December 2010 - Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River, Ponce Inlet Area

Winter is certainly making it’s presence known in Central Florida as we start December, the first week has been full of overnight low’s in the 40’s and daytime highs approaching 60. The beautiful thing about fishing in Florida is it doesn’t matter; there’s always somewhere to fish and something to catch regardless of the weather. The recent cold snap has actually been a welcome relief. Water temperatures have cooled, the baitfish supplies have diminished, the water has gotten very clear, and the fish are beginning to school up. We are smack dab in the middle of a big transition period. People always ask what’s my favorite time of the year to fish. While I enjoy every month for one reason or another, I certainly love the December through March time frame because it’s the time of the year when we post huge catch numbers every day. The 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 have been our number one opportunity in the Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River, and around Ponce Inlet and the nearby creeks. In the Mosquito Lagoon water levels have fallen and the grass flats are crystal clear, a perfect recipe for schooling juvenile redfish from 4-10lbs In the creeks around New Smyrna Beach, water temperatures are warmer and water levels are higher which is keeping fish on shorelines and on oyster bars. At Ponce Inlet there are trophy redfish over 20lbs are still schooling on the channel bottom. Regardless of where we fish, the redfish bite has been very good. We are catching fish on a variety of lures, including DOA shrimp, soft plastic jerkbaits, spoons, Mirrolure twitchbaits and Gulp baits on jigs. Fly fisherman have had good luck throwing Borski Sliders, Clouser Minnows, and a crab pattern I hand tie. Live bait anglers are having luck freelining live mullet or sight casting with live shrimp or a piece of cut mullet. Catch numbers have varied each day lately, a slow day has been half a dozen fish and great day would be 20-30 redfish.

The Speckled Trout bite has gotten tougher as the water has gotten clearer and colder. Having said that over the past month we have come across numberous trophy size gator trout over 10lbs and countless more in the 4-8lb range. Right now is one of the peak times of the year to try sight casting to big gator trout. On one recent trip we found over 50 gator trout in the 4-10lb range lounging in sand spots just in one small area. Trout season is still closed and won’t reopen until January, so it’s still catch and release. When sight casting trout we have either used DOA shrimp, a soft plastic jerkbait or live bait. When blind casting areas where they are holding we’ve been throwing Mirrolure topwater plugs and twitchbaits like the 7M and 17MR or Strike King swimbaits. Fly anglers lucky enough to throw a fly to a laid up gator trout will have luck on seaducers and deceivers. Typically we aren’t going for numbers in terms of catching trout in the winter, it’s all about catching the trophies!

As the cooler water temperatures settle in on the area, Black Drum schools become more frequent in Mosquito Lagoon and the North Indian River Lagoon. During the next few months we may encounter schools of drum with 100 or more fish. There are lots of Flounder moving in the tidal areas around New Smyrna Beach, Edgewater, and Ponce Inlet area. Mud minnows or finger mullet on jigheads around creek mouths are top ways to fill a cooler with flounder. Snook are on the move to the backcountry winter hangouts. The recent cold weather will fill deeper holes in the backwaters with snook seeking thermal refuge. I’ll be checking for them within the coming week.

December is one of the busiest months of the year and my calendar is nearly half ful at this pointl. January dates have been filling lately and it’s probably the top month of the year for catching sheer numbers of fish. Call or email now to reserve/book a date. I look forward to fishing with you soon…386-212-4931.

November '10 - Mosquito Lagoon as well as the New Smyrna, Edgewater, Ponce Inlet Area

Fall is here, but you would barely notice by the weather. It was a very warm and very dry October. Having said that, by the end of this first week of November we are forecasted to see a series our first 45 degree mornings. The fall bait run got started last month and it’s still going strong with millions of finger mullet in the Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River and around Ponce Inlet. We have also had an unseasonable long pigfish season (a popular summer baitfish) and the fish have certainly been taking advantage of this preferred food source. Speckled trout dominated the action during the last month, however redfish certainly didn’t disappoint. On an average day we caught 20-30 trout and anywhere from 5-20 redfish. The fall flounder run too is picking up steam with lots of fishing moving around the tidal areas of New Smyrna Beach and Ponce Inlet. While cooler weather is on the horizon, the beauty of fishing in Florida is there is no slow time, the bite is always strong for something.

Right now, it’s the best Speckled Trout bite of the year. The trout season officially closed on November 1st, so it’s catch and release fishing for them the remainder of 2010. That doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy a solid day of catching success though. The fall bait run coupled with an extra long pigfish season has us catching lots of trout; with several of them being gator trout. Live bait has been the ticket for guaranteed quantity catching, but lure anglers have scored on numerous trout on my boat throwing Mirrolure 7M, 17MR, and 20MR twitchbaits. On an average day we’ve landed anywhere from 20-30 trout, sometimes more, hardly less. Practically all of them have been in the 15-20” slot, but quite a few each day are over 20” and we’ve caught at least one “gator” every day in the 5-8lb range. A good sign heading into the winter has been us finding a fair number of trophy gator trout in the 10-14lb range creeping up into the shallows during mid-day on the grass flats in Mosquito Lagoon. This area in particular suffered a cold weather fish kill in January and many of these trophy size trout died off. But fair numbers are showing themselves and we are sight casting these fish with swimbaits, soft plastic jerkbaits, and DOA soft plastics or live bait.

