Archive for October, 2007
Monday, October 22nd, 2007
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Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report, October 18, 2007
Compliments of Mosquito Creek Outdoors, Apopka Florida
As my good friend and lagoon mentor Captain Rodney Smith would say, ”the fishing this week was excellent, it was the catching that varied”. High water and cooler temperatures have shifted fish patterns experienced on the lagoon last month, so more time was spent looking for fish then catching them. The winds have settled down a bit and even switched from the south today, but the numbers of quality fish just weren’t there this week.
Corbin is an excellent angler, and he managed to catch all three fish on his own, excepting only limited assistance from his dad.
Several other points of interest this week effecting fishing are the red tide has once again returned in the Atlantic off of Flagler Beach, with some reports coming from as far south as New Smyrna Beach. Additionally, the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge will be closed this weekend in support of Space Shuttle security measures, so the North end of Mosquito Lagoon will be closed as well as the No-Motor Zone.
Seminars and Events
November 17th 9am – 11am Hook Kids on Fishing program at the Volusia County Fair Grounds, Coastal Angler Magazine’s Boat Show & Fishing Expo.
November 16th, 17th, and 18th, Coastal Angler Magazines Boating and Fishing Expo at the Volusia County Fairgrounds, with a full program of speakers and seminars. Hands on Angler Improvement Clinic presented by Mosquito Creek Outdoors, learn to rig soft plastic baits and utilized braided fishing line, knots, and leaders for inshore applications.
Call now to purchase your holiday charter gift certificate for the 2008 fishing season, and catch a memory with Captain Tom Van Horn.
As always, if you have any questions or need more information, please contact me.
Good luck and good fishing,
Captain Tom Van Horn
Today I was joined by father and son team Corbin and David Koenig from Port St. John, in celebration of Corbin’s 10th birthday. Our mission was to put Corbin on his first redfish, and although the catching was again tough, he managed two slot redfish and an 18-pound black drum.
Jason Johnson and his friend George from Sanford, Florida joined me on Wednesday for a half-day on the Indian River Lagoon where we only managed two slot redfish and some ladyfish, but we didn’t get skunked and we didn’t get too wet.
Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report
Monday, October 15th, 2007
Compliments of Mosquito Creek Outdoors, Apopka Florida
The bait run has kicked into full swing with masses of finger mullet streaming down the beach and through the lagoon, but the weather gods have foiled our prospects of a good run thus far, and it doesn’t appear they are ready to let us play anytime soon. Squally weather conditions have been the dominating factor this season, and the same pattern has set up again for this weekend with high winds and angry seas predicted.
Although the weather has been tough, I still made to managing to squeeze in a few days of fishing, making the best of a bad situation. As a professional Captain I’m obligated to the safety of my clients, so conducting charters during small craft warnings isn’t the prudent thing to do, plus I want my client’s experience to be memorable for the catching, not the peril.
My escapades started last Friday with an attempt at fishing the Banana River No-Motor Zone with my good friend Larry Carter. The primary focus of our trip was to give me a chance to check out a 16-foot square back Indian River Canoe Larry had for sale, and we figured we might as well tackle this task with a fishing pole in our hands. We launched at KAR’s Park at sunrise, and we paddled out just in time to watch a Delta II rocket launch fire off Pad 17B into the sunrise.
Larry’s Rip Rolling Redfish
Consistently high easterly winds and heavy rain combined with seasonal high water conditions have increased the turbidity and depth of the lagoon in most areas, and that’s what we experienced. As I poled the canoe north from KARs, we immediately located happy sea trout and ladyfish willing to attack out top water offerings, but as swiftly as the bite started, it shut off. As we moved off in search of a better fishing we continued moving north only to be chased off of the water by developing storms. Larry did manage one respectable redfish that aggressive attacked a pink Rip Roller plug.
For those of you who haven’t heard the news, as of October 1st, KAR’s Park in accord with the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge has opened up a canoe and kayak launch accessible to the public. The launch is located within the park at the end of Hall Road, and its limited to ten boats at a time with a fee of five dollars each. In addition to this agreement, the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station has reopened the east side of the NMZ to paddle fishing. There are two areas still remaining closed, Fuel Storage Area #1, clearly marked by yellow warning cans, and a 500-yard zone around the NASA Booster Recovery Ships and Hanger AF. This east side has been closed since 9-11 for security reasons, and it could be closed again at any time if anglers fail to abide by the rules, and as always, the zone will be closed three day prior to Shuttle launches. Fishing in these areas is a privilege, so please respect the rules and the resource.
Captain Chris Myers Instructs Ladies on Proper Casting Techniques
On Saturday the 29th, I had the privilege of participating in the First Annual Mosquito Creek Outdoors’ Ladies Fishing Clinic, which I must say was a tremendous success. The event was sponsored and conducted by Mosquito Creek Outdoors, Coastal Angler Magazine, and the Ladies in The Outdoors, many volunteers, and over ninety ladies pre registered for the clinic. Five learning stations were established involving getting started, casting, knot tying, baits and lures, and conservation, and the ladies were the most attentive group I’ve ever taught. It was great fun and a learning experience for all involved, including myself.
