Capt. Mark Wright

FINALLY, some nice weather and some fantastic fishing along with it! The building moon this week did little to stem the bite in the Mosquito Lagoon. However, we did experience a bit of weirdness early one morning while hiding from the last of the windstorm we’ve been dealing with lately.

Taking advantage of the very high water levels we fished the east wall of the Pole & Troll Zone. Arriving ahead of sun-up I handed one angler a Tsunami K-9 Walker and watched him expertly and seductively wiggle and waggle the plug along the shorelines and through pods of tiny finger mullet. Angler two tossed both a Z-Man Diezel Minnowz and Curly Tailz rigged weedless. Neither angler had so much as a nibble, though we repeatedly blew-out fish as I nearly poled over their backs.

There was little doubt we were in the thick of things and we did see the occasional snook and trout hammer an unfortunate mullet. We, however, went without for nearly two hours. Poling over a mile of normally productive shoreline left me perplexed and second guessing my fishing spot!
Eventually we relocated and the Mother Lode was found. The guys crushed the upper slot trout with four inch Diezel Minnowz. Only a few of these trout were on the small side though the two redfish they boated were in the Rat category. Still it was a strong finish to a slow starting day!

Saturday Andy and Jennifer truly whacked the fish in the Mosquito Lagoon. Their casting skills were not up to par (their words not mine) so I casted the live shrimp under popping floats for them. They both enjoyed the constant action; catching more slot trout than I could count along with seven redfish and a black drum!

Yes, fishing is pretty great right now!

This will be my final report from Titusville on the Mosquito Lagoon. From now on I’ll be chartering and reporting from the Fort Pierce area. My new fishing grounds will extend roughly from Sebastian Inlet to Jensen Beach. I hope you’ll enjoy the reports from my new venue!

What a week we had as I wrapped up my Titusville schedule. Clients caught plenty of spotted seatrout; in fact we caught so many quality trout we lost count each trip. Topwater walking plugs were by far the best option for upper and over slot trout, some redfish and a few snook, too. For clients unable to “walk the dog,” we simply tossed three inch Z-Man Minnowz or four inch Diezel Minnowz. Experimenting with retrieval speeds kept us catching throughout the mornings and into the noon hour.

Most areas in the north Indian River have pretty clean water and basic colors all produced great catches. Finding areas riddled with fingerling mullet was a key element in staying busy, though we did catch a few fish where mullet numbers were relatively low.

One trip we managed to stay busy with a dozen pods of black drum. Dead shrimp out performed live shrimp by a wide margin on this day, and I have a feeling cut mullet might have caught even more, given the “Big Uglies” were terrorizing schools of mullet like they were redfish! Mark and Nilyn had a ball! Tony fished a couple of mornings with me and flat-out slayed the seatrout on his bone colored Skitterwalk. A few redfish also ate the walking plug and a dandy snook inhaled it as Tony worked the lure through a shoreline shadow!

Well, I enjoyed the nice weather while it lasted… The wind of the past couple of days sure muddied-up most of the Mosquito Lagoon. Still, despite the dirty backwater bays and the wind-blown flats we managed a respectful catch today!

Michael treated his eight year old son, Ben, to a Mosquito Lagoon fishing charter. Our goal was to catch some trout and redfish and because they like using live shrimp for bait we expected to have to weed through the catfish.

The guys were certainly successful with the spotted seatrout. I quit counting at twenty fish; most of which were middle to upper slot. I was secretly thrilled as they decided to release their fish.

We started in the “clinkers” to shelter ourselves from the hard westerly wind we had at first light. After a handful of quality trout and a bonus flounder we packed up and crossed the ‘goon hoping to continue my streak of redfish catching along the east wall. This moved proved a very poor choice as the water looked like chocolate milk and only gave up a few catfish and a single trout.

Another move was certainly needed and I’m happy to report it payed off in spades! We fished through our remaining live shrimp in short order catching more quality seatrout, more nasty catfish and a chunky mangrove snapper!

We didn’t get a lot of fishing in this past week due to the relentless wind. However, if you’re like me, you’re happy Fall is in the air and enjoying the slightly cooler air temps!

Another trait of the Fall season is high water. Most Mosquito Lagoon anglers prefer low water levels as it tends to concentrate the redfish into schools. I’ve never been of this mindset and prefer the fish to spread out, which allows the boats to spread out, as well!

For the next couple of months, I’ll be poling the shorelines tight to the bank. Beating the trees is a favorite tactic of mine. Yep, we’ll be tossing Z-Man plastics rigged on Chinlockz or Snakelockz hooks. Four inch Curly Tailz, Diezel Minnowz and Jerk Shadz will get the most time on the lines and we’ll toss five inch Jerk Shadz and Diezel Minnowz when it’s appropriate. We’ll also be tossing EZ Shrimpz along the trees when baitfish lures are being ignored. No matter what the season, a shrimp is hard for the predators to overlook!

Don’t forget the top water plugs; my favorite being Tsunami’s K9 Walker will get the attention of some monster spotted seatrout as they target some of the remaining silver mullet.

We didn’t get a lot of fishing in this past week due to the relentless wind. However, if you’re like me, you’re happy Fall is in the air and enjoying the slightly cooler air temps!

Another trait of the Fall season is high water. Most Mosquito Lagoon anglers prefer low water levels as it tends to concentrate the redfish into schools. I’ve never been of this mindset and prefer the fish to spread out, which allows the boats to spread out, as well!

For the next couple of months, I’ll be poling the shorelines tight to the bank. Beating the trees is a favorite tactic of mine. Yep, we’ll be tossing Z-Man plastics rigged on Chinlockz or Snakelockz hooks. Four inch Curly Tailz, Diezel Minnowz and Jerk Shadz will get the most time on the lines and we’ll toss five inch Jerk Shadz and Diezel Minnowz when it’s appropriate. We’ll also be tossing EZ Shrimpz along the trees when baitfish lures are being ignored. No matter what the season, a shrimp is hard for the predators to overlook!

Don’t forget the top water plugs; my favorite being Tsunami’s K9 Walker will get the attention of some monster spotted seatrout as they target some of the remaining silver mullet.