Capt. Nathaniel recently spent a day in the Mosquito Lagoon area with the Digital Editor for Salt Water Sportsman magazine. The article was just published along with a short video. Check it out!
http://www.saltwatersportsman.com/mosquito-lagoon-fishing/seeing-red?src=SOC&dom=fb
Saturday, December 21, 2013
December 2013 - Ponce Inlet Area and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report
Just a couple weeks left in 2013! Everyone always asks when is the best time to fish here? Well, that time is upon us. The next two months produce the most numbers of fish caught per day. December and January are generally the best “catching” months of the year. We generally average anywhere from 10-40 fish per day, and around the hard cold snaps, we’ll see days of 50-100 fish. Passing cold fronts push fish into predictable spots. As water levels drop, it condenses them even further. Our main targets this time of year are redfish, speckled trout, black drum and snook. Sight fishing is possible in much of the Mosquito Lagoon and backwater creeks around the Ponce Inlet area with clean, clear water. Things are a bit dirtier in the North Indian River Lagoon but that area should clean up over the next month or so.
Redfish fishing has been good in the Mosquito Lagoon and along creek shorelines in areas near Ponce Inlet. As water levels fall over the next few weeks and colder weather becomes more consistent, we will find our famed schools of 100-300 redfish around these areas. Lately we’ve been finding numerous small groups of 5-20 redfish tailing on shallow grass flats and holding on oyster bars. Catching has been getting more consistent each week with most days getting 5-10 redfish to the boat. Live shrimp, mullet, and cut crab have been good live bait options. When throwing lures we’ve done well with Aqua Dream spoons, small swimbaits, and DOA shrimp. Expect catching to increase dramatically as we approach the first of the year with many days seeing 10-25 redfish to the boat.
From now through the spring it doesn’t get any better for catching monster trophy Speckled Trout. We’ll see dozens of big trout this time of year, with several in the 8-10+lb range. These big trout are moving from deeper edges up onto shallow flats to lay up in potholes in the shallows of the Lagoons and in the shallow sand shelfs in the creeks around Ponce Inlet. A live finger mullet is the best chance to score on these trophy size trout. Sometimes we can get them on small soft plastics, swimbaits, and suspending plugs, but it’s often tough sledding with limited catching throwing lures.
Snook fishing is good and looks to be the best year since the freeze we had in 2009. Most of our catching is with fish in the 12-25” range. It hasn’t gotten cold enough to push them into their deep winter time holes, but they seem to be loaded up on deep edges near or adjacent to those areas. I spent one day this week checking one area...we landed 6 snook up to 24” with a few more shaking free and several others rolling on a lure but missing. Snook fishing for us is at it’s peak from now through the first part of March. We catch them on DOA shrimp, small swimbaits, Mirrolure plugs, and live shrimp.
A few schools of Black Drum have shown up on the shallow flats in Mosquito Lagoon. More will continue to show up as we get closer to their early spring spawn. They are considerably easy to catch; shrimp, cut crabs, as well as lures that imitate those will work. We should see some really big ones around 20+lbs show up after the first of the year.
I have a few dates left for December. January has been booking quickly so I only have about half the month left open. If you want to take advantage of some of our best catching of the year during the next 2 months, be sure to get on the calendar now. Short notice trips are available if I have the date open. Call or email to secure a date. 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.
Check out the 2013 slideshow with 60 of the best photos from the year!
2013 IFA Redfish Tour - Florida East Team of Year
Capt. Nathaniel Lemmon and his teammate Capt Patrick Rood took 1st place for the Florida East Coast Division Team of Year in 2013. The team started off the IFA season in April taking a 5th place finish in Jacksonville with 12.44lbs out of a field of 75 boats. They next competed in Titusville, FL taking a 14th place finish with 9.44lbs among 76 boats. They wrapped up the year competing in the IFA Championship in Houma, Louisiana. They held 7th place after day 1, but finished in 22nd place after day 2 with a total weight of 30.60lbs among a field of 86 teams from around the country. The three tournaments put them in first place for the Florida East Division Team of Year standings.
November 2013 - New Smyrna, Ponce Inlet, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report
Sorry for a delay in my monthly report, I spent over a week recently in Houma, Louisiana fishing the Redfish Tour championship. Finished the 2 day tourney in 22nd place out of 86 boats, falling from 7th place on day 1. But did win Team of Year for our division. Epic fishing in the marsh and bayou's in Houma. Saw thousands of redfish and caught hundreds up to 25lbs. Can't wait to go back again nexst year.
