Ponce Inlet - New Smyrna Beach - Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report December 2018

Fishing in Mosquito Lagoon has been excellent during the last two weeks. Frequent cold fronts have dropped water temperatures, cleaned up the clarity, and moved lots of redfish, speckled trout, snook and black drum onto shallow Mosquito Lagoon flats. That will be the story for the next few months, as things won’t really change until later in February.

There’s a reason why the winter months yield jam packed calendars. Sight fishing will be some of the best of the year and numbers of fish caught will be epic. Days and weeks fill up way in advance…don’t wait till last minute. Only 5 days left open in December. Half of January is already full. February dates are starting to fill as well.

We’ve been finding great numbers of Redfish in Mosquito Lagoon during the first two weeks of December. Catching has also been very good with several days lately putting 10-20 redfish in the boat casting lures and live shrimp. Redfish have been in small schools and scattered singles. When it’s been warmer we are finding lots of tailing redfish. Fishing for redfish during the winter months is historically great in Mosquito Lagoon. Water is usually cold, clear and low…all necessary ingredients for big schools of redfish. As water levels drop the rest of the month and into January and February schools are going to grow in numbers. If you’re lucky enough to hit it right, we can put dozens of redfish in the boat during the day.

Spotted Sea Trout are quickly moving up out of the deeper creeks and basins of Mosquito Lagoon and onto shallow grass flats to chase bait and find warmer water. We’re seeing good numbers of big gator trout lounging in sand holes and lots of smaller fish schooling up in troughs where the baitfish are congregating. Most days lately have produced a dozen or more speckled trout on soft plastics and live shrimp. Live mullet have been tough to come by lately which is kind of limiting what success we could have on the big giant trout, but we just need a little more colder weather to push the mullet into deeper spots that make catching bait easier.

Had some great fishing for Snook a few weeks ago near Ponce Inlet and the Indian River Lagoon and then it tapered off a bit. Colder weather pushed them into deeper creeks and channels to warm up. We were averaging 20-30 snook a day the first week or so of the month, then it tapered off to just 10 in a few hours as things warmed up. More frequent cold weather will keep them in the holes which should stabilize the catching again. We’re getting all the snook on live shrimp, DOA shrimp, soft plastics, and plugs.

December is almost fully booked…only 5 days remain open. January is already half full, so only about 13 days still left open. February is now starting to book as well. I take last second scheduling if I have open days. Call me at 386-212-4931 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…

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

Ponce Inlet - Mosquito Lagoon - New Smyrna Beach Fishing Report November 2018

The past month of fishing around Ponce Inlet, New Smyrna Beach and the northern part of Mosquito Lagoon was nothing short of awesome! The fall bait run of mullet moving south for the winter was extra thick. Redfish piled up by the hundreds to spawn…and since the bite was so good, that’s pretty much what we did every day and every trip. We did a little speckled trout fishing and took a few tries for snook, but the past month was really all about putting people on the redfish of a lifetime. 

Fishing for Redfish at Ponce Inlet and in the ICW around New Smyrna Beach, Edgewater, and Oak Hill was where the peak action has been during the past 4-6 weeks. Redfish have been grouped up by the hundreds to spawn and it yielded a ridiculous amount of bites for my anglers. Almost every day brought 5-10 bull reds to the boat. There were also plenty of missed bites that could have pushed our totals even higher. Having the right bait was the key to success, as evidence by the numerous other boats not catching very well. But all good things must come to an end and with that spawn largely over and more frequent cold fronts, this week was about the end for us to target bull reds for the rest of the winter. The good news is we having also been finding good numbers of smaller redfish moving up onto shallow grass flats. There’s been steady tailing action which makes for great sight casting. And this will continue through the end of the year. 

As the cold fronts continue to become more frequent and water temps drop, snook are going to pile up in their winter holes near Ponce Inlet and Titusville. They are obviously on the move to these areas because we aren’t catching them anywhere else we would during the summer. Winter is my favorite time of the year to target snook because of the sheer numbers we can catch each day. When the wind blows hard, we can often take shelter in some of these protected areas and still have productive days catching good numbers of fish. 

Speckled trout fishing in Mosquito Lagoon and the Indian River Lagoon will fill out options for the rest of the year. With good numbers of mullet moving through the area we’ll find trout congregated around large areas of bait fish. Free-lining live mullet or working soft plastics and plugs will produce trout from 4-10 pounds as they fatten up for the winter months when they get more lethargic. In deeper areas popping corks with live shrimp will produce solid numbers of small keeper size trout. 

