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Indian River Lagoon
Capt. Tom Van Horn
May 9, 2005
Indian River Lagoon - Saltwater Fishing Report
Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report, May 8, 2005
Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report, May 8, 2005
Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters
For the past week, fishing conditions on the Lagoon coast of Florida have remained tough. Blustery breezes and overcast rainy skies have prevailed, making inshore sight fishing difficult. Although my lead into this report may sound ominous, four of my five charters this past week produced quality fish.
On Saturday April 30th, I had the pleasure of fishing with Ed Baldind and his fishing buddy Walt from Deland. Faced with a 15 to 20 knot south wind we departing the ramp before sunrise with hopes of beating the weekend crowd to the fish. As civil twilight appeared, we found a tight ball of large tailing reds on the leeward side of the causeway, but we managed only a few good shots before the school was dispersed by seven different boats motoring in on us. We spent the remainder of the charter looking for fish, and ended the day with one 24” redfish caught on the new Red- Red Ripper Spoon, and a 20” sea trout on live finger mullet.
On Sunday May 1st, I was scheduled to fish the Mosquito Lagoon with Quilhan Spearman from Ormond Beach, but we elected to reschedule due to adverse weather in the area.
On Wednesday May 4th, I honored a half-day charter donated to CCA Florida, and was privileged to fish with David Scudder of Winter Springs, Florida. Again we were faced with overcast skies and a strong northeast winds, and we found locating fish difficult. With a little luck and a lot of work, we were granted a brief shot at a school of large reds, and David managed to pull nice 38” copper queen from the school on live shrimp for a brief photo. With David’s trophy to the boat, we opted leave the school and target sea trout. As we drifted off of the flat into deeper water, we found an abundance of small trout willing to play with ¼ ounce Rip-Tide Jigs with Riptide Realistic Shrimp with Woodies Rattle inserts.
On Friday May 6th, I spent the morning scouting fish, and again conditions were windy and rainy. I never found any significant fish, but I did manage 5 sea trout up to 3 pounds on a red and white Skitter Walk. Later in the afternoon, Doc Thurston and his cameraman Pat from Dream Factory Productions Joined me for a few hours of reality fishing, and it was as real as it gets. We started out in late afternoon facing extreme northeast winds and heavy overcast skies, and we never but a fish in the boat.
On Saturday May 7th, I had the pleasure of fishing with Roger Mowray and his son Jay from Longwood, and although the wind was still blowing hard, the sun was shining. Our charter started slow, but we ended the day on a significant school of redfish. Roger was the first to strike with a nice 39” copper queen, and Jay soon followed with two nice 38” reds. All fish were taken on live shrimp and cut ladyfish.
In closing, I would like to invite you to a free seminar on the “Top Ten Soft Plastic for Inshore Saltwater Applications”, to be held at Boaters World in Altamonte on May 12th at 6:30 PM. If you recall, many of you responded to a survey I conducted on the topic, and the results were published in Coastal Angler Magazine last January. Also, free samples of soft plastic baits will be available while they last.
As always, if you need information or have any questions, please contact me.
Good luck and good fishing,
Captain Tom Van Horn
www.irl-fishing.com
407-366-8085 office
407-416-1187 on the water
866-790-8081 toll free
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