Newsletter Issue # 177                                                                                    June 1, 2024

Mosquito Lagoon & Indian River Fishing

Mosquito Lagoon,Indian River and Banana River

Although water levels in the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River are down, the bite for redfish, snook, black drum, and speckled sea trout is good throughout our area.   

June is one of the best months to sight fish for gator sea trout in East Central Florida and fortunately the water in most areas of the lagoon system is clear enough for this type of fishing.

Right now, big gator trout are thick in our area.  They are showing up anywhere there is good cover and an abundant food source like pilchards, fingerling mullet, small croakers, or pigfish.  Big breeder sea trout can be found around the transition zones of rocky edges, docks, overhanging mangrove trees, or shallow water that is within swimming distance of deeper (4 to 5 feet) water.  

Most of the gator sea trout in these areas are pushing 25 to 32 inches right now.

The area northward of the Wabasso Bridge along the eastern shoreline of the Indian River and the spoil islands in that area can be pretty hot for  large sea trout and reds.

In the Banana River, anglers are finding big trout in and around the Grand Canal, in and around the Coco Beach system.  Quality sea trout and redfish are cruising along the mangrove covered shorelines of the Banana River from Grand Canal to the North 1000 islands area.    Anglers fishing live pilchards and 5 inch Shad Assassins have been catching gator sea trout up to 8 pounds.

In the Banana and lower Indian River, redfish in the 20 to 30 inch range are holding in exactly the same places as the bigger sea trout.  For the next couple of weeks, the fish will be cruising the clean water along the mangrove covered shorelines  looking for an easy meal.  Right now the fish are keying in on smaller baits, so areas with glass minnows and other small fry baitfish are top places to search for these cruising fish.   If you set up with the sun at your back, you should be able to easily spot multiple fish along the shorelines

In the Mosquito Lagoon, big trout are easy to locate.   Find some grassy areas where there are mullet schooling and the trout will be there.    Other than live baits, anglers have been targeting the bigger trout with Saltwater Assassin Artemis Shad in the green and white color and the Assassin straight tail 5 inch shad rigged weedless.    Big trout seem to love the native shiner and gold pepper shiner colors when fished around the grassy areas.   Most of the big trout caught in the Mosquito Lagoon are running 24 to 28 inches or more.

During the early morning hours, kayak and wade fishermen have been getting consistent bites on top water baits from sea trout in the 20 inch and over category north and south of the Bio Lab boat launch.   The trout are holding just outside of the sandy patches in the grass in about a foot and a half to three feet of water.  Zara Spooks, Rapala Skitterwalks,  Chug Bugs, and Bad-A-Donks are some of the best topwater baits anglers have been using for larger trout in this area.

Plastic paddle tail baits will produce more bites from smaller trout in this area if you don't mind having your baits destroyed by the multitude of pufferfish that inhabit these flats.

Although the entire length of our lagoon system from Georges Bar in the Mosquito Lagoon, all the way down to Vero Beach provides quality fishing for big sea trout; some of the best areas to fish are around the bars.  

Cucumber bar on the Mosquito Lagoon side, the outer bars, the false channel bars, and any of the spoil islands in the Indian or Banana Rivers are great spots to hook up with a big gator sea trout.  The key is to target the mullet pods that are milling around these areas.

During the early morning hours, late in the evenings, and throughout the night, large female speckled sea trout have been beating up the mullet pods throughout the entire lagoon system.

As baitfish become more plentiful on the flats, always expect to find sea trout, redfish, and snook mingled among them.

Anglers targeting bait these pods with large topwater plugs on the grass flats in the Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River, and Banana River during the early morning hours can expect smashing strikes from big sea trout, especially when smeared up with some Pro-Cure Inshore Formula.   Adding the gel scent to a lure will often cause wary fish to strike a lure that it would normally leave alone.

Storm's Chug Bug, Rapala's Skitterwalk, Bass Pro Shop's XPS Slim Dog, Super Spook, Badonk-A-Donk, and Mirr-O-Lures will all produce quality fish.

