The Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River:

This time last year we were suffering from the damage that Hurricane Irma caused throughout East Central Florida.    Many of the damaged docks, boat ramps, fishing piers, and access roads in our area, including the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, are still under repair or closed.  

Peacocks Pocket Road, Catfish Creek Loop, L. Pond, North Shiloh Road, and a few other dike roads still have barricades erected which limits bank fishing and wading opportunities to how far you are willing to walk with a couple of rods and a backpack full of tackle, but there are still plenty of places to fish and wade in our area if you do a little scouting.

September, October, and November is normally when the bull redfish school up for their annual spawn. 

During the last couple of weeks of September, the Snook were biting really well, but the redfish bite for the most part has been on fire. 

Right now the redfish bite in our area is hot in all our lagoon systems, including the inlets, jetties, and even along the beaches in many areas.      During this period you can regularly catch fish ranging in size from 20 inches to well over 20 pounds.
When fishing inshore, one of the best ways to catch them is to fish around the mullet pods early in the morning with topwater plugs like Skitterwalks,  Mirrolure Top Pups, XPS Slim Dogs, or Zara Spooks.   Usually a slow, steady, walk the dog style side to side action works best.  If you don't get regular hookups, switch to a large Chug Bug smeared with some Pro-Cure Inshore gel formula and work a slow stop and go retrieve.  A lot of fish will hit the bait when it is motionless.
 
When the sun rises higher on the horizon, switch to small paddle tail baits and shrimp imitations.  DOA shrimp, Live Target, and Gulp shrimp all work well during this period. 

Plastic shrimp bodied baits on a 1/8th oz. jig head bounced off the bottom around the drop offs, mangroves, or some of the damaged docks mentioned above should get you a redfish or two.

During October in the north Indian River, live baits or chunked ladyfish, mullet, or even pinfish can be deadly for big redfish, especially when the water is dirty.   A sectioned blue crab should always be put out on at least one rod for the bigger fish and black drum.

The shoreline opposite the Scotsmoor Boat launch and the far northern part of the Indian River around the barrier to Shiloh Road are great places to target big bull reds during October.    Since the closure of Shiloh Road, this area has had little fishing pressure and the fish are not shy about eating.

The spotted sea trout bite in the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River has been hot and cold.  Fishing around the mullet pods with topwater baits early in the mornings and just toward dusk will pick you up fish of almost any size. 

There is a magic hour or so just before the sun sets when the trout go nuts and will hit anything on or near the surface.    During this period you can pick up small under slot fish or oversize gator trout in the 5 pound plus category, you never know what's going to hit.

Yesterday, I hooked a 3 foot plus tarpon in a small creek around East Gator Creek that I almost passed up fishing.  The tarpon hit a totally motionless topwater bait while I was trying to unsnarl a knot in my Power Pro line.    Needless to say, I lost the fish after the first jump.

Although Peacocks Pocket road and Catfish Creek Loop in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge are still closed to vehicle traffic, you can still walk the roads to fish for sea trout and oversize redfish.  

Target the deeper areas of the marsh canals, ponds and inlets to the ponds.   Big sea trout and redfish constantly cruise the banks of the canal after baitfish as they travel from pond to pond.    The most activity occurs early in the morning and a couple of hours before dusk when you can easily spot the fish busting bait along the shoreline.

Topwater Chug Bugs Gold Johnson Sprite spoons, and soft plastic swim baits smeared with some Pro-Cure all work well.   Expect to lose some lures to the undergrowth.

"Fishing the ditches" isn't for everyone but during October the bite usually picks up considerably.   The undergrowth along the canal and ponds makes casting difficult, but landing a heavy redfish after it makes a couple of runs up the marsh canal is extremely rewarding.   

Never try wading in the canal or the ponds in this area.  There are some huge gators in this area that can do some serious damage to you.

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Offshore and Nearshore Fishing:

Boaters running the beaches out of Port Canaveral during October have a good shot at tarpon, kingfish, big jacks, and bonito.

The number one species targeted this month out of Port Canaveral is King Mackerel. 
 
The King Mackerel bite right now out of the Port has been insane and should continue this way throughout the month.
Kingfish are the staple for most of the Captains out of Port Canaveral, and the majority of the time you will be able to find King Mackerel up to 30 pounds on the 65 to 95 foot reefs out of the Port.  
Most anglers will be pulling live or frozen baits at 1 to 2 knots with wire stinger rigs, but you can also troll strip baits behind a Sea Witch or spoons at 2 to 4 knots, naked or skirted ballyhoo at 3 to 5 knots, or pull some of the X Rap Magnums, King Getters, or the Williamson Speed Pros at 5 to 8 knots.  

All these techniques will catch king mackerel right now with an occasional Wahoo in the mix when trolling at higher speeds.

