February 2015 Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Greetings everyone! Welcome to Native Fly’s monthly blog/fishing report. This month has been very funky with weather. One day it’s 50 degrees for a high and the next is in the 80’s, add some howling winds blasting at 25mph during and after fronts and you have typical Florida Winters.

Some days I’ve been lucky to have great weather while on the water, and some days I have no choice but the get out and brave the winds looking for protected areas in order for customers to be able to cast a fly rod.

Finding fish has not been a problem in all 3 Lagoon systems(Banana River, Indian River, Mosquito Lagoon). North winds and cooler temps this month have cleaned up the water quite a bit making it top notch for sight fishing. I’ve been seeing a lot of Sea Trout ranging from 20″-30″+ in shallow water, a few schools of Redfish, and a good number of Black Drum. Although there are plenty of fish to be found, they can be extremely spooky and picky eaters. I’ve scaled down to 10lb test tippet at times and also scaled the size of the flies in order to present it to laid up fish without them taking off in the other direction at warp speed. Same goes to spin fishing, increase the length of your fluorocarbon leader, scale it down to 10-15lb test and use small lures in a natural color for better presentation in crystal clear water.

This has been a busy month for me with new and repeat customers. It’s always good to see repeats back on the skiff and see their progress in the sight fishing game.

Bud, who is one of my regulars from Georgia joined me on one of the colder days, fish didn’t seem to mind the cold air temps.
Mosquito Lagoon fly fishing guide
Cocoa Beach fly fishing guide

Chad from Ohio had a banner day with me catching 3 very nice sized Black Drum on fly along with a good Sea Trout. What’s cool about Chad is that he agreed to leave the Drum alone after catching 3. These fish were grouped up and happily tailing, we didn’t want to beat them up all day, instead we left them happy for my guys the next day.
Banana River Black Drum
Indian River Black Drum
Mosquito Lagoon Black Drum
Mosquito Lagoon Sea Trout on fly

Since we left them alone the day before, the fish were still at the same spot still tailing away for Argentina angler Alejandro. We had enough time to catch 1 before the winds picked up big time and chased us off the water early. This was Alejandro’s largest fish on fly.
Black Drum on fly

Paul from Indiana made it happen this day. Fish were very spooky, but one fell for the fly.
redfish on fly

Nicole from Calgary, Canada had a pretty good day. Lots of happy fish in very clear water. Nicole is also a fishing guide up in the Bow River in Calgary. If you are ever up that way and looking to do some fly fishing, her site is: www.castawayfloattrips.com.
Mosquito Lagoon fly fishing
cocoa beach fly fishing guide
orlando fly fishing guide
sea trout on fly
The fish were being so cooperative that we decided to film a little bit of the action:

Native Fly Kwik Klips with Nicole Goerlitz from Willy Le on Vimeo.

Fishing was really slow for the 1st half of the trip for Josh and Josh from Orlando, FL. but towards the end of the day, they started whacking them on D.O.A. Shadtails. Colder water temps had the bite starting later in the day when the sun warmed things up.
Mosquito Lagoon redfishing
Cocoa Beach redfishing

Jason also from Calgary, Canada had to deal with some picky redfish this day. He fed a few but only 1 came boatside.
Cocoa Beach fly fishing

Freshwater anglers Christian and Kevin from Pennsylvania joined me on their first trip in saltwater. They did very well for being the first time.
sea trout on fly
mosquito lagoon fly fishing
indian river fly fishing guide

This is a day neither John from Oregon or I will forget. It was the roughest I’ve ever seen the Mosquito Lagoon, some boats could not make it through the channel and had to head back in to the ramp. John and I decided to charge it and head for an area that I have found fish the day before. Luckily my Maverick HPX-V can handle some big waters and we made it to the spots high and dry. John ended up catching his first ever Sea Trout which he was hoping for, and it was a good one! He also got a couple small redfish which was impressive for such a windy day.
Big sea trout on fly

Fun day with regular customer Martin and his buddy Ed from S. Carolina. Redfish, Sea Trout and Mullet, yes mullet caught on artificial lures. (That mullet was really hooked inside the mouth as seen in the pic, not sure if it really ate the lure or if it was just dumb luck to foul hook it in the mouth.)
speckled sea trout
fishing for mullet
Zman baits
mosquito Lagoon sea trout

Chip is another regular from Vero Beach, this day he caught his very 1st Black Drum on fly along with another.
Black Drum on fly

Of course I get to play sometimes. My buddy Billy and I were doing some looking around, when we came across a happy group pf Black Drum.
Black drum on fly
Willy Le Black Drum on fly

The Black Drum fishing has been very good and still going strong. These fish have been a favorite of mine to specifically target on the fly. I think mainly because they can be very tricky to feed, and sometimes hard to find. I like that challenge and the pursuit.

