Mosquito Lagoon Report 8-11-13

After getting some good reports of Tarpon at Playalinda beach we decided to head south and give it a try this morning.

The surf was reasonable but after checking all of the beach accesses we could not spot any bait or tarpon activity. The report I received was that the sharks were thick as flies and getting a bait to the tarpon was almost impossible. The water clarity has been exceptional....... Click here for the rest of the story:   Mosquito Lagoon Redfish

Fishing Report- Mosquito Lagoon Area

Sat. May 18, 2013
Weather: 74 deg. at launch, 88 at landing Mostly clear to partly cloudy later in the day
Wind: moderate east winds, 8-10mph at launch, 15-18 +/- at noon
Water: Water has turned to a stained tea or brown color. I expect it’s due to the brown tide issues.
Target Fish: Redfish, Trout
Fish caught: (1) Ladyfish, (4) Redfish -mid- slot

We went back to the lagoon this morning to fish the spot we had all the action at last weekend.
We couldn't resist going back for more! We had a pretty good crew this morning....it was Myself, Rick Edwards and Dr. TR.

Unfortunately, the wind was forecasted to be 10 mph at 6 am and building to 16 mph by noon.

We decided to go ahead and chance it and hope against hope the forecast was wrong.

It wasn't!

 

 

We caught our live bait in a little creek on the paddle in and quickly fished as couple spots with top water as we made our way to "The Hole."

Unlike last weekend where the water was really clear we found it to be pretty dirty, probably due to the brown tide issues the area has been experiencing. We had to set up differently due to the wind direction.

It was some pretty slow fishing and most were caught well up into the morning. 

We caught a total or (4) mid slot redfish and one small lady fish all morning. The three reds I caught were on live pin fish and mullet and Rick caught his on a Gulp shrimp again. I had (2) others on but only briefly. I think Rick missed one as well. The conditions were difficult with the chop, making it difficult to see the sandy area. 

 

 

 

All the redfish were quality mid-slot fish and all pulled beyond what their size would suggest.

By noon we decided we had best start the paddle back. We were in a flat that was a little protected compared to the large open bay we had to cross. When we paddled out of the mouth of the creek we were met by some angry water and 15-18 mph winds.  It was no fun but we made it...just a little wetter than we started out.

 

 

Larry S.

Big Redfish!

Mosquito Lagoon Redfish

 

Fishing Report - Mosquito Lagoon Area 5-18-13

Sat. May 18, 2013
Weather: 68 deg. at launch, 85 at landing
Mostly clear to partly cloudy later in the day
wind: light east winds, 8-10mph +/- at noon
Target Fish: Redfish, Trout
Fish caught: (2) Trout- short, (13-14)  Redfish -upper slot

I fished with my friend Rick Edwards this morning. He has never fished any grass flats, sand holes, etc. and was depending on me to put us on the fish.  We paddled over a mile and a quarter to get to a big grass flat that turned out to be basically dead! The flat was really skinny and the sand holes had a skim of dead grass or some kind of fungus that is growing on the grass, covering the bottom. We paddled all the way to the far end and it was all the same. The worst part was that there was no bait and we did not even jump a red in all our travels there.

We headed to another flat from there and eventually found a decent school of tailing reds. I pulled one 20" fish out of them before they quit tailing.I caught that one on a live bait.

Eventually we moved to the other side of an island and found a big sand hole and the bite was on! We ended up catching three doubles and somewhere around 13-14 upper slot Redfish. We caught them on just about everything we had but I think the gulp shrimp produced the best. Rick caught one on a top water mirrolure. I caught one on a 17MR. We caught a number of them on live bait fish, both finger mullet and one I don't know the ID of. I caught two on live pin fish. Basically, anything that flashed got bit. It was a pretty aggressive bite.

It was a tremendous trip! It started slow and being Rick's first real flats adventure, he was having serious doubts until I finally found the fish.......Now he's all about Mosquito Lagoon!

Check out these photo from the trip.

Larry S.

Waving Rick over to a school of tailing Reds!

That's a tail in the upper left corner.

 

Fishing Report 6/17/11 - Dummits Cove Indian River Lagoon

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Dummits Cove
Moon - 2 days past full
M.F.=  1:10 pm
Temp.: Low 75,  89 h.
wind: E @ 5-8  mph early, laid flat at 9:00am
pressure: 30.02

humidity: 67% AVG. 55-89%  

rain: 0

Sunny 

I fished Dummits Cove this mourning looking for some big fish in preparation for the IFA tournament on Sunday.