Back home, we're just a few days away from Thanksgiving and we’re stuck in a transition between fall and winter in the coastal waters of Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River Lagoon and the Ponce Inlet area. Cold fronts are making a more regular appearance. The water clarity is exceptional on the flats in the Lagoons and the creeks near the Inlet. Fish are starting to group up into winter schools. The only thing holding the fishing back from “epic catching” is the high water levels. As the wind continues to shift to more of a north and west orientation those water levels will drop. Our targets through the rest of the year will be primarily redfish. Added opportunities for giant speckled trout laid up in the shallows, flounder over shallow sand bottom, and snook in deep backcountry creeks and holes.
Redfish have for the most part completed their annual spawning and scattered widely. So it’s on sightcasting schools and small pods over shallow grass flats in Mosquito Lagoon and the Indian River Lagoon. Most of these fish range from 4-10lbs and they feasting on shrimp, crabs, and finger mullet. Soft plastic shad style jerkbaits, spoons, and topwater plugs are all producing for us. The obvious choice for live bait has been cut finger mullet, shrimp and cut crabs. Since bites can be less noticeable this time of year, I prefer to use live baits on Lazer Sharp 4/0 circle hooks (L197BKU). Fish are still fairly scattered as the day wears on so catching has been a bit limited. Some days it’s a few, other days it’s 10 or more. As we get into December (and water levels drop) catching will take off with 10 or more being the norm and days of 20-30+ not out of the question.
From now through the spring it doesn’t get any better for catching monster trophy Speckled Trout. As the water temps continue to get colder, these big trout in the 4-15lb range move their way from the deeper edges up onto shallow flats to lay up in potholes in the shallows of the Lagoons and in the shallow sand shelfs in the creeks around Ponce Inlet. We’ll see dozens of big trout this time of year, with several in the 8-10+lb range. They can be a big lethargic during the winter months but if you’re patient with them the reward is the trout of a lifetime. Live bait like finger mullet are a must have if you want the best chance. Although we’ll occasionally catch some trophy trout on soft plastics and suspending plugs. I’m already seeing a lot of big trout and during the past week we caught a 10lb trout on a plug and a couple others in the 27-28” range on live bait. And it’s only going to get better! Giant trout are my favorite thing to target and my Trout Photo Gallery speaks for itself on the quality of fish we catch.
It’s been a surprising year for Snook, with many small juvenile fish in the 12-20” range moving around in the tidal areas right now. They’re on the move because they are headed to areas they plan to spend the rest of the winter when cold settles in for good. Before the big freeze in 2009, I used to spend many days during Dec-Feb targeting winter time snook and it looks like I’ll be able to get back to that this year.Flounder too are starting to move around quite a bit, heading out of creeks towards the ICW and on towards the Inlet. Jigs tipped with shrimp, mud minnows, and live mullet will produce for us around creeks mouths on outgoing tides.
November was slammed with a lot of charters. December and January dates are now starting to fill up too. If you want to take advantage of some of our best catching of the year during the next 2 months, be sure to get on the calendar now. 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...
October Fishing Report - Indian River, Mosquito Lagoon, New Smyrna Fishing Report
October brings fall to Central Florida. The first cold fronts start to dip into our area and we say good bye to 90 degree weather and hello to low 60’s in the morning. That means it’s time to break out the light jackets for the cool morning boat rides. Fall also means one thing...fall bait run! It’s on in a major way during the past 2 weeks. Thousands of big mullet are moving out of the lagoons and towards the Ponce Inlet where they will make their way down the coast. Finger mullet are piled up in the creeks and muddy backwaters. Redfish, speckled trout, tarpon, snook, sharks, flounder, jack crevalle and more are all waiting on them around every point, oyster bar, creek mouth and Inlet where they gorge themselves before they thin out and become scarce when it gets cold.
~ Note ~ Because of the federal gov’t closure, much of the Mosquito Lagoon and a few areas in the North Indian River Lagoon are closed because they are national parks. However, this is a non-issue for me or my charters because we haven’t been fishing there much during the past month. Frankly, fishing is better elsewhere anyways. So it’s business as usual.
Redfish of the trophy variety (over 20lbs) have been piled up at Ponce Inlet for their annual spawn cycle. Same goes for the the North Indian River Lagoon. Catching can be insane this time of year for big bulls in the NIRL as they will eat just about anything thrown at them, you just need some decent weather to find them in deep open water. At Ponce Inlet it’s deep jigging or live baiting the jetties and ICW. In the backwaters smaller redfish around 4-10lbs are cruising mangrove shorelines and staged up on flooded oyster bars. Live mullet, pigfish, and pinfish are producing well, as well as lipless crankbaits, soft plastics, and topwater plugs. Soft plastics work well on Lazer Sharp 4/0 weighted EWG worm hooks (L092G-8).
