Crappie Masters National Championship

Mosquito Creek Outdoors Indian River Lagoon Coast

Fishing Report, October 19, 2008

By Captain Tom Van Horn

As the harvest moon wanes and the sweet pungent fragrance of night blooming Jasmine fills the night air, fall has finely arrived blessing us with gorgeous cool crisp breezy days. Fall is my favorite time of the year to be outdoors and to fish in Central Florida. The mullet are still thick in most areas of the lagoon, so concentrate your efforts focusing on nervous and pressures bait pods.

While the weather is showing signs of improvement, high water levels remain in the lagoons, lakes, and rivers. Accompanying the high water are dirty and weedy conditions, which makes for some tough sight fishing conditions. Another complication is always the wind; witch will remain consistent from the east between fronts. Most of the fishing reports I've received this week have been mixed, with the reports of significant action coming from anglers fishing in and around the Inlets.


A spider rig.

Although I did not fish saltwater this week, my schedule was filled with fishing adventure as I was invited to cover the Crappie Masters National Championship on the Harris Chain of Lakes in Tavares Florida. As a member of the Florida Outdoor Writers Association, I was honored to work the event.

Never in my life did I think catching a pan fish would be so exciting, but after attending this event, I'm tempted to sell the flats boat and retire to the professional crappie trail. The four day event started with a boat parade through the streets of Tavares after registration followed by a media fishing tournament the next day.


The two day tournament consisted of over 150 two person teams fishing eight rods at a time with a total weigh in of the seven heaviest fish. The system they fish is called spider rig, and the teams are allowed to fish with both live and artificial baits. In January, the Crappie Masters will return to Central Florida with two tournaments. The first is on the 23rd and 24th on the Harris Chain, and the second is on the 30th and 31st is on Lake Monroe in Seminole County. For more details, visit the Crappie Masters website at www.crappiemasters.net.

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
www.irl-fishing.com
407-416-1187 on the water
407-366-8085 Office