March is here, but spring started a while ago. It’s been an amazingly warm winter and our fish have been on spring time mode for the past 2 months. Things this year have been running about a month ahead of schedule. Baitfish like finger mullet and pinfish are showing up everywhere, water temperatures have consistently been in the 70’s, and fish are fat and feeding well. Sight fishing is good in all areas from Ponce Inlet to Titusville. Redfish have broken up into smaller groups of 25-50-100 fish. Big speckled trout have been laid up in shallow sand spots on the flats and others are staged on deeper edges. Black drum are in big schools for their annual spring spawn. There’s no shortage of places to find any of the above species in the Mosquito Lagoon or the North Indian River Lagoon, it only depends on what your preference is or what you would like to target.
The Redfish bite has been really strong the last few weeks and where they are depends on the fluctuating water levels. Low water levels or falling tides have fish either staged on the edges of the flats and/or in deeper creeks/sloughs. On rising tides and/or high water levels redfish have been scattering into small pods over shallow grass flats or on top of oyster mounds/shell beds. We’ve been averaging around 10-15 redfish per day over the past 2 weeks. The hot ticket has been live finger mullet, but some days they’ve preferred live shrimp. Lure anglers have done pretty well casting Aqua Dream spoons, Mirrolure and Sebile suspending plugs and DOA shrimp. Fly anglers have done well with clouser minnows, spoon flies, and seaducers. spoon flies, worm patterns, and deceivers. Trophy size 15-30lb redfish in the Mosquito Lagoon and North IRL have begun schooling in deeper water adjacent to shallow flats. You still need really light winds and lots of sun to find them, those days will become more regular as we get into March and April.
Speckled Trout fishing has been phenomenal over the past few weeks. Typically we don’t see this type of action till Apri. Warm waters have triggered strong numbers of finger mullet to move into the shallows, cruising the creeks, flats, and channel edges. This annual showing of baitfish triggers the big gator trout to feed aggressively. We’ve really only been targeting the trophies, skipping quantity for quality. We’ve landed numerous trout in the 4-6lb range, as well as a few trophy fish in the 7-9lb range. Find areas holding these baitfish and trout will be on the perimeters. Live mullet are the hot ticket, free lined over sand spots, edges or around oyster bars. Lure anglers throwing soft plastic shad style jerkbaits and/or Mirrolure or Sebile suspending plugs have also caught a fair share of fish. Fly anglers have connected using clouser minnows and deceivers.
There are still several schools of Black Drum in the southern half of Mosquito Lagoon and the North Indian River Lagoon. These fish are all spawning during this time of year, and frankly they are about the easiest thing ever to catch. Many of the fish range from 5-25lbs, with a few larger fish upwards of 40-50lbs. Live shrimp and cut crabs almost never get refused. If you want to throw lures, dark colored jigs and soft plastic shrimp will produce bites. Fly anglers will have a good chance at scoring using black clouser minnows and black crab flies.
March is pretty much booked up with only one opening left. More, but limited, dates remaining in April. So book ASAP if you have a desire to fish the early spring months. As always short notice trips are available if I have the date open. Call or email to secure a reservation. Read my fishing charter page to view the top reasons why you should book your trip with me today. Read my fishing report archive to review write-ups from the past several years. I look forward to fishing with you soon…386-212-4931.
Pictures from the past month can be found on my website...http://www.floridasightfishing.com/report.htm
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
February '12 - Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River, Ponce Inlet Area
It’s February, but you could hardly tell it from the very warm winter we’ve had thus far. Baitfish are still all over the flats, water temperatures have consistently been in the 70’s, and fish have been feeding agressively. The fishing between Daytona Beach and Cocoa Beach has been very strong. The sight fishing is really good in the tidal areas between Ponce Inlet and Oak Hill, sporting crystal clear water and schooling fish. schools of fish. We are catching lots of redfish, trout, and big black drum on the flats in the Mosquito Lagoon and North Indian River Lagoon, however, the water in those areas still hasn’t fully cleared and sight fishing is tough without perfect conditions. Regardless where we fish, we’ve been catching a lot of them.
Some great news from this past weekend was me capturing my first tournament win of 2012. After garnering five 2nd place finishes last year, it felt good to get a 1st place in the first event I entered this year. The HT Redfish Series came to town, hosting a qualifier open for their pro redfish series. Fishing with my teammate Capt. Paul Jueckstock, we took the win with 12.2lbs. We’re now qualified to fish their Pro Tour in 2012, and are currently looking for a major sponsor to make that happen. Contact me if interested in potential sponsorship opportunities.
