Reel-Time Feature

After blazing its way across the July sky, the sun sat low above the western horizon. Its reflection turned the surface of the water nearly opaque, yet anyone could have seen the mass of fish that suddenly appeared. Redfish, all around ten pounds, were cruising in a school of a least one hundred individuals.

Matt Van Pelt cast his Clouser Deep Minnow out in front of the school, and let the fly sink. When the fish were close to the fly, he started hopping it in short, fast strips. Three fish turned and raced each other for the fly, then Matt's line tightened as line started streaming from his reel.

The Mosquito Lagoon stretches for 23 miles withing the boundaries of Florida's Canaveral National Seashore, then stretches off to the north even farther. Although it's not divided as such, it could really be considered two separate bodies of water at the north and south ends, so different are the fisheries. The line separating the two sections extends roughly from the town of Oak Hill east across the lagoon to the boat ramp at Parking Lot 5 at Apollo Beach.

To the south of this line, miles of shallow, crystalline waters cover acres and acres of flats covered with lush beds of manatee grass. To the north, much more turbid waters flow around and through intricate mazes of tiny mangrove islands, oyster bars, holes and sloughs. Tactics and techniques for fishing these areas differ radically. As do some of the types of fish found in each. Let's look at the north end first.

The North End

Sometimes you actually can see fish piling into bait. Jack crevalle and bluefish don't have very good manners while eating, and the noise they make can often be heard from quite far away. Besides that , the mullet fleeing in terror sends a clear signal to fly fishermen: toss the feathers over here and get into the action.

Shallow points near deep water access that has moving water will often hold gamefish, regardless of the tidal stage. This type of structure can be found on both sides of the northern lagoon. On the eastern side, the Eastern Channel has many such areas. One of the best known spots is the bar extending west from Turtle Mound. On the western side, many of the spoil islands along the Intracoastal Waterway also have these types of fish attractors.

Oyster bars often attract fish on rising tides. Reds will be found tailing around these bars, a clear enough signal for most of us. Seatrout like the oysters, too. The bars provide shelter for both shrimp and finger mullet, items high on the list of favorite trout foods. Sheepshead are also likely to be found around oysters, cruising for crabs or other crustaceans. Sheepshead take flies only in the rarest circumstances, though. We've also caught flounder around the periphery of these oysters. Evidently they lie camouflaged on the bottom, waiting to ambush passing minnows.

There are many small tidal ponds and creeks in the north end of the lagoon. On falling tides, water must drain from these places. That water carries with it all types of edible goodies, and fish stack up in these outflows waiting for the smorgasbord to wash their way. If the tide is falling, look for these features. Fish them hard.

The Western Side

On the lower tide stages, fish have been forced out of the shallow areas into deeper holes. Fishing these holes with sinktip lines and large flies produces. Seatrout, redfish, snapper, drum, sheepshead, bluefish, flounder, jacks, ladyfish, sometimes snook, and rarely tarpon, all can be found in these deep holes.

One of the best features about fishing up in this area is that once you get your boat off the main channels and into some of the backwaters, you could be anywhere you care to imagine yourself. The maze of islands lends an air of remoteness to a fairly well populated area. Several campsites will be found scattered among the islands here for those who would like to stay overnight. A free backcountry permit is available at the Canaveral National Seashore Visitor Center, south of Turtle Mound.

Don't think that the fishing at the north end of the lagoon is limited to those with boats, either. Waders have access to the water at the Visitor Center off A1A, at the Eldora House, at Turtle Mound, and at the boat ramp at Parking Lot 5 at Apollo Beach. This parking area allows access to the extensive grass flats of the southern Mosquito Lagoon.

The Crystal Clear Southern End

I've watched the evolution of the redfishery since the days when reds were commercially netted, through the emergency ban of all redfish harvest, to today's sensible redfish regulations. The redfishing has changed considerably , and in most ways it has changed for the better.

Finding reds in the lagoon has never been especially difficult if the weather is good. Certainly one will have poor fishing days, but we are talking about fishing here, everyone strikes out now and then.