The mullet run is going strong right now, and just outside of Port Canaveral you can see Kingfish chasing mullet up and down the shipping channel.  Just this past week you could actually watch kingfish, several in the 40 pound class, skyrocketing inside the mouth of the Port after mullet.
If you can get out on the water right now, even if you are in a kayak or aluminium jon boat, you should be able to catch fish.

The next best species to catch in our area right now is shark.  Most of the sharks right now have come in close inshore after the baitfish.  

Blacktips, spinners, sharpnose, bull, and almost any species of shark can be caught right now on live mullet or live pogies.    Just crimp a wire leader on a 7/0 VMC circle hook, drop the bait overboard and hang on.  

Most of the sharks are running about 40 to 80 pounds, with a few blacktips scaling over 100 pounds.

October can also be a prime time for casters using magnum size artificial baits to jump tarpon along the deeper surf zones about four or five miles north of Sebastian Inlet.  

Each fall more and more fishermen join the number of casters utilizing this unique tarpon fishery which requires long 10 to 12 foot rods with matching reels that can lob a 6 to 7 inch lure at least 50 yards off of the beach.   Small diameter braids are preferred because of their longer casting ability but are tough to manage in the wind.

Most tarpon caught are in the 60 to 125 pound range but larger fish up to 140 pounds have been landed in that area.

With the recent full moon, the snook bite has also been on fire in the inlets and jetties.  

The guys fishing at night have been using Flare Hawk jigs, Rapala X-14s, and Storm swimbaits; all work well.    During the daytime, if you're fishing from the jetties, use live mullet, croaker, pogies, or pigfish on a knocker rig.

If you're drifting from a boat, add just enough weight to keep your bait from snagging on the bottom.

Most of the snook being caught right now are legal size and are running from 25 to 38 inches in length. 
 

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Surf and Jetty Fishing:

During October, fishermen along our beaches will be able to pick up Spanish Mackerel, bluefish, snook, redfish, whiting, and a variety of sharks. 

Although most surf fishermen will toss a live mullet during the fall baitfish run of mullet, pogies, and glass minnows; a peeled shimp or strip of Fishbites on a 1/4 oz. jig head bounced off the bottom in the troughs works equally well on redfish, as well as several other species.

If the glass minnows are running along the surf, break out the light spinning rods or fly rods for some great fun with Spanish mackerel.  

Spanish mackerel in the surf are generally less than 3 pounds in weight but what they lack in size, they make up in fight and in numbers.  
If you fly fish, a simple light colored streamer with some Mylar or Krystal Flash like a "Surf Candy" will bring strikes.  Because they are so toothy, leave your expensive fly patterns at home and tie up a few of your own.  They will usually destroy a fly after hanging a few fish.  

Look for a west wind to knock down a heavy surf.  This allows the glass minnows to hold tight against the beach withing easy casting distance.

Gotcha plugs, small Diamond or Krockodile spoons, and tandem rigged bucktail jigs all work well on light spinning tackle.  Just add a short leader of heavy mono or light wire to minimize cutoffs.

The redfish bite around the beaches, jetties, and inlets right now has been on fire, especially at Ponce Inlet.   Off of the jetties and in the inlet, most of the redfish caught will be oversize "bulls".   

To get slot size reds, fish the backwaters around the mangroves, depressions, and docks with live finger mullet as the number one bait of choice.

If you're fishing around the inlets or the jetties at Jetty Park, a live mullet rigged with a 4/0 circle hook through the nose and a 1/2 oz. egg sinker can also get you hooked up with some nice fish of almost any species this month.
Since the mullet run has gotten thicker, the shark fishing has also ramped up quite a bit.  The shark have come closer inshore and can be caught in the surf right now with live finger mullet, but almost any live or bloody chunk bait will get you a hookup.   
 
A short wire leader on a 7/0 VMC circle hook with a live mullet, chunk bait, or half of a mullet and enough weight to get your bait out there is all you need to gear up.

Normally most of the shark caught in the surf are less than two feet long, but during the mullet run, much larger sharks are possible.  Near shore they have been averaging 40 to 60 pounds, so make sure you have the appropriate tackle for the job.
 
If you're targeting the big guys, use a heavy action rod, a large capacity reel spooled with 60 to 100 pound braid, a single wire or multi-strand coated wire leader, and enough weight to get the bait out past the breakers.

 

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Haulover Canal: Large chunks of cut ladyfish, live pinfish, and half of a live blue crab are baits of choice on a standard sliding sinker rig, with a 5/0 or 6/0 VMC 7685 circle hook on the business end for bull reds.   When fishing from a boat with live baits, try using a knocker rig to get the bait on the bottom.  Hook the bait close to the tail so it swims away from the sinker. 

Tossing topwater baits or suspended twitch baits to the shorelines from a drifting boat early in the morning, close to dusk, and at night is a also productive tactic for catching big sea trout, Snook, and tarpon in the canal. 
                                                                             

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Until next time,

Tight Lines and bent rods!