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

February 3, 2022

Hard to believe we are only a month or so away from springtime in Central Florida. Before we get there though, let’s fish the winter months! Winter finally showed up and brought a few frosty mornings over the past few weeks. Sight fishing will be the plan for the next couple months as the water is crystal clear water throughout most of the entire Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River Lagoon system. We’re now finding snook, redfish, black drum and speckled trout in big schools. It’s been a good bite for us using live bait and lures. Cold fronts will continue to drop into Florida until the end of March so things won’t change up much from now until April. Of note, we are now back into the peak busy time of the year…monthly calendars are going to be pretty slammed until November. So if you’re planning for spring break or summer vacations, don’t wait until the last minute.

Snook near New Smyrna Beach, Ponce Inlet, Spruce Creek and Mosquito Lagoon are in big schools right now on the edges of the deep water. Snook have taken over the region the past few years and now outnumber just about everything else around. The bigger snook over 25” are pretty lethargic in the colder water temps but can usually still get some to bite.  Smaller ones are quite energetic lately and willing to bite live bait, lures and flies. A couple recent trips we caught 10-15+ snook casting lures. Fishing for snook will be pretty steady into May, with many days producing double digits landed. As things warm up, the size we catch will also increase.

Redfish are forming into some good sized schools in the Mosquito Lagoon area with the onset of super clear water and colder temps. We are sight casting them with live bait and soft plastics. These redfish range up to 30”, with most being in the 20-25” range. Had a couple days last week with 10+ redfish to the boat. Should stay productive on redfish on the flats and creeks until late spring. The giant trophy redfish are still around in the deeper water and on the flats. I don’t typically spend much time on them this time of year because the bite is always pretty slow and you typically need great weather to sight cast the shallow ones.

Lots of black drum schooled up in the Indian River Lagoon and Mosquito Lagoon. We spent several weeks fishing one area that must have had 1000 black drum…for 2 weeks straight we averaged 20+ to the boat each day! We usually catch the drum while we are fishing for other things and don’t go out specifically targeting them. There are some giant drum over 25 pounds in the ICW in New Smyrna Beach and the south half of Mosquito Lagoon. Typically it’s a live bait game with black drum, but we also can sometimes catch them on fly tackle. We have good luck catching black drum into April and then a lot of them disappear.

Fair numbers of giant speckled trout in the shallows throughout Mosquito Lagoon heading up into New Smyrna Beach backwaters. You’ll spot plenty of them laying up on the mud flats trying to warm up this time of year, but they can be a little lethargic and somedays not willing to eat. We are also catching decent numbers of smaller speckled trout under 20 inches on live bait and lures in both Mosquito Lagoon and the Indian River Lagoon. Should stay consistent for a couple months as they get ready to spawn in the spring.

February is almost full booked out…I only have 7 days available. March is booking quickly too…again only 7 days remaining open for March.Setting up quite a few trips in April, but have about 13 days remaining open. Don’t wait until the last minute to make spring break plans or you’ll miss out. I take last second scheduling if time permits. Test me or call me at 386-212-4931 to 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.