Orlando Florida Flats Fishing Report

[CaptChrisM]

August was a tough month for sight fishing in Mosquito Lagoon. High dirty water and a lack of tailing fish made it extremely difficult to spot any targets. It was definitely a big change from the last few years. The trout fishing was nearly non-existent and there were no tarpon ladyfish, bluefish, or sail cats like we commonly see this time of year. While nobody knows for sure, it seems as if a lack of glass minnows is responsible.

The huge schools of redfish that were easily found the last couple summers have also been in hiding. While I have heard some blame it on the heat, it is no hotter than any other summer and the average water temperature has been a bit cooler than we have seen in past years.With the passing of hurricane Irene along the east coast, the water levels have risen even higher. Many of the redfish have vacated the flats leaving anglers with two options, blind casting or fishing with cut or live baits.

Despite the tough conditions, we did manage some quality redfish last month. Lilly landed several of them on a trip with her father Scott.



Canadian anglers Shawn and Angela landed numerous redfish during their trip to Mosquito Lagoon all of which were bigger than any fish they had ever caught.





During a trip with Brett and his son Ollie last week, they hooked several large redfish, had a few more come off, and had shots and dozens of huge fish crashing mullet.



I went back to the same spot with my wife the following day hoping to find the big reds still crashing the bait. As luck would have it, there were none to be found. Julie did manage to land one nice redfish on what was otherwise an unproductive day.



While September is normally one of my favorite months of the year, it is difficult to predict how the fishing will be this month. Unless the water clears up, sight fishing will be nearly impossible. With a lot of hunting, you can find some areas where you can see the bottom, and fish, during the middle of the day when the skies are clear. If you can find the fish, they will eat nearly anything you throw but this is the prime time for a topwater bite. I always have a DOA Baitbuster on my rod whenever I am fishing this time of year. Retrieve it just fast enough to keep it on the surface for some spectacular surface bites. Along the beaches, the fall mullet run will be getting under way this month offering anglers the chance at numerous species.

Capt. Chris Myers
[url "http://www.floridafishinglessons.com"]Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Guide[/url]
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[Alabama1943]

i blame the cold spell we had the last two years. Killed most of the bait or drove them south. And I think the redfish followed the bait.
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[Tarpon4me]

Redfishing in SC just got hot about a week ago. Bait is still thick here. I hope it picks up for you guys. []
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[Alabama1943]

What happened was in the pass two years we had the coldest winter I can remember. Each year we had a large fish kill. It killed the bait fish. So the redfish had no choice but to head south to Stuart. This happened in 2004 right after Hurricane Charlie. Charlie stired up the water in Titusville. There was an algue bloom and the oxygen depleted. The only way any bait cud survive was to stay at the mouth of the skeeter ponds where the fresh water comes out. It took two years before the redfish came back into the area.
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[Tarpon4me]

We had the same thing happen here in regards to speckled trout. Really put a hurting on the fishery. I hope that doesn't happen this year. Funny thing is, they left the creel limit the same on specks, and dropped the creel limit on weakfish to 1 fish per person, per day. I couldn't believe it. The weakfish are fine, we catch a ton of them. The specks are obsolete. I haven't even seen one this entire year. Our DNR totally went backwards on that one. [:/]
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[Alabama1943]

I will say this. There were a lot more redfish before Obama got in office. Just saying.
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