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New Smyrna Beach Area - Indian River Lagoon - Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

January 4, 2018

2018 is here, but it’s impossible not to reflect on how awesome 2017 was for my clients. I was blessed to fish with clients from over 30 different states and 3 countries. We caught hundreds of redfish, snook, speckled trout and black drum. We also caught triple tail, tarpon, giant bluefish, jack crevalle, goliath grouper, and sharks. We caught multiple redfish over 40 pounds, a few speckled trout approaching 10 pounds, and a couple tarpon over 100 pounds!!! It was amazing year of sight fishing with big schools of redfish, tailing fish, laid up tarpon and big trout, spawning black drum, with snook and grouper under docks. It was an amazing year of making friends, sharing stories, seeing wildlife, and catching fish. I can only hope 2018 is just as memorable. It’s a perfect time to escape the bone chilling cold up north and escape to Florida for a fishing trip.

2018 has definitely come in cold for us! We’re in the midst of a week long cold snap that has highs in the 50’s and low’s in the 30-40’s. Redfish, speckled trout and black drum are dropping into deeper creeks, sloughs and holes and will likely stay there for a while. Giant trout and snook will be searching out shallow edges to sit and warm in the sun. Our water levels have dropped dramatically and the water is gin clear and combined will make for giant winter time schools of fish. If you check enough places and find the right spot, you can sit and catch 100 fish.

Fishing for redfish in Mosquito Lagoon is excellent! Some of the best catching of the year is going to happen over the next month. Mosquito Lagoon redfish have schooled up in giant numbers in sloughs, creeks, and deep holes. Hit the right spot and you can catch 100 redfish ranging from slot fish to rats. A recent fishing charter near New Smyrna Beach I did a couple days ago produced nearly 70 redfish in 4 hours. That won’t happen everyday, but it’s quite common to catch 20-30 redfish per day in the Lagoon this time of year on a variety of live bait and lures.

There are incredible giant schools of black drum in the North Indian River Lagoon and Mosquito Lagoon. Some of these schools are holding 500+ fish in the 5-15 pound range. The hard cold fronts we see in January usually bring out the biggest drum of the year with 40-50 pounders near Oak Hill and New Smyrna Beach. Black Drum spawn in the spring so these schools will be around through April. Live shrimp or blue crab will be top choices for us to catch them by the dozens.

Fishing in Mosquito Lagoon for big speckled trout is really starting to take off. We’ve seen a bunch of big ones lately up in the shallows warming up, with multiple fish over 10 pounds. They should be very lethargic until the cold snap passes and then will be hungry on the backside as it warms up. Smaller trout from 10-20 inches are piled up by the hundreds in sloughs, creeks, and deep holes. Live bait and a variety of jigs/lures will score on numerous trout through the next couple months

The cold weather moving through Florida during the first week of January is going to shut the snook bite down for a while. If it drops too low for too long it’s possible we may see some cold weather die off (which we haven’t seen since 2009). It’s forecasted to warm up the next couple weeks which should have them up and moving around again soon.

Have about 12 days remaining open for January. February is already half way full and spring break months are starting to go quick. While I take last second scheduling if I have open days, DON’T wait till last minute to schedule a trip for you or your family. Call me at 386-212-4931 or email to secure a date. Read my fishing charter page to view the top reasons why you should book your trip with me today. I look forward to fishing with you soon…

Here's the slideshow of the top 50 photos from 2017. Thanks to all my clients and friends for an oustanding year!

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