A lot of anglers believe that a 5 or 6 inch artificial bait is too big for sea trout, but keep in mind that a 20 inch or smaller sea trout will often try to eat a baitfish it's same size.  A true gator sea trout 30 inches long will easily engulf a 6 inch or larger bait.

One of the best live baits to catch big sea trout with right now is a large live croaker under a Cajun Thunder type float.     Large mullet, pinfish, or pilchards, either free lined or fished under a float will also work well.

Anglers targeting smaller "schoolie" size sea trout in the 12 to 15 inch category have been using D.O.A. Shrimp or 4 inch Saltwater Assassin Sea Shads bounced along the bottom.  Schoolie trout are usually scattered in small schools throughout the flats, around the docks, and in the depressions on soft bottoms.  When you catch a fish, anchor down, and keep fishing the area until the school moves on.

Redfish in our area are always moving up and down the lagoon system and can be caught any time of the day or night. 

Right now, the best time to target cruising redfish is during the mid morning time frame.  The redfish have been feeding first thing in the morning just before the moon set and then after a little bit of a lull, they start moving up and down tight against the banks looking for places to hide from the mid day sun.  

Along the deep water flats in the Indian River across from Scottsmoor Landing and in Haulover Canal, bull redfish can always be caught on chunked ladyfish, cut live blue crabs, and mullet.  

Some of the largest bull redfish in East Central Florida are caught in Canaveral Bite.    Live or cut croaker, mullet, ladyfish, pinfish, or a blue crab on a sliding sinker rig with a fluorocarbon leader and a 6/0 VMC circle hook is a common rig for this area.

All of our east coast inlets hold good numbers of bull redfish during the month of June.  Live pilchards, Croakers, and Pogies or cut baits rigged on a sliding sinker rig with just enough weight to hold bottom is a common setup if you plan on drifting the inlets.

Ocean side fish can usually be found hanging around the channel markers and the drop offs at the Canaveral shipping channel, and at Ponce Inlet.   The early morning bite is usually better for larger fish in the 40 inch and above category in these areas.

The black drum bite in our area is usually consistent in June.  

Schools of slot size Black Drum are everywhere; Coco Beach, Thousand Islands, George's Bar, Honest Johns Canal, Catfish Creek, Snook Creek, and on the flats and near mangrove covered shorelines in the Banana River Lagoon.  Cut crab, live shrimp, fiddlers, and sand fleas have been working well for these fish.

Slot size and oversize drum are normally caught in the deeper waters around the drop offs in the ICW, from the two fishing piers under the A. Max Brewer bridge, and under the railroad bridge in Titusville on live shrimp, dead shrimp, cut blue crabs, fiddler crabs, and sand fleas.   Fish caught in these areas can run up to 40 pounds or more.

A lot of black drum in our area are caught near the mangrove covered shorelines. The best bait for this type fishing is a live shrimp on a jighead which can be skipped under the mangroves.  These fish are running in the 2 to 5 pound category.

The Atlantic Snook season closes June 1st through August 31st, so it's a catch and release fishery right now.  

Snook will be holding in the jetties of all three of our Inlets this month.   Live croakers, pinfish, or pilchards are the top baits of choice.  Many anglers fishing from a pier or from the rocks cast their baits as far out as they possibly can.  This is a mistake.  The fish are normally holding right at your feet or 10 to 15 feet out from the pier.

A Penn slammer 5500 or a 6500 reel with 30 to 40 pound braid and a 50 pound leader is a good setup to use to minimize break offs when fishing the jetty or from a pier.  Baits of choice for evening and daytime fishing include live pigfish, croakers, pilchards, Mojarra, and pinfish rigged on a 5/0 VMC Circle hook.

Night fishermen along the inlets, docks, and bridges generally fish with R&R Flair Hawk jigs, large 5 and 6 inch Assassin swim baits, and large lipped diving plugs; especially around Sebastian Inlet.  