It’s also been fantastic action for us on Redfish in the Mosquito Lagoon and the tidal waters around New Smyrna Beach and Ponce Inlet for juvenile redfish from 5-10lbs. Oyster bars were a particular hot spot during the last month on flood tides, but falling water levels now have these fish schooling in adjacent coves and bays. Falling water levels has the same thing happening on the grass flats in Mosquito Lagoon as these fish moving to deeper edges adjacent to flats that are now too shallow. On most days we are getting 10-25 redfish bites on a variety of lures and live bait. Redfish have also been aggressively eating the same Mirrolure’s we’ve been throwing for trout. If they’ve been crawling on shorelines, however, a DOA shrimp has been the right choice. Fly fishing for redfish couldn’t get any easier than it is right now. Dirtier water helps hide your approach and the ample supply of bait has these fish hungry for anything. Spoon flies, borski sliders, crabs, shrimp, deceivers, or clouser minnows have all worked well lately. Most of the shots are coming at 10-20’ so even a roll cast will get the job done.

There are a lot of Flounder moving around the New Smyrna Beach, Edgewater, and Ponce Inlet area. A good dose of cold weather and cooler water temps will really kick the bite into gear. It’s time to grab some mud minnows or a jig and get to work. From now through early next year is the best time to score on a big doormat Flounder, with November perhaps being the best month of the year. Mud minnows or small finger mullet rigged on a jighead or fishfinder rig near creek entrances around Ponce Inlet and New Smyrna will score on good numbers of flounder.

November bookings have been steady lately and December is one of the busier months of the year. Get in on some of the best fall fishing action in years. Call or email now to reserve/book a date. Short notice trips are accepted if I have the date open. Read my fishing charter page to view the top reasons why you should book your trip with me today. I look forward to fishing with you soon…386-212-4931.

A few pictures from the past month can be found on my website, http://www.floridasightfishing.com/report.htm

October '10 - Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River, Ponce Inlet Area

I thought it would never get here after the very hot summer, but the first cool mornings have arrived in Florida. Water temperatures have dipped into the mid 70's and the mullet have begun moving out of the Lagoon's and towards the nearshore waters. Tarpon numbers have thinned, but the redfish and speckled trout are gorging themselves on baitfish migrating out of the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River Lagoon and the catching has been excellent. Not only was last month a great month of fishing in general, but I won the Xtreme Redfish Series September tournament for the Titusville division, besting a small field with a 13.86lb bag weight...in addition to FishStock, this was the second redfish tournament I won this year.

The Redfish bite is excellent in the Mosquito Lagoon and the tidal waters around New Smyrna Beach for juvenile redfish from 5-10lbs. On an average day we are catching 10-20 redfish on a variety of lures and live bait. On high tides around Ponce Inlet, New Smyrna Beach and Edgewater redfish have been stacked on top of oyster bars or under mangrove branches. We've found consistent results casting topwater and surface plugs like the Mirrolure Top Dog or Mirrodine or we've sight casted a DOA shrimp or DOA CAL soft plastic for fish we see. In the Mosquito Lagoon redfish have moved into areas that last month were too shallow to fish. In the Lagoon we've found many redfish shadowing big schools of bait or laid up in deep sand troughs against shorelines and produced consistent catching using the same lures mentioned above. Trophy bull redfish in the 20-40lb range are wrapping up their annual spawn cycle and are in big schools in both Lagoons and around Ponce Inlet. A variety of live baits will ensure catching success, but if you can find a school that's not being hounded by an armada of boats you can get them to eat topwater plugs, swimbaits and flies too. Fly anglers on my boat have had success lately throwing my mangrove crab pattern, a borski slider, or spoon flies.

Speckled Trout fishing is on fire right now on the edges of flats and in the deeper creeks and sloughs where there is a good concentration of baitfish. Pigfish have been the ticket and the bite is ridiculously easy for live bait anglers...many being overslot trout from 20-30 inches. Lure anglers have been finding catching success using topwater plugs, suspending twitchbaits, or a popping cork rigged with a DOA shrimp. As the water continually gets cooler, trophy gator trout will stay up on the flats longer during the day giving us a better chance to sight cast a world class trout approaching 10lbs or better. We'll find these fish lounging in sand spots near concentrations of bait and score using swimbaits, soft plastic jerkbaits, and DOA soft plastics like the shrimp and CAL.

The Tarpon bite is winding down inshore with a few fish still widely scattered in the ICW. We jumped another half dozen tarpon over 80lbs and landed 2 last month. Most of the real action right now is nearshore in the ocean, but the waves/swell over the last two weeks have been in the 3-6' range which is too much for anyone to get out there and target them. While the adult fish have largely moved out of the area, we'll still be able to specifically target resident juveniles from 5-25lbs in remote backwaters for the remainder of the year.

As cooler weather settles in Flounder will be picking up steam. From now through early next year is the best time to score on a big doormat Flounder, with November perhaps being the best month of the year. Mud minnows or small finger mullet rigged on a jighead or fishfinder rig near creek entrances around Ponce Inlet and New Smyrna will score on good numbers of flounder.

Limited openings remaining in October, then November and December are nearly half way booked. Call or email now to reserve/book a date. Short notice trips are accepted if I have the date open. I look forward to fishing with you soon…386-212-4931.

Pictures from the past month can be found on my website...www.floridasightfishing.com/report.htm

Sept '10 - Mosquito Lagoon, NIRL, Ponce Inlet area

With the onset of September, fall is nearly here. The beginnings of the annual fall bait run are starting to take place locally with daily schools of mullet moving south down the coast and the inshore waters are teaming with finger mullet and hatches of pinfish over the grass. As fall nears, a transition in fishing patterns takes place. September is perhaps one of the better months to fish in Florida; hungry fish gorging themselves preparing for the winter months and daily chances to score a backcountry slam of redfish, tarpon and trout.