Giant Tarpon are everywhere inshore and just offshore along the beaches. In the ICW they are scattered throughout New Smyrna and at Ponce Inlet. Along the beaches they are stacked on bait pods and around shrimp boats. In the ocean most of them are well over 100lbs. This is the time of year when it gets tougher to get out there though, I need light winds and no more than 2-3’ seas. We’re living on borrowed time fishing tarpon in October. First hard cold front that hits and they will quickly vanish and make their way south. Smaller juveniles in the 5-20lb range will stick around through the winter but become lethargic and inconsistent. Live mullet, pinfish, pigfish draw most attention, but swimbaits and large surface plugs work too.
Best action for Speckled Trout is around oyster bars and ledges on the outgoing tides. Pigfish and live mullet haven’t lasted long in the water. Topwater plugs and shallow twitch baits have down well too. Most of the fish are in the 15-20” range with a few upwards of 6-7lbs. We just haven’t put as muc time into them because we’ve been working on the redfish and tarpon instead.
Only have 7 days left open in October. Got a bunch of open dates in November which is when we see more schooling redfish and big trout in the shallows again. 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...
September 2013 - Mosquito Lagoon, New Smyrna, Ponce Inlet Fishing Report
It’s September and we’re quickly approaching the fall fishing season in Florida. The annual bait run down the coast has been in full swing lately and within the next few weeks we’ll see the first cold fronts dropping into our area. Catching over the past month continues to be consistent and very good. Higher water levels has smaller 5-10lb redfish pushed way up in the shallow grass flats in Mosquito Lagoon or on top of oyster bars in creeks near the Inlet. GIANT bull redfish over 20lbs are schooled up in spawning groups in the channels, ICW, and Ponce Inlet. Speckled trout are shadowing schools of mullet in the 3-5’ deeper creeks, channels, and sloughs. Loads of tarpon are in the ICW and on the beaches shadowing migrating mullet. Around docks, bridges, and sea walls are loads of jack crevalle, ladyfish and the occasional snook. All of these things will stay the same for the next month until the cold fronts start and the bait run winds down.
The Redfish bite continues to be very good with lots of oversize redfish in the 10-20+lb range. Bigger bull redfish are schooling in the ICW around Ponce Inlet and in the deeper basins in the Indian River Lagoon. Many of them run in the 15-30lb range, with the occasional giant redfish over 35lbs. Two weeks ago my son caught his personal best redfish, a beast over 50lbs. Smaller redfish in the Lagoons are tailing way up on the shallow grass flats. In areas close to Ponce Inlet they have been laid up on top of flooded oysters. Topwater plugs, spoons, and soft plastics all are working when sight casting. Live pigfish, mullet, shrimp and cut baits have been catching numerous redfish too. When using cut baits I use a Lazer Sharp 4/0 or 5/0 circle hook (L197-BKU). On slow days we’ve caught a few redfish, but on most trips it’s been about 7-10 redfish per day.
Clean water and a huge influx of finger mullet continues to keep the the Speckled Trout bite on fire. We’ve been crushing them on pigfish and live mullet to the tune of at least 15-20 trout on shell beds and ledges along channels, creeks, and open bays in the 3-5’ depths. Still catching fair numbers of big gator trout with a bunch in the 4-5lb range with a few up to 8lbs. Shallow crank baits and soft plastics on 1/4oz Slayer jigs are producing bites when throwing lures. But the best bite is still using pigfish. We’re free-lining pigfish unweighted on a Lazer Sharp 4/0 kahle hook (L142F).
Tarpon are thick again around Ponce Inlet and down through the ICW into the Edgewater/Oak Hill area. A warm up in ocean temps, however, has them piled up along the beaches shadowing bait pods as they migrate south. Many of them are bigger fish in the 50-100lb range. Tarpon will be here through the end of the month...once the cold fronts start though they will disappear almost instantly for the rest of the year. Live mullet and pinfish work well free-lined or suspended under corks. Otherwise it’s swimbaits and jigs run near the bottom.
Only a handful of dates left open in September. Bunch of good dates open in October. If you want to take advantage of red hot summer fishing don’t wait till the last minute to set something up. 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...
August 2013 - New Smyrna, Ponce Inlet, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report
Rolling right into August which means hot summer days and the beginnings of an annual fall bait run. To say the fishing hasn’t been epic for the last 6 weeks would be an understatement...and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. We continue to average 7-15 redfish and 15-20 speckled trout per day fishing with live bait and some lures. Big bull redfish in the 20-40lb range are schooling in areas near Ponce Inlet and in the Indian River Lagoon near Titusville. There are a bunch of tarpon around Ponce Inlet and throughout the ICW down into Mosquito Lagoon. Water clarity has consistently improved each week and we’ve been doing a bunch of sight casting on open grass flats in the Lagoons and shorelines and around oyster beds in tidal creeks around Edgewater, New Smyrna, and Port Orange. Also in those tidal areas we’re finding trout, jacks, as well as some snook and flounder around docks. The inshore fishing is about as good as it gets right now, so give me a call to reserve a spot for yourself.
