Orlando Area and Mosquito Lagoon Coastal Fishing Report, July 20, 2017

The catching on Florida’s Space Coast this past week was almost as hot as our July weather itself, with the exception of one tough day were schooling reds were nearby, but they were not happy.  The summer doldrums are here, so slick condition make for great sight casting on the flats.

My week started with the ICAST Convention in Orlando where instead of guiding clients I spent four days on the convention floor supporting sponsors, checking out new products and visiting old friends.  It is always a great show, and seeing my old friends and making new ones is worth the effort.

On the Mosquito Lagoon this week the water levels have dropped some falling into the average range, and the water clarity is still good in most areas.  For some reason the sea trout bite has slowed down some, but both the redfish and black drum have served as great sight fishing targets.

Now for those of you who love near-shore fishing out of Port Canaveral during the summer, the summer doldrums have blessed us with seas at 2 feet or less providing very fishable conditions for those with shallow minded boats. Also, the water clarity is excellent and the cold water upwelling has not materialized yet. In addition to great sea conditions, the bait schools are plentiful.  In and around the Port, snook fishing has been excellent and there have been some tarpon available both north and south of the Port.  Last but not least, the flat seas have provided easy access to the near-shore reefs where kingfish have been plentiful with the occasional cobia is in the mix.

With the exception of one charter last week, most of my work has been in the near-shore waters with anglers catching snook, tarpon, bonito, kingfish and one 30 pound cobia, so take a guess where we are fishing at tomorrow.

As always, if you have any questions or need information, please contact me.

Good luck and good fishing,

Captain Tom Van Horn