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Another couple weeks of too-nice-to-be-winter weather has passed and we have enjoyed some great days on the water in spring like conditions. Upper 70’s and sunny skies have had it feeling like it’s spring time. The fishing has been a lot of fun as well with a combination of cooler and warmer weather patterns coming together.
We have been spending most of our time lately in Mosquito Lagoon just to the south of Ponce Inlet. The water clarity has been good for sight fishing and the bite has been good too. We’ve been catching a few trout but mostly redfish and black drum on spin and fly tackle. The Ponce Inlet area is entering its spring time pattern early this year with a little activity from snook and reds starting to get going. As water temperatures react to the warmer winter we have been having, bait will start to move more and this area will only get better.
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As our winter season pushes on, we have been really enjoying some great weather and fishing. The special thing about the Ponce Inlet area is that we have great options year round that offer different types of fishing. Regardless of the weather condition, we can have great days on most days during the winter season.
Most of our fishing has been taking place in the Mosquito Lagoon area which is just a few miles south of Ponce Inlet. This remote area is one of the few untouched areas along Florida’s east coast. The scenery and the wildlife goes hand in hand with the fishing. We have been having some great days with both spinning tackle and fly rods, doing a combination of sight fishing along with a few other techniques. The bite for redfish, black drum and sea trout has been pretty good lately so we’ve been having a lot of fun. The Ponce Inlet area has also been productive for some of our winter species like sheepshead along with a few bull reds hanging around. The last few weeks of fishing has brought seasonal change to the Ponce Inlet and Mosquito Lagoon area. We had some very cold winter weather along with the rest of the country in the last week of 2022. Thankfully it’s warmed back up nicely but that changed the fishing patterns a lot.
The Ponce Inlet area has been less of a focus for us after this cool down as many of our warm water species like snook had to hunker down and a lot of the redfish and other species moved to their winter time feeding areas. We have shifted our approaches and remained successful with some great days on the water. Much of our fishing recently has been down in Mosquito Lagoon about 10 miles south of Ponce Inlet. The cool down clears up the water in many areas and can make the bite quite good for redfish, trout and black drum. We have been catching these fish consistently over the last few weeks and had some really fun days doing it. Big migratory black drum have been an option on some days with fish up to 40lbs! Sight fishing has also been really good with groups of fish tailing and feeding several different ways. This is one of the best times of year for sight fishing with both spin and fly tackle. As winter finally knocks on our door this coming Christmas weekend in Florida, winter fishing patterns will be locked in place for the next couple months. We shift away from the warm water species of summer to the fish that give us our best winter opportunities.
In the Ponce Inlet area, big reds and black drum aren’t harmed by the cooler water temperatures of winter and will be our primary target. The snook have done quite well for the last few years and we can only hope they will make it through this winter as well. In Mosquito Lagoon a few miles south of Ponce Inlet, winter brings the clearest water of the year and some good fishing as well. Redfish will group up in small schools in several areas and big schools of migratory black drum will occupy the deeper basins of the lagoon. Winter and spring bring some of the best fishing conditions to the lagoon and we will be taking advantage of that for the next few months. Other than a few cool days in November, we are off to what seems like a pretty warm winter so far here around Ponce Inlet in central Florida. Compared to most parts of the country, it’s almost always nice in Florida this time of year. Whether it stays warm or cools down as we head towards January, the fishing should be good either way.
Back country fishing in Mosquito Lagoon which is a few miles to the south of Ponce Inlet starts to enter it’s prime season as cooler temperatures bring clearing water that gives us the visibility we need to have fun days sight fishing with both fly and spin tackle. Big black drum are arriving on their year migration here to spawn and also make a fun target for days on the lagoon. Around the Ponce Inlet area itself, our winter season is mainly focused on big bull redfish and big black drum on their way to the lagoon. These fish aren’t impacted by cooler water temperatures the way our summer species like snook and tarpon are so we have good chances at them even when we enter the coolest parts of winter. Winter in Florida just isn’t the same as the rest of the country, it’s a great time to escape the snow and come catch some fish! As we transition into the “winter” months here along the coast of east central Florida, great fishing opportunities remain strong! Our winters can be chilly some days, but we can also have extremely pleasant conditions to fish on many other days. The fish bite either way!