Redfish again yielded a super and consistent bite during August in the Mosquito Lagoon, North Indian River Lagoon, and around Ponce Inlet. The key theme during the past month has been the annual spawn. In all locations, schools of GIANT bull redfish are on the move and spawning around the moon cycles. At Ponce Inlet drifting blue crabs, finger mullet, pinfish and croakers can produce trophy redfish. In select areas of the NIRL and Mosquito Lagoon, massive schools of trophy bull reds will crash topwater plugs, swimbaits, flies and a variety of live bait. Remember these fish are spawning, so limit your catch, land them quickly, and release them with care. On the shallow grass flats in the Lagoons and around the oyster bars and mangroves around New Smyrna, we’ve been sight casting smaller juvenile redfish in the 5-10lb range. Increasing water levels have opened up more fishable territory, flooding areas and structure that have been high and dry all summer. On average we are still getting 10-15 redfish per day. The top lures have been topwater plugs, swimbaits, and DOA shrimp. Fly anglers are getting good action with deceivers, spoon flies, and crab patterns. Mullet and pinfish have been the top live bait choices.

Tarpon are scattered throughout both the Mosquito Lagoon and the NIRL, ICW, and nearshore waters. If you want to score on a late season tarpon time is running thin as most of the adult fish will migrate out of the area by months end. Like last month, many fish made a run to spawn around the last full moon cycle and they have been filtering back inshore since. We found good tarpon numbers every day we looked, and the bite was pretty good each time we did. We hooked another dozen fish during the month, landing a couple in the 70-90lb range. One of the proudest moment of the year was watching my 9yr old son jump two, landing one which was his first tarpon, a fish in the 80-90lb range. The DOA baitbuser or a swimbaits has been the top lure choice lately, and for pickier fish a live mullet or pinfish have produced bites.

Speckled Trout fishing has been consistent on the edges and in the deeper creeks and sloughs where there is a good concentration of baitfish. Pigfish and croakers will score consistently on numerous trout for live bait anglers, lure anglers will find great success in the same areas working a popping cork rigged with a DOA shrimp. Extreme amounts of floating grass have made using surface plugs a tough and impractical task. While a majority of the trout are in deeper water right now, as fall moves in and the water cools off, we can expect great sight casting for big gator trout again.

I have limited openings remaining in September and early October. The next 6 weeks can produce some of the best fishing of the year for trophy redfish and tarpon. Call or email now to reserve/book a date. Short notice trips are accepted if I have the date open. I look forward to fishing with you soon…386-212-4931.

August 2010 - Mosquito Lagoon, New Smyrna & Ponce Inlet Area

The dog days of August are upon us. While the temperatures are red hot, it hasn’t slowed the fishing much on the coastal waters around Central Florida. Generally the heat affects fisherman more than it does fish. Redfish dominated the action over the previous month with nearly double digit catching almost every day. We fished for tarpon less in July, but the next two months are the best of the year. Speckled trout have been eating a variety of lures and baits early in the morning before laying up late in the day. We’re knocking on the door of fall, in fact, the fall bait run will be getting underway later this month.

The Redfish bite has fantastic during the entire past month throughout the whole Mosquito Lagoon and the tidal creeks around New Smyrna Beach. On an average day lately we are getting 10-15 redfish to bite. Water levels are seasonally low, and outgoing tides have condensed even more the areas fish have room to move. Schools of juvenile redfish in the 5-10lb range are schooling overnight near the schools of bait, then scattering into the grass or along shorelines once the sun gets up high. Topwater plugs have connected on a number of fish lately, with swimbaits, soft plastic shad jerkbaits, or DOA shrimp scoring when fish won’t commit to a plug. Live finger mullet or pinfish have been the top producing live bait. Fly anglers have been connecting on spoon flies and shrimp patterns, unless the fish have been on shorelines where a small crab pattern has been dynamite. Schools of trophy sized GIANT bull redfish over 20lbs are schooling in the North Indian River Lagoon and Mosquito Lagoon. 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.

Tarpon are still in the ICW, the old channels, and in the Mosquito Lagoon in singles and in small schools. Many fish made a run to spawn around the last full moon; they will be returning in big numbers this month, however, before beginning the migration south in September. Most days in July it seemed I had conditions that were too breezy to get good shots or I had anglers that weren’t interested in targeting them. We still hooked several fish during the month when I got a chance to fish them, and landed a couple over 100lbs and a couple more in the 60-80lb range. Live finger mullet or pinfish have been the best live bait, the DOA baitbuster, a swimbait, or a Hogy have been the best lures. We’ve hooked up nearly 40 tarpon so far in 2010 on my boat, landing roughly half that. With two of the best months still to go, there’s a good shot of hooking over 100 tarpon this year.

The other option for fishing inshore is Speckled Trout. Good numbers of trout are staged around the bait schools early in the morning. Once the sun gets up high, the fish are either retreating to deep water or moving into shallow thick grass to hide the sun from their eyes. Finding active bait pods and throwing topwater plugs, twitchbaits, swimbaits, DOA shrimp, or soft plastic jerkbaits around the action will catch trout. A live finger mullet, pigfish or croaker will be the best live baits. Later in the day an unweighted soft plastic shad jerkbait worked through the shallow grass or bouncing a jig in deeper 3-6’ water depths will connect on trout of all sizes.

The next two months can produce some of the best fishing of the year. It’s the peak time for giant tarpon and catching big bull redfish, so don’t miss out if those are on your bucket list. I still have several remaining dates in each. Call or email now to reserve/book a date. Short notice trips are accepted if I have the date open. I look forward to fishing with you soon…386-212-4931.

July '10 - Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River, Ponce Inlet Area

July...it’s the same story every year, wondering how half the year passed us by and only half remains. June 2010 will be a month to remember, the fishing was amazing from start to finish. Redfish, tarpon, and speckled trout all were biting extremely well in the ICW, the Lagoons, and surrounding backwaters. The seas were flat in the ocean and on many days we ventured a couple miles out and found loads of giant jack crevalle, sharks, cobia, false albacore, and tarpon. If July is only half as good, it will be a another great month.