The Redfish has been fantastic over the past month. They are piled up in and around bait pods, tailing over shallow grass flats, or cruising shorelines and bars in tidal creeks. These fish all range from 4-12lbs. Bigger bull redfish are schooling in the ICW around Ponce Inlet and in the deeper basins in the Indian River Lagoon. Many of them run in the 15-30lb range, with the occasional giant redfish over 35lbs. The annual summer algae bloom has been dramatically reduced and water clarity has really cleared up allowing for sight casting with spoons, lures and flies. The bite has been best, however, on live pigfish, pinfish and croakers. I rig my summer live baits on Lazer Sharp 3/0 and 4/0 Kahle hooks (L142F). We’ve averaged 7-15 redfish a day over the past 6 weeks and it’s not slowing down.
The Speckled Trout bite continues to be fantastic with cleaner water and the return of lots of finger mullet. We’ve been crushing them on pigfish and live mullet to the tune of at least 15-20 trout a day along drop offs and ledges, many in the 3-4’ depths. We’d catch even more if we brought more live bait or spent more time fishing for them. During the past month we caught a lot of big gator trout too..., a bunch of 3-5lb’s, close to ten 6-7lb’rs, a couple 8’s and one 9lb’r. If we throw lures, topwater plugs and shallow crank baits have worked around bait pods if it’s not too grassy. Otherwise weedless jigs and soft plastic swimbaits have produced. I rig my weedless soft plastics on a Lazer Sharp 4/0 weighted EWG worm hooks (L092G-8).
Tarpon are thick once again around Ponce Inlet and throughout the ICW from New Smyrna down into Mosquito Lagoon. Cooler ocean water has kept many of them in the backwaters instead of out on the beaches. Many of them are bigger fish in the 50-100lb range. Only downside lately is the water clarity in the river has made it tough for them to see jigs and swimbaits we’ve been throwing. Live mullet and pinfish work well free-lined or suspended under corks. Tarpon will be around for the next two months shadowing bait pods before the first cold fronts of the year push through around the 1st week of October.
First part of August is booked solid but have dates open during the last 2 weeks. Dates are quickly filling for September. If you want to take advantage of red hot summer fishing don’t wait till the last minute to set something up. 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.
Check out pictures from past month on my website...
Sunday, July 28, 2013
July 2013 - Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River Lagoon, Ponce Inlet Area
Happy Fourth of July to everyone! Won’t be long till summer vacations are over and kids go back to school. So what better time to jump on a boat for some fantastic inshore fishing. The bite has been red hot lately. Over the past two weeks we’ve been averaging 7-15 redfish and 15-20 speckled trout PER DAY fishing with a mix of live bait and some lures. In the ICW and deeper channels and basins we are finding fair numbers of tarpon in the 20-100lb range. Water clarity has been much improved in Mosquito Lagoon over the past couple weeks, which has made for easier sight fishing in the shallows for tailing redfish on lures, flies, and live bait. The Indian and Banana Rivers around Titusville and Cocoa Beach have really clear water and we’re finding schools of smaller redfish, some big bull redfish, and a few tarpon and snook around docks. Same holds true for areas of the Halifax River and Ponce Inlet where we are fishing docks for redfish, trout, snook, and some flounder. As you can see there is a variety of things to do and fish for on the coast of Volusia and Brevard County. I have about 10 days left open in July so call or email me today to grab one for yourself.
Redfish have been biting very well over the past two weeks. Smaller redfish in the 5-10lb range are in loose schools early on the edges of flats in Mosquito Lagoon and North Indian River Lagoon before moving into shallow grassy areas later in the day. In New Smyrna Beach, Port Orange, and Ponce Inlet we’re finding redfish on mangrove shorelines and oyster beds in tidal creeks. Water clarity has improved allowing for sight casting again which is where we’ve had our best luck fishing with lures. Otherwise we’ve been using pigfish, mud minnows and shrimp for live bait. Recently we’ve been averaging 7-13 redfish per day. Bigger bull reds are on the move towards Ponce Inlet and the North Indian River Lagoon for their annual spawn cycle. Many of them run in the 15-25lb range, with the occasional giant redfish over 35lbs. Catching for big bull redfish will really take off over the next couple months as the spawning schools get bigger and bigger.
With the improved water clarity the Speckled Trout bite has been really good. We’re using pigfish on a daily basis which always equals great trout catching. On an average day lately we’re getting 12-20+ trout per day, with usually at least 1-2 over 4lbs. If throwing lures is a must, topwater plugs and soft plastics have worked well early around schools of mullet before switching over to jigs and crankbaits late in the day. We’ve been targeting drop offs, ledges, creek edges, docks, oyster bars and grass lines on a variety of tides and wind directions.
