Low Country meets Mosquito Lagoon

I got a call last week from my buddy, Scotty Davis, a guide in Charleston, South Carolina and the owner of Low County Fly Shop. He was driving down to the East Cape Skiffs shop in Orlando to pick up his Lostmen. He was having some touch ups done to his skiff. Scotty had a few hours he could kill after he picked up his skiff. So, what do a couple of guys that love to fly fish do to kill a couple hours? They fish.

The plan was to fish Mosquito Lagoon and play with some of the back country fish. So, Scotty, Larry and I met at the dock, dropped Scotty's skiff and headed into the backwaters of Mosquito Lagoon.

Scotty and Larry cruising the back county waters of Mosquito Lagoon.

 
Since Larry and I get to fish the Lagoon whenever we want, Scotty got first crack on the bow. Within a few minutes of poling, we were finding fish. The fish were following their typical Fall routine working shorelines, crashing little shrimp and minnows.

Scotty making a presentation to a Mosquito Lagoon redfish.

Scotty made a great presentation to a fish that went nuts over his fly. It's great to see Mosquito Lagoon redfish, that can be very spooky, aggressively take a fly. This cooler water seems to have them fired up lately.

"Get this out of my mouth!"

"Size doesnt matter." - Scotty Davis

We had a few eats and before we knew it, we were out of time. All in all, it was a great way to spend an afternoon off.

If you're ever in Charleston, South Carolina be sure to look up Low County Fly Shop. Go in and hang out with Scotty. It's a laid back fly shop made up of some interesting personalities. I guarantee you'll be glad you stopped by.

Hooking, Fighting, Landing and Releasing Bull Redfish in Mosquito Lagoon

As a guide, I'm frequently told by clients and potential clients that they want to "Catch a big one". I find most of the time, they are unprepared for what all goes into catching a redfish over 20 lbs.

Capt. Jesse releasing a Mosquito Lagoon bull redfish caught by one of his clients.

When a client steps on the boat with the intentions of catching a bull redfish in Mosquito Lagoon, I begin the morning boat ride, typically before the sun is even up and with a live well full of bait. While it is possible to catch a redfish over 20 lbs on artificial or fly, it is incredibly tough and all the planets need to be aligned. As we idle through a no wake zone, and after pleasantries have been exchanged, we beginning talking about what to expect. When you have an idea of what to expect, especially when adrenaline is firing through your body, it makes things go a little easier.

A redfish over 20 lb's is at least 10 years old, if not older. It is safe to say a 10 or 20 year old fish has seen just about everything in the book. With that said, the most important element in fishing large, experienced fish is to ease into their habitat. If these large fish sense your presence, game over. You are not going to get one to eat. The next most important element in fishing bull redfish is your presentation. When you were 10 years old, had you ever seen a cheeseburger or a slice of pizza magically move towards you? The answer is no. The same is true for fish, fish know that everything they eat tries to get away from them. With that said, when you make a presentation to a fish, present your bait in a manner that is natural to the fish. If you are fishing active fish that are swimming around a flat, you need your presentation, whether it is live bait, cut bait or artificial to not spook the fish. Fish know things landing on top of them from the sky are not natural and if you land a bait directly on top of a fish, it is going to spook. So, pick out your target, identify which direction the fish is moving and lead the fish. Give the fish enough of a cushion with your bait that it is close enough to the fish that he will see it but not so close that the noise from the bait hitting the water spooks the fish.

Mike, from Orlando, with his first bull redfish on the flats.

Bait selection isn't as hard as one may think. You want to offer a bull redfish a bait that is natural to them. Pay attention to what is on the flat that you are fishing. Are you seeing crabs on the flats? Are you seeing pinfish or mullet on the flats? Determine what the prevalent food source is and match it. During the summer and fall, the Lagoon is loaded with mullet. I don't use a lot of live bait, it's just not a style of fishing that I particularly enjoy. With that said, it has its application. If I am going to fish live bait, I like to use live mullet. The predatory fish make the mullet nervous, typically the mullet swims up to the top of the water and the fish eating becomes visually engaging to the angler.

