January 31st, 2012 New Smyrna Beach Saltwater Flats Fishing Report Well now that we are into the New Year of 2012 here in east central Florida and great weather is amongst us the flats fishing of the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River has taken of tremendously here in the New Smyrna Beach, Titusville and Oak Hill areas of central Florida. Sight fishing the backcountry flats of the national park and refuge has begun to improve quite a bit, with water clarity getting into the optimal range it should be for this time of year and just outstanding days to fish in. Clear as spring water in most places and easy to spot fish with bright blue skies above you makes the fishing here on the Mosquito Lagoon and north Indian River a premier destination for world class sight fishing. Air and water temperatures are at a prime as well for making east central Florida fishing comfortable, exciting and fun. This is inshore saltwater flats fishing at its very best, what dreams are made of. There is no better place to fish here in the states on a year round basis than here in Florida. Just so many options are here and opportunities for fish of all types of species to target. As the past several weeks have gone by the water visibility more than anything has cleared up some from the algae bloom that occurred over the summer and fall of 2011. It has taken a few months of cooler weather along with a couple of extremely cold nights and chilly days but we are getting to the famous clarity this area is known for making it a sight fishing paradise. The flats and sight fishing is great as the sun breaks the horizon in the morning and continues its ascent as the day goes by. Even at mid-day the fishing is still great and can be at its prime for the day. Water temperatures in the morning time are in the mid 60° mark and rising up to the high 70° mark at the height of the day. This is ideal for redfish and drum. Redfish, trout and several black drum are being caught in fairly decent numbers on several different baits and lures as well as using light tackle sight fishing methods or fly fishing tactics. The fish are ranging from 2 to 15 pounds on average, with a few bigger and smaller ones mixed in. Searching the flats with baitfish, birds and activity of life on them is one of several different keys into getting on some nice game fish. As the nights are cooler to cold this time of year a grass flat that is near ledges, holes and drop offs are a good place to start looking for fish at dawn. The fish at night time will tend to drop into the deeper waters for warmth, food and protection. As will the baitfish that they feed upon. As the sun begins to rise, the areas that the rays touch first will warm up the quickest and most likely will hold baitfish along with the predators that follow. This also applies to the shallow water, as for it will warm up quicker than deep water. Sand holes among the grass will tend to be great ambush points for all types of predators and game fish, as well as the ledges leading back to the drop off areas. In a sense they become a type of underwater field that is scanned by predators alike. Of course as with any day you fish shallow waters here on the flats the key elements to success are stealth, patience and distance. Take your time and do not rush things. Approach fish at a distance to not only give you ample time to get into position but also to give you a few chances to make that perfect cast. Use your push pole as much as you can and use your trolling motor as a tool to make up distances. Think like a hunter; be sure to give every angler a very wide gap between you and them. Space between and low noise is a key too. What is a wide gap? I say 900 plus feet if not more, give or take a few feet. You may see two or even three boats on top of each other and think to get in there with them. However consider that they may know each other and be working together. If you get to an area that already has a boat there it is simple, move to another location. There is plenty of water to fish and plenty of fish to be caught. Early starts are a very good key to a successful day of fishing the Mosquito Lagoon. The type of baits or lures being used have been anywhere from a live shrimp placed on a small 3/0 circle hook with a small bullet weight for the black drum or redfish to the D.O.A. shrimp, D.O.A. CALS and D.O.A. Crabs. I like to throw a few of these with a weed less configuration. Throwing towards and past a feeding fish (say 8 to 12 feet past) then bring that lure/bait across their feeding path will entice a hit or two. Just be eloquent or graceful about this as not to spook them. As far as the fly fishing end of things we were able to land many redfish and black drum on imitation mullet patterns, crab patterns along with a shrimp pattern or two. Approach fish with the sun at your back at an angle and watch boat and your feet movement. Shadows from casts or yourself can alert fish of your presence. Soft casts, good target acquisition and perfect presentations need to be applied and used for all of the above. The best way to accomplish this is just to practice it. Trial and error as it is with any thing in life. Please remember to handle all of your fish with great care and a tender touch for a high survival rate upon their release. Looks like the bottom line for the next few weeks is if the weather holds out and continues to be above average with warmer days the flats fishing here should just continue to improve. The water clarity should hopefully continue to clear up as well, so this will just make sight fishing the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River even better as time goes by. This is what it is all about. Again Happy New Year and I hope to see you out on the water. Captain Drew Cavanaugh Florida Inshore Fishing Charters Cell/352-223-7897 Email us at: drcfishmaster@cfl.rr.com Visit us at: http:www.floridainshorefishingcharters.com/
The past several days the fishing in Mosquito Lagoon has been about as good as it gets. The month overall has been up and down with some fantastic sight fishing and some days when the fish were few and far between. The warm and calm weather as of late has certainly been to the angler's advantage as the fish have been happy and tailing. The dead calm days have made the fish easy to spot but they are also easily spooked by unnatural noises. I saw hundreds of fish spooked by squeaky shoes on the deck alone. Be extremely aware of your noise discipline as you approach tailing fish.
