Your Feb 2010 Mosquito Lagoon & Indian River Fishing Report
Published: Mon, 02/01/10
| Newsletter Issue #6 Fishing Forecast |
February 1, 2010 | |||||||
Mosquito Lagoon & Indian River Fishing | ||||||||
he Indian River Lagoon as you know has endured over ten days of freezing temperatures with the possibility of colder weather still in the offing. Although some believe that it was more than the IRL could handle, I'm not that pessimistic.
A variety of species took a serious hit but the Redfish and black drum for the most part, seemed to have survived. Unfortunately, some of the large breeder sea trout and snook were devastated.
The north Indian River Lagoon is still littered with all sorts of dead fish and the shorelines remain littered with tons of dead puffers, sea trout, snook, and a scattering of dead sea turtles and water birds. You can visit both the Lagoons to see and smell the devastation first hand, if you can stand the stench. The Mosquito Lagoon fishing is slow, but the fish are still biting. An Orlando guide friend of mine, said his client caught his first and second redfish ever yesterday, on the west bank of the lower lagoon. There weren't many fish seen, and the ones that were around are hard to catch.
The lures of choice for very shallow water during the warmest part of the day are gold colored Red Ripper spoons, and Riptide weedless jigs. D.O.A. shrimp also work extremely well in a variety of colors in the shallows and should be fished SLOWLY. Chartreuse and gold flecked seem to work the best in the clear water. Live baits, particularly baby croaker, will "call up" any gator trout that weren't killed off by the cold snap, and live shrimp always produce on the flats when the fish aren't interested in artificial lures.
My fishing excursions have been spattered with few redfish and an occasional keeper sea trout. A guide friend of mine said that he located a school of about 25 redfish, and after throwing almost every bait in the boat, couldn't get a bite. He fished the balance of the day with the same results. I don't feel so bad now with my lack of success.
Shrimping is still slow on the Indian River. Friday evening I visited the local shrimpers on the Max Brewer Memorial Parkway Bridge, hoping to catch a few of the sea trout for dinner that normally compete with the sport shrimpers for the shrimp.
When I visited the bridge, no one had netted any limits of shrimp, and the trout "hatchery" that is normally visible above the shrimp lights, were nowhere to be seen. There were only several large schools of newly hatched sand trout above the lights.
I don't know if the cold weather was the reason for the lack of sea trout in the area, but it can't be ruled out. The sport shrimpers attribute the slow shirmping to "no current" moving the shrimp, even though there was a full moon that lit up the river. Everyone I spoke to is expecting the "shrimp run" to begin "any day now". Playalinda Beach fishing should be great for Pompano throughout the month of February.
The reports I have received from the beach, are that the cold fronts haven't had much affect on the fishing.
Pompano are always good fishing in February, with sand fleas, bits of shrimp, or small white or yellow jigs bounced off the bottom. Tip the jig with a bit of shrimp to sweeten it a little. You can always expect some whiting, black drum, and possibly a bluefish later in the month.
Lots #7 to #10 are usually the best for Pompano along the deep troughs.
The St. John's River shad run is just beginning, and is another upcoming option for February fishing in Centrall Florida.
Although the American Shad in the St. John's River is just at the beginning of the run, it will hopefully be getting under full steam this month, along with the crappie bite that is reportedly picking up.
Although I personally don't do much freshwater fishing, I might just go inland for awhile and give the stressed out Lagoons a chance to recover.
The mouth of Puzzle Lake to Lake Harney, and other shad hotspots on the St. John's, will probably be where the Lagoon guides wind up taking their clients until the fishing improves in the Lagoons.
Catching shad and crappie in the St. John's, and pompano, whiting, and whatever in the surf, still beats sitting at home watching the tube. Just remember that if you decide on some shad fishing, both a fresh and saltwater fishing license is required to catch shad in fresh water. Till Next Month, Tight Lines! | ||||||||
| Link One | Link Two | Link Three | Link Four | Link Five | Unsubscribe to this newsletter |