The month of May brought continued great fishing the east central Florida. Schools of big redfish have been showing consistently and reds of all sizes are feeding on the wide variety of baitfish that have arrived this month. Trout, ladyfish, a few tarpon, and even some bluefish are feeding around the schools of bait as well. With the summer just around the corner, the tarpon fishing will only get better each day. For the light tackle anglers, use lures imitating baitfish such as the DOA CAL jigs, spinnerbaits, and surface lures. Fly fishermen will have success with pinfish and mullet flies or bendback streamers.
On his first fly fishing trip to Mosquito Lagoon, Joe, who was visiting from Great Britain, wanted to catch a redfish on the fly. The breezy conditions made casting a bit of a challenge but his persistence was finally rewarded with redfish that took a brown and copper bendback fly.
The following day, Cam and Adam joined me on the flats. Cam started with the flyrod and had shots at some redfish over twenty pounds as well as plenty of average sized fish. Adam hooked into a huge redfish on the spinning rod but the hook pulled halfway through the fight. As the winds increased, both guys switched to spin tackle and landed redfish on DOA CAL tails.
Tom and his wife were on board for space shuttle launch day. We saw plenty of fish but caught only one. Much of the day was spent viewing manatees, birds, and the final launch of the shuttle Atlantis.
Doug fished with me last week on an instructional charter. He cast a variety of lures at redfish throughout the day and had the best success using a spinnerbait.
Paige and Garrett had a great day last Friday catching numerous trout and ladyfish using a DOA Deadly Combo as ell as a 3 inch CAL tail on a jig head. We had multiple shots at redfish and Paige connected with a 34 inch fish.
Monday, I went out searching for some early season tarpon after having seen several during my charters. I only saw twenty or so and had shots at a couple that did not eat. I expect the tarpon fishing to be getting much better soon.
Tuesday, Gary wanted his wife to catch a big fish. We had storms around us much of the morning but managed to stay dry. The day was a success when Janet caught the fish of the month, a 33 pound redfish. Gary caught a couple himself and all were released to be caught again another day.
Cindy and Jeff had an excellent day yesterday landing six redfish to 13 pounds.
For some excellent light tackle action, watch for schools of mullet getting blasted along the deeper edges of flats. Ladyfish, trout, jacks, bluefish, and even tarpon can be under them. When these fish get into a feeding frenzy, they will eat nearly everything you cast at them. A noisy surface plug with a single circle hook can provide some fast catch and release action for anglers of any skill level.
Upcoming Seminars
Beginning on Saturday, May 29, Capt. Tom Van Horn and I will be starting our inshore saltwater fishing series at Mosquito Creek Outdoors. The first class will be Introduction to Flats Fishing. This monthly series will cover all aspects of inshore saltwater fishing. The classes are free and no registration is required.
May 29th - Flats Fishing Techniques
June 26th - Lines Leader & Knots
July 10th - Hard Baits
August 7th - Soft Plastics
September 18th - Natural & Live Bait
October 23rd- Fishing Tactics
November 20th - Paddle Fishing
All Mosquito Creek Fishing Clinics are Free and entire families are welcome.
Clinics begin at 10:00 AM in the Mosquito Creek "Outback" Paddle Sport Camping and Fishing Center and last approximately 2 hours.
June 12, I will be at the Coastal Angler Magazine Fishing and Boating Expo at Boaters Exchange in Rockledge. I will be speaking about Sight Fishing the Flats and How to Use DOA Lures. Other speakers include Capt. Keith Kalbfleisch, Capt. John Kumiski, and others. View details at http://boatersexchange.com/content08.asp?nav=145073&
Video How to Series
I have begun posting some instructional videos on YouTube on fishing the flats. I will be adding to this series as time permits. I will be choosing topics from issues I see affecting anglers success on a regular basis. If you have any suggestions for future episodes, send me an email. You can see the first two videos and subscribe to the series here -
Saltwater Fly Casting - Quick Cast
Casting and Presenting the DOA Shrimp on the Flats
State of the Seatrout
This winter's freeze did not appear to damage the red or black drum populations. It did, however, havea negative affect on the seatrout. I personally saw many large trout dead in January. This time of year, it should be easy to catch dozens of trout each day along the edges of the flats. While you can still find just the right spot and catch numerous fish, many places that are normally hold trout consistently have little or no fish. Huge trout should be on the shallow flats in numbers right now. We see only a few trophy trout per day. This leads me to believe that the damage the trout population sustained in Mosquito Lagoon was very significant. Unfortunately, I still see people each week keeping each trout they can. I would encourage all anglers to help the trout stock rebound by practicing catch and release and using barbless hooks and a dehooking tool.
Capt. Chris Myers
Central Florida Sight Fishing Charters
http://www.floridafishinglessons.com/
321-229-2848
No comments:
Post a Comment