Ponce Inlet Area - New Smyrna Beach - Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report November 2019

Things have certainly started to change up within the past week here in New Smyrna Beach as we’ve had a couple days lately where temps didn’t even make it to 60 degrees. This will kick the fishing winter transition into high gear over the remainder of the year. Mosquito Lagoon should have some good sight casting for smaller redfish and black drum on shallow flats. Deeper holes around New Smyrna Beach and Ponce Inlet should have good bites for for snook and speckled trout. Fishing never slows down in Florida, we just move to different depths and areas as water temps and levels fluctuate. 

This past several weeks it’s been all about the big trophy size redfish that school up in areas near Ponce Inlet for their annual spawn. It’s the best bite possible along the east coast of Florida every fall; so it makes little sense trying to grind out bites doing something else. To that end, that’s all the pictures you are gonna see in this report, ha ha ha. The past 6 weeks or so we’ve been hitting Ponce Inlet daily as well as several staging areas in the ICW around New Smyrna Beach and Edgewater. Yet again this fall was another epic trophy redfish bite. Almost every trip i did had 10-15 hook-ups with numerous redfish landed in the 20-35 pound range. That run has basically ended for the year and these fish will widely scatter until early next spring. So now we’ll shift gears and start to take advantage of smaller 4-10 pound redfish moving into the shallow waters of Mosquito Lagoon. Increasing cold fronts will drop our water levels and put a chill in the water which in turn should have redfish moving shallow to warm up and find food. Sight casting with live shrimp and a variety of lures will produce good results. As we get towards the end of December and into January we should start to see the biggest redfish schools of the year in Mosquito Lagoon with some phenomenal days of catching around the cold fronts. 

This recent colder weather is sure to get snook on the move as they migrate their way to deeper holes to ride out the winter. But it also means that we are now in my favorite stretch of months to find them stacked up by the hundreds. The nice thing is these holes are typically quite protected which means even on the ugliest of weather days we can still have a good bite. Historically November and December produce days of 20-30 snook caught per day. Live shrimp, soft plastic baits, and small plugs all work really well this time of year. 

We should be finding speckled trout fired up in the Mosquito Lagoon and North Indian River Lagoon area over the next few weeks as they try to take advantage of the plethora of finger mullet migrating through the area. The colder weather we’ve been experiencing should be pushing the big trout into the shallows. We’ll find a variety of sizes, but most are in the 18-25” range. Soft plastics and small plugs also should produce good results this time of year. 

Only two days left open for November. Then we are back to busy time of year as December and January are slammed busy with holiday travelers and those escaping to Florida for a winter warm up. Days for both are filling rapidly with only a dozen dates remaining open in each month.  Don’t wait till last minute to schedule! I take short notice trips if I have availability. Text me, call me at 386-212-4931 or even send an 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 2019

Welcome to fall in Florida! Still about the same as summer, lol. Water is a little higher now around New Smyrna Beach and Ponce Inlet after two hurricanes blew by up the coast. Fall finger mullet run is going off in the Mosquito Lagoon with redfish, trout and occasional snook blowing up bait and lures. It’s been a lot of redfish, big snook, jacks, sharks and tarpon around Ponce Inlet and down through New Smyrna Beach. Sadly hurricanes wrecked our other baifish availability flushing most of them out into the ocean…and that’s kinds changed up where and how we are fishing daily and numbers we are catching. 

Fall is good for redfish at or near Ponce Inlet for big redfish over 20 pounds. They are stacked up there by the hundreds to spawn. Typically it’s drift fishing with live bait but it’s definitely the best and easiest time of year to catch trophy redfish. Mosquito Lagoon has smaller redfish scattered far and wide on shallow flats. Drift fishing lures or posting up free-lining bait usually finds some redfish up on the flats. 

This year has been far and away the best I’ve seen our local snook fishing. We are kinda out of their normal range here, but bunch of warm winters has their numbers strong. They too were just congregated to spawn the last few months and are now moving towards winter hideouts. There’s been a lot of them scattered in Mosquito Lagoon this year. We've been catching great size fish, including a few of the biggest I've ever caught or landed. Snook will remain steady all through the rest of the year.  In fact, some of my favorite months are November and December when it becomes possible to catch 20-30 snook a day.

Hurricane did push a bunch of tarpon inshore. Can find good numbers around Ponce Inlet with some very large ones at that. Although this morning, hardly a one could be found again. That's the way they are around here and why I usually only do them as an in addtion to type thing instead of exclusive.  They’ll all move out of here soon anyways when first cold fronts show up in a few weeks. Drifting crabs and live baitfish as well as jigs and plugs all give you best chance to get a bite. 

Been slammed all summer and hasn’t slowed down too much into October. Then it’s gonna be slammed again for November and December. I take short notice trips if I have availability. Text me, call me at 386-212-4931 or even send an email to secure a date. Read my 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 July 2019

Happy Fourth of July to everyone! Fishing has been red hot in the backwaters around New Smyrna Beach, Ponce Inlet and down into Mosquito Lagoon. Over the past 4-6 weeks we’ve been having tremendous results targeting big spotted sea trout and catching decent numbers of redfish and snook. 

