 |
Fishing Reports
Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Forecast
October 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, November
2005
Mosquito Coast Fishing
Charters
Its hard to fathom the
thought of how quickly fall
has arrived, delivering
cooler weather and
exceptional fishing to the
Indian River Lagoon Coast of
Florida. As I sit down to
write this forecast,
countless memories of
outstanding fishing
adventures in November come
to mind. We are truly
blessed to live in a
location where angling is a
year-round activity, and
fall prevails as one of the
most productive times to
fish along Floridas east
central coast. This
November marks the twentieth
year of my familys annual
Thanksgiving pilgrimage to
the city of Sebastian
Florida were we celebrate
our thankfulness for the
many blessing weve
received, and fish for an
entire week straight. This
year, Im just as excited
about our odyssey as I was
the first time I laid eyes
on Sebastian Inlet.
Its the season of the
mullet On the Space Coast,
with waves of black and
silver mullet working their
way south through the lagoon
and along the beach. This
years bait run started
early, and in some locations
finger mullet schools have
thinned out a bit, but good
reports of heavy bait
concentrations to the north
around Ponce Inlet indicate
more is yet to come. Along
with the seasonal migration
of bait come cooler
temperatures and an influx
of predator species seeking
warmer waters and an easy
meal. Large tarpon along
the beach, snook, sharks,
jumbo jack carvalle, and
breeder redfish will all be
present as the feeding
frenzy commences.
As water temperatures cool,
look for cobia and
tripletail to begin showing
up on the Port Canaveral
Buoy line and on flotsam,
both near-shore and
offshore. When you find
weeds and other debris, look
for tripletail to be hanging
just below the floating
structure. Live shrimp and
small jigs tipped with
shrimp work well when
targeting these brim on
steroids. It is also
important to keep the sun to
your back to improve your
range of sight, and to keep
a medium heavy rod rigged
with a one-ounce chartreuse
or white buck tail jig ready
to throw to any cruising
cobia. In some cases
migrating manta rays swing
in close to the beach, each
shadow harboring small pods
of fish. Also, look for the
fall kingfish run to
commence as well as an
occasional sailfish or black
fin tuna on the near-shore
reefs and wrecks like 8A and
Pelican Flats.
November is one of the best
months to target snook at
Sebastian Inlet. In
addition; large flounder and
oversized redfish should
begin to show up on the Port
Canaveral buoy line and in
the inlets and their numbers
will increase as the
flounder begin their seaward
migration out of the lagoon
near the end of the month.
Also, lets not forget the
influx of Spanish mackerel,
bluefish, and black tip
sharks shadowing schools of
finger mullet and glass
minnows along the beach.
On the lagoon, look for
schools of pompano to begin
to form up and move off of
the flats thought the
inlets, and invade the beach
in search of mole crabs
(sand fleas) their favorite
winter food. Currently,
reports of skipping pompano
have been coming from
anglers working the flats in
the north Indian River
Lagoon, and the flats on the
east shore of the Indian
River Lagoon south of
Titusville. Also, look for
large schools of ladyfish,
jacks, Spanish mackerel, and
small sea trout working the
migrating schools of glass
minnows as they move south
through the lagoon in deeper
water and along the beach.
When looking for schools of
glass minnows, watch for
terns swooping down and
touching the water. Terns
prefer to eat live baitfish,
and their activity is a sure
sign to the presents of
feeding fish. Another sign
to look for are pelicans
holding their bills in the
water after diving on bait.
With the small glass
minnows, pelicans must take
the time to separate the
tiny bait from the water
before tilting their head
back to swallow.
Last but not least, weather
is always the determining
factor in November. Passing
cold fronts create a cycle
of blustery winds, heavy
seas offshore, and dirty
water, and they can change a
great day of fishing into a
tough day of catching, So
watch the weather, plan your
trips accordingly, catch-um-
up, and be safe.
As always, if you need
information or have any
questions, please contact me,
Good fishing to all,
Captain Tom Van Horn
www.irl-fishing.com
407-366-8085 office
407-416-1187 on the water
866-790-8081 toll free
If you would like to be
added to my mailing list,
please contact me at
captain@irl-fishing.com.
|
|
Email this link to a friend
Log In