With water temperatures in the morning in the high 60's and near 75 by day's end, the fish are aggressive and will eat even large baits. Unfortunately, the water is still not crystal clear like it should be this time of year. It is clear enough to see the fish though. Most of the month, we experienced extremely low water levels. The water has risen this past week and with it came tons of floating grass that had been washed up on the shore. Weedless jerk baits are a necessity when the grass gets to be too thick. Color has not seemed to be too important as we have caught fish on a variety of shades. Presentation, however, is very important. Trying to catch tailing redfish means you are casting at a stationary target but your bait must get within a foot or less of them or they will not see it.
Ray had an excellent day on the Lagoon before he had to go to a job in Iraq. He landed double digit redfish, mostly on the 3" DOA CAL tail and a 1/8 ounce jighead.
Joe wanted to try his hand at fly fishing for redfish. A steady 10 mph wind was a bit much for him to overcome with the fly but he did manage several nice reds on the 3" CAL.
Jim fished Mosquito Lagoon with me the following day. He threw the fly all day long. We tried feeding some uncooperative black drum. We never convinced one to bite. Jim used a small tan shrimp imitation fly of his own creation to catch several redfish.
Mike was my next fly angler last week. We began the day throwing a bendback to some very shallow schools of redfish. While he came close a number of times, 10 feet more on his fly cast would have resulted in some hookups. Again we tried a multitude of flies on some black drum. The only bite he got ended when the leader broke on the hook set. Mike was able to get his first redfish to eat a fly he tied on a #4 hook with some orange/brown chenille, small lead eyes, and a tan wing. With shots at hundreds of fish throughout the day, we called it a success.
This Monday I took a trip to the St John's River for some fly fishing for shad. While others I spoke to reported catching 30-40 shad, I caught that many fish but only 8 or so were the target species. The rest were a mixture of crappie, bass, bluegill, sunfish, and redbreast. The shad are there, however, and it seems to be a good run of them this year.
Tuesday, I fished with Jeff and Jim on their first flats fishing trip. We found the black drum a bit more willing to cooperate and even got a double header.
Tailing redfish were our next target. The tails were easy to spot as the water was smooth as glass. Soon we had tail in every direction. With lots of floating grass to deal with, I elected to go with a weedless CAL in melonback color. A Woodies rattle inserted near the tail helped the fish find the bait. The next few hours were filled with shots at hundreds of reds and some bent rods resulted.
We ended the day completing a Mosquito Lagoon slam by using the DOA Deadly Combo to catch numerous seatrout off the outside edge of the flat.
Wednesday was nearly a carbon copy of the day before. The only improvement was we had much clearer skies making it even easier to spot the fish when the sun came up. Rick and Cynthia started off the day bringing a few black drum to the boat before we moved on to tailing redfish. The first red came on a DOA shrimp but the weedless CAL bait proved to be a better choice with the heavy floating grass still around.In addition to landing numerous redfish, both caught a seatrout as well to complete a double slam for the second day in a row.
As long as the weather remains stable, the fishing will continue to be outstanding. Should a cold front blow through and drop the water temperatures significantly, the fish will drop off the flats for several days. If you must fish during those times, target the deeper edges of flats and sand troughs with jigs. As long as the water remains warm, however, the fish will be happy, schooling, and feeding.
Here it is the 3rd week of December and we are still having 75 to 80 degree days, the warm weather has kept our fishing pattern in a late fall transition pattern with winter cold water not quite here yet. We do have small schools of quality Redfish up to 28 or more inches and loose knit groups near mullet schools. Seatrout catching has been good during this closed season month, the open season starts again on New Years Day. We have had some great sight fishing for Reds on the calm mornings casting shrimp or mullet chunks to the small schools as they push wakes in shallow calm water. Small “runt” Reds are schooling in some of the deeper sand sloughs, holes and creeks, they make for great fun with catch and release fishing these scrappy little fighters, a gulp shrimp jig bounced on the bottom are a good choice for these fish usually having some Trout mixed in with the little Reds.
We have been also having great mixed bag trips which is a fun easy type of fishing, in the Indian River Backcountry at the north end of the Mosquito Lagoon, this type of fishing is for Seatrout, Redfish, Bluefish, Flounder, Ladyfish, Black Drum & other saltwater fish. On the average Backcountry trip we may catch around 10 different species of fish. You never know what will bite with this type of fishing, mainly drift fishing while free lining live shrimp on light tackle make for lots of rod bending and drag pulling. Fun for experienced anglers and an easy way for less experienced anglers to be successful at catching lots of fish.
Come fish with me on beautiful Mosquito Lagoon Florida. I offer either flats fishing targeting Redfish on the flats, which can be a little more challenging type of fishing, as we hunt for the fish on the grass flats of the lagoon waters, and Seatrout on the drop offs and sloughs.
As we are out catching fun saltwater fish we will be seeing lots of wildlife up close and personal near the boat with Dolphins and many different bird species on every trip.
We will pick the best choice of which type trip will be the best for “catching” on your day out with me depending on your preferences for a fun day.
MY BOAT COMFORTABLY ACCOMMODATES 1 TO 4 ANGLERS Located close to DAYTONA BEACH, NEW SMYRNA BEACH and ORLANDO, FLORIDA. Feel free to contact me at any time with questions you may have about my fishing charters. Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Guide. Also Eco-Tours, Sightseeing, Bird Watching, Photography Trips.
CALL ME ANYTIME AT 386-689-3781 CHILDREN ALWAYS WELCOME – FAIR PRICES Capt. Michael Savedow Edgewater River Guide, Inc. 386-689-3781 email> EdgewaterRiverGuide@cfl.rr.com website> http://www.EdgewaterRiverGuide.com
The story so far this December has been one of weather and water. Neither one have been cooperating. The weather has been less than optimal for sight fishing. While there have been a few days with light winds and sun, there have been many more with one or both of those factors working against us. This time of year, the waters of the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River should be crystal clear. Unfortunately, that is not the case in most parts of the Lagoon system. The water temperatures are still hovering above 65 degrees and the bloom of exotic algae that plagued us most of the summer and fall is still lingering on. To see the fish, you need both sun and clean water, a combination that has been hard to get lately. The good news is that there are redfish around and they have been more than willing to eat well placed lures and flies.
To start the month off, I had fellow FFF Certified Casting Instructor Dan Boggs on board for what I was hoping would be one of the best fly fishing days of the year. The fish had been tailing well the week before and I was certain Dan would be able to hit the target. We arrived to find winds sustained at 19mph, chilly temperatures, and plenty of clouds. Not only do redfish not tail as much in the wind, it is more difficult to spot them when they do. Needless to say, the tailing fish were nowhere to be found. Dan's father reeled in the only redfish of the day.
A few days later, I was joined by fried Rick for a day of fun fishing. We spent the first part of the morning exploring miles of water that held very few fish. After much searching, we found some clean water and plenty of cruising redfish. The black redfish worm fly and the watermelon holographic DOA shrimp were pounced on by most of the fish that saw them. While many of the fish we saw were digging in the grass feeding, we saw very few tails break the surface.
The following morning, I returned to a slick calm flat to find schools of tailing redfish in every direction. The first cast of the day with my 5wt flyrod resulted in a redfish eating my brown and gold bendback fly but the fish broke off. I tied on a green and silver bendback and got 4 bites on the next 5 casts but no hookups. I inspected the fly and discovered the hook had broken just below the eye on the first bite. I grabbed my black redfish worm and quickly began hooking, and landing, fish. About 45 minutes later, the tails all went down, the fished moved off, and I never saw them again. I spent the remainder of the day scouting for some places to fish on what I knew was going to be a windy charter the following day.