Tarpon fishing is largely done from now until spring. We can still find some small baby ones on long stretches of warm weather, but it’s inconsistent at best. 

Ony a couple days left open this month and December dates are really starting to fill quick.  The holidays are super busy for me so don’t wait till last minute. I take last second scheduling if I have open days. Call me at 386-212-4931 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…

Pictures from the past month can be found on my website...

http://www.floridasightfishing.com/report.htm

Ponce Inlet - New Smyrna Beach - Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report - October 2018

It’s been a great start to the fall fishing for redfish at Ponce Inlet, around New Smyrna Beach and the upper half of Mosquito Lagoon. There are also a bunch of tarpon around Ponce Inlet and scattered throughout the ICW, channels, and creeks. Spotted sea trout are fattening up on the fall bait run following schools of mullet moving through the area. Snook have been stacked up at Ponce Inlet and around the nearby docks getting ready to move towards deep holes for the approaching colder weather. There’s no slow time for fishing in Florida and the fall season provides opportunities to catch a bunch of fish before winter sets in. 

Had a great time in Jacksonville a few weeks ago fishing with my son in the IFA Redfish Tour event.  I've had quite a bit of success fishing there over the past 6-7 years, including winning a Florida Pro Redfish tournament the last time we fished up there.  We definitely had some challenges capitalizing on the bites we were getting, but still managed another top 10 finish, taking 7th place.   

It’s been all about redfish at Ponce Inlet and in the ICW around New Smyrna Beach. Big bull reds have been schooled up for their annual spawn time which means it’s one of the best times to catch a trophy redfish between 20-40 pounds. Live baits like blue crabs, mullet, pinfish, etc all will work drifting around the bridges, docks, channels, and jetties. We’re down to the last few weeks of bull redfish before they scatter and get tough to target over the next few months. Smaller redfish in Mosquito Lagoon meanwhile have been chasing down schools of mullet moving over the flats. The backwaters in the Lagoon have been filled with millions of mullet migrating south. Topwater plugs, spoons, soft plastic jerk baits, etc will cover water and find hungry redfish in the 4-10 pound range. 

There’s a motherhood of tarpon around the area during the past couple weeks. How long they stick around depends on the arrival of our first cold fronts. Once water temps start to drop they will quickly start moving south. Tarpon at Ponce Inlet and in the ICW can range greatly in size, from 10-20 pounders all the way to 125-150 pounders. Live mullet, pinfish, plugs and jigs all work really well around here for tarpon. 

We’re still catching a bunch of speckled trout each day in the Mosquito Lagoon area. There’s so much mullet in the region, it’s unreal they even want to eat one of our baits! That’s the magic of using the right baits though. It’s more of a numbers game though instead of size. Most speckled trout are ranging from 15-24 inches, with a big one every now and then. Live baits work best, but topwater plugs and soft plastics will produce as well. 

Haven’t spent much time lately fishing for snook, although they are piled up at Ponce Inlet and nearby docks and creeks. Things are going to drastically change though when they move to deeper places where they will spend the rest of winter. They form massive schools when they do and that’s when I have my best luck. By mid to late November we will start getting 20-30+ snook a day. So I typically wait till then unless we are looking for something different to do or trying to complete a slam. 

Have dates open each week through the rest of October. But November and December are starting to fill up with people coming back to Florida for the winter and holidays. They will be busy months so don’t wait to schedule something. I take last second scheduling if I have open days. Call me at 386-212-4931 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…

Pictures from the past month can be found on my website...

http://www.floridasightfishing.com/report.htm

Ponce Inlet - New Smyrna Beach - Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report Sept 2018

Late summer fishing in Mosquito Lagoon and around the New Smyrna Beach - Ponce Inlet area continues to remain really strong. We’ve been catching loads of speckled trout, some redfish, and having weekly success fishing for tarpon and snook. Not much change on the horizon with the fishing until we start getting cold fronts dipping into Central Florida area next month. 

Fishing for speckled trout in Mosquito Lagoon and the backwaters around New Smyrna Beach continues to put the most fish in the boat every day. The fall bait run has already begun and the inshore waters are flooded with millions of mullet migrating south. Look no further when you find them because speckled trout are there feeding. Live bait will put bunches of them in the boat with the occasional trophy fish approaching 30 inches of better. we caught a couple 30 inch speckled trout during the past month with several others in the 26-28 inch range. We’ve got another 4-6 weeks left to still get and use our preferred summer baits charters so don’t wait! 

