Summer Night Fishing for River Monsters
Capt. Tom Van Horn
April 26, 2011
Indian River Lagoon - Saltwater Fishing Report
Mosquito Creek Outdoor's Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report, April 26, 2011
By Captain Tom Van Horn
Upcoming Seminars and Events
Saturday April 30th Free Hook Kids on Fishing Program
10:00 - 12 Noon Hook Kids on Fishing Program
Mosquito Creek Outdoors and Anglers for Conservation presents a free fishing kids seminar. After completing five learning stations all kids will receive a free fishing rod and tackle box (limited to the first 100 kids registered. Located in the Outback at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Ave., Apopka Florida, http://www.mosquitocreek.com
This Weeks Fishing Report
Summer is arriving on the heels of spring and the wings of the love bugs. As the weather heats up on Florida's Space Coast, so dose the fishing on all fronts, near-shore, inshore lagoons and the St John's River.
This past week I had opportunities to fish in the Indian River Lagoon and the St. Johns River and here are the results:
My first charter was an early morning trip to the north Indian River Lagoon with Thrish and Bruce Reid from Orlando, and my plan was to work the flats throwing top-water Storm Chug Bugs and Rapala Skitterwalks, and Bruce was rewarded with two respectable fish. The first was a hansom 36-inch redfish followed by a 26-inch seatrout. Along with these two fish came an assortment of slot seatrout which Thrish and Bruce took home for dinner.
My next adventure was a night fishing trip with my good friends Scott and John. As summer heats up, I often fish at night to avoid the heat. I've learned over the years that fishing in the darkness of night often results in more quality fish and a more enjoyable experience as long as you can tolerate the mosquitos. The conditions are usually cool and quite, there are no boats on the flats to compete with, the fish are happy and hungry after being chased all day by impatient anglers, and the sky is full of constellation and shooting stars.
Other than fun and adventure, this mission's goal was to take some quality fish photos for and article Captain John has written on night fishing the lagoon for the June edition of Coastal Angler Magazine Orlando, and I would say we accomplished all of our goals, watched a beautiful sunrise and were off of the water at 7:30 am.
After postponing my near-shore charter due to windy conditions and high seas (3 to 6 feet) my next adventure was a bass and catfish trip with my good friend Larry Carter on the St Johns River. By the way, water levels on both the St Johns and the Lagoon are extremely low, so please operate your boat with caution. We launched the boat just as the sky was starting to grow light and soon located a school of busting sunshine and largemouth bass and wore them out on top-water plugs, ending the morning with eighteen bass altogether. The bass were schooled up feeding a
on shad and the bite was over once the sun cleared the horizon.
Lastly, we have the final launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour scheduled for Friday afternoon, so all of the security zones are in place including the south end of Mosquito Lagoon. God's Speed Endeavour!
As always, if you have any questions or need help please contact me.
Good luck and good fishing,
Captain Tom Van Horn
Mosquito Coast Fishing Charterwww.irl-fishing.com
(407) 416-1187 on the water
Visit www.mosquitocreek.com for your outdoor adventure needs, it's where the adventure begins.
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