Capt. Chris Myers. I specialize in sight fishing the flats for redfish,
This is an archived Mosquito Lagoon flats fishing report from
drum, and trout in central Florida. I offer half and full day fishing
trips for one or two anglers with light tackle and fly. Fishing is near
This is an archived Mosquito Lagoon flats fishing report from
Orlando, Cocoa Beach, Daytona Beach, and New Smyrna Beach.
If you would like to book a charter or need more information, you
can contact me at 321-229-2848.

The flats fishing in Mosquito Lagoon the second half of this month
has been good. Redfish, trout, and black drum have been plentiful
on the flats. The water clarity is still not what it should be for this
time of year but there are places where you can sight fish. This
week's cooler temperatures along with some nights in the 40's
next week will hopefully kill off the algae that has been plaguing
us for several months.

While the fish have been feeding the last couple weeks, we have
seen very few tails breaking the surface. A lot of fish can be
spotted nose down digging for food but remaining completely
submerged. If you don't have a proper pair of polarized glasses or
if the sun is obscured by clouds, the fish are nearly impossible to
spot before you run over them. If you can spot them, a variety of
soft plastics have been working well. Topping the list is the 1/4
ounce DOA shrimp. Tailing redfish will rarely refuse it and the
trout love it as well. I have been using the watermelon holographic
color but presentation is much more important than the color you
use.

If conditions do not allow for sight fishing, blind casting with the 4
and 5.5 inch CAL baits has been landing both trout and redfish.
Adding a Woodies Rattle to the baits has improved the bite.
Choose areas with a mix of sand and grass to improve your
chances for landing both species. Blind casting is exactly what we
had to do all day on a trip last week with Joe and his son Joe Jr.
The skies were solid clouds all day and we could not see the fish
in the water. They threw 5.5 inch Cals and landed numerous
redfish and trout.


















The two previous days had both sun and clouds and we had
multiple opportunities to sight cast to redfish on the flats. We also
used the DOA Deadly Combo along the deeper edges of the flats
for some steady trout action.

Jeff and his son George threw melon back Cals on a perfect
December morning and landed several nice trout and redfish as
well.

















I went out for a bit after dropping them off to take advantage of the
clear skies and water. Unfortunately, I did not have my flyrod on
board but the DOA shrimp and crab were eaten by almost every
fish I cast at.

















This week, I had the pleasure of having former Nebraska
Cornhuskers coach Tom Osborne on board to do some fly fishing
for redfish. The first day we were going to do the trip it was
blowing 20 with a 4o degree wind chill. The following day, it was
calm but we had solid clouds for the first 5 hours. We saw plenty
of fish all morning, after bumping into them with the boat that is.
None of the fish would tail and the coach never got a shot all
morning. Finally the clouds passed through and the sun came out.
A short time later, he was hooked up with his first redfish of the
day. That fish came unbuttoned after a minute or so. The second
redfish that ate the black worm fly stayed on the hook and was
brought in for a quick photo.


















Yesterday's trip brought the best weather of the week. Crystal
clear skies and no wind made for excellent sight fishing
conditions. My client landed both redfish and trout on a three inch
DOA CAL and had shots at dozens of tailing redfish and black
drum throughout the day.

The next couple months will offer some of the best fly fishing and
sight fishing of the year. The fish will be targeting small baits such
as crabs and shrimp and will eagerly eat similar sized flies and
plastics. As always, the better you cast, the more you will catch.
The number one thing you can do to catch more fish on the flats is
to practice casting quickness and accuracy.
Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report -December 31, 2011
Central Florida Sight Fishing Charters
Orlando Flats Fishing Guide
Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River
Florida Fishing Guides Association
FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor