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

October 5, 2012

Fall has arrived as October is welcomed to Florida’s Space Coast. Morning and daytime temperatures are a little cooler now days, but more importantly, October has FLOODED our waters with massive amounts of mullet as the fall bait run hits its peak. The fishing has been excellent over the past few weeks. After a summer of dirty water conditions, clean water is everywhere allowing for great sight fishing conditions. Redfish have started forming into small schools of 10-30 fish and giant trophy bull redfish have formed into large schools at Ponce Inlet and the Indian River Lagoon. Speckled trout have been shadowing bait pods and redfish schools, and big gator trout have been laid up in sand spots and “finning” in shallow grass in the Mosquito Lagoon. Flounder are moving in great numbers in the Edgewater and New Smyrna Beach area. Tarpon numbers have thinned dramatically and we’ve likely seen the end of action for them. There’s no secret to our fishing this time of year...find the areas full of baitfish and our target gamefish have been right there with them.

I just picked up a new boat and sold my old rig within the past week. I’m now guiding out of a Beavertail Vengeance rigged with a brand new 70hp Yamaha outboard. This boat is fast, stable, runs super shallow, and provides a really dry and comfortable ride. Come spend a day with me and check it out.

The Redfish bite has been considerably strong. We’ve been averaging anywhere from 5-15 redfish per day lately...all depends on how long we want to specifically target them. The Mosquito Lagoon is full of fish cruising shorelines and schools tailing on shallow grass flats. The New Smyrna Beach/Edgewater area has seen a lot of fish patrolling mangrove edges and oyster bars. Around Ponce Inlet and the North Indian River Lagoon, giant trophy bull redfish over 20lbs have formed into large schools for their last spawning month of the year. Clean water has returned to the entire area and sight fishing has been really good. Anglers throwing artificial lures, flies and live baits like shrimp or cut mullet have worked extremely well. The great thing about this region is the redfish action never slows, it’s great 12 months out of the year. In fact, it’s only going to get better from now through the winter as schools get bigger and our daily catch numbers will increase to 20+ redfish per day.

We’ve been finding a lot of Speckled Trout lately as they gorge themselves on the mass movement of mullet through our area. Giant gator trout in the 25-30” range have been roaming shallow water early then retreating to deeper edges once the sun gets high. As the water continues to cool off, they will stay in the shallows longer and “lay up” in potholes in the grass flats of both the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River Lagoon. Pigfish, our go to live bait, are still around and they are producing strong catching numbers as we average 15-25 trout per day. Most days have seen us get at least 1-2 trout over 4lbs...with more than a few fish over the past month in the 6-8lb range. Lure anglers have done well throwing crank baits, suspending plugs, and soft plastic jerkbaits. Fly anglers have also scored on several trout lately using shrimp patterns.

The Flounder action is really heating up as many of these fish begin to migrate towards Ponce Inlet. They have been shadowing the scores of mullet moving through the creeks and channels. The first cold front of the year will really set things off. We’ve caught several flounder over the past month on live bait and soft plastics rigged on jigheads bounced around creek mouths, oyster bars and docks along the ICW. Some of the biggest flounder of the year will be caught from now through the end of November. Loads of Jack Crevalle are in the ICW around New Smyrna Beach. They are chasing mullet schools down the channels and later in the day are hanging around docks, shorelines, and seawalls. Most of them are in the 15-20” range and there is a reason they are pound for pound the best fighting inshore fish around...they flat out pull hard regardless of size. Extremely fun to catch because they eat just about anything. Tarpon numbers have thinned dramatically since the beginning of the month. A few weeks ago there were hundreds of them moving through Mosquito Lagoon...lately it’s just been a couple fish here and there. Most have moved out Ponce Inlet and moved down the coastline. The first cold front of the year will move the remaining stragglers and all that will be left for the winter is smaller 5-20lb fish that don’t bite with much consistency.

October and November provide some great fishing and catching during the fall transition time. Don’t miss out on this transition month of fishing. Plenty of good dates open the rest of this month and November. As always 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...





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