Mosquito Lagoon, Tom Van Horn

 

Orlando Area and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, August 12, 2017

While reviewing my Facebook page last week I saw where a resent friend complained about the excessive heat and rain we’ve been experiencing these past few weeks in Central Florida. He wrote “I can no longer stand the heat and humidly of Central Florida in August, so I’m moving back north.” My comment was simply “welcome to Florida and there’s always Alaska”. Mother Nature has illustrated this past week the heat and humidity of the summertime doldrums in Central Florida can lie heavily upon us, but shouldn’t stop us from enjoying the many splendors of the outdoors as long as you dress properly and plan you outdoor adventures accordingly. Yes, our heat index did reached 105 degrees by noon and we experienced moderate to severe thunderstorms just about every afternoon, but the fish still have to eat and can be caught if you focus on the cooler periods of the day.

This past week my outdoor adventures carried me to the Indian River Lagoon where redfish and black drum were our targets, and then to the swift currents of the St Johns River where the channel catfish lay wait for an easy meal before exercise. My first adventure was to the IRL where I was privileged to sight fishing with Mark Miller and his son James, and we managed to find a tight and hungry school of black drum. The smaller black drum have been plentiful in different areas of the lagoon, and the team managed 15 fish before building storms ran us off the water.

The next day I met my clients early at the CS Lee Park in Geneva, Florida and we found a good number of channel catfish in the bends of the Econ Creek near is confluence with the St Johns River. Historically, catfish have been one of my favorite fish to catch, and before the morning was over, we boated 18 channel cats up to 8 pounds on fresh peeled shrimp.

The water quality in the Lagoon is still holding its own with some patches of alga bloom showing up, but overall it looks good, so prepare for the heat and take advantage of some great summertime fishing.

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

Good luck and good fishing,

Captain Tom Van Horn

Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters

407-416-1187