The Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River:

The fishing forecast for November looks good for the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River as the northern and central areas clear up and the seagrass that was lost to algae blooms in recent years regain their foothold.   The Winter months from December through March are some of the most productive months to fish East Central Florida waters.

Black drum in particular prefer water temperatures around 50 to 75 degrees.  This is when we generally see larger (200 to 500 fish) schools of slot size black drum in the 1 to 10 pound category cruising the shorelines and holding in the residential creeks and canals throughout the Cocoa Beach and Merritt Island area.   

Larger black drum in the 20 to 60 pound category can be found on the deeper flats of the upper Indian River this time of the year.

Right now, fishing the mullet pods on the east side shorelines in the Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River, and Banana River are the best bet for anglers targeting sea trout, redfish, black drum, and snook that are cruising these areas.    Singles and smaller pods of fish that have been running up and down the shorelines can be found holding around the deeper holes and small depressions on the flats.    

Both redfish and black drum have been eating live shrimp, live sand fleas, and are hitting Drunk Monkey paddle tail baits on a 1/8th oz. jig head.

When chasing slight slot sized drum on the open flats, river spinning rods with 6 to 10 pound main lines are the preferred gear.  Live shrimp, cut fresh clams, and small pieces of live blue crab are the best natural baits.   Soft plastics enhanced with Pro-Cure or other shrimp scent also work well.
  
Although the baitfish run is winding down, the southward migrating baitfish are still in our lagoons and along the beaches.  The cooler water temperatures and remaining baitfish are still bringing in a variety of gamefish looking for warmer waters and an easy meal.

The bite for spotted sea trout and snook has been solid anywhere you can find good grass beds with mullet milling around.  The same applies in areas with overhanging mangroves along the shoreline holding good numbers of baitfish.

Although small "shcoolie" sea trout can be targeted throughout the year and anglers can easily catch double digit numbers when a good sized school is found; the best months for large gator sized sea trout are October through May.  Anglers fishing between the cold fronts during December, January, and February and preceding the “new” and “full” moon phases in March, April, and May will find especially productive fishing.

During the early morning hours, topwater baits like the Rapala Skitterwalk, Badonk-A-Donk, XPS SlimDog , and popping baits like the Chug Bug can be productive for snook, redfish, and quality sea trout around the grass beds and overhanging mangroves that hold baitfish.

In the northern portion of the Indian River past the wire rope barrier at Shiloh Road, shore based anglers have been catching slot size and over slot redfish from the deeper flats using live mullet, live shrimp, cut blue crab, and chunked cut baits.   

Apparently good numbers of bull redfish are still holding in those deeper water flats.  

As the month progresses and the baitfish become less abundant in the lagoon system, the fish will begin to transition into their winter feeding pattern and tailing redfish will become a more common sight.    During the winter months, tailing redfish and black drum will target smaller baits.  Except for a live shrimp or a small crab, nothing beats a well placed imitation crab or shrimp fly pattern to get their attention.

This is when fly fishermen tossing a variety of shrimp and crab patterns visit us from all over the country for a chance to catch a trophy redfish or black drum on the fly in shallow water.   Fly anglers using 5 to 7 wt gear love chasing black drum and redfish.  They are easy to spot because of their aggressive tailing, are usually cooperative, and will readily eat small dark colored flies that imitate shrimp and small crabs.   Once hooked on light fly tackle, they will often spool the entire fly line and a considerable amount of backing before coming to the net.

Starting in November and throughout the colder winter months, the canals in the Satellite and Indian Harbor Beach areas hold good numbers of spotted sea trout, redfish, snook, and juvenile tarpon.    Live baits are the best bet for fishing around the docks, deeper canals, and mangrove shorelines in those areas.

