Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report, November 29, 2007
Compliments of Mosquito Creek Outdoors, Apopka Florida
After an agonizing week off of the water due to an illness, I was chomping at the bit to relax and stretch some line. The day was last Friday and a cold front was pushing through Central Florida. Although we have had a bit of cooler weather this fall, we have been experience warmer than normal condition and the situation was perfect for a pre frontal sea trout bite.
Over the years, I only managed to hit it right a handful of times, but when the barometer shifts on an approaching cold front the bite sometimes goes ballistic, and this was the case last week. We launched about 730 AM facing cloudy skies and a light northwest breeze of about 5 knots, with the anticipation of a northerly shift in direction and speed once the front past through. As I polled my modified Indian River Canoe into the Banana River No-Motor Zone, my long time fishing buddy Mike Murray blind cast a ¼ ounce gold Captain Mikes spoon from the casting seat in the bow. We started out throwing soft plastic jerk baits, but the puffers were relentless, so I switched Mike to the spoon. As we worked our way along the flat, Mike's first hookup was a lower slot redfish, and then he caught a puffer, but that was it for the first several hours.
Compliments of Mosquito Creek Outdoors, Apopka Florida
After an agonizing week off of the water due to an illness, I was chomping at the bit to relax and stretch some line. The day was last Friday and a cold front was pushing through Central Florida. Although we have had a bit of cooler weather this fall, we have been experience warmer than normal condition and the situation was perfect for a pre frontal sea trout bite.
Over the years, I only managed to hit it right a handful of times, but when the barometer shifts on an approaching cold front the bite sometimes goes ballistic, and this was the case last week. We launched about 730 AM facing cloudy skies and a light northwest breeze of about 5 knots, with the anticipation of a northerly shift in direction and speed once the front past through. As I polled my modified Indian River Canoe into the Banana River No-Motor Zone, my long time fishing buddy Mike Murray blind cast a ¼ ounce gold Captain Mikes spoon from the casting seat in the bow. We started out throwing soft plastic jerk baits, but the puffers were relentless, so I switched Mike to the spoon. As we worked our way along the flat, Mike's first hookup was a lower slot redfish, and then he caught a puffer, but that was it for the first several hours.
As we worked our way deeper into the Zone, I spotted a concentrated area of nervous baitfish in about 18-inches of water, so I staked out the boat and began working a RipTide Morning Glory (dark color) Flats Chub on a #4 Woodies Rattle hook quickly across the top of the water twitching it in a walk-the-dog style to keep the puffers at bay. Within the first 10 feet of water covered, a huge sea trout exploded on the bait, and the fight was on. Mike was still throwing the spoon, but after my third large trout on consecutive cast, I switched Mike over to the same bait, and the game was on.
It didn't mater which direction we threw the lure we had a fish on almost every cast, and when it was all said and done we had 28 sea trout, 2 redfish, and 1 jack between us, with some sea trout reaching the six to seven pound range. After about an hour of catching fish on the Flats Chubs, Mike wadded up his line with a huge birds nest and instead of burning time messing with the knot, he switched rods and started casting a RipTide 3" red/white mullet on a 1/8 ounce screw jig which worked equally as well, only smaller fish. All total, the frenzy lasted a little over an hour, and once the front pushed through and the wind picked up, the bite turned off as quickly as it started.
Yesterday, I returned to the same flat, but on this occasion I had the great pleasure of fishing with Willie Howard, Staff Writer for the Palm Beach Post, and my good friend Captain Rodney smith. The wind and weather conditions were about the same as last week, so on Rodney's advice, we started fishing off of the beach. We started out throwing the RipTide 3" mullet (Red/White) on a ½ ounce RipTide Screw Jig with a Woodies Rattle Capsule inserted into the bait. The tide was low and incoming, and we commenced to catch fish one after another, losing count. After about two hours, we had managed a good number of jack crevalle, bluefish, spotted sea trout, and one 24" snook, and to also wipe out my stash of jig heads.
Next we launch on the east shore of the Zone and I polled the canoe north until Willie started catching fish. On this occasion the bite was a bit slower, and the most productive bait was top water plugs. It's hard to fathom trout readily striking top water plugs at the end of November, but warm weather has prevailed. The plugs of choice were red/white Skitter Walks and Spook Juniors (Lures for the Cure) and overall the trout were smaller than those caught last week.
As always, if you have any questions or need more information, please contact me.Good luck and good fishing,
Captain Tom Van Horn
Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters
http://www.irl-fishing.com/
captain@irl-fishing.com
407-366-8085 landline
407-416-1187 on the water
866-790-8081 toll free
Visit http://www.mosquitocreekoutdoors.com/
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The moral of this sorry saga is simple: “if the fishing is bad and your guide has gone mad, don’t take it personally. If you could’ve seen it yesterday, you’d know what a difference a day can make!”
