Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report, July 29, 2007
Complements of Mosquito Creek Outdoors, Apopka, Florida
Working as a professional fishing guide and as associate editor of Coastal Angler Magazine has been a blessing to me, and earlier in this week I was grateful for the invitation to attend my first D.O.A. Outdoor Writers Conference at the River Palms Cottages in Jensen Beach. Captain Mark Nichols and the D.O.A. staff hosted the three-day event involving two days of fishing with D.O.A. pro staff guides, and socializing with tackle industry experts and outdoor media legends. I had a great time, and I even managed to catch a few of those line sided soap fish to boot.
If you are ever looking for a great place to stay close to the St. Lucie Inlet with deep-water access, the River Palms Cottages sets the stage for a tropical paradise on the shore on the Indian River Lagoon, and it's only two hours south of Orlando.
With the summer heat upon us, an early morning or late evening start has been an essential requirement for catching fish. This past week we've experienced exceptional mornings in regards to wind and seas, but the scorching summer sun and afternoon thunder storms have shut down the bite early, and produced dangerous conditions when the squalls blow in.
Inshore, the hot ticket has been the early morning trout bite, 5am to sunrise on most of the major flats on the north Indian River, Banana River, and Mosquito Lagoons. Last week I fished the north IRL on the flat north of the ICW spoil islands west of Haulover Canal, and we boated over 20 sea trout up to 5 pounds throwing High Roller's Rip Roller, Storm's Chug Bug, and Rapala's Skitterwalk plugs. Once the sun grew bright, the bite shut down, we fish the deeper edges of the flat with soft plastic baits like the RipTide Flats Chub on a ¼ ounce Screw Jig with a Woodies Rattle inserted.
Another hotspot has been the nighttime redfish and black drum bites around the Haulover Canal and the railroad bridge. Doug from Skeeter Lagoon's Bait and Tackle in Titusville reported that a good number of large redfish and black drum have been caught in the discharge end of the Haulover canal fishing with live blue crab on the bottom. When targeting these larger fish, use a one-ounce slip sinker rig or greater if the currents running hard, and step up the size of your tackle and line to lessen the battle. Warm water holds less oxygen, so please avoid long battles and revive your catch completely before releasing it.
Near-shore along the beach, the bait pods have completely disappeared, along with all of our other scaly friends; so if your looking for baits this week, focus your attention inside the Port. I'm not sure if it's cold water moving in, of just the full moon phase, but many hours and gallons of fuel were wasted last week running the beach in search of fish. There was some bait located south in the Melbourne Beach area, and some nice kingfish too, but it's a long run with storms looming. Also, several nice kingfish were taken on the buoy line, but the better bite has been north of Canaveral around the Chris Benson Reef in 70 to 80 feet of water. In addition, the cooler bottom temperatures have pushed some cobia inshore. So keep a sharp eye out and a cobia jig rigged at all times.
Another interesting tidbit is reports of nice pompano in the surf along Playlinda Beach, and yes I didn't stutter, some permit in the 10 to 20pound range, with a bunch of whiting and some small black drum mixed in. Also, remember we have a Delta Rocket Launch scheduled for August 3rd, and a Space Shuttle Launch scheduled for August 7th, so be cognizant of our standard security closures.
Last but not least, I would like to inform all of the ladies about the Mosquito Creek Outdoor Ladies Social Angler Seminar and Wine Tasting scheduled for September 29th from 10am to 3pm. This free event is designed to teach the ladies the basic fundamental needed to enjoy fishing with their family and friends. Mosquito Creek Outdoors, Woman in The Outdoors, and Coastal Angler Magazine, sponsors the event and it features speakers like Robin, Fish Girl, Folsom and Captain Rodney Smith of Coastal Angler Magazine, Captain Chris Myers D.O.A. Pro Staff, and Captain Tom Van Horn RipTide Pro Staff.
As always, if you have questions or need information, please contact me.
Good luck and good fishing,
Captain Tom Van Horn
Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters
www.irl-fishing.com
captain@irl-fishing.com
407-366-8085 landline
407-416-1187 on the water
866-790-8081 toll free
Visit www.mosquitocreekoutdoors.com for your outdoor adventure needs, its Where the Adventure Begins!