Mosquito Lagoon November 2013

Well this November I think was by far the windiest that I can remember in a long time with only a few calm days. This time of year can be slow for guides as people gear up for the Holidays which allows us the guides to fish a little. The few calm days that November offered us me and my good friend Capt. Joe Roberts opted to fish out of our canoes which can be very effective and show you our estuary from a different perspective and allowing us to access areas to shallow for boats and getting us real close to the fish and wildlife.

Our main target was black drum on fly and we new finding them would not be a problem but getting them to eat well………..that’s a different story.

We were able to find a few standing on there heads long enough for me to get a few photos. That would be the only moment all day that we found them relaxed and willing to eat a fly only landed one  from a small group. We switched gears once the sun came up enough and decided to feed other species and the redfish were a little more cooperative and willing.

It had been a while since both of us got to bend a fly rod or stay out from sun up to nearly sun down but with the conditions lately we were taking advantage of this beautiful weather. We did experience some cloud cover during the day as we moved to a different flat and it was making it really tough to spot the black drum that were surrounding us. Joe switched flies tying on a black rattle shrimp designed by a well known fly angler and friend Honson Lau. Still…. seeing the fish was the issue not feeding them. Through the day we had been  seeing some sheepshead but they can be very spooky and picky but we found one that was very aggressive and could not resist the rattle shrimp dancing in his sights. This wasn’t just any sheepshead but Joe’s 1st on fly.

The day was coming to an end and we started to make our way back poling over fish to get home. Joe had a few more shots at some black drum but could not get them to even look at the fly but did entice one more redfish to make our day complete.

A few cold fronts  have moved through Central Florida starting our transition from Fall to Winter but with the super high water we’ve had the conditions have been tough keeping the fish really spread out and unpredictable.A regular client Michael Stringer  and his brother in-law from CT  joined for a day in Mosquito Lagoon.  We had a beautiful start to the morning with high hopes of bent rods.

Putting in work on the push pole and covering lots of water to find the fish was the key. We lost a few nice fish throwing top water plugs and sight casting belly crawling redfish on shorelines with DOA Shrimp that just did not stay hooked up. Finally we got one to stick on a DOA paddle tail!!!

       The sound of wind chimes became common in my neighborhood but did not stop the fish from feeding. Between the mild cold fronts we have been finding balls of tailing redfish up shallow on the flats feeding heavy on shrimp and crabs. Me and Capt. Joe Roberts set out again for a another guides day off product testing lures for a company called Unfair Lures. We met and fished with the owner Paul Van Reenen at the beginning of the year and had some amazing success with his products.The tailing redfish were quick to react to the Unfair Lures Dinkum Shrimp when worked correctly. It works well with a steady retrieve on the surface and when you pause it will sink down into the strike zone. Here is Joe with one of the fish landed this day using Unfair Lures.