Sight-fishing at its finest!! It’s as simple as that. The last few weeks have continued to produce excellent tailing Redfish and Black drum action in some massive schools along the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon flats, backcountry and mangrove shorelines. Most days have been spent casting flies or light tackle at tailing redfish throughout the day. Try using a live shrimp, Riptide realistic shrimp, or live blue crabs of about four inches for some explosive strikes!
Ed with a Mosquito Lagoon Redfish!
As I said in my last report, staying quiet and stealthy is critical to success. The fish are very sensitive to noise or vibration when feeding in a mere 10-12 inches of water! Accurate casts will also prove to be the most productive. When using spinning equipment, make LONG casts beyond your target and work them slowly into the fish’s feeding area. I typically use a 7-1/2 foot medium to fast action rod with a Shimano Stradic spooled with 6-10 pound braided line. I also use a 3-4 foot flouro-carbon leader in 12-20 lb tipped with a 4/0 circle hook.
Pat and Jed with a double hook-up!
Fly fishing also continues to be good using small crab and shrimp imitations on tailing redfish or Black Drum. Successful fly fisherman will need to make spot-on accurate casts with as few false casts as possible. Many people ask me how far should they practice casting? I’d say a minimum of 40 ft, but many fish in the Mosquito Lagoon are caught on fly when making VERY short casts in the 10-20 foot range. Trying not to rock the boat or send any pressure waves as you load the rod and limiting the number of false casts will result in far more more hook-ups. My best patterns this week were the gold tinsel toad and the the dupree spoon fly.
Jed with another Mosquito Lagoon redfish.
The trout bite continues to heat up with the rising temperatures as well. Topwater plugs like the Saltwater chug bug at sunrise or a Riptide shrimp in 3-5 feet of water has been the ticket. The trout are in very good shape considering the harsh winter, always remember to catch & release these fish when possible helping to ensure our fisheries future.
These past two weeks I fished with Steve O., Ron P., Ed & his wife, Jed and Jay, Jim and Mark, and finally Jed and Pat for some great fishing this past Friday! All were a pleasure have on the boat and I look forward to fishing with them again soon.