Thanks for reading and see ya in March!


Capt. Willy Le
nativeflycharters@gmail.com
321-303-7805
www.NativeFlyCharters.com

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Happy New Year! January 2015 Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Happy New Year friends! I’d like to thank all of my customers, supporters, and readers for a fantastic year last year. I really appreciate everyone’s kind words about my photography, and the way I run my company. With that said, I plan on upgrading my camera equipment this year to give you even better images for future posts, publications, and “hero shots”. Ok, enough with the mushy stuff, on to the report.

Fishing in the Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River Lagoon, and Banana River Lagoon has been like a roller coaster ride, good one day and slow the next. A lot has to do with the weather conditions we’ve been having lately…also like a roller coaster, cold for a few days and Summertime hot the next. I think it’s getting the fish confused a little bit. On colder days when the wind isn’t blowing 100mph, the Sea Trout and Black Drum fishing has been good. On the hotter days it has been tough to find Sea Trout, but the Black Drum still stuck around along with reds. Fish have been hard to find in most cases, but when you do find them, make every shot count because who knows how many shots you will get or when the next one will be. I’m hoping this weather will be more consistent soon so these fish will be in a better feeding pattern.

John and Kevin from New Jersey joined me for a day in the Mosquito Lagoon. John was on the bow armed with a fly rod while Kevin was back up with the spinning rod. John had some shots at fish but didn’t connect, while Kevin was plucking off a few here and there.
Mosquito lagoon fishing guide
The next day, Kevin flew home and John had to bow all to himself. All he needed was a little alone time, jumping some tarpon in the morning(Tarpon in January?? Yes!), and casting at redfish when the sun was nice and high.
Tarpon on fly
Mosquito Lagoon fly fishing

Lyle from Alberta, Canada is new to fly fishing. He joined me for a 1/2 while his family is on a Disney vacation mainly for a lesson on casting, fly presentation, and what to do when you get a bite. As a bonus, he caught a few little redfish.
cocoa beach fly fishing

Shawn from Virginia is also new to fly fishing, he learned very quickly and fed multiple redfish and sea trout this day.
Mosquito Lagoon fly fishing guide
Orlando fly fishing

Mark from Jacksonville shows off a nice Mosquito Lagoon redfish that was belly crawling in inches of water.
cocoa beach flats fishing guide

Justin got his drum fix on this day, landing a redfish, black drum, and several sea trout which are also in the drum family.
redfish on fly
black drum on fly

As always on my time off, I’m on the water looking for new areas and new fish. Here are photos of my days off with friends:

Some great tailing Black Drum action
tailing black drum
black drum tails
tailing black drum
mosquito lagoon black drum
nautilus reels
mosquito lagoon fly fishing guide
cocoa beach fly fishing guide

Here are a couple photos from talented photographer Patrick Ruddy of New Smyrna Beach. These photos along with a few others are featured in Fluid Magazine “The Fishing Issue”. One of my photos actually made the cover of this issue, you can check it out here Fluid Magazine Online “The Fishing Issue”
PatrickRuddyPhoto_268PatrickRuddyPhoto_266
Fluid Magazine

Thanks for reading, and hope everyone has a great 2015!

Capt. Willy Le
nativeflycharters@gmail.com
(321)303-7805

www.NativeFlyCharters.com

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December 2014 Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Well, 2014 is coming to an end, and what a fantastic year it was for fishing! This month has been very good for sight fishing in all 3 lagoon systems(Indian River, Banana River, Mosquito). The water still remains high but is slowly dropping to normal Winter time levels . Water temperature is in the low 60’s causing fish to be a little lethargic in the mornings, then they start moving around more mid day when that sun warms things up a bit.

In all 3 lagoons I’ve been finding a good number of large to extra large Sea Trout laying around in the shallows. They have been tough to catch and very spooky so i advise anglers to leave the trolling motors at home and get on the push pole for a stealthy approach. Redfish can be found in the same areas as the Sea Trout, again, spooky and being very picky. Black Drum have been popping up here and there in the 3 lagoons as well which is on of my favorite fish to target. Soon they should be schooled up in the hundreds and ready to take a fly.

