Capt. Joe Porcelli
October 24, 2002
Mosquito Lagoon - Saltwater Fishing Report
This weather is the nicest it has been for quite some time. The temperature has dropping down to a cool 70 degrees in the morning and the highs have been about 85. The reds and trout on the flats of the Mosquito Lagoon have been a lot calmer as well. Jeff Stalinga and his wife Tammy joined me for a half day on the flats and got to experience sight casting at close range. The wind was blowing a little that morning and it made for a nice drift across the flats. The chop on the water gave us a narrow window of sight and the fish would be close to us before we would toss a finger mullet in their path. Boy the eyes got large on Tammy’s face when she got to witness the reds busting our baits fifteen to twenty feet from the boat. Sometimes the reds would have to make as many as four attempts to catch the live finger mullet. Some of the reds would launch three quarters out of the water to inhale the baits. I kept saying if I only had a hat cam the footage would be awesome. We ended up with quite a few reds on the score board but the trout were a little sluggish.
We saw four or five that were gators by any angler’s standards. Jacks and ladyfish are still in the river along with the occasional snook. Some anglers are taking some black drum in the river but I have not been fishing for them. Mangrove snapper are also in the rocks along the channels edge.
