Mosquito Creek Outdoors Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report, November 11, 2011

By Captain Tom Van Horn





First and foremost, let me take this opportunity to give thanks to all of my friends and family as I count my many blessing. I could not think of a better life than living on the east coast of Florida with the wind in my hair, salt air in my lungs and my toes in the sand. Again, my thanks go out to all of you who have shared time on the water with me and to those in far away lands fighting for our freedom.



God bless falloff you over this holiday week.



Upcoming Seminars and Events



Central Florida Shad and Crappie Derby Dates



Thursday December 15th, Shad and Crappie Derby anglers meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. at Mosquito Creek Outdoor, 170 South Washington Avenue in Apopka.



Saturday December 17th, Shad and Crappie Derby begins at safe light.



Saturday January 1st, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Crappie Rally and Seminar at Boat Tree Marina at the Port of Sanford.



Thursday January 26th 6:30 - 9:00 PM, Free shad and crappie fly tying event at Orlando Outfitters, 2814 Corrine Dr, Orlando, FL 32808, phone (407) 896-8220. Visit: www.orlandooutfitters.com. Fly tying instruction and seminar by Capt. Beau Osborne. Learn what you need to catch shad and crappie on fly in the Orlando area and see how easy it is to tie effective fly patterns for both species. These tying techniques can also be used to create your own shad and crappie jigs.


Saturday February 25th, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Shad Rally and Seminar at the Jolly Gator Fish Camp on the St. Johns River and HWY 46 east of Geneva.



Saturday March 17th, Shad and Crappie Derby ends at dusk.



February 11th and 12th, Old Florida Outdoor Festival in Apopka, Florida.



Last Weeks Fishing Report



Angling on the lagoon coast in November can sometimes be difficult due to blustery breezes and cloudy conditions brought on by approaching and passing cold fronts. Although these weather patterns can be challenging, quality fishing opportunities still exist if you catch the right days. Well, today was not one of those days as I've started off by annual week long Sebastian vacation sitting on the dock writing this report. The winds have been howling from the east 20 knots and at 2 in the afternoon, they are starting to let up enough where I thinking about launch Three Quarter Time just to get a feel for the remainder of the week.

This past week, the focus of my fishing was directed in the area of the North Indian River Lagoon between Mims and Port Saint John, and the following observation were made:

Redfish: The water is still high and dirty and on the windy days, sight-fishing opportunities were few, so the tactic of soaking ladyfish chunks and live finger mullet tucked back in close to wind-protected shorelines rewarded us with some quality redfish up to 32 inches. On a few occasions, brief periods of calm conditions brought tails to the surface in good numbers.

Black Drum: There are still some black drum holding around the bridges, but their numbers have greatly decreased. Most were taken using jumbo live shrimp and blue crab fished in close to the fenders.

Sea trout: Although sea trout season is closed, some really nice fish were taken working the deeper edges throwing DOA CAL Jigs and small bucktails tipped with shrimp.

Pompano: Skipping pompano were abundant on the Port Saint John and Carbide flats earlier in the week, but very few were sighted on Thursday and Friday. Chances are they have begun their migration south towards Sebastian Inlet. Judging by the numbers seen last week, things should be firing up in the Sebastian area soon, I hope it's this week, I let you know.

Finger mullet: Finger mullet were tough to catch this week. Bait schools have thinned out significantly, and cooler water temperatures have pushed them into deeper water.






As always, if you need information of have any questions, please contact me.


Good luck and good fishing,






Captain Tom Van Horn






mosquitocoast@cfl.rr.com


http://www.irl-fishing.com



(407) 416-1187



For all of your outdoor needs, visit www.mosquitocreek.com, it's where your adventure begins.

































Mosquito Creek Outdoors Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Forecast



November 2011



By Captain Tom Van Horn



Upcoming Seminars and Events



Saturday November 5th, 10 a.m. to noon, free fishing seminar, "Flounder and Pompano Fishing From Peir, Shore and Wade Fishing", instructed by Captains Chris Myers and Tom Van Horn. Seminar conducted at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Ave in Apopka, Florida. Visit www.mosquitocreek.com for more information.



Saturday November 12th, Gumbo Cook Off for Give Kids the World and Anglers for Conservation



Cooking begins at 12 Noon and the eating starts at 2 p. m. at Fish on Fire Restaurant in Orlando. For more details, visit www.fishingfloridaradio.com



Thursday November 17th Free Redfish on Fly Seminar, 6:30 to 9 p.m. Instructed by Captain Chris Myers at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Ave. in Apopka, Florida. for more information, visit www.mosquitocreek.com.