The Redfish bite locally has good in all areas from Ponce Inlet to the extreme south end of Mosquito Lagoon. Low water levels have fish schooled up in great numbers on the edges of creeks, sloughs, and bars, and flats. In other areas you can find redfish tailing on the shallow grass flats. Lately we’ve been catching anywhere from 10-30 redfish per day. Lure anglers have done great casting Aqua Dream spoons, soft plastic jerkbaits, Mirrolure and Sebile suspending plugs and DOA shrimp. Live bait anglers have done well with mullet, pinfish, and mud minnows. Fly anglers have done well with spoon flies, worm patterns, and deceivers. We’re also starting to see our giant trophy 20-40lb redfish form into small groups/schools on the deeper flats/edges. You need perfect weather conditions to find them and have a chance, but this time of year those days are few and far between.
Speckled Trout fishing has been on and off again, depending on the prevailing weather patterns. We’ve done well catching smaller fish in the 12-23” range in good numbers in deeper sloughs, edges and creeks. Most of our huge gator trout in the 25-34” range have been laid up in over sand spots in super shallow water. Fishing for them has been tough, however, as they are ultra spooky in the crystal clear water. Conversely, the bite for smaller trout has been good in deeper water because they aren’t as put off my boats and birds. Live bait like finger mullet, mud minnows or live shrimp work quite well, as do lures like small crankbaits and soft plastics on jigs. Fly anglers will connect with clouser minnows, seaducers and deceivers.
There are numerous schools of Black Drum in the southern half of Mosquito Lagoon the North Indian River Lagoon, and the ICW in New Smyrna Beach. These fish are schooling in big numbers preparing for a spring spawn. Many of the fish range from 5-25lbs, with a few larger fish upwards of 40-50lbs. Getting them to bite is really easy, so when everything else is slow, they’ll put a pull on the line. Live shrimp and cut crabs work extremely well. If you want to throw lures, dark colored jigs and soft plastic shrimp will produce bites. Fly anglers will have a good chance at scoring using black clouser minnows and black crab flies. For a different change of pace, Bluefish are scattered throughout the ICW and creeks adjacent to Ponce Inlet. We’re still catching mostly schooly size fish in the 10-20” range. They aren’t picking on eating; diving plugs, crankbaits, spoons, and jigs will score on blues you come across blasting bait on the surface.
February is nearly fully booked, only 5 dates remaining. March is getting close to fully booked as well, with only 12 dates remaining. April bookings have also been going quick so book ASAP if you have a desire to fish the early spring months. As always short notice trips are available if I have the date open. Call or email to secure a reservation. I look forward to fishing with you soon…386-212-4931.
Pictures from the past month can be found on my website...
http://www.floridasightfishing.com/report.htm
Some great news from this past weekend was me capturing my first tournament win of 2012. After garnering five 2nd place finishes last year, it felt good to get a 1st place in the first event I entered this year. The HT Redfish Series came to town, hosting a qualifier open for their pro redfish series. Fishing with my teammate Capt. Paul Jueckstock, we took the win with 12.2lbs. We’re now qualified to fish their Pro Tour in 2012, and are currently looking for a major sponsor to make that happen. Contact me if interested in potential sponsorship opportunities.
The Redfish bite locally has good in all areas from Ponce Inlet to the extreme south end of Mosquito Lagoon. Low water levels have fish schooled up in great numbers on the edges of creeks, sloughs, and bars, and flats. In other areas you can find redfish tailing on the shallow grass flats. Lately we’ve been catching anywhere from 10-30 redfish per day. Lure anglers have done great casting Aqua Dream spoons, soft plastic jerkbaits, Mirrolure and Sebile suspending plugs and DOA shrimp. Live bait anglers have done well with mullet, pinfish, and mud minnows. Fly anglers have done well with spoon flies, worm patterns, and deceivers. We’re also starting to see our giant trophy 20-40lb redfish form into small groups/schools on the deeper flats/edges. You need perfect weather conditions to find them and have a chance, but this time of year those days are few and far between.
Speckled Trout fishing has been on and off again, depending on the prevailing weather patterns. We’ve done well catching smaller fish in the 12-23” range in good numbers in deeper sloughs, edges and creeks. Most of our huge gator trout in the 25-34” range have been laid up in over sand spots in super shallow water. Fishing for them has been tough, however, as they are ultra spooky in the crystal clear water. Conversely, the bite for smaller trout has been good in deeper water because they aren’t as put off my boats and birds. Live bait like finger mullet, mud minnows or live shrimp work quite well, as do lures like small crankbaits and soft plastics on jigs. Fly anglers will connect with clouser minnows, seaducers and deceivers.
