Winds Make Fishing Tough

Mosquito Creek Outdoors Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report, November 6, 2009

By Captain Tom Van Horn

I wish I could tell you fishing has been great this week along the Indian River Lagoon Coast, but that would be stretching the truth instead of stretching a line. Fall weather has settled in with windy conditions predicted for the next five days.
High north an easterly winds, 15 to 20 knots, have blown out any chances of safely fishing offshore where 6 foot seas were registering at the 20-mile buoy. Before the blow, anglers out of Port Canaveral where finding dolphin and sailfish around bait pods in 160 to 200 feet of water, that is if they were willing to challenge the tough conditions. I also heard a few reports of some nice snapper and a few kingfish being caught on the near-shore reefs and wrecks and around structure in 70 to 90 feet of water. Also, some free swimming cobia were reported on the shoals off of the Cape. Hopefully, conditions will settle down enough by the end of next week to get back out and have some fun.

Inshore, water conditions were still on the high side, and this wind will not help the clarity much. When conditions calm down redfish and trout should be very active on the flats, but in light of the current conditions, the best opportunity this week will be to tuck in behind protected areas near the inlets of Ponce De Leon and Sebastian or Port Canaveral and avoiding open water. There should be plenty of jacks and bluefish in these areas as well as some flounder staging for their seaward migration later in the month. Try blind casting with DOA CAL Jigs with a fast retrieval for toothy critters like bluefish and Spanish mackerel or tip the jig with fresh shrimp and bounce it across the bottom for flounder.

If you decide to challenge the conditions, please use extreme caution and be safe. If you decide to keep you feet dry this weekend there are several worthwhile fishing events on Saturday and Sunday.

First, there is a free paddle fishing seminar at Mosquito Creek Outdoors at 170 South Washington Avenue in Apopka from 10 am to noon. This is class 7 of 8 of the saltwater flats fish series instructed by Captains Chris Myers and Tom Van Horn and our guest instructor Fred Rambo of the Orlando Kayak Fishing Club who will cover kayak rigging. Visit www.mosquitocreek.com/fishing for a schedule of events and free seminars.

Next, check out the Key West Fishing Fest at BMC Boats on Hwy 1792 in Longwood where everyday is a Boat Show. The event runs both Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 am to 6 pm and features free seminars, food and refreshments.
So, all is not lost because of a mere bit of wind this weekend, catch up on your honey-dos, boat and tackle maintenance, do some Christmas shopping and check out so free fishing events, so lick your wounds and have some fun. For more details on the Key West Fishing Fest visit BMC's website at www.bmcboats.com

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!