The Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River 

The redfish are starting to show up again in all three of our Central East Region waters.  

In the Mosquito Lagoon, the Banana River, and the north part of the Indian River where the water seems to be the cleanest, redfish and spotted sea trout are holding in good numbers.   

Anglers from Sebastian all the way to Oak Hill are making more consistent catches of redfish in our area which will continue throughout the summer months.

In the Vero, Wabasso, and Grant areas look for redfish between 16 to 27 inches holding around the docks, deadfalls, and underneath the mangrove branches and roots. These are the best areas for the reds to ambush their prey and avoid being eaten by marauding Dolphin in those areas.

A  3" straight tail Assassin or a 4" Sea Shad rigged on a weedless worm hook is perfect for this type of fishing.    You can easily skip the baits underneath the mangroves and docks where the fish are holding without getting many hangups.

Good colors to use right now are "Baby Bass", "Northern Minnow", and "Opening Night".

From Cocoa up through Edgewater, anglers are also finding redfish in the 16 to 27 inch category holding tight to the shorelines in most areas trying to stay away from the Dolphin.   In this area, the fish have also been holding around the culverts and creek mouths.   The bait of choice for catching reds in our area right now is by far a live freelined shrimp.

During the next couple of weeks as the mullet become more prevalent, the redfish will transition from eating shrimp and other crustaceans to mullet.  

When this happens, anglers will want to start tossing walk the dog style topwater baits like Skitterwalks, XPS Slim Dogs, BadonkAdonks, Zara Spooks, and Chug Bugs around the pods of baitfish.  A 5" shad Assassin  rigged on a 5/0 wide gap weedless worm hook fished around the bait pods is also a deadly bait.

Early morning hours, overcast days, and late evenings are most productive for this type fishing. 

If you're interested in catching a gator sea trout; April, May, and June are the best months to fish for them in our area. 

The egg laden females are in their spawning mode roaming the shallower flats following the baitfish pods.   During the early morning hours from first light until around 9:00 am the big females don't seem to be as cautious and will nail almost any topwater bait that mimics a silver mullet.   

Smaller size lures will normally get more strikes but the larger baits attract quality fish.   

This month, if you are on the flats at first light anywhere on the Indian River Lagoon system where there are schools of mullet, you will find sea trout.   Remember to smear up your lures with some Pro-Cure Inshore Formula Gel to increase your chances of a hookup.  It makes a huge difference.

The shallower flats along the eastern shoreline of the Mosquito Lagoon and the flats north and west of Titusville past the railroad bridge all the way up to the Scotsmoor boat launch are relatively clean and have been producing some nice size sea trout. 

Wade fishermen using 7 wt. fly rods on the Scotsmoor flats have been catching sea trout and redfish early in the mornings using crab and shrimp patterns. 

Blind casting a Deceiver or any minnow pattern later in the morning and throughout the day can also be productive when the baitfish become more prevalent.

Although most of the sea trout are running in the 14 to 23 inch range, females in the 28 inch and over category are not uncommon in this part of the lagoon.

With the exception of last week, the black drum bite in our area has been strong.   For some reason, the bite has shut down around the usual places like the spoil islands, the bridges, and the deeper channels.  

The drum are roaming around on the flats foraging for crabs, shrimps, and other crustaceans, so unless you're on the water every day following them, you never know exactly where they are.   

When you do locate a tail wagging school on the flats, toss a live shrimp or a jig head sweetened with a piece of peeled shrimp, sand flea, or strip of fishbites ahead of the fish and slowly drag the bait along the bottom to create little puffs of sand.  

A 4 inch saltwater assassin sea shad in the pink daddy color tipped with fishbites is a great lure to throw when you're out on the deeper flats trying to locate some black drum.

Most of the black drum caught in our area right now have been running in the 20 to 30 pound category.
                                

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Playalinda and Area Beaches

Pompano and whiting are in the surf in really good numbers right now throughout the East Central region and Playalinda Beach is being called the hotspot.    

