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Indian River Lagoon
Capt. Tom Van Horn
April 15, 2007
Indian River Lagoon - Saltwater Fishing Report
Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report
Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report, April 15, 2007
Complements of Mosquito Creek Outdoors, Apopka, Florida
Well, if you have been waiting for a great fishing report, this isn’t it. Over the past week, I fished on three occasions in the No-Motor Zone, the Indian River Lagoon, and the Mosquito Lagoon, and on all three days, the fishing was great, but the catching varied.
My adventures began on Monday when Gary Colton and his son Brent from Detroit joined me for day of fishing on the Banana River No-Motor Zone. I knew where the fish were, and that it would require a lengthily paddle, but I soon learned that Brent was unprepared for the journey. As we reached the halfway point, Brent lost all desire to continue so we finished the day catching some nice sea trout on top-water plugs, and soaking crabs on the deeper edge of the sandbar just offshore from KAR’s Park.
On Wednesday I was scheduled for a double charter, but when my morning client reported sick with the flu, I spent the morning scouting some of my favorite venues on the north end of the Indian River Lagoon. At my first location, I found a school of large ladyfish, and spent about 30 minutes playing tog-a-war with 2 to 3 pound speedsters. I also manager some nice sea trout, all on top water plugs. I spent the rest of the morning looking for large redfish with little avail. At around 2pm, I returned to Parish Park to join up with Gary and Brent again, and although we had some shots at some rather large redfish, we only accomplished some slot size sea trout on Rip Roller plugs. For the most part, the conditions were nice, but once the sea breeze front kicked in, the fat lady started singing.
On Thursday, I made the decision to try the north end of the Mosquito Lagoon, where Joe Koziel and his brother in-law Brian joined me with hopes of catching some slot size redfish. As we pushed up on the first flat, Captain Chris Myers and his party for the day sent an enormous school of redfish our way. The fish were pushing so hard we could see them from a hundred yard away, and as they approached the boat at a high rate of speed, both Joe and Brian had only one shot before the school blew by us and disappeared into the sunrise, never to be seen again that day. This turned out to be the prelude for the day, as we spent the rest of the charter chasing spooky fish. At one point we switched to chunking bait, but our only rewards were a half dozen hard heads, and a sore back from poling into the wind. After covering about six miles on the pole, we called it a day and headed back to the dock.
On Saturday, I was scheduled for another venture into the No-Motor Zone, but with a southeast wind of 10 to 15 knots predicted, we scrubbed the trip. 10 to 15 knot winds do not sound too challenging, but a southerly wind of 15 plus knots can be brutal on the seven-mile paddle home into the teeth of the wind.
Today, I was scheduled to fish, and we all know how that turned out, so I’ve spent the day sitting behind this keyboard catching up on my writing instead of fish.
On a side note, I’m am scheduled to be off the water for the rest of the week in support of the Coastal Angler Magazine Fishing and Boating Expo, where I will join up with Captain Chris Myers as we conduct the Mosquito Creek Outdoors Angler’s Skill Improvement Clinics. Mosquito Creek Outdoors in Apopka Florida has stepped up to the plate by sponsoring six clinics each day, and Captain Chris and I will be covering Braided Line Applications for Shallow Water Applications, Knots, Line, and Leaders, and Rigging Soft Plastics. Also, admission is free on Friday, and discount coupons can be found by visiting: http://www.coastalanglermagazine.com
There will also be some offshore clinics and some great seminars, and a hook kids on fishing program on Saturday.
As always, if you need more information, or have any questions, please contact me.
Good luck and good fishing,
Captain Tom van Horn
Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters
www.irl-fishing.com
407-416-1187 on the water
407-366-8085 land line
866-790-8081 toll free
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