Central Florida Shad and Crappie Derby Dates



Thursday December 15th, Shad and Crappie Derby anglers meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. at Mosquito Creek Outdoor, 170 South Washington Avenue in Apopka.



Saturday December 17th, Shad and Crappie Derby begins at safe light.



Saturday January 14th, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Crappie Rally and Seminar at Boat Tree Marina at the Port of Sanford.



Thursday, February 26th 6:30 - 9:00 p.m., Free shad and crappie fly tying event at Orlando Outfitters, 2814 Corrine Dr, Orlando, FL 32808, phone (407) 896-8220. Fly tying instruction and seminar by Capt. Beau Osborne.



Saturday February 25th, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Shad Rally and Seminar at the Jolly Gator Fish Camp on the St. Johns River and HWY 46 east of Geneva.



Saturday March 17th, Shad and Crappie Derby ends at dusk.



February 11th and 12th, Old Florida Outdoor Festival in Apopka, Florida.





November's Fishing Outlook



Although November is notorious for greeting us with howling easterly winds as our first significant cold front passes, fishing in and around the inlets will remain outstanding until water temperature drop below 70 degrees. In the inlets of Ponce De Leon, Port Canaveral and Sebastian, snook fishing will remain excellent during low light periods and at night as the remaining baitfish traveling down the beach are forced in close to the jetties and other structure with the best action occurring during slack tidal periods, especially the end of high tide. During these periods hungry gamefish take advantage of slow currents and feed heavily. As the tide begins to fall, gamefish move into their ambush locations to finish off their frenzy. Breeder Redfish, jack crevalle, bluefish, ladyfish, Spanish mackerel, sharks, and tarpon all share in the fury, so step up your tackle size and hold on.

My favored technique is to cast net live mullet, and drift them through the passes on a sliding sinker rig. Look for areas of feeding activity, birds diving and fish busting, and adjust the size of your weight based of current. The rig I use starts out with a Daiichi Bleeding Bait circle hook proportionate to your bait size to allow a natural swimming appearance. In simple terms, small bait small hook, large bait large hook. Next, I attach a 30-inch section of 30 to 40 pound test fluorocarbon leader to a 20-pound test braided mainline. If large tarpon are your target, step your leader size up to 60-pound test. Before I tie on my hook, I slide my slip sinker on to the leader, then attach the hook, and finish the rig off by using a split shot located between the barrel sinker and the hook adjusted to keep the weight off of the hook. As I drift through the passes, I like to cast parallel to my drift with just enough weight to keep the bait in the feeding zone, and increase the barrel sinker size as the current picks up. Additionally, as we near the end of November and finger mullet diminish, switch to pinfish on pigfish as bait. Finally and most important, pass fishing in November can be dangerous, so as I drift through the inlet, I keep the helm manned with my engine running, keeping a close eye on boat traffic and sea conditions, and always be prepared for evasive action if needed.

As the first significant cold front passes and surf temperatures reach the 68-degree mark, flounder slide into the inlets on their annual spawning migration out to sea. The exodus usually begins with the arrival of the smaller 1 to 3-poung gulf flounder (three spot), which are later joined by the doormat size 2 to 14-pound southern flounder. Many anglers prefer to anchor up and fish live finfish on the bottom, but I favor drifting the lagoon side of the passes bouncing a 1/4 ounce DOA CAL Jig 3" CAL Shad tail on the bottom. I've also learned adding the element of sound to my jig by inserting a Woodie's Rattle Capsule improves my catch. This vertical jigging technique allows me to cover more area and catch a wider assortment of species. Likewise, as lagoon temperatures cool, pompano are another likely target as they congregate on the lagoon side of the passes before moving out to their winter haunts along the beaches to feed on sand fleas (mole crabs) their favorite winter food.

Cobia and tripletail fishing can be very good this time of year depending on ocean temperatures (71 to 74 degrees is best) and winter weather conditions. To target them, head east out of Port Canaveral or Sebastian Inlet looking for rips, sargassum and flotsam pushed in by the easterly fetch. Once you have located the floating structure, work the rip with the sun to your back looking for fish suspended underneath, and catch then on spinning tackle or fly, and a live jumbo shrimp on a jig works best.

Inside the lagoons, falling water levels and cleaner conditions will facilitate increased sight fishing prospects for both redfish and sea trout. Also remember spotted sea trout are out of season in our region of the state for both November and December, so please handle and release them with extreme care.



For up to date fishing forecast by all Coastal Angler Magazine Orlando captains visit:

http://coastalanglermag.com/orlando/.



As always, if you have any questions or need help, please contact me.



Good luck and good fishing,



Captain Tom Van Horn

Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters

(407) 416-1187 on the water