Mosquito Lagoon Report
February 2004
Capt. Brian Clancy
There’s plenty of fish around right now. This is the time of year when you can see super large schools of reds and some magnum trout on the flats. Shrimp, dead or alive will put reds in the boat, if you can get on a school that’ll sit still and eat. When you’re lucky enough to get on a hungry school of reds don’t hesitate to put the shrimp away and break out artificials or flies. Try Capt. Mike’s new tube bait in a pumpkinseed or lighter color if a spinning rod is your thing. If you’re throwing the fly, be creative, the standbys of Mosquito Lagoon "browns" can sometimes be replaced with chartreuse or pink.
Flies can also be productive this time of year for spotted sea trout. Deceivers, clousers, gotchas and the like will bag trout, large and small. Keeper size trout over the 15 inch range are abundant. Finding and staying on schools containing that size fish can be tricky though. These fish are in a little deeper and murkier water than the "gator trout", and they’ll move day to day to different places especially with hungry bottle nose dolphin cruising for them constantly.
Anglers using spinning gear will find 1/8 th oz. Capt. Mike’s jigs and DOA’s also work perfectly in the deeper 2 to 3’ drop-offs for schooling trout. If up on the flats, accurate, stealthy casts to distant sandy potholes with everything mentioned above can hook you up with nice reds and sizable trout.
Don’t look for a perfect day to fish this time of year, you might be waiting a long time. Although bright sunshine will be your best bet for sight casting, completely overcast days with a little breeze may result in more hook ups on reds and better your chances for a large trout over 6 lbs.
The water level is moderately low. Though many new boats can run super shallow, if you’re not sure where the fish and or shallows spots are, take extreme caution while running the Lagoon to avoid tearing up the sea grass and dispersing redfish schools and big trout.
Jeff "soft shoe" Stokley and his North Carolina cronies fished with us Friday. We did a three boat charter to accommodate everyone with two anglers to a boat. On their annual fishing trip for sails down in Stuart these guys also motor their RV up to Volusia County. They then stay in a waterfront campground where the guides meet them and take them sight fishing for reds in the Mosquito Lagoon. Not too shabby! Everybody caught reds with the largest going 12lbs, all on shrimp.
Enjoy the outdoors, get and fish!
Capt. Brian Clancy/Eldora Charters
bclancy1@cfl.rr.com
www.eldoracharters.com for archived fishing reports
1-877-409-7380 Toll Free
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New Smyrna Beach, florida