Fishing for redfish in Mosquito Lagoon has been pretty good during the past few weeks. Lower water levels revealed several areas that had small schools of redfish tailing on shallow grass flats. These areas are your best bet to catch redfish on lures and fly in addition to live bait. Fishing for redfish at Ponce Inlet and around New Smyrna Beach has been good in the main channel, at the jetties, and around bridges and docks for big adult bull reds grouping up for their annual spawn. When the tides are right we will find success catching redfish in the 20-40 pound range on a mix of live baits. The action for big bull reds will quickly wind down next month and be over in November for the remainder of the year. 

There are lots of tarpon hanging in the deeper channels and creeks around New Smyrna, Edgewater, and Ponce Inlet. Majority of the fish are in the 20-80 pound range but we will come across some jumbos over 100 pounds as well. Most of my clients have had one or two hook ups each morning we’ve tried for them, although landing them has proved difficult. This is the best 4 week stretch of the year for chance to hook a tarpon as the follow the mullet migration south. Once the cold fronts show up next month tarpon are going to quickly vanish. 

The snook bite has seemed to slow up a bit during the past couple weeks as they school up at Ponce Inlet and nearshore to spawn. With the big uptick in mullet migrating through the area, snook action should be good heading into the fall and winter. Docks, bridges, and deeper shorelines along the ICW are top places to find a snook during the fall. Live bait like shrimp, pinfish, pigfish, croakers will be sure to draw a snook’s attention. 

I’ve got 8 days left open for September. I’ve got about 10 days scheduled so far in October so there are good openings remaining. Then November and December calendars will be slammed again with seasonal guests returning to Florida. I take last second scheduling if I have open days. Call me at 386-212-4931 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…

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

Ponce Inlet - New Smyrna Beach - Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report August 1, 2018

Fishing in Mosquito Lagoon and around New Smyrna Beach has been excellent over the past month. It’s been bunches of big speckled trout, decent numbers of redfish, with some scattered snook here and there. What we are catching seems to be dictated around water levels…when it’s been up it’s lots of trout, when it’s low it’s been in favor of redfish. Summer is quickly passing us by and school will be starting soon…don’t miss out on last minute summer vacation trips!!! 

Fishing in Mosquito Lagoon during the last month produced a tremendous amount of big speckled trout brought to the boat. We boated three giant trophy size trout over 30 inches, one of which went over 10 pounds. In addition to those we caught dozens of spotted sea trout between 25-29 inches. Higher water levels have produced a better bite for the big ones. Live bait like pigfish, croakers, and live mullet will produce more and bigger fish every day hands down with at least 10-20 trout every day. Topwater plugs, suspending plugs, and soft plastic jerk baits will catch some fish too. The speckled trout bite won’t wind down till later in the fall so you still have plenty of time to catch a big one! 

We’ve been fishing for redfish around New Smyrna Beach, Ponce Inlet and Mosquito Lagoon recently. Our redfish numbers are down considerably the past couple years, so some days it takes a bit more work to find a good group of them. They were schooled really well when the water was low early in July. Lately they water has been a bit high so they are more widely scattered. Bigger bull redfish have been on the move towards Ponce Inlet for their annual spawn. When the tides have been right we’ve landed a few over 30 pounds. August through October gives some of the best chances of the year to land a big bull red. Live bait like blue crab, pigfish, mullet and cut ladyfish will give best chance of catching redfish. Soft plastics will work when throwing lures. 

Fishing for Snook in New Smyrna Beach and Ponce Inlet has been hot one day and cold the next. We might find a few bites one day and then none the next. Docks, bridges, and deeper shorelines along the ICW are top places to find a snook during the summer time. Live bait like shrimp, pinfish, pigfish, croakers will be sure to draw a snook’s attention. Snook are spawning during the summer so it’s catch and release for the next month or so. Decent numbers of juvenile tarpon are scattered all around from Ponce Inlet to the southern end of Mosquito Lagoon. Most of them are in the 20-30 pound range but more bigger fish over 50 pounds are starting to show up every day. Opportunities to catch a tarpon will last through the early part of October and then they will quickly vanish when the cold fronts get started. 

