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Central Indian River Lagoon
Capt. Ron Bielefeld
March 1, 2003
Indian River Lagoon - Saltwater Fishing Report
Capt. Ron Bielefeld's Indian River Lagoon Report - Sebastian Area
The weather continues to be a frustrating factor. Although it has warmed up, the winds and periodic rain have made fishing difficult at times. Well, that’s February and March in Florida. When the conditions have allowed, the trout and reds have been active over the shallow flats. This morning we boated 10 trout and 2 reds between 6:30am and 10:00am. All of the fish were over 16 inches, with two of the trout being over 5 lbs and one around 8 lbs. You can’t scoff at that! This is proof that the large female trout are starting to feed more heavily on the flats as they prepare to spawn. Please, release any large trout you catch. These large fish are the productive females. They lay the eggs that become the future 10 pounders. If you kill these fish you are killing our future fishing. The reds and trout took Chug-bugs and small jerk baits fished in about 2 ft of water. Look for bait activity and diving birds in shallow water to target the best areas to fish. Water levels are still low, so be careful when you venture onto the shallow flats. Use a trolling motor or push pole to move around on the flats, or drift onto and across the shallow areas you want to fish. This will not only spare your equipment and the flats from any damage, but it also will allow you to get much closer to the larger fish. Big trout are the spookiest fish on the flats. To consistently catch the fish over 5 lbs you must approach quietly. I use long casts with the wind to give me an advantage. Long casts can be the key.
Tip of the week – don’t let the strong winds keep you from fishing. Winds up to 20 mph are fishable in the Sebastian area. No, these conditions are not optimal, and you must take greater care in navigating, but there are productive areas to fish out of the wind. Moreover, you can drift the flats. The very shallow water does not support as choppy of conditions as the deeper water. Lastly, the choppy conditions allow you to get closer to fish because of the added noise made by the waves.
Until next time, Tight-Lines to all
Sincerely,
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