On most days this past month we started by chasing Tarpon, and on some days that all we did all day. Most of the resident juveniles in the 20-40lb range have been wandering around the ICW and Mosquito Lagoon in singles and in small schools. In addition, a nice wave of adult fish in the 60-125lb range moved up along the coast and pushed into the area backwaters around Ponce Inlet, New Smyrna Beach and Mosquito Lagoon. We had a good month of catching, we hooked up about 20 tarpon from 40-100+lbs and landed roughly half of those. Of that total, we got 6 fish to eat a toad fly that I tie, landing one that was about 50lbs. We landed two fish on lures during the month that were over 100lbs, including one that was a laid up fish we sightcasted. And to top it off, it could have been even better, we missed bites on at least another dozen fish. The beach action is picking up out of Ponce, within the past two weeks I found two schools oceanside that had over 100 giant fish well over 100lbs. Things will only improve for tarpon over the summer before it winds down at the end of September, so don’t miss out.

The Redfish bite has been great and fairly consistent during the whole past month in the Mosquito Lagoon and in the tidal creeks around New Smyrna and Edgewater. Schools of redfish in the 5-10lb range are scattered all over the flats, tailing in the grass and working the numerous bait pods. In the creeks, redfish are laid up around the oyster bars and slow cruising the mangrove edges. Find active and finnicky bait that will give away their location, then cast lightweight soft plastics, swimbaits, or topwater plugs to extract them from their ambush spot. On the last day of June we landed 19 redfish sight casting with a small swimbait and gulp shrimp by actively working mullet pods. If you to prefer to fish with live bait use cut mullet or cut pinfish and patiently wait them out. Fly anglers will connect on spoon flies, bunny patterns and seaducers. If you’re fly casting to tailers, a small crab pattern will get the job done. If you’re searching for trophy sized GIANT bull redfish over 20lbs, these fish are schooling getting ready to spawn later this month and next in the North Indian River Lagoon and Mosquito Lagoon. Typical summer weather patterns with calm water makes them easy to find and you’ll guarantee a hook-up if you toss them a live pinfish, mullet, or fresh piece of cut bait. If you are first to the scene in the morning, they will often smack a topwater plug, spoon, or fly.

The Speckled Trout bite in steady in the ICW backwaters, the Mosquito Lagoon and North Indian River Lagoon. Most of the trout action is near deeper water they can move to once the sun gets high. Early in the morning they are shadowing big schools of mullet. We are finding active bait pods in the morning and working a soft plastic jerkbait, Mirrolure Mirrodines or Mirrominnows, or waiting patiently with a live mullet. Later in the day we are bouncing jigheads with a small 3-4’ paddle tail around submerged islands and sandbar edges to catch numerous fish in the 10-20’ range. June was a great month for catching big trout, we caught many over 6-7lbs.

Nearshore there are great opportunities to catch GIANT Jack Crevalle in the 20-40lb. Recently there have been 10-20 schools between Cape Canaveral and Daytona Beach in the 30-50’ depths with each school holding hundreds of giant jacks. Topwater plugs or a live mullet or menhaden will produce a vicious strike. If you are inshore in the Lagoons or ICW, watch for the scattered pods of roaming smaller jack crevalle and bluefish that are shadowing the menhaden and sardine schools that have flooded the area backwaters. These fish will eat a variety of lures and you’ll be able to catch them till you get tired or bored.

Still some remaining dates for July and August. Call or email now to reserve/book a date. Short notice trips are accepted if I have the date open. I look forward to fishing with you soon…386-212-4931.

FishStock 2010 - New Smyrna Beach (1st place Redfish, 2nd place Overall Top Boat)

Capt. Nathaniel Lemmon and his son, Corey, teamed up with Capt. Tony Pantuso for the two-day Fishstock tournament held annually out of New Smyrna Beach. The trio grabbed 1st place in the Redfish Division and 1st place in the Redfish jackpot with a 25.88lb total weight; they also captured 2nd place in the overall top boat honors. "I found and then scouted our particular fish for weeks leading up to the tournament, I knew them so well by the tourney," Capt Lemmon said, "my little boy was a star, he caught several 6lb redfish and our 2.3lb trout." A new tournament rule requiring trout to fit in the 15-20" slot range changed strategies for all 90 teams battling for the inshore titles. Teams this year were prohibited from keeping the big gator trout Fishstock is famous for. "It really made this a redfish tournament, with a trout kicker," Capt. Lemmon said, "we caught a lot of trout, but big redfish weights were a must to compete." The trio won over $5,000 in cash and prizes for their efforts.

May 2010 - Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River, Ponce Inlet Backwaters

Moving right along into May...water temperatures have climbed into the 80’s, baitfish have been flooding the inshore waters, manatees are scattered around the Lagoons, and the cobia, jack and tarpon migration is moving up the Florida coastline. A brief return of 90 degree daytime temperatures means summer conditions are on the near horizon. Inshore, the lagoons are where the best action is. GIANT bull redfish have dominated recent action on the deeper flats while smaller redfish are tailing in shallow grass or crawling down nearby shorelines. Speckled trout are hammering the glass minnows and mullet streaming into the inshore waters, while bluefish and small baby tarpon shadow nearby and follow suit on the feeding frenzy. Sight fishing opportunities are excellent and abundant for light tackle and fly anglers.