Although most beach areas along our coast right now are producing good catches, avoid fishing in areas where beach nourishment is going on.  The sand pumping onto the beach in these areas make the water turbid and the pompano, whiting, margate, and black drum tend to stay away.

Anglers are using live sand fleas, sand flea flavored fishbites, oysters, fiddler crabs and fresh clam on 2 or 3 drop surf rigs with enough weight to hold bottom and casting just outside the breakers have been catching the larger fish.

The pompano and whiting are running about 1 to 2 pounds in our area with a few heavier fish in the mix. Anglers fishing the South Melbourne beaches during the early morning and late evenings have been catching limits of pompano, Palometas, and bull whiting. 

The best bite has been reported during the early stages of an incoming tide.   Baits of choice are sand fleas, peeled shrimp, and fishbites on standard 2 or 3 drop surf rigs. 
 
Surf fishermen interested in targeting sharks are still having a bonanza fishery all along our East Central area beaches.  

Any piece of freshly cut bluefish, ladyfish, or mullet cast just beyond the surf break won't last long before a shark will pick it up.  

If you're targeting shark, beef up your tackle and use appropriate tackle.  Heavyweight rods, high capacity reels, braided line in the 60 to 80 pound class and 200 pound mono or wire leaders with large circle hooks are considered the norm for the heavyweights.

Also, make sure you have a shore fishing shark permit and have completed the educational course.  The permit is geared to fishermen who target large sharks from the beach and takes about a half hour to complete.  It is a free add on to your fishing license that you need to print out and keep on your person while fishing.

To get the permit, you need to take an educational course at MyFWC.com/SharkCourse which consists of a quiz and some educational videos. 

After you create an account and pass the test, (which you can re-take if you fail) your certificate will have an ID code unique to you.   You will then need to log in to GoOutdoorsFla.com , click “Purchase a License”, go to "Shore-based Shark Fishing Permit" and click “Add to Cart.”   There you will type in your unique ID code to get your permit. 
The sharks in our area are running anywhere from 20 to 80 pounds, but obviously there are some bigger ones out there.                                                                                              

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Port  Canaveral Offshore and Nearshore

The kingfish bite on most of the reefs and wrecks in the 60 to 90 foot depths out of Port Canaveral has been doing pretty good for anglers slow trolling live or frozen pilchards, greenies, sardines, or cigar minnows on wire stinger rigs. 

Strip baits pulled behind a planer are also working really good right now, especially during the days when the fish are down deeper.  

A lot of anglers are also catching plenty of King Mackerel by dragging lipped diving plugs around first thing in the morning and later on in the afternoon during low light periods.  Pulling a King Getter or large spoon also works for the guys who don't like fooling with live baits.

The kingfish are running anywhere from 8 to 15 pounds with some fish tipping 20 pounds and over.   Some of the larger King Mackerel are being caught in the shallower 35 to 55 foot depths right now throughout our region.
 
Out of Port Canaveral, the 8A and Chris Benson Reefs, Pelican Flats to the east and southeast in 70 to 80 feet of water, and the artificial reefs off Ponce Inlet should all be hotspots for kingfish this month.

The spring dolphin run is just starting to ramp up on the East side of the Gulf Stream.  Within the next couple of weeks, these fish will slowly transition to the West side of the stream.  

Anglers fishing the blue water edge of the Gulf Stream trolling skirted Islander ballyhoo combos or naked chin weighted ballyhoo at 4 to 6 knots have been catching some really good dolphin along the temperature breaks, color changes, weed lines, and floating debris.   
A few , wahoo, and sails were also reported on dragged ballyhoo.

Most of the dolphin caught right now are running between 6 to 15 pounds.

The bottom bite our of Port Canaveral has been good for black sea bass, triggerfish, mangrove, mutton, vermillion, and lane snapper over the deeper wrecks and reefs. 

Grouper opens up today which is why a lot of the party boats out of the port are pretty well filled up until mid week.   
 
Until Next Time,
Tight Lines, and Bent Rods!