Capt Chris M

The redfish action in Mosquito Lagoon was outstanding the first couple weeks of this month. With a recent spike in the water level, there have not been near as many redfish but the trout have been plentiful. That will change soon however, and it will be back to great tailing fish action. Tim joined me for his annual trip to Mosquito Lagoon and at the first flat we visited there were redfish tails in every direction. He landed five and had at least that many come unhooked before they began to move out to deeper water. The watermelon holographic DOA shrimp accounted for all the bites. The wind picked up and some clouds rolled in shutting down the sight fishing. Tim switched over to a 3" CAL jig and landed numerous trout off the edges of the flats to finish the day. The following morning, Jerry and Rick were hoping for some redfish to bend their flyrods. They were not disappointed. Again, there were redfish tails in every direction. Using #4 bendback flies in white and gold, they each landed some redfish and had several more bites and follows during an excellent morning of fishing. The following week, I arrived at the Lagoon to a windy morning with temperatures in the low 40's. It is definitely not my kind of weather but the fish did not seem to mind. I did not see tons of fish nor were any of them tailing. The fish I did see, however, were more than willing to bite. Over a dozen reds fell for various color DOA shrimp. Fred and Shan joined me later that week. The redfish provided plenty of shots on the flats and they each landed one on a CAL bait before we elected to do some trout fishing. Using the DOA Deadly Combo kept the rods bent with some catch and release trout action. This past week, I fished with Allen from North Carolina. The water level was nearly a foot higher than it had been the first couple weeks of the month and many of the redfish had vacated the flats. We encountered several small groups of tailing redfish in the morning and Allen landed one using the DOA shrimp. We found an area holding a few redfish and some large trout. Using a holographic 5.5 inch CAL, Allen landed three nice trout and had several more big trout shake free. The final trip of this past week was a challenge. Thick clouds and 20mph winds were not what had been forecast but it is what we got all day long. Sight fishing was next to impossible except for a 30 minute period at the end of the day. The rough water made trout fishing uncomfortable and only a few were landed before we gave up. The weather this holiday week looks to be a bit more stable and will hopefully bring some more of that excellent tailing action we saw earlier in the month. When the fish are tailing, small baits or files work best. Capt. Chris Myers Orlando Fishing Guide

The remnants of tropical storm Nicole are travelling up the eastern coast of Florida bringing plenty of clouds and high winds. By this weekend and early next week, winds of 25-30 knots are forecast. This may have an impact on the water levels in the Lagoons and will certainly make for some dirty water in some areas. The fishing the past couple weeks has been tough. When you can find the fish, they have been biting well. Most of the larger fish are spawning in deeper water. High winds and clouds have made spotting these schools difficult. When you do locate them, ethical anglers catch only a few and move on so as not to disrupt their spawning habits. On the shallow flats, the fish have been widely dispersed and on the move. Some days you find a lot and the next day they are gone. Unlike the past few months, it has been necessary to cover a lot of water during the day. Billy and Donovan drove up from south Florida to sample some Mosquito Lagoon redfish. The day started out great with Donovan hooking a big redfish on his second cast with a gold Baitbuster. The rest of the day was challenging with the shots coming few and far between. We hunted for tarpon for a while seeing only a dozen or so. Billy landed the next two redfish with his Baitbuster. The following day I fished with Mike and John. We spent the morning fishing around the diving birds catching a mix of ladyfish, trout, and catfish on jigs and spoons. As the winds increased, we moved up near the shoreline and ended the catching some redfish including a 47 inch monster landed by John on ten pound line. Mike and Tim were with me on a windy and cloudy day that week. We hit multiple spots but saw very few fish and those we did see were only a few feet from the boat. Not a good day for sight fishing and we left hoping for some better luck next time. Jason had some better conditions the following day and we encountered quite a few redfish on the shallow flats. He hooked some redfish and trout on CAL jigs and landed his biggest fish of the day on a Baitbuster. The fish followed the mullet imitation to within 15 feet of the boat before making and explosive surface strike. Mike and Chris had a tough start to the day with very few fish showing on the flats we visited. During the last hour of the trip, however, they each landed two redfish and a nice trout before some gale force winds sent us back to the ramp. This Monday, British angler Tyson made his first trip to Mosquito Lagoon. His goal was to try some fly fishing for redfish. Our first two stops did not hold any fish. The third flat, however, was loaded with happy reds. Tyson caught his first redfish with an EP style mullet fly. After a few more unsuccessful attempts to reach the fish with his fly, he asked me if he could switch to spinning gear. For the next two hours, he landed numerous redfish using a three inch CAL jig in silver mullet color. Unfortunately, some strong thunderstorms from the tropical system began moving in on us and we were forced to leave the fish. He was able to get a few ladyfish and seatrout on the way back and we arrived at the ramp just in front of the storm. The fall baitfish run will be in full swing during October. When seas allow, there will be some great fishing along the beaches as schools of mullet head south with tarpon, snook, sharks, jacks, bluefish, and other species following them. Inshore, mullet imitations are the way to go. Redfish and trout will eagerly strike surface lures throughout the month. Capt. Chris Myers Orlando Fishing Guide