Two weeks ago there were Tarpon everywhere around Ponce Inlet, New Smyrna, Edgewater, and down into Mosquito Lagoon. Three days later you could hardly find any. Right now there are decent numbers of them on the beach shadowing pods of mullet and menhaden, having said that winds and seas over the past week have prevented us from even looking or trying. With all of that in mind, bigger adult tarpon are definitely in the area, fish upwards of 120-150lbs. There are also good numbers of smaller juveniles in the 20-50lb range. All we need now is some decent weather to relocate them again and start fishing for them.
Only 10 days left open for July and August bookings are starting to go quick. If you want to take advantage of red hot summer fishing don’t wait till the last minute to set something up. 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
IFA Redfish Tour - TItusville 2013 (14th place)
Took time from busy charter schedule to fish final event for East Coast division of the IFA Redfish Tour this weekend in Titusville, FL. Tough day of fishing landed us in 14th place but in the money (out of 76 boats).
With that, my teammate and I sit in 2nd place for Team of Year in the Florida East division.
With that, my teammate and I sit in 2nd place for Team of Year in the Florida East division.
June '13 - Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River Lagoon, Ponce Inlet Area
School just let out for the year, which means summer is upon us. June is one of my most favorite months of the year. We’re still catching big trout and big redfish, but now big tarpon are starting to move into our area. Summer baitfish have returned which means I am running live bait charters nearly every day with pigfish and other choice baits. In addition to the those noted species above, we are also catching some flounder, jack crevalle, and bluefish. It’s been an incredibly year for charters, and with June nearly full booked and July over half way booked, that looks to continue for the summer.
Had the great pleasure to team up with my son again for the annual Fishstock inshore tournament in New Smyrna Beach. It’s a 2-day redfish and trout combined tournament. We caught a ton of redfish and trout over the two days and took home a 3rd place overall finish (4th place in trout, and 12th place redfish).
We’re still catching some big trophy Speckled Trout, but not as many as earlier in the month. We caught several big trout in the 5-8lb range in May, but the big fish of the month was an 11lb’r we caught at the beginning of May. Summer baitfish are back which means we’re fishing with pigfish nearly every day and catching a lot of trout in the process. On an average day we get 12-20+ trout per day, with usually at least 1-2 over 4lbs. The warmer it gets, big trout drop off into deeper and deeper water. We’re also catching a lot of smaller trout on jigs and small crankbaits. There’s also a good topwater bite if you we get our early enough and work the bait pods.
Redfish are always consistent during June. We are either fishing smaller 5-10lb redfish on shallow flats and creek shorelines/oysters in Mosquito Lagoon and New Smyrna Beach, or bigger bull redfish on deeper flats and channel/bar edges. These bigger bull reds are schooling to spawn over the next few months in the Indian River Lagoon near Titusville or near Ponce Inlet. Many of them run in the 15-25lb range, with the occasional giant redfish over 35lbs. Pure sight fishing in clear water is hard to come by with another round of summer dirty water. Doesn’t stop the catching however as most days we’re getting 5-10 redfish a day. A week or so ago we had two days with 20+ redfish landed each day. Live bait has produced the best with mullet, pinfish, and pigfish catching the most. Although many lures work this time of year including plugs, soft palstics, and spoons. Fly anglers have been doing well on tailing fish with shrimp and minnow patterns.
There’s a lot of Tarpon active in the area, most are in the 20-30lb range. I just saw a few 80-100lb fish this week which means the first wave of migrating adult fish are finally showing up. These bigger adult tarpon will be here from now through early October. Deeper basins, the ICW, and the Inlet’s are all prime places to find these big tarpon. Jigs, swimbaits, and live pinfish and mullet all work well on tarpon this time of year. In addition to redfish, trout, and tarpon, we're also catching a lot of jack crevalle as well as some flounder and bluefish this time of year, usually fishing live bait in the creeks and channels around Ponce Inlet.
Only 8 days left open in June and July is already half booked. If you want to do some summer fishing with me don’t wait till the last minute to set something up. 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 past month can be found on my website...
http://www.floridasightfishing.com/report.htm
Sunday, June 2, 2013
FishStock 2013 - New Smyrna Beach Redfish/Trout Tournament
Capt. Nathaniel Lemmon and his son again teamed up to fish the Fishstock redfish and trout tournament held in New Smyrna Beach over Memorial Day weekend. The father-son team captured a 3rd place finish among the 77 boat field with a combined weight of 31.06lbs in this annual two day tournament. They placed 4th in the trout division and 12th in the redfish division. Over the two days they caught 45-50 redfish and many trout.
In 5 years fishing this tournament, Capt Nate's team has placed in the top 12 each year. This marks his 3rd time in the top 5.
In 5 years fishing this tournament, Capt Nate's team has placed in the top 12 each year. This marks his 3rd time in the top 5.
May '13 - Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River, Ponce Inlet Area
Don’t blink, before you know it, half of 2013 will have passed us by. We are full blown into the peak of the spring fishing season. The inshore waters are stacked full of finger mullet and small pinfish. Redfish and Speckled Trout continue to dominate our fishing action, including some great trophy size fish for each species. But we’ve also been catching flounder, snook and small tarpon too. Historically, May and early June is my favorite fishing time of the year.
I fished 2 pro tournaments in April. Travelled to St. Augustine to fish the Florida Pro Redfish Series, taking 8th place in some of the worst weather conditions I’ve ever fished. We are now sitting in 2nd place for Team of Year after three of four events for the Florida Pro Series. A week later I travelled to Jacksonville to fish the IFA Redfish Tour. We grabbed a 5th place finish out of 75 boats capping a great round of tourney fishing in NE Florida this year. Much thanks to CharterList.com for their sponsorship support for my 2013 tourney season.
Fishing for big trophy Speckled Trout has been epic lately. April-June historically gives up the biggest trout of the year and this year is no different. Water levels are up, temperatures are pushing 80 degrees, and millions of finger mullet have invaded the inshore waters...all a recipe for superb trout fishing. We’ve caught numerous trout in the 4-9lb range over the past few weeks. In one day a couple weeks ago we landed 12 trout over 4lbs, with a few over 6lbs. Live mullet have been the best chance for catching numerous big trout during the day. But we’ve also been catching good trout on Sebile and Mirrolure plugs, soft plastic jerkbait and Aqua Dream spoons.
As we get into May, consistent weather patterns allow us to fish giant bull Redfish on a daily basis. There are several schools of bull redfish cruising the edges in the North IRL and Mosquito Lagoon. We’ve caught quite a few redfish in the 15-25lb range with a few toads approaching 40lbs. Smaller redfish in the 4-10lb range are schooled up on the shallow grass flats in the Lagoons, however in the tidal creeks around Ponce Inlet, New Smyrna and Edgewater there are singles/small pods cruising mangrove shorelines and oyster bars. Sight casting continues to be excellent from Ponce Inlet through the south end of Mosquito Lagoon, however dirty water has taken over in the North IRL making sight fishing almost impossible. Catching has varied widely lately...anywhere from 5-15 reds has been our average. Aqua Dream spoons, Mirrolure and Sebile plugs, and Gulp jerkbaits have all been working quite well. Live mullet, pinfish, and shrimp have been working when we use live bait. Fly anglers have connected with seaducers, bendbacks, bunnies, and my crab pattern.
We’re finding more and more Snook spreading out through our backwaters during the past month. Sizes are improving as well with a few more in the 23-26” range in addition to numerous smaller 15-18” snook. Still not enough to make an entire day of fishing for them, but enough to warrant stopping if you want to catch one. Tarpon in the 20-30lb range have been showing up in the ICW around the Inlet and a couple backwater spots near the Mosquito Lagoon. Water temperatures aren’t ideal and bite windows are short because of tides but things will only improve from now through the early part of fall. We’ve been catching fair numbers of Flounder around oyster beds and docks in the Edgewater and New Smyrna area. They range from 2-5lbs. Mud minnows or soft plastics rigged on Slayer jigs are producing flatties for us.
May is near fully booked, I have 6 days left open. June dates are starting to fill quickly as well so don’t wait till the last minute to call. 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...
April '13 - Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River, Ponce Inlet Area
April means spring has usually arrived, but by how cold March was, you’d never think it. We had an unseasonably cold March, and fishing resumed a more winter time pattern than spring. Having said that, the last several days have been in the 80’s and it’s forecasted to stay near that for the next two weeks. With the warm weather moving in, water temperatures have climbed into the 70’s and baitfish are flooding the backwaters. Fishing has been pretty good over the past month. We’ve been catching numerous redfish and speckled trout of all sizes and some black drum too. Small snook are still on deep shorelines and docks and I’m expecting to see some 20-30lb tarpon rolling in the backwaters any day now. Not expecting much to change over the next two months, except those species that dislike cooler water will get much more active as water temperatures approach the 80 degree mark.
Redfish action continues to be superb. Big schools of 5-10lb fish are all over the shallow grass flats in Mosquito Lagoon and smaller schools are working oyster bars and creek shorelines in the New Smyrna Beach/Ponce Inlet area. GIANT bull redfish are schooling up in small pods of 20-50 fish on the bars and deep edges in the North IRL and South Mosquito Lagoon. Sight casting has been excellent when weather conditions permit. We’ve been doing well on lures like spoons, plugs, and soft plastic jerkbaits. A variety of live baits have been good, including shrimp, pinfish, mud minnows, crabs and mullet. Fly anglers have been doing well on crab patterns and spoon flies. Catching numbers have been hard to predict, as it’s been changing as rapidly as the weather. One day we get 15-20, the next is only a few. As the weather gets more consistent we should see our catching success level off in the 5-10+ redfish per day levels.
