Saint John's River, FL Fishing Report

Lastly, the water levels are still extremely low on the St Johns River, so safe access been limited to boats with shallow drafts. There have been reports of menhaden schools showing up in the Government Cut with schooling bass and some sunshine bass feeding at first lights and dusk, so thing are looking better. We just need some rain to rise river levels and thing will light up.

I had to take a few days off this week and give my back sometime to heal as its been really bad the last two week. Crawling around in that boat on my hands and knees the past two weeks has not been fun!!

My last trip which was Thursday was a two boat trip I brought Capt John into help. We had two dads Chris and John and their two sons Jake and Chris JR. We decided that morning that it would be the olds mans boat verse the young guns boat. The young guns had a great day but not quite as great as us old men. Haha.  Chris SR had a heck of a morning catching one 8 and one 9 pound Trophy Bass and John had the big fish honors with a 9 3/4 pound Trophy Bass these guys also caught a bunch of 3 to 6 pound fish on this 6 hour trip.

For the young guns boat Jake and Chris JR really had a great time and caught a bunch of nice fish including a 9 pound Trophy and a 7.8 and 7 pounder.

All fish were caught on wild shiners under main river grass mats in 4 to 6 ft of water. 

I've had a few days off to rest  and can't wait to get back on the water tomorrow for a full week of trips. 

We have passed the 100 fish mark with Trophy Bass for 2013. Take a look at our 2013 Trophy Bass Page for some unreal Trophy Bass Pictures all caught this year in 2013.

Things haven't changed much sense my last report.  We are really catching the Trophy Bass so far in 2013. Shiner fishing is still the key to catching the big fish at this time. Main river grass mats are best as always at this time of year. 

Numbers of Bass in a day can very depending on the weather. Somedays when we get cooler temps these fish will bite all day long and then we get these crazy hot summer like days in the 80's and the bite is much slower after noon. But mornings are very good no matter the weather conditions.  

My good client Gary C caught a beautiful 8.8 lb Trophy this week and client Shane caught his biggest Bass to date weighing 9.8lbs and had another Bass right at 8 lbs on a 5 hour trip. 

I just had a client cancel on me for Feb 14th, 15th, and 16th. I also have Feb 20th open and I have a couple days still open in March. April is booking up fast as well. 

If your looking for that Trophy Bass of a lifetime give me a call.  I give clients 100 percent effort on every trip and that's why we have been the Number One Trophy Bass Guide Service In Florida for over 32 YEARS. 

The current Big Bass leader is 11.8 lbs and that is very beatable so come fish with me and have the chance of winning the Grand Prize Valued At Over $1000.00

It was a great weekend except for the heat. I have never seen the temps this hot in Jan with the past few days hitting the mid 80's and zero wind. Water temps are reaching 77 degrees by mid day. The big fish are biting but we are also having a LOT of fish just knock the shiner around and not want to eat them. This will change as soon as the water temps get back into the mid 60's and the weather is cooling off mid week so I think fishing is going to get really GOOD. Not that it's bad but it will get much better.

I had the Ledbetter family from AL out Saturday and these guys caught some nice fish with Nick catching the biggest weighing 9 pounds Dad Nathaniel was close behind with an 8.4 and Nathan had one right at 8 pounds best 3 for these guys weighed 25 pounds.

On Sunday I had Bill and BJ Elgin of IL out and BJ had the biggest weighing 8.8 pounds. Dad Bill was close behind. Four out of five clients had the biggest Bass of their life during these two trips.

This past week the weather and the fishing were as good as it gets, with excellent fishing days spent enjoying life on both the Mosquito Lagoon and the St Johns River. Fishing both areas on several occasions this past week with friends and clients, and I'll let the photos tell the rest of the story.

On the Lagoon, warm sunny conditions had the sea trout up in the shallow water laying in the potholes, and they were eager to take a well presented DOA CAL Shad Tail or fly. As always these fish were very spooky, so a slow and quit approach and an accurate cast was required. We also found plenty of redfish and some black drum up on the flats, and they were spooky as well.

