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

July 13, 2024

Hot summer days of July are here! Summer standard days are redfish and speckled trout, and sometimes a snook or tarpon! Been a great bite the last couple of months. Redfish in New Smyrna Beach and Mosquito Lagoon have been the hot ticket. We’ve caught over 100 redfish over 40 inches this summer! Smaller redfish are schooled on grass flats to sight fish in the lagoons. That time of year to catch bunches of speckled trout in Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River Lagoon. Got one big trout over 30” this summer and a few others around 27”, but plenty of 15-25” trout eating bait right now. Good numbers of tarpon getting active around New Smyrna Beach and Ponce Inlet and big ones making their way into the channels and creeks. We caught a few over 50 pounds in the past week. Pretty much full calendar for July but do have 1 day open later this month. Have 8 days left open for August. Also filling up for Labor Day holiday. Don’t wait till the last minute!

Recently I have been creating videos about the past month of fishing…talking about the bite and sharing some recent photos of client catches. You can find these videos on my Youtube Channel. Be sure to check them out and if you like the video’s give them a thumbs up and subscribe to the channel.

Dynamite redfish bite this summer. Catching several giants over 40 inches pretty much every day for nearly 3 months! We’ve sight casted bunch on bait, flies, and lures with a few approaching 40 pounds. Not gonna slow down for these big redfish until we get out towards Halloween when they all gather near Ponce Inlet to spawn. When the time, tide or conditions aren’t right for the big reds we’ve been fishing schools of redfish on the shallow grass flats in Mosquito Lagoon. These fish are usually in the 25-30 inch range. Some are tailing really good and in big schools. The catch and release requirement for the area the last 2 years is really paying off with increasing numbers of redfish!

The other primary option this time of year is fishing for speckled trout in Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River Lagoon. Haven’t had much trouble any day catching a bunch in the 15-25 inch range fishing with live bait like pigfish, croakers, or finger mullet. Only caught a handful of really big ones this summer, with one over 30 inches. Grass flats rebounding in the Lagoons means trout have habitat again so expect to see increasing numbers each year.

When we have been fishing closer to New Smyrna Beach and Ponce Inlet we’re finding more active tarpon in the channels and creeks. Resident juveniles up to 40 pounds and and some big ones approaching 100 pounds moving in from the ocean are what one can expect. Bite must be picking up because we caught three 50-80 pound tarpon this week fishing for redfish! The hotter the better for these fish…they’ll be around in decent numbers until Oct-Nov time frame.

Catching some snook here and there in Mosquito Lagoon when we’ve been fishing for redfish and trout in the shallow water. Most of the big snook in the area are out in Ponce Inlet spawning this time of year. Smaller ones are widely scattered in the backwaters around New Smyrna Beach and Port Orange. Will start fishing for snook a lot more next month as the big ones make their way back inshore.

Pretty much fully booked for July with only the 22nd still open as of today. Have 8 days still left open for August. Labor day holiday week is filling up. Don’t wait till the last minute as the summer is our peak busiest time of year! Text me or call me at 386-212-4931 or even send me an 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.