The incoming tides are reported to be the best times to fish swimbaits at Sebastian..

The average size snook in our area is between 28 to 38 inches, however, fish up to 40 inches or more are not uncommon.

June is considered the beginning of the summer rainy season in East Central Florida.  

The creeks, canals, mosquito control ditches, and backwaters collect the cooler, nutrient rich runoff and become havens for juvenile tarpon, snook, and even freshwater bass.

Wade fishermen, bank fishermen, and anglers in technical flats boats, canoes, and kayaks have easy access to some great fishing during this period.

The section of the Tomoka River north of Daytona Beach between the US 1 and I-95 bridges and the northernmost section of the Indian River around Shiloh Road can be good areas to target juvenile tarpon and snook this month.   

The southernmost portion of the Mosquito Lagoon off of Bio Lab Road in the area south of Pelican Island is a also good area to target juvenile tarpon and ladyfish around the mangroves, as well as the ditches and Vistas along Playalinda Beach road.   Land based anglers and kayak fishermen do well in these areas when the tarpon are in.

In the Melbourne and Cocoa areas, juvenile tarpon in the 2 to 60 pound class can be found chasing the glass minnow pods that invade the areas around any of the outflows and residential canals.    As the month progresses, tarpon up to 80 pounds plus can be found feeding on the bait pods in the main ICW channel.  

Around Titusville, tarpon can be found this month prowling the deeper water flats across from the Scottsmoor boat ramp, all the way down past the railroad bridge in the ICW, and throughout Haulover Canal.  Good numbers of larger tarpon are often found under the Haulover bridge.

Playalinda and Surrounding Beaches 
 

Surf fishermen from New Smyrna Beach all the way down to Sebastian can expect to catch good numbers of whiting, pompano, and sharks along our beaches this month.

Whiting and pompano are schooling fish that are always on the move.  Some area beaches will be hot one day and have few to no bites the next.  When this happens, savvy anglers will pick up their gear and move to another section of the beach or to another beach until they find where the migrating fish are holding.

Most of the large pompano schools that migrate from South Florida waters up into Volusia County have already left the area, or are scattered into smaller groups, however, there are plenty of residential pompano that remain in our local waters the year round for surf casters to target.  

Along the Space Coast a lot of surf fishermen target these pompano throughout the summer months.   The key to finding these fish is water clarity, depth changes, and bottom structure.  

Whiting and pompano travel up and down the beach in small schools constantly feeding on small crustaceans that they find in the troughs and runouts.  They are often found in the closest trough to the beach where they can be caught with short casts and light tackle with small jigs tipped with a small piece of shrimp or sand flea. 

The deeper troughs between the sandbars farther out are where the larger whiting and pompano schools are usually holding and where most surf fishermen target their casts. 

Breaks and cuts in a sandbar are hot spots that the fish use to swim between the troughs.

On calm days when the ocean is clear enough to easily identify troughs and runouts; make a mental note of the structures and target these areas with sand fleas, shrimp, clam, and Fishbites on your pompano rigs.

Although the best bite is usually in the early morning hours during the last portion of an incoming tide, the outgoing and last portion of any incoming tide will usually produce fish.   The afternoon to evening bite and whether the sun is overhead or setting will also dictate the number of bites.

When the bite is really on, surf anglers can catch a bunch of pompano or whiting in a very short time along any of our area beaches with a surf rod, a 2 or 3 hook pompano dropper rig, some sand fleas, fresh shrimp, or fishbites, and just enough lead to hold bottom.  

In our area, sand fleas are by far the top bait of choice either naked or tipped with Fishbites.   Fresh clam or small pieces of shrimp will also catch pompano and whiting, especially when a strip of Fishbites is added.

A lot of novice surf fishermen get skunked because they set their sand spikes where there aren't any actively feeding fish.   It pays to learn to read the beach before setting up your rods.