In the Ponce Inlet area, the bull redfish bite continues to be strong with many anglers catching some great fish over the last couple weeks. As we progress into the cooler portion of winter, these fish, along with the snook, will begin to move to areas they prefer to overwinter. Big black drum are also arriving for the winter season with some of these fish weighing in at over 60lbs! Back country fishing in Mosquito Lagoon just to the south of Ponce Inlet will start to be a good option again as winter brings cooler temperatures and low, clear water. Sight fishing for 4-8lb redfish on fly and light tackle is one of the other highlights of this time of year. Large schools of black drum will also be a good option over the next few months. Get away from the cold and come join us for this portion of our year round fishery! Just when we thought hurricane season was over, we got an unusual November storm. Thankfully it didn’t cause any damage to the boats and fishing is getting back to normal this week.
Redfish and snook are both around in the Ponce Inlet area and will feed well through November. There are still some tarpon around as well but the amount of time they remain here will be dependent on how our next few cold fronts impact water temperatures. When things are right, the tarpon can feed hard before pushing on with their winter migration towards the Caribbean. Mosquito Lagoon just to the south of Ponce Inlet has had some really high water levels after our first hurricane, they started to drop but came back up again after this more recent storm. They should drop over the next few weeks and the fishing should be good for spin and fly anglers looking to sight fish as we head into December. As fall fishing enters the stretch of its last month, great opportunities at several species are available. Cooler and less humid weather has arrived in central Florida and this is one of the most comfortable times of the year in the Ponce Inlet area.
Big bull redfish are still the specialty of our fishery and the primary target through the month of November. Large numbers of migratory fish are still in the area and eagerly searching for food before it’s time to return to the ocean. The great fishing and comfortable weather can make this a special month to fish. In addition to redfish, we do have the occasional opportunity at snook and tarpon. These species may or may not be available on any given day, it just depends on conditions and bait availability. In Mosquito Lagoon just to the south of Ponce Inlet, water levels have dropped some since last months hurricane rains and the fishing has also been pretty good for hungry redfish along shorelines. As we enter the last month of our fall fishing patterns, the bite remains strong and has produced some great days of fishing around the Ponce Inlet area. Comfortable temperatures and great fishing make this one of the best times of year to fish in this area.
In the Ponce Inlet area, redfish and snook have both been providing some great fishing on many days recently and should continue to do so through November. There are still some tarpon around as well and when the opportunity presents itself we target them. The number of days we have chances at the tarpon will mainly depend on how soon it cools down, but in the mean time when they are feeding, it’s always a possibility. To the south of Ponce Inlet in Mosquito Lagoon, we have had some high water levels from the hurricane we had last month, but they have subsided and the fishing is once again giving us some fun days. Sight fishing for lagoon species can be at its best for the next few months so we are really looking forward to the cooler weather season on the flats. Redfish, sea trout and large black drum are all species to target during the coming months. Fall patterns have remained stable and the fishing has been great on almost every trip in the Ponce Inlet area. Hurricane season is almost passed now thankfully and more stable weather between cold fronts is on the horizon.
Fishing for big bull redfish remains outstanding with catches averaging 5-10 fish on most trips. Anglers from 12 to 70 years old have enjoyed catching their biggest redfish recently. Some days have been calm enough to provide opportunities at migratory tarpon heading south for the winter, but it’s highly variable and unpredictable. Though unpredictable, I expect several more waves of fish and incredible fishing on those days for some of my anglers going into the last part of this month and the first couple weeks of November. Get out here and enjoy the last of the warm weather before truly cooler conditions set it! |
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