2 weeks we have had 4 fish in the boat that was between 9 and 10 pounds respectfully. Most Full day trips are catching between 20 to 30 fish in the 2 to 5 pound range. Although most were caught using large wild shiners, artificial lures are also accounting for some great fish as well. When the wind is blowing, we have had good results with Spinerbaits, and rattle traps. On calmer days Flukes, worms and jerk baits account for a good majority of fish. In moving water we have had great results using Zoom French Fries Carolina rigged. The best colors are Chartreuse, and Smoke. There are still good chances of catching a decent fish right now so get your reservation in now.
Saltwater Flats - ( June 29, 2002 ) This is the best time in the world to be on a flat in the mosquito lagoon area. Saltwater flats fishing is nothing short of fantastic. Redfish are everywhere, and in spite of the rains, we are catching some great fish. Trout are also big right now, and Tarpon are running good just off shore of the port. Check out the photo updates on our website for the latest catches of fish, and you will see there is great fishing in the flats right now. We look forward to seeing you here.
If you would like to make a reservation to fish with us, please call our toll free number at 1-888-715-7661. Check out the updated photo's on our website, and be sure to call in advance for reservations.
God Bless & Tight Lines.
Capt. Tony Weatherman
Champion Pro Guide Services Central Florida
http://www.championbass.com
Toll Free Number - 1-888-715-7661
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Champion Pro Guide Serv
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, June 08, 2002 - 11:24 am: | |
Subject: Central Florida Reports
A TROPHY BASS & SALTWATER FLATS SPECIALIST !
We offer Gift Certificates for Fathers Day, so this year get him a gift you know he'll love. Go to our website for details.
Saltwater Flats - ( June 8, 2002 ) Flat Fishing has been great overall, there were a couple of tough days this last week where the fish had a bad case of fasting. We poled up on a big school of redfish, only to find they had no intentions of eating anything we threw at them. We gave them every opportunity to eat, and they gave us every opportunity to get lost. Thank God this is something that doesn't happen often. Most of the other trips out this week has been full of adventure, and fish. One recent trip with a client scored big with a 25 pound Jack and a 40 pound Shark, plus plenty of Redfish, some Bonita, and some Snook thrown in for excitement. The Reds are back in the real thin water around the lagoon area with some catches around 40 inches, and the larger trout are hanging out in 3 to 4 foot of water. Redfish are being Caught on Zoom Super Flukes and Live Mullet. some nice big ones are being caught on Mirror Lures Top Dog too! Trout are eating Gotcha's 4 inch grubs in white or green. The Tarpon are hitting blue crabs, and live mullet around Sebastian. Check out our Photo Album to see some of the great fish being caught, and get your reservation in early. Florida is getting real busy with summer tourists, and fishing trips are filling up fast.
If you would like to make a reservation to fish with us, please call our toll free number at 1-888-715-7661. Remember we offer Gift Certificates for Father's Day. They are the BEST gifts for Dads anywhere.
God Bless & Tight Lines.
Capt. Tony Weatherman
Champion Pro Guide Services Central Florida
http://www.championbass.com
Toll Free Number - 1-888-715-7661
|
Capt. Rob Blake
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 28, 2002 - 3:33 pm: | |
Subject: Mosquito Lagoon "No Bass...No Bull. Just the Flats
No Bass Fishing...
No Bull...
Just the flats!
Fishing is great right now and in the Mosquito Lagoon. Water levels have risen substantially over the past week due to some strong easterly winds. We have been fishing way "in the back" during early morning periods where the fishing pressure is not so bad, then venturing out to find the "big boys" around 11am.
We are seeing tailing fish all morning that are ready to eat, despite the full moon phase. All it takes is a good cast and you are hooked up!
Tuesday, we had a 32 fish day with Jason Klinderhaust and his Dad Steve from Destin, Florida. Be sure to check out Jason's 34 pound red on my photos page soon, and while you are there look at the monsters we have enticed so far this year.
No Bass. No Bull. Just the flats...period! |
Champion Pro Guide Serv
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, May 23, 2002 - 9:15 pm: | |
Subject: Central Florida Reports
We offer Gift Certificates for Fathers Day, so this year get him a gift you know he'll love. Go to our website for details.
Saltwater Flats - ( May 23, 2002 ) The last few days have been really tough on the flats with the wind howling out of the north at thirty miles an hour. Still we managed to find a few places to hide, and still get some great trout and snook. Before the winds started gearing up for the America's Cup, we were doing excellent on the flats for really large redfish. On a recent trip over just last week we had over 14 Redfish in the boat, and the smallest weighed in at 6.5 pounds. All in all fishing is getting better and better on the flats. Tarpon are rolling everywhere in the south end of the river, and the trout are still being caught with some really big sizes to them. This is the time to get down here for some exciting flats action. Check out some of the recent photo's added to the album this last week. See you down here soon.
If you would like to make a reservation to fish with us, please call our toll free number at 1-888-715-7661. Remember we offer Gift Certificates for Father's Day. They are the BEST gifts for Dads anywhere. Also check out our client comments so you can see why we are simply the BEST guide service in Florida. No Hype, No Bull. Just the Best Period.
God Bless & Tight Lines.
Capt. Tony Weatherman
Champion Pro Guide Services Central Florida
http://www.championbass.com
Toll Free Number - 1-888-715-7661
|
Capt. Rob Blake
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 10, 2002 - 9:41 am: | |
Subject: Mosquito Lagoon Report
Capt. Rob Blake’s fishing report from Florida’s Mosquito Lagoon and Upper Indian River-updated May 10th, 2002.
The waters of Mosquito Lagoon are absolutely packed with baitfish. Everywhere you look, you'll see pods of mullet frolicking about in the lush grassflats. Over the past week, the water levels have dropped considerably, and if we don't experience any significant rainfall in the near-term, the water will remain low. Not to worry, however, my Maverick Mirage HPX-T is right at home in the low water conditions!
Fishing remains a "hot one day, so-so the next" affair. The weather has been exceptionally cooperative with almost slick calm conditions through 11am, and a seabreeze kicking in around noon.
Capt. Mark Thomas and I spent a vacant Tuesday on the waters of Mosquito Lagoon hunting our copper friend with a flyrod. On this day we saw no less than 800-1000 redfish as we stalked one flat to the next. The reds were out in force!
Sweat rolled down my face in the 97-degree heat, easing into my eyes and causing an irritating sting. The Florida heat and humidity gave me no break as poled down the flat. Despite the tendency to shut my eyes to ease the pain, I couldn't take my eyes off the school of 100 35"+ redfish tailing in a foot of water. Mark was on-deck, fly in hand, as I poled up towards the school of VERY happy fish. Mark began his cast and laid the fly in front of the school. Strip-strip-strip...nothing. "Cast again," I whispered. Mark again made a good presentation. Strip-strip-strip-strip...nothing!
We worked this one school for about 90 minutes…the tails were unbelievable! When you see a school of reds "flashing" near the surface or daisy chaining, they will normally devour any offering. Today was different.
As frustrating as these fish were, we both had a day we will never forget. My turn on the casting deck yielded the same results...refusal after refusal. They just didn’t want to eat the fly on this day. We could have easily picked up a spinning rod and had a double-digit day, but we held true with the long-rod and went away empty. That's fly-fishing...
Spin fishermen are doing very well. We are picking up trout before sunrise through 9am or so. Concentrating on deeper edges as the day wears on will produce for the patient angler. Sightcasting live shrimp, as usual, is the top producer and can turn "tough" fish into catchable ones. We have also been picking reds and trout up on soft plastic jerkbaits and topwater plugs.
This week's outstanding catch goes to my girlfriend. She sightcasted to a fish that turned out to be a nice 17 pound specimen. The size of this fish was quite a surprise because all the other fish she caught were around 7-9 pounds and found meandering in less than a foot of water.
Congratulations to Sloan Hutchinson of Jupiter, Florida for scoring a double-digit day on his first visit to Mosquito Lagoon. Sloan caught on to the sightfishing game real quick and was rewarded with 13 fish throughout the 6 hour trip, not including one that got off in mid-fight. The biggest fish of the day was 12 pounds. Nice casting Sloan!
As the waters continue to warm, please take the time to spend an extra few moments reviving your fish. Warmer waters contain much less dissolved oxygen than the cooler temps we experience in the winter. A good release helps to ensure our fishery remains healthy! Practice CPR...CATCH-PHOTOGRAPH-RELEASE!
