The following is an archived fishing report for the below date and location. If you are looking for the most current fishing reports on the Mosquito Lagoon, Port Canaveral, Sebastian Inlet, Ponce Inlet, near coastal beaches and Indian River in east central Florida then please visit our reports page. Also visit our "video reports" page to see an HD version of this fishing report.

If you are here in the Orlando, Disney, Kissimmee, Palm Coast, Stuart, Palm Bay, Sebastian Inlet, Cocoa Beach, Edgewater, Titusville, New Smyrna Beach, Melbourne or Daytona Beach area and are looking into going on an inshore light tackle flats fishing charter for redfish, seatrout, tarpon, IRL snook, cobia, snapper or black drum then please give me a call at (352)223-7897 - email me at - captdrew@floridainshorefishingcharters.com - I will be glad to see if I can meet your needs or answer any questions you may have.

September 21, 2007 - Mosquito Lagoon Light Tackle Fly Fishing Guide Report

The Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River for the past months have been producing an excellent amount of fishing. Mosquito Lagoon fly fishing has been just epic. Mosquito Lagoon fishing has been stellar! The area has been alive with activity. The Atlantic tarpon fishing has taken off full throttle along the near coastal beaches. The month of August proved to be hot as always, not just weather wise but bite wise too! So the best bet is the early morning bite or the evening/night fall fish.

Fishing for IRL snook around the docks can always be a blast if you are with the right person and have the right boat for these conditions. For those of you wanting to use live bait, the best bet for this time of year are mullet. Very common throughout the drop offs and plentiful at your local bait stores, these baits will produce large seatrout, massive bull redfish and Atlantic tarpon and Indian River Lagoon snook. Buy enough to last for the first hours of that golden time, for they do not last very long and require lots of water circulation/air in the warm summer months. Large shrimp under popping corks is a good bet too for kids. The piggies will be too big soon so try alternates. For those of you wanting to use artificial the best bet as always is a D.O.A. lures.

I like to take a pigfish and place him just below a small bobber, just enough to keep him off the bottom. They struggle to get into the grass and start grunting which will attract the predators! Place yourself just off the bar or an edge in about 3-4 feet of water where plenty of top water action is being seen(bait fish activity). It is amazing on how a spotted seatrout will seek these fish out, sometimes I have witnessed trout the size of a mullet, brave little ones and monsters. This month alone has produced 6 or more fish over 30 inches. That is a great fight! Handle and release every fish with care.

My favorite - in the early morning hours or late evening, water conditions allowing - are top water lures like the DOA Shallow running Baitbusters. I like to use here a Mullet pattern or the red and white with a slow retrieve. You want to stop/start this to show the fish that it is wounded or hurt, just not to stop it all the way, it must not sink. You will get a lot of strikes that just don't quite hook up. These fish are trying to stun the bait. Slow it down and wait a few seconds, make it look wounded. This tactic will produce. I promise, just practice it.

After the morning sun's risen, I have been switching to a D.O.A. shrimp , mostly white Nite Glow shrimp, just my choice, they all will produce. The redfish are very spooky and focused on their food source. I have been catching large numbers of them around the 9-10 o'clock hours, working banks and cuts. Some in the 30 pound range. Focus on the shorelines and grass flats. These fish love to hug a bank as well as open flats in backcountry water. Casting using a slow retrieve and letting the fish find this.

The North end of the Mosquito Lagoon around Orange Island is a great place to work this. However the Cocoa Beach, Titusville area as well as the Port Canaveral, Titusville Indian River area where I found myself here for several weeks with the water coming down and exploring new areas. The Scottsmoor and Mims area on the Indian River is one of the best places on the planet to catch giant redfish year round. It turns out the fish like to explore too, hitting areas they had no access to before. Remember redfish are like cows, they roam. Trout are your stalk and hunt predators, like lions.

With September comes the fall rain. This puts a stop in a lot of afternoon trips, so hit the water early. Last week my clients and I started out a little earlier than normal. We placed ourselves on a bar in the southern portion of the Lagoon fishing for IRL tarpon. Power-Poled down and waited. The key here was to use 3 inch long, live mullet. Watch for these giants to roll then toss a D.O.A. Bait Buster at them or the live mullet. By the end of the morning we had landed several all of which were released.

Again Mosquito Lagoon fly fishing here and Indian River fly fishing is always epic year around. Use a 6, 7, 8 or for bigger fish a 9 weight fly rod, 15-25 lb leader with a shrimp or crab pattern. Black drum have been leaning towards a darker crab pattern for fly fishing them.

September starts the fall mullet run and redfish, in my mind, now threw October is a great time to catch! Patience is the key. Too many people quit after ten to twenty minutes of fishing after receiving no strikes. Remember, reds are nomadic. They move slowly. If you see a school tailing along a bar, figure out which way they are moving and place your mullet in front of them. Wait, take time to enjoy the area and take in the sites, but wait patiently. Be very careful not to spook the school. Do not throw on top of them. Let them come to you. Some days we landed 12-15 slot size fish with a couple over 30 inches. A mixed bag on one day with several nice jacks in there and a ladyfish.

When I free line a mullet I like to use PowerPro, topped with about three feet of leader. Then tie on a 4/0-5/0 circle hook. For those of you with kids, the popping cork has been very productive and the kids love the action and it keeps them moving and occupied. Remember also please, when you are running your boat in an area you DO NOT know take it easy. The sea bed grass is very important to you and me. We need this for our future fishing trips. So when in doubt, stop and pole yourself in and out. It will for one produce much more strikes and you will be doing yourself a favor in the long run.

Also, do not keep these fish, try to keep them in the water at all times. Avoid shaking them violently with pliers to get them off the hook. Remember this is your future! I like to practice catch and release, or CPR-Catch, Photograph and Release. You should too. Good Luck!

All charters are catch, photo and release. This protects our future fisheries.

Captain Drew's Cell - (352)223-7897

Past Central Florida Fishing Reports

2006 to 2009 Archived - Ponce Inlet, Sebastian Inlet, Indian River, Port Canaveral and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Reports
2010 to 2015 Archived - Mosquito Lagoon, Port Canaveral, Indian River and Ponce Inlet Fishing Reports
2016 to 2020 Archived - Mosquito Lagoon, Sebastian Inlet, St. John's River, Indian River and Ponce Inlet Fishing Reports

Cocoa Beach Light Tackle Saltwater Flats Fishing Guide
Captain Drew Cavanaugh - Florida Inshore Fishing Charters - Cocoa Beach

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