Indian River Lagoon
Capt. Tom Van Horn
October 22, 2003
Indian River Lagoon - Saltwater Fishing Report
Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report
Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report, October 22, 2003
Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters
You’ve got to love the fall mullet run on the Indian River Lagoon Coast. It’s the time of year when the cold fronts begin to push their way into the sunshine state bringing cooler breezes and hordes of baitfish, primarily finger mullet, moving south along the beach and through the lagoon. One thing to keep in mind is these schools of bait migrate in waves working their way south shadowed by hungry predators, so don’t expect them to be in the same location everyday. One day you can walk on them with cement boots, and the next they are nowhere to be found.
This past week, Three Quarter Time, my trusty flats skiff called in sick, so I was obliged for the opportunity to fish with members of the Florida Guidelines Consortium, on a three day three boat charter. Our objective was to support an outstanding group of seven experienced angler from across the country headed up by Jerry and Bob Goldstein. The guides selected for this tour were Captains Rodney Smith, John Kumiski, Billy Bright, Shawn Foster, and myself.
We started our adventure at Sebastian Inlet on Sunday and as usual the weather guys was way off base. They predicted a twenty percent chance of rain, and a gentle breeze from the north at five to ten knots. Instead, we faced a stiff northerly flurry of fifteen to twenty knots with heavy squalls moving in off of the Atlantic around noon and lasting the remainder of the day. I teamed up with Bob Goldstein and his friend Tom, and Captain Billy Bright in his new 23’ Hydro Sport. It was clear to see, we were in for a tough day of fishing, but we were determined to make the best of it. Our plan was to target snook on the inside as we faced a stiff falling tide with the tide change expected around noon, and with the seas kicked up, the only vessel venturing beyond the bridge was Sea Tow, eager for some poor sole with engine trouble to come floating by. After acquiring bait from the lagoon on the north shore, we drifted the edges of the mangroves with no success. Next, we switched to jigs tipped with shrimp, and fished the inside near the monument, again only catching one small gag. Things didn’t liven up until the tide slacked and we moved out just off the south jetty were we did manage to hook-up with some nice fish only to be cutoff by rocks and toothy critters, and then the rains came.
Unable to fish with the group on Monday, I rejoined them on Tuesday fishing again with Captain Billy, Jerry Goldstein and his friends Mark and Dan out of Port Canaveral. We started out netting finger mullet and fishing the end of low tide around the north jetty, but the bite was slow so we headed out towards the bight of the Cape searching for schools of baitfish and Spanish mackerel, which typical show up this time of year. After traversing about three miles, we began to see a good number of birds working a school of Atlantic menhaden (pories), so we stopped and worked the area for about a half an hour. Again, the bite was slow, so Captain Billy loaded the cast net and we were off on a seaward adventure to 8A reef. The trip was a bit arduous, but a solid boat and a tough crew of anglers paid dividends once we reached the fishing grounds. The first fish in the box was a nice 30lb plus blackfin tuna tackled by Mark, and then Dan and Jerry scored two nice dolphins off of a well developed weed line. We were hoping for a little kingfish action, but we weren’t going to gripe at all with the dockside sushi iced down in the box. On our way home we located another nice weed line just outside the shoals, and managed a nice tripletail off a floating pallet. We finished the day catching flounder off of the buoys and some nice Spanish mackerel, which we found hammering schools of showering finger mullet outside the north jetty. If you’re looking for some fishing fun and a great fish dinner, nothing beats the fast and furious Spanish mackerel, which are abundant this time of year. Also, don’t forget to attend the Indian River Lagoon Fall Classic Fishing Tournament at Chowder’s this weekend.
As always, if you have any questions or need more information, please contact me.
Good luck and good fishing,
Captain Tom Van Horn
[email protected]
www.irl-fishing.com
407-366-8085
407-416-1187 on the water
1-866-790-8081 toll free
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