 |
Fishing Reports
Captain Tom Van Horn
January 29, 2007
Posted by Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters
Chuluota, Fl 32766 usa
Email: captain@irl-fishing.com
Current Report
Indian River Lagoon Coast
Fishing Forecast, February
2007
Mosquito Coast Fishing
Charters
As I sit down to write this
fishing forecast, I am
puzzled and mystified by our
current weather patterns.
In first part of January, a
northerly shift in the jet
stream brought about by El
Nino, delivered spring like
conditions to Central
Florida. This warmer and
windier weather not only
confused the fish, but also
the anglers. Our typical
winter fishing patterns
experienced in January
failed to develop
completely, and now back to
back cold fronts could shift
conditions again, so who
knows what lies ahead for us
this spring.
Taking into consideration
how this phenomena has
effected our January
fishing, we can only hope
fishing pattern will
continue to shift more to
spring like, unless Mother
Nature has other plans.
Offshore, kingfish will
still be consistent along
the inshore reefs and
wrecks, and they will remain
there as long as the water
temperature stays above 68
degrees. When targeting
kings, focus on bottom
structure in the areas of 8A
reef, Pelican Flats, and
Bethel Shoals to the south.
Also look for cobia and
amberjack to be present on
the inshore wrecks like the
Carol Lee, Dutch, and Sub
Wreck out of Port
Canaveral. Additionally,
live bait is sometimes tough
to find this time of year,
so always carry a box of
frozen Spanish sardines with
you as backup.
Near-shore, look for
tripletail concentrations to
improve greatly along the
Port Canaveral buoy line and
under floating weeds and
structure, and for cobia to
move in shadowing manta rays
if the surface water
temperatures reach the upper
sixties. As of this
writing, the cobia and rays
have been plentiful near-
shore, but high seas have
kept most anglers off of the
water. As water temperatures
drop, the cobia will most
likely move south or back to
the wrecks, but we will have
to wait for the winds and
seas to settle down before
we can find out.
Now is also the time for
shore anglers to target
pompano, bluefish, weakfish,
small black drum,
sheepshead, Spanish mackerel
and whiting in the surf and
larger redfish and flounder
around the inlets and
jetties. As the water
temperatures cool, the
pompano should move out of
the lagoon and gather in the
troughs along the beach in
search of mole crabs, sand
fleas, their favorite winter
food source.
Moving inshore, the redfish
schools will continue to
develop with slot size fish,
19 to 27 inches, holding in
the shallow flats, and the
larger breeder redfish along
the deeper edges, 2 to 3
feet. When targeting these
schooling redfish, approach
the school as quietly as
possible, and make your
presentation to an area on
the outside edge of the
school. If possible, I like
to try to pick off fish
ranging outside the main
group to prevent spooking
the entire school. These
schools are super spooky, so
if you can keep the school
from running, you will
continue to catch fish.
With redfish, it is
important to get your bait
in front of the fish, and
either soft plastics or
small weedless spoons will
work. Also, when casting
artificial, remember to
downsize your baits in the
winter.
If the weather gets cold, an
early start is not
necessary, so sleep in and
hit the water when sun has
warmed the flats a bit. The
larger sea trout will often
lay in the sandy pot holes
seeking the warmest water
they can find, so target
these sandy spots with small
shrimp imitations baits like
the Riptide Realistic shrimp
fished very slow.
Also, lets not forget the
tailing black drum and
redfish on the Banana River
Lagoon No Motor Zone. This
past week I had the extreme
pleasure of fishing the Zone
with my good friends Captain
Rodney Smith and Rusty
Chinnis, and even with
overcast and windy
conditions, Rusty
accomplished his goal of his
first hefty black drum on
fly, with two slot size
redfish to boot. Rodney also
managed three snooklets
caught in a small feeder
creek, and he missed a big
black drum, and me, well I
did manage to catch three
fearsome puffer fish in a
row on my secret magic
puffer fly.
Last but not least, February
is a great time to check out
those freshwater fishing
holes on the St Johns River,
and inshore lakes.
Currently some good catches
of American shad, speckled
perch, and largemouth bass
are being reported.
February 9,10,11, 17, and
18th;
Bass Pro Shop Spring Classic
Orlando
Coastal Angler Magazines
Traveling Lagoon Booth
10 Saltwater kayak seminars,
seminar times have yet to be
scheduled.
February 19, 2007
Gander Mountain Lake
Mary, Saltwater Kayak
Fishing on Floridas Space
Coast, 7 to 8pm.
March 10, 2007 Mosquito
Creek Outdoors Conservation
Day Event
Apopka Florida
Hook
Kids on Fishing Program
10am 12pm
Free
fishing seminars from 12pm
3pm.
Coastal Angler
Magazines Traveling Lagoon
Booth
April 19, 20, 21st
Coastal Angler
Magazine Boating and Fishing
Expo.
Melbourne, Florida
New
Products Showcase throughout
the event
Braided Fishing Line
Tying Clinic
New
Products Seminars
As always, if you have any
questions or need
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 landline
866-790-8081 toll free
|
|
Email this link to a friend
Log In