Mosquito Lagoon & Indian River Fishing

The wonderful thing about fishing in Central Florida is that it doesn't matter; there's always somewhere to fish and something to catch regardless of the weather.

So far, as of this writing, we have experienced four different freezes in Central Florida and worldwide the weather has been in the headlines because of the record breaking cold snaps.  So much for global warming.

The recent cold snaps have actually been somewhat of a welcome relief.   Our water temperatures have cooled, the baitfish supplies have diminished considerably, the water has become gin clear, and the fish have schooled up.

In the Mosquito Lagoon, the Indian River Lagoon and even in freshwater; the cold water has resulted in fish kills that as far as I can determine have been limited to a few ladyfish, jacks, a lot of catfish and some tilapia in the St. Johns River. 

Some invasive species of cichlids and red bellied pacu have also been turning up floating in the St. Johns river system.

The good news is that the warm weather between the cold fronts has provided some exceptional sight fishing for black drum, redfish and large sea trout in the lagoons which will continue throughout the month of January.   

The flats in both of the lagoons are loaded with redfish and black drum.

The fish have been holding in around two feet of water around the potholes and in the areas with sandy broken bottom.   During the next few months you can expect to encounter schools of drum with 100 or more fish.

Because of the cold water, the fish have been extremely sluggish.  If you can get your baits in front of their nose with a slow presentation without spooking them, they are more than eager to eat what you throw at them.

The waters will continue to stay crystal clear well into the spring, and will continue to provide ultimate conditions for sight fishing.

The large sea trout are hanging just off the white sandy potholes and are being caught in both of the lagoons on a variety of live and artificial baits.

When sight casting to these fish, you can't go wrong using a soft plastic DOA CAL jerk bait, DOA shrimp, or with live shrimp.  

When blind casting, use either a spoon, Mirrolure top water plugs, or twitchbaits like the 7M and 17MR or Strike King swimbaits.   Bagley's gold diamond spoon and the silver or gold Johnson Sprite spoons work well on both sea trout and redfish.

The secret to catching them, is to present your lures to the fish with long casts and the slowest retrieve possible with the equipment you are using.  

All the local guides recommend using light spinning tackle with light lines, or long fluorocarbon leaders when using light braid.

On every one of my last fishing trips, by boat or by land, I never caught a sea trout under 19", and every one of them was caught with a super slow retrieve. 

Kayaks have the advantage of getting into some really shallow waters that no fisherman or flats boat can venture into.  

Haulover Canal  fishing has been sporadic, however the recent cold snaps have forced fish into the deeper waters where they can get some relief from the cold winter water.

 

Black drum and redfish should bite well on the usual array of cut baits. 

 

The shrimpers I have talked to have reported mixed results in the Haulover Canal.  Some have reported decent catches of large shrimp and two guys I spoke with said they weren't doing much at all. 

 

I always wonder why they keep spending their nights out on the canal when they tell me "nothing is happening".

 

I do know that shrimpers off the new Titusville pier and bridges are reporting dismal catches.  Most are still waiting for the"run" to start in earnest.

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The beaches will be the place to throw your baits for Pompano this January.

Although spots like Melbourne Beach, Floridana Beach, Ormond beach and beaches farther south around Sebastian can be choice surf zones for pompano; fishing along Playalinda Beach on the south end of the Canaveral National Seeashore east of Titusville is about as good as it gets for pompano in Brevard County.

Because of its remoteness, Playalinda is seldom as crowded as the other beaches in the area.  The narrow beachhead drops quickly to the surf line to form deep water pompano feeding zones at Playalinda.

On the East Coast, a 4 or 5 pound pompano is considered a prize and most fish you catch will range between 2 and 3 pounds.

For the record, Playalinda Beach does seem to hold larger fish in the 4 to 5 pound category.

If you plan on driving any distance to Playalinda to take advantage of the January pompano fishing bonanza; be sure to call the Canaveral National Seashore office in Titusville first between 8:00 and 4:30 at 321-267-1110 to make sure the shuttle launch schedule hasn't closed the beach.