Mosquito Lagoon And Indian River Fishing

The Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River fishing has been great so far this month for sea trout, redfish and medium to large schools of black drum.

I took off late this afternoon to score some trout in the Indian River and wasn't disappointed.

The late start was intentional since I have found that the trout bite better later in the afternoon and just before dusk.

Today's trip was a clone of yesterday afternoon's fishing trip. The water had a slight ripple and the wind had a chill to it that was not quite as bad as yesterday.

The trout in the marsh canal were biting but they were sluggish and would not take a lure unless it was fished very slow.

In about an hour and a half, I managed to catch only three trout that were keepers.

I had several taps and half hearted hits that I believe were from smaller trout and I missed one slot sized redfish.

The trout were hitting my green DOA jig head tipped with a Strike King 3X cyber flex jerk bait. The salt impregnated jerk bait has a garlic flavor and can stretch up to at least a foot, if you care to do it.

The bait is perfect for winter time fishing when you have to fish lures very slowly. The fish just refuse to let go of the bait.

Anyway, I was going to keep the trout but since it was late, I didn't feel like cleaning them so I just took a couple of pics and let them go.

All the fish were caught within a 50 yard stretch of water in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge marsh area.

After I missed the redfish, I decided to head for home and came across a couple of guys in a canoe that weren't having much luck and were also packing up to leave.

They told me they came across a school of black drum on the Indian river side, but they didn't catch any of them.

They then hauled the canoe over the to the other side of the road and fished the marsh canal without any luck.

The canal is about three feet deep at its deepest point near the road and gets progressively shallower everywhere else.

The best places to fish near dusk is right at the road, which is why I go out late in the afternoon during the winter. During the day, you will have better luck casting right on the opposite bank and slowly swimming the bait back to you.



On the way out of the preserve I took these pics of the beautiful sunset. No matter how many times I fish this area, I still become awed by the wildlife and the beautiful sunsets.

Till next time.

Tight Lines.