The shallow grass flats around East Gator Creek also hold some small juvenile tarpon, ladyfish, sea trout, black drum, a few reds, and even some freshwater bass; but you have to really work to get a bite.   The dense cover along the banks make landing a good fish extremely difficult if you are bank fishing.   You can often see tarpon rolling on glass minnows and mullet in the deeper cut along the opposite bank from the road.   Small topwater baits smeared with some Pro-Cure will usually get a bite on these fish early in the mornings and close to dusk.
The shallow mudflats along East Gator Creek road also hold some nice pods of black drum.  During the early morning and late afternoons you can see them tailing in the shallows around the mangrove roots.   Fishing a small live shrimp, a live fiddler crab, or sand flea with little to no weight can often get a hookup.

Several shore based fishermen along the causeway east of Parrish Park have been catching redfish and black drum on shrimp and cut baits.  The bite has been sporadic with the best bite occurring at dusk.

Redfish are now catch and release only in our area.
 

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Port Canaveral Offshore, Nearshore, and Inlet Fishing:

The cooler temperatures we are starting to experience as we move into fall will bring us a new generation of bluefish, Spanish mackerel, whiting, pompano., and tripletail.   

As the coastal waters drop from the lower 80° to the upper 70° range, we will slowly see this transition occur.   Once the water temperatures move into the mid to lower 70° range, during the next 3 to 4 weeks, we will see a lot more of these species nearshore.   

We have a windy week ahead which will undoubtedly limit fishing opportunities offshore and in the surf.   November is when many Port Canaveral offshore anglers start targeting migrating Wahoo, Mahi, blackfin tuna, kingfish, and sailfish.   
 
Right now, the best bite for Mahi, blackfin tuna, and wahoo should be along the western edge of the Gulf Stream in 200 to 225 feet of water.   Anglers should also be  paying attention to rips, temperature breaks, and floating debris that may hold fish between the 180 to 250 foot depths.   Most anglers will be trolling skirts over ballyhoo to cover the most water to locate productive areas.  
Blue and white, green and yellow, and red and black skirt color combinations have been working best earlier this past week.

As the month progresses and the weather begins to cool down, the fishing for Wahoo and Sailfish, who prefer the cooler water temperatures, will improve dramatically.

November is when offshore fishing heats up for the larger schools of kingfish that come into our area.  Although the fall run is generally not as great as the spring run, the fishing is still great.   The big bunkers are here now and everything is chasing and eating them.    

Most anglers working the regular reefs will be pulling live bunker and mullet for kings, but don’t pass up the wrecks.    The odds are good that if you find a pile of bait on a wreck, something’s there.      If you have a slow day trolling the reefs; go try a wreck.

Around our inlets; the bite at Ponce, Canaveral, and Sebastian has been on fire for redfish and snook.   Anglers at Ponce Inlet can include mangrove snapper in the mix which has also been good for the past few weeks.  
 
Shark, bull redfish, tarpon, and snook are still the main attraction for anglers working the mouth of the inlets and around the jetties.

A simple sliding sinker or knocker rig and a lively bait is all it takes for an angler to hook into a snook or redfish on any given day.

Live and cut baits have been working well on all of these species.  Fish large topwater plugs and Rapala x-rap lipped diving plugs around the mullet pods for for tarpon, blues, and jacks.

The bull reds have been spawning and most anglers have been targeting them with a live blue crab, pinfish, croaker, or pilchards, or cut chunks of mullet on sliding sinker rigs.    A 3 or 4 ounce sliding sinker with a 3 foot section of fluorocarbon leader and a 6/0 or 7/0 circle hook is pretty much the standard rig for bull reds.    Use enough lead to keep the bait just off the rocks.

The party boat bottom fishing out of Port Canaveral has been good and catches of sharks, AJ’s, cobia, grouper, mangrove and lane snapper, triggerfish, and porgies have been solid.   Bottom fishing in general on the reefs and wrecks in the 90 to 130 ft depths with anglers using live and cut baits has been strong.  A few cobia are also being caught on these structures.    Needless to say, the sharks are also eating well.
 

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