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

April 7, 2012

While April is normally regarded as a spring time month, fishing over the past few weeks has functioned more like a summer pattern. That’s understandable considering it’s been 80-90 degrees daily for weeks now. Water temperatures have in turned push towards the 80 degree mark. Baitfish have flooded the region; there are loads of mullet and pinfish in the shallows and it’s only a matter of days before pigfish and croakers become available. Tarpon have gotten much more active lately, small fish in the 20-30lb range in deep water. GIANT 20-40lb redfish have grouped up everywhere in both Lagoons with several schools of 50-150 fish. Speckled trout fishing has been extremely good, with daily catches of multiple fish in the 4-6lb range as well as numerous other trout in the 18-24” range. There’s no shortage of places to find any of the above species in the Mosquito Lagoon or the North Indian River Lagoon, it only depends on what your preference is or what you would like to target.

Speckled Trout fishing has been spectacular over the past month. There’s no shortage of baitfish like mullet around the region and trout have been shadowing them closely. The most recent full moon had egg laden big females schooled by the dozens and feeding aggressively. We landed 5 fish in the 6-9lb range in the past month, with the biggest being a 9.25lb’r (a fish we sightcasted). Also during the past month we landed numerous fish in the 4-5lb range; in the past week alone we’ve caught nearly 15 trout over 4lbs. The great catching on those big trout doesn’t include the numerous numbers of smaller 18-24” fish we landed. We’ve done all of that in a variety of ways, catching them on lures, flies, and live bait...which means regardless of skill level, everyone gets in on the solid catching action. Live mullet and shrimp have been the best producers for live bait. Lure anglers throwing soft plastic shad style jerkbaits and/or Mirrolure or Sebile suspending plugs have done very well. Fly anglers have enjoyed the best results with seaducers and half-n-half clouser minnows. Now the best part, the trout fishing is only going to get better over the next couple months!

The best action for Redfish has been on the GIANT ones. There are pre-spawn schools forming all over the place in both the Mosquito Lagoon and North Indian River Lagoon. Most schools have 50-150 fish in the 15-40lb range. You need good weather conditions (light winds/clear skies) for the best results, and when we’ve had it, we’ve caught several each day. Live shrimp have been the preferred live bait choice and has resulted in guaranteed hook-ups on trophy bull redfish. Fly anglers have connected on these bigguns using shrimp patterns. A recent guest hooked 6 big reds on fly in a two day span over 15lbs, including a world class fish that weighed over 40lbs. In the shallow waters, schools of smaller 5-10lb redfish have continued to break up and scatter into small groups and singles. We’re sight casting tailing fish in the grass and laid up fish on oyster/shell beds and slough/creek edges. The average has been 5-10 redfish per day, depends on how much we want to specifically target them. We’ve done well with spoons, suspending plugs, and soft plastic shad style baits. When we throw bait at them, some times they want live mullet or pinfish, other days they want live shrimp, so we adjust accordingly. Fly anglers have done well with one of a couple shrimp patterns or clouser minnows.

Warmer water temps are getting the Tarpon more active. Prime tide opportunities to get a bite on these 20-30lb fish are limited. Things will steadily improve for them over the coming months, especially as they move more into the Lagoons. Bigger ocean moving fish over 50lbs will come into the area by next month and will move into our backwaters during June. Still seeing a couple small schools of Black Drum in the Mosquito Lagoon and the North Indian River Lagoon, but haven’t really spent any time fishing for them. Judging by the numbers of small Snook I’ve caught in my castnet during the past two months, we’re poised for a nice comeback in snook population that’s was critically damaged during the big freeze 3 years ago. It’ll take 1-2 years for these little ones to grow. I’ve heard from some friends that have seen and caught some this spring, but I’ve had no time to check my preferred snook fishing spots yet this year. Should have something to report though by the end of April.

April is going to be another busy month, limited dates remaining. May and June dates are also booking quickly as people make summer plans. Judging by the numbers of fish we’ve seen so far this year, it’s going to be a great summer fishing season! 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.