Capt. Rob Blake
www.redfishonfly.com
1-866-RED-DRUM Toll Free
1-321-633-0923 local
1-321-544-5041 cell
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Capt Tony
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 07, 2002 - 8:26 pm: | |
Subject: Central Florida Reports
Lake Tohopekaliga - ( May 07, 2002 ) The last couple of weeks have been great on the Kissimmee Chain, specifically Lake Toho. Weather has been warm, and the water level is reaching the summer pool. Water temperatures are at 80 degrees or more, and most fish are being caught in the first part of the morning, or late in the afternoon right now. Some of our clients are catching as many as 35 on a half day trip using large wild shiners. If artificial lures are your thing, right now you can't beat a good Buzz Bait, or top water lure first thing in the morning. Lots of good size fish going for the top water stuff making for an exciting catch. Lake Toho is still the BEST place for trophy bass right now. Be sure to check out the photo album to get a look at what is being caught.
Saltwater Flats - ( May 07, 2002 ) Saltwater Flats fishing is just great right now. Lot's of Reds running through the shallows in the lagoon, and some schools of Tarpon are starting to show up around Port St John. They are small, but fun never the less. Big trout are being caught right now, and most are on a Gotcha Grub in Red, or White-Chartreuse. Water Temperatures on the coast are in the 80's now and the fish are feeding real good. Several trips coming up on the Fly. Will keep you posted. Be sure to check the photo album for photo updates, and remember to be kind to others, as they would to you.
If you would like to make a reservation to fish with us, please call our toll free number at 1-888-715-7661. If you are in a corporate group, or large party, we can get you on the water. Check out our Group Trips page for details. Don't forget our Gift Certificates make great gift idea's for the fishing fanatic in your life.
God Bless & Tight Lines.
Capt. Tony Weatherman
Champion Pro Guide Services Central Florida
http://www.championbass.com
Toll Free Number - 1-888-715-7661
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Capt Tony
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 07, 2002 - 8:25 pm: | |
Subject: Central Florida Reports
Lake Tohopekaliga - ( May 07, 2002 ) The last couple of weeks have been great on the Kissimmee Chain, specifically Lake Toho. Weather has been warm, and the water level is reaching the summer pool. Water temperatures are at 80 degrees or more, and most fish are being caught in the first part of the morning, or late in the afternoon right now. Some of our clients are catching as many as 35 on a half day trip using large wild shiners. If artificial lures are your thing, right now you can't beat a good Buzz Bait, or top water lure first thing in the morning. Lots of good size fish going for the top water stuff making for an exciting catch. Lake Toho is still the BEST place for trophy bass right now. Be sure to check out the photo album to get a look at what is being caught.
Saltwater Flats - ( May 07, 2002 ) Saltwater Flats fishing is just great right now. Lot's of Reds running through the shallows in the lagoon, and some schools of Tarpon are starting to show up around Port St John. They are small, but fun never the less. Big trout are being caught right now, and most are on a Gotcha Grub in Red, or White-Chartreuse. Water Temperatures on the coast are in the 80's now and the fish are feeding real good. Several trips coming up on the Fly. Will keep you posted. Be sure to check the photo album for photo updates, and remember to be kind to others, as they would to you.
If you would like to make a reservation to fish with us, please call our toll free number at 1-888-715-7661. If you are in a corporate group, or large party, we can get you on the water. Check out our Group Trips page for details. Don't forget our Gift Certificates make great gift idea's for the fishing fanatic in your life.
God Bless & Tight Lines.
Capt. Tony Weatherman
Champion Pro Guide Services Central Florida
http://www.championbass.com
Toll Free Number - 1-888-715-7661
|
Capt. Rob Blake
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 03, 2002 - 2:05 pm: | |
Subject: Mosquito Lagoon Report
Capt. Rob Blake’s fishing report from Florida’s Mosquito Lagoon and Upper Indian River-updated May 3rd, 2002.
We call this time of year Spring, but ten minutes outside will quickly change your mind about what season it is. Temperatures in the upper 90s, stiff southwest winds, and humidity so high you need a chainsaw to cut through it may be an indicator of things to come on the Space Coast. In fact, we broke two record high temperatures here in Brevard County over the past week. The heat is certainly on!
Early starts usually mean the angler is rewarded with a good trout bite and redfish tails in the air. The past week has been somewhat inconsistent in the catching department, and has been somewhat of a trend the past two weeks. Although we are finding good numbers of redfish, coaxing them into eating was a challenge at times. Full moon periods encourage nighttime feeding, but with the waning moon, the fishing should improve dramatically in the near term.
BEST BET: Set those alarm locks and get out on the water before the sun peaks the horizon! As the hot sun quickly warms the flats, the reds and seatrout can test your patience, but in general the early bird WILL get the worm. We’ve been using soft plastic jerkbaits like the 5” Saltwater Assassin rigged with a 5/0-worm hook for the redfish and Chug Bugs early on for nice trout catches. Keep in mind that the amount of chop on the surface dictates how you work that topwater plug. Slick calm water will force you to slow down the action on your topwater plug. Conversely, choppy conditions usually demand a “noisier” approach.
Live shrimp continue to produce for the sightcaster on reds-its not very often that you’ll get a refusal if your cast is up to par. An errant cast that is left sitting to long will do nothing but provide the pinfish an easy meal…little piranhas!
Fly anglers have been fairing surprisingly well given the full moon conditions of the last week. Shrimp and crab imitations tied on #2 hooks have been the bread and butter for the long-rodder. Between now and the next full moon phase, the fishing (and catching) will turn for the better.
Capt. Rob Blake
www.redfishonfly.com
1-866-RED-DRUM Toll Free
1-321-633-0923 local
1-321-544-5041 cell
|
Champion Pro Guide Serv
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 24, 2002 - 4:41 pm: | |
Subject: Central Florida Reports
( April 24, 2002 ) Some of the best Red fishing in a while is being done right now. Mosquito Lagoon is full of big bull reds and schools of reds all over the flats in just 10 inches of water. Every day out this last week was exceptional, except Saturday. On this particular day we agonized as some rude tournament anglers decided to plow through our school of reds. We spent the rest of the morning chasing spooked redfish because of the overwhelming boat traffic. Every Other day this last week has been incredible. Just on Friday I had Joe Conroy out with his 10 year old son Sean, and Sean caught so many BIG REDS that he asked if we could catch some trout. You can see Sean and several of his Redfish on the Photo Album page. Be sure to check it out. In closing remember to please practice a little courtesy, after all you may want some in return. God Bless and we will see you on the water.
If you would like to make a reservation to fish with us, please call our toll free number at 1-888-715-7661. If you are in a corporate group, or large party, we can get you on the water. Check out our Group Trips page for details. Don't forget our Gift Certificates make great gift idea's for the fishing fanatic in your life.
God Bless & Tight Lines.
Capt. Tony Weatherman
Champion Pro Guide Services Central Florida
http://www.championbass.com
Toll Free Number - 1-888-715-7661
|
Capt. Rob Blake
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 24, 2002 - 1:56 pm: | |
Subject: Mosquito Lagoon Report
Capt. Rob Blake’s fishing report from Florida’s Mosquito Lagoon and Upper Indian River-updated April 24th, 2002.
My guests this past week have been from Ireland, Pennsylvania, Florida, and beyond. Just as these places contrast in many ways, the fishing from day to day has been just as interesting. For the most part, we are finding redfish grouped in 15-20 fish schools. Getting the fish to eat a fly, soft plastic, or bait has been a study in patience one day and a “no brainer” the next.
Congratulations to George Wiseman, his son Ken Wiseman, Colin Mccaw and his friend Andy for catching their first redfish over the past week. Rusty and Todd Sloan get the “Accurate Casting Award” for the week, as they constantly sightcasted to cruising and laid-up fish, which produced a double-digit day on the reds.
Once again, the seatrout have been “chowing-down” at first light each morning. We caught some fine specimens a few days ago of 5-8 pounds in 2 feet of water on soft plastic jerkbaits.
Almost everywhere you look in Mosquito Lagoon, you’ll see the water packed with baitfish. Those who are used to sightcasting live/dead shrimp to reds may be picked clean by the hordes of pinfish and other pesky critters swimming about. The puffer fish are also out in force-ready to take a chunk out of your soft plastic baits as well.
Water levels are down a bit from a few weeks ago, but there are still plenty of reds cooperating in the skinny water-go fish!!!
Capt. Rob Blake
www.redfishonfly.com
1-866-RED-DRUM Toll Free
1-321-633-0923 local
1-321-544-5041 cell
|
Capt. Mark Thomas
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 17, 2002 - 5:41 pm: | |
Subject: Press Release, Redbone at Large Tournament
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Pete Johnson
Johnson Communications, at 480-951-3654
johnsoncom@aol.com
Father and son win Mercury Redbone @ Large Celebrity tournament at Mosquito Lagoon
MLB baseball’s Davey Johnson wins among celebrities helping to “catch the cure for CF”
NEW SYMRNA BEACH, Fla. ---Father and son, Bob and Travis Niemi, Maitland, Fla., won the grand champion team title at this past weekend’s second annual Mercury Outboards Redbone @ Large Mosquito Lagoon celebrity-fishing tournament catching and releasing six redfish and 21 trout.
Travis also won as the grand champion angler, guided by Capt. Scott Tripp.
The unique and popular (April 12 – 14) event, is part of the Redbone tournament series that began in the Fla. Keys 15 years ago benefiting cystic fibrosis (CF) cure research. Fishing took place in the beautiful east central Florida interior coastline waters of the Canaveral Seacoast National Park known as Mosquito Lagoon.
“We’ve fished with Scott quite a bit in the Fla. Keys,” said Bob Niemi. “He was awesome here at Mosquito Lagoon which is his home fishing grounds. My son and I try to fish together at least once to twice a month and it was great fishing with him this weekend for this great cause.”
“The barometer was a big factor with lots of ups and downs over the weekend,” said Tripp.
“Because there was very little sunshine to sight fish we fished at almost all my old and reliable spots.”
Former L. A. Dodger manager Davey Johnson, Winter Park, the celebrity host of the event, bested fellow celebrities by catching four pairings of redfish and trout. He was guided by Capt. John Turcot. Other popular celebs competing included former Philadelphia Phillies slugger and Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt, two-time space shuttle astronaut Bruce Melnick and former veteran Miami Dolphins linebacker Steve Towle.
“The fishing was fabulous,” said Johnson. “We were able to get into some very skinny water with Turcot’s Hell’s Bay and Mercury 25 hp combination, waters not many of the others could pole into.”
Johnson’s partner on Saturday, Gary New, Sorrento, Fla., took home awards of paintings as the first runner up angler, spin/plug division champion and the overall angler with the most releases (10) of redfish. Daytona Beach News Journal outdoor writer Jordan Kahn, Johnson’s partner on Sunday, caught the largest trout on artificial bait, at 21 inches to also win an award.
Defending team champions, husband and wife Larry and Sharon Sydnor, Ft Lauderdale also took honors as celebrity pro and general division champion respectively. She had nine releases of reds and specs guided by Capt. Mike Hakala.
Air Force Major General Bill Gorton (ret.), Park City, Utah, won paintings as he captured both the Fly Division and the release of the largest redfish on fly at 29-1/2 inches. Guided by Capt. Mark Thomas, Gorton’s teammate Tim Eshelman, Roanoke, Ind., caught and released the largest redfish on artificial bait at 32 inches.
Eschelman’s brother Pete, Roanoke, Ind., won with the largest trout caught on fly at 17 in.. He was guided by Capt. Joey Aloe, Orlando.
Diane Kudrick, executive director of the CF Foundation regional office in Orlando who organized the tournament said she expected to announce next week how much money was raised from entry fees, sponsorships, auctions, boutique and clothing sales. ‘Raising $30,000 last year for CF was a fabulous first year event for us,” she said.
JB’s Fish Camp, Kelsey’s Riverview Restaurant and the Riverview Hotel served as the host locations for the three-day event.
Event kickoffs new Mercury Red*Trout series within the Redbone series
The Mosquito Lagoon tournament was also the kickoff event for a new tournament series within the Mercury Redbone family of celebrity events, the Mercury Red*Trout series said Redbone tournament founder and director Capt. Gary Ellis.
“At many of the new CF chapter originated tournaments around the southeast region, redfish and trout are the common species like here at Mosquito Lagoon,” said Ellis. Other Mercury Red*Trout events will be in Rockport, Texas, June 21 – 23; St. Augustine, Fla., Sept. 12 – 14; St. Simon’s Island, Ga., Oct. 10 – 12; New Orleans, Oct. 18 – 20; Biloxi, Ms., Oct. 24 – 26 and Charleston, S.C. Nov. 1 – 3.
All of the tournaments are catch, photograph and release events.
Other CF chapters around the nation with prominent fishing areas are launching new Mercury Redbone formatted celebrity fishing tournaments as major fundraisers.
The Redbone (REDfish and BONEfish) began as a small local tournament in 1988 in Islamorada in the Fla. Keys as a fundraiser to help CF patients like Gary and Susan Ellis’ young daughter Nicole. Hall of Fame slugger Ted Williams, then Keys resident, helped the Ellis’ attract many of his celebrity friends and through efforts of guides, anglers and volunteers they raised $16,000 at that first event.
Mercury Outboards joined as a title sponsor 11 years ago dedicating increasing manpower and money for the events helping to gain national and international attention as well. The 15-year old Mercury Redbone series has raised over $2 million dollars to find a cure for CF. Ellis said he hopes to raise $1 million dollars this year from the increased events around the nation.
Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease that causes the body to produce an abnormally thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and can lead to life-threatening lung infections. The CF mucus also obstructs the pancreas, interfering with digestion. Remarkable progress has been made, but at this time, there is no cure, and the work is not complete until the cure is found.
For further information on the Mercury Redbone tournament sites around the nation please call Susan Ellis at the Redbone office in Islamorada, Fla., 305-664-2002.
Second Annual Mercury Outboards Redbone@ Large Mosquito Lagoon Tournament Results --- April 14, 2002
New Smyrna Beach, Fla.
Grand Champion Angler: Travis Niemi, Maitland, Fla., guided
by Capt. Scott Tripp
Celebrity Grand Champion: Davey Johnson (MLB player & manager), guided
by Capt. John Turcot
Pro-Celebrity Grand Champion Angler: Capt. Larry Sydnor, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., guided
by Capt. Mike Hakala
Team Grand Champion Anglers: Bob and Travis Niemi, Maitland, guided
by Capt. Scott Tripp
First Runner-Up Angler: Gary New, Sorrento, Fla., guided by Capt. John Turcot
First Runner-Up Team: Terry Lubinsky and Lilliana Fremion, Sanford, Fla., guided
by Capt. Dave Brown
Fly Division Champion: Major General Bill Gorton, Park City, Utah, 29-1/2”, guided by Capt. Mark Thomas
Spin-Plug Division Champion: Gary New, Sorrento, Fla , guided by Capt. John Turcot
General Division Champion: Sharon Sydnor, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., guided by Capt. Mike Hakala
Most Trout Releases: Travis Niemi, Maitland, Fla , guided by Capt. Scott Tripp. ---12 releases
Most Redfish Releases: Gary New, Sorrento, Fla , guided by Capt. John Turcot--- 10 releases
Largest Redfish on Fly: Major General Bill Gorton, Park City, Utah, 29-1/2”, guided by *Capt. Mark Thomas*
Largest Redfish on Spin/Plug: Tim Eshelman, Roanoke, Ind., 32”, guided by *Capt. Mark Thomas*
Largest Redfish General: Travis Niemi, Maitland, Fla, 31-1/2 “, guided by Capt. Scott Tripp
Largest Trout on Fly: Pete Eshelman, Roanoke, Ind., 17”, guided by Capt. Joey Aloe
Largest Trout on Spin/Plug: Jordan Kahn, Daytona Beach, 27”, guided by Capt. John Turcot
Largest Trout General: Bob Niemi, Maitland, Fla, 29”, guided by Capt. Scott Tripp |
Capt. Rob Blake
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 17, 2002 - 10:54 am: | |
Subject: Mosquito Lagoon Report
Capt. Rob Blake's fishing report from Florida's Mosquito Lagoon and Upper Indian River-updated April 16, 2002.
The heat is on! Hot days and muggy nights are here to stay here on the Space Coast. Afternoon thunderheads will form over the mainland to produce showers and thunderstorms over the Mosquito Lagoon and coastal waters. Its all part of the subtropical environment we live in…what a great place to be!
Over the past weekend I fished the 2nd Annual Mercury Redbone @ Large Tournament to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Conditions were less than desirable for sightfishing most of the time, but in the end we put fish on the boat. The field of boats numbered 22 and when all was said and done my anglers Scott Jacobsen and John Brazelton from Redington placed 2nd in the fly division and tied for 4th in overall points for the entire field of boats. Congratulations to my good friend Capt. Mark Thomas for capturing 1st place in the Fly Division with Maj. Gen. Bill Gorton from Park City, Utah.
Redfish are still plentiful on the flats, but finding the big schools of fish has proven to be difficult the past couple of weeks. One day the schooling fish are abundant, the next they have moved on. We have mostly been working the pods of 5-15 fish in less than two feet of water. In either case, tailing fish are abundant at sunrise.
Spotted seatrout are available for the angler who arrives on the flats and drop-offs prior to sunrise and works the first hour of daylight. We haven't been seeing the larger trout lately in the numbers we had a month ago. Go early for best results!
And yes…I do have my new Maverick Mirage HPX up and running. In fact, the HPX was broken in at the Redbone Tournament and was certainly instrumental in getting us to some new, and very shallow, water for redfish that put us among the top boats in the field.
Capt. Rob Blake
www.redfishonfly.com
1-866-RED-DRUM Toll Free
1-321-633-0923 local
1-321-544-5041 cell
|
Capt Tony Weatherman
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 08, 2002 - 3:38 pm: | |
Subject: Central Florida Reports
Here is our latest fishing report for the First of April. Look for our video reports to be coming out this month.
Lake Tohopekaliga - ( April 08, 2002 ) Bass fishing on Lake Toho is incredible this last week. The winds have been a little rough, but the temperature has been in the mid 80's all last week. The bass have been doing their best to eat everything thrown at them. We had a large group trip on Thursday last week with Quest Diagnostics. The trip was a huge success. With 10 boats in all, each boat weighed in 5 fish and the winning weight was almost 28 pounds, with the big bass coming in at a HUGE 11.12 pounds. The second large fish was a big 9.9 pound bass. Although the bass do prefer live bait, we are still doing good with Zooms Super Flukes, Rattle Traps, Spinerbaits, and we have even caught quite a few nice fish on Buzz baits. Almost every trip in the last 10 days has been a great success, and bass fishing continues to be HOT. Come on down, and get your next trophy bass soon....
Saltwater Flats - ( April 08, 2002 ) Flats Fishing in the Indian River, and Mosquito Lagoon is incredible. Large Redfish, Blue fish, Trout, and Snook are turning up everywhere on the flats. On one recent trip this last week we had an incredible day. Redfish, Trout and Blue fish were being caught like mad. It did not seem to make a lot of difference on the color of Fluke, or Jig we threw, they liked them all. We went through 5 bags of Flukes as the Redfish just devoured them like candy. Soon the Tarpon start coming in and then the fishing will really get hot. Cobia and Triple tail continue to be a blast on our off shore trips. It will only continue to get better on the flats as we come closer to the summer months. Come on down and let's get you some BIG fish action with a day on the Saltwater Flats, or just off shore for some great action.
If you would like to make a reservation to fish with us, please call our toll free number at 1-888-715-7661. If you are in a corporate group, or large party, we can get you on the water. Check out our Group Trips page for details. Don't forget our Gift Certificates make great gift idea's for the fishing fanatic in your life.
God Bless & Tight Lines.
Capt. Tony Weatherman
Champion Pro Guide Services Central Florida
http://www.championbass.com
Toll Free Number - 1-888-715-7661
|
Capt Tony Weatherman
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 08, 2002 - 3:38 pm: | |
Subject: Central Florida Reports
Here is our latest fishing report for the First of April. Look for our video reports to be coming out this month.
Lake Tohopekaliga - ( April 08, 2002 ) Bass fishing on Lake Toho is incredible this last week. The winds have been a little rough, but the temperature has been in the mid 80's all last week. The bass have been doing their best to eat everything thrown at them. We had a large group trip on Thursday last week with Quest Diagnostics. The trip was a huge success. With 10 boats in all, each boat weighed in 5 fish and the winning weight was almost 28 pounds, with the big bass coming in at a HUGE 11.12 pounds. The second large fish was a big 9.9 pound bass. Although the bass do prefer live bait, we are still doing good with Zooms Super Flukes, Rattle Traps, Spinerbaits, and we have even caught quite a few nice fish on Buzz baits. Almost every trip in the last 10 days has been a great success, and bass fishing continues to be HOT. Come on down, and get your next trophy bass soon....
Saltwater Flats - ( April 08, 2002 ) Flats Fishing in the Indian River, and Mosquito Lagoon is incredible. Large Redfish, Blue fish, Trout, and Snook are turning up everywhere on the flats. On one recent trip this last week we had an incredible day. Redfish, Trout and Blue fish were being caught like mad. It did not seem to make a lot of difference on the color of Fluke, or Jig we threw, they liked them all. We went through 5 bags of Flukes as the Redfish just devoured them like candy. Soon the Tarpon start coming in and then the fishing will really get hot. Cobia and Triple tail continue to be a blast on our off shore trips. It will only continue to get better on the flats as we come closer to the summer months. Come on down and let's get you some BIG fish action with a day on the Saltwater Flats, or just off shore for some great action.
If you would like to make a reservation to fish with us, please call our toll free number at 1-888-715-7661. If you are in a corporate group, or large party, we can get you on the water. Check out our Group Trips page for details. Don't forget our Gift Certificates make great gift idea's for the fishing fanatic in your life.
God Bless & Tight Lines.
Capt. Tony Weatherman
Champion Pro Guide Services Central Florida
http://www.championbass.com
Toll Free Number - 1-888-715-7661
|
Captain Mark Thomas
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2002 - 6:11 pm: | |
Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River
Fishing with fly and light tackle on the flats
Fishing Report:
Date: 03.31.02
Location: Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River
As spring time slowly works its way into our calendar I look forward to the large schools of bait fish and the early morning sunrises that reveal a new day of angling opportunity. The month of March over all was a good month for Trout and Redfish, but it was an exceptional month for Cobia and Triple Tail.
I started out this month with a trip to Homosassa and the Crystal River with Mr. Bert Norris. Bert is a veteran of the Crystal River area and a excellent angler. The area is by far driven by the tide and the feeding patterns follow the tide as well. We launched 3 hours prior to high tide and fish 2 hours past high tide. The rising tide seemed to produce the bulk of the days activity. We caught and released four nice Redfish and one good size trout. I don’t want to talk about the ones that got away, as usual they were huge.
The following trip was a double boater with Capt John Kumiski out of Port Canaveral. The day started with slick ocean, as was predicted, no clouds but a cool fog rolling over the surface making it difficult to sight fish. I went south and John went north, I trolled looking for signs of Cobia with the only sighting at the end of someone else’s gaff. I got a call from John, he was letting me know that there lots of Triple Tail in the North. Leaving the area was not what I wanted to do but the clock was ticking, I started running north and spotted some debris on the surface. I slowed down and eased up on 2 nice Triple tail, I launched the shrimp and they took it with out hesitation. One then the other. Continuing heading north I found several more free swimming Triple Tail that were ready to feed, I ended up with 6 Triple tail up to 11 pounds. Finally I arrived to see John had landed a 25 pound Cobia caught on 12lb test, he also had landed 5 Triple Tail. Good Job John. The Cobia bite was good all month with some boats reporting 10 fish a day.
I fished my good friend and client Mr. Bill Nosan, It was to be a Fly only day and with less than average condition I knew we had our work cut out for us. Bill and I worked several areas early in the Islands of the north Mosquito Lagoon that we knew would produce fish on any given day but not that day. I elected to head south to work some areas that had produced fish earlier that week, I asked Bill, do you see that little stick ? just about 20 feet to the right of it there will be 50 Redfish sitting in a hole. I poled slowly and to Bill’s amazement there they were, he got the fly in there for a nice hookup and I followed up with a spinning rod to get a double. We tried to get more fish out of that school but they were highly educated and had learned that days lesson by example.
March is still in the cold window of my calendar and Mr. Dewey Dixon and his niece Erin had scheduled the coldest day of March. It was cold, but not cold enough to stop these two. They were determined to catch a fish. They were serious and I knew it, from time I shut the motor down on the first flat they cast continuously. Erin landed 2 nice Redfish and after talking to the other guides they may have been the only two fish caught that day. Nice job Erin.
I wrapped up March with a full day, fishing Mr. Al Ryalls and his Friend Marty Kelly. They were both avid offshore anglers and continuously filled the day with great fishing stories. The wind was blowing hard out of the north, no good conditions anywhere. I worked many areas that had produced fish earlier that week, but was met with no success. Al and Marty were enjoying the day in our pristine estuary when suddenly I spotted 2 large Trout. Al was working the same area and managed to sink a hook in one. I knew it was a good fish and but not sure how good until I got my first look at it. It was a monster 9 ½ pounds and 32”(+) in length. We wrapped up the day with only one Redfish and 2 Trout, but that Trout was a fish of a life time. Good Job Al.
In closing April hopes to be one of the best months of the year. The Redbone @ Large tournament scheduled to be held April 12th, 13th and 14th is a good time for all and a great reason to go fishing. Help “Catch the cure”, for Cystic Fibroses, for additional information on this tournament please call Diane Kudrick with CFF at 407-896-1113
Living to fish……and fishing for life……….
I hope this report will make your next fishing trip a more successful one.
Tight Lines,
Captain Mark Thomas
FlatsAction Charters
|
Capt. Rob Blake
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 19, 2002 - 4:24 pm: | |
Subject: Mosquito Lagoon Report
Capt. Rob Blake’s fishing report from Florida’s Mosquito Lagoon and Upper Indian River-updated March 19, 2002.
It's less than a month before the 2nd Annual Mercury Redbone @ Large Fishing Tournament in Mosquito Lagoon. I know my anglers, Scott Jacobson and John Brazelton of Redington Fly Rods are gearing up for a good time. Anyone interested in participating in the Redbone Tournament, or to simply get more information, should contact Diane Kudrick at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (407) 896-1113. The tournament will be held out of JBs Fish Camp on April 12, 13, and 14th and all proceeds go to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Catch the Cure!
My local Maverick dealer tells me that my new Maverick Mirage HPX will be delivered this Friday in Titusville, so I have only a short time to break things in before the big tourney.
Spring is here! Soon the waters of the Mosquito Lagoon will fill to levels we haven't seen a quite a while, allowing the reds and spotted seatrout to venture into the backwaters in search of food. Expect schooling fish to be feeding aggressively at daybreak and beyond. Fly anglers should be pleased with first light conditions-lots of tails in the air! I haven't seen any black drum on the flats in a couple of weeks, a sign that warmer conditions are on the way.
Fishing has been spectacular this past week! My girlfriend and I spent the weekend out on the water with our dog and got into some monster redfish. After stalking these fish for around 15 minutes, she hooked up to an incredibly fat 51" redfish that bent her rod for over 30 minutes. The big female redfish weighed in at 42 pounds. The secret to her success on this day was precision casting. Slick calm conditions usually means extremely spooky fish, but she made the cast she needed to make…and it paid off. What a behemoth! This fish made her early morning catches of 12-13 pound fish seem trivial.
Pictures of her big redfish can be seen at:
http://www.cruisebrevard.com/fishreports/reports.cfm?ID=599&Captain=9
On Monday, I took repeat client Mike Carlson, of Melbourne, out on Mosquito Lagoon in hopes of a repeat performance on the big redfish. We started out on some slot redfish just to warm up, but were soon surprised to catch an 18-pound red before we even went looking for the big boys. Maybe it was a signal to go…so we did, and off we went to look for the giants.
After a slow 45 minutes of poling around and hunting for the big fish, we found them. Mike skillfully tossed a giant live shrimp into the fray and the fish charged it. The first one missed, but the second inhaled the bait and the fight was on. About 25 minutes later, we had a 30-pound redfish in the boat and one very happy angler.
A weak cold front is scheduled to move through on Thursday evening, but I wouldn't expect any adverse effects. Expect a quick return to warmer weather. Enjoy the weekend, it's going to be a gorgeous one temperature wise, however we'll have a bit more wind than we've had the past week.
Capt. Rob Blake
www.redfishonfly.com
1-866-RED-DRUM Toll Free
1-321-633-0923 local
1-321-544-5041 cell
|
Capt. Rob Blake
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 12, 2002 - 10:46 am: | |
Subject: Mosquito Lagoon Report
Capt. Rob Blake’s fishing report from Florida’s Mosquito Lagoon and Upper Indian River-updated March 12, 2002.
Got wind? That was the expression heard quite frequently last week as very strong southerly and southwesterly winds ripped through the Space Coast. The irritating wind sometimes accelerated to over 30mph, causing the waters of Mosquito Lagoon to come alive with rage.
We may have cleared the last winter cold front hurdle. Look for temperatures to slowly increase through Spring. The cold 30-degree mornings are most likely a thing of the past. Water levels in the lagoon should continually rise through late March and April, allowing the redfish to venture into “uncharted territory” for food and comfort.
Look for more schooling fish to be on the move in the coming weeks as they sense the change to warmer weather and fatten up from the winter “hunker down.” Soft plastic jerkbaits and live bait will provide the best results. Fly fisherman should concentrate on the darker patterns, which mimic the plethora of critters the reds are after in Mosquito Lagoon.
Sean Hogan of Massachusetts ventured out with me in over 30-knot winds to try his hand at redfish and seatrout last Sunday. Our playing field was severely limited due to the winds, but in the end we had success. Sightfishing was next to impossible, but persistent efforts in spots that I knew fish should be put 4 fish in the boat in what seemed like hurricane conditions.
Wednesday, I fished with Gus Williams of Westchester, New York. Sunrise brought slick calm conditions and tailing redfish. The first cast of the morning was met with cooperation from a spotted seatrout, but the tailing redfish in schools of 50-75 fish were the focus of the half day trip. Unfortunately, the schools didn't stay put very long and the wind came up hard out of the east. Gus went away with a first time experience and swears he's coming back soon.
Thursday, Kevin Saul and buddy Eric saw tailing redfish spread all across the expansive flats of Mosquito Lagoon-something they surely don't see in their home state of California. Kevin's first cast yielded a fine Mosquito Lagoon specimen. Both Kevin and Eric later hooked up simultaneously to nice redfish...Eric commenting that his was bigger than Kevin's. Throughout the remainder of the half-day trip, both Kevin and Eric had numerous shots at redfish and a friendly competition evolved between the two. In the end, Eric came away with the victory.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday I fished with Ret. General Bill Gorton (USAF), from Park City, Utah. Bill fished with me a year ago to the day and when we met at the ramp, I couldn’t believe a year had gone by so quickly. Bill is a die-hard fly fisherman who would rather catch 1 fish on fly than 10 on spinning gear. Over the three-day period, we saw numerous tailing reds in the morning and hooked up each day to nice fish. The most memorable event of this three-day trip was a redfish that continuously tailed for over 5 minutes while Bill cast in hopes of a hook-up. This fish was so busy rooting around in the seagrass, that he had no idea a flats boat and a determined fly fisherman were only 20 feet away. After several good casts, the fish charged the fly and MISSED it! I don't think either of us will ever forget that agonizing 5 minutes...
Water levels in Mosquito Lagoon have once again dropped. I would expect the levels to rise again in the near-term. When visibility allows, we are seeing good numbers of reds on the white spots and some very large spotted seatrout.
Capt. Rob Blake
www.redfishonfly.com
1-866-RED-DRUM Toll Free
1-321-633-0923 local
1-321-544-5041 cell
|
Capt. Rob Blake
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 27, 2002 - 2:24 pm: | |
Subject: Mosquito Lagoon Report
Capt. Rob Blake’s fishing report from Florida’s Mosquito Lagoon and Upper Indian River-updated February 27, 2002.
Over the past week, we have been fishing one weather extreme to the other. Driving rain with 30-mph winds, sunny skies and slick calm water. It’s all part of what we must live with in the subtropical climate of Florida.
Last Saturday, Scott Jacobsen and his brother-in-law John Brazelton decided to brave the elements and go out to get John’s first Mosquito Lagoon redfish on fly. John works for Redington Fly Rods and is certainly no stranger to redfishing, but the playing field was very limited due to the 30-mph winds from the north. Despite the adversity, we got on some tailing fish and by 7:30 John hooked his first Mosquito Lagoon redfish on fly. Since our goal had been met, and the wind seemed to be getting stronger, we decided to get outta Dodge and make our way back to the ramp. The driving rain made things interesting, but we made it back safe and soaked!
Monday I had the pleasure of taking Ron Krell and his wife Donna out on the first day of a two-day trip. The four-hour drive from Tallahassee was well worth it for both anglers. A persistent north breeze didn’t discourage us, and the day was off to a banner beginning when Ron’s first cast yielded an instant hook-up. As the morning progressed, Donna and Ron were able to pick off several reds that were loosely schooled in a foot of water. Although we didn’t see the first tailing fish that day, 11 reds and a handful of trout were brought boatside.
Tuesday, the weather was picture perfect…one of those days you dream about. Bright sunny skies, light to zero wind, and plenty of fish on the flats. By 9am, Ron and Donna had 9 reds to ten pounds in the boat. By 11:30, we had 20 reds in the boat and a couple of trout. At 2:30 the redfish total was 35. The day ended with Donna sightcasting a beautiful 5-pound spotted seatrout in a foot of water. Catching these numbers of fish certainly doesn’t happen every day, but we’ll take it when we get them! Good casting Donna!
Water levels in Mosquito Lagoon are still up from 2 weeks ago. After the approaching front we should again have some spectacular fishing. The shuttle launch is scheduled for 6:48am tomorrow. The weather calls for 32-degree temps at launch time…and the last update said the weather has a 40% chance of causing a delay in the launch. Bundle up!
I’m still looking for some photos to be emailed to me from some of my January and February clients. If you think about it, get them to me so I can post them on my 2002 Season Photos Page…thanks!
Capt. Rob Blake
www.redfishonfly.com
1-866-RED-DRUM Toll Free
1-321-633-0923 local
1-321-544-5041 cell
|
Capt. Rob Blake
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2002 - 2:15 pm: | |
Subject: Mosquito Lagoon Report
Capt. Rob Blake’s fishing report from Florida’s Mosquito Lagoon and Upper Indian River-updated February 20th, 2002.
The wintertime weather pattern continues to press on. Winds in the 15-20 mph range are common this time of year as fronts pass through the central Florida area. Over the past week, we have been able to sneak out on select days to scout out the crystal clear water of the lagoon.
Friday, I found myself fishing with friend Capt. Mark Thomas as we sought to take advantage of the first sunny day in a week. Throughout the day we saw slot and under-slot reds that were quick to eat shrimp, and even a few trout cooperated as well. This was nice, but the highlight of the day came when Mark brought out the flyrod and sightcasted to a jumbo trout that was laid up with 3 of his buddies in a white spot. The trout were everywhere! And big ones to boot! With a precision cast, Mark coaxed the tout into eating. After a brief tussle, I cradled the beast into the boat and handed it to Mark. At this point, I think someone could have shot Mark in the foot and he would still be grinning ear to ear. According to the boga grip scale, it weighed 7 pounds on the nose. After reviving the fish, Mark let the trout slip back into the lagoon. Good job Mark!!!!
On Saturday, my girlfriend and I went out and scouted around for two hours in the drizzling rain and wind, along with my forever-growing golden retriever pup. Cloudy days don’t always hide the presence of tightly schooled redfish and Saturday was an example of this.
After a slow start, we eventually located a nice school of oversized reds in about a foot of water. Dark clouds were lingering overhead, but this school of redfish was “flashing”, or turning on their sides near the water’s surface. When you see redfish do this, they will eat just about anything you throw at them. Some of the fish we saw in this school were pushing twenty pounds. A quiet approach (as quiet as you can be with an 80 pound puppy on board) revealed some fish were willing to tail. My girlfriend presented a shrimp with precision accuracy to the school without spooking them, and the rod was instantly doubled. When the school of fish took off, I thought for sure she would be broken off. Thankfully, I was wrong and we landed a 14-pound redfish ten minutes later.
The dog got so excited that he jumped into the water after the fish, but my “words of encouragement” convinced him to get back in the boat. ;-) The drizzling rain then turned into a downpour, so we called it a day and were back at the dock by 8:30.
Water levels in Mosquito Lagoon have risen a few inches in the past week, opening up some flats that only a week ago were not accessible. Expect water levels to drop again in the near term.
Capt. Rob Blake
www.redfishonfly.com
1-866-RED-DRUM Toll Free
1-321-633-0923 local
1-321-544-5041 cell
|
Capt. Rob Blake
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 13, 2002 - 3:16 pm: | |
Subject: Mosquito Lagoon Report
Capt. Rob Blake’s fishing report from Florida’s Mosquito Lagoon and Upper Indian River-updated February 13th, 2002.
February’s weather is usually quite unpredictable, as is March, but the angler who fishes between the blustery fronts is usually rewarded with very good catches of “Florida Copper”…redfish that is! Temperatures have remained somewhat cool over the last two weeks, with nighttime temps getting into the low 50s and daytime highs into the mid 70s. This is about average for this time of year. Right after New Year’s day, our weather brought temps down into the 30s at night and highs in the mid 50s. This compacted a lot of redfish into deeper holes. As the temps gradually climbed, the schools of reds came out to eat…and eat they did!
The middle two weeks of January we had several 20+ fish days-even 20+ fish days on the flyrod. However, as the temps climbed into the mid and even high 80s towards the end of the month, things began to fall off as the water temp climbed. Catches of 20+ fish certainly don’t happen everyday, but we’ll take them when they come around. It seems that now we are back into the “typical” mode on Mosquito Lagoon.
The water is mostly clear. The redfish are still abundant. The big seatrout can be found schooling in 50-100 fish “herds” if you look hard enough, and the black drum are occasional players for those stalking the skinny water. Despite the abundance of fish, presentation and casting accuracy are the most important factor to angling success.
By the way, some of you may have noticed that I have created a 2002 Fishing Season photos page on my website. If your picture isn’t there, its because you haven’t emailed them to me! ;-)
A big thanks to Scott Jacobsen of Melbourne, Florida for signing up for the 2002 Mosquito Lagoon Redbone Tournament. Scott and his brother-in-law pitched in the $2000 tax-deductible donation to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for the opportunity to fish with me. Hopefully, we will be fishing out of my new Maverick Mirage HPX-T during the tourney…HINT HINT HINT Maverick…?
Capt. Rob Blake
www.redfishonfly.com
1-866-RED-DRUM Toll Free
1-321-633-0923 local
1-321-544-5041 cell
|
Capt. Rob Blake
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 07, 2002 - 11:04 am: | |
Subject: Mosquito Lagoon Report
Capt. Rob Blake’s fishing report from Florida’s Mosquito Lagoon and Upper Indian River-updated February 7th, 2002.
Unfortunately, there isn’t much to report this week. We are experiencing a lot of wind due to an approaching front. I’ve had one charter this past week and the catching was not so hot.
David Roberts Junior and Senior, from Orlando, joined me for a planned ¾ day trip on Mosquito Lagoon. We experienced a lot of fog, slight rain and wind to start the day. In the first four hours, we only got 2 rat reds and a couple of trout. Then the wind accelerated to over 25mph out of the north causing us to call the day early. The ride back across Tiger basin was not fun at all…once you get off the flats, the water gets rough real quick in the deeper areas. Needless to say, we were all soaked by the time we got back to the dock.
The weather has cooled off somewhat, but nothing like the first week of January. Look for the fish to turn on again after the next cold front passes through. January was an EPIC month for sightfishing, and hopefully that will continue in February.
Yes, the water levels are still very low. It will most likely be some time before it comes up to “comfortable” levels.
Next week, I hope to have more to report.
Capt. Rob Blake
www.redfishonfly.com
1-866-RED-DRUM Toll Free
1-321-633-0923 local
1-321-544-5041 cell
|
Capt. Mark Thomas
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, February 05, 2002 - 8:36 pm: | |
Subject: FlatsAction Fishing Report
Fishing Report
Date: 01.31.02
Temperature: Cool Mornings with Mild afternoons
Weather: Partly Cloudy Skies. Wind Variable
Water Conditions: Clear water with a temp mid 60's
Location: Mosquito Lagoon Anglers: January Charter Guest
January was off to a good start with the weather being remarkably mild this year and the fish seeming to cooperate well. The winter often brings extremely low water conditions and can create a feast or famine day on the flats. The first trip of the year however was a successful one with Mr. Bert Norris from Eustis landing several fish in top of the slot range. Bert is a solid angler with a strong passion for Redfish. His keen eye and quick reflexes allowed him to make the play with relative easy.
The next trip I made to the Lagoon was one that was well over due, my good friend Rob Hollander called out of the blue and wanted to fish. Rob and I have fished the lagoon many times with great success and the trip would prove to be just the same. We arrived at the first spot which we both agreed would be the place of choice for the day. Polling only a few hundred feet the water erupted with 75 to 100 Redfish, as we worked the school for the next 2 hours we pulled off 3 doubles, 2 triples, and several singles totaling some15 Redfish. The school finally figured us out and made themselves indivisible. We decided that this was a good opportunity to have some lunch and as we eating our lunch another school of 50 plus fish came up around the boat. This time the school had different shades of color black, gray and big. The big Black Drum had decided to join us for lunch, I quickly laid out a nice size shrimp and set the hook on a big Black drum fighting much like a Volkswagen he soon came boat side for a photo shoot and release. Rob and I for the next hour and half hooked 3 black Drum up to 40lbs. The Drum had decide they had had enough and instead of feeding they decided to drive us crazy giving us many shots with no success, that wrapped up the day.
I fished John Thompson from Colorado springs, he had never caught a Redfish much less one on fly. John is an accomplished fly fisherman and enjoys fishing the mountains but this time of year he appreciated the warmth and excellent weather Florida has to offer. John had shots at many tailing Redfish and finally got one to take one of my Nosan crab fly's. He told me at the end of the day that it really didn't matter to him if he caught one or ten it was a pleasure being on Mosquito Lagoon.
I took a day to myself and did some serious scouting, of course the day you need a caster on the bow is always a day when you don't have one. I ran the Inter costal water way from one end to the other. When I scout I don't necessarily fish the fish I find but when you have a school of 75 Black Drum and 25 Redfish running into your boat it is hard not to. Six Redfish and one Black Drum later I forced myself to leave. Burning those spots in my brain for my next charter.
My next trip I had one of my best clients and long time friend Mr. Bill Nosan. Bill and I have fished together for years and every trip is always a pleasure. Bill can cast a fly rod in any conditions and successful to say the least. Blessed with a bright blue day and no wind Bill had many shots at those Black drum with his own hand tied flies with no apparent appetites to be full filled. He resorted to a root beer colored DOA shrimp and was rewarded within minutes with a 13 lb Black Drum. We spent the rest of the day chasing single Redfish on the flats with a fly rod and cleaned up with 6 nice fish up to 28".