Fighting and landing big fish can be difficult. They are very strong and heavy. During the summer time, the oxygen levels in the water are low. You need to do your best to fight and land the fish as quickly as possible. This will put the least amount of stress on the fish's body as possible. Keeping in mind, these fish are mature breeders, their presence is critical to the conservation of our fishery. Play a game of angles on the fish, when the fish fights towards the left, angle and pull your rod to the right and vice versa. Once you have the fish boat side, put one had around the fish's tail and your other handle needs to come underneath the fish's shoulders (between the fish's head and stomach area) and cradle the fish up and into the boat. You want to support the fish's body weight as much as possible. Many anglers will never have an opportunity to land a breeder redfish, so when it happens for you, get a couple good pictures so you can brag to your buddies. Keep in mind, this fish has been fought and stressed for at least 10 minutes, this will give the other guy or girl on your boat plenty of time to find a camera and get it ready. Do your best to keep this fish out of the water for as short a period as possible.

Amanda with her biggest redfish with Flyin' High Charters.

When releasing a big redfish, take your time once you have the fish back in the water. Releasing the fish is the most important element of this whole process. This may be the fish of your lifetime. You want to insure that the fish is released no worse for the wear and healthily swims off to breed and provide another angler with the memory of a lifetime. I cant stress the importance of taking the necessary time to adequately revive a fish.

I hope these tips help you catch the redfish of a lifetime!

Capt. Jesse Register
www.FlyinHighCharters.com
407-448-2017

Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report for April

Fishing in Mosquito Lagoon in the month of April has been really good. We've had our fair share of windy days though. While we all love getting to the ramp and seeing the Lagoon slicked out, some of my best days this April came with wind.

I find that the big trout love the windy cloudy days. I don't know whether or not the relax more when its windy or if the bait just moves around more and the big trout have less time to decide whether or not to eat. Whatever it is, the trout seem to bite better with the wind blowing and clouds in the sky. This certainly makes sight fishing tough, so most of the time you have to blind cast to get results but if it results in 30 inch trout.... who cares?

I spent a lot of time this month looking for black drum but with inconsistent results. Ron, from Oviedo, came out and fished with me. We spent the morning fishing some of the flats in Mosquito Lagoon looking for tailing redfish but didn't have much luck until the sun got up high. We got onto a good trout bite, with most of the fish being in the 15 to 18 inch range with our biggest fish going 26 inches. I'm still bummed about this, I was holding the big trout and reaching for my camera, when the trout gave one last kick and I fumbled the fish over the gunnel of my skiff. Ron was a good sport about and we laughed it off. His good attitude was rewarded on his last cast of the day with this nice black drum on a live shrimp.

Ron, from Oviedo, with a nice Black Drum in Mosquito Lagoon.

My next charter was with Ian and his Dad, from Minnesota. Ian and his dad wanted to fly fish for redfish. The morning of their charter, they were greeted with 20 knot winds, so we broke out the spinning rods and got into some fish. Here is Ian with his first redfish, he didn't mind that the smallest fish out of the group ate his DOA 5.5 CAL.

Ian with his first Mosquito Lagoon redfish.

Shortly after hooking up to his first redfish, Ian sight fished his second Mosquito Lagoon redfish using the same DOA lure as before. Here he is with a better red.

Ian admiring his biggest redfish off the flats of Mosquito Lagoon.

Later in the month, I had Alec and Brendan, from Michigan out with me for what was only supposed to be a 6 hour trip. Alec's grandfather, Gary, wanted to tag along to watch the boys fish. Gary had not interest in fishing and wasn't going to be convinced otherwise. Our morning started out slow, catching some small trout while fishing some deeper edges looking for some bigger reds. We picked up and moved north and that changed our luck. Alec hooked into a 28 inch red that swam right across the bow of my skiff. Here he is with his biggest fish of the day.

Alec with his first overslot redfish.

