Monday, November 23, 2009

Sebastian Flounder Wait For Cooler Water


Mosquito Creek Outdoors Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report,
November 21, 2009


By Captain Tom Van Horn

First and foremost, I would like to wish everyone a joyful Thanksgiving holiday. Although times are tough, I have many blessing to be thankful for, great family, good friends, and fun jobs, and let us not forget those brave men and woman here and abroad, protecting our freedoms, God Bless.

Up Coming Events:
The First Annual Coastal Angler Magazine Orlando's Fishing, Boating and Outdoor Fall Festival will be held on November 28th from 11am to 6 pm at the Barn in Sanford, Florida on Hwy 1792. The one day event is a fund raiser for Anglers For Conservation " Hook Kids on Fishing Program" and it features seminars by our areas leading anglers, new boats, over 40 venders, food by Fish on Fire, fun and games for both kids and adults, and a kid's adventure area provided by Jungle Adventures from Christmas Florida. In addition to the fun, food, seminars and games, over 5000.00 in raffle prizes will be awarded. So please consider supporting this event and the AFC, and I will see you there. The cost is 5.00 at the gate and there is a 2.00 off coupon in November's Coastal Angler Magazine Orlando. For more details visit the Coastal Angler Magazine website and click on the Fall Festival banner at www.coastalanglermagazine.com. Also contact me if you would like to volunteer at the event.

The Orlando Kayak Fishing Club meeting will be held on December 1st at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Avenue in Apopka Florida from 7 - 9pm. The guest speaker is renowned fishing guide and author Captain Ron Presley who will be discussing his latest book "Secrets of Florida's Master Anglers". In Captain Ron's book, he ask 20 of Florida's top professional fishing guides statewide focused questions about fishing and conservation, and he has assemble their answers into an easy to read and enjoyable manuscript loaded with tips and information from 20 different Captains including myself. For more details and directions to Mosquito Creek Outdoors, visit their website at www.mosquitocreek.com/fishing.

On December 12th, Anglers For Conservation (AFC) will be conducting the Conservation Angler Certification Class at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Avenue in Apopka, Florida. The free event will run from 10am - noon, and the instructors are Captains Rodney Smith, Chris Myers, John Kumiski, and Tom Van Horn. This class will provide anglers with instruction on conservation, boat operations, fish and wildlife handling, good ethics, and leaving a lighter footprint while enjoying the value of our angling and outdoor resources here in Florida. For more details and directions to Mosquito Creek Outdoors, visit their website at www.mosquitocreek.com/fishing.

In 1982 my wife Sandi and I purchased a timeshare apartment in Sebastian, Florida, and 26 years later we're still enjoying our annual one week adventure in Fish Heaven. Life is good while living in paradise, and that is where my adventures carried me last week. You never know what to expect from year to year in late November as weather conditions apply. Over the years we've experienced hard freezes, tropical storms, rainy and windy frontal conditions, and of course, absolutely gorgeous weeks like the one past. In addition to great fishing, it is always pleasurable to see and fish with old and new friends and past clients.

Another challenging event that also varies from year to year is the flounder run. On some years we've loaded the boat and on others, like this year, there were no flat fish to be found. Out of 5 days on the water, we targeted flounder at one point each day, and I only witnessed one small flounder caught. Apparently, our warm fall has not cooled the water temperature enough to trigger the run, so you flounder pounders out there should stay tuned, and maybe the next cold front will trigger the run.

Although the flounder fishing was meager, there is always something to catch at Sebastian as we averaged 40 fish days all week. Our best action came from tossing DOA Shrimp and 12 Fathom swim tails on ¼ ounce jigs with Woodies Rattles at first light in the area of spoil islands along the ICW. We would set start our drift upwind of the islands and we found good numbers of sea trout up to 5 pounds, small redfish, black drum, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, jacks, and ladyfish in close. We also witnessed a good number of pompano skipping around the islands, but we never got any to eat. All in all it was a great week of fishing, and I'm already fantasizing about my return next November.

As always, if you need information or have any questions, please contact me.

Good luck and good fishing,

Captain Tom Van Horn
www.irl-fishing.com
407-416-1187 on the water
407-366-8085 land line


Visit www.mosquitocreekoutdoors.com/fishing for your outdoor adventure needs, its Where the Adventure Begins!

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