Central Florida Boating & Fishing

Mosquito Lagoon offers fishermen a superb Redfish and Trout habitat. Bottom contour and habitat variations in the Lagoon, like Tiger Shoals in the middle of the lagoon or the Whale Tail Shoal in the southern part of the lagoon, offer forage for fish. Mangrove shorelines and saltwater marshes combined with crystal clear water and grass flats are the norm.

The Mosquito Lagoon may be one of the more popular Redfish Flats areas in the nation and receives serious fishing pressure nearly all year. Weekend fishermen should understand the fragile environment of the lagoon, the no-motor zones, and permitting. All this info from various sources is included on this page. The best bet for good Mosquito Lagoon fishing is to wait until the late fall, winter, and spring.

Mosquito Lagoon is filled with redfish and trout throughout her waterways, islands, sandbars, oyster bars, creeks, troughs, and holes. Keeping things simple is, most times, the best way to catch fish in the Mosquito Lagoon. Many anglers caught up in the sight fishing craze have forgotten how fun more traditional methods or modified versions are. Methods such as live bait and casting topwaters or jigs work well in the Mosquito Lagoon.

New Smyrna Inlet feeds the Mosquito Lagoon from the North end. The inlet is tidal and the tide and current changes are noticeable; fish react to the tide changes on the northern Mosquito Lagoon. Fish react differently at different tide phases and fishermen will need to adapt. That being said, these tactics apply throughout the Lagoon as a baseline fishing guide.

Incoming tides can produce good-sized seatrout and schools of redfish can be seen tailing and feeding along oyster bars and drop-offs.

Falling tides send lagoon fish deeper and further away from the bars and land toward channels and holes in the lagoon. Try using jerk baits, GULPS, or the like. if you fish topwater baits, try topwaters around drop-offs and holes during falling tides. (see more on baits below)

Many old-school lagoon guides fish live bait and cut baits around holes by chumming with greenies or baiting up with finger mullet when low light conditions shut down the sight fishing. Most times, these old methods will prevail on any given day.

Early morning, try topwater plugs for big trout around schools of mullet and near deeper water (two to three feet). When the trout bites slows (about 9 a.m.), the sun is high enough to see well into the water. At that time, make your switch to soft-plastics rigged with Daiichi Butt Dragger or other weedless rigs (see below about tackle) and set your target on redfish.

Look for Mosquito Lagoon Redfish to be scattered throughout the pole-and-troll zones in numerous pods. In years past, the late summer “word” was that the pods would be made up of “onesies and twosies” because the schools had been busted up over and over again throughout the day. This year we should find bigger pods of fish, from a dozen to as many as 50 fish, now that they are not getting run over and chased all day long. Approach them cautiously and from a distance, and try to pluck fish off the edges of the school. If they hump up and move off, don’t chase them—if you do, they’ll keep running. Sit still, right where you were when you spooked them, and they will likely come back in short order.

Most Redfish pods are made up of redfish in the 25- to 28-inch (6 to 8 pounds.) However, there are a couple of pods of reds that go 20 or 30 pounds. Should you be so fortunate to locate one of these pods (likely along the edge of the zone near the deeper water), try a piece of cut mullet on a circle hook. Cast ahead of their general direction of movement and wait for them to move over the bait.