Closing the month out I fished Mr. Dave Overhaults from Miami Florida, even though they now have a good start on a Redfish population in the Bay. It is nothing like the Mosquito Lagoon. He said for the first time he looks forward to the drive to central Florida. Dave did not have the conditions he wanted but he did get the fish. Dave got shots at trailers in the morning and was broke of by a well oversized Redfish. The sun never showed up that day so I relied on my instinct and went to a place were I had found fish on overcast days before. I poled approximately a quarter mile into the back water. We approached our destination in stealth mode, I then planted the pole and we cast simultaneously. I saw Dave's line moving and told him not to set the hook but to hold on just a second more. Then as I suspected my line was moving as well, one - two - three we set up on a double and the water exploded with 50 plus Redfish we landed and released them. We repeated that exercise five more times landing 12 Redfish and losing four. Dave said, "This was the absolute best fishing day of his life", I was glad to be a part of it.
In conclusion January 2002 was the best first month of fishing in years. Florida's great winter weather and awesome fisheries is a combination that is hard to beat. Plan your next vacation, come to central FLorida and book a day on the flats with FlatsAction charters. I hope this report will make your next fishing trip a more successful one.
Tight Lines, Captain Mark Thomas
FlatsAction Charters
www.flatsaction.com |
Capt. Rob Blake
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2002 - 3:19 pm: | |
Subject: Mosquito Lagoon Report
Capt. Rob Blake’s fishing report from Florida’s Mosquito Lagoon and Upper Indian River-updated January 30, 2002.
Lesson number one for this week…DO NOT yawn while running 30 knots across the flats. I found myself in this very position this past week. It wasn’t the yawn that was so bad, but the unknown stinging insect that flew right into my mouth brought pain like I have never known before. Since I am here to write this report, I obviously didn’t suffer any allergic reactions to the intruder…but I did learn a lesson.
Lesson number two…if it looks like a gill net, it probably is. While running in early morning fog to the first stop of the morning, I noticed the telltale signs of an illegal net in Mosquito Lagoon. The net was stretched from the southern tip of Tiger Shoals to the entrance of Vans Slough…quite a long way. Nets of this type have been banned since the 1995 Net Ban, however there are some individuals who continue to use the cover of night and fog to illegally harvest redfish, trout, and black drum. If anglers suspect seeing an illegal net, please contact the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission at 1-(888) 404-3922 or #FWC (# 392) on cellular telephones.
The weather continued to heat up over the past week. It feels more like Spring than smack dab in the middle of winter…but don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining! The fishing continues to be fairly good. Although we didn’t have as many 20+ fish days this past week, anglers are getting their fair share of redfish, spotted seatrout, and a recent blitz of juvenile bluefish off the deeper edges.
Dennis Dickstein made a last minute decision to escape the rigors of real estate brokerage in his home state of Michigan and spent three full days with me on Mosquito Lagoon. Over the three-day period, we experienced very little sun and a lot of fog, some of which didn’t burn off until after 2pm. Sightfishing was difficult, but Dennis had the eye for subtle wakes and distant tails. His keen eyes paid off and had only one day of the three when he didn’t catch over ten reds. Dennis also got a mixed bag of spotted seatrout and bluefish. Nice casting Dennis!
My new Maverick Mirage HPX-T (Etheral Blue) has been ordered, as I mentioned in my last report, and I am like a kid waiting for Christmas to arrive. The folks at Maverick Boat Company have really put together a superbly constructed shallow water fishing machine. No part of the Mosquito Lagoon will be out of reach!
Capt. Rob Blake
www.redfishonfly.com
1-866-RED-DRUM Toll Free
1-321-633-0923 local
1-321-544-5041 cell
|
Capt. Rob Blake
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 22, 2002 - 11:15 am: | |
Subject: Mosquito Lagoon Report
Capt. Rob Blake’s fishing report from Florida’s Mosquito Lagoon and Upper Indian River-updated January 22, 2002.
The 80-degree temperatures were back this past week, and the fishing was hot to match. In most cases, even the “catching” was very hot! Read on…
Wednesday and Thursday I fished with Capt. Jack Brown of Beaufort, South Carolina. On our first day, Jack and his “new fishing hat” got an eyeful of reds. These fish were grouped up in a school of about 150 and absolutely would not leave a certain area of the flat we were on. Good casting into a 15mph breeze produced a hook-up on most every cast. Jack was even able to get out his brand-new 6 weight and break it in on a few reds. The school of fish was so cooperative that after 12 reds, we stopped fishing, staked out the skiff 40 feet from the school and ate lunch-what a show!
The next day brought slick calm conditions and mostly sunny skies. Rather than go harass the school we were on the day prior, we headed for new territory. The spot we poled into was full of reds from 18 to 30 inches. Some were schooled up, but most were singles and doubles cruising. By noon Jack had caught about 15 reds, all on fly. We made an agreement that we wouldn’t stop until we hit 20 reds on fly for the day. Within an hour, our goal was met. The total for the two day trip was 32 flyrod reds. A #2 shrimp pattern was used each day.
Although 20 fish days on fly are extremely rare, much of the success can be attributed to Jack’s fly-casting. Get out there and practice to prepare for your trip. Anyone planning to visit coastal South Carolina in the future should contact Capt. Jack Brown for some awesome redfish action. Capt. Jack Brown can be reached at 1-843-838-9369 or 1-843-271-0987 and his web address is:
http://www.coastaloutdoors.com/reports/jbrown.htm
Soft plastic jerkbaits have also been taking their share of reds and trout. Remember to slow your retrieve this time of year, especially after sustained periods of cold.
Saturday, Scott Davis and wife Angela from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida certainly caught their share of fish. Using spinning gear, they caught 27 reds from 18-27 inches in a half-day trip. Although the fish weren’t exceptionally large, the two enjoyed non-stop action.
Sunday, my girlfriend and I went out with friend Chris Paladino to do some fishing of our own. The weather was nasty…clouds, light rain, and wind hard out of the southwest. Despite this, my girlfriend caught 16 reds, Chris got 3, and I brought 2 to the boat. We even got a couple on fly.
Monday, Jim Pedrolini and his 5-year-old son Nick set out to get into some redfish action. They were a long way from their home in Connecticut, which is now experiencing massive snow. The morning started slow, but eventually we got onto fish. The father and son team caught 26 fish in 4 hours. Many were on the small side, but 5-year-old Nick wasn’t complaining. Good job, Nick!
Congratulations to Scott Jacobson on the purchase of his new boat (my 1999 Maverick Mirage HP). Scott has fished with me in the past and I’m sure will enjoy his new toy. The toughest thing for Scott is going to be waiting for my new 2002 Maverick Mirage HPX to arrive in about 6 weeks from the factory. Hang in there Scott!
Take a closer look at Rob’s new boat by visiting the Maverick Boat Company’s website. The link below will allow you to watch a very informative video about the most advanced shallow water boat in the world, the new Maverick Mirage HPX.
http://maverickboats.com/video_library/video_library.htm
By the way, the water levels are still very, very low. Again, please use caution when running anywhere east of the ICW.
Capt. Rob Blake
www.redfishonfly.com
1-866-RED-DRUM
|
Capt. Rob Blake
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 15, 2002 - 9:59 am: | |
Subject: Mosquito Lagoon Report
Capt. Rob Blake’s fishing report from Florida’s Mosquito Lagoon and Upper Indian River-updated January 15, 2002.
Brrrrrr! Would you believe that we have experienced temperatures in the 30s over the past week? I know it doesn’t sound like Florida, but it is true. Fortunately, the temperatures over the past few days have warmed to the 70s and beyond. When we get a string of warm sunny days between cold fronts, the reds and spotted seatrout come out in force.
Not only have the temperatures climbed, but also the wind at the end of last week fell to near zero for three days straight. Dream-like conditions for tailing redfish in the shallows.
Frank Polaner and son Augustus from Rome, Georgia experienced first hand what a flat full of tailing redfish looks like. Using ten-pound spinning gear, they sightcasted shrimp to tail after tail. In some cases, we were trying to figure out which fish was bigger by looking at the size of the tail. In slick calm conditions, your casting has to just about perfect. These guys got the job done by landing numerous (I lost count) fish in the 20-30” range.
Fly fisherman Ben Frederick from Key Largo, Florida also enjoyed slick, sunny conditions. Ben had over 50 good shots at reds in the shallows. Some were tailing, some cruising, but most just lazing around in the white sand potholes. Using a Sava Crab and DC Wiggler, Ben was able to coax 6 fish to inhale his handcrafted offering.
Water levels are fluctuating slightly, but are still very low…dangerously low in some interior areas. I would suspect it to remain low for some time, unless we get some fairly substantial rainfall. PLEASE do not run your boat in areas that are too shallow. Seagrasses in the Mosquito Lagoon are what keep our fishery alive and well, and scarring the grassflats with your prop does a significant amount of long term damage.
ATTENTION PAST CLIENTS: If you have emailed me your photos and don’t see them on my photos page for 2001, please check over the next week! My web guy will be updating the pictures and your pics should be on there! We caught some Giant trout at the beginning of December…wait until you see these photos!