My next few charters were either postponed or canceled due to squally weather, leaving my Wednesday trip as my next adventure, and adventurous it was. In the fall of 2006, I had the privilege of fishing with a gentleman from the Stuart area who purchased a charter I donated in an auction to raise funds for a Stuart area fishing guide who was battling cancer. As Bill and I fished, he mentioned he wasn’t feeling well and he was schedule to see his doctor the following day. Turned out Bill was also stricken with cancer, and he began his own battle. While corresponding with Bill during his ordeal, I offered to take him fishing when he felt better at no charge, and I was honored to share Bill’s first fishing adventure since his illness was diagnosed.
Considering the nasty weather we experienced most of last week, the weather gods smiled on us with a calm glassy morning, and our trip across the lagoon was like living in the reflection of a mirror. Both north and south of us towering thunderstorms blocked the morning sun, reflected their ominous lightning on the water, but the storms moved on and we fished all day. Our plan was to fish until the weather drove us off of the lagoon, or as long as Bill felt up to it, so we went for it.
As I polled in on our very first flat I spotted a large group of tails flashing a thousand yards away as the sun peak over the clouds for the first time, and as I polled in, I thought the fish gods were certainly going to be as generous. The closer we got to the school, the larger it grew, and when we reached casting range it consisted of at least one hundred fish in the 15 to 20-pound range. Our first attempt was to put live jumbo shrimp on both sides of the school, for which we positioned properly, but school swam right over our baits without even a sniff. As we reposition for our next shot the school lifted heading for deep water, and it never slowed down.
Bill Bobb Expresses His Evening Dinner Plans
After shadowing the school for about 30 minutes before giving up, and we spent the remainder of the day looking for redfish instead of catching them. We did manage to catch over 100 pounds of fish, but they weren’t what we had hoped for. In one location we found a school of large ladyfish, catching five fish over 4-pounds, and in another area we located a swarm of gaff top sail catfish, catching 7 in the 10 to 15 pound range. In the end, our fishful adventure did yield 1 slot redfish and sea trout, which Bill invited home for dinner.
Seminars and EventsOctober 13th, Braided Line Applications, Andy Thornal Company Fly Fishing Expo located under the Water Tower in Winter Haven, Florida. Call 863-299-9999 for more details.
October 23rd, Orlando Kayak Club meets at 7pm Gander Mountain in Lake Mary, and Captain Rodney Smith is the guest speaker.
November 16th, 17th, and 18th, Coastal Angler Magazines Boating and Fishing Expo at the Volusia County Fairgrounds with a full program of speakers and seminars.
As always, if you have any questions or need more information, please contact me.
Good luck and good fishing,
Captain Tom Van Horn
Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters
Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report
Monday, October 15th, 2007For the past several weeks, Florida has failed to live up to its nickname of, “The Sunshine State”. We have been experiencing one tropical system after another. Fortunately, none of them have been hurricanes but we have had more than our fair share of high winds and rain. The Lagoons are higher than they have been all year and many of the flats are cloudy. The dirty water, combined with the high winds and lack of sun have made sight fishing next to impossible.
While the redfish action has been less than stellar, some snook and tarpon have been cooperative. While many of the fish are on the small side, they offer some great variety. On one day, I scored a triple grand slam of three tarpon, three snook, three redfish and three trout. All but two of the reds and one of the tarpon were caught on the fly. The next day, I fished with Dave Haddock who got a tarpon, snook, redfish, trout slam. The tarpon have been showing up most anywhere from canals and culverts to the flats. The DOA Holographic shrimp has been effective for both the snook and the tarpon. When tarpon fishing, try removing the standard hook from the shrimp and pinning it on a circle hook for more hookups, The circle hook also keeps the leader away from the abrasive mouth of the tarpon and snook.
With the high water, the fish have been able to spread out into areas not normally accessible. Look for reds and snook crashing small mullet tight to the shore line. The four inch DOA CAL in Stark Naked has been working well as it resembles the mullet in both size and color. An EP fiber baitfish pattern or a small streamer with lots of flash has been effective on all the fish, as of late. When conditions have not allowed for sight fishing, add a Woodies Rattle to your large jerkbaits. The sound will help the fish find your bait in dirty water and low light conditions.
For a change of pace, look for flowing water at the many drainage culverts along the shore. Hit the right one and you can catch a wide variety of fish including redfish, trout, snook, tarpon, ladyfish, and jacks. Also, watch for diving pelicans to signal the presence of feeding schools of jacks and ladyfish along the deeper edges of flats.
When conditions allow, fishing the mullet run along the beach can be excellent. On a trip out of Port Canaveral last week, we caught snook, bluefish, spanish mackerel, jacks, pompano, whiting, ladyfish, two large sharks, and jumped a tarpon over 100 pounds. All the fish were caught from a boat but we were never more than 100 yards from shore. Wire leaders are essential to prevent losing your rig to toothy fish. For the past week, the seas have been much too rough and that will continue through the weekend.
Thanks to all the ladies who helped make the womens fishing seminar at Mosquito Creek Outdoors a huge success. Mark your calendars now for the Coastal Angler Magazine Fishing and Boating Expo to be held November 16-18 at the Volusia County Fairgrounds. Capt. Tom Van Horn and I will be conducting hands-on angler improvement clinics each day.
Capt. Chris Myers
Central Florida Sight Fishing Charters