Mosquito Lagoon & Indian River Fishing: Fish Kill

Wednesday, January 4, 2023

Had major surgery a couple of weeks ago and couldn't stand being in the house another minute; so I took a rod and headed out to check out the fishing in our area.

I was told about a fish kill in the Mosquito Lagoon and northern Indian River but the guide who reported it never mentioned specifically where it was.

The beach re-opened on Jan 3rd so I decided to see if Bio Lab Road was open for vehicle traffic.

As I drove past the open barrier, I was surprised to see the number of people in the parking area and along the road.

Several people were crabbing and at the entrance to Bio Lab road at the pumping station. As I drove onto the dirt road, the water was calm and surprisingly clear.

The sea grasses in this area of the lagoon are gone, but you can still spot fish over the dark mud bottom in many areas.

The gators were also out in force as I meandered the road. These were sunning themselves in the 83 degree temperatures.

As I drove closer to Playalinda Beach, a few groups of fishermen had rods staked out with live shrimp for black drum and reds. The two anglers I talked to caught a couple of small drum that they said they released but nothing to brag about.

I drove into one of my favorite summertime spots to see if anything was happening and found the leeward banks littered with dead and bloated snook.

When I parked at the flowing culverts, I spotted a small manatee that apparently died from the cold snap we had a week or so ago. On the deeper side of the culverts, a few dead tilapia and South American cichlids were rotting along the bank.

After making several unfruitful casts with a Storm Creame paddle tail bait with no action, I took these pics and a couple of videos of the area before moving on.