Mosquito Creek Outdoors Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report
Capt. Tom Van Horn
January 7, 2012
Indian River Lagoon - Saltwater Fishing Report
Mosquito Creek Outdoors Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report, January 6, 2012
By Captain Tom Van Horn
Upcoming Seminars and Events
Saturday January 14th - 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Crappie Rally at Boat Tree Marina Sanford, 4370 Carraway Place, Sanford, FL 32771, (407) 322-1610 www.boattreemarina.com . "Free Seminars" Instructed by Captains Tom Van Horn and Charlie McCullough, "Catching American Shad & Crappie". Event includes seminars, sponsor displays, free lunch, giveaways and a raffle with all proceeds going to Anglers for Conservation (AFC), Hook Kids on Fishing Program.
Saturday January 14th - 10:00 to 12 Noon, Free Introduction to Fly Fishing class at Mosquito creek Outdoors 10: 00 - 12:00, Class is instructed by FFF Certified Instructor and veteran Mosquito Lagoon fishing guide Captain Chris Myers. Located in the Outback section of Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Ave. Apopka Florida www.mosquitocreek.com
Thursday January 19th 6:30 P.m. to 8:30 p.m. "Free Seminars" "Windy Winter Lagoon Tactics" instructed by Captains Tom Van Horn, Chris Myers, located in the Outback at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Ave., Apopka Florida, www.mosquitocreek.com.
Thursday, January 26th - 6:30 to 9:00 p.m., Free Shad and Crappie Fly Tying Event at Orlando Outfitters, 2814 Corrine Dr, Orlando, FL 32808, phone (407) 896-8220. Visit: www.orlandooutfitters.com. Fly tying instruction and seminar by Capt. Beau Osborne. Learn what you need to catch shad and crappie on fly in the Orlando area and see how easy it is to tie effective fly patterns for both species. These tying techniques can also be used to create your own shad and crappie jigs.
Saturday January 24th - 9 a.m. Free Rod Builders Class located in the Outback section of Mosquito Creek Outdoor, 170 South Washington Ave. Apopka Florida www.mosquitocreek.com
Wednesday February 1st - 7- 9 p.m. Apopka Bass Fishing Club meeting at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Ave, Apopka, www.mosquitocreek.com
Saturday & Sunday, February 10th and 11th - The Old Florida Outdoor Festival at the North East Recreational Complex in Apopka, Florida, http://oldfloridaoutdoorfestival.com
Thursday February 16th - 6:30 P.m. to 8:30 p.m. "Free Seminars" "Winter Lagoon Sight Fishing Tactics" instructed by Captains Tom Van Horn, Chris Myers, located in the Outback at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Ave., Apopka Florida, www.mosquitocreek.com.
Saturday, February 25th - 11:00 to 2:00 p.m., Free Shad Rally at the Jolly Gator Fish Camp, phone (407) 349-5554, on Hwy 46 adjacent to CS Lee Park in Geneva, Florida. Visit: www.thejollygator.com. "Free Seminars" instructed by Captains Tom Van Horn, Chris Myers and Charlie McCullough, "Shad Fishing Tactics" Event includes sponsor displays, giveaways and a raffle with all proceeds going to Anglers For Conservation (AFC), Hook Kids on Fishing Program.
This Weeks Fishing Report
The chill of winter finally paid a visit to Central Florida last week with air temperatures reaching into the 30's, leaving a blanket of heavy frost across most of the state on both Wednesday and Thursday mornings. One would think that this chill would have an adverse effect on fishing, but quite the contradictory happened. Yes we did have to break out our winter shorts, drink a few extra cups of coffee and don waders before hitting the water, but the bite was off the hook and the fish were as hungry and happy as they get.
My week started on Friday December 30th where I was honored to spend the day on the NMZ with my good friend Eric Richardson and his father-in-law Thomas. Our goal was to put Thomas on his first big redfish, and as you can see by the photo, it was mission accomplished. Other than the most recent cold snap, the weather has been as good as it gets, and on Friday we had great weather. Friday was a pre frontal 70 degree day with calm conditions and we found large sea trout and redfish holding high on the flat in the sandy potholes. On Friday the sea trout and redfish were abundant, but very spooky, and we finished the day with several over slot redfish and some very respectable sea trout in the 3 to 5 pound range.
As the cold front blew in on Monday, high winds spoiled the fishing for a few days and the 30 degree drop in temperature drove the sea trout off of the flats into deeper water. But, by Thursday the winds had settled to a steady northwest direction between 10 and 15 knots, and the fish were hungry and chewing.
Our adventure began on Thursday morning after the frost melted around 10 a.m. where I was joined by group of new friends and colleagues both experienced lagoon anglers (Captains Chris Myers and John Kumiski) and some new to Florida saltwater flats fishing. Besides being very cold by Florida standards, we were blessed by bright blue skies and a warming day, and the sea trout and redfish were stupid, hungry and happy. As the group paddled on to the first flat, both Chris and John were first to find the fish holding on the drop-off on the outside edge of the flat, and we commenced to wearing them out with John and Chris working the fly and the rest of the group working rootbeer gold glitter 4 inch DOA Shrimp. We rarely find the fish chewing like they hadn't eaten in weeks, as the group landed fish quicker than I could de-hook them, and most of the trout and redfish were very respectable fish in the 3 to 5 pound range.
Another observation is that water levels in the lagoon have dropped significantly and cleaned up some in the past week leaving some sand bars exposed, so please operate your vessels with caution, making sure not to scare the sea grass or damage your boat.
On the freshwater side, the crappie fishing is improving on the St Johns River as the specks should be moving on to the beds with this weekend full moon. The water levels are still a bit on the high side, but steadily dropping, so as the water drops and cools off, look for the shad run to pick up. Lastly, be sure to sign up for this year's Shad and Crappie Derby at one of the ten sign-up locations. Visit www.cfshaddery.com for more details.
As always, if you have any questions or need information, please contact me.
Good luck and good fishing,
Captain Tom Van Horn
[email protected]
http://www.irl-fishing.com
(407) 416-1187
For all of your outdoor needs, visit www.mosquitocreek.com, it's where your adventure begins.
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