Fall is a magical time if year on the flats. As the cold fronts begin to hit and the water temperature drops, the shallow grass flats of mosquito lagoon begin to flood with the larger redfish and and numbers of trout that have been in deeper water most of the summer. The seatrout spawn throughout the late fall, and into early spring. It is not uncommon to find a group of 20 or more over-slot trout sunning on a patch of hard bottom ready to inhale almost any presentation. As for the redfish, instead of the singles, pairs, and small groups of mostly slot fish we find in the warmer months, we now get the opporunity to target redfish upto and over 30” in less than a foot of water and find schools of more than 50 redfish cruising around together. And last but not least, with the cooler water temperaturs, the fish feed on the flats all day long! Book now to chase the schools of shimmering copper redfish and wolf like packs of gator trout!!

Mosquito Lagoon has long been known for its incredible redfish fishery. From schools of bulls to wads of slot-fish tailing, if you love catching redfish and watching them operate in their natural environment, Mosquito Lagoon is a bucket list destination. At 28 miles long and 36,000 acres you can hunt the flats for months without re-fishing any water. Whether you are a spin or fly angler you can expect a significant number of opportunities. In the mornings and evenings fish up 30+ inches tail in singles and groups in thick grass and shallow water. Although the presentation has to get almost right in front of the fish, as long as they keep their heads buried in the grass, they typically offer several mulligans. When the sun is higher in the sky we follow the fish out to the edges. As the days grow shorter and cooler the fish will often stay shallow and tail almost all day. The snook and tarpon fishing is still strong as well, both around the lagoon and in New Smyrna Beach. The snook topwater bite has been a great way to kick off the day and nothing pops a topwater like the snook. It is a heart-stopping moment when they engulf the plug and surrounding water. Large trout loom nearby these snook as well.

Tarpon season is red hot here in North/Central Florida. Launching at first light we head out to net some mullet and make our way out to the beach! Clearing Ponce Inlet, you never quite know what the ocean will offer up that day but you can guarantee it will be a blast. Tarpon are traveling along the beach and holding up at spots where we target them with live bait, lures, or flies. Fishing for tarpon on the beach comes with the likely opportunity to hook a massive kingfish as by-catch as well as run into schools of Spanish mackerel and Bonito. On recent trips, we are averaging 5 Tarpon hookups but on occasion, the action is non-stop. You will never hook a more exciting fish. Ranging from 40-140lbs. and jumping more than 6ft in the air between searing runs, it will be an experience you remember for life. The bite should stay hot until mid-September but spots are filling up! Book now to get your Silver King before the season is over! Fishing licenses included with Capt. Bach Charters.

Here in Mosquito Lagoon and New Smyrna Beach, it is prime Tarpon and snook fishing. Tarpon: Covering the flats and backcountry, first thing in the morning or at last light we are Getting plenty of shots at rolling tarpon with light tackle and fly. Most of the tarpon we target in the backcountry are in the 20-30lb range, although we occasionally see fish over 60lbs. Throwing flies, soft plastic jerkbaits, or drifting live shrimp and baitfish under floats right into a group of rolling tarpon gets the adrenaline pumping all on its own. Listening to the "bloop" of a tarpon gulping air in the dead quiet of the morning is an unforgettable experience. Once hooked, it can take some skill to land these fish as they act as though they have been struck with a live wire, exploding from the water in a series of cartwheeling, acrobatic jumps, broken up by powerful runs. Around the main channels of New Smyrna's inner coastal waterways, and along the beach, we find larger tarpon often over 80lbs. With heavier tackle, be it an 11 wt. flyrod or 30lb.-test spin setups, we will target tarpon first thing in the morning or after sunset, even well into the night when the bite won't quit. the 3 and 5hr night trips are perfect to have some good chances at not just tarpon, but also XL snook and bull redfish. During the trips starting in the morning, we have the option to run out to the beach and chase big migratory tarpon early in the morning and transition to targeting nearshore kingfish and bonito as the day progresses. Snook: The snook have been very active with the tropical temperatures the water has achieved. From targeting them laid up on the flats with artificials and flies to drifting live baits to them around structures, oyster bars, and holes. While sight-fishing snook on the flats you'll also get shots at the redfish and large trout the Lagoon is famous for. Half-day bookings launching in the evenings can begin late enough to split the time between fishing the flats and backcountry and fish the docklights and other structures for incredible visual fishing as well as some opportunities at truly monster snook.

We knew we'd be up against it due to the moon phase of the past week or so. Full to half-full moon up for most of the night and deadly high mid-day temperatures give the fish an excellent opportunity to feed all night and look the other when no matter how well a bait is presented to them during the daytime. Repeat client and good friend, Tyler was not intimidated. We kicked the day off watching 20 - 60 lb. tarpon lazily roll at first light. For about 45 minutes we pitched live shrimp, blue crabs, and baitfish as well as artificial presentations to them. A few sipped down the blue crabs but gave us the slip as a bony-mouthed tarpon will sometimes do. By the time the sun cleared the horizon, the tarpon activity declined and we moved onto the flats. Within minutes we were staked out on a school of black drum in the 5-15lb. range. After a few missed hook-ups we finally landed one around 22" and a slot red before the school moved on. From there it was pretty much all sight fishing. We had a few opportunities at large trout and snook cruising the flats despite the tough moon phase and Tyler followed directions perfectly to sight-fish a couple of over-slot Mosquito Lagoon redfish! They are plentiful but demanding in the clear shallow water and closely adhering to the direction of your guide is all but imperative. In the late afternoon, we returned to the main channel to try our luck with the bull reds. On light tackle, we landed a few more fish including another over-slot redfish and we had an absolute monster on the 6500 penn that somehow managed to break us off on some structure. From seeing schools of black drum and redfish to rolling tarpon and cruising snook, despite the tough moon phase, we had a heck of a good time.

Leaving the River Breeze Boat Ramp at first light, we headed out to begin the hunt for redfish, snook, and trout. At the first location, we poled a channel edge that has been holding a lot of redfish but, even to my surprise, we bumped into a school that probably topped 100 fish. In the low light and high water, we didn't have a chance to see them untill it was too late! With frazzled nerves we rounded the corner and pushed up onto a very shallow section of the flat. Throwing a tan/rootbeer gurgler we kicked off the day with a 20" trout. Switching to an olive shrimp pattern we began sight fishing as the sun rose enough to illuminate the flats. We would get a few shots at redfish in the deeper parts of the flat as we meandered from one shallow zone to the next while getting shots at large laid-up trout in mere inches of water over sandy potholes in the grass. Large seatrout are a very tough species to sight-fish on the fly but with the right adjustments and accurate casts, we were able to stick 4 over 20" as well as 5 beautiful slot redfish. The summer transition to better snook and tarpon fishing is upon us but the gator trout, as well as the redfish, will remain on the flats all summer long!