After releasing this fish, I hoped back up on the poling platform and almost immediately, I see a much larger red cruising the flat. I positioned the boat and tried to get Brendan to see the fish, but he couldn't spot the fish. I had Alec make a cast to the fish, talked him through the presentation and BAM! we had another overslot fish on. This fish was easily pushing 20 lbs. I staked out the skiff and just as I was hoping down to begin getting ready to land this bruiser, I hear the line pop. Definitely disappointing but it was still early in the day and there were many more flats in the Lagoon we could hit.

We picked up and moved to the west side of Mosquito Lagoon, I had found some bigger fish hanging out in a particular spot a week ago. The plan was to go look over there and see if we could get into some more big redfish. After seeing some smaller redfish and catching a few trout, we decided to pick up and mover to another flat. By this time we were 6 hours into the trip and Brendan hadn't caught the redfish he came to Florida to catch. He had opportunities but the cast just wasn't there. Nerves had set in and rattled him, it was visible to all of us. Alec and Brendan decided to stay out a little bit longer in hopes of getting Brendan his redfish. Gary was on board too. The pressure was on.

We ran north to a flat that I have always done really well on. I shut down outside of the flat in about 6 feet of water and eased in with the pushpole. Once we got up on the flat, we immediately began seeing fish tailing hard. This is exactly what we needed, the only problem was that Brendan wasn't seeing them. As I poled along, I spotted a redfish tailing in front of us. I called the fish to Brendan but he couldn't see it. I tried to talk him through the cast but he made a presentation that the fish never saw. Alec saw the fish and made a prefect cast. he reeled in his lure, dropped it right in front of the fish and the red lit up and inhaled his jerkbait. Here is Alec with another nice redfish from our trip.

Brendan, Alec and Gary posing for a group shot with Alec's redfish.

The guys were getting a lot of shots at some nice upper slot fish, but Brendan hadn't been able to connect. I was determined to get him a fish but at the end of the day sometimes it just isn't going to happen, whether its the fish or the angler.... Everything has to come together. Brendan was beginning to look defeated, we were down to the last 10 minutes of the trip (in my mind, I was going to keep him out there as long as I could to get him hooked up). Suddenly, we poled up on fish with his face buried deep in the grass with the tip of his tail slowly waiving at us. I called the fish to Brendan, "Ok Brendan, look at 11 o'clock!" Brendan excitedly spots the fish and instinctively makes a great presentation. The fish feels the bait, looks up and crushes his DOA paddle tail and it was on! After a couple nice runs, Brendan brings his first legit redfish to the boat, I get my hands on the fish and bring him into the boat. After a quick couple of pictures, the fish was released and swam off strong. The guys ended up having a great day and both guys caught their first redfish after multiple trips to Florida and also set personal bests for themselves. It was an epic day!

Brendan with his bottom of the 9th, bases loaded redfish.

Upcoming Events:
May 7th at 5:30 PM - Flies and Lies at Orlando Outfitters. Visit www.OrlandoOutfitters.com for more details
May 15th at 6 PM - Fly Fishing Film Tour showing at the Orlando Science Center.You can purchase your tickets from Orlando Outfitters directly or online here. Doors open at 6 PM and the show starts at 7 PM.

Choosing a Fishing Guide in Mosquito Lagoon

You've read about catching redfish, you've seen it on TV, you've day dreamed about your guide poling a skiff while you cast to your first tailing redfish and now it's time to make it a reality. Mosquito Lagoon has lots of fishing guides to chose from. Just like shopping for a new TV, clothes or anything else: there are a lot of options. In your mind, you know the type of fishing you want to do. When "shopping" for your fishing guide, let him or her know what you had in mind. Some guides specialize in different styles of fishing; some soak bait on the bottom, some fish live bait, some fish artificial, some fish fly and some guides do a little bit of everything. Do your research, make a list of fishing guides you are interested in fishing with, call each of them and just talk about fishing. This will accomplish a few things. You'll get an idea of their personality, after talking with a potential fishing guide, do you think you would enjoy spending a day on the water with him? Not all personalities jive. This will also allow you to pick their brain and you'll have an idea of whether or not that particular guide specializes in the style of fishing you are looking to do.

