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

May 4, 2013

Don’t blink, before you know it, half of 2013 will have passed us by. We are full blown into the peak of the spring fishing season. The inshore waters are stacked full of finger mullet and small pinfish. Redfish and Speckled Trout continue to dominate our fishing action, including some great trophy size fish for each species. But we’ve also been catching flounder, snook and small tarpon too. Historically, May and early June is my favorite fishing time of the year.

I fished 2 pro tournaments in April. Travelled to St. Augustine to fish the Florida Pro Redfish Series, taking 8th place in some of the worst weather conditions I’ve ever fished. We are now sitting in 2nd place for Team of Year after three of four events for the Florida Pro Series. A week later I travelled to Jacksonville to fish the IFA Redfish Tour. We grabbed a 5th place finish out of 75 boats capping a great round of tourney fishing in NE Florida this year. Much thanks to CharterList.com for their sponsorship support for my 2013 tourney season.

Fishing for big trophy Speckled Trout has been epic lately. April-June historically gives up the biggest trout of the year and this year is no different. Water levels are up, temperatures are pushing 80 degrees, and millions of finger mullet have invaded the inshore waters...all a recipe for superb trout fishing. We’ve caught numerous trout in the 4-9lb range over the past few weeks. In one day a couple weeks ago we landed 12 trout over 4lbs, with a few over 6lbs. Live mullet have been the best chance for catching numerous big trout during the day. But we’ve also been catching good trout on Sebile and Mirrolure plugs, soft plastic jerkbait and Aqua Dream spoons.

As we get into May, consistent weather patterns allow us to fish giant bull Redfish on a daily basis. There are several schools of bull redfish cruising the edges in the North IRL and Mosquito Lagoon. We’ve caught quite a few redfish in the 15-25lb range with a few toads approaching 40lbs. Smaller redfish in the 4-10lb range are schooled up on the shallow grass flats in the Lagoons, however in the tidal creeks around Ponce Inlet, New Smyrna and Edgewater there are singles/small pods cruising mangrove shorelines and oyster bars. Sight casting continues to be excellent from Ponce Inlet through the south end of Mosquito Lagoon, however dirty water has taken over in the North IRL making sight fishing almost impossible. Catching has varied widely lately...anywhere from 5-15 reds has been our average. Aqua Dream spoons, Mirrolure and Sebile plugs, and Gulp jerkbaits have all been working quite well. Live mullet, pinfish, and shrimp have been working when we use live bait. Fly anglers have connected with seaducers, bendbacks, bunnies, and my crab pattern.

We’re finding more and more Snook spreading out through our backwaters during the past month. Sizes are improving as well with a few more in the 23-26” range in addition to numerous smaller 15-18” snook. Still not enough to make an entire day of fishing for them, but enough to warrant stopping if you want to catch one. Tarpon in the 20-30lb range have been showing up in the ICW around the Inlet and a couple backwater spots near the Mosquito Lagoon. Water temperatures aren’t ideal and bite windows are short because of tides but things will only improve from now through the early part of fall. We’ve been catching fair numbers of Flounder around oyster beds and docks in the Edgewater and New Smyrna area. They range from 2-5lbs. Mud minnows or soft plastics rigged on Slayer jigs are producing flatties for us.

May is near fully booked, I have 6 days left open. June dates are starting to fill quickly as well so don’t wait till the last minute to call. Short notice trips are available if I have the date open. Call or email to secure a reservation. Read my fishing charter page to view the top reasons why you should book your trip with me today. Read my fishing report archive to review write-ups from the past several years. I look forward to fishing with you soon…386-212-4931.

Some client catches from the past month...

7.5 pound lagoon trout on topwater plug 7 pound indian river speckled trout indian river gator speckled trout central florida speckled trout

40 pound mosquito lagoon redfish



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