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

September 23, 2014

Well the kids are back in school which means we are in the fall transition on the inshore waters around New Smyrna Beach, Ponce Inlet and the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River. The annual fall bait run is underway and we’re only a couple weeks away from the first cold fronts of the year. In terms of fishing, this means fish are eating well before the baitfish thin out. The best bet this time of year will be redfish; including big trophy bull reds spawning in the Indian River Lagoon and at Ponce Inlet. Next best option will be Tarpon in the ICW around New Smyrna and in the ocean just off the beaches and around shrimp boats. While those are the two best options, there are also good numbers of speckled trout and black drum in the Mosquito Lagoon as well as snook in the deeper tidal areas. I have good openings scattered through the remainder of this month and October.

Redfish action continues to be great in the Mosquito Lagoon. Higher water levels have the fish scattered over grass flats and bar edges for fish in the 5-10lb range. We’re finding good success casting pigfish and free-lining live mullet as well as throwing spoons, topwater plugs, and soft plastics. Most days we’re still catching 5-10 redfish. In the North Indian River Lagoon and at Ponce Inlet we’re catching giant bull redfish in the 20-40lb range that are schooled up to spawn. This is generally one of the easiest times of the year to get them on lures. This will go on for the next month before they scatter and become tougher to find. It’s not uncommon to catch 10-20 of them when the weather conditions or tides are right.

This is about the last month of the year we can target large adult Tarpon before the migrate south for the year. Right now they are gorging on baitfish in the ICW around New Smyrna Beach and Ponce Inlet, and in the ocean along the beaches and around shrimp boats. Many of these fish will go well over 100lbs. After they are gone we’ll still find fair numbers of small babies in the 5-10lb range in north end of the Indian River Lagoon. In addition to finding tarpon in the ocean, we’ll find loads of Sharks. There’s never a slow day when we get out there, we just need calm enough seas and winds to allow for running a flats boat around.

In the Mosquito Lagoon we’re also catching a lot of Speckled Trout and finding a lot of scattered Black Drum. Trout are congregated around the migrating schools of mullet and we’ll generally catch a lot of them with some upwards of 8-10lbs. Otherwise it’s lots of school size trout in the 12-18” range. Live bait like pigfish, croakers, and live mullet are a ticket for guaranteed success. Otherwise we can throw topwater plugs and soft plastics. There are a lot of Black Drum again scattered throughout the souther half of the Mosquito Lagoon. Typically we don’t spend much time fishing for them unless everything else is slow. But cut crabs and live shrimp will produce quick catching. There are also Snook here and there around the Titusville area and around the docks in and around the New Smyrna Beach area. These fish will hang around for the next month or so before they start working their way back to spots they’ll hang out for the approaching winter months.

Still have good days open in September and October but I’ll be in Louisiana for 10 days in October to fish the IFA Redfish Tour championship. I take short notice trips 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.