It’s one of my favorite times of the year to catch GIANT bull Redfish on the Space Coast. While our resident fish are in the Lagoons year-round and can be caught at any time, spring is when the big fish begin to school in mass numbers readying for a late summer spawn. These big schools recently are holding 50-100+ fish ranging from 15-40lbs. We will sight cast them with a variety of options from live bait to lures and flies on deeper flats or on the edges. Pinfish or live finger mullet are too much to resist for these trophy fish. Five to ten of these monster redfish is an average day, enough to tire almost any angler with 10-20 minute battles. Consistent lower water levels in the lagoons has pulled the fish out of the ultra skinny water and into bigger schools out deeper. Same is the story in the New Smyrna backwaters on the bottom of the tide cycles around oyster bars and creeks. Overnight they are grouping with the mullet pods and then separating mid-morning to move towards shorelines. Blind casting spoons, crankbaits, and swimbaits early in the morning around baitpods will produce redfish. Once the sun is up finesse casting soft plastic jerkbaits will score on redfish that are now focused on the glass minnows, mud minnows, and small finger mullet that have flooded the inshore waters. Fly anglers are scoring on baitfish imitations like a bendback, spoon fly, or seaducer to cruising or schooling fish, while a crab or shrimp is the best option for that lonely “tailer”.

Peak time is upon us for the biggest Speckled Trout of the year. Key your ears to the finicky baitfish during the first couple hours of the morning to locate big gator trout from 4-8lbs shadowing the bait pods. Same as redfish, blind casting crankbaits and swimbaits early in the morning around baitpods will yield big trout. Once the sun is up finesse casting soft plastic jerkbaits to fish you see laid up in sand spots. More aggressive fish will be found smacking bait on the surface, which lends itself nicely to tossing topwater plugs for surface strikes. Fly anglers are scoring on baitfish imitations like a bendback or seaducer worked among the mulletor glass minnow pods. Within a few weeks we’ll start trout fishing with live pigfish, an easy and fun way to have non-stop catching action all day long.

Tarpon fishing is running about 2-3 weeks behind schedule as the water temps are just now getting to an optimal point for them to start moving around. I have recently located a few areas that have decent numbers of 5-10lb baby tarpon and have have also seen a few 20-40lb’rs rolling in the ICW and some scattered big tarpon moving around Ponce Inlet. Numbers are a little slow right now, but they are fishable for those that want to give it a try. It won’t be until late May-early June until the peak of the big migrating adult fish over 100lbs move up the coastline. Snook action has improved around New Smyrna and Port Orange around the docks and adjacent creeks. Crankbaits or DOA shrimp skipped under the docks or worked along the outer edges will score, as will a live shrimp.

Limited dates remaining open for the rest of May and June is almost 1/2 booked . Call or email now to reserve/book a date. Short notice trips are accepted if I have the date open. Read my fishing charter page to view the top reasons why you should book your trip with me today. I look forward to fishing with you soon…386-212-4931.

April 10 - Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River Lagoon

It’s April in Florida and that means spring is here, the annual bait run is about to begin, and the fish feeding activity is moving into overdrive. As water temperatures warm inshore and along the coast the bait migration will move up the coastline...and taking full advantage of it will be hungry fish moving with increased energy levels. For April, redfish, speckled trout and black drum will dominate the inshore scene; while opportunities for cobia and sharks out in the ocean off the beaches will elevate by month end. Sight fishing opportunities are superb with speckled trout shadowing mullet pods and big schools of redfish and black drum in the backwater creeks, oyster bars, and grass flats. Opportunities are abundant for fly and light tackle lure anglers, while live bait fishing action continues to pick up the pace as the spring bait run nears.

Redfish are a monthly staple and the fishing in Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River lately has been outstanding. The grass flats in the Lagoons are loaded with big schools of 100-300 redfish shadowing bait pods and digging shrimp out of the grass. In the tidal creeks around Ponce Inlet, New Smyrna, Edgewater redfish are cruising mangrove shorelines and the edges of the oyster bars. At Ponce Inlet redfish have been active near the jetty’s on the outgoing tide. Since water temperatures have warmed up into the 70’s, redfish have been far more active and aggressive. My light tackle lure anglers have been catching numerous fish on a daily basis using weedless soft plastic jerkbaits, mirrolure’s (mirrodines), swimbaits, and DOA shrimp and CAL’s. My fly anglers have been connecting on seaducers, spoon flies, my shrimp fly, and borski sliders. A huge recent shrimp hatch on the recent full moon has put live shrimp at the top of the preferred food choice and this will likely repeat again on the late April full moon. Otherwise, more and more mullet have returned to the inshore waters and a free-lined live or cut mullet will entice wary fish. Action is picking up in both Lagoons for GIANT trophy sized from 20-40lb. Schools are growing in size each week and some have over 100 fish in the 40-50” range. A dose of good weather makes these bronze bruisers easy to target and the reward for patience and good cast placement can be the redfish of a lifetime.

It’s spring which means prime time for Speckled Trout fishing on the Space Coast. While there is increasing trout action around the docks in New Smyrna Beach and Edgewater, this is the best time of the year to target big gator trout on the flats in the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River Lagoon. The key is finding flats with active mullet, find finnicky baitfish and rest assure the trout are there and eating. We’ve caught numerous trout over 20” lately, with several 5-7lber’s, throwing mirrorlure suspending plugs, swimbaits, and soft plastic jerkbaits on jigheads. Fly anglers will connect on seaducers, deceivers, and clouser minnows among the mullet and muddied water. Live bait anglers will score on good trout finding active mullet and free-lining a frisky finger mullet into the mix for some explosive action. Speckled trout action will continue to get better and better as the water temps stay consistently above 70 and the spring bait run begins to take hold.

