Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report
The first day of the new year has brought with it some high winds and cool temperatures. My clients for today decided to cancel and try again tomorrow giving me a chance to catch up on some work at home.
Water levels in the Mosquito Lagoon are lower than they have been all of last year. The warm temperatures as of late have kept the water from the mid 60's to over 70 on most days. This spell of warmer weather has seemed to push many of the large trout off the shallow flats though we have still seen some each day. As soon as the cooler weather returns, look for the trophy trout to reappear.
Redfish are in their winter schooling mode which means there are not as many single fish roaming the flats. Casting at schools increase your chances at a hookup but if you cannot find the schools, you may cover a lot of water and see very few fish. Again, since the water has warmed up, the redfish have not been tailing nearly as well as they were at the beginning of last month. Just because you do not see them tailing does not mean they will not eat a well placed bait or fly.
A couple weeks ago, my wife and I spent several days in the mountains of north Georgia. We took a trip with a guide on the Soquee River to do some fly fishing for rainbow trout, a first for both of us. We landed 8 nice fish and lost many more.
On the 23rd, Dan, a local resident, wanted to show his guest from Louisiana the Mosquito Lagoon. Unfortunately, the winds blew over 20 the entire day and fishing was tough. We saw very few fish and only caught a couple trout.
On Christmas Eve, I was joined by a father and son team from Alabama. We had great weather throughout the morning. Our first spot produced tons of tailing redfish and a few black drum. They did not get a lure in front of the fish but had fun trying. Our next few spots all held schools of redfish and John was able to hook up with his first redfish.
My wife and I made a trip to Mosquito Lagoon this Monday. I used a black crab fly to hook up with a black drum right after Julie landed one on a spinning rod. We checked several spots I had not visited in a while and only found scattered reds and trout. I got two reds on a DOA shrimp and another on a bendback fly. After much searching, we found an area holding numerous large seatrout. While we saw some much bigger than we caught, I was able to complete the slam on fly and a couple more came on DOA CAL's.
Tuesday, Jim and his wife Sandra enjoyed a beautiful Florida winter day on Mosquito Lagoon. We started the day fishing a school of black drum. Sandra brought the first fish of the day to the boat.
Jim hooked up a few minutes later and followed with a second drum after that. The flat became crowded with boats so we moved on in search of other fish. We found an area holding multiple schools of redfish. Jim caught a couple reds but the schools were spooky and tough to keep up with. We made a move and Sandra landed two redfish of her own. Seeking to complete the slam, we went searching for trout. Sandra used a DOA Deadly Combo to catch a few trout before we called it a day.
Wednesday, it was significantly cooler as I headed out with the brother and sister team of Jim and Juanita. A few minutes after we started fishing, Jim landed a black drum. Juanita soon had one on but the hook pulled. We went in search of redfish and had a tough time finding some as the wind began to increase. Both Jim and Juanita caught a redfish before the school vanished.
With the high winds, we elected to try fishing some deeper water fro trout. Using a Deadly Combo as well as 3 inch CAL tails, they caught and released about 15-20 trout.The holiday crowds will be gone in a few days and the fish should get a chance to settle down a bit. The water will cool soon and the redfish and drum will happily tailing on the flats.
In closing, I would like to thank all of those that have fished with me during 2008. I hope you enjoyed your time of Mosquito Lagoon as much as I enjoyed showing you my awesome office. Happy New Year and I hope to see you again soon.Try something new in the New Year
When fishing this year, why not try something new or different. You may find there are ways of doing things that will help you catch more fish or add new excitement to your trips. For example, I find that many anglers still do not fish with braided line. Not fishing with braid is like using a typewriter instead of a computer. Thinking about trying fly fishing? There is no better time than now. Pick up that rod that's been sitting in your garage and get out and use it. Try fishing with barbless hooks. It might be scary at first but it works and makes releasing fish much easier. Learn a few knots and see if they work better than the ones you are used to. Go fishing without bait. Plastics and flies work just as well once you learn how to use them properly. They are easier to maintain and save money as well.
Winter Flats Kits
Mosquito Creek Outdoors still has some Winter Flats Fishing Kits available. I had them put together an assortment of my favorite lures is a single kit. Buy the kit and save on the cost of purchasing the items separately. Visit the store or call the store at 800-250-5191 and have the Capt. Chris Myers winter fishing kit sent to your door.
Capt. Chris Myers
Central Florida Sight Fishing Charters
http://www.floridafishinglessons.com/
321-229-2848
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