Orlando Florida Saltwater Report 3/24/08

by Capt Chris M on Mon Mar 24, 2008 10:29 pm

March winds continue to blow here in east central Florida. Last week was especially tough with five straight days of 15-25 mph. I cancelled two trips but managed to get in three days of fishing. More and more baitfish are returning to the flats with each day. The finger mullet have still not arrived but the trout are feeding on glass minnows and shrimp.

Last Tuesday, Canadian anglers Derek and Stacey joined me for a cloudy and blustery day on Mosquito Lagoon. Although they had never fished for redfish, this husband and wife team were excellent anglers and were prepared to face the tough conditions. We fished DOA CALs in watermelon seed and morning glory colors all day. They started the day off catching a few jack crevalle. Next, we spent a couple hours trying to catch some large redfish. Poor visibility made it nearly impossible to keep track of them and we went in search of easier quarry. Derek and Stacey combined for six redfish and Stacey landed a nice trout.

Friday, Tom and Marion, from Kansas, took a break from the theme parks and spent the day relaxing on Mosquito Lagoon. Like the previous day, the big redfish would show themselves briefly and then disappear into the deeper water that had been stirred up by the consistent high winds. Several schools of 3-8 pounds fish provided us some shallow water sight fishing action and Tom hooked up first with the morning glory CAL. The wind made casting a challenge but we had clear skies and good visibility. Several more redfish were fooled by the lures before the day was through.

By Saturday, the winds had finally subsided. Tim and Debbie joined me for a spectacular morning. With the slick calm conditions, we were easily able to spot several schools of redfish at our first stop. Within twenty minutes, the couple had landed three redfish to 36 inches. Before long, there were boats in every direction and the clouds had covered the sky. We left the redfish in search of a less crowded area. I tied on a couple DOA Deadly Combos and Tim and Debbie spent the next hour enjoying some non-stop trout action. They caught too many to count before we decided to hunt for some more redfish. We tried several more spots but landed only one more red.

The March winds will be blowing the next couple days but are predicted to subside by mid week. The calm winds with warm temperatures should provide some excellent fishing. The redfish can be spotted in very shallow water while the trout bite should remain consistent in 2-4 feet.

Capt. Chris Myers
Central Florida Sight Fishing Charters
http://www.floridafishinglessons.com

by Badger on Mon Mar 24, 2008 11:14 pm

Great read there Chris and welcome to the forum!
I have seen your posts on fishing-forum.info and am looking forward to reading more on here!
A friend of mine has a house in Polk County (not too far from Orlando) and I intend coming back over there soon. It would be great to get some fishing in!