On the St. Johns River, the bait (ditch minnows) has moved out of the marshes into the main river channels and the predators have arrived in full force. We had several successful trips this past week catching a mixed bag of American and hickory shad, largemouth and sunshine bass, brim, specks and catfish. On fly we had better success with small minnow imitations flies on floating line. Other successful lures were small TTI Blakemore Road Runners and 1 inch Creme swim baits on a micro jig and shad rigs.

If you haven't had the chance to get out on the water, you need to go. There's no telling how long the gorgeous weather and the bite will hold out. If you are not sure how and where to go, book and charter with me or come to one of our free seminars listed at the beginning of this report.

Visit www.mosquitocreekoutdoors.com for your outdoor adventure needs, its Where the Adventure Begins!

 Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report    


     Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Charters

     @ irl-fishing.com 

                                                                       

     Fishing Report January 6, 2013

Complements of Mosquito Creek Outdoors, Apopka, FL

 St Johns River Speckled Perch

Upcomming Seminar and Events:

Tuesday January 8th - 7pm to 8:45pm - Orlando Kayak Fishing Club meeting located in the Outback at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Ave in Apopka Florida. Special rod crafting seminar instructed by Mike Kosiba.

Thursday January 10th - 6:30 to 8pm - Dick Sporting Goods Seminar Night located in the Seminole Town Center in Sanford, Florida. Free American shad and crappie seminars instructed by Captain Tom Van Horn and Coastal Angler Magazine's Charlie McCullough. Topics cover tactics and techniques for catching both crappie and shad. Door prizes, raffle and giveaways benefit the Orlando chapter of Anglers for Conservation.

Saturday January 12th- 10:00 to Noon, free Seminar, Discover Fly Fishing instructed by FFF certified casting instructor Captain Chris Myers. The event is located in the Outback at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Ave in Apopka Florida.

Thursday January 17th- 6:30 to 8:30pm, free Seminar, Crappie and American Shad on Fly instructed by FFF certified casting instructor Captain Chris Myers. The event is located in the Outback at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Ave in Apopka Florida. Come enjoy an evening learning the tackle and techniques essential for catching both crappie and American shad on fly.

 Saturday January 19th- 10:00 to Noon, free Seminar, Successful American Shad and Crappie Tactics instructed by Captains Chris Myers and Tom Van Horn. The event is located in the Outback at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Ave in Apopka Florida. Come learn the tactics and strategies essential for catching both crappie and American shad from two of Central Florida's most experienced and successful professional captains.

Thursday January 24th, 6:30 - 8:30 pm, free Seminar, Rigging Workshop on Catching Bass during the Winter Months, instructed by Coastal Angler Magazine's Phil Wolf. The event is located in the Outback at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Ave in Apopka Florida. Come enjoy an evening learning the rigging techniques essential for catching spawning largemouth bass during the winter months.

This Week's Fishing Report

Besides the snotty and unpredictable weather we've experienced this past week, 2013 has started off with some great fishing both on the Lagoon and on the St. Johns River.

I know many of my loyal blog followers and clients have been patiently waiting to hear the words, The American Shad and Specks Have Arrived in the headwaters of the St Johns River south of Lake Harney. On the St Johns River from Mullet lake Park south (upstream) to Lake Harney and Puzzle Lake as predicted, dropping water levels are draining the flooded upland pastures bring hordes of ditch minnows and grass shrimp into the main river channel. This influx of bait has started to draw predator species out of the big lakes into the river to gorge themselves on easy prey, and that's what we experienced this past week. We still have about a foot of water to go before it really gets good, so things will only get better as the shad run progresses.

This past week, we caught speckled perch, largemouth bass, wipers (sunshine bass), catfish, brim and both hickory and American shad all in the same spots. The bait these fish are feeding on is extremely small, so matching the hatch size will improve you catch and most of the fish are feeding on top, so fishing light and shallow was providing the best results. Another consideration is to look for locations where the current is forcing bait away from the protected shore line and fish feeding on the surface. Most of our fish caught this week were on 5 weight fly tackle using a floating line with a 6 pound tippet and minnow imitation fly. We also did very well using spin tackle and a white TTI Blakemore Roadrunners with willow blades.


