Orlando Area Saltwater Report 9/30/10

The remnants of tropical storm Nicole are travelling up the eastern coast of Florida bringing plenty of clouds and high winds. By this weekend and early next week, winds of 25-30 knots are forecast. This may have an impact on the water levels in the Lagoons and will certainly make for some dirty water in some areas. The fishing the past couple weeks has been tough. When you can find the fish, they have been biting well. Most of the larger fish are spawning in deeper water. High winds and clouds have made spotting these schools difficult. When you do locate them, ethical anglers catch only a few and move on so as not to disrupt their spawning habits. On the shallow flats, the fish have been widely dispersed and on the move. Some days you find a lot and the next day they are gone. Unlike the past few months, it has been necessary to cover a lot of water during the day.

Billy and Donovan drove up from south Florida to sample some Mosquito Lagoon redfish. The day started out great with Donovan hooking a big redfish on his second cast with a gold Baitbuster.



The rest of the day was challenging with the shots coming few and far between. We hunted for tarpon for a while seeing only a dozen or so. Billy landed the next two redfish with his Baitbuster.



The following day I fished with Mike and John. We spent the morning fishing around the diving birds catching a mix of ladyfish, trout, and catfish on jigs and spoons. As the winds increased, we moved up near the shoreline and ended the catching some redfish including a 47 inch monster landed by John on ten pound line.



Mike and Tim were with me on a windy and cloudy day that week. We hit multiple spots but saw very few fish and those we did see were only a few feet from the boat. Not a good day for sight fishing and we left hoping for some better luck next time.

Jason had some better conditions the following day and we encountered quite a few redfish on the shallow flats. He hooked some redfish and trout on CAL jigs and landed his biggest fish of the day on a Baitbuster. The fish followed the mullet imitation to within 15 feet of the boat before making and explosive surface strike.



Mike and Chris had a tough start to the day with very few fish showing on the flats we visited. During the last hour of the trip, however, they each landed two redfish and a nice trout before some gale force winds sent us back to the ramp.

This Monday, British angler Tyson made his first trip to Mosquito Lagoon. His goal was to try some fly fishing for redfish. Our first two stops did not hold any fish. The third flat, however, was loaded with happy reds. Tyson caught his first redfish with an EP style mullet fly.



After a few more unsuccessful attempts to reach the fish with his fly, he asked me if he could switch to spinning gear. For the next two hours, he landed numerous redfish using a three inch CAL jig in silver mullet color. Unfortunately, some strong thunderstorms from the tropical system began moving in on us and we were forced to leave the fish. He was able to get a few ladyfish and seatrout on the way back and we arrived at the ramp just in front of the storm.

The fall baitfish run will be in full swing during October. When seas allow, there will be some great fishing along the beaches as schools of mullet head south with tarpon, snook, sharks, jacks, bluefish, and other species following them. Inshore, mullet imitations are the way to go. Redfish and trout will eagerly strike surface lures throughout the month.

Capt. Chris Myers
Orlando Fishing Guide