Central Florida Sight Fishing Charters
Guided Fishing Trips Near Orlando
Light Tackle and Fly
Mosquito Lagoon & Indian River
The winter fishing here in east central Florida continues to be excellent. Redfish,
black drum, and seatrout are our primary species this time of year and all three
have been readily available. The water levels over the past two weeks have
been low resulting in some great sight fishing opportunities.

On Sunday, January 27, I fished the second annual fly fishing tournament
sponsored by The Fly Fisherman in Titusville. This event had been cancelled the
previous two weeks due to poor weather. This day turned out to be a poor day
for fly fishing but the tournament went on as planned. When I arrived at the ramp
with my partner, Capt. Keith Kalbfleisch, it was raining and the winds were
blowing around 20. Unable to see any fish in the low light, we spent the first
couple hours blind casting and picked up one redfish. By late morning, the sun
came out but the wind continued blowing. We had steady shots at redfish and big
trout throughout the day. Casting was difficult but the hardest part was trying to
stop the boat before the wind blew us on top of the fish. Capt. Keith and I each
caught two more redfish by sight casting a small rattling crab type pattern. Our
five reds were good enough for a second place finish in this catch, photo, release
tournament with the winning team having caught six reds.

Tuesday, I joined captains Tom Van Horn and John Kumiski in the Banana River
no motor zone. The weather had improved significantly and we came across a
large school of big redfish tailing along the edge of a flat. I hooked a fish around
40 inches with a green crab fly using my 7wt.






















Capt. Tom landed a nice red and a black drum while Capt. John used a black
redfish worm fly to land several black drum and had a huge redfish straighten the
hook after a good fight.

Thursday, I had a last minute cancellation. The weather was perfect, so I loaded
up my flyrods and headed to Mosquito Lagoon. I spent all morning casting to
schools of big redfish and black drum. Despite trying about a dozen different
flies, I could not get a single bite. I ended the day catching three trout on a black
crab pattern.

Monday, my wife was finally able to join me in Mosquito Lagoon on a day when
the wind was not blowing. The water was slick calm and we were easily able to
see the fins of big redfish and black drum. Julie hooked up first with the best fish
of the day on her second cast. Eleven minutes later, she had the 46 inch 33
pound fish at boatside where we snapped a few pictures before sending it back
to its friends.























We each caught one more redfish around 38 inches before leaving them to look
elsewhere.












































We continued to see both black drum and redfish throughout the day and caught
them on various crab flies as well as 4 inch DOA CAL tails in golden bream color.
This fifteen spot redfish certainly wasn't the biggest but it did take the prize for
best looking. We finished up the day with 9 reds, a black drum and a trout.






















On the way home, we stopped at the St. John's River to look for some shad. The
bite was slow but I did catch two shad and a speckled perch to add to our total.

Tuesday, I fished with Tom and Rick, a couple of fishing buddies from Indiana
making their first trip to Mosquito Lagoon. They wanted to try some sight fishing
and it was a perfect morning to do just that. With the calm water, we were able to
see at least twenty different schools of redfish tailing and finning on the first flat
we visited. Rick was at a serious disadvantage having never cast a spinning rod
before. Although it sounds like easy fishing having schools of 10-100 fish in
every direction, presenting a lure to these wary fish can be easier said than
done. It took a bit of trial and error but we managed to get seven redfish to the
boat by the end of the day. Rick had a battle with the biggest fish of the day right
at the final bell a 32 inch fish around 15 pounds.



































































The redfish have been feeding heavily on small crabs which means flies and
small soft plastics such as the DOA crab will get their attention. Accuracy and
presenting the bait without spooking the fish is far more important than color.

Saturday, I will be at Mosquito Creek Outdoors in Apopka for a lady anglers
seminar. This event is designed to teach women the basic skills needed to go
fishing. We will cover casting both spinning and fly rods, knot tying, rigging, and
tackle selection. Space is limited and pre-registration is required. Contact the
store at 407-464-2000 for more details.
Capt Chris Myers offers light tackle and fly fishing charters in the Mosquito
Lagoon and Indian River for redfish, trout, and tarpon. Fishing is excellent year
round. To book your fishing charter, call the captain at 321-229-2848