February 2016

The weather has been up and down for the last couple of months from winds and rain to extreme cold then back to sunny and in the seventies. With this being said it has caused the fish to bounce back and forth from different patterns. The bite has been good through out all the different conditions but I have found that when the water temps drop drastically start a little later I the morning . This later start is allowing the sun time to warm up the flats enough to get the fish chewing. The water level is still higher than usual for this time of year which I believe is why we are not seeing the large schools redfish that we are use to this time of year.  fish have been schooled in smaller numbers from five to forty through out Mosquito Lagoon. They have been eating several baits both artificial and live . My go to bait has been the ADL spoon or a soft plastic in a shrimp pattern.  Look in the white sand holes that are holding bait and you will find not only red fish but also pods of trout. the trout bite has also been good through out the lagoon system catching not only quantity but also quality . Baits of choice have been twitch baits and soft plastics along with live finger mullet and live shrimp. We have also seen some large schools of black drum in the middle and south part of Mosquito Lagoon ranging from five pounds to forty pounds. The bait of choice has been a live shrimp for these guys along with broken crab. The New Smyrna and Daytona Beach area has had some good numbers of flounder holding on the mud and sand bars. I have caught them several ways from bouncing a ADL spoon slowly along the bottom to shrimp and soft plastics on a jig head they have been pretty hungry even taking an occasional mullet off the top. 
Good luck and be safe.


Capt Patrick Rood
www.spotntailcharters.com 
(386)566-1394