Both the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River Lagoon systems during February are great months for sight casting when gin clear water conditions exist.   

The brown algae blooms we experienced during the summer months that handicapped most sight fishermen, has become less of a problem, and although the water clarity in the lagoons is not "gin clear" it has cleaned up enough to provide some decent sight casting on the grass flats.  

The water levels are very low right now, and the water clarity to the north has become very clear, to the point where sight fishing is now a viable option.    The waters from Haulover Canal south have also cleaned up enough to provide some "decent" sight fishing. 

For the past several months, the grass flats and the dropoffs along the flats in both lagoon systems provided some good fishing for black drum, redfish, snook and speckled sea trout.     Unless we the weather patterns really go amuck, there shouldn't be much change in the fishing for the next few months until spring.

The reports from the New Smyrna Beach area for the past 5 or 6 weeks were mostly about the snook bite.  

Snook are routinely targeted during the winter months by many fishermen in the New Smyrna area, and with the reopening of snook season February 1st., more fishing pressure can be expected on the species.

In the Indian River Lagoon system, the snook action has started to wind down.   The fish have been breaking out of their schools and moving back into their normal summer haunts.    

Closer to Ponce Inlet, the bite is still ongoing and should continue in the creeks throughout the month of February, when they will also begin to scatter.    Reports of snook up to 30" are common with 10 or more fish per day catches being the norm.    

The baits of choice have been live shrimp, mullet, crank baits, and soft plastic baits.

The Black Drum bite in both the the north Indian River Lagoon and Mosquito Lagoon has been on fire.  Over a dozen different schools of 50 to well over 100 fish have been reported in these areas.   

Most of the fish are in the 6 to 12 pound range, with a few bruisers in the 20 pound plus category mixed in.  Baits of choice are live shrimp and fresh cut crab.     

Fishing for redfish in the lagoons is entirely dependent on weather conditions.   Since the water levels have dropped, the redfish schools in the Mosquito Lagoon have been getting larger and in between the cold fronts, they can be seen tailing over the flats rooting around for crabs, shrimp, and baitfish.    When the cold fronts hit, they can be found laid up in the deeper troughs and sand sloughs.

The pre spawn schools of bull reds in the 20 to 40 pound range have started to form up in the north Indian River.   Small loose groups of 15 to 30 fish are in the area, but because of the windy weather conditions we have been experiencing, they are tough to target.   On calm days if you are in the area, they are pretty easy to spot especially in a kayak.

Fishing for pre-spawn reds will be a hit or miss proposition until they form up a bit more, but we should expect some great fishing for bull redfish during the March through May season.

This month is also a prime month for catching big gator sea trout in our area.  Some real whoppers in the 10 to 14 pound category can be caught when they are laid up in the sandy potholes around the cold fronts.   Target them with live mullet or soft plastic lures  fished very slowly.

As a general rule during the colder winter months, redfish and sea trout will seek out the warmest water they can find.    They can be easily spotted warming themselves in the shallow water potholes among the grassy flats, scattered around the darker bottomed mud flats, and along the deeper water canals adjacent to the shallower flats.

During the morning hours you can locate them by working the deeper edges of the flats and then moving up into the warmer wind protected flats during the middle of the day into the late afternoons.   During the winter months, early morning starts are not necessary to catch a mess of fish.

During the coldest days, target the deeper holes and canals with either live shrimp or plastic shrimp imitations like the DOA Shrimp, using very slow presentations.   DOA Shrimp in the clear, night glow, and root beer colors, ffished extremely slowly have been good producers.  Downsize your baits and slow down your presentations for more bites.   

Peacocks Pocket Road and most of the other areas in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge are closed to vehicle traffic until Feb. 15th., however you can park at the barriers and walk the roads for some decent  fishing for spotted sea trout and an occasional redfish.

Although most bank fishermen are concentrated along the causeway and Catfish Creek area fishing for black drum and slot reds, few anglers bother walking the unimproved roads with a rod and a few artificial baits.

Depending on the weather conditions and water levels, the marsh canals can produce some great fishing, especially without the din of visiting vehicle traffic.
 

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Cocoa Beach Residential Canals

When the water temperatures drop into the 50s during February, the deep water canals around Cocoa Beach and Merritt Island will be a great place to fish for Gator sea trout.

There is a die hard group of fishermen who wait every year for the air temperatures to plunge into the 30s for several days, until the water temperatures drop into the 50s.  

When this happens, they pack their gear and head out to fish the harbors, deeper canals, and dredged out troughs for big sea trout in the 8 to 14 pound category.

The relatively warmer temperatures of the deeper canals are where the baitfish congregate.  The larger predators are drawn to the extra degree or two of warmth and the waiting buffet of baitfish where they can be easily targeted.

