redfish lagoon

This week, the Space Coast has finally started to see a little change. Cooler water has brought quite a bit better looking water into most areas throughout the lagoon system. The slightly cleaner water we are now seeing has opened up some opportunities for sight fishing, which is what most anglers love about the lagoon.

This week, areas that have large sandbars or flats with deeper edges have all had large redfish, and black drum milling around on warmer blue bird days which are typically days in between cold fronts. Look for these fish finning, or pushing wakes in 1.5 to 2 feet of water anywhere from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. This is when sunlight is best and the water is the warmest.

Artificial enthusiasts can find good success fishing smaller baits in the 2-4 inch range and natural colors, such as pearl, or black and silver, like gulp shrimp, doa paddle tails or natural looking baits like the savage gear shrimp. The longer the cast away, the better, and remember to bring the bait across the fishes nose, but do not cast right on top of the fish! You don’t eat steak that falls from the sky, and fish don’t eat shrimp that pop out of thin air. When the bite is tough or for an almost sure bite, half a blue crab, or a live shrimp simply can’t be beat.

Despite the influx of cleaner water, by no means are the lagoons in great shape. The eco system is in desperate need of help from things like upgraded sewage facilities and infrastructure, elimination of herbicides and pesticides, as well as a better system for routing storm water runoff — which all take many years to be accomplished. Let’s all do our part to help create a better lagoon, an easy start is by simply practicing catch and release. There is plenty of inlets and fish markets that are available which offer much better options for dinner until we can get a handle on our lagoon.