Indian River Lagoon Coast of Florida Fishing Forecast October
Capt. Tom Van Horn
October 2, 2014
Indian River Lagoon - Saltwater Fishing Report
Indian River Lagoon Coast of Florida Fishing Forecast October, 2014
by Captain Tom Van Horn
Events and Seminars
October 10th-19th -Third Annual SPACE COAST SURF FISHING TOURNAMENTLearn more by going to:www.AnglersForConservation.org.
Monday October 13th - 6:30 to 9pm - Central Florida Offshore Anglers Association's Annual Bait Rigging Seminar. The event will be held at The American Legion Hall, 1912 Lee Road, Orlando. This free event features seminars and hands on bait rigging stations. I will be doing a seminar on rigging up for the American shad season. For more details on this event contact Jeff Page at 407-353-0120 or visit their website at
mycfoa.com
.
Saturday October 25th - Safe light to 3pm - UCF Reel Knights presents the First Annual Bass Fishing Tournament. The event will be held at Big Toho Marina and all proceeds will go to support the UCF Collage Bass Fishing Team. For more information or to register for this tournament contact Neal Lazarus at 407-383-4223 or
[email protected]
.
Thursday October 30th - 6:30 to 8:30 pm - 2015 Shad and Crappie Derby Kick-off Meeting
The event will be held at Gander Mountain in Lake Mary, Florida. For more details on this event visit http;//www.faceboob.com/cfshadderbt
Saturday November 1st - 4 to 10pm - Afternoon on the Lagoon
Fire Fighter Cancer Benefit held at Cracker Jacks Tiki Bar Max Brewer Memorial Pier, Titusville, Florida Come and enjoy cocktails for cause and help raise funds for local sick and injured fire fighters.
Saturday November 22nd - AFC Gumbo Wars held at Fish on Fire Restaurant, 7937 Daetwyler Drive, Orlando, Florida 32812. Come out and enjoy all the gumbo you can eat for just 10 dollars and all proceeds benefit Anglers for Conservation Orlando and other youth and children fishing programs in Orlando. For more details go to the
Gumbo Wars Facebook page.
October Fishing Forecast
The Fall Mullet Have Arrived
As hurricane season wanes on Florida's east central coast, a stalled frontal boundary settled in delivering a deluge of rain over a period of weeks creating one of the wettest Septembers in our states history. Despite the lack of summer squalls (hurricanes) in the Atlantic this year, water levels and conditions are very high throughout the Indian River Lagoon system and on the St Johns River and inland lakes.
In Central Florida, fall is not defined by extreme changes in our weather but rather Mother Nature's small adjustments or indicators signaling the transition from summer to winter patterns. Acorns dropping from the oak trees, the arrival of dreaded lovebugs and a northeast shift in our prevailing winds, all marks this transition period setting the stage for our fall mullet run.
Along the beach, look for the silver kings (tarpon), smoker kings (kingfish), blacktip sharks, jack crevalle, and redfish to be shadowing pods of Atlantic menhaden (pogies), thread fin herring (greenies), Spanish sardines, bay anchovy (glass minnows) and silver mullet in close to the beach. Also look for snook fishing in the surf to improve as long as the water stays warm. In and around the inlets, look for Spanish mackerel, tarpon, jack cervalle, and bonita to be working schools of glass minnows on the outside, and snook, redfish, mangrove snapper, and flounder in the area of jetties and other structure.
Angling on the in-shore lagoons will continue to show improvement, with fishing in the predawn and late evening hours being most productive. Look for schools of redfish in the skinny water holding in the vicinity of bait concentration, and target them utilizing smaller top-water plugs. Once the sun gets higher in the sky and the top-water bite slows down, bait becomes your better option. For larger trout, fish live pigfish in close to docks and other structure adjacent to deeper water. In deeper water, look for large schools of ladyfish, small trout, and tarpon pushing schools of glass minnows near the surface. These schools are easy to locate by watching for concentrations of birds, terns and cormorants, joining in on the frenzy, and they are perfect for fly anglers who are interested in the continuous fast and furious action provided by these speedsters. Last but not least, look for pompano schools holding in the shadows of the causeway bridges. Fish jigs tipped with shrimp or sand fleas (mole crabs) along the deeper edges and drop-offs. Lagoon water levels are extremely low, so please use caution when accessing skinny water.
Red on Fly Caught by Captain Chris Myers
The shorter days in September also set the stage for the beginning of our fall mullet migration as the silver mullet begin to form up for their journey south for the winter. Along with this transition, breeder redfish form up for their spawn in the north Indian River Lagoon and inlet passes, as well as the snook in the surf.
In closing, I would like to thank all of you who enjoy angling on Florida's east central coast for your courteous and respectful treatment of the resource, other anglers, and the sport, and encourage all recreational anglers to become part of the solution by being responsible and respectful anglers.
As always, if you have any questions or need information, please contact me.
Good luck and good fishing,
Captain Tom Van Horn
Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters
[email protected]
www.irl-fishing.com
407-416-1187
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