A sudden rise in the water level of the lagoon system has had a huge impact on the fishing the past week. While the redfish are biting aggressively, the challenge the past several days has been finding them in significant numbers. With lots of areas that have been nearly dry all summer now flooded, the fish have many more places to roam. Most of the fish have moved from the places they have been frequenting all summer long. The high water is cloudy in many areas and the grass which had been piled up along the shorelines is now floating on the surface. The key to catching has been to cover lots of water and be in the right spot at the right time as the fish will certainly bite if you find them. Near the end of last month, Capt. Drew and I took a trip to the Indian River and we found a couple schools of large redfish happily finning on the surface. I hooked several over twenty ponds on both the DOA Baitbuster and BFL 5.5. Capt. Drew caught his giant on a 5 inch DOA CAL. A couple days later, I went up to the New Smyrna Beach area looking for tarpon. I landed one on the BFL and had shots at several more during the morning but the only bites I got were from jacks and bluefish. High winds kept me off the water much of last week but I was back to work Sunday on a trip with Rick and Jackie. The first few hours of the day were tough as we covered a lot of water and saw very few fish. As I continued poling along the flat, we were suddenly surrounded by schools of reds. Jackie landed her first few on the CAL while Rick matched her fish for fish using the Baitbuster. After those fish moved on I took us to another spot and again we encountered a large school of hungry redfish. Both Rick and Jackie used the Baitbuster to land more quality reds including several double hookups. They enjoyed some spectacular surface bites as the reds chased done their lures. You can some of the action in this Dale and his wife joined me on Wednesday. We spent the first part of the day catching ladyfish and then spotted some redfish finning on the surface. On his first cast with a gold Baitbuster, Dale was hooked up with his first redfish ever. The action the rest of the day was slow as the fish were few and far between. Thursday, I fished with Mike and his son Micah. After a bit of searching, we encountered a happy school of giant redfish. Mike got the Baitbuster into them and was hooked up with a monster red. Before we could get one for his son, another boat drove in on us and chased the fish off into deeper water and we never saw them again. As we traveled from spot to spot, we found a few redfish but not in the numbers they have been the past several months. High thin clouds made spotting them difficult and we never hooked another fish. Yesterday was the toughest day of the week. I took Dan and Gary to one of my favorite baby tarpon spots to start the day. It was full of baitfish but the tarpon were nowhere to be found. After catching a couple ladyfish and a small red, we moved on. We hit many spots throughout the day but only one of them held redfish in any significant number. Gary had a red slam his Baitbuster less than five feet from the boat but it came unhooked after a short run. They enjoyed a half hour of nonstop action with ladyfish but never hooked into another red. With high water and the redfish moving around, it will be necessary to cover a lot of water to find the right spot. Nearly everywhere you go, there are huge schools of mullet. Not all of the bait schools are holding fish and having the right glasses will allow you to see into the water so you can tell what you are casting to. With lots of floating grass, topwater plugs are useless in most places. Use a DOA Chughead or Baitbuster if you want some great surface action. Diving birds can signal schools of jacks and ladyfish which can provide some welcome rod bending when everything else is slow. Capt. Chris Myers Orlando Fishing Guide