There are numerous schools of Black Drum in the southern half of Mosquito Lagoon the North Indian River Lagoon, and the ICW in New Smyrna Beach. These fish are schooling in big numbers preparing for a spring spawn. Many of the fish range from 5-25lbs, with a few larger fish upwards of 40-50lbs. Getting them to bite is really easy, so when everything else is slow, they’ll put a pull on the line. Live shrimp and cut crabs work extremely well. If you want to throw lures, dark colored jigs and soft plastic shrimp will produce bites. Fly anglers will have a good chance at scoring using black clouser minnows and black crab flies. For a different change of pace, Bluefish are scattered throughout the ICW and creeks adjacent to Ponce Inlet. We’re still catching mostly schooly size fish in the 10-20” range. They aren’t picking on eating; diving plugs, crankbaits, spoons, and jigs will score on blues you come across blasting bait on the surface.
February is nearly fully booked, only 5 dates remaining. March is getting close to fully booked as well, with only 12 dates remaining. April bookings have also been going quick so book ASAP if you have a desire to fish the early spring months. As always short notice trips are available if I have the date open. Call or email to secure a reservation. I look forward to fishing with you soon…386-212-4931.
Pictures from the past month can be found on my website...
http://www.floridasightfishing.com/report.htm
HT Redfish Series - Edgewater, FL (1st place)
Capt Nathaniel Lemmon teamed up with former ESPN Redfish Cup pro Capt. Paul Jueckstock (Port Orange, FL) to compete in the HT Redfish Series Icebreaker Open hosted out of Edgewater, FL in February 2012. The duo captured 1st place besting an 11 boat field with 12.2lbs. The tournament was a artificial lure only qualifier event to fish the HT Pro Redfish Series that travels around the Southeast US. "I laid out a good game plan on a few school of fish I found that had potential winning fish," said Capt. Lemmon. All teams were challenged mightly by the windy weather conditions and a winter fishing season dominated by 4-5lb redfish. "It's tough finding any 6lb+ redfish around here right now," Lemmon said. "To find and catch two 6lb fish took a lot of homework."
http://www.theredfishseries.com/
http://www.theredfishseries.com/
Saturday, December 31, 2011
December '11 - Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River, Ponce Inlet Area
Only a few weeks away from Christmas and the start of 2012. Cooler temperatures have taken a firm grip on our weather and the fish are in their winter transition mode. The beautiful thing about fishing in Florida is it’s always a good time to go; there’s always somewhere to fish and something to catch regardless of the weather. We have entered the time of year though that allows for the most catching per day. This month we can be catching anywhere from 10-40 fish per day. The colder the better. January is usually the top catching month of the year, with days of 50+ fish occuring on a regular basis. But for December, water clarity has cleared considerably lately allowing for excellent sight casting. It hasn’t gotten cold enough for massive winter schools of fish to form, but that usually happens during the later part of this month. Our top targets for December heading into January arer redfish, speckled trout, black drum, flounder and some occassional snook. Depending on the weather we could be catching anywhere from 5-30 or more of each per day.
Redfish fishing has been excellent as of late. It’s our number one opportunity in the Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River, and creeks near Ponce Inlet. All our redfish are shadowing the big finger mullet schools. Find baitfish and you’ll find redfish in the mix too. Average days for catching has been 5-20+ reds. What we are used to catch them has varied widely. Most fish are coming on live mullet, while sight casters are doing fine with live shrimp. If we throw lures it’s been spoons, DOA shrimp or soft plastic jerkbaits. Fly fisherman have done really well on my cab fly or a Borski slider.
It’s no surprise the Speckled Trout are following the big finger mullet schools either. With the cleaner water we’re also finding a lot of big gator trout laid up in sand spots around cold snaps. This is perhaps one of the best times of year for sight casting 8-10lbr’s, a world class fish. Live shrimp, DOA shrimp, soft plastic jerkbaits are all great sight casting tools for big trout...but they are so wary it can ben tough. We’ll catch more trout free-lining mullet around the bait pods or right in beside schooling redfish. Trout season is still closed and won’t reopen until January, so it’s still catch and release. Fly anglers lucky enough to throw a fly to a laid up gator trout will have luck on seaducers and gurglers. Typically we aren’t going for numbers in terms of catching trout in the winter, it’s all about catching the trophies!
The Flounder bite continues to be good in all the backwaters around Ponce Inlet. These fish are migrating towards the Inlet itself so creek mouths, sand bars, docks and seawalls on the ICW, and bays adjacent to the ICW will hold the majority of the fish. Mullet and mud minnows are the preferred baits of choice. Free line them or peg them on a jighead when fishing deeper water. You can also drag a live shrimp pegged on a jig along the bottom. Black Drum are showing up in more brackish areas of the Lagoon and NIRL. Shrimp are blue crab equal guaranteed catching on a less than smart fish.
I have some dates remaining in December but the holidays are filling quickly. January dates are starting to fill and it’s probably the best catching month of the year. Give me a call now to check my availability and reserve/book a date. Short notice trips are accepted if I have a date available. Read my fishing charter page to view the top reasons why you should book your trip with me today. Read my fishing report archive to review write-ups from the past several years. I look forward to fishing with you soon…386-212-4931.
Pictures from the past month can be found on my website...
http://www.floridasightfishing.com/report.htm
Redfish fishing has been excellent as of late. It’s our number one opportunity in the Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River, and creeks near Ponce Inlet. All our redfish are shadowing the big finger mullet schools. Find baitfish and you’ll find redfish in the mix too. Average days for catching has been 5-20+ reds. What we are used to catch them has varied widely. Most fish are coming on live mullet, while sight casters are doing fine with live shrimp. If we throw lures it’s been spoons, DOA shrimp or soft plastic jerkbaits. Fly fisherman have done really well on my cab fly or a Borski slider.
It’s no surprise the Speckled Trout are following the big finger mullet schools either. With the cleaner water we’re also finding a lot of big gator trout laid up in sand spots around cold snaps. This is perhaps one of the best times of year for sight casting 8-10lbr’s, a world class fish. Live shrimp, DOA shrimp, soft plastic jerkbaits are all great sight casting tools for big trout...but they are so wary it can ben tough. We’ll catch more trout free-lining mullet around the bait pods or right in beside schooling redfish. Trout season is still closed and won’t reopen until January, so it’s still catch and release. Fly anglers lucky enough to throw a fly to a laid up gator trout will have luck on seaducers and gurglers. Typically we aren’t going for numbers in terms of catching trout in the winter, it’s all about catching the trophies!
The Flounder bite continues to be good in all the backwaters around Ponce Inlet. These fish are migrating towards the Inlet itself so creek mouths, sand bars, docks and seawalls on the ICW, and bays adjacent to the ICW will hold the majority of the fish. Mullet and mud minnows are the preferred baits of choice. Free line them or peg them on a jighead when fishing deeper water. You can also drag a live shrimp pegged on a jig along the bottom. Black Drum are showing up in more brackish areas of the Lagoon and NIRL. Shrimp are blue crab equal guaranteed catching on a less than smart fish.
I have some dates remaining in December but the holidays are filling quickly. January dates are starting to fill and it’s probably the best catching month of the year. Give me a call now to check my availability and reserve/book a date. Short notice trips are accepted if I have a date available. Read my fishing charter page to view the top reasons why you should book your trip with me today. Read my fishing report archive to review write-ups from the past several years. I look forward to fishing with you soon…386-212-4931.
Pictures from the past month can be found on my website...
http://www.floridasightfishing.com/report.htm
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
November '11 - Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River, Ponce Inlet Area
Fall has definitely arrived here in Florida. The cool weather has settled in making it almost a necessity for early morning jackets and sweatshirts. Daytime temperatures are consistently staying in the 70’s and water temperatures have cooled into the 65-75 degree range. Baitfish numbers are dwindling, but the fall shrimp runs are thick and numerous. November spells transition time and all of our inshore fish are hungy and stocking up on fat stores for the approaching winter months. Redfish, speckled trout and flounder are the main species we target during this time of year. We’ll also find jack crevalle, bluefish and scattered snook. As the cooler weather and water temperatures settle in, the water will soon be turning crystal clear, signaling epic sight fishing conditions and schooling fish. As I’ve noted many times, there’s no slow times for fishing in Florida, every month is good. So grab a rod and let’s go fishing.
The Redfish bite has been excellent as of late. Redfish are on the move towards their over-wintering areas. Water levels have dropped in the area concentraing fish in deeper sand sloughs, creeks, and channels. When the water is higher, or on an incoming tide patterns, we’re finding redfish staged on top or on the edges of sand bars and oyster bars. The water is also clearing up considerably allowing for great sight casting. Finger mullet, shrimp and crabs are preferred baits this time of year, so either use them or lures and flies that mimic or resemble them. Redfish activity and the overall bite increases considerably around the passing cold fronts. As far as an average day, it’s not uncommon this time of year for us to have days catching 5-10 redfish or days of 20-30+; it all depends on how cold it gets and how long the fish stay schooled up during the days afterwards.
