florida fish report

Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report June 18, 2014 by Captain Tom Van Horn

Dear (Contact First Name), Thanks for subscribing to my fishing report mailing list! As a subscriber, you will receive my weekly fishing reports and monthly fishing forecast before they are posted to my website. As always, it is my desire to assist you in becoming a better angler and steward of our fragile resource by sharing my outdoor adventures with you. Together, we can experience the best outdoor adventures Florida has to offer. If you have any questions or needs for specific information or have a topic you would like included, please let me know.  Also, if you like what your read in this message, please pass it along to a friend.      Sincerely, Captain Tom Van Horn Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters    Early Morning Largemouth on a High Roller Pop-Roller, photo by Ron Presley Indian River Lagoon Coast of Florida Fishing Report June 18, 2014    by Captain Tom Van Horn Events and Seminars Tuesday, June 24th, at 6:30 pm Captain Chris Cameron and other   professional anglers will be in the Mosquito Creek Outback demonstrating   the latest near shore fishing techniques and answering any of your   saltwater fishing questions.    This Week's Report      First, let me wish all of you dads a belated happy Father's Day.  As we approach the summer solstice in the tropic of cancer, long hot days set the stage for some of the hottest fishing experienced along Florida's Indian River Lagoon Coast all year. Long hot days also signal a shift in strategy to fishing early in the morning and late in the evening and at night to beat the heat and our typical afternoon thunderstorms. The summer solstice arrives each year on June 21st, marking the point of the sun's northern most reach, and the longest day and the shortest night of the year in the northern hemisphere. The solstice typically marks the beginning of the summer doldrums resulting in calm sea conditions allowing those of us with shallow water boats to venture seaward in search of near-shore kingfish, dolphin, tarpon, and large jack crevalle. Also, it's the time of year when the silver kings (tarpon) and smoker kings (large kingfish) invade the Port Canaveral buoy line and beaches. These favorable sea conditions will only last as long as the tropical summer squalls allow, and Labrador currents stay well offshore. Also, summer is the best time to fish at night where some species (sea trout and snook) prefer to feed, as they have a shorter window of opportunity increasing their aggressiveness.  Captain Tom's Channel Catfish, photo bt Captain Ron Presley Although I did not get offshore this week, I did do some freshwater fishing on the St Johns River with my good friend Captain Ron Presley where we found the largemouth bass chewing on top-water plugs and DOA CAL jerk baits at first light.  Our afternoon thunder storm have kicked in, so with rising water levels on the river we opted to soak a few catfish baits after the bass bite slowed down  catching a few respectable channel catfish in the deeper bends of the river.  We also spent some time running the shallows of Lake Harney looking for brim beds, but we found no solid concentrations of beds. As I look forward into next week, my adventures carry me into the Banana River No-Motor Zone tomorrow with renowned fly angler Marshal Roper in search of redfish, and then to the DOA Writer's Conference at River Palms Cottages in Jensen Beach on Sunday,Monday and Tuesday, so stay tuned for next week's report. As always, if you need information or have any questions, please contact me.    Good luck and good fishing, Captain Tom Van Horn mosquitocoast@cfl.rr.com 407-416-1187    Captain Tom's Spring Largemouth caught on a High Roller Top-water Plug The St John's River bass bite is currently on fire.    Captain Tom Van Horn Bass Fishing Lake Harney with a 9lb. Sunshine Bass             Monster Redfish with Capt. Tom Van Horn (Anchor no Anchor)