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Central Indian River Lagoon
Capt. Ron Bielefeld
July 31, 2004
Indian River Lagoon - Saltwater Fishing Report
Capt. Ron Bielefeld's Indian River Lagoon Report-Sebastian Area
I am beginning to sound like a broken record, but that is not so bad when the part that keeps getting repeated is what you want to hear. In this case I believe it is, because it is that we are consistently catching fish. Each morning we are putting some nice fish in the boat. Numbers have varied from morning to morning. Some trips we are just tearing them up and others we are getting constant action. The variable that appears to be dictating the catch rate is the amount of bait in the area. Bait is a good thing, don’t get me wrong, but if it is so abundant that you have them jumping in the boat it makes it difficult to get a predator to look at your lowly one or two plugs. Another factor is whether or not we have been able to use the really big plugs or not. If you really want to target the biggest fish, the bigger the plug the better this time of year, especially considering the big trout and snook are eating mullet in the 12 to 14 inch range. Don’t believe it! Well, I have seen it with my own eyes, or I would have a problem believing it myself. This past week the floating grass in some areas has made it difficult to use the biggest poppers and spooks. I use weedless double hooks on the smaller baits when the grass gets bad, but weedless hooks are not available in the larger sizes needed for the larger plugs. So, you have to use the smaller ones that are harder for the predators to locate among all the live bait swimming around in front of their face. If you can, use the largest popper or spook you can find. You will catch big fish!
By far the hottest action has been early in the mornings from 5:30 am to about 7:30 am. The period from 7:30 to 9 am has been fairly productive, but the fish we are catching are smaller and we are catching them in deeper water on soft plastic jerk baits (my favorite as always is the RipeTide Brand in the new penny color) and diving plugs instead of top-water plugs. This is still fun to be sure, but not nearly as exciting and having a big trout or snook inhale your spook and at the same time come completely out of the water. I have yet to find anything like the feeling I get when a 10 + pound snook smashes a top-water plug. A plug I cast in the right spot at the right time and worked just right to elicit the strike. Yes I know, kingfish, dolphin, etc. are fun and fight hard, but catching big snook on light tackle and artificial lures is a real blast in my book!
Another good time has been very early mornings during the full moon period. I am talking midnight to 3 in the morning type of early. A different kind of fishing for sure, but maybe the best time to catch the really big snook because snook are in their element when it is dark.
My suggestions for this week are: work the very shallow water with grass, sand, and bait (not hard to find this summer) very early in the morning until about 7:30 am. Use very large top-water plugs. After 7:30 am move to deeper water on the edges of flats and use soft plastics and diving plugs. Mangroves and docks are good too. Yes, pig and pin fish will work if you just have to use live bait. If you find some tarpon rolling (they have been around at times, just not predictable) it would be good to have some dead finger mullet. Drift the mullet on or near the bottom on a circle hook (5/0 is good for the medium sized fish). After 10:00 am head to the dock. After dark, come back out and fish top-water!
Until next week, Tight-Lines to all.
Sincerely,
Capt. Ron
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