May 2015 Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Welcome to this months Native Fly fishing report for the Space Coast of Florida. In the last few weeks, we have been blessed with light winds and sunny skies which is a fly fisherman’s dream… especially when there are an abundance of fish present. That was the case for many of my customers this month. Anglers from all over the U.S. got to experience some very good sight fishing opportunities that the Space Coast has to offer.

Redfishing has been pretty good in all 3 Lagoons(Mosquito, Indian, and Banana). Water has been high so fish can be found way in the back bays, and tight to the mangroves. Baitfish patterns have been working well for Reds and Sea Trout in areas where baitfish are present.

Schools of Tarpon are littered on the flats smashing bait fish and eating well placed flies. They can be pretty tricky to feed and land on any kind of tackle, but once you have finally landed that one fish…please handle them with care. These fish can be extra stressed during the fight by the airshow that they will put on for you. After I get one boat side, I Do Not lift them out of the water. I like to keep them in the water at all times, that goes for any size big or small. A quick photo with a little lift above the water and back in it goes for the revival and release. This technique is good because Tarpon are strong and floppy fish, if you lift one in the boat, chances are they will kick out of your hands and flop all over the deck causing more harm to the fish and your boat/equipment. I’ve been seeing way too many photos on social media of mishandled Tarpon being held up that look beat up and missing most of their scales, which most likely didn’t make it. That goes for all fish I plan to release, handle them as if they were one of your babies so they can live on to give you another air show in the future.

Tim from Texas had some fun sight fishing little tarpon on the flats.

Steele from Longwood, FL. feeding Redfish D.O.A. 3″ Shadtails in the Mosquito Lagoon on a 4 hour trip.

Brandon from Texas managed to feed a handful of Tarpon laid up and cruising in schools.

Chip from Vero Beach, FL. got some eats and some jumps but none came to the boat. It was one of the slower and windier days so it was tough.

Chip and Jason from Orlando, FL. had some fun with redfish on D.O.A. 3″ Shadtails, Sea Trout on Topwater lures along with big lady fish and Jacks keeping the rods bent and topwater action exciting.

Mike and Mark from South Carolina experienced some schools of tarpon surrounding the boat but were being pretty picky. There were a few hungry ones along with a hungry redfish.