February 2011

The winter fishing here in East Central Florida continues to be excellent. Redfish, seatrout, and black drum are my primary species this time of year and all three have been readily available on the shallow water flats of the Mosquito Lagoon. The water levels over the past two weeks have been low resulting in some great sight fishing opportunities. Schools of tailing redfish and black drum can be found on most days through out the Lagoon. Fish in the 5 to 15 pound range are of the average size.

We've seen it go from the mid 40s to the low 60s and the trout and redfish have been getting a lot more active. The areas I am fishing are primarily shallow flats with broken up grass beds. Anglers are finding the majority of their trout hanging out in sandy potholes, waiting to ambush prey. Small soft plastics has been the lure of choice for these laid up trout. If the weather is right, anglers are able to sight fish these trout in shallow potholes along the grass flats. The water clarity has been great and we're starting to see a lot of small bait and shrimp showing up on the flats...

Sight fishing with live shrimp and imitations like the D.O.A shrimp has been the key to hooking into these fish. The black drum is a strong fighting fish on light tackle, and a true challenge to all anglers. The Trout fishing has been up and down, but we should see the world class fish over 10lbs move back onto the shallow flats soon. Starting next month we should see the return of the larger redfish start to show up in good numbers. The fish are starting to stage up along the drop off's on the grass flats. These date are filling up fast so book your trip today. This year I am offering a $75 discount to any angler that brings a child 12 and under.

Captain Shawn

Red Zone Charters
321-302-9606
http://www.redzonecharters.com