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

May 3, 2008

White butterflies are in the air, manatees are roaming our local waters, and schools of baitfish are flooding the inshore waters which is the signal for all game fish to wake up from their cold water slumbers and fill their belly. I did 13 charters in March and despite some windy days we landed tarpon, snook, redfish and trout. May is now here, the cold fronts are over, so let's hope we've left most of the windy days behind us and are greeted with calm waters every morning. It's the beginning of our warm season and time for us to target the super slams (tarpon, redfish, snook and trout).

The bite for GIANT Redfish is getting better every week. At last count I have found 16 schools of these trophy redfish in the Mosquito Lagoon and North Indian River Lagoon. If the sun is out and the winds are calm you can usually find schools of them finning and tailing on the surface. Most fish are ranging from 30-45 inches and weigh anywhere from 10-45lbs. The waters levels rose about one foot over the past month and water temps are now approaching or exceeding 80 degrees everyday. Winter schools of slot fish are breaking up and now we'll turn out attention to the many shorelines, islands and oyster bars looking for tailing and cruising small pods of fish. Gold spoons, suspending plugs, and jigs with soft plastics have been our lures of choice lately. For fly anglers we've been throwing sliders, crab patterns, and glass minnow imitations. It's a good time to net some finger mullet and pinfish for back-up as baitfishes are starting to dominate the best bite.

When the water temps reached the mid 70's Tarpon become a new target. This is by far my most favorite thing to fish for. Over the past couple of weeks I've been finding good numbers of juvenile tarpon around the area. Most of the tarpon we are targeting and catching are ranging from 10-20lbs, but I've seen a few 20-40lb fish scattered around and a couple more weeks of warm weather will really bring them out of hiding. We've had success catching tarpon so far on jigs and live shrimp, and I totally missed the hookset on a 20-30lb fish that nailed my signature fly. Snook fishing has been steady but the bite has shifted to early morning or late evening, unless we get a good tide period during the day. They are really starting to key on the baitfish moving into the region and a diving plug or topwater has been the best ticket for a bite.

Big Spotted Sea Trout are schooling each month on the edges of flats and creeks to spawn. Areas with good water depth, grass, sand holes, and last but not least baitfish are where we are targeting these trophy sized fish that can weigh upwards of 13lbs. Sand bar edges are holding lots and lots of smaller trout and over the past coupler weeks we're catching 10-20 a day . The rising water temps are also bringing the Sharks back to our inshore waters. Black tips, spinners, sandbar, and bonnethead sharks are what we're now catching here locally. Clear waters in the mangrove backcountry are allowing us to sight fish these apex predators. The sharks are ranging from 10-75lbs. Jack crevalle, ladyfish, and flounder are also working their way to the boat lately.

May and June are great months to be fishing our local inshore waters. My calendar for May is getting full, with 14 charters already scheduled, and I'm also filling many dates for June and July. Of course short notice trips are welcomed if my calendar permits. I'll also be fishing the IFA Redfish Tour event when they visit here in late June. I'd love the opportunity to be your guide for the day, or even a couple days this month, so give me a call if I can help. Look forward to fishing with you soo, 386-212-4931. Here is a sample of recent pictures just added to the Galleries.

You can also read reports from the past year by visiting my Report Archive