

Fly fishing in the Indian River Lagoon System, which include the Banana River, the Indian River, and the Mosquito Lagoon, is excellent year round. This is the closest and best saltwater fly fishing near Orlando. Species such as redfish, seatrout, tarpon, snook, jack crevalle, ladyfish, and black drum can be caught in our waters with a fly rod. Sight fishing for redfish is the most popular.Your Mosquito Lagoon fly fishing guide will pole you across the shallow grass flats searching for cruising or tailing reds. The fish may be in singles, pairs, or in schools of 10-500 fish. When a fish is spotted, you make your cast and watch for a reaction as you strip the fly in front of it. You see the bite, set the hook, and are ready to clear the line as the fish races away. An exciting scene when it all comes together. In the page below, I hope to offer you some tips and techniques to improve you catching that I have learned over the years. Tackle Many different sizes of rods can be used when fishing the Mosquito Lagoon from 4wt to 10wt, depending on your casting ability, wind speed, and the size of fish you are pursuing. A seven or eight weight outfit is a good place to start if you are only going to use one rod. They can handle any redfish you may encounter and cast reasonably well in a modest breeze. On calm days, I like to use my 5wt. Your reel should have a smooth drag and hold at least 200 yards of backing. Reels designed for freshwater use will quickly corrode in the saltwater environment unless you are extremely thorough when cleaning them. When sight fishing the flats, I always use a weight forward floating line. Most of the time, we are fishing water that is two feet deep or less. A sinking or intermediate line will only serve to hinder your ability to make a quick second or third cast, should your first shot not draw a strike. There are many saltwater tapers to choose from. Find one that works best for you. Attached to the end of my fly line, I put a 9-10 foot leader composed of fluorocarbon which ends in a 15-20 lb bite tippet. If the wind is up, you may be able to get away with using a shorter leader. On calm days, 10 feet is sometimes not enough leader to avoid spooking the fish. Use the longest leader you can cast effectively and you will spook less fish. You leader system does not need to be fancy or complicated. On a 7wt rod, I use 5 feet of 40lb tied to a 3ft section of 20lb to a 1-2 foot piece of 15lb with double uni knots. I tie a perfection loop knot in the end of the leader and attach that with a loop to loop connection to the whipped loop in my fly line. Flies In general, redfish are not that picky about what they eat. Their main diet consists of crabs, shrimp, sand worms, and various finfish such as mullet, pinfish, pigfish, needlefish, mud and mosquito minnows. Any flies that mimic them will draw strikes. Size and composition is often much more important than color. When fly fishing extremely shallow water, a fly with lead eyes will often spook the fish as it plops down on the surface. For these situations, I often use unweighted bendback style flies which land softly and ride hook up to avoid catching grass. If you are fishing deeper water, you will want to choose a weighted fly that will get down to the bottom quickly. Redfish are primarily bottom feeders. When shrimp and crabs see a redfish they flee towards the bottom to escape into the grass or mud. Weighted flies will dive towards the bottom when you stop your retrieve. In the winter months our redfish are eating more crabs and shrimp than finfish. Small flies are often the key to successful winter fly fishing. For examples and photos of some of my favorite patterns, see my page on redfish flies for the Mosquito Lagoon. Baitfish fly patterns such as those resembling a pinfish can be very effective during the warmer months. These flies normally ride hook down, however, and are prone to getting fouled by grass if they are not equipped with a weed guard. Topwater sliders and poppers can also be used to catch both redfish and trout. I prefer a deer hair slider in very shallow water which is silent but will push some water. As I get into deeper water I will go to a popper. Although these flies are not as fun to cast as a small bendback, they can elicit some voracious strikes. Because redfish have mouths which are designed to feed down, they will often have to make several attempts to catch your top water offering. Remember to strip strike and do not lift your fly rod until you feel the fish come tight. Casting Casting ability is usually the most important factor when fly fishing for redfish in the Mosquito Lagoon. On most days, the better you can cast, the more fish you will catch. Although our fish are plentiful and readily take a fly, they are heavily pressured and seldom allow you more than one or two shots before they get out of range. You should be able to cast a minimum of 50 feet with 2-3 strokes. Longer is better. The more distance you can keep between you and the fish, the less chance you have of spooking him. Usually, speed and accuracy are more important than distance. (See video YouTube at Saltwater Quick Cast) A fly fisherman who can cast 40 feet accurately with only one or two false casts, will probably have more success than the one who can cast 80 feet but with little control over where the fly lands. On some days, however, we may encounter numerous large schools of redfish in very shallow water. Making casts over 50 feet may be required to reach these fish before they are aware of our presence. Taking time to practice your fly casting before you get on the water will be time well spent! Practice casting in various conditions as you cannot always depend on the winds being calm. Learn to double haul and to shoot line with minimal false casts. Not only will the fish see your line in the air, they will feel the boat rocking and your rod waving about. Also be prepared to cast in various directions quickly. A fish may appear to your right side and you may have to take a shot before your guide can turn the boat. Being able to cast backhand or over the opposite shoulder will give you more opportunities to catch fish. If you are not familiar with the double haul or distance casting, take a lesson from a certified casting instructor in your area. Improper practice leads to bad habits which hinder your improvement. Our redfish will eat most any fly, but will not go out of their way to do so. The range in which they will see and attack a fly can often be very small. There is a fine line between placing your fly too close to the fish and scaring them, or putting it too far away from them to notice. This distance may change from day to day and fish to fish. When they are feeding aggressively, you may be able to put it within several inches of them and get a strike. Other days, just the sound of your fly line touching the water will cause them to change directions. Reds seldom swim in one direction for very long. If you cast too far in front of them in hopes they will swim up to your fly, they will inevitably change directions before they get to it. If they are cruising, I cast ahead and just beyond the fish so it crosses their path as they are approaching. Tailing redfish are a whole different scenario. A saltwater fly fisherman dreams of seeing a large tail with a black spot sticking out of the water waving them over. One thing we know about a tailing redfish is that they are definitely feeding. The problem they present, however, is they often have their head and eyes buried in the grass and are focusing all their attention on the prey they are after. When casting to tailing fish, I like to let the fly land about a foot away and strip it right up to their nose. I will let my fly lie still until the moment the fish brings his head up out of the grass and the tail starts to go down. At that point, give your fly the smallest twitch and that will usually draw an instant strike. You may also choose to use a fly with a small rattle. It way produce just enough noise to get the fish to bring his head up and see your offering. Expectations If you are new to saltwater fly fishing, you will find it is quite different than fishing the average trout stream. Opportunities can be quick and short lived and you must be ready to cast in a moment's notice. While some days are calm, there are many times when the wind is blowing. Being able to cast tight loops will allow anglers to fish on most days. Large open loops will go nowhere even in a 5-10 knot wind. It is not uncommon to see over 500 redfish per day. Having the chance to make dozens of shots at them is routine provided there is enough sun to spot the fish. Our fish eat flies well but will not see or care about things that are 5-10 feet away, in most cases. Practice making quick accurate casts from 25-45 feet and you will be rewarded with bites. |
| Mosquito Lagoon Fly Fishing Trips Orlando Fly Fishing Guide Central Florida Fly Fishing Charters FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor 321-229-2848 |

| This Mosquito Lagoon drum was fooled with a shrimp pattern fly |


| Fly Fishing Near Orlando Florida with Capt. Chris Myers Your Orlando Fishing Guide 321-229-2848 |
