Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report, September 20, 2006
Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters
Well, the love bug hatch is in full swing, the goldenrods are blooming, and our first substantial cold front has moved through Central Florida dropping our nighttime temperatures into the sixties. All of these are signs of fall on the Indian River Lagoon Coast, and they are all indications that the fall mullet run is in full swing. Silver mullet are a tropical fish species spending their summers growing up in the backwaters of the estuaries, and then migrating south in schools for the winter.
My angling opportunities this past week were limited to only two days on the water, with three days of fishing shows mixed in. This report starts on the Monday the 11th where I had the pleasure to fish with Ed Hadly and his friend Joey from Orlando, and both are avid Lagoon anglers. A weak cool front was trying to push in, so we were faced with a brisk wind from the south. We started our day before daylight heading over to the east shore of the Mosquito Lagoon. Seeking shelter from the wind, we tucked behind an east-west point and quickly located some scattered slot size redfish, catching three on top-water plugs. When that bite slowed, we moved over to the Tiger Shoals Push Pole Zone, and finished our day sight fishing, catching three more slot fish on Gulp Shrimp and Bass Assassin jerk baits. Throughout the day, we located some nice schools of red, but the chop on the water made them difficult to locate between fish.
On Wednesday and Thursday, I worked the Henry's Fishing Tackle Show in Orlando in support of Evolution Rods. Several years' back, I was fortunate enough to join the pro staff of Evolution, and I can honestly say they are the strongest and most sensitive rods I have ever used. Evolution Rods are made of solid carbon fiber, which gives them a small diameter, extreme backbone, and supper sensitive feel (http://www.lippertools.com).
On Saturday, it was off to West Palm Beach to attend the Florida Sportsman Fishing Show in support of Freedom Hawk Kayaks (www.freedomhawkkayaks.com). The Freedom 14 is a new kayak designed specifically for fishing. The aft of the kayak is divided into two wings that spread out with the flip of a handle to create a stable platform for standing and sight fishing.
Yesterday, I ventured into the NMZ with my good friend Larry Carter, and despite a blustery south wind, we did fairly well. We launch our kayaks on the west shoreline around 8am, and before long, we located schools of mullet getting hammered on the outside edge of thickly matted floating widgeon grass. The grass was matted up from the shoreline to about a foot of water, and the larger fish would jet out from under the grass and bust the mullet as they passed by. We began working small top water plugs alone the edge of the floating grass, and we were rewarded by many explosive strikes. When it was all said and done, we ended the day with three snook to 30 inches, one slot redfish, several nice sea trout, and a hefty jack. At one point, I switch to weedless soft plastic bait, and as I would reel it across the surface of the grass, the larger fish would knock holes in the flotsam trying to get the bait, but I never managed to hook up.
Besides my adventures this week, I have heard nothing but good reports from other anglers and guides, so if you have been waiting for the fishing action to heat up, you need to break out the tackle and hit the water.
As always, if you have any questions or need information, please contact me.
Good luck and good fishing,
Captain Tom Van Horn
www.irl-fishing.com
407-416-1187 on the water
407-366-8085 land line
866-790-8081 toll free