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East Central Florida Fishing Reports
Fishing Report for July 20th 2007
Big seatrout were the most consistent this week with the black drum coming in a close second. The trout have been holding in sand holes in 1-2 feet of water and have been aggressively eating 5 inch jerkbaits. Schools of big redfish have been holding along the edges of sandbars and the black drum can be found on both the inside and outer edges of sand bars. Water temperatures have been holding above 85 degrees meaning fight times must be kept to a minimum to ensure a successful release.
Monday, Bruce and his son Matt, from Georgia , joined me for the first of two days fishing the Mosquito Lagoon. We saw some huge seatrout but only managed to hook up with a few smaller fish throughout the morning. When the sun came up, we went in search of some big redfish. We were able to find them but could not convince them to eat. We went back to trout fishing and caught a few more small fish and a surprise bluefish.
Tuesday, I checked a few areas I had not fished in a while hoping to find redfish, I did not see many reds but did come across plenty of big trout. Using a green 5 inch DOA CAL tail with and without a chug head, I caught five trout over 24 inches. One black drum and a redfish competed the slam and I left early before the storms arrived.
Wednesday, I fished Bruce and Matt for their second day. This time, we went straight to the big reds. Although the bite was less than spectacular, Matt landed a 38 inch fish for his first ever red.
We left the reds and found some black drum that were much easier to please. Matt and his dad each caught two drum including fish of 18 and 15 pounds.
Friday, Dennis and Dede from Orlando spent their 22nd anniversary fishing the Lagoon. We spent several hours in the morning trying to catch tarpon. We found plenty of 5-20 pound fish but they refused our offering of both live and artificial baits. Dede caught the first two fish of the day. A five pound black drum followed by an 18 pound drum a few minutes later.
The rest of the day was spent throwing 5 inch CAL tails to sand holes and resulted in one jack crevalle and about eight trout including a couple big fish that shook free.
This week I saw a few large tarpon roll in deeper waters of the Lagoon raising hopes that the fish will show up in greater numbers soon. To have a chance to catch the bigger fish, keep a heavy rod rigged with 20 pound braid and a 60 pound leader on board. A sinking DOA Baitbuster will give you a shot to hook one the hundred pound brutes.
Capt. Chris Myers
Central Florida Sight Fishing Charters
http://www.floridafishinglessons.com
Fishing Report for July 12th 2007
Last Saturday, Jeremy and Mike from Minnesota, wanted to find out how our redfish compared to their walleye. The day started a bit slow and some nearby storms threatened to run us off the water. The guys finished strong, however, getting nine redfish to the boat with several of them over 30 inches.
Monday, Gary from West Virginia joined me for a fly fishing trip. We found a school of big redfish early and Gary tossed an EP mullet pattern to them and hooked up a 36” fish. Despite breaking the tip of his flyrod during the fight, we still landed the fish for a few photos.
I fixed Gary up with one of my flyrods and, during the next few hours, he had shots at multiple redfish but it just didn't work out like we had hoped. Gary had to leave early so I dropped him off and headed back out alone to test out a new crab fly I had tied. I found a few black drum and hooked one up on my second cast.
Shortly after landing that fish, I noticed some dark storms building near the ramp so I headed for shelter. Tuesday, Capt. Ron Presley and I went scouting for big tarpon in the Indian River . We checked several spots and never saw one. They should be showing up any day now and will remain until the first cold front of fall. Thursday, Fred and his son Foster joined me on Mosquito Lagoon. Despite some menacing clouds, we were able to fish long enough for Foster to land his biggest redfish to date, 33 inches. We saw quite a few fish but could not convince them to bite. Weather forced us to call it an early day.
Friday's weather was not much better with clouds, fog, and more wind. John and Mark Pretola had hopes of fly fishing for redfish. With poor visibility, we spent quite a while searching for some tailing fish. High water had many of the flats too deep to see tails or backs and we saw only a few fish flee from under the boat. Since we could not find any cooperative redfish, we went in search of black drum. We found them happy and tailing and both father and son caught their first two drum.
The sun finally came out and we had some shots at a group of large reds but did not hook up.
Saturday, I joined Capt. Keith Kalbfleisch on his new bay boat out of Port Canaveral. We ran the beach almost to Melbourne before finding and schools of menhaden. We saw only a few tarpon and kingfish and caught one small king and a shark. An uncharacteristically slow day along the beach.
With the hot months of summer upon us, the topwater bite will end early but the fish will continue to feed throughout the day. As the water temperature rises, move out to slightly deeper water to search for the redfish and trout. Areas with two feet of water and a mixture of grass and sand holes regularly hold fish during the middle of the day.
Capt. Chris Myers
Central Florida Sight Fishing Charters
http://www.floridafishinglessons.com
321-229-2848
Fishing Report for June 28th 2007
Fishing has been consistent during the past two weeks. Most days, we have been getting numerous shots at both redfish and large trout as well as some chances at small tarpon and some black drum. The calm sunny days make the fish easy to spot but it is harder to get close to them. Quick and accurate casts are a must when sight fishing. Fishing around schools of mullet at first light has been producing an excellent topwater bite. In areas with a large amount of floating grass, the DOA Chug head on a 5” tail has been allowing us to fish topwater without fouling the lure.
