Fishing Report 6/5/11 - Mosquito Lagoon-Whales Tail

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Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report - Whales Tail
Sun.  June 5, 2011
Moon - 4 days past new moon
M.F.=  1:55 pm
Temp.: 69 low to 84 in afternoon
wind: NNE @ 0  mph early, built to 10 mph noon (slick flat early)
pressure: steady (high)

humidity:  61 avg. (45-88)  

rain: 0

sunny

I'm still scouting for some big fish at the " goon" so I went to the "Whales Tail" this morning. I put in off the Biolab road and paddled for the flat. The water was like glass this morning and it was a great morning to be on the water. There was already a flats boat on the Tail which gave me a good bearing. By the time I made the 3/4 mile paddle 4 more boats had joined him. I picked off 3 ladyfish in short order on the paddle out.

When I finally got over there I could see no bait to speak of so I made a loop around the flat searching for bait or tailing fish. I found a little school of mullet that were feeding on the southwest end but there was no redfish action in it. One of the flats boats that was anchored off the west side of the flat looked like he was hooked to a fish. As I got closer I could see his rod was doubled over. I don't know how long he had been fighting the fish when I saw him but it took another 30 minutes to get him alongside the boat. I was off a ways from him but I could see he was a horse when he hefted him onto the boat. I'd say he was over 20lb.! Great redfish. I expect he was fishing bait as he was in 3-4' of water.

I tried to pick up a trout in the deeper water with the MirrOdine and fished a gulp shrimp and a piece of cut ladyfish but nothing! I probably should have hung out to see what developed but after 2 hours I decided to hit another spot.

I headed for the small launch south of Haulover at the old guard shack. As it was getting later I paddled out for some deeper water to look for some sand. The bait was scarce but after a pretty good paddle I finally found a mix of mullet and menhaden on top. The first cast produced a Ladyfish as did the second and third. I made another cast with the mirrOdine and it was fish on. This one however, was pulling harder and staying deep.....turned out to be a 16" trout! I was finally on a few fish. Well, by the time I got the trout off, took his picture and put him on my stringer a bunch of dolphins showed up and ruined the whole deal. They busted into the bait and in a few minuted everything was gone!

I paddled back to the bank to have a look at the canals and trough along the shore but the water is so low there was no fish there.

When I got back to the launch there was a small 5' gator hanging out there. Strange to see them in the salt water like that.

Anyhow, that was it. It's off to look at some new water next trip, probably Eddy's creek area.

Here's a few pictures from this morning.

Larry.

Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report 5/9/11

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Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report
Mon.  May 9, 2011

Moon - First Quarter on 10th
M.F.=          pm +/-
Temp.: 79 deg. (comfortable)
wind: E @ 6-8  mph, gust to  - mph 

pressure: 29.95

humidity: 75%   

rain: 0

sunny

I left the office this afternoon with visions of big red fish patrolling some large sand holes near Dummits Cove in the Indian River Lagoon that I have been wanting to fish.

I was a little late leaving and had to stop by my Engineer buddy's house to help him with a few things on the way. I ended up getting to the Long Pond road about 6:30pm only to find it closed! That really messed up the plan as the next closest launch to where I wanted to fish was Sendlers Education Outpost and that makes for a mile paddle trip. It was to late for that adventure as the refuge closes at sunset.

I decided to put in there anyway and see if I could find any tailing reds on the grass flats and do a little exploring as this was my first time putting in here.

There was plenty of 4-6" mullet  around but there was no fish striking them and I never spotted the first tail of a red. I did paddle up on a few good one on the way back to the launch.

I fished a flats gig tipped with a piece of mullet and a top water, skitter walk for a little with no action other than some pin fish strikes on the gig.

There was a great sunset to enjoy and the mosquitoes were not bad so it was an enjoyable trip despite the lack of fish activity.

I had tried to contact the refuge headquarters earlier in the day to inquire whether the Lpond road was open but got no answer. I drove 140+ miles round trip just to find the road closed. That was a real let down as I had high hopes for that spot and the other access adds 3/4 of a mile to the paddle....one way.

After that I did a little poking around the Haulover bridge. We used to fish the bridge from shore when I was a kid and slay the trout. I was greeted by a big sign that said "no fishing from shore!" That really surprised me. I tried to just walk to the water to see if any fish were striking under the light off the end of the fender and found more signs that said "closed beyond this point" so you can't even get to the water on the NE side of the bridge. I ran back around to the SE side and was able to get to the water but apparently there is no fishing from shore period at the bridge. Unbelievable!

I did not see any fish striking on the east side but there was a boat anchored dipping shrimp and I could over hear them talking about all the trout they could see in their lights, including some big drum. I did not see them dip any shrimp though. I did see one real good strike from the SW side just off the bank.

I decided to have a look at the boat launch just down the canal to the west, known as Blair's Cove ramp. I was greeted by another sign that stated "no canoe/kayak launching at night!" What the hell is that all about? Man that sticks in my craw! A boat with a motor can put in there but no canoe or kayak. It is listed as one of only two launches into mosquito/indian river lagoons for night fishing and a kayak cannot use it. I have never heard of such a thing. As a matter of fact I am going to inquire about this. It's just not right.

There are so many roads closed from what I have seen that someone with a canoe or kayak is just out of luck for many miles of fishing particularly in the afternoon. You have to fish close to the hill to be able to be out before dark. It's not as much of a problem in the morning but you still can miss out on some prime fishing time if you plan to paddle very far to your first stop.

Beyond that it is one awesome place to fish where you can find access with your kayak. being on the flats at first and last light with a slick calm is just unbelievable. Some of the sunrise/sets here are as beautiful as they come.

This is my second trip to the grass flats only to find no fish present. At least there was plenty of bait this time. My last trip to the flat I have been doing really good on found it completely void of any fish or bait activity! I almost could not believe it. I'll find some fish to fool with shortly.

                                                                   Dummit's Cove sunset

Larry S.