Dave from North Carolina joined me for a 1/2 day to try and get his first Tarpon. At first, we tried the fly rod with a few bites and no hook ups, then switched a D.O.A. 3″ Shadtail on a light tackle spin rod where he jumped several and finally landing what he came down for.
WLE_5217

Jack, a 14 Year old angler from Jacksonville came down with his dad Mike. Mike has booked me a few times but never brought Jack along until this day. This was Jacks day and he was on the bow the whole trip while dad sat on the sidelines armed with a video camera. Jack had a great day and caught his first tarpon on fly.
Cocoa Beach Sea Trout
Mosquito Lagoon Tarpon

Buck from Orlando travels for work too much. When he gets the chance, he gives me a buzz to bend a rod.
Mosquito Lagoon redfish

Matthias from Austria was in Orlando for a conference. While in Florida, he wanted to sneak out for a fly fishing trip in the Mosquito Lagoon for his first time. Took him a while to adapt to the style of fishing and making the right presentations. He had lots of shots at redfish and trout but only landing a smaller trout, which he was pretty happy about.
Mosquito Lagoon sea trout

Marcia from South Florida was given a gift certificate to fish a full day with me last Christmas. She had a great sight fishing experience.
Mosquito Lagoon Sea Trout on fly
Mosquito Lagoon guides

On my off time, I like to enjoy it back on the water with friends.
Mosquito Lagoon tarpon
WLE_5323
WLE_5347
Black Drum on fly
Mosquito Lagoon black drum

I hope every one has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Hoping for another great year in 2015, thanks to all of you readers, anglers, and companies that support Native Fly Charters keeping a roof over our heads and food on the table for my family. Much love to each and every one of you!

Capt. Willy Le
www.NativeFlyCharters.com
321-303-7805

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November 2014 Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report & News

This month was a special one for me and my business. As most of you may already know, I have been waiting patiently for my new custom skiff to be be built by the masterminds at Maverick Boat Company. Well the time had come earlier this month and I got to take home my brand new 2015 Maverick 17 HPX-V! Here’s what I have to say about it:

I’ve ridden in a few 17HPX-V’s so I kinda knew what I was getting into. I fish and guide in waters anywhere from Mosquito Lagoon down to Fort Pierce and occasionally the Florida Keys and Tampa Bay. So I needed a skiff that can handle crossing some bigger waters and fishing oceanside as well as getting skinny in the Lagoons and backcountry.

This 2015 Maverick Mirage 17 HPX-V is the skiff of choice for me. It rides incredibly soft and dry in big waters, can handle fishing off the beaches and Oceanside and will get skinny enough to chase those tailing fish on the shallow flats. The thing I love most about the 17- HPX-V is its performance on the pushpole. The skiff is dead quiet poling in the wind, tracks very well, and spins quick and effortlessly which are all the traits you need to stalk those spooky fish and position your anglers for that “perfect shot”.
Maverick HPX-V
Maverick HPX-V

I rigged my skiff as simple as can be. No trolling motor or power poles. I like to keep them as light as possible, which is the reason I opted for the Yamaha F70 instead of the F90. The hull and console is a custom color (Castle Tan) with and all Wheat colored deck and non skid. I got the removable cooler/seat option and added a removable casting platform that I can interchange with a platform with a cage for rough Oceanside waters.
FLats boat
edson wheels
flats skiff
tnt custom boat works

Performance wise, this skiff how it is rigged will run 40mph and drafts shallow enough for me and the waters I fish in the Mosquito Lagoon. I’d say around 8″ give or take with me on the platform and an angler on the bow.
maverick HPX-V

The trailer is set up for dry launch by Ameratrail trailers. That means i do not have to submerge the trailer to launch or load the skiff, that will keep from saltwater corrosion and rust to form on the trailer and should make it last a lot longer.
Ameratrail trailers
Maverick boats
Ameratrail trailers

For more info on Maverick Boats, visit their site at: www.maverickboats.com

FISHING REPORT:
Winter is now in effect with the first couple “real” cold fronts to hit Florida mid this month. With the dropping air and water temperatures, different species of fish will react a certain way in the Central East region. The Redfish and Black Drum will start to school up on the flats, Sea Trout and Snook will be up in the shallows sunbathing, while Tarpon become more elusive. The water will start to clear up making it ideal for sight fishing opportunities, but with cleaner water means spookier fish. That’s when we switch up tactics and go to stealth mode with our approach and equipment.

