fishing for tarpon around new smyrna beach

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

September 2, 2011

Fall is right around the corner as we move into September. That means the fall bait run and fish eating well before we get the first cold fronts of the year. Higher water levels scatter fish on the flats, shorelines, shell bars and magroves. Redfish, trout, and flounder provide some consistent fishing. Trophy bull redfish will be schooling in massive schools in deeper water around full moon cycles to spawn. It’s also about the last month of the year to target tarpon with any consistency. I fished another Xtreme Redfish Tournament within the past two weeks. We weighed a bag of 13.08lbs, good enough for a 2nd place finish (our 4th second place finish in 6 Xtreme tournaments this year).

The Redfish bite has been good and consistent as of late. Higher water levels have scattered fish on top of grass flats and sand bars in the Mosquito Lagoon area. In the tidal waters around New Smyrna Beach, Ponce Inlet, and Edgewater we’re finding redfish on top of oyster bars and along mangrove shorelines. This higher water in both areas is also slightly off-color which allows us to get really close to fish, often catching them only a few feet off the bow. Most of these redfish are juveniles in the 4-10lb class. Most of our bites will come on topwater plugs, spoons, and DOA shrimp when we are throwing lures. When we are using live bait we will use mullet, pinfish and pigfish. In the deeper water of the North Indian River Lagoon and the ICW from Edgewater to Ponce Inlet, we’ll find schools of trophy bull redfish in the 20-40lb range. Live croakers, mullet and blue crabs are excellent choices for a guaranteed hook-up on a trophy size redfish.

Our Speckled Trout catching has thinned a bit over the past month and we’re aren’t catching as many gator trout over 6lbs, but we’re still getting 10-15 keeper size trout per day when targeting them. Find active schools of finger mullet on top of oyster bars, creek mudflats, or on the grass flats and you’ll find speckled trout on the perimeter. We’ve been fishing mostly with pigfish and live mullet for live bait and a variety of plugs when throwing lures.

September is typically the last month of the year to find consistent Tarpon action before they migrate out of the area at the end of the month. Most of the inshore fish will be gone by early October and pushed out into the ocean along the beaches. The best action this time of year is in the ICW between Ponce Inlet and Mosquito Lagoon. There are fair-good numbers of fish of all sizes, from 20lb resident juveniles to 80-120lb migratory adults. Pinfish, live mullet and menhaden are preferred live baits of choice in Central Florida. Swimbaits, DOA baitbusters, and Hogy’s are the top lure producers.

The Flounder bite continues to be good in all areas of the Halifax, Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon. It should be incredible once we start to get the first cold snaps of the year. Sand sloughs, sand bars, and creek/channel edges are preferred fishing spots. We’re primarily catching them on pigfish, croakers, and live mullet.

September is about half way booked which still leaves some good openings scattered on my calendar. Same goes for October. Give me a call now to check my availability and reserve/book a date. Short notice trips are accepted if I have a date available. 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…386-212-4931.

Some client catches from the past month...





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