Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River
Notably one of Florida's most pristine and beautiful
fishing areas, the mosquito lagoon and Indian River
adjacent to North Merritt Island and Kennedy Space
Center. These two waterways are interconnected by
the man made Haulover canal allowing the travel of
commercial and recreational interest on the Intracoastal
Waterway (ICW) along the eastern seaboard of the United
States.
The Eastern and most northern part of the water way
west of the Canaveral National Seashore and east of
the Haulover Canal is a shallow body of crystal clear
water named the Mosquito Lagoon. Surely the original
western settlers felt the name was appropriate and
the reputation still stands today. Bring plenty of
repellant and make sure DEET is a main ingredient,
because the others just don't work.
Mosquito Lagoon has made a reputation amongst sports
fisherman for it's abundance of redfish, often referred
to as puppy drum, channel bass or simply red drum.
So proliferate are the redfish that's it's not uncommon
to see large schools or redfish marauding the shallow
grassflats in search of food. Redfish feed on shrimp,
crustaceans and baitfish such as mullet or menhaden
and are often caught on live or dead versions of each
or with an assortment of artificial lures imatations.
By far the most preferred way to fish for redfish
is to look or "sightfish" for these predators
while pushing a small skiff or "flats boat"
along in shallow water until a fish is spotted an
presenting an accurate cast with either a fly pattern
imitation, artificial lures or live/dead baits accordingly.
A flats boat is a light vessel usually 20 feet or
shorter with a small raised platform for the guide
or angler to stand on so that they can spot their
quarry from a distance and stalk that fish without
being detected. It's the guides job to put the angler
within casting distance without spooking the redfish
and allowing the angler the best position to see and
cast on the fish. This is usually done by poling upwind
of the target fish and if possible with the sun at
the anglers back, giving the angler the advantage
of visibility and putting the sun's glare in the fish's
eyes rather than the anglers.
Northern Mosquito Lagoon host the towns of Edgewater
and Oakhill and is mottled with small islands and
tributaries, while the southern part of the lagoon
is boardered by the refuge and Kennedy Space Center.
fishing access is not limited to boats as wading and
kayaking is popular. Several boat ramps are accessible,
most notably the Haulover Canal boat ramp or Bears
Cove.
Traveling west from Mosquito Lagoon thru the Haulover
Canal you enter the most northern part of the Indian
River Lagoon in Brevard County, Central Florida or
the Space Coast. The end of the lagoon is isolated
and shallow with a tint of freshwater flowing from
small feeder creeks and rain. There is a coffee or
tannic hue to the clear waters the further north you
proceed and the fishing is excellent in almost every
area, again most notably the redfish but also including
world class spotted seatrout. |