Over half of August is booked, I’ve got about 13 days remaining open and September dates are starting to fill up as well. Don’t wait till this last minute to schedule a trip. I take last second scheduling if I have open days. Call me at 386-212-4931 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…

Pictures from the past month can be found on my website...

http://www.floridasightfishing.com/report.htm

New Smyrna Beach - Ponce Inlet - Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report June 28, 2018

Summer has arrived and with it the busiest few fishing months of the year. Those that fished with me during the past 4-6 weeks were treated to some epic big trout fishing in Mosquito Lagoon. During the past week water levels have really dropped and produced numerous redfish schools on the shallow flats. The trout bite has slowed a bit, but the redfish bite in Mosquito Lagoon has turned on. Snook fishing is starting to pick up at docks and bridges around New Smyrna Beach and Ponce Inlet. There are also fair numbers of tarpon starting to show themselves in the channels and creeks. Only 9 days open from today through end of July so don’t wait till last minute!!! 

May produced an insane speckled trout bite in Mosquito Lagoon. We caught dozens of world class spotted sea trout in the 26-32 inch range, with hundreds of others between 18-24 inches. Mosquito Lagoon is world famous for gator trout and we boated a couple at the 10 pound range and a several more 7-8 pound fish. Every trip saw great catching with 10-20+ trout landed each day. Live bait like mullet, pigfish and croakers did all the catching. The bite for the big giant trout has waned a bit during the past week as we have seen water levels drop and fish move into post spawn patterns. We’ll still catch them throughout the summer but it’ll be more numbers than big ones the rest of the year. 

Fishing for redfish in Mosquito Lagoon has been the hot ticket during the past 7-10 days. Water levels have really dropped and this has produced some good schooling activity. My trip today landed 14 redfish in just a few hours. Most others during the past week all caught 5-10 redfish. Redfish have been tailing up shallow making for great sight casting. Live shrimp, pinfish, and pigfish are working extremely well. Soft plastic lures, spoons, and DOA shrimp are working when throwing lures. 

We’re starting to fish a bit more for snook in New Smyrna Beach and Ponce Inlet again, targeting the docks, bridges, and jetties. Snook are gearing up to spawn so where you find one there are likely several. It’s a combat fishing game around structure. So we are fishing with heavy tackled and usually breaking off a lot of fish in the process. Pinfish, croakers, and live mullet in addition to live shrimp and DOA shrimp will produce good results. 

Not much open from now through the end of July…only 9 days scattered throughout the month. August will start filling fast as well with summer vacations winding down before kids go back to school. Don’t wait till this last minute to schedule a trip. I take last second scheduling if I have open days. Call me at 386-212-4931 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…

Pictures from the past month can be found on my website...

http://www.floridasightfishing.com/report.htm

New Smyrna Beach - Indian River Lagoon - Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report April 2018

It’s been a spring running of the bulls! Giant trophy redfish were on fire during the past month. It’s pretty much what we targeted nearly every day, and on nearly every trip we caught several. They’ve been schooling up in good numbers and all the fish are in the 20-40 pound range. Don’t want to fish for GIANT redfish?….There are plenty of black drum still hanging around, we’re seeing lots of big trout starting to show back up as the spring bait run kicks into overdrive, and sight fishing for slot reds scattered up shallow. I’ve got 10 days left open for May and June is starting to fill quick…don’t wait till last minute to schedule summer vacation fishing trips!

It’s been all about the big redfish in the Mosquito Lagoon and the Indian River Lagoon during the past month. Sight casting big schools of bull reds have produced some epic days. All the fish have been in the 40-50 inch range and range 20-40 pounds. Most days have averaged at least a few coming to the boat, with some extraordinary days yielding 10+ fish caught. They’re showing themselves all day so we really haven’t spent much time doing anything else. Live shrimp, crabs, mullet and cut ladyfish will all yield success. Some days they will show a little interest in spoons, plugs and flies. Fishing for big bull reds will only get better into the summer in the Indian River Lagoon as they get ready for spawning season. Don’t want to target the big trophy fish? Smaller 4-8 pound redfish have been scattered on shallow flats in Mosquito Lagoon, tailing and cruising grass and bar edges. Spoons, soft plastics, flies and live shrimp are all working with good success.

