Summer has continued to bring some outstanding fishing to east central Florida. Large
redfish, big
tarpon, and plenty of
trout have made for some great days of catching in the
Mosquito Lagoon and
Indian River.With water levels still extremely low last week, the fish were concentrated and the redfish action was about as good as it gets.
Last Monday, I was joined by Bob and his two sons, Tyler and Matt. Within ten minutes of leaving the ramp, 15 year old Matt was hooked up to a twenty pound
redfish.
Bob also hooked a big fish but his line broke when it was struck by another fish in the school. We located another school of smaller fish and both Bob and Tyler got in on the action.
We changed gears and tried some
trout fishing and everyone caught a bunch of trout on the
DOA Deadly Combo and a
CAL tail/jig combo. Around noon, we went back to see if we could locate the big redfish again. We found them and Bob hooked up with two more giants only to have them both break off.
Wednesday was a trip with Ed and his friend Dave. These guys were bass fishermen taking their first trip to Mosquito Lagoon. We found some big
redfish finning on the surface at dawn. Dave cast a
Baitbuster to the school and had a redfish charge his bait but miss. The school spooked and we could not find them again. Fortunately, there were plenty of other hungry fish nearby. The guys landed four and lost a few others with a copper crush CAL tail proving to be the most effective.
As the morning progressed, we came upon dozens of tailing and finning reds in very shallow water. The fish were clearly feeding but were extremely spooky. Extreme stealth and very accurate casts were needed to be effective. They had consistent shots the rest of the morning and landed two more reds. The weather was so nice when I dropped them off at the ramp, I elected to go back out and get in on some of the action myself. I started off landing a 39 inch redfish and then tried using the
DOA Tough Guy for some larger trout. This soft plastic pinfish replica fooled three trout over 24 inches. I switched over to a shallow running
Baitbuster and caught four more redfish from 27-34 inches by skimming the bait on the surface.
Wednesday was a
fly fishing charter with Bob from South Carolina. His goal was to improve his fly casting and hopefully catch a few fish. For the first four hours, Bob had almost non-stop shots at tailing and cruising fish in very shallow water. There were singles as well as schools prowling through thick grass searching for food. While flies effectively imitate the food they are searching for, their size means it is necessary to have your offering within inches of the fish's nose. Too far away and they will not see it, too close and they spook. Bob had fun trying but found his accuracy a bit less than was needed. I suggested we move out to some deeper water and get him a few trout to bend the rod. He used a
clouser minnow to catch a dozen or so small trout and ladyfish. We stopped and had a casting class and Bob's cast improved significantly. The next spot was holding several schools of redfish and Bob landed two on a
redfish toad fly. I suggested we search for some bigger redfish and Bob agreed. The first fish he hooked was not a big one but it willingly ate the
EP mullet fly he offered.
We found some bigger fish but the wind had picked up making fly casting difficult. I suggested Bob try the spinning rod and tied on a Baitbuster. Bob proceeded to catch five reds all over 28 inches and had some spectacular surface bites to end the day.
Friday, I filmed the pilot to a new fishing show coming out this fall. My co-host was Capt. Tom Van Horn. I began the day early, before the camera crew and Capt. Tom arrived. I found some rolling
tarpon and my first cast with a black and gold
Baitbuster was eaten my a fish around 60 pounds. I was bringing the fish boatside just as the cameras arrived. As luck would have it, all the happy tailing and finning fish that had been around all week were gone and we struggled to find fish all morning. We finally managed to find quite a few as time was running out and caught a few for the show.
Saturday, Andrew wanted to go fishing for his 11th birthday. He began the day by catching his first ever redfish which measured 30 inches.
Andrew said he wanted to go trout fishing so that's what we did. He caught a few trout and then had a fly casting lesson. After a few more trout on the spinning rod, he managed to land a few on the fly rod. Back to the spinning rod for a competition against his dad. They both used the Deadly Combo to catch at least 25 trout with Andrew squeaking out a victory.
I spent four days this week searching for
tarpon. Monday, I fished in
Melbourne. The fishing was slow with only one small tarpon, a few trout and a couple
snapper all on the holographic shrimp. Wednesday, I found some large
tarpon in the
Indian River. I cast a Baitbuster to rolling fish and had ten bites hooking 6 over 70 pounds. I returned to the same spot the next day only to find the wind howling and few fish rolling. I had only four good shots but landed one around 75 pounds. Friday, the weather was even worse. I drove 40 miles searching for them and only saw four the whole day. I ended up targeting
snook and caught 8 on the holographic shrimp.
Yesterday was the toughest day of fishing in the last two weeks. The water had risen over six inches in the past three days allowing the fish to spread out. We found plenty of big fish at our first stop but my anglers had a tough time getting a bait in front of them. We found redfish and big trout at three out of our next four spots and even had a couple bites with missed hooksets. We ended up getting shut out for the day.
The next few months will present the best opportunity to catch a
grand slam in the Mosquito Lagoon or Indian River. Catching a redfish, trout, tarpon, and snook all in one day is definitely not out of the question. Being prepared with the proper rods, leaders, and lures is the key to success.
Tip of the Week - Using Scented BaitsQuite frequently, I am asked if I use the scented soft plastic baits. My answer is "no". I use my soft plastcis as a sight fishing tool. I see the fish and cast in front of them. When the fish see the lure, they have to make an immediate decision to either attack and eat it, or do the other way. The fish do not have time to sniff the lure and decide if it smells good. What I cannot do with my lures is throw them out and let them sit still and wait for a bite. While you can do this with the scented plastics, it is cheaper and more effective to get natural bait if that is your fishing style. In a sight fishing situation, I have not noticed an improved bite by using a scented lure or a scent spray or gel. All platsic baits are going to fall prey to puffers and pinfish. Losing baits that can cost as much as $1 each adds up quickly.
Tarpon Update While they wre somewhat inconsistent this week, there were big
tarpon to be found in the
Indian River and
Mosquito Lagoon the last two weeks. Some of these fish are over 100 pounds. If you hook them just right, you may get away with a leader as small as 40 pounds. For a better chance, use leader of 80 pounds. You can catch these fish with live baits but you will be constantly be battleing the many sailfin catfish and large ladyfish that are in the same locations as the tarpon. A more effective strategy is to cast a
baitbuster or
TerrorEyz in front of rolling fish. Blind casting will attract the catfish and ladyfish. Look for these fish in the main channel throughout the Lagoon system. While the fish will strike plugs, if you hook on, you then have the task of removing multiple treble hooks from a large angry fish. Remember large tarpon cannot be removed from the water without possessing a kill tag.
Capt. Chris MyersCentral Florida Sight Fishing Chartershttp://www.floridafishinglessons.com/321-229-2848
