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Fishing Reports
Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report
October 22, 2006
Posted by Captain Tom Van Horn
Chuluota, FL 32766 USA
Email: captain@irl-fishing.com
Current Report
Indian River Lagoon Coast
Fishing Report, October 22,
2006
Mosquito Coast Fishing
Charters
Well folks, this weeks
fishing adventures picked up
right where they left off
with hungry fish chewing in
all areas of the Lagoon
Coast. The mullet run is in
full swing, and predator
species were happy and
hungry.
My adventures started on
Monday where Mark Blythe
joined me for what we hoped
would be a day of kayak
fishing in the No-Motor
Zone. When we arrived at
our planned launch site
stiff easterly breezes
swayed our strategy, and
with the yaks still strapped
to the roof of the truck we
headed to the beach.
Operating on good
information, I knew the bait
was thick in the surf, and
our chance for some serious
action was good.
When we arrived at the
beach, the mullet schools
were heavy and tight to the
shoreline and hungry
bluefish and jacks were
busting them as far as the
eye could see. Both Mark
and I selected various top
water plugs, and we were
rewarded with continuous
action for the next six
hours. When it was all said
and done, our best estimate
was at least 50 fish, and at
least 50.00 worth of Storm
Chug Bugs, Rapala Skitter
Walks, Top Dogs, DOA Bait
Busters, and anything else
in the tackle box that
floated and had hooks.
During the mullet run, bait
schools move south along the
beach in waves or pulses, so
it is important to focus on
areas with active bait
schools. If you arrive at
your planned location and
the bait schools are slim,
keep moving. Also, heavy
surf tackle is not a must,
because most of the action
is in close and you never
know what species you will
encounter, so beef up your
line size and leader.
On Thursday, I had the
pleasure of fishing Port
Canaveral in the morning
with Captain Chris Myers,
and our strategy was to
scout the area for my
planned afternoon charter.
We located heavy bait
schools on the sandbar east
of the drawbridge, and Chris
filled the bait well in two
casts. Although we found
heavy bait concentrations in
the back of the port, we
found little or no finger
mullet around the jetties or
along the beach. In the
past, mid October has
produced flounder and
redfish in along the deeper
channel ledges, and we
managed seven keeper
flounder up to three pounds
dragging live finger mullet
along the bottom.
At 3pm, John and Justin from
Orlando joined me and with
plenty of choice mullet
still in the live well, we
headed back out to the ship
channel for another swing at
the flounder. On our
arrival both the wind and
tide had gained momentum,
but both John and Justin
were seasoned anglers whos
efforts were rewarded with
four nice flounder and a
chunky redfish. We returned
to the back of the Port for
some after hours snook
action, but although the
mullet schools were thick
and being worked over by
predators, we only managed
one hefty ladyfish.
On Friday I had an inshore
charter on the north Indian
River Lagoon where I was
joined by Dusty McClung, and
his friends Shadd and Rick.
As we motored away from the
launch at 7am, we
immediately located a school
of hungry ladyfish, and the
top water plug action was
fast and furious for the
first hour. Next, we
motored to a nearby
shoreline and we commenced
to catching slot size
redfish using chunked
ladyfish for bait.
The majority of the redfish
Ive encountered this past
few weeks have been mixed in
with mullet schools very
close to the shoreline.
Most of our fish were taken
in the area of the smaller
mullet, and they were not
concentrated in schools.
Also, the fish seem to be
following bait schools
parallel with the shoreline,
and we experienced our best
results by shutting down the
engine about 500 feet from
the shore, and the poling
into our spot very quietly.
As always, if you have any
questions or need more
information, please contact
me.
Good luck and good fishing,
Captain Tom Van Horn
www.irl-fishing.com
407-416-1187 on the water
407-366-8085 land line
886-790-8081 toll free
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