Mosquito Lagoon Florida Report

I continue to talk with people from around the country who think the entire east coast of Florida is troubled by the devastating blue/green algae that is plaguing the Stuart area this year as a result of polluted water being dumped from Lake Okeechobee. The east central Florida area is nowhere near that algae bloom and is not affected by it at all. We have had a brown algae bloom for over a year that has clouded our once crystal clear waters but it is not toxic and the fishing has been quite good recently.

Redfish have been tailing in less than two feet of water. These fish range in size from 2 pounds to over 40 pounds so one rod will not cover all fish you may encounter. I typically carry 5 though 9 weight rods so I can use the appropriate setup for the fish we are targeting at the time. Different size flies will be necessary as well. I use larger flies for the fish over 15 pounds. Mullet or pinfish flies or even tarpon flies like a black tarpon snake will get the attention of the larger fish. Crabs work well too provided you can place it a few inches away from their nose in the stained water. Average sized fish have been tailing in schools and will hit nearly anything you put in front of them. if I am targeting mostly single fish, i like flies with a small rattle to get their attention as most of them have their heads buried in the grass. Large seatrout have been finning in the shallow grass flats as well. Many days you can encounter schools of black drum in the same areas. Overall, this has been an excellent summer for sight fishing for redfish. This same pattern should continue for the next couple months.

A few small tarpon are around on very calm days but this year's tarpon fishing has been nowhere bear as good as last year. We still have several months for this to improve, however.

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Capt. Chris Myers
Central Florida Sight Fishing Charters
www.flatsfishingtrips.com