After I took delivery of my new skiff and got it rigged and ready to take out on the water, I was able to run my first couple trips with friends, return clients, and new clients. Here are their stories.

Brad from Colorado who is a regular customer wanted to be the first customer to slime up the new boat ever since I told him about it. Well he was and he did it good! Despite the super windy conditions, we hid in a protected area all day where Brad went 3-3 on Tarpon, 1 Snook, and 1 giant “gator” Trout all on fly. He also made a delicious Key Lime pie which was a great way to celebrate his victory!
Mosquito Lagoon fly fishing guide
merritt island fly fishing guide
cocoa beach fly fishing guide
orlando fly fishing guide
mosquito lagoon gator trout
key lime pie

Dr. Fritz from Germany is on a 2 week vacation with his wife and son touring around every coast of Florida. He managed to sneak a 1/2 day trip in while visiting Cocoa Beach. Conditions were windy out of the north with air temperatures in mid 60’s for the high. Dr. Fritz hoped to catch his forst tarpon and redfish on fly, but his hopes dropped after seeing the weather forecast that morning so we decided to go later in the morning and let the sun heat things up a bit. The new skiff was amazing crossing the white capping open waters to get to some protected little areas where we might find a Tarpon or two. We found them. Dr. Fritz went 3-3 on Tarpon and got 2 Redfish on fly, he was a very happy camper and so was I.
Mosquito Lagoon redfish on fly
fly fishing for tarpon

While I was in between boats, I am lucky to have friends that welcome me aboard theirs. Here’s a redfish that I needed to catch or I would have gone nuts from being off the water too long(2 weeks). I was fishing with my buddy Billy Rotne on his skiff.
cocoa beach redfish

Here’s a photo of my buddy Rick Worman helping me slime up my new skiff with a Snook on fly.
snook on fly

I am very pleased with my new Maverick HPX-V, it does everything that I want it to do, for what I do. The little time that I’ve spent with her so far, I think I am in love.
florida fly fishing guide

Capt. Willy Le
nativeflycharters@gmail.com
321-303-7805

www.NativeFlyCharters.com

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October 2014 Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Hello and Welcome to Native Fly’s monthly fishing report and news. October is one of my favorite months to fish. Mullet are plentiful in the Lagoons and the predators are not too far away from them. We had a great Summer this year with good weather, water conditions and good fishing, it seems like Fall is going to be just as good. Water level has still been on the high side this month due to all the rain we’ve gotten all Summer. Water clarity is fair to good in most cases depending on what area you are fishing.

With the water being so high, I’ve been able to fish further back in the backcountry hiding from society finding plenty of hungry fish, mostly redfish. Sea Trout have been a little tough and hard to find lately due to murkier water, but the Tarpon and Snook have taken their place. Since the beginning of the month was still Summer-like conditions, the tarpon bite was excellent. Towards the end of the month, we had a few fronts move in just enough to push them where ever they go hiding during the colder months. Snook are definitely showing more of themselves lately in the areas that were hit the hardest during the 2010 freeze, which is the northern part of the Indian River, the Banana River and Mosquito Lagoon, most of them in the 15-25″ range but that’s a great start.

Ming and Don from Canada had a great day fly fishing. It was their first time fly fishing in saltwater so it took a while to adjust, but once they did, the juvenile tarpon kept them busy through out the day as well as a couple redfish.
mosquito lagoon tarpon on fly
cocoa beach tarpon on fly
mosquito lagoon redfish on fly
mosquito lagoon fly fishing guide
cocoa beach fly fishing guide
orlando fly fishing guide
tarpon
babay tarpon on fly

Jack from South Carolina got his first tarpon and snook on fly this day.
snook on fly
baby tarpon on fly
mosquito lagoon fly guides
cocoa beach fly guides

Don and Greg came up from South Florida and also got into some Space Coast snook and tarpon action. Don got his first tarpon on fly.
mosquito lagoon snook on fly
mosquito lagoon tarpon on fly
tarpon on fly
fly fishing for tarpon

Francis from British Columbia joined me for two consecutive days for his first time fishing in Saltwater. He slammed out 3 different species on fly, tarpon, snook, redfish, but we could not get the sea trout to bite. Out of all of those species, he said Tarpon is his favorite to target.
tarpon on fly guide
fly fishing for tarpon
fly fishing for snook
cocoa beach snook on fly
fly fishing for redfish
mosquito lagoon redfish on flyguide