Scottish angler, Brian, joined me for another one of the days of 20 mph winds we have had. To go along with the wind, we had morning temperatures in the 40's. The water temperature had dropped thirteen degrees overnight. It was the last day of his trip, however, and he wanted to give it a try. His preference was fly fishing but, due to the wind, he decided a spinning rod might give him a better chance. Unfortunately, none of the fish I had found the previous day were in wind protected areas. We were the only boat in sight when Brian began getting bites on his weedless rigged three inch DOA CAL. For some reason, the fish were not getting hooked so I switched him to a four inch CAL in golden bream color. We were fishing in about 2 feet of slightly cloudy water with both grass and sand patches. A Woodies Rattle in the baits seemed to be helping the fish locate the small lure. Brain caught redfish on the 3, 4, and 5 inch CAL baits. The bite was consistent and he even got out the flyrod and made some blind casts with a brown crab pattern. He landed his flyrod redfish and turned some poor weather into an excellent day of catching.
This week's weather was even less flats fishing friendly with gray skies dominating the days. Steve and Hank joined me on the Lagoon for some sight fishing. The winds were light for a change but the clouds were thick in the morning. Unable to find any tailing fish we tried some trout fishing while we waited for the clouds to clear. I tied on a couple DOA Deadly Combos and we began hitting islands, bars, and dropoffs. They caught a dozen or so and we suddenly had a break in the clouds. We raced off to the flats in search of redfish. We had just located a decent concentration when the clouds. Unable to see the fish until we ran into them, they were forced to change tactics to blind casting for the rest of the day. Both guys had several bites from redfish but failed to set the hook and they never managed to land one.
When the weather cooperates and the fish are tailing, the fishing is excellent. During periods of clouds and wind, finding the fish can be a challenge. Hopefully, as we move towards what is traditionally the coldest time of the year in Florida, the algae bloom will clear and more areas will be open to sight fishing. Clean water and blue skies are at the top of my Christmas wish list.
A warm spell in mid November brought back fall fishing patterns after a flash of winter type conditions early in the month here on Mosquito Lagoon Florida. Redfish continue to be in very small schools, loose knit groups of fish, and singles. Mullet has been my bait of choice, either small live finger mullet or fresh cut, sight fishing on some of the beautiful clam mornings, and fishing sand holes, edges, and grass flats on the windy days of which we have had plenty. Redfish catches have varied from a dozen plus an occasional Trout on some of the pretty days to only 3 to 6 Reds on some of the tough weather days.
Here are photos of a couple of fun Redfish double headers.
Some fun fishing still on backcountry mixed bag trips, lots of Trout and the seasonal arrival of Bluefish to the local backcountry waters.
Here is a cool shot of a pair of Bald Eagles I took the other day on Mosquito Lagoon.
Come fish with me on beautiful Mosquito Lagoon Florida. I offer either flats fishing mainly targeting Reds, which can be a little more challenging type of fishing, as we hunt for the fish on the grass flats of the lagoon waters. With winter approaching the patterns are changing with cleaner water and more sight fishing opportunities. The Redfish will begin to school up as the waters chill, which is what sight fishing flats anglers look forward to each winter.
This is also a good time of year for my mixed bag trips which is a fun easy type of fishing, in the Indian River Backcountry at the north end of the Mosquito Lagoon, this type of fishing is for Seatrout, Redfish, Black Drum, Sheepshead, & other saltwater fish on most winter time trips. You never know what will bite with this type of fishing, mainly drift fishing while free lining live shrimp on light tackle make for lots of rod bending and drag pulling. Fun for experienced anglers and an easy way for less experienced anglers to be successful at catching lots of fish. As we are out catching fun saltwater fish we will be seeing lots of wildlife up close and personal near the boat with Dolphins and many different bird species on just about every trip.
We will pick the best choice of which type trip will be the best for “catching” on your day out with me depending on your preferences for a fun day.
MY BOAT COMFORTABLY ACCOMMODATES 1 TO 4 ANGLERS
Located close to DAYTONA BEACH, NEW SMYRNA BEACH and ORLANDO, FLORIDA. Feel free to contact me at any time with questions you may have about my fishing charters. Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Guide. Flats Sight Fishing, Also Eco-Tours, Sightseeing, Bird Watching, Photography Trips.
CALL ME ANYTIME AT 386-689-3781
CHILDREN ALWAYS WELCOME – FAIR PRICES Capt. Michael Savedow Edgewater River Guide, Inc. 386-689-3781 email> EdgewaterRiverGuide@cfl.rr.com website> http://www.EdgewaterRiverGuide.com