The spring warm up has brought in a big influx of baitfish and big speckled trout in Mosquito Lagoon are shadowing them on the shallow flats. We went from not seeing many to now they are bunches. We’ve caught some up to 29 inches lately, with average fish in the 20-25 inch range. May, June and July produce historic numbers of trout caught for us each year. Most days will produce 20-25 trout caught with numerous fish in the 3-6 pound range. But at the moment we are in the peak of the year for your best chance at a giant over 10 pounds. They are gorging themselves on bait fish, but soon they will spawn and drop some weight. Live mullet are the hot ticket right now, with soft plastics and plugs a secondary option.

Black Drum have likely been the next best option lately. Good numbers of fish have been in both the Indian River Lagoon and Mosquito Lagoon. Most of them are in the 4-10 pound range, with a couple bigger wads of fish in the 10-20 pound range. They have been tailing well which makes for good sight casting with live bait and flies.

I’ve got 10 days left open for May. I’ve got about 15 left open for June. The summer months...June, July and August...are extremely busy with folks on summer vacation. All those months will eventually be fully booked. Don’t wait till this last minute to schedule a trip. I take last second scheduling if I have open days. Call me at 386-212-4931 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…

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

Indian River Lagoon - New Smyrna Beach - Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report January 2018

2018 is here, but it’s impossible not to reflect on how awesome 2017 was for my clients. I was blessed to fish with clients from over 30 different states and 3 countries. We caught hundreds of redfish, snook, speckled trout and black drum. We also caught triple tail, tarpon, giant bluefish, jack crevalle, goliath grouper, and sharks. We caught multiple redfish over 40 pounds, a few speckled trout approaching 10 pounds, and a couple tarpon over 100 pounds!!! It was amazing year of sight fishing with big schools of redfish, tailing fish, laid up tarpon and big trout, spawning black drum, with snook and grouper under docks. It was an amazing year of making friends, sharing stories, seeing wildlife, and catching fish. I can only hope 2018 is just as memorable. It’s a perfect time to escape the bone chilling cold up north and escape to Florida for a fishing trip.

2018 has definitely come in cold for us! We’re in the midst of a week long cold snap that has highs in the 50’s and low’s in the 30-40’s. Redfish, speckled trout and black drum are dropping into deeper creeks, sloughs and holes and will likely stay there for a while. Giant trout and snook will be searching out shallow edges to sit and warm in the sun. Our water levels have dropped dramatically and the water is gin clear and combined will make for giant winter time schools of fish. If you check enough places and find the right spot, you can sit and catch 100 fish.

Fishing for redfish in Mosquito Lagoon is excellent! Some of the best catching of the year is going to happen over the next month. Mosquito Lagoon redfish have schooled up in giant numbers in sloughs, creeks, and deep holes. Hit the right spot and you can catch 100 redfish ranging from slot fish to rats. A recent fishing charter near New Smyrna Beach I did a couple days ago produced nearly 70 redfish in 4 hours. That won’t happen everyday, but it’s quite common to catch 20-30 redfish per day in the Lagoon this time of year on a variety of live bait and lures.

There are incredible giant schools of black drum in the North Indian River Lagoon and Mosquito Lagoon. Some of these schools are holding 500+ fish in the 5-15 pound range. The hard cold fronts we see in January usually bring out the biggest drum of the year with 40-50 pounders near Oak Hill and New Smyrna Beach. Black Drum spawn in the spring so these schools will be around through April. Live shrimp or blue crab will be top choices for us to catch them by the dozens.

Fishing in Mosquito Lagoon for big speckled trout is really starting to take off. We’ve seen a bunch of big ones lately up in the shallows warming up, with multiple fish over 10 pounds. They should be very lethargic until the cold snap passes and then will be hungry on the backside as it warms up. Smaller trout from 10-20 inches are piled up by the hundreds in sloughs, creeks, and deep holes. Live bait and a variety of jigs/lures will score on numerous trout through the next couple months

The cold weather moving through Florida during the first week of January is going to shut the snook bite down for a while. If it drops too low for too long it’s possible we may see some cold weather die off (which we haven’t seen since 2009). It’s forecasted to warm up the next couple weeks which should have them up and moving around again soon.

Have about 12 days remaining open for January. February is already half way full and spring break months are starting to go quick. While I take last second scheduling if I have open days, DON’T wait till last minute to schedule a trip for you or your family. Call me at 386-212-4931 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…

Be sure to visit my website and view the top 50 photos from 2017!!!
http://www.floridasightfishing.com/report.htm