Jesse from North Carolina came down at one of the weirder moments in the Mosquito Lagoon. We found lots of tailing fish, but were very hard to feed using artificial lures. Smaller redfish and sea trout came to the boat, and of course the bigger ones got away. That’s fishing!
WLE_4874

Justin from Titusville joined me on a quick trip in the way backcountry to find some hungry shoreline redfish.
cocoa beach fly fishing guide

Well, I am sad to announce that I have sold my 2014 Maverick HPX-S…but happy to announce that I have a new Maverick being built at the moment. Before the new owner came down from South Carolina to pick it up, we made a quick trip for a wet test/fishing test. Carlos is very happy with what the HPX-S can do, and I know he will be taking good care of it.
maverick hpx-s
merritt island fly fishing guide
space coast redfishing guide

Of course I had to let him pole his new boat around while I get a chance to catch a few.
mosquito lagoon guide

Stay tuned to next months report when I have my new 2015 Maverick 17’HPX-V and see how I customized her.

Capt. Willy Le
nativeflycharters@gmail.com
321-303-7805

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September 2014 Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Welcome to Native Fly’s monthly fishing report and news.  This month has started out great in the Indian River, Banana River, and Mosquito Lagoon.  I’ve been spending time in all 3 lagoons and have been finding plenty of fish activity.  Luckily we have not had any bad signs of algae blooms this year in the Space Coast area.  Water clarity remains fair to good in most areas and excellent closer to the inlets.  Water level is high due to the wet Summer that we had.

The Tarpon action still remains very good.  They are happily taking well placed flies if they are presented right.

Redfishing is good and getting better as Fall approaches.  The big fish are starting to get aggressive and smashing any lure or fly in sight.

Sea Trout have been plentiful but acting like Sea Trout.  They are very aware of their surroundings, stealth is the key to catching those big laid up fish.

Regular customer Brad Wherry from Colorado has only been fly fishing for 11 months now.  I have watched him progress since the 1st day he has fished with me.  This day he got a Redfish/Tarpon/Sea Trout Slam on fly which was pretty exciting.  Sea Trout was small, but it completed the slam!

Mosquito Lagoon fly fishing guides
fly fishing tarpon
Mosquito Lagoon tarpon
mosquito lagoon sea trout

Hunter from Tallahassee, FL. does not get to do much sight fishing back home. On this day he had a great top water bite early in the morning and later when the sun was high, sight fished several Redfish and Sea Trout using D.O.A. 3″ Shadtails.
Banana River redfish guide
Cocoa Beach fishing guide
mosquito lagoon sea trout

Corey and his dad Ed from New Jersey joined me on a 1/2 day trip in the Mosquito Lagoon. This was Ed’s 1st time fishing the flats. Both Corey and Ed caught Redfish and Sea Trout using D.O.A. 3″ Shadtails.
Mosquito lagoon redfishIndian River guide
Mosquito Lagoon redfish

Daniel from Norway is very new to fly fishing. While staying in Cocoa Beach, FL. on vacation, he snuck away for a 1/2 day to learn some basics and better his technique. Daniel was a great listener, therefore learned very quickly. He managed to go 1 for 2 on small Tarpon and hooked a very nice Redfish but popped off after a short battle. We will see more of Daniel for years to come.
Tarpon on fly

On an off day, i fished with a good friend and great photographer Dominic Agostini. visit his work at www.dominicphoto.com
Maverick HPXS
Mosquito Lagoon fly fishing guide
Cocoa Beach fly fishing guide
Orlando fly fishing guide

Here are some random photos from fishing with friends.
Banana River tarpon
indian river snook
fly fishing for triple tail
triple tail on fly
indian river sea trout

I also got to fish the flood tides for the first time up in St. Augustine with my buddy Billy, I made a little video of the action. It’s always nice to see different areas once in a while.
To watch in HD quality please click on this link: Florida Flood Fly Fishing from Willy Le on Vimeo.

Thanks for visiting NativeFlyCharters.com. Until next time…

– Capt. Willy Le
NativeFlyCharters@gmail.com
321-303-7805

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August 2014 Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Welcome to this months Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River Lagoon and Banana River Lagoon fishing report. HOT is one word to describe the month of August, not just the temperatures but the Tarpon fishing all throughout the Central East region of FL. I’ve notice a huge comeback with the Snook and Tarpon since the freeze back in 2010 that wiped out almost every tarpon and snook in the estuaries state wide. I’m seeing good numbers of them almost everywhere that I’ve been looking and that is a great sign for the future!

