New Smyrna Beach Area - Indian River Lagoon - Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

December 21, 2019

About to wrap up 2019 and put a bow on it! Our local fishery continues to change each year, making me work a little harder and learn new areas to find fish and put them in the boat on a daily basis. It was another fantastic year though fishing around Ponce Inlet, Mosquito Lagoon and the Indian River with lots of memories made with people from around the whole country. We caught hundreds of bull redfish over 20 pounds. It was the best year of snook fishing I’ve personally seen here with lots of big ones, including multiple fish measuring 32-38 inches. While we didn’t land any 10 pound speckled trout, we caught several 29-31 trout with a few 8-9 pounders. We also caught triple tail, sharks, goliath grouper and small tarpon. I’m forever grateful to be living my best life, nearly 15 years now I’ve been professionally guiding full-time.

Note…the next few months are some of the busiest months of the year. Don’t wait till last minute to schedule. My calendar will be packed full with folks here for holiday travel, winter vacations, spring breaks, Daytona 500 conferences in Orlando, and more. January, February and March are already half way booked so don’t wait!

Mosquito Lagoon redfish charters have been really good lately around cold fronts. Water levels are still high enough that they haven’t concentrated redfish into schools, rather it’s small groups and pairs. Sight fishing is good in Mosquito Lagoon and creeks around New Smyrna Beach with lots of areas with clean water. Our numbers caught each day are fluctuating based on weather conditions. Some days area yielding 10-20 redfish caught and others just a few. January and February are historically really good months for redfish as the water levels force fish to form into bigger schools. Live bait like shrimp and mullet are best producers while lures are putting fish in the boat when fish are scattered when it’s warmer. This type of fishing in the Lagoon will continue over the next few months until we get into the spring baitfish season.

Finding a lot of snook schooled up again this winter in portions of Mosquito Lagoon and the Indian River Lagoon. They are usually laid up in shallow water trying to sun and warm up. Live shrimp and small soft plastics work best and we are typically sight casting to the fish we see. We are catching 5-10 snook per day lately. Snook fishing around New Smyrna Beach and the Mosquito Lagoon will stay steady for me out into April. Last year March and April were phenomenal with numerous days producing 10-20 snook in the boat. All this assumes we don’t have any hard cold freezes which would produce a fish kill. It’s been about 10 years since the last so hope the trend continues.

Fishing in the backwaters of New Smyrna Beach and down into the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River Lagoon for big speckled trout is showing decent numbers of big trout laid up in the shallows. Smaller trout are piling up by the hundreds in deeper holes, sloughs and channels. Live bait like mullet and shrimp as well as jigs/plugs will score on trout of all sizes over the next few months.

There are big schools of black drum starting to form in the North Indian River Lagoon and Mosquito Lagoon. Some of these schools are holding 100+ fish in the 5-15 pound range. Black Drum spawn in the spring so these schools will be around through April. Live shrimp or blue crab will be top choices for us to catch them by the dozens.

I have about 14 days remaining open in January and about 12 days for February. March and April are super busy and each are already over half-way full. Don’t wait till last minute to make spring break plans or you’ll mis out. I take last second scheduling if time permits. Text me or call me at 386-212-4931 or even send me an email to secure a date. Read my fishing charter page to view the top reasons why you should book your trip with me today. I look forward to fishing with you soon…