Mosquito Lagoon Fishing report 8-13

[Fishing Report]

Mosquito Creek Outdoor's Indian River Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report, August 14, 2010

By Captain Tom Van Horn


Upcoming Classes, Seminars and Events


Wednesday September 8th, Seminar on the "Fishing Fall Mullet Run" at the Backcountry Flyfishing Association meeting, 6:30 PM, Harmoni Market, 2305 Edgewater Drive, Orlando, Florida 32804



Saturday, September 18th, 9:30 - 10:30 AM, "Free Seminar" Fishing with the Pros instructed by Captains Tom Van Horn and Chris Myers, Basic fishing open forum, followed by "Fishing the Fall Mullet Run" 10:30 - 11:30 AM in the Outback at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Ave., Apopka Florida.



Saturday October 2nd 10 AM - 5 PM, "Discover Fly Fishing Day" in the Outback at Mosquito Creek Outdoors in Apopka Florida. Guides, Professionals and Factory representatives will be on hand all day to introduce new comers to fly fishing and discuss casting, destinations, tactics, and equipment.



Saturday, October 23rd, 9:30 - 10:30 AM, "Free Seminar" Fishing with the Pros instructed by Captains Tom Van Horn and Chris Myers, Basic fishing open forum, followed by "Fall Fishing Tactics Redfish, Trout and Flounder" 10:30 - 11:30 AM in the Outback at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Ave., Apopka Florida.



Tuesday, November 9th, 7:00 - 9:00 PM, Orlando Kayak Fishing Club Meeting (open to all) in the Outback at Mosquito Creek Outdoor in Apopka Florida.



Saturday, November 20th, 9:30 - 10:30 AM, "Free Seminar" Fishing with the Pros instructed by Captains Tom Van Horn and Chris Myers, Basic fishing open forum, followed by "Preparing for the Shad Run & Crappie Season & Shad Derby Meeting" 10:30 - 11:30 AM in the Outback at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Ave., Apopka Florida.




This Week's Report


Windy conditions this past week generated by a passing tropical low pressure system moving north through the Gulf of Mexico resulted in a shift in plans from fishing the near-shore waters out of Port Canaveral to fishing inshore in the Indian River Lagoon. One of the great attributes about living and fishing in Central Florida is the multitude of fishing options available year round. If conditions are too rough offshore, lighten up your tackle and hit the lagoon or one of our many fresh water lakes or rivers.

This past week I fish the Indian River Lagoon on two occasions with mixed results. On the first trip, I had the honor of fishing with the Dunkly party from Ohio, and the fishing was tough to say the least. At our first stop, we located a nice school of black drum, and two nice drum made the boat within the first hour. After drum school dissipated, we struggled to catch anything other than hardhead catfish for the remainder of the day with the exception of a huge 50-inch redfish brought to the boat by the tag team efforts of Casey and Mathew.

On my second charter I was privileged to once again fish with repeat clients Craig and Max Welch and their friend Ken from Texas. Again, the fishing was great, but the catching was even tougher than the trip before. Throughout the day we had shots at both redfish and black drum, and other than a mullet and a catfish taken on fly by Ken, we never put a single redfish or black drum in the boat. During the first two hours of the trip, we found multiple schools of big redfish with no takers, and near the end of the day we found the mother lode of black drum schools, and we never even got a bite, very frustrating. Without stretching the truth much, we must have had shots at a thousand fish, and if it wasn't for Ken's secret Texas mullet fly, we would have gotten skunked.

As of this writing, the seaward conditions have settled down, so look for Three Quarter Time to be busting out of Port Canaveral in the morning for some tarpon, snook and kingfish action along the beach, and I'll let you know how we did in my next report.



Mathew and Casey Double Teamed this Monster Redfish




Mathew's Black Drum on a Trigger X Crab




Trigger X Black Drum


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

Good luck and good fishing,

Captain Tom Van Horn
Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters
http://www.irl-fishing.com
407-416-1187 on the water
407-366-8085 land line

Visit Mosquito Creek Outdoors at www.mosquitocreek.com, it's where your adventure begins.




Mosquito Creek Outdoors Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Forecast, August 2010

by Captain Tom Van Horn


August Fishing Outlook


The summer doldrums have arrived along the Indian River Lagoon Coast of Florida, and as long as the summer squalls stay away and the Labrador currents do not cool inshore waters too much, fishing along the beaches and in the inlets will remain good.

The Labrador currents should be pushing in soon, cooling down bottom temperatures and the bottom fishing in some areas along Florida's east coast. With average bottom water temperatures in the mid sixties, finding warmer water will be the key to locating fish. Look for the blue water bite to improve along the inshore reefs and wrecks of Chris Benson, 8A Reef, and Pelican Flats, with kingfish, dolphin, black fin tuna, and cobia serving as the primary species, along with an occasional wahoo or sailfish. This is also the time of year when cooler waters sometimes push the giant manta rays and cobia in close to the shoals off the Cape, which was the case last several weeks.



Along the beach, look for the silver kings (tarpon), smoker kings, blacktip sharks, jack crevalle, and redfish to be shadowing pods of Atlantic menhaden (pogies), threadfin herring (greenies), Spanish sardines, and bay anchovy (glass minnows) in close to the beach. Also look for snook fishing in the surf to improve, as we get closer to the commencement of the fall bait run. Remember snook are out of season, so if you target them, handle and release them with care. In and around the inlets, look for Spanish mackerel, tarpon, jack cervalle, and bonita to be working schools of glass minnows on the outside, and snook, redfish, mangrove snapper, and flounder in the area of jetties and other structure. If snook are of interest, Sebastian Inlet is the place to be.

Angling on the lagoons will continue to show improvement, with fishing in the predawn and late evening hours being most productive. Look for schools of redfish in the skinny water holding in the vicinity of bait concentration, and target them utilizing smaller top-water plugs and soft swimbaits like the D.O.A. Bait Buster. Once the sun starts to grow hot and the top-water bite slows down, bait becomes your better option. For larger trout, fish live pigfish in close to docks and other structure adjacent to deeper water. In deeper water, look for large schools of ladyfish, small trout, and tarpon pushing schools of glass minnows near the surface. These schools are easy to locate by watching for concentrations of birds, terns and cormorants, joining in on the frenzy, and they are perfect for fly anglers who are interested in the continuous fast and furious action provided by these speedsters. Currently, the Lagoon water levels are extremely low, so be extra careful operating in skinny water. Last but not least, look for pompano schools holding in the shadows of the causeway bridges near the end of the month, and try fishing jigs tipped with shrimp or sand fleas (mole crabs) along the deeper edges and drop-offs.

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

Good luck and good fishing,

Captain Tom Van Horn
www.irl-fishing.com
captain@irl-fishing.com
407-366-8085 office
407-416-1187 on the water

For all you outdoor shopping needs, visit Mosquito Creek outdoors at www.mosquitocreek.com.


Mosquito Creek Outdoors Angler Improvement Clinics


Free Fishing Classes


To be successful, learn from the best.

Veteran lagoon fishing guides Captains Chris Myers and Tom Van Horn will provide instruction on the skills and techniques necessary to become a more successful angler through free seminars, provided as a service to you by Mosquito Creek Outdoors and Coastal Angler Magazine Orlando. Would you like to learn what it takes to be a successful Angler? Here is your chance and all it will cost you is your time.





Captain Tom Van Horn: Captain Tom is a lifelong Central Florida native with over 45 years experience fishing Florida's waters and over 10 years experience guiding anglers to the catch of their lives on the Indian River Lagoon Coast of Florida. His fishing experience covers all aspects of angling, including freshwater lakes and rivers, saltwater flats, and near-shore Atlantic coastal fishing. Captain Tom is also owner and publisher of Coastal Angler Magazine Orlando and an accomplished outdoor writer with over 100 articles published. Captain Tom currently serves on the pro staffs of Mosquito Creek Outdoors, Evolution Rods, Daiwa, DOA Lures, TTI Blakemore and Daiichi Hooks, Maui Jim Sunglasses, Woodies Rattles, Frog Toggs, and Kaynoe Paddle Products.

Captain Chris Myers: Captain Chris Myers operates Central Florida Sight Fishing Charters. He specializes in sight fishing the flats of the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River with light tackle and fly. Capt. Chris has twenty years of experience fishing Mosquito Lagoon. He is a pro staff member for DOA Lures, Woodies Rattles, Daiwa, and Temple Fork Flyrods.


Angler's Improvement Clinic Schedule:


Fishing the Mullet Run September 18, 2010, 10 a.m. to Noon

Flounder Fishing October 23, 2010, 10 a.m. to Noon

Shad and Crappie Fishing November 20, 2010, 10 a.m. to Noon


For more information on the above scheduled classes, contact Coastal Angler Magazine Orlando at 407-416-1187 or online, mosquitocoast@cfl.rr.com.




Tight Lines and Let's Go Fishing,

Captain Tom Van Horn
Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters
407-416-1187
http://www.irl-fishing.com