The Redfish and Sea Trout are also happy and spread out in all 3 Lagoons. Redfish can be found tailing super early in the morning at first light in shallow grass flats waiting for a well placed fly or D.O.A. Shrimp or 3″ Shadtail. You can find Sea Trout around the mullet pods and are happy to take topwater plugs like MirrOLures Top Dog or Top Dog Jr.

Here are the stories and photos of this months anglers:

Carlos and Jennifer from South Carolina came down to fish for 5 days. It was a pleasure having them on the boat and they will fish non stop sun up to sun down rain or shine! Within the week, we ventured off to 3 different bodies of water doing everything from sight fishing tailing redfish, casting mangrove shorelines for snook, chasing tarpon big and small, and chasing Jacks when they would bust bait on the surface. Lots of fish were caught during the week, but the most memorable ones were Jennifer’s big Sea Trout that ate right next to the boat and Carlos’s 1st Tarpon on fly. We even witnessed an Alligator sneaking up to a laid up Sea Trout in shallow water that was pushing 10lbs and snatching it right from the grass. Like National Geographic style!
Mosquito Lagoon Sea Trout
Mosquito Lagoon redfish
Mosquito Lagoon Redfish guide
snook on fly
Tarpon on fly
Mosquito lagoon tarpon
Mosquito Lagoon alligator
Indian River alligator
Banana River Alligator
Florida Alligator
Alligator vs sea trout

Brad from Colorodo has only fly fished for 10 months now, he went 2 for 6 on Juvenile Tarpon with me this day.
Tarpon on fly
fly fishing for tarpon
mosquito lagoon tarpon guide
baby tarpon

Walt from Pennsylvania got his first taste of saltwater fly fishing this day, he also went 2 for 6 on juvenile Tarpon making the Tarpon his first saltwater species on fly. Not a bad way to start the addiction!
cocoa beach tarpon guide
cocoa beach tarpon fishing
indian river tarpon guide

As always, I like to sneak out with friends as much as possible on my down time. Exploring new areas and finding new fish is a never ending hunt for me.
Tarpon on fly
fly fishing for tarpon
nautilus reels
false albacore on fly
tarpon
redfish on fly
WLE_3767
cocoa beach fly fishing guide

And a video of myself and buddy Capt. Rick Worman in the search of untouched Tarpon.

The search for Tarpon on the fly from Willy Le on Vimeo.

Even though the fishing is hot, don’t forget about the temperatures so take some breaks and drink some water or Gatoraid if you are gonna be out all day, there have been a couple times where I almost got to the point of feeling very light headed and passing out while poling the boat mid day these past couple weeks, heat stroke can happen to anyone so be safe!

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July Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report 2014

Tarpon fishing is now in full swing in my region which is why you will see more Tarpon photos from me this time of year than Redfish. Don’t get me wrong, Redfishing is a blast and still good right now, but I like to take advantage of the few months a year that the Tarpon can be sight fished on the flats, plus I think the Redfish need a break for a little bit.

Water level in the Lagoons this month remain high and the visibility is impressively clear. Sea grass is another thing that is making the marine life very happy right now. We’ve lost a lot of our sea grass in the Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River and Banana River due to the freeze we had back in 2010 followed by back to back algae blooms in the Summer months. Most of our productive grass flats especially in the Indian and Banana Rivers had turned into an underwater desert and the fish left those areas because of lack of food. But now, I’m seeing a very nice comeback with both grass and marine life in those same areas that were ghost towns 2 years ago.

Here are some stories and photos of this months anglers and their catches.

Roman and his 10 year old son “Nacho” from Uruguay enjoyed a great day casting and jumping a few Tarpon in the morning followed by some redfishing in the afternoon. Roman would cast to and hook the fish then hand it off to his son to fight and reel in to the boat. Great father and son day!
Tarpon fly fishing guide
Mosquito Lagoon tarpon
Mosquito Lagoon Fly fishing guide

Kathleen and Mark work with Patagonia www.patagonia.com and were in town for the ICast fishing tradeshow in Orlando, FL. We had tough full moon fishing conditions this day, the fish were there but extremely spooky. This was Kathleens 2nd time fly fishing so she was amped up catching small Sea Trout. Mark had shots at schools of Black Drum finally getting one to eat after changing flies a few times and figuring out how to present the fly.
Fly fishing Mosquito Lagoon
Cocoa Beach fly fishing
Black Drum on fly