Last Monday, Russ, a fly fisherman from Idaho , and his wife Kathy joined me for an early start on Mosquito Lagoon. We had multiple shots at redfish throughout the day. Russ got the EP minnow in front of a few and had one fish eat the fly. Instinct took over and Russ tried to set the hook by lifting the rod and the fly was pulled away from the fish. Kathy ended up with the only redfish of the day on a green DOA CAL.
Tuesday, I fished the Banana River no motor zone with several friends. Although I never saw the big fish we were hoping for, I did catch 5 redfish and four nice trout on both fly and spinning gear.
Wednesday, I took George and Pam out of Ponce Inlet in search of kingfish and tarpon along the beach. We found the seas much rougher than predicted and bait was scarce. Though we did get to see a king jump over the head of a pelican sitting on the water, we gave up and went back inside without getting a strike. We fished under the bridge in New Smyrna for a few jacks, a sea bass, and a sea robin before calling it a day.
Thursday, Paul joined me for a morning of tarpon fishing. We found plenty of 5-25 pound tarpon but the bite was slow. We each landed one small tarpon and had several more bites before heading into Mosquito Lagoon. Clouds and wind made the sight fishing difficult but Paul got shots at several nice reds and trout. He made two thirds of the slam by catching a trout but could not find a redfish that would cooperate.
Friday, fly fisherman Nick C., from New York , made his first trip to Mosquito Lagoon. We poled up on a school of big redfish as the sun was rising but could not quite get the fly to them before several more boats moved in on us. We left and went in search of single fish and saw quite a few throughout the day. Nick's best cast of the day resulted in a bite but he forgot to strip strike the fish and the fly was pulled away. Though he went home fishless, Nick made a great effort under less than perfect wind conditions.
Saturday, Dave P. joined me on the Mosquito Lagoon. The first stop revealed over one hundred big redfish in less than two feet of water finning and tailing. The fish never saw the fly and again, we were forced to move on when the bait fishermen arrived. After some fly casting lessons, we went to a shallow grass flat in search of more redfish. It was slick calm and our second stop produced dozens of single fish and 15-20 schools in very shallow water. Dave had hoped to fly fish but soon realized that he was not quite ready for the speed and accuracy required to present the fly to the fish. He switched over to spinning gear and we continued seeing fish the rest of the day. Dave finally landed a respectable trout around 2pm on a 5" CAL.
Sunday, Jack and Kurt from Wisconsin came back for their second trip of the year. The fish were not as plentiful as the day before but we did see quite a few redfish and big trout. Kurt landed a nice trout after seeing the fish chasing a mullet. We found several schools of black drum but were unsuccessful at getting a bite.
Monday, fly angler Randy G., from Colorado , began the day by catching several small trout along the edge of a flat. We spent an hour or so working on fly casting but Randy decided his chances of catching a fish would be greatly increased with spinning gear. We tried of school of big redfish but found them unwilling to cooperate. The flats produced multiple shots at cruising reds. Persistence paid off, and Randy caught his first ever redfish on the green CAL.
The next day, Chris and Brandon, from Kansas , joined me for an unusually windy June day on the Lagoon. They worked topwater baits at dawn and caught several trout.
The next stop produced several schools of black drum and both Chris and Brandon landed one
We spent the next couple hours casting to a school of large redfish. We got only one bite and the fish missed the bait. Our final stop offered a decent number of shots at cruising redfish and Brandon caught the only one of the day.
Whether you are fishing with fly or spin tackle, casting accuracy is the most important factor when sight fishing for redfish. For the fly anglers, be prepared to make a 40-60 foot cast to an area the size of a dinner plate with, at the most, one or two false casts. Also practice casting into and across the wind as conditions may not always be perfect. Casting practice with all kinds of tackle in various conditions will increase your catch rate when sight fishing.
Capt. Chris Myers
Central Florida Sight Fishing Charters
http://www.floridafishinglessons.com
321-229-2848
Fishing Report for June 15th, 2007
Last Friday and Saturday, I fished with brothers Mike and Larry. They reserved one of the islands in the Lagoon for camping and spent a few days fishing, camping, and enjoying the launch of the space shuttle. Our first day fishing was calm but cloudy, making sight fishing a challenge. Larry caught a redfish on his second cast and landed another a while later, both on a DOA CAL tail. The fish were finning and tailing in the shallow water but were very spooky. We moved out to some deeper water and Mike landed a nice redfish of about 34”.
On day two, the competition among the brothers was heating up. It was cutthroat fishing as they battled to see who could catch the most and biggest. Larry caught a trout of about 18” and two more redfish around 30”. Mike also caught a redfish around 30”. The smaller reds were not cooperating and most of the fish we saw were buried in the grass. Sunday and Monday, I fished with Scott and his son Scotty, from Ohio . The mission was to get Scotty a big redfish. Within and hour or so, we had found a large school of big redfish and Scotty did an excellent job of catching and fighting a redfish that measured 40”.