Watch how the waves are breaking and look for rip currents, wash outs, and sloughs that form just past the shore breaks.   Pay attention to the sand in the surf for areas where small shells are piling up and where sections of the beach have small bubbles popping up as the water recedes.   These are areas where sand fleas, small clams, and crabs are being pulled out into the deeper troughs where the fish are holding.

Pompano, bull whiting, black drum, and redfish often stage just outside of the rips to snatch up crustaceans as they are being pulled into the troughs.

Avoid fishing in the same spot that you caught fish the previous day.   Because the wave action constantly changes the structure of the beach, the fish will seldom be in the same exact spot they were at the previous day.

Finally, when you locate a likely looking area where the fish may be feeding, stake out several rods at varying distances from the beach.   Keep your baits in the feeding zone and when you start catching fish set all your baits in that general area.

The resident pompano in our area normally run between 2 to 4 pounds.

Brevard county has a world class snook fishery and although the season is currently closed, snook fishing from the surf really heats up during the summer months.   Live mullet, croakers, and pinfish fished with or without a weight in the first trough during high tides are extremely productive, as are swimbaits and lipped diving plugs. 

Shark fishing along our beaches during the summer months can be outstanding.  

Altough the blacktip migration pattern usually peaks this month you can still occasionally see airborne spinner sharks clearing the surface just outside the breakers.   The sharks frequently swim into the first and second troughs to snatch up whiting and blue runners.  

Surf anglers targeting sharks usually fish large chunked or live baits on heavy duty casting rigs with the ability to get out beyond the second trough however, bites often occure from sharks patrolling the first trough looking for an easy meal.

Blacktip sharks are the species most frequently targeted along our beaches but Bonnet Heads, Nurse Sharks, Atlantic sharp nose, Spinners, Sandbars, Lemon, and Bull shark are also caught along our coast.  

Baits of choice for shark fishermen include chunks of Bonita, stingray, mackerel, ladyfish, and mullet; but any bloody or oily fleshed fish can be used.  A fresh cut bait rigged on a steel leader with a 12/0 circle hook is the rig of choice.

When targeting shark from shore in Florida waters, you must complete the Shark-Smart Fishing educational course at MyFWC.com/SharkCourse and obtain a free Shore-based Shark Fishing permit.  Both are now required when fishing from shore.  Learn more HERE.

Most of the sharks caught from the beaches in our area are under 100 pounds, but much larger fish are possible.

Port  Canaveral Offshore and Nearshore 

May and June are typically great months to get out of Port Canaveral and head to the Other side of the Gulf Stream to chase yellowfin tuna, mahi, wahoo, and billfish.

Weather is always a challenge when running up to 80 miles out, but June is when we get more and more days with calmer weather that allow anglers to make the trip.

Right now offshore anglers trolling skirted or bare ballyhoo around the weed lines, color changes, rips, and temperature breaks are finding good numbers of dolphin, blackfin tuna, and sailfish. 

The offshore dolphin bite in particular has been solid throughout our region.  

The fish have been moving into the Space Coast waters from the south daily.  If you follow the color changes, temperature breaks, and weed lines, finding dolphin in the 20 pound category is not a problem right now.   

Trolling a medium size ballyhoo or slow trolling live pogies around any floating debris in these areas to locate fish.   Once you find them, throw out some pilchards or pogies to get the fish to come up and then pitch live baits to them.

Most anglers targeting dolphin and blackfin tunas like to use smaller Islander lures with small ballyhoo or strip baits.   On bright sunny days go with yellow, pink, and bright blue colors and on dark overcast days, go with the black, red, and purple colors.

June is when all of the reefs in our area start to light up with king mackerel.  

Slow trolling live baits on a stinger rig is the preferred method for taking kings in our area, but a lot of anglers like to flat line a live bait on a stinger rig with #4 wire or with 60# mono for larger fish.  

Anglers have been catching kingfish slow trolling live baits as well as large spoons and Sea Witch strip combos behind a planer.  White, pink, and silver colored spoons or blue and white or red and black Sea Witches are what most anglers are pulling right now.  

