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Central Indian River Lagoon
Capt. Ron Bielefeld
December 8, 2000
Indian River Lagoon - Saltwater Fishing Report
It's Winter In Paradise!
This week on the Indian and Sebastian Rivers was typical winter fishing with some windy days and some calm days, some cool days and some warm days. Water temperatures are hanging around the mid- to upper 60’s which is a little cool but not too bad for most species. Accordingly, there was a lot of variety in our catch (if not large numbers) and the fish were using habitat everywhere from deep to only a few inches of water. Trout, and good size fish in the 18” range, have been a consistent catch around and on the flats. Again, no large numbers of fish, but the fish we caught were all beautiful. But hey, aren’t they all! I have been finding fish in skinny water during mid- to late afternoon, and a little deeper early in the mornings. Top-water plugs have produced exciting explosions and the larger fish. Jigs, swimming plugs, and D.O.A. shrimp have produced smaller fish. Fish everything slow, even the top-water.
A few redfish have been cruising the flats and spoil islands in the afternoons. We picked up a fish using D.O.A shrimp and jigs fished very slowly on the bottom. Overall, redfish have been scattered and in singles. Large fish have been difficult to entice.
Jacks and ladyfish were fairly plentiful in deeper areas. They were hitting many different baits depending on the day and situation. Winter is nice because the jacks and ladys tend to be good-sized and super fun on light tackle. Crystal minnows produced the most fish. Flounder have been hit and miss at the Inlet. The bite has been sporadic, but when you caught a fish it was a nice one. We caught all our flounder jigging glitter shads, but a lot of people have been taking fish on mullet and mud minnows fished slowly along the bottom. The outgoing tide has been a bit better than the incoming this past week. No one area of the Inlet seemed to be better. Keep moving around to find the fish.
We took many different species this past week, but not huge numbers. We even boated a couple barracuda on the flats north of the Inlet. Take advantage of the warmer temperatures and calmer conditions when they present themselves and you should do well. On those cold, windy days all you can do is find some sheltered areas and fish. Just remember, you are fishing, so how bad can it be?
Until next week, Tight-Lines everyone.
Capt. Ron.
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