There was a good bit of bait activity on the paddle out to the mouth of the cut. I fished a little on the way out but was really wanting to beat it to some large holes in the lagoon. As I paddled out into the lagoon I saw what I was looking for.....10-15 big reds in the 30-40" class! I eased their way and made a cast.....and another and another and another...... I couldn't beat a bite out of those fish. I hate it when they do that! They eventually split into two groups and eased off.

I paddled off to the west looking for more fish. I crossed up a pile of one's and two's but just could not get one to take a bait. I caught a few ladyfish here and there but that was about it. I really saw a lot of reds but they were just not cooperative.

I fished my way back and saw a number of reds in the grass along the cut  but they were not tailing or pushing or giving any tell tail sign they were there so I ended up jumping them. Had I had more time I would have spent a little more of it there blind casting and maybe soaking some baits gulp shrimp.

I did not find any trout action so it looks like I'll keep looking for a spot for tournament day.

Larry S.

Fishing Report 6/12/11 - Mosquito Lagoon

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Mosquito Lagoon Sun.  June 12, 2011
Moon - 3 days past first quarter
M.F.=  7:40 am
Temp.: Low 69 at daylight,  86 at 2:30
wind: NNW @ <5  mph early, laid flat at 10:00am then switched to E at 8-10 mph
pressure: 29.98 (Steady to slightly rising)

humidity: 88% at 6:00am, 51% at noon   

rain: 0

Mostly Sunny

This morning I decided to go back to one of my favorite spots on the east side of Mosquito Lagoon. I haven't been there in about 3 weeks and the conditions have really changed. I was the first Person through the gate this morning and was launched just after 6:00am.  I had noticed a lot of bait near the launch last time I was there so I did a little plugging with the 17mr and picked off a real nice 17" flounder the first crack out of the box. I flipped him in the boat and he shook off the hook and landed in my lap....Man that was close!

I paddled on looking for tailing redfish but all the flats I had seen fish on last time were so shallow the grass was exposed. To make things worse, the grass was shedding and the dead grass had floated up in to a thick mat way out and fish, particularly trout, couldn't get to the sand holes I intended to fish if they wanted to. I found some lady fish here and there but if was slim pickin's.

I decided to go on the hunt and paddle south looking for signs of life.

After about a mile and a half I came into a little deeper water with a mixed bottom but more grass than sand. Shortly after, a swirl up ahead caught my attention and I grabbed my plug rod and made a cast. As fish closed on the quartering plug , all of a sudden they exploded, I felt a solid thump and the reel started singing. After a short tour of the flat I finally got the big red boat side and got my hand on him......29 1/4"! A heck of a nice fish.

By the time all this was over and the picture taking was done I realized I was in the middle of a big school of fish. At first I thought they were small reds pushing but I believe it was just catfish with big mullet. I did hook another large redfish in a flats jig tipped with a tiny bit of ladyfish but he straightened the hook and tore off. I hate it when a fish gets off like that.

I pushed on south and ended up about 2 1/2 miles below the launch before I turned around and started heading back.

As I was paddling back I caught a glimpse of something dark, above the water and about 4ft. long. "I sure hope that was a manatee" I thought ! I decided to check it out. Being that I was in a 12' plastic boat I approached the spot cautiously. There was a big muddy spot and I was paying close attention. Unfortunately, I did not see the one on my right and paddled up a little to close. About the time I noticed it...it noticed me! Lucky for me he did not try to go under the boat and went around but I still got rocked pretty good....man that was close.

Well, about a quarter mile from the launch I noticed a manatee nose poke up out of the water. You guessed it.....I paddled over for a closer look! I readied my camera for a picture. I came alongside, parallel and dropped my paddle to the bottom to keep the wind from pushing me on top of them. About then the pair noticed I was there and did not like it. They both beat their tail violently in the shallow and headed for deeper water. The amount of water they displaced was incredible and I was able to get a little bit of a picture. I don't think I have ever seen such spooky manatees. They wouldn't try to hurt you but you could get flipped pretty easy.

I guess the total catch for the day was (35) ladyfish, (1) 29 1/4" redfish ((1) big one lost), (1) 17" flounder and (3) ambitious pin fish, zero trout.

