Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report
Capt. Tom Van Horn
March 28, 2014
Indian River Lagoon - Saltwater Fishing Report
This Week's Fishing Report
As you can tell from the above photo, the bass fishing on the St John River has been off the hook this past week as the largemouth have been on their post spawn feed. For me, I love targeting these fish at first light with top-water plugs and DOA CAL Shad Tail plastic jerk baits. The key to locating these fish is to look for busting fish and bird activity and then join in on the frenzy.
On Tuesday I fished with my good friend Paul Towne, and although it was windy and cold, we still caught over 40 bass using DOA CAL Shad, with Paul's largest being 7.5 pounds and we were off of the water by 11 a.m. Typically, schooling bass are smaller fish, but Paul's five fish bag was 26 pounds, and all fish were released after some quick photos to be caught again on another day.
On Friday I had a cobia charter on the books, but which is often the case in March, the winds were up and the seas were 3 to 4 feet which is pushing the limits of safety for my 18-foot Maverick, so we canceled. After canceling my near-shore charter I elected to do some scouting on the Indian River Lagoon, and I was rewarded by good sun and visibility and found several nice schools of slot size redfish, several small schools of black drum and some really nice sea trout up very shallow. I love these solo scouting trips, because I don't even have to pick up a pole. It's just relaxing, looking and enjoying the view.
After seeing all of the fish, I was feeling good about my Saturday charter with repeat clients Andrew and Maureen Pouder and their daughter Katie, but as March would have it, the winds switch from the south at 15 to 20 knots. Expecting calmer conditions in the morning, we opted to start our trip at 6 a.m., which turned out to be a good move as we located a nice school of redfish. Andrew was first to strike with a small sea trout on and Chug Bug, followed by a nice redfish caught by Maureen, and then the wind came making the rest of the day very tough.
Tomorrow and Tuesday I have charters booked, but snotty March weather's forecasted for both days. With these conditions forecasted, my only options we'll be looking for fish in protected waters and keeping it safe.
As always, if you need information or have any questions, please comtact me.
Good luck and good fishing,
Captain Tom Van Horn
[email protected]
407-416-1187
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