Inshore fishing has been good along Florida's Space Coast reports Captain Keith Mixon (www.mixinworkwithplay.com). Early morning and late evening fishing has paid off when targeting schools of reds in the southern region of Mosquito Lagoon. With a quiet approach, many slot size reds have been caught when using live bait such as mullet and shrimp when rigged on a circle hook. In addition, artificial lures such as MirrOlure® MirrOminnow® Suspending Twitchbait have worked equally well in less than two feet of water. Fresh chunks of cut mullet and lady fish as well as blue crabs have been used throughout the Haulover Canal for large bull reds. These redfish measuring up to 40 inches or more have not been able to resist these baits when fished on the bottom.
Around Port Canaveral, mangrove snapper have aggressively been feeding on live shrimp during the early morning hours until mid-morning. The average lengths of these fish have been about thirteen inches. Anglers should look for tidal flow near structure when targeting these fish. In addition, many snook have been feeding on live mullet near the jetties and along the beach near schools of bait fish. Now that snook season is open, most of these fish have either been above or below the legal size limit.