Big trophy Speckled Trout have been working the baitfish schools on the shallow grass flats in the Lagoons and laid up around oyster bars in the tidal areas. Numerous smaller trout are on the deeper edges and creeks. The up and down weather has been turning the trout bite on and off again. Colder water temps make them lethargic...water temps around 70 degrees trigger them to eat aggressively. This is definitely the time of year to catch the biggest trout. Historically May and June are always when we’re getting trout approaching 10lbs or more. Live or cut mullet have been top choice lately for us catching big trout. We’ve also been getting some on plugs and soft plastic jerkbaits too. Fly fisherman have been struggling with the super clear water and extreme spookiness of big trout in shallow water. Average catches have been 3-6lbs, with a couple bigger ones in the 7-8lb range.
Black Drum are schooling up to spawn in the south end of Mosquito Lagoon and the North Indian River Lagoon around Titusville. I came across a school of 400 free swimming on the surface in deeper water just a few days ago. Average size is 5-10lbs but we’ve found a couple schools of 15-30lb’rs. Since the are in open water, good weather conditions are a must for finding them. Toss them a live shrimp or cut crab for a guarantee hook up. Many times you can catch a bunch of them, but they aren’t a glamour species so we often don’t spent much time fishing them.. Fly anglers will connect on a crab pattern or a dark color clouser minnow...they pull great on fly tackle.
We’re still catching small (10-20inch) Snook in a couple places. It’s been more of a random effort than strictly targeting them because of their size...as in if nothing else is biting or we happen to be passing by. There have been more and bigger fish in the Tomoka River and Spruce Creek area if you want to make an entire day of trying. Expecting to see some 20-30lb Tarpon rolling in the backwaters any day now. Water temperatures and tides only allow for a small limited bite window before they shut it down. Having said that we can fish for small baby tarpon up to 10lbs any day. There are loads of them in some lagoon backwaters and they will generally eat flies, lures or bait.
Unfortunately, my April calendar is totally booked up. I had a cancellation for April 28th, so that is open as of now. Over half of May is already booked, I have about 13 days still left open. June is starting to fill up too. Snooze, you lose, so call or email quick to get one of my last open spots. 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
Thursday, March 21, 2013
March '13 - Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River Lagoon, Ponce Inlet area
March is here, spring is here, but winter conditions have definitely returned during the past few days. Fish had moved into spring time patterns and baitfish were flooding the area...but we just had 3 days of highs in the 50’s and low’s around freezing and the rest of the week is forecasting about the same. Luckily it doesn’t really impact the fishing. Cold weather just schools the fish up tighter and dramatically improves sight fishing. Lately fishing has been fantastic. We’ve been catching numerous redfish and giant speckled trout. Black drum have been schooling up to spawn this month and next, and small snook have been biting well in a couple different areas. Giant bull redfish are schooling up on deeper flats and edges and it won’t be long till the bigger juvenile tarpon get more active. While cold weather is here now, normal warm spring time conditions will quickly return. It’s poised to be another great spring.
The recent cold weather has hundreds of giant gator Speckled Trout laid up in the super shallows sunning themselves in sand holes in Mosquito Lagoon and the North Indian River Lagoon. Today I found an area that literally had 200+ big trout in the 8-14lb range crammed into shallow sand spots. When it’s warmer these fish have been scattering and shadowing bait pods. Big trout are notoriously lazy when it’s cold, but eat with vigor once the water temps hit 70 degrees. Topwater lures, suspending plugs, and a variety of soft plastics have done well for clients throwing lures. Mullet have been a ticket for scoring on a few big trout over 6lbs each day for those willing to use live bait. Fly fisherman have had a tougher time with the clear water, but we’ve caught some using seaducers and deceivers. Numerous smaller trout are stacked up on deeper edges and can yield constant catching.
Redfish action has been steady and consistent and that won’t change anytime soon. The recent cold front and resulting winds dropped water levels and pushed all the fish back into big schools on deep edges, creeks, and sloughs in the Lagoons and creeks around Ponce Inlet. We’ve seen schools lately with 400-500 fish. When water temps rise, these redfish scatter into smaller schools across shallow flats and oyster flats. Sight fishing has been excellent with clear water and tailing fish. In the deeper portions of the Lagoons, we’ve found schools of GIANT bull redfish in the 20-40lb range. Spoons, crankbaits, plugs, and a variety of soft plastics have worked well for those throwing lures. Shrimp, mullet and mud minnows are working for those willing to use live bait. Sliders and crab patterns have been good for fly fisherman. When it’s warm we’ve been getting 5-10 redfish a day, sometimes more. When the cold fronts move throw catching has been epic with 30-50 fish not uncommon.
