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.

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