The fishing on Mosquito Lagoon & Indian river has been nothing short of amazing these past few weeks! Schools of Redfish in large numbers are roaming the shallow water bays and backcountry mangrove shorelines searching for food during the warmer periods of the day. they have aggressively been feeding on shrimp, mullet, gulps and well placed fly patterns that imitate the same. We have certainly had an erratic weather patter for this time of year, but the forecast is for clear skies and mild weather for the next coming few days.
For fly patterns , I have been using small merkin type crabs in olive or black. purple Worm sliders are also working well for those sometimes finicky black drum.. When targeting these fish, I prefer low light or overcast conditions. The redfish and black drum have been schooled up in some massive numbers as well this week. I had a chance to fish a charter with no boats around and probably 500 fish tailing around the boat. This school was a mix of both red and black drum. It still gets the heart rate up to see such a site in the early morning!!
Taylor and Madison from Utah caught their first ever redfish and then some!! They had a great time boating double digit redfish each on a half day trip!!
The trout bite continues to do well fishing the back creeks in the New Smyrna beach backcountry ion areas with 4-6 feet of water. Look for the trout to be bunched up along oyster bar edges and sand sloughs with some current. Catches of 30-50 trout are not uncommon this time of year. Water temperature is the key here, pay attention to the time of day, the tide (however small) ,and water temperature for greater success while trout fishing in the Mosquito Lagoon backcountry.
With the next few days of mild weather the bite should remain consistent. I hope to see you on the water soon or call us to book your Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Guide trip.
Captain Michael Bales 352-255-8175
http://www.hotfishcharters.com
