Indian River Lagoon

Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report, 01-25-2005 Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report, 01-24-2005 Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters In my last report we discussed how great fishing has been here on the Lagoon coast of Florida, and how the unusually warm weather had provided us with exceptional catches in all areas fished. Well, all good things must come to an end, and end it did, with the arrival of back-to-back artic fronts. As of the post, frost warnings are posted, but at least we’re not up to our stripping baskets in the white stuff. On Thursday 13th of January, the last nice day before the arrival of the first front, I fished with my good friend Mike Murray. It was a real time decision to scout the upper St Johns River for American shad. As we approached our first spot, the mouth of the Econ Creek, the shad were so thick, they were flipping on the surface in 8 to 10 feet of water like a pod of pogies, and Mike and I boated over 20 fish in two hours throwing Hal Fly jigs on ultra light spinning gear. We then finished of the morning off with a nice lunch and a few barley pops at the Jolly Gator Fish Camp just north of the HWY 46 Bridge near Geneva. Add this trip to the great days of fishing before the front column. My next adventure took me to the same location with Jerry Goldsmith, a hardcore veteran Florida fly angler. The reason I say hardcore is, only hardcore anglers and fools would have ventured out on a Sunday morning facing a 25-knot north wind and freezing cold drizzly rain. Although we were hardcore, the fish were wiser, choosing to lay low and stay warm. After about an hour of casting and shivering, we also wised up and returned to the ramp without seeing a fish. Clearly the fish had either moved up-stream or into deeper water, but with the numbers we experienced Thursday, I feel it’s safe to say we have an outstanding shad run ahead of us this year. On January 19th, I fished a double boat charter with Captain Kevin Mulligan of Mully Charters. Our anglers were a business group who were hoping to fish Offshore, but their charter was blown out by snotty conditions. Our plan was to fish in wind protected deep-water locations, and we were rewarded with a good catch of sea trout, ladyfish, and small snook, all caught on live shrimp and DOA ½ ounce red shrimp. On Friday the 21st, I was privileged to fish with Dan Bowden of Madison Wisconsin, and we were blessed with a beautiful warm sunny day with light west winds. Although it was a stunning day weather wise, the catching was non-existent. We covered the entire eastern shore of the IRL from the Max Brewer Bridge to the Rinker Canal, and we only had decent shots at a few redfish. We ended the boat ride with a grand total of three small trout, not a good day of catching. My final day of fishing this week was on Saturday, where Bill Christian of Sanford North Carolina and his son Will joined me for a ¾ day trip on the Mosquito Lagoon. My plan was to fish the southwest shore of the lagoon to take advantage of the westerly winds of the approaching cold front. With the combination of cold air and warm lagoon water, we were greeted by some of the thickest fog I seen in years. I usually enjoy foggy conditions in the winter because they typically represent calm conditions, but our second major cold front was quickly approaching and our placid west wind would soon begin to scream. As we motored out of the Haulover Canal, our visibility was less than a 1000 feet, so we eased over to the western shoreline and fished as we waited for the fog to lift. Eventually we worked our way to the south end of the lagoon, but as soon as the fog lifted, the winds picked up, making sight fishing almost unfeasible. Again, we ended the day having only a few decent shots at quality fish, and we boating only five rat reds. In a lot of ways, fishing conditions were tough this past week, but considering the fact we are still fishing, and not shoveling snow, we are truly blessed to live along the shores of the Indian River Lagoon. As always, if you have questions or need information, please contact me. Good luck, think warm thoughts, and good fishing, Captain Tom Van Horn www.irl-fishing.com [email protected] 407-366-8085 Office 407-417-1187 On the water 866-790-8081 Toll free