A few things you could expect:

• Your fishing guide should be professional, after all, this is their job. Their skiff should be clean and their gear should be maintained. Your fishing guide should communicate with you the day before your trip to firm up any outstanding details about your charter, for example where to meet in the morning. Keep in mind, fishing guides are on the water most of the time, so if you call your guide and he doesn't answer the phone, don't freak out, leave a message with your contact information and wait for a call back.
• Your fishing guide should work hard for you. As a fishing guide, it is our job to put you in the best situation to catch fish the way you want to catch fish. If you told your fishing guide that it's your dream to catch a redfish on a fly rod, then your guide needs to work hard to make that happen for you. There is no guarantee that it is going to happen, but you should feel like your guide did everything he could to make it happen. That doesn't mean your guide should put a spinning rod in your hand with a mullet chunk on the hook and then cast it out for you, hook into the a fish and hand you the rod to reel it in. It happens. As the client, you made it clear, you wanted to catch a fish a certain way. The client should be able to call the shots, your fishing guide works for you. 

If you are considering booking a fishing guide, please give me a call. I'd love to be your fishing guide for your trip to Mosquito Lagoon!

Capt. Jesse Register
407-448-2017

Tips for Sight Fishing Mosquito Lagoon

What is sight fishing? Sight fishing is a tactic used by many anglers and guides where you see the fish swimming, laid up, tailing or pushing a wake and then make a presentation to that target with a lure or fly. Sight fishing is a preferred method of fishing for many anglers and guides. For a lot of anglers, they've never done this type of fishing before, let alone know what it means or how to do it... It's more like hunting in the sense that you see your target versus fishing with live or dead bait waiting for a fish to come to your offering.

The first and most important element in sight fishing on Mosquito Lagoon, or any body of water, is to be able to see the fish. Your guide spends a lot of time on the water and their eyes are conditioned for spotting fish. Your eyes may not be and that is okay. After a little bit of time on the water and seeing a few examples of your target species doing their thing, you'll quickly pick up on what to look for. There is one piece of equipment you must have in order to have a successful day of sight fishing, that is a quality pair of polarized sunglasses. There is a vast variety of options to chose from including lens colors, frames, lenses materials, etc. My personal choice of sunglasses for sight fishing on Mosquito Lagoon is Smith Optics, specifically their new line of lens, chromapop. The chromapop lenses is their newest technology featuring crisper color contrast and optical clarity. If you're looking to upgrade your sunglasses for sight fishing, definitely check out the chromapop lens from Smith Optics.

Even in cloudy conditions, quality polarized sunglasses will help you pick out a floating fish. Photo credit: Paul Volkerson.

Now that we've gone over the most important piece of equipment for sight fishing Mosquito Lagoon, let's talk a little about what you are looking for. Sometimes sighting fish is really easy, they may stick out like a sore thumb. Below is a picture of a huge pod of tarpon pushing over a white sand bottom. There isn't much for them to camouflage themselves therefore making it very easy to visually pick up on their presence.

Huge string of tarpon swimming high in the water column over a sandy bottom. Photo credit: unkown.

 It's not always that easy to sight your target. Below is a picture of a redfish swimming away over a grassy bottom. As you can see, it can be much tougher to make out your target. There are some tips you can employ to better your odds of picking out a fish, visually, and increase your odds of making a good presentation that invokes an eat from a fish.

Redfish swimming away over a grassy bottom. Photo credit: Jesse Register.

Tip number 1: Whenever you are sight fishing, you want to put the sun at your back. Having the sun at your back helps "light up" the flat and allows you to see through the water much better. If you are facing into the sun, there will be a glare on the water making it next to impossible to see through the water. Additionally, if the sun is at your back and you see a fish in front of you it means the fish is looking into the sun and it will be that much tougher for the fish to see you. 

Tip number 2: When you are working a grass flat, focus on sand holes. Not only do fish tend to hang around the sand holes and use them as ambush points but as a fish swims over a sandy patch it will be much easier to visually pick up on the fish's presence. 

Tip number 3: Slow down. Sight fishing is a game of patience. You can't force it. The slower you work an area, the better your odds get. Poling slowly across a flat will create a smaller footprint in the water, the fish will be less likely to feel your presence and you'll give your eyes more time to dissect the flat.