The bite for Speckled Trout has also been excellent as of late; just remember the season is closed for the remainder of 2011 so it’s all catch and release. As soon as the water temperatures chill into the 70’s each fall, it’s common for the trout bite to turn on in a major way. Diminishing baitfish supplies trigger these fish to feed aggressively and that means great fishing and really good chances at catching trophy size trout in the 5-10lb range. As we start into November, that’s exactly the case in the Mosquito Lagoon and the Indian River around Edgewater and New Smyrna. During the past few days we’ve caught a 3-4 trout each day in the 5-8lb range, in addition to several smaller fish in the 2-4lb range. We’re finding a majorty of our trout shadowing mullet schools around sand sloughs and sand spots. Live mullet is prized commodity for trout fishing this time of year, so again use it, or throw topwater plugs, swimbaits, and soft plastic shad style baits.
The Flounder bite continues to be good in all the backwaters around Ponce Inlet. These fish are migrating towards the Inlet itself so creek mouths, sand bars, docks and seawalls on the ICW, and bays adjacent to the ICW will hold the majority of the fish. Mullet and mud minnows are the preferred baits of choice. Free line them or peg them on a jighead when fishing deeper water. You can also drag a live shrimp pegged on a jig along the bottom.
With the strong finger mullet run around Ponce Inlet we are finding 5-10lb Jack Crevalle and 2-5lb Bluefish. Both are great fighters on light tackle and provide consistent catching while waiting between preferred tide patterns. We’re also entering a time of year when Snook begin to school up and migrate into the remote backwaters before winter settles in. Typically we catch great numbers of snook during the late fall and winter. Our numbers, however, are still drastically off what we had 3 years ago before the big freeze, but more are being spotted and caught, so it’s not out of the question to find willing participants.
Limited dates are available in November as my month is nearly 3/4’s booked. I have some scattered dates remaining. December dates are also filling quickly. Give me a call now to check my availability and reserve/book a date. Short notice trips are accepted if I have a date available. I look forward to fishing with you soon…386-212-4931.
Pictures from the past month can be found on my website...http://www.floridasightfishing.com/report.htm
The Redfish bite has been excellent as of late. Redfish are on the move towards their over-wintering areas. Water levels have dropped in the area concentraing fish in deeper sand sloughs, creeks, and channels. When the water is higher, or on an incoming tide patterns, we’re finding redfish staged on top or on the edges of sand bars and oyster bars. The water is also clearing up considerably allowing for great sight casting. Finger mullet, shrimp and crabs are preferred baits this time of year, so either use them or lures and flies that mimic or resemble them. Redfish activity and the overall bite increases considerably around the passing cold fronts. As far as an average day, it’s not uncommon this time of year for us to have days catching 5-10 redfish or days of 20-30+; it all depends on how cold it gets and how long the fish stay schooled up during the days afterwards.
The bite for Speckled Trout has also been excellent as of late; just remember the season is closed for the remainder of 2011 so it’s all catch and release. As soon as the water temperatures chill into the 70’s each fall, it’s common for the trout bite to turn on in a major way. Diminishing baitfish supplies trigger these fish to feed aggressively and that means great fishing and really good chances at catching trophy size trout in the 5-10lb range. As we start into November, that’s exactly the case in the Mosquito Lagoon and the Indian River around Edgewater and New Smyrna. During the past few days we’ve caught a 3-4 trout each day in the 5-8lb range, in addition to several smaller fish in the 2-4lb range. We’re finding a majorty of our trout shadowing mullet schools around sand sloughs and sand spots. Live mullet is prized commodity for trout fishing this time of year, so again use it, or throw topwater plugs, swimbaits, and soft plastic shad style baits.
The Flounder bite continues to be good in all the backwaters around Ponce Inlet. These fish are migrating towards the Inlet itself so creek mouths, sand bars, docks and seawalls on the ICW, and bays adjacent to the ICW will hold the majority of the fish. Mullet and mud minnows are the preferred baits of choice. Free line them or peg them on a jighead when fishing deeper water. You can also drag a live shrimp pegged on a jig along the bottom.
With the strong finger mullet run around Ponce Inlet we are finding 5-10lb Jack Crevalle and 2-5lb Bluefish. Both are great fighters on light tackle and provide consistent catching while waiting between preferred tide patterns. We’re also entering a time of year when Snook begin to school up and migrate into the remote backwaters before winter settles in. Typically we catch great numbers of snook during the late fall and winter. Our numbers, however, are still drastically off what we had 3 years ago before the big freeze, but more are being spotted and caught, so it’s not out of the question to find willing participants.