Juvenile Tarpon are starting to get a little more active as we enter the spring. Right now it’s smaller fish in the 5-10lb range showing themselves with brief rolling in remote backwaters. Later this month the bigger 20-40lb juveniles will start to show around the ICW and provide brief window’s where they will bite a well placed jig on the bottom. There are loads and loads of Black Drum in both Lagoons on the flats. They’re fun for a change of pace or to do something different. Live shrimp or crabs, DOA shrimp, or a well placed crab fly will do the trick. Snook action around the docks and bridges in New Smyrna and Edgewater will get going later this month as the water temperatures push up near 70 degrees.

Less than 10 dates remaining for April, and 1/2 of May is already booked. Call or email now to reserve/book a date. Short notice trips are accepted if I have the date open. I look forward to fishing with you soon…386-212-4931.

March 10 - Mosquito Lagoon, North Indian River Lagoon, Oak Hill & NSB Backcountry

March is here and the fishing in East-Central Florida is picking up steam heading into the spring. Water temperatures are consistently warming, and in turn, producing a more consistent bite for all inshore fish. Redfish have been the number one target in all area lagoons and rivers. Schools and pods of smaller 5-10lb reds are on the mud flats, oyster and shell bars, and there are big trophy sizes 20-40lb’rs starting to show on the edges of flats. Speckled trout have been shadowing bait pods that are getting more active with the warmer water. When either of those have been slow, black drum have been there to save a day. Crystal clear water is yielding excellent sight casting conditions for fly and light tackle lure anglers, but the live bait fishing conditions are also ripening as the spring bait run gets ready to start. Pick your poison, spring is in the air.

Redfish are our top priority moving into March in the Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River, and the backwater creeks around Ponce Inlet. Warming water temperatures is bringing out the baitfish and the redfish are staying close by. On colder mornings and nights, redfish are schooling on the edges of creeks, ICW, sloughs, and on the muddy sections of the flats. As the sun heats the water up and gets the bait moving, redfish are following and dining on the shrimp and crabs the bait stirs up, or picking off the often injured mullet. The super clear water makes for outstanding sight casting conditions for fly and light tackle lure anglers. Good days lately are revealing several schools of 100+ fish and smaller pods of 20-30. Most of these fish range from 4-10lbs. There are also various areas in the Lagoons where the trophy sized 20-40lb redfish are starting to school on the edges of the flats. Most pods lately have 10-50 fish in the 35-45” range, but as the water continues to warm, these schools will grow to upwards of 100-200 GIANT redfish. My light tackle anglers throwing lures have had good success sight casting with DOA shrimp or soft plastics rigged on Slayer weedless jigheads. When blind casting we have been using Mirrolure’s like the mirrodine and mirrominnow or spoons. My fly anglers have connected on a lot of redfish and black drum lately throwing a shrimp pattern I tie, borski sliders, and redfish candies. Weight and color choices have been dictated by wind conditions, however, light brown flies with bead chain eyes have been the top producers. Choices vary for live bait anglers, we’ve used live shrimp for sight casting and live finger mullet when bait-n-waiting. Over the past month the redfish appear fatter than ever, as we have gotten several redfish around the 27” slot that are weighing close to 10lbs!

Conditions are setting up nicely for the Speckled Trout fishing to explode March-May. These months are perhaps the best time of year to cash in on a big trout between 5-10lbs. It might be a little tougher than year’s past, however, to get one of those trophy trout because of the winter freeze. We’ve been seeing and catching lots of 10-20” trout latelyl and recently started seeing and catching more of the big gators over 5lbs. I found a couple areas last week when the water temps briefly dropped that had 50-75 trout schooled up with most over 4lbs, including a couple near the 10lb mark. Find the mullet pods and you’ll find the trout, as they are closely shadowing their preferred food of choice. As the sun gets up and the bait moves onto the grass, the trout are laying up in sand holes waiting to ambush. My light tackle lure anglers have had good success tossing hard twitchbaits around the bait and small topwater plugs. If the fish are a little lethargic we use live, or even cut, mullet to turn on the trout bite. Sight casting a trout on fly is the ultimate challenge, and if you’re game, go with a really light fly like an unweighted seaducer or deceiver. As the water temps consistently stay between 60-70 degrees, expect the trout bite to be phenomenal and your chances of connecting on a gator trout to increase. April and May are typically my best two producing months of the year for big trout.

When redfish and trout might be slow, you can generally always count on Black Drum to save a day. Or if you just want to get a consistent bite from 10+lb fish, then drum will get the nod. There are a few big schools of 200-300 black drum in the North Indian River Lagoon and a couple smaller schools in the Mosquito Lagoon. There are also good numbers of black drum in Ponce Inlet and around the area bridges. This is the peak time of year to catch the biggest black drum. Most of the drum on the flats are in the 6-15lb range. Peeled dead shrimp have produced well for me lately. If you really want to tussle with a big black drum, head to any area bridge loaded for bear with big tackle and chunks of blue crab. Don’t be surpised to get broken off a couple times before you land one of these big drum over 20lbs.

Snook fishing has been non-existent for me during the past month. While there are snook around that survived the freeze, we barely got any days with water temps in the 60’s which is the minimum temperature it basically takes for us to get any consistent action on them around here. Warmer days in March should help get us there, only then do I expect to start trying again. Same goes for Tarpon, however, we’re only a few weeks away from the bigger 20-40lb juvenile poons to start moving around the area backwaters.

Limited dates remaining for March, as 2/3’s of the month is already booked. About 1/2 of April and May are already booked, so call or email now to reserve/book a date. Short notice trips are accepted if I have the date open. I look forward to fishing with you soon…386-212-4931.

2007 East Cape Lostmen for sale

Gotta sell a skiff to make room for the new boat I am getting. Here's the details, call or email for more information...