Kristen Mustad who is the president of Nautilus Fly Reels www.nautilusreels.com invited Mirjana from Fly Fishing Europe www.flyfishingeurope.de on a day with me while they were in town for ICast. Mirjana had multiple eats from Tarpon and Redfish but hooks kept pulling out. Kristen got on the bow for a few minutes and got a little Redfish to boat. Also, congrats to Kristen and the crew at Nautilus Reels for winning Best in Show Fresh and Saltwater Reel at ICast/IFTD 2014
Nautilus fly reels
nautilus reels
fly fishing Cocoa Beach Florida
Nautilus Reels CCF X2 Silver King ICast 2014

RW and his wife Lynn joined me in the Mosquito Lagoon to target Redfish. They had a great time sight casting D.O.A. Shadtails to schools, crawling, and cruising fish from 5 to 30lbs. The smaller ones were the more cooperative ones this day.
Mosquito Lagoon redfish guide
Mosquito LAgoon Redfish guide

Dominic joined me to specifically target tarpon on the fly. Lots of shots were had at rolling and laid up fish, but the thing with Tarpon fishing is that everything has to align perfectly in order to get the fish to eat, and landing one.
fly fishing for tarpon
Mosquito Lagoon Tarpon fishing
Cocoa Beach Tarpon fishing

And some miscellaneous photos of fishing with my friends.
Cocoa Beach Tarpon
Mosquito Lagoon Sea Trout
Mosquito Lagoon fly fishing guide

Tarpon fishing will remain good all through August so check back next month for some new actions shots of jumping Tarpon and stories of my anglers!

Thanks for visiting NativeFlyCharters.com

Capt. Willy Le
NativeFlyCharters@gmail.com
321-303-7805

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June Fishing Report 2014

While the redfish, Sea Trout and Black Drum bite remains good, the Tarpon fishing is on top of the list right now which is what I mainly focus on during the Summer months. Tarpon fishing with a fly rod is challenging but can be very rewarding once you get the bite. It definitely takes a lot of patience making lots of casts to rolling fish without getting a nibble, or even staking out and waiting a long time for the fish to come into casting range. There are tricks to enticing a Tarpon to track the fly and then eating it. Presentation, and fly placement are the main key as well as quick casting and distance. When targeting the laid up fish, a good pair of Amber or copper polarized lens will help see the fish laying up just beneath the surface especially in the stained waters in my area. I use RCI Optics with a Copper SRG lens www.rcioptics.com.

Here are some photos and stories of my clients for the month of June.

Regular client Chip Watson from Vero Beach, FL. just took on fly fishing at the beginning of this year. After some quick instruction on how to feed the juvenile Tarpon that we were on, Chip got his first Tarpon on fly.
Mosquito Lagoon Tarpon guide

A couple weeks later, Chip returned and caught his first Redfish on fly along with a few others.
Indian River Lagoon Redfish
Fly fishing Indian River Lagoon

Leslie from Titusville, FL. got her biggest redfish to date on a D.O.A. Lures Shadtail.
Mosquito Lagoon redfish florida sports woman

Riccardo came all the way from Panama with his family to visit Disney World but he arrived a day early to fish with me hoping to catch his 1st Redfish on fly which he did, he also jumped some tarpon along the way.
Mosquito Lagoon Tarpon guide
fly fishing for tarpon
Mosquito lagoon redfish guide

David from Merritt Island, FL. had a great day sight fishing Redfish in the Mosquito Lagoon using D.O.A. Shadtails.
Mosquito Lagoon guides
Cocoa Beach guides
Orlando flats fishing guides

Adam from Rockledge, FL. got 2 days of good backcountry Tarpon action.
Tarpon guide Cocoa Beach
Tarpon guide Mosquito Lagoon
Tarpon guide Sebastian
Tarpon fly fishing guide

Josh from Lake Mary, FL. got his first Tarpon on fly.
Mosquito Lagoon Tarpon
Cocoa Beach Tarpon fishing
fly fishing for Tarpon

Tom from New Smyrna Beach, FL. with a Black Drum caught on a D.O.A. Softshell Crab
Mosquito Lagoon Black Drum

Of course sometimes I do get to fish while scouting out some areas to take clients the following days.
fly fishing for Tarpon
Mosquito Lagoon Redfish on fly
Mosquito lagoon fly fishing guide
Snook on fly
Indian River fly fishing
fly fishing for Mosquito Lagoon Sea Trout

This Summer has started out great for sight fishing with the water still clean and the fish being plentiful.

Thanks for visiting my blog, til next month!