Limited dates are available in November as my month is nearly 3/4’s booked. I have some scattered dates remaining. December dates are also filling quickly. Give me a call now to check my availability and reserve/book a date. Short notice trips are accepted if I have a date available. I look forward to fishing with you soon…386-212-4931.
Pictures from the past month can be found on my website...http://www.floridasightfishing.com/report.htm
Monday, October 3, 2011
Oct '11 - New Smyrna, Ponce Inlet, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report
It’s October on the Space Coast and that means transition time on the inshore waters. The fall bait run is in full swing, perhaps the best one is a few years. The backwaters surrounding the Ponce Inlet area are packed full of finger mullet. In hot pursuit are hungry redfish, speckled trout, flounder, jack crevalle, bluefish and scattered tarpon and snook. In addition to exceptional strong shrimp runs around the moon cycles, it’s safe to say that there is no shortage of food sources for fish to key on. In summary, it’s all about fish eating mullet, shrimp, or anything that resembles them these days. We’ve begun to experience the first cold fronts of the fall, chilling morning air temperatures, lowering water levels, and slightly cooling water temperatures. We can focus on just about any fish species this month, just depends on your interest level.
The Redfish bite has been good as of late. The water is still a bit elevated, dirty, and the fish are scattered. We’re targeting redfish on shorelines around New Smyrna Beach and Oak Hill searching for crabs, shrimp, and finger mullet; tailing on wide open grass flats in the Lagoons for shrimp; or on creek, channel, and oyster bar edges around the region chasing finger mullet schools. In the ICW around Ponce Inlet and in the North Indian River Lagoon we’re targeting trophy bull redfish that are schooled up for their annual fall spawn cycle. We’re catching all these redfish in a variety of ways, including live baiting, lures, and fly fishing. When throwing lures we’ve been using topwater plugs, spoons, DOA shrimp, Slayer spinnerbaits and jigs. Good fly choices have included shrimp, kwans, and crab patterns as well as dark colored bunny patterns. Look no further than shrimp or mullet for live bait choices.
The bite for Speckled Trout has also been good as of late as these fish fill their belly’s on the available mullet and shrimp before it thins out as the colder weather settles in next month. Catching gator trout lately has been a tough task, but we’ve been catching good numbers of smaller 15-25” trout instead. We’ve been targeting most of our trout bite on the falling and incoming tides in the New Smyrna, Edgewater, and Oak Hill areas around. We’re freeling mullet and pigfish around mullet schools for most catching success, however, topwater plugs and soft plastics on jigs will take fish too.
The Flounder bite continues to be good in all backwaters around Ponce Inlet and will get even better over the next two months as the cold fronts become more regular and trigger these fish to migrate towards the Inlet itself. Sand sloughs, mud flats, docks and seawalls along the ICW are preferred fish spots. Pigfish have been a reliable bait, as well as a finger mullet pegged to a jighead sand bars, and creek/channel edges are preferred fishing spots. We’re primarily catching them on pigfish, croakers, and live mullet.
There are some scattered Tarpon in the ICW around the Inlet, but it’s yet to get cold enough to trigger a strong run of them migrating out of the area...more like a slow trickle. Fishing for tarpon the remainder of the year won’t be a concentrated effort, instead it will be something we do if the opportunity presents itself. With the strong finger mullet run around Ponce Inlet we are finding strong numbers of 5-10lb Jack Crevalle and 2-5lb Bluefish. Both are great fighters on light tackle and will provide consistent catching while we're waiting to fish other species between preferred tide patterns.
October is about half way booked at this point, which means there are good scattered openings still on my calendar. Same goes for November. I look forward to fishing with you soon…386-212-4931.
Pictures from the past month can be found on my website...
http://www.floridasightfishing.com/report.htm
The Redfish bite has been good as of late. The water is still a bit elevated, dirty, and the fish are scattered. We’re targeting redfish on shorelines around New Smyrna Beach and Oak Hill searching for crabs, shrimp, and finger mullet; tailing on wide open grass flats in the Lagoons for shrimp; or on creek, channel, and oyster bar edges around the region chasing finger mullet schools. In the ICW around Ponce Inlet and in the North Indian River Lagoon we’re targeting trophy bull redfish that are schooled up for their annual fall spawn cycle. We’re catching all these redfish in a variety of ways, including live baiting, lures, and fly fishing. When throwing lures we’ve been using topwater plugs, spoons, DOA shrimp, Slayer spinnerbaits and jigs. Good fly choices have included shrimp, kwans, and crab patterns as well as dark colored bunny patterns. Look no further than shrimp or mullet for live bait choices.