2007 ECC Lostmen (hull #1). White hull/blue cap. 2007 40hp Honda 4 stroke tiller outboard (approx 1,000 hours). 55# Minn Kota bow mount 12volt trolling motor. Trolling motor easily removable with minn-kota quick release mount. Odyssey batteries. Pro Mariner 12amp dual-bank battery charger. 19' Biscayne Push Pole. 13pitch Power Tech stainless prop with extra cupping (7 months old). Boat wired for Garmin GPS and sonar (w/ transducer). Fly line toe rails on front deck. Lenco Trim Tabs. 10 gallon live well recirculated and aerated. 10 under gunnel rod holders. 15 gallon built in gas tank. Ramlin Trailer with spare tire and mount. Trailer in fair condition. New trailer tires, replaced in late '09.

I've owned this boat since the beginning of the Lostmen build from ECC. It's a special build, you can't get done today. Lighter than all other Lostmen's built and has a higher transom that allows the motor to sit 2' higher without the need of a after-market jackplate. It has served as my full-time charter guide boat for it's whole life, used nearly every day and well kept showing usual wear and tear. Regular general maintenance and full internal service and tune-ups done annually. After boat is sold and buyer pays deposit, ECC will refurbish this boat to like new condition. ECC will also re-issue a brand NEW warranty to new owner. I am only selling because I am moving into a new 2010 boat from ECC.

Feb '10 - Mosquito Lagoon, Edgewater & New Smyrna Backwaters

Rolling into February and 2010 is off to a good, but interesting, start. For the second year in a row, extreme cold temperatures created dangerously low water temperatures causing another snook kill in the area. This time however, the fish kill was more wide spread and claimed some baby tarpon and some giant speckled trout as well. Redfish, black drum and most other trout were largely unaffected by the cold water and the fishing for them has returned to pace. Far from catastrophic, remaining snook are showing back up and biting again. Now that temperatures have warmed up and are stabilizing the fishing is getting back to normal. Fish have taken up residence along the edges of flats in deeper water and are easy to find. The water is crystal clear everywhere and the sight fishing is incredible. As we move through the next two months, the spring bait run is right around the corner and fishing will be explosive.

Redfish are the main target right now in Mosquito Lagoon, the Indian River, and scattered throughout the backwater creeks of New Smyrna, Edgewater, and behind Ponce Inlet. With the water so clear it’s been easy to locate several good schools of 25-50 redfish throughout the day, and there are also a couple places where at times all the smaller schools combine to make 200-300 fish schools. Redfish have been staged on the deep edges of shallow flats around deeper sandy/mud bottom creeks and sloughs where they can retreat when the water temps cool at night. Warm, calm weather and rising tides has them pushing up and scattering into the shallows. These fish are hungry and have been shadowing baitfish schools. Find bait schools and you’ll find redfish nearby. Light tackle anglers are having the best success using baitfish imitations like gold spoons, small swimbaits and the Mirrolure mirrodine and mirrominnow. If the fish have been finicky, we’ve switched to DOA shrimp and Gulp scented baits for more of a finesse approach. Choices vary for live bait anglers, live shrimp, live finger mullet and pinfish, and cut crabs are all producing at various times. Fly anglers are connecting using clouser minnows, ep minnows, redfish blossoms, and my versions of the borski slider and borski shrimp. There are also several schools of GIANT redfish moving in the Mosquito Lagoon and North IRL. Clear skies and light winds are a must if we are going to spend any time looking to catch one of these trophy bruisers that range from 15-40lbs. Most of the schools appear to have 25-100 fish in the 40-inch range.

Speckled Trout are another target for our winter fishing months in Mosquito Lagoon, Oak Hill, Edgewater and New Smyrna. Trout have also been in the same areas as redfish lately, schooling along the edges of deeper creeks and sloughs, with the occasional few fish spotted laid up in sand spots on the deeper portions of the grass flats. Find bait schools and you’ll find trout nearby as well. Casting jigs, plastics, and suspending twitchbaits around the bait is currently putting 10-20-30 or more trout in the boat a day. If they have been picky, live or cut mullet thrown into the bait pods has also managed to produce consistent bites. Clouser minnows, EP minnows, and seaducers are good flies for my fly anglers. With the improving bite, our average trout lately has been in the 15-20” slot range, with a few around 4lbs. It’s been tough going for sight casting big gator trout from 5-10lbs that survived the freeze in the southern portions of Mosquito Lagoon and Oak Hill, but recent scouting trips revealed a few spotty areas that have some 6-10lb fish that made it through. The speckled trout sight fishing is a shell of what it could be in there though this time of the year, and it’s wise to encourage catch and release for any over-slot speckled trout in Mosquito Lagoon. Outside of the Lagoon, the death toll on those gator trout seems minimal.

Normally I would talk next about the Snook fishing in the winter as it’s one of my favorite times of the year to spend a day catching snook and catching loads of them. Out of all the fish, snook were hit the hardest during the recent freeze; not just here but around the entire state of Florida. It wasn’t a total loss, however, for the linesiders making their home north of the frost lines in Volusia County, but consecutive years of snook kill is taking it’s toll on our resident fish. Due to timing of this writing, I have yet to explore many of the places I fish for snook during the winter, but friends have and they have caught some decent snook here and there. Survivors have been on shorelines in and adjacent to the deepest marina’s, bridges, jetty structure and backcountry holes. Now that it’s warming they will be moving onto adjacent flats to warm up and eat. IMPORTANT! -- Fishing for Florida snook in 2010 will be catch and release only, with the passage of an emergency species closure by the State of Florida FWC on 1/16/10.

