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Indian River Lagoon
Capt. Tom Van Horn
March 5, 2006
Indian River Lagoon - Saltwater Fishing Report
Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report
Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report, 3/5/06
Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters
Fishing this past week on the Indian River Lagoon Coast has been hot and cold, based on weather conditions and fish attitude. Early in the week, on Sunday the 26t,h, a strong cold front pushed in bringing gusty winds and high pressure with it. These circumstances make sight fishing on the flats tough and the results of Mondays fishing adventure was proof of that.
On Monday, Tom Mathis and Ange Sireno from Shakespeare joined me for a day of fishing in the Banana River Lagoon, and as mentioned earlier, we faced windy conditions and uncooperative fish. We covered a lot of water, and we did briefly locate a school of tailing black drum, but when all was said and done, we only managed two sea trout, one of which was a respectable six pounds.
On Tuesday, I was privileged to speak on spring fishing opportunities at the Florida Sports Fishing Association meeting in Merritt Island, and I must say, this is an outstanding angling organization devoted to the protection of the resource, and enjoying the rewards angling provides. They are a well-organized group devoted to the sport, their community, and the resource, I encourage anyone with the desire to share or learn about what our offshore waters have to offer, check this organization out at http://www.fsfaclub.org
On Thursday, I ventured north to Ponce Inlet to fish a 4-hour group charter headed up by Captain Fred “the Fish Guy” Roberts, and again weather and sea conditions were not conducive to catching. We picked up our anglers at 0800, and the rising tide resulted in only bluefish. We caught bluefish outside the north jetty, inside the inlet cut, in the backwater creeks, and in the canals aroung the docks. It was just a bluefish kind of day.
On Friday, I returned to the Banana River, joined by my good friends Mike and Karen Cassidy, and Mike’s Father Richard, and finally the fish gods smiled upon us. Our goal was to put Richard’s photo on the family wall of fame, and a 28-pound redfish was needed to do so. The day started out real slow, as we faced refusals from a good number of tailing black drum early in the morning. After about an hour of frustration, the drum moved off of the flat and then dissipated, and we spent at least two additional hours looking for them. Fearing another tough day faced us, I decided to head back to the ramp and soak some blue crab in a few spots on the way. Upon reaching a long sandbar, we decided to stake out and fish the deeper edge, and our efforts were rewarded with 9 redfish from 15 to 36 pounds, and a 32 and 34 pound black drum. I know soaking chunks of crab isn’t the most sporting way to catch redfish, but sometimes you have to do whatever it takes to catch fish, and in this case, the bite was continuous, and we left the fish chewing around 4pm. By the way, Richard made the wall of fame with a 29-pound redfish.
Karen’s 34 pound black drum caught on blue crab.
Mike’s 36-pound redfish.
Mike and his father Richard display Richard’s 29-pound redfish.
As always, if you need any 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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