mosquito lagoon questions

[ragansm1]

Going there for a week. Is it all that I have read about? Anybody have info on it?

[FishWithChris]

Home turf. Where are you staying down there? Plan on any charters? What boat will you have down there? Etc...

[ragansm1]

20 miles away on north end. 14 ft carolina skiff. 10 inch draft. 15 hp motor,trolling motor and push pole.

[fishinfool]

The lagoon produces some nice fish! Moved from Central Florida in 2000. I had a honey hole in the river, North East side of the railroad bridge. There is a ditch running along the bridge area. They dug a borrow pit to put the bridge and trestle in. Casting right up against the bank and bouncing a jig down to the bottom of that ditch would sometimes produce some sows. I would like to get back there soon.

[msm12r]

That is my home water. Any time i get to go home for a few days it is always planned around a trip to the lagoon in the yak. I personally prefer the south end; closer to NASA's launch pad. There is a big flat there that produces so real nice reds ranging from slot to big bulls.I have yet to catch any under the slot there. The flat is called whale tail. If you can get a calm day you can tail chase all day and pick out which ones you want. There is also really good trout fishing in the deeper water between the west most point of the flat and the shoreline. A top water in the early morning is a sure bet and hitting the same area with a popping cork later in the day as well. I have fishing the north, middle and south. Whale tail is my go to spot. I have yet to go home without boating numerous reds and ive been fishing that particular spot going on a year. I typically like to have a dozen shrimp just for sight casting purposes. A DOA crab works real well, but they are hard to find in stores. DOA shrimp, DOA jerk baits, DOA paddle tails, Gulp, and mirrolure top dog jr. (Olive Green), are really all you need in your arsenal. I do like to catch pinfish as well and cut them up and let the reds come to me when its windy. It won't take long and they are more times than not big overslots. If you want a good shot at something in the 40" range haulover canal produces quite a few of them.

[ontiltttttt]

Mosquito lagoon isn't known as the "redfish capital of the world" without good reason. Every time I've gone, I've never caught a red under slot. Live grunt/pinfish under a popping cork and you'll slam them all day long. Also, trout are always chewing in the lagoon. Went down for a trip last month and we limited out on trout within 1 hour. Gulp Shrimp (New Penny color) and DOA CAL paddletails (purple/chart tail) on a jig head work really well. We wanna see some fish when you get back!

[ragansm1]

Great info. Thanks a bunch. Will report back.

[jslorenz3]

This is home waters for me too. One important piece of advice is that the area gets really busy. Also, the south end by Whale's Tail is unmarked, so be careful running. Should only be sand down there no oysters. Also, the guides think that they own the lagoon, so do your best to move right in on them and show them that they don't!
Sounds like you are going to be staying up on the north end near New Smyrna. Whale Tail is a very long run from there, at least an hour. There is plenty of good fishing around JB's Fish Camp. There are a lot of oyster bars and mangroves to move around in. This is the area that I usually fish in the lagoon. If you are staying in NSB, I recommend putting in at the Canaveral National Seashore, down past JB's. Park entry is free with a trailer.
Good luck and let us know how you do!

[ragansm1]

Where is the bridge and the nearest boat ramp near whale tail area? Really excited about trip. Read today about an algae kill on the south end. What is that about?

[msm12r]

The nearest bridge is haulover canal you will automatically come acrossed that when you enter the canaveral national seashore refuge. If you put in there i would say that it would be about a 6 mile ride to whale tail, but depending on what kind of boat your throwing in and the water depth you could put in at Biolab ramp which is a few miles past the bridge you would see the sign for it. Like i said though it depends on what you plan on putting in. I take the side road on biolab and drive down the shoreline a few miles and drop my kayak right in front of whale tail. I did just read about the report on the algae bloom. That typically happens anytime we get abunch of rain. It dumps a lot of freshwater in the lagoon and fouls it up. It does slow fishing up a little in certain areas. The last time i went during a bloom the reds were standing on their heads all day and end up sight casting 7 nice reds. I didn't do so hot on the trout though. It seemed like everything was pushed up on the flat. The grass was extremely long that time, so i don't know if the grass filters that stuff out or what, but that was the only place i could find clear water. I don't know where you get your reports, but i always use cyberangler.com for the mosquito lagoon. They have some of the best cpts. in the area posting reports on that site almost weekly.