I hope these tips help your sight fishing improve and result in more hook ups and more fish brought to the boat. 

Understanding Mosquito Lagoon

Mosquito Lagoon has been called the most diverse estuary in the world. Whether or not that is true, I'm not sure. The Lagoon is definitely diverse between the plant life, various types of sea grass, the migratory birds (including the Scrub Jay), wildlife and fish populations. It's a beautiful piece of undeveloped shoreline along the east coast of Florida. Most of Mosquito Lagoon falls inside of Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and Canaveral National Seashore.

Arial Map of Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River.

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1963 and protects 140,000 acres of land surrounding Kennedy Space Center.  Over 1,500 species of plants and animals, including 15 threatened or endangered species, call this pristine stretch of land home.Of those 140,000 acres, Mosquito Lagoon makes up for about 21,000 acres. Up until recently, Mosquito Lagoon has been dubbed the redfish capital of the world. Louisiana has since over taken that title, that's not to say the Mosquito Lagoon doesn't rival the Louisiana Marsh. In other words, if you want to catch a redfish, the Mosquito Lagoon is a safe bet.

As you can tell, Mosquito Lagoon is very special place to a lot of us. Reading this, you may be saying "I don't understand what makes Mosquito Lagoon so special?" If you'd like to experience old Florida, the way our great state was before the hotels, condos, sky rises and traffic; come book a trip with a permitted fishing guide inside of Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and fish Mosquito Lagoon. You will be amazed at the natural beauty and it will hit you how special Mosquito Lagoon is and how important it is that we all do our part to protect the natural resources we are blessed to have in our backyard's.

To find out more about Mosquito Lagoon or to book a fishing charter, give me a call!

Capt. Jesse
www.FlyinHighCharters.com

Fishing in Mosquito Lagoon

I'm lucky to call Mosquito Lagoon my home waters. Being that Mosquito Lagoon is so close in proximity to Orlando, New Smyrna Beach, Daytona Beach, and Cocoa Beach you can have all the luxuries of city life and in less than 1 hour be on the pristine coastal estuary waters of Mosquito Lagoon. With that brings along some negative impact to the Mosquito Lagoon. Since it is so close to these bigger cities, with large populations, fishing on Mosquito Lagoon can be tough due to all the fishing pressure it receives. With that being said, you can still fish Mosquito Lagoon and experience some of the best redfish and trout fishing in the world.

Being a fishing guide, its not uncommon in a social setting when employment comes up as a topic of conversation, that you get asked about fishing. It only makes sense, right. Right. One of the most common questions I get asked is "So, hows the fishing?" or "What do you catch?". The fishing on Mosquito Lagoon is really good. We are lucky in the fact that we don't really have to deal with our redfish populations migrating to spawn. Our redfish, for the most part, are born here, live here and spawn here year round. As far as I know, Mosquito Lagoon is the only ecosystem that can boast that. In addition to having a resident redfish population, we also have some of the largest sea trout you can find anywhere. During the winter months, on any given day when you're fishing Mosquito Lagoon, you are going to see a few 10 lb, maybe bigger, sea trout. For a flats fisherman, this is truly a sight to see. You've heard of gator trout, well Mosquito Lagoon has it's fair share of gators.

If you are interested in fishing and learning to fish Mosquito Lagoon, it's a good idea to hire a guide. While your guide most likely isn't going to give away all of his best fishing spots to you, they will get you started down the right path in understanding this diverse ecosystem. Mosquito Lagoon receives a lot of fishing pressure, so the fish can be very weary. When you come up to a flat you are going to fish, shut your big motor down well in advance of getting to the spot and ease in with your trolling motor, or even better the push pole. This will give you a better opportunity at not disrupting the fish and hopefully increase your chances of catching a trophy redfish or gator sea trout. Plus, if any other anglers are working that area, you will not disrupt their fishing.

I hope this improves your time fishing in Mosquito Lagoon.

Capt. Jesse

www.FlyinHighCharters.com

407-448-2017