With the cool temps, this is prime time for sight fishing in the clear water. Look for schools of redfish and black drum working the lagoon flats. Live mullet or shrimp will get the job done. If you prefer artificial or fly, Z-Man paddle-tails and shrimp work well. Fly fishermen should try shrimp and crab flies.

Fishing has been good all week. With the major cold front, look for schools of redfish on shallow edges sunning themselves. A well-placed shrimp on either a naked hook or a jig head should be the ticket. On sunny days with the cold water, look for snook to be sunning themselves as well on shallow sandbars, they may be a little slow to eat until high sun. The next couple months will be some incredible fishing.

Sight fishing has been good in the Mosquito Lagoon with cruising small groups of redfish and black drum. Trout have been eating paddle-tail jigs on drop offs. This week, the redfish should be schooled up as water temperature falls.

Closed out the year with a great inshore and nearshore bite. The cooler water temps have had the fish chewing! Inshore, we’ve been getting the most fish on a 1/4 oz jig head tipped with shrimp. On the nearshore reefs, a 1oz jig tipped with shrimp or small bait fish has been crushing the weak fish, sheepshead and bull reds.

The redfish, trout and snook bite this week has been very good in the Mosquito Lagoon and area backwaters. These fish have all been eating aggressively. Live finger mullet and the usual choices of soft plastics will also work well. We’ve been getting into some big bull reds nearshore along the beach, too.

The water in the Mosquito in Lagoon is crystal clear now with site casting redfish becoming very easy on sunny days. Redfish and black drum are starting to school up and shallow edges of drop offs. A well-placed live shrimp will do the trick to make both fish want to eat. For reds specifically, I also always like throwing a Z man paddle tail 3 inch on an 8 ounce jig head. On the overcast days, top water has been very productive with the Mullet schools still around.

Fishing has been very good this week with good catches of redfish, trout, black drum, mangrove snapper, and snook. This is the time of year you can throw live finger mullet along mangrove shores and get great bites as well as sight casting redfish laid up along the shoreline. A live shrimp or a Z-Man paddle tail will get the job done!

The bite has been on fire with the cooler weather. Redfish have been cruising shorelines and will eat Z-Man soft plastics, live shrimp or chunk mullet. On overcast days the top water bite has been very good working near bait schools. If you want to sight fish or just enjoy catching fish this is a great time to book a trip.

The cold weather this past weekend has dropped the water temperature in the lagoon, making for clear site fishable water. Reds are cruising shorelines and will eat soft plastics or a well-placed shrimp. Snook are still being caught around structure using live shrimp, mullet and pinfish. There’s still a few tarpon around however the larger ones will start migrating south.

Well, we’re finally getting some cooler weather! This should clear up the water in the lagoon as well as start the winter patterns. With cooler water, start looking for schooling fish on edges and along flats. Snook should be feeding heavily to prepare for the cold weather. Tarpon are still around but not much longer, they should begin pushing south. Roe mullet should start schooling and moving into flats, too.

Ally with a nice first mosquito lagoon red

Capt. Mike Mann put Cobia on the dinner menu for his customers today!

A juvenile tarpon caught with Capt. Mike Mann

Memphis and his dad, Chris, had a fun day fishing the Mosquito Lagoon with Capt. Mike Mann. This black drum is one of a bunch of fish that they caught, including some nice reds, sheepsheads, and seatrout.

Zander got this nice black drum to eat fishing with Fat Fish Guide Service in the Mosquito Lagoon.

Bill from New York had a great two days of fishing the mosquito lagoon with Fat Fish Guide Service.

Capt. Mike Mann really whacked the fish today with Justin and Hayley.

Max caught his first red casting and working the bait himself.

Colin made it happen reeling in this nice spotted sea trout