Night fishing the canals with hard bodied, countdown, artificial baits that resemble a finger mullet is a favored method for catching these fish. Use 10 pound or lighter line and slowly fish around the submerged rocks, rip rap and lighted docks that are in at least 6 feet of water.

Another commonly used method is to fish a live shrimp as naturally as possible on 10 to 12 pound fluorocarbon without any terminal tackle.    

Snell a No. 1 or No. 2 light wire hook on your line and clip on a small (1 1/4") natural cork float to maintain the depth.  Hook the shrimp through the horn and fish the rig around deep water areas close to mangrove roots during the early morning hours.

As the sun warms the surrounding waters, the trout will move out of the canals and onto the  shallower mud and grass flats where they can be caught as they forage for small crabs, shrimp, and bait fish.
 

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Sebastian Inlet

The 2017Atlantic coast snook fishing season in Florida starts on Wednesday, February 1st,  and will remain open through the end of May.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission allows anglers to keep one Snook per day that falls into the slot measurement of 28 inches to 32 inches in length and you can bet your last dollar that on February 1st.  the 750 foot north jetty at Sebastian Inlet and other hot spots along the Atlantic coast will be crowded with fishermen trying for a slot size snook.

Sebastian Inlet Park is about 15 miles south of Melbourne Beach on State Road A1A, and Sebastian Inlet is without a doubt one of the best locations to target Snook along Florida's Atlantic coast.  
 

The strong outgoing tides pull a variety of bait fish, shrimp, and crabs from the river through the Inlet where a variety of predators await the smorgasbord.    During the incoming tides, the fresh ocean water flushes out the Inlet to complete the cycle.

Anglers fishing the jetty and the pier target snook with a variety of bucktail jigs, plastic grub tail baits, lipped diving plugs, and live baits.  

From the inlet side mostly during the evening hours, you will usually find bank fishermen casting for Snook using an assortment of flair jigs, spoons, plastic grubs, diving plugs, and live baits. 

Many fishermen wait until nightfall to dunk their baits and you can usually find boaters power drifting the Inlet fishing for Snook, bull redfish, and black drum using a variety of live baits.  Mullet, pigfish, croaker, pinfish, or a jumbo shrimp with enough lead to make a natural drift through the inlet, will usually results in a hookup.

If you decide to trailer your boat to Sebastian Inlet during February, do not leave without fishing the North jetty.   

Fishing a fresh cut bait just off the bottom can get you a hookup with everything from Snook, redfish, black drum, snapper, Spanish mackerel, bluefish, sheepshead, shark, to even a late season flounder.

If you are new to Sebastian Inlet, visit http://www.sebastianinletdistrict.com/fishing.jhtml?method=list to check out the  current fishing reports.
 

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Playalinda Beach And Surrounding Areas

It's Pompano season again and in the surf along our East Central Florida beaches, Pompano will be the staple for the majority of surf anglers, with a mixed bag of whiting, black drum, Spanish mackerel, and bluefish added into the mix.

The better zones for Pompano is the Canaveral National Seashore south of New Smyrna Beach, Playalinda Beach east of Titusville, and the 15 mile stretch of coastline from Melbourne Beach to Sebastian.

All these areas offer public access points with free parking to surf fishermen who have reportedly been making decent catches of whiting, pompano, bluefish, and a few Spanish mackerel. 

The colder weather has improved the fishing with the better feeding periods occurring on the incoming and high tides, especially when they occur in the early mornings.
 
A live sand flea (mole crab) is by far considered to be the best bait for pompano, but they are almost non existent for digging during the colder months.   You can substitute frozen sand fleas, but small pieces of fresh cut clam, or a small piece of freshly peeled live shrimp is a better choice when live sand fleas are unavailable.

Rig sand fleas or small pieces of clam on two or three hook dropper rigs, with three to five ounce sinkers dragging on the bottom.  

Bluefish, Spanish mackerel, and shark are also plentiful along our beaches during February.   Use a live or fresh cut chunk of mullet for bait on a basic sliding sinker rig with 20 to 30 pound fluorocarbon leaders and a long shank hook to minimize cutoffs.

For most Playalinda Beach surf fishermen, the basic outfit is an 8 to 9 foot spinning rod with 14 to 20 pound test monofilament, or 20 to 30 pound Power Pro.  Although long casts are usually not necessary at Playalinda Beach, Power Pro or some other brand of braid allows you to make longer casts and get a better feel for the fish.  

During calm surf conditions, most anglers just use a river rod with 10 pound or lighter test monofilament.
The beaches at Playalinda are pretty desolate during February.