The routine in the "old days" was simply to pole along the shallow water, preferably over a bottom of seagrass interspersed with sand holes, looking for single fish. Some days it would look like Death Valley- no redfish, or anything else. Other days it would look like Sea World- fish of all kinds everyplace. Most days it would be something in between these two extremes.

The reds would be spaced fairly evenly along the shoreline, every hundred yards or so. These were healthy fish, averaging around five pounds. Sometimes we would see fish in pairs or threes, but rarely did we see reds in groups any larger than this.

This began to change during the emergency closure that was instituted in the mid-late 1980's. The taking of redfish was prohibited to everyone for two years in response to drastic overfishing following the "blackened redfish" craze.

Reds began schooling up during the closure. Since the fish were protected from all harvest, their average size began to increase as well. The opening of the recreational fishery has apparently done nothing to disturb this trend. Lagoon fish now are mostly found in schools of from fifty to several hundred fish The average size is about 27 inches and seven to eight pounds. Some are much, much larger.

Single fish still cruise in shallow water near the shoreline. But for the finest redfishing the lagoon has to offer, usually you need to locate a school.

Locating Fish

I use several different techniques to find redfish schools in the lagoon, techniques that require some patience, but are much better for the overall fishery than running the flat in a rodeo redfish roundup. First, one can run at minimum planing speed along the edge of the flat, looking for subtle signs of fish. Needless to say, the slower you go, the more you can see. Speed is not the answer to everything.

When the reds are moving, they put up wakes. On calm mornings these are visible from quite a distance. Pole or electric motor to intercept the school and expect some hot action.

Sometimes the fish are in relatively shallow water just sitting there. Find these fish by simply poling, drifting, or electric motoring across the flat. The shadow of low flying birds will cause some of the fish to jump, thus revealing their presence.

Summer mornings usually produce gorgeous, calm weather. The redfish like to lay up just under the surface of the water under these conditions. Their fins will stick up into the air and are easily seen by the observant angler. These fish are usually happy and will eat well if you don't spook them. Pole up into casting range and work the edge of the school.

Poling the flats has several advantages. First of all, it makes no noise. You can pick up some nice seatrout this way. Secondly, the schooling reds aren't nervous when you find them. You can often back off, anchor the boat, and wade into position, then catch fish after fish.

Boats motoring across a flat will cause the fish to jump. You will see this and know where they are.

I tend to find these schools of fish closer to the edges of the flats near deep water access, perhaps because I spend more time looking there. One of my friends, Pete Christensen, finds his fish mostly in singles and pairs in the skinniest water into which he can pole his boat. So waders can find happiness in the lagoon, too.

Although many of the south lagoon flats have no access for the angler without a boat, there are still miles of flats available to the wading anglers. Much of the west side on the lagoon south of the Haulover Canal has a dike road running along it. Parts of the eastern flats have access from the parking lots at Playlinda Beach. There are also access points along the Intracoastal off of S.R. 3 for anglers who want to work the flats inside the spoil islands, or the spoil islands themselves. In  Summer especially, good wading booties are recommended as much of the bottom is squishy. In the winter, a pair of chest high waders becomes necessary.

A great technique when wading is blindcasting the edges where sand holes open up in the grass flats. Not only do fish use these edges to ambush food, wading over the sand is easier than is wading through the grass. Furthermore, when light conditions allow it, you can actually sightfish over the sand bottom while wading.

Fly fishermen who chase reds and trout in the lagoon use seven to nine weight rods, depending on wind conditions. Generally, fly fishermen choose one of the standard patterns. My favorites are deerhair poppers for casting blindly, and Clouser Minnows in chartreuse or brown when I can see the fish. For tailing fish a crab pattern works well. If the fish sees your fly and refuses it, change to something smaller and darker.

The Mosquito Lagoon has a lot to offer fly anglers visiting central Florida. The most difficult decisions to make here are where to fish and what to fish for. Backcountry and flats anglers, boaters and waders, it's there for all of us. What are you waiting for? Which is it going to be?

Other Links: