May 28, 2006 - Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Guide Capt. Chris Myers East Central Florida report The water temperature in the Mosquito Lagoon and upper Indian River has finally risen into the 80’s and the area is alive with activity. Monday morning, I was greeted by one of my favorite sights, dozens of rolling tarpon. These early season fish were only from 5-20 lbs, but they were plentiful. Using a small white shad tail on a jighead, I landed two before moving on. Next, I encountered several schools of jacks roaming some shallow flats terrorizing schools of mullet. I caught several on fly and topwater plugs along with a couple trout on the flyrod. Cloud cover made sight fishing for reds difficult but the topwater trout bite lasted the whole day as I landed a few more with walk the dog style plugs. Wednesday, Tom and Carter Young joined me for a day of fishing the Lagoons. Our first stop was at a school of oversize reds. Two other boats were chasing them with trolling motors, however, and ran the fish off into deep water. We moved to some spoil islands and a few trout came to the boat on Mirrolure She Dogs. At spot number three, there were more large reds, and again, a boat was chasing them with a trolling motor causing them to have lockjaw. Although these fish can be caught by boats using a trolling motor, it is important to use the motor at slow speed and parallel the fish, not chase them from behind. We left and went in search of a third school of big reds. As soon as we arrived, a research vessel was netting up the entire school of fish, probably to insert tags in them. The big fish were not to be on this trip so we moved to some shallow water to look for slot sized fish. Tom caught a red out of a shallow sand hole using a circle hooked live shrimp. Clouds had moved in and we spooked a few dozen more reds before we could see them. Thursday, Mark Massey from Georgia and I headed out at first light. I netted a few mullet and we were off in search of tarpon. Mark caught his first tarpon and jumped several more. When the tarpon bite slowed, we moved on to redfish. We had one pinfish in the well. A red grabbed the bait but the hook did not stick. We tried some crab chunks but had multiple refusals. Other boats using live shrimp were having no luck. I gave Mark a whole live blue crab. He tossed it in front of the school and a 52” monster picked it up. After a nice fight, the fish was quickly photographed, revived, and released. Mark decided to leave the big fish to try his hand at sight casting some slot sized singles. We saw several fish and he landed one on a gold Exude RT Slug. Needing a trout to complete the slam, we tied on some Capt. Joe’s Shredders and moved to the three foot depths. Usually the easiest fish of the slam to catch, this day the trout proved to be the most difficult. After multiple puffer fish attacks, Mark got his trout. After experiencing the pull of some nice saltwater fish, this bass fisherman may never be the same. Saturday, Brian McIntosh and his cousin Andy joined me on the Mosquito Lagoon. We looked for some big fish at first light, but they were not home. We moved short distance to some very shallow flats and tails began to appear all around us. They quickly realized the importance of casting accuracy after spooking several schools of fish. They were great sports, however, and provided me with plenty of entertainment as they poked fun at themselves and each other. After a quick casting lesson, they began to dial it in and a couple of reds came to the boat. At our second spot, we saw several reds in a shallow hole. Brain tossed his Gold jerkbait and was instantly hooked up. The fish spit the hook and Brian fired off a cast at another fish. Seconds later, a big head was thrashing at the surface. A beautiful 27” trout had grabbed his bait intended for the red. We managed to find quite a few fish on a very crowded lagoon but the big fish eluded us. A fun time was had by all. The fishing in the Lagoons should continue to be outstanding in the coming weeks. I have received reports from other captains who have been searching the nearshore waters outside Port Canaveral looking for tarpon and kingfish but none have been seen. 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.