During the week, you may often find yourself completely alone on the beach with only an occasional surf fisherman on the horizon and during the weekends, it usually doesn't get much more crowded.  

Although parking Lots #8 thru #10, and #2 are reported to be the most productive spots to fish for Pompano, but the face of the beach is always changing, so a hot spot one day can be a complete bust a couple of days later.

Learn how to read the beach to find the best possible spots to fish, and if you don't get any action within an hour or so, try some of the other lots, especially during the early morning hours and the last couple of hours of an incoming tide. 

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St. Johns River System
 
American Shad:

The American Shad run in Florida's St. Johns River will peak in the next few weeks so if you plan to try fishing for them, the time is NOW.  By April 1st, the bulk of the 2017 shad run will be over.

The number one draw this month in the twisting St. John's River between Sanford and Titusville, Fl. will be the American Shad, which migrate all the way from the Bay of Fundy to reach their spawning grounds.  

Although many fishermen believe that spawning shad do not eat during their spawning run, when they enter the river system they do eat shrimp and minnows.

Look for them in the bends of the river with good current and deeper water, and fish for them down near the bottom to be consistently successful.

The bulk of the shad are found south of SR 46, to a point several miles south of SR 50, which includes the deep holes and bends north and east of Puzzle Lake and the Hatbill Park area.   
 

Earlier they were around the old Marina Isle and Mullet Lake Park east of Sanford.

Outside of the areas around launching sites where anglers are allowed to wade fish, a boat is needed to fish for shad.

You can launch your vessel at the C.S.Lee Park south of Lake Harney on SR 46, at Mullet Lake Park off Mullet Lake Road north of SR 46, or from Cameron Wright Park at the high rise bridge north of Lake Jessup on SR 46.  There is an isolated ramp at Hatbill Park, at the south end of Hatbill Park Road off SR 46 west of Mims, and at the river on SR 50.

American Shad prefer tiny artificial or live baits, and the light equipment gives anglers the ability to cast to them.  

Most successful fly fishermen use a number three sinking tip line, with a tandem fly rig, tied to small, short, brightly colored flies.

Light spinning tackle also works well with shad.  Use a light action spinning rod with hair thin line to cast a 1/16 or 1/32 oz. Blakesmore Road Runner,  small crappie jigs, shad darts, or tiny spoons to spawning shad.   In Shad Alley, pink and bright orange are the most popular colors, but any bright colored shad dart, jig, or small spoon will catch fish when fished just off the bottom.

Slow troll or blind cast a tandem Willow Blade Road Runner until you locate a concentration of fish; then anchor or pull up onto the bank and pull out your fly rod for some real fun.  

Vary the speed of your trolling motor from 1/2 to 1 1/2 mph until you find the speed that the fish are keying in at and you get a hit.
 
The majority of American Shad caught so far this year are in the 3 to 4 pound category, with occasional fish up to 6 pounds.

Shad fishing is a pleasant way to spend a winter afternoon and in addition to catching shad, you will probably wind up hooking into a bluegill, crappie, black bass, and even a sunshine bass.

American Shad are a hard fighting fish that often put up an aerial display when hooked on light tackle.  They are excellent table fare and their roe is delicious when lightly pan fried in butter with a little salt, pepper, and a bit of garlic.

Black Crappie:

This past week, the water levels on the St. Johns River have been very low with little to no current in many areas.  

The crappie have been holding up in the deeper bends of the river and are being caught on tandem shad darts, crappie jig combination rigs, and pink TTI Blakemore Road Runners.

Despite the low water conditions, the bite has been good with an average of over 20 fish caught per day by most fishermen.

Local fishermen have also reported good catches of crappie from Lake Harney, Lake Monroe, and Lake Jessup.

In Lake Monroe, Black Crappie over 12" and up to two pounds are not considered an uncommon catch.

Although the crappie schools can be found all over the lake, you can start locating them  by slowly trolling just offshore from the power plant on the northwest shore, and around the river channel.

Some nice catches of Sunshine and Striped bass have also been reported in the river where the Econlockhatchee empties into the St. Johns; a mile south of the SR 46 bridge east of Geneva.

On most mornings, you can find a dozen or more boats in the spot fishing for Sunshine Bass, Striped Bass, and American Shad.

All three are schooling species that are often caught in the same areas of the river on the same shad darts, jigs, and small spoons.

The Sunshine Bass is a hybrid cross between a male striped bass and a female white bass.  They were developed in the mid 1980s as an addition to the game fishery and because they cannot reproduce in the wild, are annually stocked by the state of Florida.  

They are strong fighters on light tackle, average in weight between 3 1/2 to 5 pounds, and are excellent table fare.
                                                                       

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Nearshore And Offshore Fishing