After having the hook pull on another large fish, a few other boats arrived and the bite shut down. We moved to a deeper grass flat and Scotty caught his first flounder on a 5” DOA CAL , and his dad caught a trout on the same bait. We moved again and came across another school of large reds. Scotty caught one fish from that school, another beauty over 35”.
The next day, Scotty caught a 26” trout on a green 5” cal tail to start the day. The fish squirted out of my grasp and back into the water before we could snap a photo. We tried several schools of big reds but could not get them to eat. Around mid day, we returned to the flat where we had started and began to see big redfish and trout cruising the flat. I tied on some gold Baitbusters and Scotty was soon hooked up to a redfish of around 33”. His dad managed to get a nice trout on the Baitbuster and had several reds follow his lure but did not hook up
Wednesday, Shane and his wife Courtney too a break from the theme parks to go fishing on the Mosquito Lagoon. We started out the morning throwing chug bugs and a DOA chug head/cal tail combo and landed a few trout. As the sun began to rise, we went to a large school of big redfish but found them unwilling to eat. We left those fish and made a short run to another spot. The couple quickly connected with two 34” redfish.
A line of dark storms drifted in off the beach and forced us to run back near the ramp to wait for them to pass. The skies cleared and we resumed fishing. The reprieve, however, was brief, and before long, we found ourselves trying to outrun a second wave of storms. Thursday, I fished out of Port Canaveral with my fired Rich aboard his 22' bay boat. The bait was scattered as were the fish. I hooked up with a kingfish of about 20 lbs only to have the hook pull when it made a sudden run under the boat. Rich caught a king of about 15 lbs a while later. We had a few short strikes and saw a couple tarpon and jacks but the action was slow. With the summer weather pattern now having arrived, be prepared to see large tarpon moving into the Mosquito lagoon and Indian River . During the summer, I keep a heavier action rod rigged with a Baitbuster on board as you never know when one of the silver kings will show themselves. If you are still in need of a Father's Day gift, stop by Mosquito Creek outdoors in Apopka this Saturday. Capt. Tom Van Horn and I will be there giving some seminars and can help you select the proper fishing equipment for Dad.
Capt. Chris Myers
Central Florida Sight Fishing Charters
http://www.floridafishinglessons.com
321-229-2848
Fishing Report for June 8th, 2007
Summer finally arrived this week in east central Florida. For the first time in nearly three weeks, we have had calm winds and warm temperatures. Hopefully, this weather pattern is here to stay. The past month was difficult for sight fishing with sustained winds of twenty knots for days on end. I had to cancel my planned tarpon trip to Homosassa due to wind but I was able to get in a few days of fly fishing for tarpon with Capt. John Kumiski in and around Pine Island Sound. The water was cold and the fish were scattered but I caught a fish of about 80 pounds on an EP minnow at the end of the second day. Last week, I took a trip to Stuart hoping for some snook and tarpon action. Again, wind and cool water dampened those plans but we did catch a few nice fish in the inlet including a large flounder on a DOA Swimming Mullet. My wife got in on the action with a jewfish on a Baitbuster.
This Monday, I spent several hours fly fishing for small tarpon in the Indian River . There were plenty of fish and I tried eight different flies but never got a bite. A strong wind came up so I took shelter along the shore and caught a black drum on an EP minnow fly meant for trout. I grew tired of fighting the wind and got out the spinning rod to catch four reds and a trout on a 5" CAL tail in greenback color.
Tuesday, Capt. John Kumiski joined me for some fly fishing in the Indian River . The wind was not bad in the morning and Capt. John quickly caught two trout over seven pounds on a popping bug. The wind came up early and the flyrod was not working. We switched to spinning rods and I caught a trout of six pounds on a DOA Chug Head with a 5" black and gold tail. Capt. John used a topwater plug to land a few trout and a ladyfish and finished off with another trout on a Baitbuster.
Wednesday, Tom and his father-in-law from Missouri joined me for some fishing in the Mosquito Lagoon. The winds were light for a change but the clouds covered the sun the entire day. We were still able to find some redfish due to the slick surface. Tom and Howard both landed a large redfish and had shots a quite a few others throughout the day. The trout fishing was slow with only a few small fish on the DOA Deadly combo.
Thursday, I was back in the Indian River Lagoon with Jose, and his son, Jose, from Puerto Rico . He wanted to catch his first redfish. Although we had great weather, and plenty of bait was present, the reds were not as cooperative as we hoped. Jose finally got his redfish after much effort along with a few trout.
The large redfish will remain schooled up throughout the summer in both the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River . The smaller redfish schools have thinned out and there are more single fish cruising the flats. Big trout are still holding in the shallow sand holes ambushing mullet schools. A few tarpon are in the Mosquito Lagoon and the numbers will increase as the summer progresses.
June 16, Capt. Tom Van Horn and I will be at Mosquito Creek Outdoors in Apopka giving seminars on fishing, Kayaking, and fly casting for their Fathers Day celebration. Visit their website at www.mosquitcreekoutdoors.com for more info.
Capt. Chris Myers
Central Florida Sight Fishing Charters
http://www.floridafishinglessons.com
