Mosquito lagoon fishing report – January 2014
This year has been ecellent thus far considering the inconsistent Winter weather we’ve been eperiencing. Some cold fronts have been over a week apart bringing air temps into the mid to upper 70’s and some days in the 80’s and with higher water then normal for this time of the year the fish have been spread out. After the arctic fronts pass the redfish have been dropping off the flats and the big trout that stayed up shallow just refused to eat.
Only a few large schools of redfish have stayed together this winter despite the irregular water temps and levels.The fishing has been great and with some what of a mild winter they’re has been a lot of bait fish present on the flats giving the redfish and trout a large menu to choose from. Redfish and trout have been caught on Puglisi bait fish, gurglers, clousers, shrimp, and crab flies. For my spin fishing clients on the cold mornings we’ve been fishing the edges with a 1/4 ounce DOA Lures jig head rigged with a white 330 pearl shad tail or 405 pink ice.
Once the sun is high enough and the water temps have come up sight casting redfish and trout with DOA shrimp in natural colors like the 312 near clear, 313 gold glitter, and one of my favorites that imitate our Oak Hill red shrimp is the 426 rootbeer/clear. Its been tough to sight fish on some days with high winds and cloud cover so I have been catching finger mullet and buying live shrimp on the water from Alan and Jenny of Live Wire Bait. If you are ever on the water and need live bait give Alan and Jenny a call (386)-416-9879 they usually always have what the fish are eating.
One of my regulars Micheal Stringer joined me for a trip in my canoe to fish some of the flats that are to shallow to reach by boat but still hold fish. Our main target was black drum but we only saw a few and had our share of shots at big gator trout landing a few in the 6lb range.
Mike was a little unsure about fishing out of the canoe but after catching a few fish and realizing the simplicity of it I think he will do it again. Here he is with one of the redfish he sight fished.
Some trips this month have started out with some pretty foggy mornings and calm winds and beautiful sunrises making for some nice photo opportunities. This an image of a fellow veteran guide Capt. Brian Clancy poling his clients through the early morning fog.
Spent this morning fishing with a long time regular and friend Dan Tolman and his brother in law Jim from Maine. Solid cloud cover forced us to fish live finger mullet most of the day but still a good time watching fish strike the baits on top. Here’s Dan with a nice redfish.
And Jim with a nice speckled trout .
Had one of my regulars join me again this month Micheal Stringer and his good friend Troy Cavas. The morning started out cold so we didn’t make a long run. We fished a school of redfish with live finger mullet getting this guy to eat ten feet of the bow.
After the sun came up a bit we made a run to the south to look for tailing redfish. Its always a great time with these two on the boat with the smack talk with Troy being the under dog but today he came out on top. We found some nice tailing redfish and landed a few on live shrimp and DOA shrimp. Here’s Troy with a few.
The clouds moved in and the winds picked up forcing us to move. As we poled towards a shoreline we noticed three Bald Eagles sitting on some dead mangroves 1 juvenile and 2 adults but before I could get my camera ready the juvenile flew off. Managed to get a few shots of the 2 adults before another flew away.
The last one stayed for a bit allowing us to get pretty close for some decent shots.
I had a day off and some time to fish with a friend of mine Brian Kennedy. We spent more time looking at fish then actually fishing but couldn’t resist catching a few on DOA shrimp. Here’s Brian with a trout he sight fished.
Also found a juvenile Bald Eagle resting on a shoreline that allowed me to snap a few shots.
Brian joined me again the following day to target some of the big redfish we found the day prior. These reds were very cooperative eating our live finger mullet off of the surface. Here’s Brian with a few.
My choice if I get to fish is usually a fly rod but it felt good to be pulling on one of these guys no matter what tackle it was.
Took a few action shots of battle and bringing these fish in boat side.
Had a great day fishing with a good friend….Here’s Brian with a few more.
Spent one of the last mornings of the month fishing with a good friend and local guide Capt. Joe Roberts of
Indian River Guides.com. We waited for the rain to pass and shot out for a few hours with just our fly rods. Zero winds made it real easy t o see the groups of tailing redfish from a far. Joe was a little rusty but he finally put the fly in the right spot!
Enjoy the outdoors and keep it clean even if that means picking up someone else s trash!!
Capt. Justin Price
Right In Sight Charters
Mosquito Lagoon/Indian River Lagoon
Fly Fishing and Light Tackle
[email protected]
www.rightinsightcharters.com
(386)-566-4687(386)-566-4687(386)-566-4687