The bite for Speckled Trout has also been good as of late as these fish fill their belly’s on the available mullet and shrimp before it thins out as the colder weather settles in next month. Catching gator trout lately has been a tough task, but we’ve been catching good numbers of smaller 15-25” trout instead. We’ve been targeting most of our trout bite on the falling and incoming tides in the New Smyrna, Edgewater, and Oak Hill areas around. We’re freeling mullet and pigfish around mullet schools for most catching success, however, topwater plugs and soft plastics on jigs will take fish too.
The Flounder bite continues to be good in all backwaters around Ponce Inlet and will get even better over the next two months as the cold fronts become more regular and trigger these fish to migrate towards the Inlet itself. Sand sloughs, mud flats, docks and seawalls along the ICW are preferred fish spots. Pigfish have been a reliable bait, as well as a finger mullet pegged to a jighead sand bars, and creek/channel edges are preferred fishing spots. We’re primarily catching them on pigfish, croakers, and live mullet.
There are some scattered Tarpon in the ICW around the Inlet, but it’s yet to get cold enough to trigger a strong run of them migrating out of the area...more like a slow trickle. Fishing for tarpon the remainder of the year won’t be a concentrated effort, instead it will be something we do if the opportunity presents itself. With the strong finger mullet run around Ponce Inlet we are finding strong numbers of 5-10lb Jack Crevalle and 2-5lb Bluefish. Both are great fighters on light tackle and will provide consistent catching while we're waiting to fish other species between preferred tide patterns.
October is about half way booked at this point, which means there are good scattered openings still on my calendar. Same goes for November. I look forward to fishing with you soon…386-212-4931.
Pictures from the past month can be found on my website...
http://www.floridasightfishing.com/report.htm
Friday, September 2, 2011
August '11 - Mosquito Lagoon, New Smyrna, Ponce Inlet Area
Half the year is already over and before you know it fall will be here. The heat really doesn’t affect the fishing much, it’s more uncomfortable to fisherman than anything else. We’ll still be catching fish during the mid-day hours, just like the early mornings. This is the time of year you can pick just about anything to fish for; opportunties are abundant for redfish, speckled trout, tarpon, flounder, sharks and more. The annual fall bait run will be kicking off later this month, signaling all gamefish to eat hardily now before things thin out next month in advance of the first cold fronts of the year. Charters have been having great catching lately with the average day being a few redfish, a dozen speckled trout, and a flounder or two. I spent nearly every day on the water in July and also fished another Xtreme Redfish tournament, capturing 4th place with after we caught a 13lb bag. On a press note, check out the August issue of Florida Sportsman magazine. I was the featured guide in an article about fishing tarpon out of Ponce Inlet along our beaches. It’s on page 34.
The Redfish bite has been very good. We can target redfish of all sizes, all day long in the shallows and deeper water from Daytona to Titusville. If we spend the entire day fishing for redfish we will average 10-15 bites on a combination or live bait and lures. If we mix it up with a combination of trout and flounder, expect an average of 3-6 redfish bites during the day. The Mosquito Lagoon and North Indian River Lagoon have good numbers of fish on the grass flats perfect for those seeking sight fishing opportunities. In the tidal waters from Daytona to Edgewater we’re powerfishing oyster bars and mangrove edges on both incoming and outgoing tides. Pinfish, pigfish, croakers, and a variety of cut baits have been the live bait of choice. Topwater plugs, suspending plugs, Aqua Dream spoons, and a variety of swimbaits rigged on Slayer jigheads have been the top lures. This is also the peak time of year to target schools of trophy sized GIANT bull redfish over 20lbs in the North Indian River Lagoon and Mosquito Lagoon. Calm weather will reveal massive schools on the surface in deeper water. Early in the morning these fish will eat a variety of lures or fly, but as the boat pressure picks up through the day you’ll have better luck with a live baitfish or crab.
The other main staple of our inshore fishery is Speckled Trout. We’re catching good numbers in deeper water from Daytona to Edgewater and on the edges of the flats in the Lagoons. Find active schools of mullet on top of oyster bars, creek mudflats, or on the grass flats and you’ll find speckled trout. Pigfish, croakers, and a live finger mullet are top trout producers in the summer. If you’re set on throwing lures, topwater plugs get the surface bite excitement but the big ones will be caught on suspending plugs and soft plastics rigged on 1/4oz jigs. Most days lately we’ve averaged 10-15 trout in the 16-25” range. We caught a few trophy fish last month in the 26-30” range.
