Central Indian River Lagoon

Capt. Ron Bielefeld's Indian River Lagoon Report - Sebastian Area Lately I have only had time to write a report every 2 weeks instead of every week. I will try to do better. The weather has been really changeable the past 2 weeks; warm and relatively calm, cool and calm, warm and windy, windy and cold. The fish are doing summersaults out there. When the wind has not been so strong as to make traveling from area to area and boat positioning impossible, the fishing has been good. Trout and reds have been the staple. The trout have been in very shallow water and also in 3-4 feet of water depending on where and when you are fishing. Generally, the fish have been using the deeper areas off the edges of flats early in the mornings. The fish would move into very shallow water in early afternoon and remain there most of the day if the sun was out. The fish in deeper water hit jigs and free-lined live shrimp. The fish in shallow water hit the live shrimp, but also went after Rip-Tide Brand Weedless Shrimp in the new penny color. Most of the time there was no need to use the live shrimp, except when the water was on the colder side. If the water was 60 degrees or higher the fish were active enough to take the soft plastics. The reds have been a little picky. They have preferred the live shrimp most of the time, but did also take the Rip-Tide shrimp from time to time. The reds we have been catching have all been in very shallow water in the late mornings through the afternoons depending on what the water temps have been. The water in these areas has been very clear lately giving us the rare chance to sight fish for these fish. However, the fish around Sebastian are not used to clear water and are very spooky. Poling or drifting is the only way to get close enough to hook up these fish especially if you are casting live shrimp. A trolling motor is too noisy. I know, I tried to get close to these fish using mine, and all I did was spook them. Hey everyone can be lazy every once and a while. Also, make your casts just short and out in front of the fish. If you cast past them they will spook most of the time. Until next time, Tight-Lines to all. Sincerely, Capt. Ron