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. 

December 2013 Fishing Report

I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday season with their families and friends. December is always a hectic month and never disappoints. I got the invite from Kevin Fenn, of East Cape Skiffs, to go up to Louisiana for five days to fish giant redfish in the marsh. It was an incredible trip, check out my blog for a full report of the trip. After getting home from Louisiana, I was eager to get back on out on the lagoon.

Paul, of VMarine, with a sight fished gator trout.

During the month of December we dealt with some dramatic weather fluctuations. There were days I was wearing board shorts and was bare foot on the skiff and there were days you had to wear multiple layers. The temperatures and winds were all over the place.

Chilly morning and a trout in need of a tummy-tuck.

I spent most of the month targeting gator trout the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River are known for.I love going after big trout, it's probably my favorite fish to target in the Mosquito Lagoon. Imagine poling a flat, easing along, doing your best not to let the fish know you are there. As you pole along, you see three or four large shadows in a sandy pot hole on your flat. Even better, poling along and seeing 10 pound trout "backing", with it's back and tail out of the water, and getting to sight fish her.

An average Mosquito Lagoon trout.

Targeting the big trout, you need to employ a stealth approach. These fish are as spooky as any particular species of fish I've targeted. The majority of the time, the fish has sensed your presence long before you see them. Trout are incredibly well camouflaged, a bird's eye view of a trout laying in turtle grass is almost impossible to see. A tactic I employ a lot during the winter is to concentrate on sand holes, there are two reasons for this... You stand a much better chance of spotting a fish over a white sand hole (which they like to frequent) and number 2, if they aren't laying in the sand hole, then there is a good chance they are laying in the grass near the edge of the sand hole waiting to ambush prey.

Paul with another large trout.

I spent a couple days on the water with Paul Volkerson of VMarine. It seems every time I fish with Paul we get into some big fish. each day we fished together we dealt with high winds and low temperatures. We went to one of Paul's spots and it was loaded. Within mintues of shutting down the motor and getting on the push pole we blew out 10-15 big trout out of one sand hole. For some reason, whenever I go to somebody's favorite spot, it usually a little less than described. After spooking that many fish, that quickly, I knew it was going to be a good day. We were on the water for three hours and caught seven big trout, all over six pounds. We had shots at them laid up, shots at them tailing and ,a first for me, doubled up on two gator trout.

This is a great time of year for fishing in Mosquito Lagoon. If you'd like to get out on the water and target some big fish in shallow water, give me a call.

Capt. Jesse
407.448.2017
Flyin' High Charters

Releasing a big trout to create another memory for another angler.

"See ya!"