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Central Indian River Lagoon
Capt. Ron Bielefeld
April 7, 2002
Indian River Lagoon - Saltwater Fishing Report
Indian River Report - Sebastian Area
As the winds continue to blow, and I mean blow, larger fish continue to hold in shallow water of a foot or so. Reds, trout, and jacks have all been hitting top-water plugs over the shallow grass. When the water is slightly choppy work the plugs slowly with a deliberate action, as the chop increases, increase the action and splash to draw attention to your bait. This is critical to draw the most strikes when you are fishing among large amounts of bait as well. If you have ever been in a feeding frenzy with fish all around you and you can’t seem to buy a strike, try using a bait that draws a lot of attention (i.e., makes a lot of noise). Smaller trout have been hitting jigs with twister tails around island drop-offs and other areas with deeper water and current flow. Tarpon have been active in the Sebastian River late in the evenings. Free-line live mullet in the deeper areas for some exciting leaps and runs. The tarpon should continue to be active in the river for the next few months so take advantage when you can.
As those of you who read my reports on a consistent basis know, I am not one to purport my views on issues very often. I tend to stick with fishing and what is biting at the moment. However, the fact that one of the most important coastal ecosystems in the world is being degraded to the point of possible collapse warrants me saying something in hopes that those of you out there that value the Indian River Lagoon system will take action. Our state representatives and Governor Bush must be told that the continued influx of nutrients and chemicals from development surrounding the lagoon must be greatly reduced or the system will be overwhelmed and die. Signals of this degradation are not hard to find; fish kills, algae blooms, filamentous algae overtake of grass beds, and most recently, an increase in sick and dead dolphins.
If you don’t think the death of the lagoon will impact you because you do not directly use it or use it very much, ask yourself, how many people will want to live around or visit an area whose centerpiece is a cesspool. What will happen to your property value if the lagoon dies? The economic impact would be a loss of more than 700 million dollars a year, not to mention that a major cog in the east coast fisheries production machine would be lost. This loss would negatively affect the fisheries along the east coast of Florida and possibly beyond. Millions of dollars are being pumped into restoring the Everglades and associated Florida Bay system, and rightly so. However, an area of equal importance, the Indian River Lagoon, needs increased support and recognition from the Hill in Tallahassee. Locally, a lot has been done to stem the flow of freshwater run-off into the Indian River Lagoon, but obviously it has not been enough. Money talks and developers have money. However, Mr. Developer, I ask you the same question. What will your development/investment be worth when everything in the lagoon goes belly up and starts to stink?
The ultimate result of inaction is the loss of the Indian River Lagoon. No more fishing, no more swimming, much less enjoyable boating, a loss of land value, and most importantly the loss of an ecosystem with an impact to other systems that we cannot begin to understand. It is up to you. You have the power to change the Indian River Lagoons future. Write your Representative and Governor Bush. Tell them you demand that this situation be research, a comprehensive restoration plan developed, and the plan initiated. I do not want to loose such a precious resource. Do you?
Until Next Time,
Tight-Lines to all
Sincerely,
Capt. Ron
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