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

February 6, 2014

2014 is off to a tremendous start. Despite us being in the middle of winter, much of the fishing during the past few weeks resembles an early spring pattern. We have been finding and catching lots bull redfish over 20lbs, black drum over 10lbs, lots of speckled trout, lots of small snook, and fair numbers of pompano. Sight fishing has been awesome in the Mosquito Lagoon with crystal clear water, but the North Indian River Lagoon remains on the dirty/cloudy side. The weather has produced cold and windy conditions around fronts, but other days have been warm with light winds. Catching has been solid with numerous big fish brought to the boat, and many days producing slams of 3-4 different species (redfish, trout, snook). I’ve been swamped with charters to start 2014 and we’re heading into the busiest half of the year. In fact, I only have a few openings left in February and March. So don’t wait till last minute to schedule something with me or I might not have availability.

Redfish have been our primary target for most of January and February. I typically don’t start checking for bull redfish in the Mosquito Lagoon or North Indian River Lagoon till next month, but there are a few schools of 50-100 redfish in the 15-30lb range already out and about. Catching has been remarkably good, with 5 or more caught and landed each time we’ve fished them. Even more schools of big redfish will show up over the next couple months. On the shallow grass flats in the Lagoons, we’re sight casting big schools of redfish in the 5-10lb range. Some schools contain hundreds of redfish. With all the warm weather lately, they’ve been scattering and tailing during the mid-day hours. Catching has been consistent with daily averages in the 5-10+ range on live bait and lures like DOA shrimp, Aqua Dream spoons, and soft plastic GULP baits.. Fly fishing has been a little tougher because of water clarity, fog, and cloud cover but we’re still getting a few takes.

There are so many big Speckled Trout in the Mosquito Lagoon it’s ridiculous…easily the best it’s been since 2008. I’ve seen a couple flats that have trout bunched up into schools of 200-300 trout over 20 inches. There are other areas that have 50-75 big trout over 5lbs laid up in sand holes. I’ve come across a dozen trout in the past month that will approach the 15lb mark…it’s been nothing short of phenomenal. As warmer weather continues to stick around longer, the trout bite is going to be epic. Live mullet will produce quick and trophy size fish results. Mirrolure suspending plugs and soft plastic shad style baits like DOA Cal’s or GULP are working when casting lures. Fly fishing is much, much tougher.

Snook fishing continues to be epic. We’re still catching 10-20 a day in only a short amount of time. Nothing super in terms of size with nearly all the snook being in the 10-25” range. But when it’s cool the big ones are lethargic and smaller ones are eating baits before big ones ever have a chance. Most guides and anglers only think of snook fishing as a summer event, but this is our peak time of year as they are schooled in the same areas. Live shrimp, DOA shrimp and small paddle tail soft plastics all work.

Black Drum are all geared up for an early spring spawn. There are several schools in the Mosquito Lagoon as well as the North Indian River Lagoon. A few of the schools have 50-100 black drum in the 20-40lb range while other schools have hundreds in the 5-10lb range. Great black drum fishing will continue from now through April. Catching is much easier compared to their redfish cousin (we don’t call them black dummies for nothing). We could catch 25+ a day if we spent hours fishing them. Live shrimp and cut crabs get gobbled up quickly. They’ll also eat dark flies and jigs with soft plastics.

February calendar is nearly full…I have 7 days left open. March calendar is equally as full…I have 9 days left open. April dates are also filling quick. So don’t wait to miss out on what the best few months of the entire year. Short notice trips are available if I have the date open. Call 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…386-212-4931.

Some client catches from the past month...

Bull redfish Indian River Lagoon Bull redfish Mosquito Lagoon Indian River Lagoon bull redfish Mosquito Lagoon bull redfish

Indian River Lagoon black drum Mosquito Lagoon black drum Mosquito Lagoon pompano New Smyrna Beach pompano

Mosquito Lagoon redfish on fly Lagoon Redfish Mosquito Lagoon Redfish Mosquito Lagoon Redfish

Mosquito Lagoon Snook Mosquito Lagoon snook Mosquito Lagoon speckled trout
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