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Central Indian River Lagoon
Capt. Ron Bielefeld
November 24, 2000
Indian River Lagoon - Saltwater Fishing Report
Two words describe this past week on the Indian River, windy and cold! In many areas of the state, and the country for that matter, you would not have been able to fish. But that’s the great thing about Inshore fishing on the Indian River, your options may be limited, but you can almost always get out. Our options were limited by the conditions, but we did find a few areas that provided shelter from the elements and were holding some fish. We found larger trout still holding on the flats even though water temperatures were hovering around 60oF in the morning, warming to the upper 60’s in the afternoon. When the wind was not too strong the trout took top-water plugs, and although we did not catch large numbers, we did catch large trout. The largest fish was 27”. This pattern of finding larger fish in shallow water under cold conditions has produced for me over the years. A lot of trout do move to deep water when the water temperature dips, but some stay on or near the flats. More importantly, the fish that stay are the best kind, BIG! So, if you are looking for larger trout in the winter I recommend not giving up the flats when water temperatures drop. You many not catch large numbers, but when you do hook up you will not be disappointed. We also found smaller trout in deeper water around some of the spoil islands. These fish took Crystal minnows and jigs.
Early in the week we spotted several redfish on the flats. These fish were not what I would call small either, and although we did our best to fool them, nothing we offered was on their dinner menu. Jacks and ladyfish were fairly abundant around the flats early in the week. These fish took just about anything you threw at them. As water temperatures dropped through the week, we found large jacks and a few small tarpon moving into the Sebastian River. The tarpon did not cooperate, but the jacks, as they usually do, were more than willing to oblige us. We took numerous fish, with one topping 20 lbs. These fish put up an awesome fight on light tackle, but were somewhat picky eaters. We were most successful with D.O.A. shrimp.
Well, winter is here and with it has come the winds and colder temps. At times these conditions can make it difficult to fish; my advice, just keep plugging away.
Until next week, TIGHT-LINES to all!
Capt. Ron.
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