BigBendFishing.Net

I went down to New Smyrna Beach to visit my buddy Seth and do some kayaking in Mosquito Lagoon this past weekend. I arrived about 9:30 pm Friday night to find Seth enjoying a fews 's. I then joined him and we enjoyed quite a few more 's well into the next morning. Needless to say, we did not get an early start.

Day number one was a learning experience for both of us. We launched at Indian River Park in Volusia County. IRP is at the northern end of the lagoon, a maze of brackish creeks and canals lined with mangroves. We fished for several hours with a few juvenile trout, some sailcats, a croaker, and one little rat red to show for it. Seth did have one big fish hooked for a just a little bit. It made a few nice runs, peeling off quite a bit of drag before cutting him off on a shallow oyster bar. Although the fishing was not as spectacular as we had hoped, the scenery was awesome, and I really enjoyed paddling the mangrove creeks. We even had a close encounter with a couple of dolphins.

Later that afternoon, we decided to go to a local tackle shop that I had found on the internet. http://newsmyrnaoutfitters.com/ It's owned by a fishing guide in Mosquito Lagoon and we were hoping maybe to find someone willing to impart some local wisdom. After looking around for a minute, I began to purchase a new rod and reel combo (Calcutta 100b on a Shimano Teramar 7' Med Action). I figured they might be more willing to share some local knowledge if I were spending a little money, plus I needed a baitcaster to add to my arsenal pretty bad. While I was doing this, Seth was engaging in conversation with a guy I can only assume was a fishing guide (leather skin, bleached hair, spending his free time hanging out in a tackle shop that he doesn't work at). He got a Hotspot map out and started showing us all the flats he thought would be best for kayaking, and which launch sites to use and everything. Score . We were so excited, we went and enjoyed a few too many 's one more time.

Although we got kind of a late start once again, Day number two went a little smoother. We paddled out to a no-motor zone and started our drift towards Tiger Shoals. Almost immediately, I see a snout appear from below the water just 10 or 15 feet from my kayak. It took me a second to realize it was a manatee. I had never seen a manatee in the wild before. Before long we were catching short trout right and left. Then, it finaly happened. Seth hooked up with a very nice 26" redfish. We spotted several more redfish, but no more takers. I even cast to one, only to have him come up to the Gulp and bump it with his nose before snubbing it. I was also throwing a spoon, in which they showed little interest. After a while, we decided it was time to make the hour long paddle back to the ramp against the building wind.

Although we didn't get into any of the bull reds and gator trout that we were hoping for, we did have a great time exploring a new fishery. It pays to get a little local insight before you set out to explore a new place. I can't wait to go back and fish it a little more thoroughly.

Looks like a fun adventure Benji. Tell seth I said "hi."

Yeah it was a really good time! We went to the tackle shop, Benji dropped the big bucks, and the next thing I know this guy gets a map down and opens it up and is like "If you fellas are going kayak fishing then you need to go here, to the Marker 42 ramp." Then he proceeded to give us directions and everything...Even told us which flats to fish! It was an awesome time!!!

Hey Brian! Thanks man! I appreciate it!

Red....Was the guy you got the info from named Scott Tripp? If so he owns that store, and is a very good guild. The Guy I fish with, Ryan Harris, is his brother in law. Scott actually gave me a rod last year because mine had broken and I couldn't afford to replace it, it wasn't out of his shop but one he was givin to test as a guild. I was at his house with Ryan and mentioned how much I had loved my falcon and how it sucked that after 5 years it broke. He took me to his rigging room and grab one of the 50 or so rods and said..here take this one, it's about the same quality. If you ever wanna catch the biggest reds, and trout he's your man. He's in the Florida Sportsman several times a year. I told ya Tiger Shoals..I think, in our earlier conversation about the Goon. I haven't fished that area much because I'm usually north of there, north of George's Bar, but I have heard many many good things about it. (The Whales Tail is also well known and might be a good place to check out). And at this time of the year if you dont get there early, you have all the schools spooked by all the boats, and the 30" trout wise to all the angler moving around. It's great that yall caught some fish!!!! If you ever head back this way I'll throw you some more bones.

DuctTapeKing,
Thanks for all the info man, it took us a while to find some of the places you were talking about in the earlier post on the maps we had, (and found out later we were way off on some of them). But after we visited NSO, we had a much better idea of what was where. I looked at Scott Trip's picture on their website, it could have been him, but I can honestly barely even remember what he looked like. His store is pretty sweet though, and the guy behind the counter really seemed to know what he was talking about. I will definitely be stopping back in next time I'm down that way, and something tells they might have a new regular customer with Seth.
Thanks Again man!

Y'ALL WERE A LITTLE EARLY SINCE THE WEATHER HAS STAYED WARM THIS YEAR. WHEN THE AIR TEMP. HITS LOW 50'S IS WHEN THE BIG GATOR TROUT START TO COME INTO THE LAGOON. THAT IS A GREAT PLACE TO FISH, OR USE TO BE, THEY HAVE SO MUCH OF IT NO MOTOR ZONE , RESTRICTED AREA'S AND SUCH THAT I HAVE NOT BEEN BACK DOWN THERE IN ABOUT 10 YEARS. BACK IN THE DAY WE WOULD POLE AROUND USING AN OLD PLUG THAT A GUY MADE DOWN IN CAPE CANAVERAL, IT WAS CALLED A BANNA PLUG AND MOST OF THEM WERE PAINTED YELLOW, ANOTHER WE USED WAS A DALTON SPECIAL SILVER FLASH. I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO FIND ANY OF THE DALTON SILVER FLASH PLUGS FOR OVER 5 YEARS, I FOUND A TAKE OFF WHICH IS ABOUT HALF THE SIZE OF THE OLD PLUGS WE USE TO USE. I CATCH MANY BLACK BASS AND TROUT WITH THIS LITTLE PLUG BUT NOTHING LIKE THE OLD SILVER FLASH'S WE USE TO USE.
PA THE OLD MAN OF THE SEA SEMPER FI

Wow PA, I have not heard of or thought of a Dalton Special for quite some time. My father used to swear by them. I used those that he gave me until they were lost or otherwise disappeared. Dad used them on Snook in Ft. Meyers. I used them on Bass in Central Florida and Trout in the Indian River.
Thanks for bringing up some good memories.
FF