Capt. Willy Le
321-303-7805
nativeflycharters@gmail.com

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May 2014 Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

The beginning of this month has been a windy one, really tough conditions and fishing was inconsistent.  Now the wind finally stopped blowing towards the middle of the month which made the fish(and myself) very happy.  Tons of mullet has moved into the Lagoons making the topwater bite excellent for the most part of the morning.  Redfish, Sea Trout, Bluefish, Jacks and Lady fish were blasting the MirroLure Top Dogs and Top Pups.  When the topwater bite slows down, switch to soft plastics.   D.O.A. CAL shadtails and jerkbaits are my favorites.  Colors working well lately are Fiji Chix, Bayou Tiger, Silver Mullet, and Green Back.  To see what colors those are, here is the link to D.O.A. Lures Color Guide.

On the fly side, sight fishing for Redfish and Sea Trout has been excellent with the occasional Black Drum.   Baitfish patterns are working well around the mullet pods in deeper flats, and shrimpy or crabby patterns have been getting the bite on the shallower flats.   Lately, the Sea Trout ranging from 20″-30″  have been cooperating better than the Redfish.   Water clarity is very clear, which makes it easy spotting these fish with a good pair of amber or copper colored polarized lens.  (I wear RCI Optics and am very pleased with the clarity of the advanced lens technology.)

Doug from New Hampshire made some great presentations to some laid up Sea Trout enticing them to eat.  Had a few redfish eats but none came to the boat this day.
Mosquito Lagoon flyfishing guide
Mosquito Lagoon fly fishing guide

Jason and his buddy from Atlanta, Ga. had to deal with some tough conditions but managed to pull some redfish and trout to the boat using D.O.A> Shadtails.
Mosquito Lagoon guide
Orlando flats fishing guide

Ben and his Dad John from Jupiter, FL. joined me to celebrate Johns birthday on the Lagoon. This was their first sight fishing experience for redfish, it took them a bit to get used to spotting the fish but later got the hang of it.
Mosquito Lagoon fishing
Indian river guide

Nick and Robert from Orlando, FL. experienced some good sight fishing opportunities in the Mosquito Lagoon, the Sea Trout were chewing the D.O.A. jerkbaits and shadtails good this day.
Indian river flats fishing guide
Banana River Flats fishing guide
Cocoa Beach flats fishing guide

Vu’s wife surprised him with a gift certificate for a full day fishing trip with me in the Mosquito Lagoon. He invite his father Nuoc along on the trip. These two were hardcore anglers, they casted topwater lures and soft plastics all day long taking no breaks. I always enjoy having die hard anglers aboard the boat. It really paid off for them with some expolosive topwater action and with Vu’s personal best Sea Trout that ate a D.O.A. Shadtail.
mosquito lagoon flats fishing charters
cocoa beach flats fishing charters
Orlando flats fishing charters

Kevin from Melbourne is new to the saltwater fishing game. He got a little taste of some topwater action on a 4 hour trip, a nice redfish was on for a while until the hook pulled, but he got this good looking trout first thing in the morning.
Melbourne flats fishing charters

A pretty exciting day for Jack and his wife Toni from Connecticut. This was their first Florida fishing experience, and a pretty good one at that. Beautiful weather, schools of hungry Redfish, Black Drum and Sea Trout kept Jack busy all day. Jack was fishing while the Manatees and Dolphins around the boat kept Toni busy. Highlight of the day was when Jack hooked into a 20lb+ redfish on an 8wt rod and fought it for about 30 minutes until the hook pulled. I managed to catch some photos of the battle. Jack did get the Drum Slam this day all on fly.
Mosquito Lagoon fly fishing guide
cocoa beach fly fishing guide
indian river fly fishing guide
orlando fly fishing guide
mosquito lagoon redfish on fly
mosquito lagoon fly fishing
Mosquito Lagoon fly fishing

Some industry News:
I have resigned my position as a Simms Ambassador and joined the team at Patagonia. Simms is a great company that make excellent gear, but I felt like I fit in more and can relate to the Patagonia lifestyle. It was a personal decision, no hard feeling to anyone. Visit www.patagonia.com to see all the fresh new gear for all your flyfishing and surfing needs.
Willy Le  Patagonia Native Fly Charters

Native Fly Charters is also teamed up with Cortland Lines. Pretty impressed with Cortlands new lines. Visit www.cortlandline.com to check outwhat they have.

Thanks for visiting NativeFlyCharters.com! Keep an eye out for next months report mid June.

Capt. Willy Le
321-303-7805
NativeFlyCharters@gmail.com

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