Lipped diving plugs in the 5 to 7 inch range will also work, especially in the morning and evening hours.  During the day, anglers have been putting these baits on a downrigger and running them at 40 or 50 feet over the 70 to 90 foot ledges south of Ponce Inlet with some really good results.

When trolling the 70 to 90 foot reefs for Kingfish, it pays to have an extra rod handy to pitch a flair jig or live bait to cobia which have been showing up in the spreads.  

A good trick for kingfish that some charter captains use in our area when they are marking fish over a reef without getting hits is to toss out a couple of net fulls of live pogies in the area.    The pogies want to swim down towards the reef where they get the kingfish excited, and then turn around and swim back up to the surface.  Pretty soon it begins to look like an airshow when the king mackerel are skyrocketing on the baits.
 
The kingfish in our area are running 15 to 20 pounds right now with many over that size.

Bottom fishing out of Port Canaveral is really good right now for grouper on the 21 and 27 grounds and seems to be really consistent throughout the entire region.   

Live grunts, pogies, and pilchards have been working best for grouper.  If you are fishing the south part of our region, pilchards and grunt seem to be the ticket.  In the northern and middle part, grunt and pogies are working best.  Live croakers will work throughout the entire region.

On the wrecks and reefs in the 160 to 260 foot depths, both amberjack and grouper have been consistent for anglers dropping live baits.  A lot of anglers use 16 to 24 oz deep jigs or vertical jigs to get down to the fish.   A lot of red grouper and scamp are caught deep jigging.

Throughout this month, bottom fishermen are likely to catch a variety of grouper species such as Gag, Scamp, Red, Black, Warsaw, and Snowy grouper. 

Groupers out of Port Canaveral range anywhere from 15 to 40 pounds with some species like the Goliath grouper exceeding 200 lbs.

If you are fishing in the middle to northern region from Cape Canaveral up into the Ponce Inlet area this month, you have an above average chance of hooking into a sailfish.   

Like blackfin tunas and dolphin, sailfish like to eat smaller baits.  A small split billed or chin weighted ballyhoo trolled naked at 4 to 5 knots is one of the best ways to catch them.  During choppy conditions, a lot of guys put a small skirt over the bait.  Our average sailfish right now is running anywhere from 30 to 40 pounds. 

South of us from Wabasso through the Sebastian area, the water is cleaner closer to shore making the sailfish bite much better.   In that area most fish are caught slow trolling or drift fishing from the 70 to 90 foot depths out to 180 feet or more.  Kite fishing with live baits is also productive in that area for sailfish.

Tarpon and snook this month will be cruising the beaches and on many days, anglers can sight cast to them using live pogies, croakers, or 4 to 5 inch swim baits.  

Live pogies, pilchards, and greenies are the "go to" baits for slow trolling after tarpon.   Although live croakers are excellent baits, they don't troll well. However, croakers are great pitch baits.  Rig them on a VMC 7/0 or 8/0 circle hook with a 60 to 80 pound fluorocarbon leader.    

Most of our "beach" tarpon are running about 50 to 80 pounds, but some of fish in the 120 pound category are beginning to show up out of the Port.  

A lot of anglers out of Port Canaveral have discovered the sport of deep dropping baits into the 500 to 600 foot plus depths for a variety of delicious deep water species such as tile fish, yellow edge grouper, snowy grouper, barrelfish (below), and huge queen snapper.    

Electric reels with heavy weights are needed to hold bottom for this fishery with squid being the main bait of choice.   

Closer to the beach, around any floating debris in the Canaveral area, small boat anglers have been catching some nice tripletail.   A small jig head or single 2/0 hook and a live shrimp is all you need to get these fish to strike once you find one floating among the weed lines or floating debris.  

Like their deep water cousins, tripletail are excellent fare on the dinner table.

Until next time,

Tight Lines and bent rods!

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