One fish that didn’t mind cold weather one bit is Bluefish. They have been on fire lately with all the cold water and there are thousands of them to be caught. A glamour species of the Northeast US, laughingly nobody seems to target them in Florida during the winter. So if you just want to bend a line all day, they’re more than happy to oblige. February is the best month of the year to catch big bluefish around New Smyrna Beach and Ponce Inlet. Casting jigs, Mirrolure crankbaits and suspending twitchbaits or free lining live bait will yield great numbers of caught bluefish in the ICW and adjacent deep cuts and creeks. The average bluefish is the schooly 10-20” blue, with the occasional fish that will weigh 5-10lbs.

There are loads of Black Drum in the ICW, flats in Mosquito Lagoon, and flats in the North Indian River Lagoon. These fish also didn’t seem to mind the cold weather, in fact, it brought many of the bigger fish over 15lbs up out of the deeper water and near the edges of the sand bars for a short period of time. Black drum have been schooled up by the hundreds. Live shrimp and cut crabs will provide a day of action when everything else may have lockjaw.

Dates remaining open for February are limited with only 13 dates remaining as of today. March and April dates have been booking fast with about 15 dates remaining open in each month. Short notice trips are accepted if I have the date open. Give me a call call now to reserve/book a date. I look forward to fishing with you soon…386-212-4931.

Jan '10 - Mosquito Lagoon, New Smyrna, Ponce Inlet Backcountry

Happy New Year to everyone! 2010 is hard to believe, seems like we were just contemplating the seriousness of Y2K. You blink your eyes and a decade has gone by. 2009 presented challenges, but spending 254 days on the water and racking up over 160 charters with clients from all over the globe will make you forget about the daily doldrums of life. So as we roll into another year, we are smack dab in the middle of winter fishing on the coastal waters of Central Florida. Cold fronts are stacked up every week, the bait run is over, and the fish have settled into the preferred hiding spots for the winter. The beauty of fishing in Florida is there is no slow time, we just adapt to the circumstances and find fish. January and February, while they can be cold, provide the best opportunities to catch sheer numbers of fish. It’s not uncommon to have 20-30-40-50+ fish days during the next two months. Throw in the fact that the water is crystal clear, it’s without a doubt the best time of the year for sight casting. If you can manage the cold and breezy days, it’s a great time to get, and keep, a rod bent. Redfish, speckled trout, and snook are and will be the primary targets during the next two months.

Redfish will be the general targets in Mosquito Lagoon and the Indian River Lagoon. Higher water levels have kept the famed massive schools of redfish from forming yet. Smaller schools of 20-50 fish, however, are scattered all over the flats. Colder water temps have most redfish in sand spots, sloughs, and sandy swaths near shorelines. On warming periods these fish are then scattering back out onto open grass. My light tackle anglers are connecting on DOA shrimp, spoons, and the occasional soft plastic jerkbait. While those are the choices for artificials, we have been piling up big numbers using live finger mullet and the occasional live shrimp. Fly anglers have posted impressive catch numbers lately throwing my versions of the Borksi shrimp and small EP minnows. A few schools of GIANT redfish have popped back up in each the Mosquito Lagoon and the North IRL. Clear skies and light winds are a must for trying them in the winter months. Use live jumbo shrimp or live mullet for the best chance at catching these 15-40lb bruisers. Farther north in New Smyrna Beach and the Ponce Inlet backwaters, redfish have taken up residence for the winter in deep holes. I find these fish by marking them on sonar. Peg a live shrimp on a jighead or bucktail and throw it up current and let it roll back throw the hole on the bottom. Where there’s one, there’s many, and there are generally some black drum there too.

Speckled Trout fishing is the best of the year for sight casting world class trout over 10lbs in Mosquito Lagoon. Colder weather brings these fish up from the depths and into the shallows in search of a place to warm up. From now through the spring it’s not uncommon to spot several trout each day over 10lbs, however they can be lethargic with the colder water temps. Want a challenge, try sight casting one of them with a lure or fly...it’s harder than a permit on lure or fly. Or sit back, toss out a mullet and wait for them to smack a live bait. If you want to take you chances sight casting, a swimbait, soft plastic jerk shad, or a DOA shrimp is a good choice. A EP minnow or bendback are great flies to throw at fish when you spot them laid up in the sand. We connected with a giant gator trout approaching 12lbs earlier this week when the water was it’s coldest, she ate a live mullet.

Not many people play with Snook during the winter and cold water. I’ve spent some time lately checking my usual winter spots and marked a ton of fish stacked up in deep holes. During the afternoon these fish are coming up to the surface to lay up in the sunshine and warm up. Snook hate cold weather, too cold and the will start dying. These fish are going to be highly selective and lethargic, we’ll throw many perfect casts and watch them sink back down deep. But when they turn on, we’ll hook a bunch of them for a 1-2 hours, with several in the 10lb range. It’s a patience game for winter time snook fishing, but there’s generally nobody around and we have them to ourself. When we want to fish them in the holes, a free lined live shrimp is the ticket. Just let the shrimp swim and wait for the to pick him off.

While not as glamourous as the three prized gamefish mentioned above, this can also be a good time to catch awesome numbers of fish in the tidal areas around Ponce Inlet. Bluefish and Jack Crevalle are everywhere. Most of the bluefish are still on the small size, 15-20” that are eating anything that looks edible. Jack crevalle are around the docks and and backwater creeks also eating anything that looks good. If you aren’t interested in sight casting and just want a day catching as many fish as possible, these two will keep you entertained all day long and with a constant bent rod.

Photos of catches from the last month can be found on my website...
www.floridasightfishing.com/report.htm

I have some dates remaining for January and many dates in February are already booked. Short notice trips are available if I have the date open. Give me a call call now to reserve/book a date. I look forward to fishing with you soon…386-212-4931.