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My first trip to the Mosquito Lagoon |
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My first trip to the Mosquito Lagoon |
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I went to try some other spots the Capt. Robert Blake told me about. When I got to the spot there was a weekend worrier in the shallow water turning up the bottom like he was dredging a new canal! That took care of that spot. I bounced around for the rest of the day fighting the wind and always seeming to see the fish swimming away “Upwind!” I managed to catch another small redfish in just about the same spot as I caught my first one. This one was about 22” long also on a jerk worm. I was buzzing around with my trolling motor on high and I spooked another redfish and as the fish was running away from me. I cast my 12-Fathom Slammer ahead of the fish and he at it! That one was 24” long.
At the end of day one (I fished from 6 am till 3 pm and then 5 pm to 8 pm) 11 hours, 3 redfish. Not exactly the reason I traveled across the state for. Too many boats and bad luck with the wind. Other than that the water was nice and clear. There was lots of life in the water all around. Plenty of mullet in all sizes and stingrays on the flats. No houses in sight and no noise from traffic. I also saw manatees, and dolphins.
Day two started off the same at 6 am…………….. too much wind from the wrong direction, but there were fewer boats today. I fished the spot where I caught all my Redfish the day before but there was nothing there. I talked to Capt. Robert Blake the night before and he told me where he found some tailing reds the day before as the water got calm before the sea breeze kicked in. That would happen around noon, so I had a few hours to kill until then. I fish the other side of the lagoon out of the wind hoping to get a seatrout on a top-water plug. I got a 17 incher off the bat and another smaller on later. That was all for that.
I then went to the place Capt. Blake told me about and was going to pole around there until the wind died. I did see more fish up in this spot today, but they always seem to come from where I was not looking, or I just didn't see them before I spooked them. It is very difficult and almost impossible to sight fish in shallow water by yourself when it is windy! I poled and I waited, I blind cast and I poled, I anchored and cast and waited. I finally got up and ran around a little bit more and came back. AAAAAAAHHHH FINALLY! The wind stopped. I was waiting for the “Tails that popped up all over” when the wind slacked, but I didn’t see any. I quietly poled and looked for tailing reds and I started to see some other fish being pushed from my boat. I tried to cast a jerk worm to them but they landed too loud. The wakes I was seeing were big seatrout in a foot of water. I spooked one that would have weighed 15lbs if it weight and ounce! Being alone and not being able to pole, spot fish, put pole down, pick up rod, and cast to fish, I only had one last chance to catch these fish. I had to get out of the boat. I tested the bottom and it was reasonable to wade. I anchored the boat, grabbed my fly rod, tied on a brown D.C. Wiggler, put on my wading shoes and slipped into the water. The bottom was softer than I thought, but not terrible. I only had to wade 30 or 40 feet from the boat and I could see a few big fish pushing around. It was too hard to wade to these fish quietly because the bottom was soft, so I just stood there. Finally a big head wake was heading right at me in casting range. I laid the D.C. Wiggler in the fishes path and gave it just one little twitch. The fish went 2 or 3 feet out of its path to eat the fly! He ate that D. C. Wiggler like it was candy!
The fight was on! He boiled up the water and made a fast but short run splashing water everywhere. It was only about a foot deep so he had to run. The fish didn’t know which way to run. He made fast runs like a snook and bulldogged like a redfish! After an exciting tug of war I tried to reach my hands around the back of its head but it was too big. I though the fish would go 30” for sure but it only went 28” AAAAAWWWWW! I had my mind set on the 20lb test fly rod record that is 8lb 6oz, but this fish was only 7lbs. (Dang, last year the record was only 6lb 10oz)
Within 10 minutes the wind started to pick back up and I could no longer see the fish, so I packed up and head home. Day two I did see more fish and was capped off by one of the most exciting fly rod fish and the largest seatrout I have ever caught on fly or conventional tackle. Oh well, I caught a fish in the first 10 minutes and the last 10 minutes in the Mosquito Lagoon.
I’ll be back soon but I learned two things about my future fishing trips. I won’t go on weekends, and I won’t go it alone. If you want to fish in the Mosquito Lagoon or Indian River look up Capt. Robert Blake at www.redfishonfly.com 321-544-5041 0r 1-866-RED-DRUM.
