Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report with Captain Chris Myers (Mar 3, 2012)

Drum roll please… it’s our very great pleasure to be able to introduce the latest Fishipedia columnist, Captain Chris Myers. A hugely respected and renowned Mosquito Lagoon/Indian River guide, Chris will be dropping in every month with a fishing report from Florida’s Space Coast. In his first post, Chris reports on warming waters, topwater action and 1,000+ schools of redfish…

The Mosquito Lagoon fishing has been excellent the past couple weeks. Clear water has allowed us to sight fish for redfish, drum, and seatrout on the shallow flats when the sun was out. The fish have been plentiful but will not stick around an approaching boat for long. They are eager to eat, however, and well placed casts have resulted in lots of hookups. A black redfish worm has been working well for fly anglers. The DOA Baitbuster, a 5.5 inch CAL in golden bream or the 3 inch CAL have all caught numerous large trout and redfish.

Dave and Mark got to fish on two of the best weather days during the past couple weeks. We didn’t get as much sun as we hoped but we still saw multiple large schools of redfish. Fish were caught on both fly and spin gear.

Jason and Dave had to brave some high winds but enjoyed an excellent day of catching redfish and trout. The golden bream CAL with a Woodies Rattle accounted for most of the fish.

This week, I fished with Canadian angler Pascal on a cloudy and windy day. Sight fishing was tough but he did manage to land several drum along with some trout. He nearly had a redfish several times to complete his slam but each one got off before he landed them.

Thursday’s anglers had shots at well over 1,000 fish in large schools. Unfortunately, they were never able to get a bait in front of a fish. After dropping them off, I went out to do some prospecting and discovered several spots holding large seatrout. I caught nearly a dozen using an ultralight rod, 5lb braid, and a DOA 5.5 inch CAL with a Woodies Rattle. I also caught some on a weedless soft plastic topwater bait that may be available later this year.

With water temperatures in the middle to upper 70s on most days, the pinfish and other baits are returning to the flats. Topwater baits are already producing good bites and will only get better during this month. This is a good time of year to catch a trophy sized seatrout in less than 2 feet of water. On bright sunny days, you can sight fish them in the shallow sand holes. When clouds are present, you will never see them until it is too late. If you must blind cast, make long casts targeting sandy areas. Many big trout will run directly at the boat after they strike. If you feel the slightest bump, reel quickly or you will miss lots of bites. Big trout are much more delicate than redfish and must be handled with care. Have you camera ready before taking them out of the water. Trout have large mouths and often are hooked inside the mouth. Using barbless hooks and having a dehooking tool will help ensure a successful release.

Seminars
March 17 – 9am-1pm – Fly Casting SchoolThere are still a few spots left for this month’s fly casting class at Mosquito Creek Outdoors.  No experience or equipment is necessary. Class is limited to 6 students and preregistration is required. Cost $75.

Call 321-229-2848
March 22 – 10-12 – Flats Fishing Seminar Series Capt. Tom Van Horn and I will continue our free flats fishing seminars series at Mosquito Creek Outdoors.
March 22 –  6:30pm – Cobia FishingCapt. Tom Van Horn and I will show how to rig for and catch cobia along Florida’s east coast. Mosquito Creek Outdoors – Free
April 14 – 10-12 – Introduction to Fly FishingCome to Mosquito Creek Outdoors and learn about fly fishing in this free class. All equipment provided.

Shad Fishing
The 2011-12 Shad fishing season is winding down. Anglers still have until March 15 to get their entries in for the free Shad and Crappie Derby. There are still fish being caught in the St. Johns River as well as the Econ River. I have had the most success this year with a DOA Tiny TerrorEyz when using spinning tackle and a #10 chartreuse fly tied with micro lead eyes and fished with a floating 3wt line. My shad fishing trips are over for this season but I am looking forward to another great run next year. This is a great fish to learn fly fishing as they are eager to bite and do not require long precise casts. Along with the hard pulling and high jumping shad, we also caught dozens of bluegill, redbreast, crappie, and bass this year.

Captain Chris Myers specializes in the finest inshore, flats and backcountry fishing in the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River, on Florida’s Space Coast. Click here for more details