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Mosquito Creek Outdoors Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Foreca

Capt. Tom Van Horn
February 1, 2014
Indian River Lagoon - Saltwater Fishing Report

Mosquito Creek Outdoors Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Forecast, February 2014

By Captain Tom Van Horn


February's Events and Seminars:

Saturday, February 1st - Hook Kids on Fishing Program's Train the Trainer Seminar, 10 a.m. -1 p.m. Come join the Orlando Chapter of Anglers for Conservation (AFC) to learn about becoming a volunteer for the 2014 Hook Kids on Fishing Programs. The AFC Orlando Chapter has five Hook Kids on Fishing Programs scheduled in 2014 and need your assistance. The event will be held in the Outback at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 203 W. First Street, Apopka, Florida 32703 and lunch is catered by Fish on Fire.

Saturday, February 8, 2014 - Free Shad Rally at Lou Anne's Bait House in Geneva, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., on Hwy 46 in Geneva next to C.S. Lee Boat Ramp and Jolly Gator Fish Camp. "Free Seminar" instructed by Captains Tom Van Horn, and 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. Visit www.cfshadderby.com for details.

Saturday March 1, 2014 - Hook Kids on Fishing Program at the Apopka Wildlife Festival. The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in conjunction with Birdapalooza at Magnolia Park, 2929 S. Binion Road, Apopka, Florida 32703. Visit www.birdapalooza.com for more details on this event.

Friday March 14, 2014 - Hook Kids on Program at Conrad Academy. The event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon at Conrad Academy, 9580 Curry Ford Road, Orlando Florida, 32825

Saturday April 5, 2014 - Hook Kids on Fishing Program held in conjunction with the Mosquito Creek Outdoors Kids Fishing Day. The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Ave., Apopka, Florida 32703.

Saturday April 12, 2014 - Hook Kids on Fishing Program supporting the Kids Fishing Xtravaganza. The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Lake X at the Kenneth Kirchman Foundation facilities, 7555 Old Melbourne Highway, Saint Cloud, Florida 34771

Saturday May 17, 2014 - Hook Kids on Fishing Program with the City of Casselberry's Fun Family Fishing Day. The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Secret Lake Park, 200 North Triplet Lake Drive in Casselberry, Florida.


February's Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Outlook

As winters go here in Central Florida, this has been a cold one. Average water temperatures thus far in the Lagoon have been in the mid 50's. On the positive side the cool down has been gradual and the fish are becoming acclimated to the cold and as long as the temps stay above 50 degrees, we shouldn't see any significant fish kills. Although the weather has been cold and nasty on the Indian River Lagoon Coast of Florida, we have great fishing ahead of us in the spring.

Inshore on the saltwater flats of the Mosquito Lagoon, good numbers of redfish and black drum have been easy to locate when conditions are calm and sunny, but getting them to eat has been challenging. On the sunny mornings, it is not uncommon to find redfish and trout holding in the sandy potholes within the shallow flats where water temperatures raise faster. Additionally, warming water temperatures combined with sunny spring days and crystal clear water make February one of the best months to site fish for redfish, sea trout, and black drum on the lagoon flats. Also, now is the time to target tailing black drum in the Banana River Lagoon "No Motor Zone". As we move further away from our extreme cold events, the redfish and drum should begin to feed more readily.

Offshore, kingfish are still available along the inshore reefs and wrecks, and they will remain there as long as the water temperatures are favorable. When targeting kingfish this month focus your efforts on the areas of 8A Reef, Pelican Flats and Bethel Shoals to the south for best results. 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 tough to find this time of year, so always carry a box of frozen Spanish sardines with you as backup.

Near-shore, tripletail concentrations should improve along the Port Canaveral buoy line and under floating weeds and structures, and cobia will move in shadowing manta rays if the surface water temperatures reach the upper sixties. Now is also the time for beach anglers to target pompano, bluefish, weakfish, small black drum, sheepshead, Spanish mackerel and whiting in the surf.

On those windy days in February it is a great time to check out those freshwater fishing holes on the St Johns River. Currently, the American shad run has been good, but not on fire. The shad run has been slower this year, but my best fishing last year was on the 15th of February, so it's too soon to judge the magnitude of the run this year. This past week, the best reports of shad came from the Puzzle Lake area to the south and Mullet Lake stretch of the St Johns. Our average day has been running around a dozen fish, so I'm hoping it will improve. Lastly, there have been issues with the new HWY 50 launch site collapsing back into the river, so you may want to check things out at that location before launching.

As always, if you need information or have any questions, please contact me.

Good luck and good fishing,

Captain Tom Van Horn
www.irl-fishing.com
[email protected]
407-416-1187

Visit www.mosquitocreek.com for all of your outdoor equipment needs, it's where your adventure begins!

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Light tackle saltwater fishing guide service on Florida's east central coast. Come fish the Mosquito Lagoon, the Indian River Lagoon and the Banana River Lagoon for redfish, sea trout, snook, tarpon and much more, all less than one hour frome the Orlando theme parks.

Contact Info:

Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters
540 Lake Lenelle Drive
Chuluota, FL 32766
Phone: 407-416-1187
Alt. Phone: 407-366-8085
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