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Saltwater Fishing Charters by Lagooner Fishing Guides
Fish the Shallow Water Lagoons Near Orlando
Flats Fishing Trips And Charters
Tuesday October 17, 2017
How shallow can you go? Sometimes I wonder if you can catch fish on dry land when I fish in the shallow water lagoons east of Orlando Florida. Guides and anglers often refer to water as "skinny" as it's commonly less than one foot deep where inches of water can hold large fish! Customers are frequently asking me about our "Flats Fishing", another term for shallow water fishing in our remarkably gin clear grass beds on the Mosquito and Indian River Lagoon.
The best way to learn about Flats Fishing is to spend time exploring it. One of my lifelong friends and I often run into each other while scouting with our wives on days off. Experience can never be substituted by written articles or videos, getting into the elements and pursuing fish on a regular basis is truly the best way to get acquainted with the lagoons.
Study The Flats
As a child and into my adulthood, I waded the shallow waters of the Banana River Lagoon between Cocoa Beach and Merritt Island. The 1960's and 70's offered an experience that only an old salt like myself can appreciate in the Central Florida estuaries. But you can make your own experience today by simply buying a small shallow water boat and exploring the same way I did, but with much more modern equipment. Spend days on the lagoon, poling, wading and putting around while observing patterns and finding fish.
Polarized Sunglasses
Today's charter couldn't see what I was looking at on the shallow grass beds in the Mosquito Lagoon. When I offered him my glasses to look through, he quickly yelped "Oh My God" as he was revealed what I'd been seeing and what he had been missing. Fortunately for him, I assisted his casting with prompts of where and how far to cast and the day's success was attributed to my ability to see and not his. Get a good pair of quality sunglasses that are both comfortable and efficient. Amber colored lenses with reflective faces seem to work the best.
Lighten Up on Tackle
Ten pound braided line on a light rod in the six and half to seven foot range seem to work best for artificial lure fishing, both redfish and sea trout can be pursued with this rod & reel setup. Black Drum, snook, jacks and other gamefish can be subdued with these light outfits also. My clients have caught many redfish over twenty five pounds on these rods and they simply make the presentation easier and more effective. If you're willing to spend the time and efforts many if not ALL of the shallow water species can be caught on an 8 weight fly rod too.
To sum up what I'm telling you, spend as much time in observation with a quality pair of polarized sunglasses and a light fishing rod and you're prepared to take on the shallow water fishing on Florida's coastlines. What bait, artificial lures and methods are another subject for another article... Good luck fishing and enjoy your time in the outdoors.
Captain Richard / Lagooner Fishing Guide
Orlando Shallow Water Fishing Trips
Reviewed by Captain Richard Bradley on Last modified: January 25 2017 21:50:13.
Published by: Captain Richard Bradley of Lagooner Fishing Guides©
Fishing Reports
October - 2017 Fishing Report
The summer is over and the autumn winds are starting to prevail as we head toward the holidays and winter. With water temperatures on the fall and water levels above average you can find good numbers of fish very close to the shoreline and against the mangroves. Mullet are in their peak run and will start to subside as we enter November, but bait, comfort and the end of the redfish spawn should keep anglers busy during the month of October. Lie mullet will trump any given bait during the fall on most days and if you're lucky enough to run into a school of big breeding redfish, it typically doesn't matter what you throw at them, just be ready for these fish that often exceed forty pounds.
Wrapping up the October report, we have been catching snook along the deeper shorelines with the seasonally high water, breeding redfish are coming to an end, but you have a chance to catch them and the fall mullet fun will keep the gamefish interesting into November.
Fishing Forecast
October - 2017 Fishing Forecast
Lagooner Fishing Guides
Cocoa Beach's premier saltwater fishing guide with over 25 years of charter fishing experience in his native waters.
Telephone: 321-868-4953
Website: www.lagooner.com
Cocoa Beach, FL
USA
Currencies Accepted USD in the form of Cash, Credit Card, Debit Card
Lagooner Fishing Guides Review / Facebook
Inshore and Offshore Charter Fishing near Orlando and Cocoa Beach, Florida. Catch redfish, sea trout, tarpon, snook and many other saltwater gamefish aboard the world famous Lagooner flats fishing boat with renowned Captain Richard Bradley.
A very knowledgeable guide and knows the area waters well. We were on big reds and trout within minutes of the leaving the dock and ventured about the lagoon to catch different species. The scenery in the Lagoon is remarkable!
Richard’s boat was well equipped with good equipment, he was well prepared to adapt to the different types of fishing through out the day. My primary focus was sight fishing for big reds on fly - the flies that Capt. Richard provided were right on!
Booking the charter was a breeze, his wife Capt. Gina was very accommodating to work me in (thank you Capt. Gina).
Capt. Richard seemed to know who was hungry at the right times – and we had some impressive catches! Well done Capt. Richard, and thanks for a great day on the water!
Written by: Ray Norman about Lagooner Fishing Charters on
January 21, 2015
5 / 5 stars 