Tim joined me for his annual trip to Mosquito Lagoon and at the first flat we visited there were redfish tails in every direction. He landed five and had at least that many come unhooked before they began to move out to deeper water. The watermelon holographic DOA shrimp accounted for all the bites.
The wind picked up and some clouds rolled in shutting down the sight fishing. Tim switched over to a 3" CAL jig and landed numerous trout off the edges of the flats to finish the day.
The following morning, Jerry and Rick were hoping for some redfish to bend their flyrods. They were not disappointed. Again, there were redfish tails in every direction. Using #4 bendback flies in white and gold, they each landed some redfish and had several more bites and follows during an excellent morning of fishing.
The following week, I arrived at the Lagoon to a windy morning with temperatures in the low 40's. It is definitely not my kind of weather but the fish did not seem to mind. I did not see tons of fish nor were any of them tailing. The fish I did see, however, were more than willing to bite. Over a dozen reds fell for various color DOA shrimp.
Fred and Shan joined me later that week. The redfish provided plenty of shots on the flats and they each landed one on a CAL bait before we elected to do some trout fishing. Using the DOA Deadly Combo kept the rods bent with some catch and release trout action.
This past week, I fished with Allen from North Carolina. The water level was nearly a foot higher than it had been the first couple weeks of the month and many of the redfish had vacated the flats. We encountered several small groups of tailing redfish in the morning and Allen landed one using the DOA shrimp.
We found an area holding a few redfish and some large trout. Using a holographic 5.5 inch CAL, Allen landed three nice trout and had several more big trout shake free.
The final trip of this past week was a challenge. Thick clouds and 20mph winds were not what had been forecast but it is what we got all day long. Sight fishing was next to impossible except for a 30 minute period at the end of the day. The rough water made trout fishing uncomfortable and only a few were landed before we gave up.
The weather this holiday week looks to be a bit more stable and will hopefully bring some more of that excellent tailing action we saw earlier in the month. When the fish are tailing, small baits or files work best.
Capt. Chris Myers
Orlando Fishing Guide