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Fishing Reports
Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Forecast
September 30, 2005
Posted by Captain Tom Van Horn
Chuluota, FL 32766 USA
Email: captain@irl-fishing.com
Current Report
Indian River Lagoon Coast
Fishing Forecast, October,
2005
Mosquito Coast Fishing
Charters
Shorter days and cooler
nights, acorns dropping from
my live oak trees and the
love bug hatch are all signs
of fall on the Indian River
Lagoon Coast of Florida.
Another sure sign of fall on
the Lagoon Coast is the
waves of baitfish working
their way south on their
fall migration through the
lagoon and along the beach.
We are currently in the
middle of the fall bait run
consisting primarily of
silver mullet, a tropical
species, with some Atlantic
menhaden (pogies), bay
anchovies (glass minnows)
and black mullet mixed in.
These tasty little baitfish
create a smorgasbord for a
large array of hungry
predators looking to fatten
up for the winter. As the
water cools, waves of bait
move in pulses heading
south, and locating bait
concentrations is the key to
catching fish. Also, October
and November are notorious
for blustery breezes and
nasty weather, but theyre
also one of the best times
of year for angling on the
Lagoon coast, so watch the
weather, pick your days on
the water, and catch-em up.
Weather permitting, near-
shore opportunities are the
best you will see all year.
Along the beaches, target
areas of concentrated bait
schools for a mixed bag of
snook, tarpon, smoker
kingfish, cobia, jack
crevalle, oversized redfish,
and sharks, lots of them.
Also look for schools of
glass minnows to begin
showing up near the latter
part of the month bringing
larger Spanish mackerel,
bluefish, and tarpon with
them.
In and around the inlets of
Ponce, Port Canaveral, and
Sebastian look for flounder,
snook, tarpon, jack
crevelle, and oversized
redfish feeding on migrating
baitfish along the jetties.
Easterly swells and falling
tides can make for sporty
sea conditions when
operating your boat in these
inlets, so pay attention,
stay focused, and enjoy the
rewards. Currently, shore
anglers working from the
beach are catching some nice
snook and redfish by
pitching live finger mullet
along edge of the surf, even
in the dirty water.
In the north Indian River
and Mosquito Lagoons, higher
water levels will allow
anglers to venture into
areas that were inaccessible
during the summer. Look for
slot redfish in close to
grassy edges along the
shoreline shadowing pods of
finger mullet and the larger
breeder reds staging in
deeper water ambush sites
where migrating fingers are
forced to venture out away
from the safety of the
shallow flats. In deeper
water, look for ladyfish and
sea trout feeding on schools
of glass minnows. These
schools are easily located
by watching for bird and
fish activity. When fishing
conditions are favorable,
these schools will produce
explosive action on top
water plugs and popping
flies. Another productive
method is to target these
fish by jigging with Rip-
tides Realistic Shrimp on a
¼ to ½ ounce jig with a
Woodies Rattle inserted.
Also look for pompano
skipping on the lagoon flats
around the Titusville area,
and black drum around the
IRL Bridges.
In closing, I would like to
inform everyone of Coastal
Angler Magazines Third
Annual Indian River Lagoon
Fall Classic Catch-
Photograph-Release
Tournament to be held at
Chowders Restaurant in
Melbourne on the 28th and
29th of October. With an
entry fee of only 50
dollars, this tournament is
open to all anglers
regardless of where and how
you fish, and the anglers
bags presented to the first
200 anglers registered are
worth at least that.
Features eight different
species of fish, this is a
fun event intended to
promote the use, not the
abuse of the IRL, with
proceeds donated to Lagoon
projects. To register, pick
up a copy of Coastal Angler
Magazine or call CAM at 321-
777-2773.
As always, if you need
information or have any
questions, please contact me.
Good luck and good fishing,
Captain Tom Van Horn
captain@irl-fishing.com
www.irl-fishing.com
407-366-8085
407-416-1187 on the water
If you would like to be
added to my mailing list,
please contact me at
captain@irl-fishing.com.
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