June was a full booked month and July is almost full booked as well. I have 5 days open the rest of this month. I've got about a dozen days left open for August. Summer is super busy so don’t miss out waiting too long to schedule a trip. 

The last couple months have been spent mainly targeting big speckled trout in Mosquito Lagoon and around New Smyrna Beach and Ponce Inlet. Over the past 8 weeks we are averaging about 100 trout caught each week. Most of those are above average size; a majority fall in the 20-24 inch range. We’ve caught dozens in the 25-30 inch range…with several clients catching a gator speckled trout over 28 inches. All that means is this is a great place to be for quality days of summer time catching. The trout but will remain strong all the way into October. Live bait remains the top option to produce great days of catching. Topwater plugs and soft plastics will also work to varying degrees. 

In the routine of places we target we are also picking up redfish and snook. Redfish have been found tailing on grass flats in Mosquito Lagoon and on shorelines and oyster beds in the creeks around New Smyrna Beach and Ponce Inlet. Numbers caught each week tend to vary, but usually it’s a few each day. Bigger redfish are starting to get on the move in the ICW and heading to Ponce Inlet to spawn at the end of summer. August through October is usually prime time to catch trophy size bull redfish over 20 pounds. Snook are also being found this year around oyster beds in New Smyrna Beach, as well as their normal hangouts like docks and shorelines closer to Ponce Inlet. Snook can be a little more hit or miss this time of the year since they are so scattered. The season is closed for snook so they are catch and release for the summer. Live bait is again the top producer for both species. Soft plastics, spoons, and plugs will also work to varying degrees. 

There’s a fair number of tarpon hanging around the deeper creeks, channels and ICW. Also starting to see some bigger tarpon over 50 pounds migrating into the area. We haven’t spent any time fishing for them though, instead opting for getting a good bite and catching fish. Tarpon can be wildly inconsistent and getting a bite or two can be a tall task some mornings. Usually I start fishing for them a little more frequently at the end of this month and August. They will stick around till the first cold fronts show up in October. 

Only 5 days open for July. August is already half way booked as well. It’s the end of the summer before kids go back to school so it’s usually pretty busy so don’t wait to schedule trips till the last minute. I take short notice trips if I have availability. Text me, call me at 386-212-4931 or even send an email to secure a date. Read my fishing charterpage 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 May 2019

What a fantastic spring we had fishing coastal inshore waters in Central Florida. Fishing in Mosquito Lagoon and around the New Smyrna Beach area was incredible for snook, redfish, speckled trout and black drum. In the last 2 months, I only had 3 trips not catch an inshore grand slam. It was certainly one of the best March and April stretches I’ve ever had. Great news is the bite has continued through the first week of May. In fact, the next four to five months will produce some of the best trout and redfish catching of the year with dozens of fish boated each day. Don’t miss out and wait…summer months are the most booked months of the year! 

Fishing for snook in the New Smyrna Beach and Ponce Inlet area has been the best catching around the last few weeks. There were numerous days with 15-20 snook landed in just a couple hours. Live shrimp, live baitfish, topwater plugs and soft plastics have worked well as of late. Warmer summer months will now scatter the fish quite a bit. For us that means not as many caught per day, but usually the ones we do get are bigger fish. Snook season will be closing soon, so that means it’ll be all catch and release for the summer spawning months. 

Mosquito Lagoon redfish have been pretty active during the mornings over the past couple weeks. We’ve had some great days sight casting redfish tailing in schools and singles floating over Mosquito Lagoon grass flats. Live shrimp, cut baits, soft plastics, and spoons have all been working. Almost all these fish range from 3-10 pounds. There’s some bull redfish over 20 pounds around but not in great numbers. That should pick up steam as we head into the summer spawning months. 

Fishing for spotted sea trout in Mosquito Lagoon or the New Smyrna Beach backwaters is really starting to ramp up and it’ll be insanely awesome by the time I write this report next month. Our summer baitfish are just starting to show up and these are the baits we need to practically guarantee 20+ trout every day. May, June and July are the best months of the year to catch giant gator trout with some trout measuring over 30 inches. We’ll catch dozens over the next few months over 25 inches. If your goal has been to catch a big speckled trout, make sure you get reserved on my calendar before we get into August. We are at the tail end of the spawning months for black drum. 

During the past week there have been a couple massive schools of hundreds of drum in the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River Lagoon. The one school I’ve been fishing has nobody else targeting them and they are all 20-40 pound fish. We don’t spend a bunch of time on them, but they make for great sight casting to wrap up our morning. 

There’s a bunch of tarpon that just got active in the last 5-10 days. All of them are our resident tarpon and range from 10-40 pounds. They are still a little lethargic it seems and not super interested in biting. Give it 2-3 more weeks and we’ll start to cast to them every morning. We won’t catch a bunch, but can usually get a bite or two to start the day. 

Not a whole lot left open for May but do have about 8 days remaining open. June and July are the two busiest months of the entire year. Each already has multiple days booked. They will be slammed packed so don’t wait to schedule trips till the last minute. I take short notice trips if I have availability. Text me, call me at 386-212-4931 or even send an 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 for April 2019

Spring is here! The last couple months have been slammed busy with calendars full. Blessed are those that got on my calendar early enough because plenty got turned away. Want to fish in April…I just had three cancellations, and have one other open day, otherwise the month is already full. So don’t wait! Grab the phone, text, email, get it reserved!!! And thinking about May or June, better don’t delay because each is already over half booked. 

So what are we catching??? Everything! Nearly every trip during the last few weeks has succeeded in boating an inshore grand slam…redfish, speckled trout and snook. Some days we replaced one of those species with a flounder or black drum. But it’s been a lot of quality catching on a daily basis. The annual spring bait run is about to really peak in the next few weeks so the bite is only going to get better. 

Redfish in Mosquito Lagoon have been pretty consistent for the last couple months. Winter schools have quickly broken up with higher water levels and warmer water. Redfish can be caught using lures like spoons, soft plastics and plugs, as well as on live shrimp and cut bait or live mullet. Mosquito Lagoon redfish have been tailing well lately on grass flats which makes for great sight fishing. Redfish closer to Ponce Inlet and New Smyrna can be caught fishing lures and live baits around the jetty, bridges and docks. Regardless of where you fish for them, most fish are in the 4-6 pound range. 

Fishing for Snook in New Smyrna Beach has been really good as the water has warmed up. Snook are still staying relatively shallow and when you find one there are usually a bunch more there with it. Tides have determined the best bite, which each flow producing good action. Snook have ranged in size from 12-28 inches and are being caught on live shrimp, soft plastics, and plugs. 

Fishing for speckled trout in Mosquito Lagoon or the New Smyrna Beach backwaters has been on and off again. Somewhat typical for this time of year. There are some areas in Mosquito Lagoon holding some very large gator trout approaching 10 pounds. Getting the bait to catch them has been extremely difficult which leaves casting lures. And well, getting them to eat a lure is no easy task. When we’ve got the bait, we’ve caught some big ones. Good news, all this changes in about 3-4 weeks when the trout catching bonanza will commence because spring bait will be here. Then it’ll be back to 20-30 trout per day. 

There are some schools of black drum around which provide a good change of pace. We can catch them using live shrimp or crab chunks. We are also catching some of them around the bridges and docks near Ponce Inlet and New Smyrna Beach on live shrimp. There’s also been an uptick in flounder coming to the boat. Somewhat unusual for time of year, I haven’t been catching any all year, but a couple days found us getting a few. So you never know. 

Due to a few just received cancellations, I have 4 days now open in April. I’ve got about 14 days left open in May. June and July dates are starting to fill up and they are the two busiest months of the year filled with summer vacationers. Don’t wait till the last minute! I take last second scheduling if I have open days. Text me, call me at 386-212-4931 or even send an 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 January 2019

As we move into 2019, it’s such a blessing that I’ve been full-time guiding in Florida for 14 years. 2018 was another phenomenal year of catching. Hundreds of giant bull redfish over 20 pounds, hundreds of speckled trout over 5 pounds (including a few over 10 pounds), numerous snook and black drum, as well as a few triple tail, goliath grouper, and sharks. I’ve forever grateful to meet so many people of all ages and abilities from every state in the US and a dozen foreign countries. We shared stories, laughter, memories that will last a lifetime.

2019 is off to another tremendous start. The next few months are some of the busiest months of the year with limited short notice availability. Snow and cold is now a mainstay to the north which means Florida is the place to escape to for enjoying sunshine and warmer weather. Fishing in Mosquito Lagoon, near New Smyrna Beach and Ponce Inlet lately has been fantastic for redfish, big speckled trout, and some snook. Water levels continue to drop which is producing big schools of fish. Sight fishing is the best of the year, with clear shallow water and lots of laid up and cruising fish. Things won’t change until the spring which means months of consistency.

Mosquito Lagoon redfish guided charters have been on fire the past few weeks. Most days are producing 10-20 redfish per day, with slower days yielding 5-10. This time of year equals sight casting schools of redfish in Mosquito Lagoon holding upwards of 50-100 fish in the 5-10 pound range. Live bait like shrimp and mullet are best producers while lures are putting fish in the boat when fish are scattered when it’s warmer. This type of fishing in the Lagoon will continue over the next few months until we get into the spring baitfish season.

Fishing in the backwaters of New Smyrna Beach and down into the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River Lagoon for big speckled trout is starting to take off. The big trout are getting cold and moving into the ultra shallow water to warm up. Smaller trout are piling up by the hundreds in deeper holes, sloughs and channels. Live bait like mullet and shrimp as well as jigs/plugs will score on trout of all sizes over the next few months.

There are big schools of black drum starting to form in the North Indian River Lagoon and Mosquito Lagoon. Some of these schools are holding 100+ fish in the 5-15 pound range. 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.

I have about 7 days remaining open in January and about 10 days for February. March and April are super busy and each are already over half-way full. Don’t wait till last minute to make spring break plans or you’ll mis out. I take last second scheduling if time permits. Text me or call me at 386-212-4931 or even send me an 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…

Check out my 2018 slideshow featuring some of the best catches of the year...http://www.floridasightfishing.com/report.htm