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Indian River Lagoon
Capt. Tom Van Horn
August 24, 2006
Indian River Lagoon - Saltwater Fishing Report
Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report
Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report, August 24, 2006
Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters
Our typical summertime patterns have settled in, and my adventures this past few weeks have involved more fishing than catching. The charter business is slow this time of year, so most of my fishing adventures involve spending time enjoying the water with my angling friends.
This episode starts on Saturday August 12th with a trip to the Banana River No-Motor Zone accompanied by Doug Olander and Mike Mazur, both editors for Sports Fishing Magazine, which is published here in Central Florida by World Publications.
Our morning started off red hot, when my first cast netted a respectable jack crevalle caught on a chug bug while standing on the shoreline before we even had our boats in the water. Just off shore of the canoe launch, a large school of glass minnows where getting hammered by an assortment of jacks, ladyfish, and sea trout. The bite was so aggressive that Mike actually landed two ladyfish at the same time. Although ladyfish and jack are fun to catch, we soon moved onto the flats in search of some redfish and snook.
The morning started out with a mild breeze from the south, but by the time we reached our destination, it intensified. This development foiled our plans for sight fishing reds, so we shifted to plan “B”, and finished the morning catching numerous sea trout, ladyfish and jacks on top-water plugs and soft plastics.
My next adventure was on Monday afternoon, August 14th, where I was invited to check out the new Freedom Hawk Kayak prototype. Joined by Dave Cameron and Cliff Kunde, representatives of Freedom Hawk, we launched two Freedom 14 kayaks into a stiff south wind. The Freedom 14 is a sit-on-top kayak designed specifically for angling, and its innovative and unique design allows the angler to standup, pole, and fish freely. The aft section is divided into two separate pontoons, and with a flip of a handle, each pontoon rotates 90-degrees and lock in place, providing an extremely stable platform to fish from. Each kayak comes with it own two piece aluminum push pole and leaning post, which are stowed away in the floor of the kayak. The Freedom Hawk kayaks are manufactured in Michigan, and my challenge was to try out the prototype, and make suggestions on adaptations and modifications for shallow saltwater flats angling. As many of you know, I love to fish from my Old Town canoe, but I have to admit that once the Freedom Hawk makes production, you will see several of them attached to my truck rack on the way to the Lagoon.
Freedom Hawk Kayaks: http://www.freedomhawkkayaks.com
On Thursday the 17th, I returned to the Zone with my good friend Larry Carter, and this time, calm morning conditions made for a perfect day. Between the two of us, we caught several quality slot redfish, and a good number of nice sea trout. The highlight of the day was a huge redfish Larry hooked on a bubble gum colored Gulp jerk bait. I wish I could have captured a photo, but after about a 20-minute battle, a huge gator approached quickly looking for a redfish sandwich for lunch, and we elected to break the fish off before Mister Gator had a chance to fulfill his desires.
On the 18th, I had the pleasure of having Captains Chris Myers, and Keith Kalbfleisch join me aboard the Three Quarter Time for a day of tarpon fishing on the north Indian River Lagoon. For several days prior to our trip, Captain Chris jumped several 100-pound plus class fish, and our goal was to put one in the boat on light tackle. Well, as fishing goes, Captain Chris put us on fish, but we couldn’t manage a serious strike. After playing with the tarpon for several hours, we moved onto the flats. Soon, we located a good number of redfish, but we still came away with the same results, stinky!
On Sunday the 20th, I returned to the Zone accompanied by Jay Harrington and his friend TC. Jay is the owner of the Fish on Fire restaurant in Orlando, and if you are ever in the mood for some great chow and music, look him up. Again, we started off great by locating a school of tailing redfish with Jay scored a nice slot fish, but again, a steady south wind kicked up spoiling our sight fishing plans. Despite the breezy conditions, we still managed three slot redfish, several hefty jacks, and some nice sea trout.
Last but not least, if you would like to introduce a child to fishing, or maybe just improve their skills, Coastal Angler Magazine’s Hook Kids on Fishing program will be conducting a free kids fishing clinic, on Saturday August 26th from 9 to 11am at Kelly Park on Merritt Island. This program is conducted with the support of lagoon volunteers, and sponsored by Bass Pro Shops and the Florida Guides Association. All kids must be accompanied by an adult, and if you need more information, visit the CAM website at www.coastalanglermagazine.com or contact me and I will hook you up.
Also, on another important note, remember snook season opens on September 1st, yum yum!
As always, if you need information or have any questions, please contact me.
Good luck and good fishing,
Captain Tom Van Horn
[email protected]
www.irl-fishing.com
407-366-8085 land line
407-416-1187 on the water
866-790-8081 toll free
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