The fishing on Mosquito Lagoon & Indian river this past month continues to be some of the best I've seen in years. Large schools of Black Drum and Redfish continue to make their presence known cruising the shallow flats in search of food. There is nothing better than sight fishing to tailing redfish in the mornings on a calm grass flat as the sun rises over the ocean. The weather has switched into spring mode with warmer temperatures and sunny days in the forecast, making the fishing even better!
Schooled redfish can be caught using spoons, jigs,and of course a live shrimp. If you are targeting tailing fish, try a circle jig tipped with a live shrimp. Be sure to cast ahead of the feeding fish and work into his feeding zone trying not to spook them. The jig will allow for more distance and the fresh shrimp will provide the scent need to entice the strike.
Fly fishing patterns of late consist of oliver sliders, kwans, and small black or olive crabs. I have also been using the MONIC series clear fly line with great success on sunnier days. A leader of about 10ft tipped with some 8-10 lb flouro-carbon and a small crab should be the ticket.
Onto trout fishing for the light tackle angler, try using small paddle tale grubs or DOA shrimp rigged to a 1/8 or 1/16 ounce white or red jig-head. The trout bite will continue to remain consistent fishing the deeper edges or anywhere you locate bait. Look for the trout to be packed in along drop-offs or sandy edges where there is some current. A frisky Live shrimp bounced along the bottom or a live mullet should also work. If you fish an area with no success, pick up and move to another area as these trout are highly mobile creatures. If you locate one trout, there are surely more in the area. As the water temperature rises the trout bite should get really hot! Try throwing a topwater chug bug or skitter walk along the deeper bars this time of year in the early morning if you are looking for a gator!
Great trips these past weeks included CJ and Joe who caught their first ever redfish and then some!! They boated double digit redfish each on their first trip to Mosquito Lagoon!
Ed and Jim and Joe all had a really great time on the lagoon catching redfish, trout, and black drum! I look forward to fishing with these guys again.
I hope to see you on the water soon, feel free to check us out on Facebook at Hotfish Charters - Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Guide or on the web at
http://wwwhotfishcharters.com