I 'm still not excited about the fish I have found for the up coming tournament but this red would have been a contender!

A rod for every occasion!

Larry

Fishing Report 6/9/11 - Pellicer Flats

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Pellicer Fishing Report
Thurs.  June 9, 2011
Moon - first quarter today
M.F.=  5:30 pm
Temp.:  low 80's
Wind: E @ 10-15
pressure: steady (high)
Humidity:   

Rain: 0

Sunny

(2) redfish

(5) sheepshead

(1) pinfish

(1) ?fish

I checked my tide table today and realized the tide was going to be good this afternoon at Pellicer so I loaded up, put the closed sign on the door and headed for the river.

As soon as I got to the beach I spotted a pogy pod at the back of the mud line in the surf. Their finally here! I did not see any tarpon or other big strikes in them but it won't be long. I probably saw 7-8 pods north of hwy 100. I pulled over to watch one larger bunch and saw something really big strike in the breakers. It put water 3-4ft. in the air! I'm about to be all over this!

Well, my plan was to get to the river before the tide fulled so I could still catch a few fiddler crabs and try to catch a few sheepshead before paddling for the flats for some top water action.

I spent about a half hour to catch 3 dozen or so fiddlers and paddled over to fish some piles. There did not seem to be to many keeper sheepies in the area. I caught 5 but only 2 were decent keepers and guess which two got off right at the boat. I caught an odd fish that I'm not sure the name of and a few pin fish. I did put a short redfish in the boat that put up a good little fight.

By 8:00 I had used the last of my fiddler crabs so I hauled but for the closest cut to get me to the flats.

I really think I messed up staying so long at the sheepshead spot. I should have left there by 7:00 to give me time to fish the flats. As it was, I only had time to fish the cut and it was almost dark by the time I reached the edge of the flats.

There was a pile of bait, mostly finger mullet but I did see some small birds diving glass minnows on the way in over a deep hole. There was several surface strikes on the way in. When I reached a point in the creek where it splits off in several directions I saw a fish strike some bait on the surface just out of casting distance on the opposite bank and across from a point where I caught a decent trout on the last trip. I made sever more casts and then took a couple strokes to nose the yak onto a shallow mud shoal where I could cast to where I saw the strike. My cast was a bit short of where I wanted it but about the third time I sloshed the old 5m18 mirrorlure an explosions erupted from under my plug and the fight was on. The fish dove for the bottom but the cut was narrow and he had little room to run. I really thought I had a big gator trout on but after about 5 minute or so I finally got to see a big blue tail with a spot come boiling up.....Oh man, big red! Well, I got the fish in the boat and he was a beauty to behold as Capt. Ricky would say! 27" of of line stretching mean. There is no fishing more exciting than seeing a big predator strike a top water plug like that. I can not get enough of that!

It was a good thing he was pretty much right at the upper end of the slot as releasing him was not an option.....he had inhaled the plug and the tail treble was in his stomach. His fate was sealed.

I cut the line and quickly tied a white back floater on and keep going. Just before I got to the flat I spotted some action at the edge of an oyster bar just at the end of casting distance. I fired off a long one and just caught the edge of the oysters and couldn't flip it off.....hung! I started to paddle over when a fish struck along the deep side of the cut to my right. I free spooled the hung line, grabbed another rod and flipped a twitch bait to him. He hit it but did not get hooked. I made a second cast but it was long and hung in the mangrove.....now I've got one rod hung up on the left and one on the right! While trying to get the plug out of the bush the spinning rod in the back rod holder got hung up.......!#*!$!*&@! What the hell! How can one man in a kayak get 3 rod all hung up at the same time?

By the time I got all that mess straightened out it was pretty much over. I went ahead and paddled for the long oyster bar I wanted to fish, hoping I might pick off a trout before hard dark. No luck but there was a tremendous amount of bait and I really feel had I been there an hour earlier I would have been on some fish.

The tide will be perfect tomorrow night! I think I'll just have to go back. 

Here's a few little one to look at!

Larry S.

If your looking for a great top water plug that 5m18 Mirrorlure is the ticket! It also works better than the "walk the dog" plugs like the Skitterwalk in a light chop. I can't tell you how many fish I've caught on this thing but I promise you it's considerable. Here's a link for more info. 5m18 Mirrorlure. I always pull the front spinner off myself.