Monday morning, I hit the flats of Mosquito Lagoon with my friend Paul. We were pleased to find clean water and plenty of redfish. I was also pleased to discover the redfish will eat a purple worm.With the water temperature now in the 60's and seeing much less mullet on the flats, I tied on a DOA shrimp in morning glory, another new color which is mostly black with a chartreuse tail. I spotted a redfish and cast out the shrimp only to have an unseen trout of about 24" race over and grab it before the redfish could. Paul used a 4 inch CAL in gold flake to fool a redfish before we changed locations. We encountered some large black drum that had no desire to play tug of war with us even though we spent a significant amount of time trying. We ended up catching a few more redfish on various color CAL's before calling it a day.Tuesday, Jerry, from England, joined me in Mosquito Lagoon for another beautiful day. This was Jerry's first time sight fishing for redfish. Throughout the morning, we saw dozens of fish in both schools and singles cruising the shallow flats. Although he learned to sot the fish quickly, it took him a bit of time to get into the habit of leading the fish with the lure. We went to check out the black drum but, just as the previous day, they would show themselves briefly and then vanish into deeper water. At our third spot, Jerry caught a redfish and then followed up with a nice trout on a 5 inch DOA CAL in golden bream with a Woodies rattle.Jerry had several more bites from redfish that ran at the boat and spit the hook before he could get it set. In all, it was a successful day for his first attempt at sight fishing.Wednesday, local anglers Al and Sallie joined me in the Mosquito Lagoon. This husband and wife team wanted to learn more about sight fishing for redfish and we did just that the entire day. While they had fun casting to a steady supply of redfish, I was kept entertained by their friendly verbal judo over who was more proficient at precision casting and who caught the bigger fish. While we waited for the sun to climb high enough to allow us to see the fish, Al and Sallie cast to sand holes and grass edges with 5 inch CALs. Al stuck first with a trout and Sallie followed up a short time later with a bigger trout that shook free at boat side. When the sun got up, we started seeing redfish and the competition really heated up. After some adrenaline induced misses, they both managed to catch their first redfish while sight fishing. Al got his on a melonback CAL and Sallie's came on a greene back. As for who caught the bigger fish, I will leave that to them to tell. I suspect their stories will differ.
In addition to plenty of redfish, the improved water quality and clear weather brought plenty of large trout to the shallow sand holes. Trout season is catch and release only through the end of the year in east central Florida. All the very large trout are females and should be handled with care.
This Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, I will be at the Coastal Angler Magazine Fishing and Boating Expo at the Volusia County Fairgrounds on Hwy 44 just east of I-4. Capt Tom Van Horn and I will be at the Mosquito Creek Outdoors Angler Improvement Clinic Center. We will have coupons and lure samples for those who participate in the clinics. Friday, admission is free. A coupon for discount admission is available on the Coastal Angler Magazine Website 
Snook have been eating mostly on those outgoing tides but always be prepared for a hungry Snook to strike when you least expect it. They are responding most to the Greenbacks freelined or corked along the deeper edges near oyster bars and seawalls. Docks along the main shore are starting to hold good numbers of Snook. They are preparing to head east when the temps get even cooler. I don't fish for the Snook through winter, giving them a break while they try to survive in the cold waters. However, there is plenty of time to still get a few before the end of their season, November 30th.
Trout are starting to gather well along the spoil islands and are still on the flats where the water pours in and out from the gulf. Small plastic tails and greenbacks alike have been getting eaten by these guys. Somedays it is possible to catch over 50 Trout in a short period. The bigger Gator Mouth Trout are starting to show but the majority are the usual 15 - 18 inchers. Smaller Sardines floated under a cork on the grass flats can often draw several Trout to strike at the same bait. Be careful releasing any Trout. they are very fragile, especially as the water temps drop. Handle only when necessary and always wet your hands first to prevent removing their protective slime. Well that is the report for now. Going into the cooler months we should see clear skies and even clearer water. Have no fear, the fishing is fun even on the cold days! Please book now for Thanksgiving week!
Next we have plug tackle, which is very popular with bass fishermen and was my rod and reel of choice for many years. Plug tackle is great for plugging a shoreline and casting accurately to a tree line. Finally we have fly rods and reels. Fly fishing has become very popular in recent years and is without a doubt the most challenging form of shallow water angling. Nothing beats catching a big Snook on fly; however, fly tackle requires skill and patience. By the way, I am an avid fly fisher.
Let's talk about what works best for most anglers and the two rod and reel combinations I recommend for most fish. Without reservation I recommend spinning tackle. Spinning rods work best for almost any skill level and they can handle a wide variety of lures and natural baits. You can take on big fish even with light rods. -->So, what are the two choices? The first rod and reel combination I always carry is a 6'6" medium action spinning rod with an appropriately sized reel. This rod should be capable of casting lures from 1/4 to 1/2 oz. and should handle line from 8-17 lb. test. I recommend the SS66- M Wade Fisher by Falcon Rods equipped with a Shimano Stradic 2500FH reel. I spool the reel with 6 lb. diameter, 20 lb. test braid line.
This is the rod I utilize for jigs, plugs and soft plastic baits. We have landed big Snook and Reds on this rod and reel combination. My second choice is a 7'6" medium action spinning rod with an appropriately sized reel. This rod should be capable of casting lures from 1/4 to 3/4 oz. and handle line from 10-20 lb. test. I recommend the SS76- M Medium Gulf Spin by Falcon Rods equipped with a Shimano Stradic 5000FH reel. I spool the reel with 8 lb. diameter, 30 lb. test braid line. This is my go-to rod and reel combination for live baiting and jigging on the shallow wrecks. 
I have successfully caught large Snook, Tarpon and Permit on this rod and reel combination. These two spinning combinations will handle everything but large Sharks, Tarpon and Permit and they won't break the bank doing it.