Fly Fishing Insider Podcast
Redfish in the Indian River Lagoon and Mosquito Lagoon are heavily pressured and clear-water spooky, so the cast is led well ahead of the fish rather than dropped on it. Small flies, two to two and a half inches with legs and little flash, weighted to reach the fish's eye level, get the eats.
Jake Oliver is the founder of the Fish and Grits apparel brand and a self-taught angler who fishes Florida's Indian River Lagoon and Mosquito Lagoon from a skiff.
Also on Apple Podcasts · Spotify · YouTube
What is the Indian River Lagoon like to fly fish?
The Indian River Lagoon runs north and south along Florida's east coast and is brackish rather than fresh, fed by freshwater outlets draining the cities along it. The shoreline is mostly mangrove, broken up by grass flats, scattered oyster bars, seawalls and docks. Wade access is realistic anywhere you can park a truck without it getting towed, which is how a lot of anglers get their start there before ever owning a skiff. Grass loss in the Indian River Lagoon pushed one long-time local north to Mosquito Lagoon to find fish.
Why are Florida redfish harder than Louisiana redfish?
Redfish between the Indian River Lagoon and Mosquito Lagoon have effectively seen every fly, and the clear water makes them spookier than Louisiana fish. Louisiana forgives more: stained water, big meaty flies dropped near the head, and multiple shots at the same fish. Florida's east coast fish behave closer to bonefish - longer casts, cleaner presentation, fewer second chances. Less pressured Florida redfish are still findable in the Everglades and Florida Bay, where you can get further from other boats.
How far should you lead a redfish?
By the time a redfish is spotted from a poled skiff, the shot is often only fifteen to twenty feet, but a cast of thirty feet or more improves the odds because the fish still does not know the boat is there. In clear lagoon water the fly is thrown farther away than instinct suggests, so the splash does not spook the fish and the redfish finds it on its own. The target is closer to a trash can lid than a dinner plate - land it in that zone and the fish will usually react.
What flies work for Indian River Lagoon redfish?
The pattern list for these lagoons is short and small: two to two and a half inches, a little bit of leg movement, and not much flash. Color follows water clarity - black and purple when the water is dirty, olive or tan when it is clean, keeping the profile natural rather than loud. Weight is chosen for how deep the fish is, since the fly needs to reach eye level. These redfish spend most of their time looking down at oysters and shrimp, and a fly stripped over their heads goes completely unnoticed.
How do you fish to a tailing redfish?
A tailing redfish with its head down in grass will not find a fly left off to the side, so the cast has to land close enough that its next couple of munches put it right on the fly - in front of the head, never across its back. Then stall the fly. Once the fish looks like it has lifted its head, give the fly a small bump so it can be found. A tailing fish raises the stakes because it will eat unless you make the mistake; a cruiser is more of a free shot.
Where do you get a sight shot at sea trout?
Sea trout in the Indian River Lagoon are mostly a blind casting fish - pick a grass flat and work it, or read bird activity and cast into it. Their camouflage is good enough that you usually do not see them from a poling platform until they are already blown out. Mosquito Lagoon is the exception: sea trout there are more often visible snaking through the grass or cruising and eating, and they tend to run larger. Dock lights at night are the other sight fishing option, working the edge of the shadow line.
How do you find DIY saltwater spots?
Two things make a spot worth marking on Google Earth: proximity to deep water such as a channel, or to open water, and variety of structure in one place - a grass flat with mangrove shoreline plus a couple of oyster bars or docks. Distance from other people is the third filter, which is realistic in the Everglades, on Florida's west coast, in Louisiana or in the Bahamas. For bonefish, find a channel first and look for the flats and small pockets adjacent to it rather than a bay ten miles from deep water.
What research is worth doing before a DIY saltwater trip?
Most pre-trip research produces nothing, but the occasional detail saves the trip. Search for the specific thing you want to do - a species and a destination - and add a skiff or fishing forum name to the search to surface old blog posts and threads from people who did the same trip. Local fishing reports are worth a look for the same reason. Even a detail that does not pay off directly changes how you read the water once you are standing on it.
Key takeaways
- Lead lagoon redfish and let them find the fly - dropping it on them, Louisiana style, spooks clear-water fish.
- Fish two to two and a half inch flies with legs and minimal flash: black and purple in dirty water, olive or tan in clean.
- Weight the fly to reach the fish's eye level - redfish here feed head down and ignore a fly stripped overhead.
- On a tailing fish, land the fly in front of its head, stall it, then bump it when the fish looks up.
- Mosquito Lagoon offers more sea trout sight shots than the Indian River Lagoon, and the fish run larger.
- Scout DIY spots for proximity to a channel or open water plus a variety of structure, and add a forum name to a Google search to surface old trip reports.
