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+--- Thread: Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report, October 14, 2002 (/showthread.php?tid=18467)
Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report, October 14, 2002 - shewicker - 10-14-2002
[cool] This report comes from Captain Tom Van Horn of Indian River Lagoon
Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report, October 11, 2002
For the past twenty-one days, Kyle has churned up the waters off the East Coast of Florida. His present track will carry him northward up the coastline of the US this weekend bring higher winds and some rain with him. He has proven to be one persistent summer squall whose time has come, but he’s not leaving without spoiling our fishing one more time. If he swings to the north quickly, and the seas lay down, we should have perfect fishing conditions this weekend. They say that only fools and Yankees try to predict Florida weather, so who knows for sure.
Cooler weather is on the horizon, with several cold fronts beginning to march their way across the states. Along with the passage of these systems come fluctuations in barometric pressures which serve as natural signals to fish. The predators know it’s time to fatten up before cold weather arrives and they begin their migration south or to deeper water. This also happens to coincide with the migration of baitfish. If you are in the right spot at the proper time, the bite can be tremendous, but timing is everything. I like to try and catch the calm before the storm by working the pressure change from low to high. After the front passes, the pressure rises, the wind picks up, and the bite shuts down.
Earlier this past week we experienced some nice weather and calm seas, which allowed us to work the beaches with good success. On Monday I had the privilege of fishing with Bill Cork of Tyger Leaders, and Will White, the owner and manager of the fishing search engine and web directory, FishHoo! We teamed up with a second boat containing Captains Rodney Smith, John Kumiski, and Henry Cross. Together, we focused on toothy critters utilizing both live and cut bait. We ended our day with a mixed bag of sharks, Spanish mackerel. Ladyfish, jacks and we jumped one large tarpon that was only on the line for a few seconds before pulling the hook. The technique we used was to simply anchor just outside the breakers, and toss out chunks of cut bait and live finger mullet with no weights. Just let the bait settle to the bottom, and wait for a strike. Captain Henry Cross caught the largest fish of the day, which was a five to six foot black tip shark.
We are still in the middle of the fall baitfish migration, “the Bait Run”, with reports of huge schools of silver and black mullet traveling south down the beach. Some locations along the beach have reported large schools of bait with good numbers of predator fish in tow; others have reported very little bait in the surf. It’s my feeling that the baitfish work their way southward in pulses which increase and decrease from day to day, with heaver concentrations found in and around the inlets. There have also been reports of snook taking live finger mullet just beyond the edge of the surf in Cape Canaveral and Patrick AFB.
Inshore, large schools of ladyfish, small trout, and jacks have been concentrated on the deeper water schools of glass minnows. To take part in this frenzy, watch for birds and fish working bait pods and simply set up ahead and wait for the fish to come to you. These fish will eat just about anything you throw, so try top water plugs, plastic jigs, or live shrimp. The redfish are still scattered throughout the flats in small groups and it is best to target these fish in early morning or late afternoon when the conditions are calm and the fish are easer to see.
As always, if you nee any information or have questions, please contact me.
Good luck and good fishing,
Captain Tom Van Horn
[url "http://www.irl-fishing.com"]www.irl-fishing.com[/url]
[url "mailto:captain@irl-fishing.com"]captain@irl-fishing.com[/url]
407-366-8085
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