June 25, 2006 - Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Guide Capt. Chris Myers East Central Florida Report Fishing along our east central Florida beaches had been steady producing tarpon, jack crevalle, kingfish, and sharks before tropical storm Alberto. Several days after the storm, I fished out of Port Canaveral with Robert Hylinski. Bait was tough to find and the fishing was even harder. We searched for miles south of the Port and only saw a few tarpon and a couple small groups of jacks, none of which wanted to eat. I have received reports from others who have fished this same area during the past week with similar results. Although the bait has returned to the beach and the water temperature is ideal, the fish have not been present. Fishing in the Mosquito Lagoon has been a bit more consistent. The fish have been somewhat easier to locate, but getting them to eat can sometimes be a challenge. June 17th, I fished with Harry Russo from Daytona. Our half day trip only produced a few redfish sightings but the trout were more cooperative. Harry used a Cajun Thunder with a rootbeer DOA shrimp to catch eight trout over a sand/grass bottom in two feet of water. After dropping of Harry around noon, I went back out to explore some areas we did not have time to fish. Using a gold jerk bait, I was able to land a 28” trout and several slot reds along the edge of a flat. Monday, I fished the Lagoon with Maj. Tim O’Brien. We checked the Indian River first but the action was slow. Moving to the Mosquito Lagoon, with fished a sand bar that was holding slot sized reds and some large trout. Around noon, we moved to a shallow flat where the reds were cruising shallow sand holes. Although we saw fish consistently throughout the afternoon, they did not seem to have much of an appetite. Tuesday, Clay Lewis and his father Warren were on board for a day of fishing the lagoon. Although Clay was an excellent caster for such a young age, his father provided some assistance when we spotted a school of large reds. Dad hooked the fish on a chunk of fresh blue crab and handed the rod to Clay who did a great job of fighting the fish. It was his first redfish. We had a few more shots at the fish before they moved off but had no more takers. While moving to another location, we spotted some trout busting mullet schools. Using bucktail jigs, Clay and Warren each caught a few trout. The next spot held some slot reds and some large trout. Clay struck again landing the biggest trout of the day on a silver spoon. The 25” beauty was released to fight again another day. Wednesday, I was going to fish the beaches outside the Port but after receiving several fishing reports, I decided not to go. I fished the Lagoon instead. Although I saw fish consistently throughout the morning, I could not get them to eat any of my usually productive soft plastic baits. Around noon, I discovered a huge school of reds. Still no takers on the soft plastic. Switching to a Redfish Magic spinnerbait, the fish began to bite immediately. They were fighting to get the lure out of the hooked fish’s mouth. I caught eight reds on the spinnerbait and four on a spoon fly before calling it a day. Thursday, I fished with Dr. Randy Turner and his father-in-law, Tom Lewis. I was certain they would catch 20+ redfish after experiencing great action the previous day. We returned to the same area and found a school of several hundred reds. Dr. Turner cast the spinnerbait into the school and immediately was hooked up. When the fish was boatside, we discovered it was a flounder, one of this biggest I have seen caught in this part of the lagoon. The fish threw the hook before we could grab it for a photo. Dr. Turner caught two more reds from the school while Tom’s identical bait went completely ignored. Just as we decided to switch to some natural bait, the school vanished. After much searching, we finally found some cooperative trout and ladyfish that provided some action. Friday, Capt. John Kumiski and I went fly fishing in the Mosquito Lagoon. We found some reds which were tailing and backing in and around some shallow grass early in the morning. After multiple refusals and several fly changes, Capt. John finally found a crab pattern they would eat and hooked a nice upper slot red. I was able to land one on a similar pattern and we both had a couple fish that struck and missed. The action was slow at our next few spots but Capt. John was able to fool another red on a Mosquito Lagoon Special. The wind picked up and we called it a day. Saturday, I went on a canoe trip to the Banana River No Motor Zone with the Central Florida Flats Anglers. I fished with Ron Whetstone. Action was slow, to say the least, Thick grass clogged most of the flats and the bait schools were scattered. Ron and I scored a double hookup on trout using topwater baits. After miles of paddling, we found several schools of redfish only to be run off by some large and aggressive gators but not before Ron caught one red on a gold jerkbait. During our long trip back to the launch site, we never saw another fish. If you are looking for a Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Guide or want to experience some of the best fishing near orlando, please visit my HOME page for charter information. View pictures of fish you can catch in east central Florida.