Tarpon numbers are strong in the ICW and main channels with some scattered fish in both Lagoons. Continual cold water upwellings along the coast are keeping these fish inshore instead of out along the beach. This is the peak time of year to try your hand catching a tarpon. But you have to do it now as they will be mostly gone by the end of September. There are good numbers of fish of all sizes, from 20lb resident juveniles to 80-120lb migratory adults. Pinfish, live mullet and menhaden are preferred live baits of choice in Central Florida. Swimbaits, DOA baitbusters, and Hogy’s are the top lure producers. With a little luck we’ll get a couple bites each day. We only fished for them twice last month but we jumped a couple fish in the 60-80lb range. If you want some tips and strategies for fishing tarpon along our beaches, check out the August issue of Florida Sportsman. I was the featured guide in the article.
The Flounder bite continues to be strong in all areas of the Halifax, Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon. It’s been the best action I’ve ever seen. There are thousands of them anywhere there’s lots of sand and baitfish. We’re catching one or two nearly every trip. We’re primarily catching them on pigfish, croakers, and live mullet, but we’ve also gotten some on jigs and spoons lately too.
While the next two months can be hot, so is the fishing. I’ve only got limited dates remaining during the last half of August, and September is over 1/3 booked. Give me a call now to check my availability and reserve/book a date. Short notice trips are accepted if I have a date available. I look forward to fishing with you soon…386-212-4931.
Check my website to see photos from the past month...http://www.floridasightfishing.com/report.htm
The Redfish bite has been very good. We can target redfish of all sizes, all day long in the shallows and deeper water from Daytona to Titusville. If we spend the entire day fishing for redfish we will average 10-15 bites on a combination or live bait and lures. If we mix it up with a combination of trout and flounder, expect an average of 3-6 redfish bites during the day. The Mosquito Lagoon and North Indian River Lagoon have good numbers of fish on the grass flats perfect for those seeking sight fishing opportunities. In the tidal waters from Daytona to Edgewater we’re powerfishing oyster bars and mangrove edges on both incoming and outgoing tides. Pinfish, pigfish, croakers, and a variety of cut baits have been the live bait of choice. Topwater plugs, suspending plugs, Aqua Dream spoons, and a variety of swimbaits rigged on Slayer jigheads have been the top lures. This is also the peak time of year to target schools of trophy sized GIANT bull redfish over 20lbs in the North Indian River Lagoon and Mosquito Lagoon. Calm weather will reveal massive schools on the surface in deeper water. Early in the morning these fish will eat a variety of lures or fly, but as the boat pressure picks up through the day you’ll have better luck with a live baitfish or crab.
The other main staple of our inshore fishery is Speckled Trout. We’re catching good numbers in deeper water from Daytona to Edgewater and on the edges of the flats in the Lagoons. Find active schools of mullet on top of oyster bars, creek mudflats, or on the grass flats and you’ll find speckled trout. Pigfish, croakers, and a live finger mullet are top trout producers in the summer. If you’re set on throwing lures, topwater plugs get the surface bite excitement but the big ones will be caught on suspending plugs and soft plastics rigged on 1/4oz jigs. Most days lately we’ve averaged 10-15 trout in the 16-25” range. We caught a few trophy fish last month in the 26-30” range.
Tarpon numbers are strong in the ICW and main channels with some scattered fish in both Lagoons. Continual cold water upwellings along the coast are keeping these fish inshore instead of out along the beach. This is the peak time of year to try your hand catching a tarpon. But you have to do it now as they will be mostly gone by the end of September. There are good numbers of fish of all sizes, from 20lb resident juveniles to 80-120lb migratory adults. Pinfish, live mullet and menhaden are preferred live baits of choice in Central Florida. Swimbaits, DOA baitbusters, and Hogy’s are the top lure producers. With a little luck we’ll get a couple bites each day. We only fished for them twice last month but we jumped a couple fish in the 60-80lb range. If you want some tips and strategies for fishing tarpon along our beaches, check out the August issue of Florida Sportsman. I was the featured guide in the article.
The Flounder bite continues to be strong in all areas of the Halifax, Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon. It’s been the best action I’ve ever seen. There are thousands of them anywhere there’s lots of sand and baitfish. We’re catching one or two nearly every trip. We’re primarily catching them on pigfish, croakers, and live mullet, but we’ve also gotten some on jigs and spoons lately too.
While the next two months can be hot, so is the fishing. I’ve only got limited dates remaining during the last half of August, and September is over 1/3 booked. Give me a call now to check my availability and reserve/book a date. Short notice trips are accepted if I have a date available. I look forward to fishing with you soon…386-212-4931.
Check my website to see photos from the past month...http://www.floridasightfishing.com/report.htm
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