Spring dates are starting to fill. Spring is normally the hottest time of the year to fish with giant schools of very hungry redfish. Book your date(s) early to get in on the action.
By the way, my boat (1999 Maverick Mirage HP) is for sale. Those of you that have fished with me know what a superb machine it is. Info and picture can be found at http://www.redfishonfly.com/The_Boat.htm Garage kept. Asking $19,000 or best offer.
Capt. Rob Blake
www.redfishonfly.com
1-866-RED-DRUM
321-633-0923 local
321-544-5041 cell
|
Capt.Mark Thomas
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 04, 2002 - 7:14 pm: | |
Subject: FlatsAction Fishing Report
Date: December 2001
Temperature: Cool and windy
Weather: varying from highs in the 70's to down in the low 40's
Water Conditions: Cooler water with early winter conditions
Location: Mosquito Lagoon
Anglers: December charter guest
December brought cooler weather, the holidays and great fishing!
Bill Nosan of New Smyrna beach got excellent conditions in the morning and managed to land four Redfish on fly with the Nosan crab fly and after the weather caved he got an additional four on DOA lures. Nosan is an excellent all around angler with an artist touch when casting the fly rod.
My good friend Capt. Chris Schaffer of Orlando teamed up with Nosan on a half day they landed five Redfish and a nice Trout on DOA lures. The Redfish were easily caught as we had lots of visibility but only a few targets. I hope to fishing with these guys again reel soon.
As I approached the dark moon phase the fish were feeding all day. Mr. Dan Krepps of Orlando had a slow start on a cold day, with no signs of fish until late morning. By noon Dan had set the hooks on four Redfish and all of which were at the top of the slot. After lunch we decided to go for a big one and found a small school of 36" fish. I new we would only get one maybe two shots at these fish. The first cast Dan set the hook on a good mid 30's fish only to get broken off at the boat.
Then Christmas was here and the holidays were booked solid. Scott Jacobs and his Father Daryl from Washington state stepped aboard and set out to sight fish for tailing Redfish. As I poled the first hundred yards I started seeing the flags fly and the tails were everywhere. My adrenaline was pumping, my heart was pounding, only to be denied time after time. The fish were slow, lethargic and even refused live shrimp. Three hours of tailing Redfish with only one taker, that made for a disappointing charter. A fly fisherman's dream and a spin casters nightmare. I am sure that a fly rod was the only ticket for success on that day.
The next day I set out with my fly rod in hand hoping for shots at half of the days previous fish. Mosquito Lagoon teaches the guides early, fish here today and gone tomorrow. The water level dropped and pushed the fish to deeper water, fortunately I was gifted with sun and visibility. The fish started appearing out of no where, I sighted a large Trout and cast to her, not moving, I was sure she would refuse me the catch to end the year, then she decided to eat. A Trout of this caliber was not something to take lightly so I played her with a surgeons hands careful not to give up any slack. She was 29 ½" long and weighing in at almost 9 lbs. A quick photo and I released her back into the Lagoon.
New Years Eve would yield the last catches of 2001 Mr. Bert Norris of Eustis Florida booked a full day of cold, clouds, light rain and lots of fish. The morning started out slow only casting to few tailing Redfish he set the hooks on two. Then we moved around to several spots with no success, then the light came on and we headed to spot I fish at last years end. I shut down and polled twenty yards and pushed a school of forty plus Redfish we cast and came up with our first double. We worked those fish for a solid hour pulling one or two out each time we got shots.The largest one being 34" and the smallest in the low twenty's. We fished until late afternoon when the wind stopped and the tails starting popping up, he had a few more shots but no takers. We hated to leave but we both new that 2001 fishing season was over.
I look forward to the upcoming 2002 fishing season and hope all your days on the water are successful whether you are fishing or just enjoying life.
Tight Lines,
Captain Mark Thomas
FlatsAction Charters
www.flatsaction.com |
Capt. Rob Blake
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, January 02, 2002 - 11:25 am: | |
Subject: Mosquito Lagoon Report
Capt. Rob Blake’s fishing report from Florida’s Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River-updated January 2, 2002.
Happy New Year!
The latter half of December brought a lot of wind and cloudy days to the waters of Mosquito Lagoon. Such adversity caused the cancellation of 5 trips throughout the 2-week period. Those who were able to get out and fish experienced varied success. The upside to this story is that we are finding a lot of fish, but enticing them to eat has sometimes been a challenge.
Shawn Walters and 13 year old son Lincoln had perfect conditions for the introduction of sightcasting to redfish during their half-day trip. Plenty of sunshine and very little wind allowed the father and son team to cast to schooling redfish and the singles sitting in potholes. Lincoln impressed me with his casting ability. I cant recall too many 13 year olds that can accurately cast to single reds AND catch them…good job Lincoln! He outfished his Dad as well!
Jim McKeown escaped the chill of the Northeast to try his hand at Mosquito Lagoon fly rod redfishing. While Jim was dressed in shorts and a light jacket, I was bundled up with three layers of clothing during the upper 40 degree morning. This day proved to be much windier than expected. The 10 mph Southwest winds quickly turned into 20+ mph and sent us looking for protected areas to fish. In the end, Jim came away with exactly one redfish caught on fly, and a dink trout as well.
Dana Packard of Rockledge, Florida got an eyeful of tailing fish early in the morning. She was able to pick three fish off in the 5 pound range by 8am. Afterwards, the sun finally came out and we were able to find groups of 10-15 fish laid up in the mud. With the sun out, seeing these fish was very easy from 50 feet or more. Dana hooked 9 more slot fish, each of which was tagged and released.
Jerry Davis trekked across the country from Manhattan Beach, California in search of redfish. Jerry hit paydirt during some of the worst sightfishing conditions of the month. Overcast skies, drizzling rain, and wind…what a combination for sightfishing! Besides all of this, Jerry was quick to spot the fish tailing and his first cast brought a 10-pound redfish boatside. Jerry was all smiles. For the remainder of the ¾ day trip, Jerry caught 7 more reds from 3 to 8 pounds in a foot of water.
There are times when adverse weather days will surprise you, and Jerry experienced this firsthand.
The water levels in Mosquito Lagoon have once again dropped drastically. Some of the interior areas are inaccessible for most boats. Please be careful. Better yet, don’t attempt to run in areas you are not 100% familiar with.
Fly fisherman…make a New Year’s resolution to practice your casting…your catch rate will increase dramatically.
Capt. Rob Blake
www.redfishonfly.com
1-866-RED-DRUM
321-633-0923 local
321-544-5041 cell
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Capt. Rob Blake
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, December 19, 2001 - 2:55 pm: | |
Subject: Mosquito Lagoon Report
This week's fishing report on the Mosquito Lagoon from Capt. Rob Blake updated December 19, 2001.
It looks like the 80-degree days are going to be over….for a while at least. Temperatures have cooled to the upper 60s and a taste of Florida winter is on the way. Not to fear-this is a good thing for the fishing. If you can get out on the water between the blustery conditions, you are sure to find hordes of redfish and the biggest seatrout in the skinniest of water. With the recent warm weather, some areas of the Mosquito Lagoon have clouded up a bit. We even saw the return of summertime phosphorescence over the past two weeks. The cooler weather should clear things right up in the short term.
Despite the warm December thus far, we are still finding redfish throughout the day. Some days are more productive than others, but the anglers are getting plenty of shots at some very nice size (some to 36+ inches) redfish on the flats. Look for more schooling fish after this next cold front!
Paul Mason and Dan Macmillan fished with me on Tuesday of last week. Despite a late start, Dan and Paul did not go away disappointed. Dan caught his first spotted seatrout…a 9-pound gator in a foot of water. He was using a soft plastic jerkbait and casting over the potholes. Dan later caught another very respectable 4-pound trout. Paul and Dan later sightcasted to reds using live shrimp and ended the day with smiles all around.
On Saturday, Pete Fleming opted to duck hunt in the morning and meet up with me on the water around 10am for some fly-fishing. The day started out wonderfully with slick calm conditions. The fish, however, were very finicky. Pete had numerous shots at some nice sized reds, but the wind came up out of the NE at 20+ mph and we were forced to call it early. Fly fishing certainly does not produce the number of catches that spin fisherman get, but the satisfaction of fooling them with the long rod can’t be beat!
Monday I scouted out the north Indian River and found loads of spotted seatrout in the 20-inch range willing to eat soft plastics and just about any fly you threw. Most of these fish were hanging around larger bait pods of mullet. Later in the morning I found some small schools of very large black drum sunning themselves on the flats. These fish were all over 40 pounds, and I saw one that had to go about 60-70 pounds. These fish are extremely hard to fool with a fly, but I tried for 3 hours anyway. I came up empty. Anglers using bait/crab probably would have done better…what a sight!
Happy Holidays to all!
Capt. Rob Blake
www.redfishonfly.com
1-866-RED-DRUM
321-633-0923
321-544-5041
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