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Fishing Reports
Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Forecast
September 28, 2006
Posted by Captain Tom Van Horn
Chuluota, FL 327866 USA
Email: captain@irl-fishing.com
Current Report
Indian River Lagoon Coast
Fishing Forecast, October
2006
Mosquito Coast Fishing
Charters
Shorter days and cooler
nights are a sure sign fall
is in the air along
Floridas east central
coast. Another sure sign of
fall is the waves of
baitfish working their way
south through the lagoon and
along the beach as the fall
bait run commences. Hordes
of black and silver mullet,
Atlantic menhaden (pogies),
thread fin herring
(greenies), and bay
anchovies (glass minnows)
have begun their southerly
migration in search of
warmer waters. This
migration creates a
smorgasbord of yummy little
baitfish, shadowed by a
large array of hungry
predators looking to fatten
up for the winter.
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, kingfish,
cobia, jack crevalle,
oversized redfish, and
sharks. Additionally, snook
fishing in the surf will
improve as the baitfish move
south along the beach. Also
look for schools of glass
minnows to begin showing up
bringing larger Spanish
mackerel, bluefish, and
tarpon with them.
In and around the inlets of
Ponce, Port Canaveral, and
Sebastian look for flounder,
snook, jack crevalle, and
oversized redfish feeding on
migrating baitfish along the
jetties and just outside the
inlets. Easterly swells,
falling tides, and
aggressive anglers can make
for sporty angling
conditions, so please pay
attention, be patient, and
enjoy the rewards.
In the north Indian River
and Mosquito Lagoons, higher
water levels will allow
anglers to venture into
areas normally inaccessible
during the spring and summer
months. Look for slot
redfish in close to the
grassy edges along the
shoreline shadowing pods of
finger mullet, and for the
larger redfish staged in
deeper water ambush sites
where migrating mullet are
forced to venture out from
the safety of the shallow
flats. In deeper water
areas, look for ladyfish,
spotted sea trout, jacks,
and tarpon feeding on
schools of glass minnows.
These schools of fish are
easily located by watching
for bird and fish activity.
Once located, these schools
will produce explosive
action on small top water
plugs, or popping bug
flies. Also, if you locate
a school of the larger black
mullet, try fishing spoons
of soft plastic baits deep
under the school. Even
though, mullet are
vegetarians, redfish and sea
trout will often mingle in
feeding on shrimp and crabs
kicked up from the bottom by
feeding mullet.
In closing, October is one
of the best months to fish
on the IRL coast, and I
would like to mention
several worthy and fun
fishing events scheduled in
October. The first is the
Hunt for Reds Tournament
held in Titusville on
October 7th & 8th, with
proceeds going to the
Central Florida Arthritis
Foundation and subscriptions
to Florida Sportsmen
Magazine going to serviceman
overseas. On Saturday
starting at 12pm, local
lagoon experts will conduct
free fishing seminars on how
to target and catch those
slot size redfish, and yours
truly will be kicking off
the classes covering natural
bait techniques. The hunt is
a slot redfish spot
tournament, and for
information on how to sign
up, visit
http://www.huntforreds.com.
The second event is the
Indian River Lagoon Fall
Classic CPR Tournament
sponsored by Coastal Angler
Magazine and Chowders
Restaurant, which is
scheduled on October 20th
and 21st. The IRL Fall
Classic is a fun family
catch-photograph-release
tournament where anglers
target six different species
of fish, and all proceeds go
to Central Florida kids
fishing programs and Brevard
Alzheimers Foundation. For
information on this event
pick up an October issue of
Coastal Angler Magazine or
visit the following link at:
http://www.coastalanglermagaz
ine.com/modules.php?
name=News&file=article&sid=16
2.
Good luck and good Fishing,
Captain Tom Van Horn
Mosquito Coast Fishing
Charters
www.irl-fishing.com
407-416-1187 on the water
407-366-8085 land line
866-790-8081 toll free
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