Black Drum are schooling up to spawn in the south end of Mosquito Lagoon and the North Indian River Lagoon around Titusville. They are often in deeper water in the wide open so we need light winds to find them. Many of these fish will be 5-10lbs, however, we’ll occasionally catch some upwards of 20-25lbs. Live shrimp and cut crabs will get bites fast and work extremely well, 10+ fish can be the norm. Dark lures that look like those will catch a few. Fly anglers also connect with dark clousers and shrimp patterns. Snook are biting in a couple of locations, but they still remain on the small side (all 10-20 inches.) We’ve fished them more as a change of pace or when passing by, rather than strictly targeting them for the day. There have been decent numbers of snook in the Tomoka River and Spruce Creek area. I can do speciality trips to each if that’s your main catching preference.
March, April and May are typically 3 of the best fishing months of the year...they are also the 3 busiest months of the year. I only have 4 days open in March, only 6 days left open in April, and only 15 left open for May. Snooze, you lose, so call or email quick to get one of my last open spots. 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 are on my website...
Thursday, February 28, 2013
February '13 - Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River, New Smyrna Beach area
Happy Groundhog Day! Doesn’t matter if he sees a shadow today or not, it’s been like spring time fishing for the past month; except a few days here and there where we get passing cold fronts. It’s been a mild winter thus far and the fishing has been more spring like than winter like. Redfish, speckled trout, and black drum have been our main targets for the past month. I’ve also managed to find some willing snook biting too, albeit on the small side (but it’s a major step in the right direction considering the last 3 years have been painfully slow for snook). Catching around those cold snaps has been phenomenal, with days of 30-50 redfish. After the warms back up and the fish scatter again it’s been back to 5-10 redfish days with a couple dozen trout too. Black Drum are schooling to spawn and it’s time to catch the biggest ones of the year. With March looming, it’s safe to say that “winter” is nearly behind us and 80 degree days are quickly coming on the horizon...which means t-shirt weather is almost back again.
Redfish have been the best bet as of late. Crystal clear water is yielding excellent sight fishing from Ponce Inlet down through the south end of Mosquito Lagoon. The North end of the Indian River is still a little stained but there are a couple schools of GIANT redfish in the 20-40lb range starting to form up. In the Mosquito Lagoon, however, schools of 4-10lb redfish are scattered everywhere on the edges of shallow flats. Around the few, short cold fronts we get, catching has been epic when the fish get into big schools in deeper water in creeks, sloughs, or edges of flats. The last front produced three days in a row of 30-40 redfish per day. When the water warmed back up and the fish scattered, it was back to 5-10+ redfish as we spent time poling and sight casting tailing fish and small pods over shallow grass flats in the Mosquito Lagoon. Redfish are ravenous on live shrimp lately. DOA shrimp, soft plastic jerkbaits and small Mirrolure plugs have been tops for lure anglers. Fly fisherman have done well on shrimp, crab, and small minnow patterns.
Around cold fronts we’ve been finding dozens of huge gator Speckled Trout in the 7-10+lb range laid up in shallow sand areas. While the cold water is great for finding them, catching is tough when they are lethargic. It’s takes a great bit of finesse to get a bite throwing lures and flies, but the reward is the trout of a lifetime. If you want to get serious, however, we’ll go with free-lined live mullet for a better chance. Notice I said better chance, even with live bait there is no guarantee and it’s not easy. Catching 4-5lb’rs hasn’t been too difficult lately but the bigger ones have been. We’ve catching numerous smaller trout in the 10-20” range on the edges of deeper water casting lures and live shrimp.
It’s getting to be about that time for Black Drum to spawn, and they are schooling up in big numbers in the Mosquito Lagoon and North Indian River Lagoon. They are often in deeper water in the wide open so we need light winds to find them. Many of these fish will be 5-10lbs, however, we’ll occasionally catch some upwards of 20-25lbs. Live shrimp and cut crabs will get bites fast and work extremely well, 10+ fish can be the norm. Dark lures that look like those will catch a few. Fly anglers also connect with dark clousers and shrimp patterns.
It seems like forever since I’ve written about a consistent Snook bite in the Lagoon area. I’ve finally started to catch fair numbers of them in 2 places, but they are on the small side. Hey, at least it’s a snook, even if they are all 10-20 inches. It’s a major step in the right direction and it likely means within a couple years we could be getting back to where things were before the major freeze in 2010 that nearly wiped them out. (Once upon a time we were getting 10-20 a day in the our area). There have been better numbers of snook in the Tomoka River and Spruce Creek area. I can do speciality snook trips to each if that’s stricly your main catching preference.
February through May is great fishing. It’s also the busiest charter months of the year. I have 13 days left open in February, 15 left open in March, and only 12 left open in April. If you want to fish in any of those months, better book ASAP or they will all be gone. 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.
Photos from the past months can be found on my website...
http://www.floridasightfishing.com/report.htm
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