St Johns River Channel Catfish Barbi Rod Challange


Limit of Specks

On the lagoons, the water levels have fallen fast, so please be very mindful of these conditions when operating your boat for safety's sake and to prevent damaging the bottom and sea grass beds. The water has cleaned up and the cool temperatures have bunched up the redfish and black drum schools. As usual, the clean water and shallow conditions equals very spooky fish, so a very stealthy approach is the only way you will get within casting range of these fish. You will also improve your odds if you focus on casting to stragglers on the outside perimeters of the schools to prevent the entire school from pushing up and running away. Also, the larger sea trout are still holding in the shallow water in the potholes, and a well presented DOA Shrimp or unweighted CAL Shad Tall has been producing some very respectable over slot fish.

Visit www.mosquitocreekoutdoors.com for your outdoor adventure needs, its Where the Adventure Begins!

 Have our fishing report delivered directly to your inbox.


        

 Join Our Email List
 Email:  

        

 For Email Marketing you can trust Fishing Forecast January, 2013

Complements of Mosquito Creek Outdoors, Apopka, FL

Upcoming Events and Seminars:

 Tuesday January 8th - 7pm to 8:45pm - Orlando Kayak Fishing Club meeting located in the Outback at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Ave in Apopka Florida. Special rod crafting seminar instructed by Mike Kosiba.

 Thursday January 10th - 6:30 to 8pm - Dick Sporting Goods Seminar Night located in the Seminole Town Center in Sanford, Florida. Free American shad and crappie seminars instructed by Captain Tom Van Horn and Coastal Angler Magazine's Charlie McCullough. Topics cover tactics and techniques for catching both crappie and shad. Door prizes, raffle and giveaways benefit the Orlando chapter of Anglers for Conservation.

 Saturday January 12th- 10:00 to Noon, free Seminar, Discover Fly Fishing instructed by FFF certified casting instructor Captain Chris Myers. The event is located in the Outback at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Ave in Apopka Florida.

 Thursday January 17th- 6:30 to 8:30pm, free Seminar, Crappie and American Shad on Fly instructed by FFF certified casting instructor Captain Chris Myers. The event is located in the Outback at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Ave in Apopka Florida. Come enjoy an evening learning the tackle and techniques essential for catching both crappie and American shad on fly.

 Saturday January 19th- 10:00 to Noon, free Seminar, Successful American Shad and Crappie Tactics instructed by Captains Chris Myers and Tom Van Horn. The event is located in the Outback at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Ave in Apopka Florida. Come learn the tactics and strategies essential for catching both crappie and American shad from two of Central Florida's most experienced and successful professional captains.

 Thursday January 24th, 6:30 - 8:30 pm, free Seminar, Rigging Workshop on Catching Bass during the Winter Months, instructed by Coastal Angler Magazine's Phil Wolf. The event is located in the Outback at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Ave in Apopka Florida. Come enjoy an evening learning the rigging techniques essential for catching spawning largemouth bass during the winter months.

 January's Fishing Outlook

 I would like to begin this report by wishing all of you a happy and prosperous New Year. I know 2012 was a challenging year for all of us, but I still managed to escape the hustle of my fast paced life by spending as much time as I can on the water with friends and family, and this year I plan on sharing more of these experiences with others.

 January and February are key months for targeting tailing black drum on the exclusive Banana River No-Motor Zone. For the past several years the black drum populations have expanded on our lagoons, so I'm eager to see how they show up in the NMZ and to catch a few nice ones on fly.

 As water levels and temperatures drop, clear and shallow conditions on the inshore flats will make sight fishing the best we will see all year. Mullet and other finfish have migrated out of the area for the winter, so anglers should switch to smaller shrimp and crabs and a slower presentation. When targeting inshore species during the colder months, I like to downsize my lures and fish with a shrimp or crab imitation baits like the DOA Shrimp and Crab combined with a Woodie's Rattle Hook or Rattle Jig.

 Now is also the time for surf anglers to target pompano, bluefish, weakfish, small black drum, sheepshead, Spanish mackerel and whiting off of the beaches and larger redfish and flounder around the inlets of Ponce De Leon, Port Canaveral and Sebastian.

 Lastly and my all-time favorite, the American shad run on the upper St. Johns River should be swinging into full gear by mid January. And if this year's run is anything close to what we had last year, look out for Captain Tom and Three Quarter Time when you are passing through shad alley. Also, if you enjoy a fresh fish dinner once in a while, the specked perch (crappie) bite has been and will continue to improve in all of the big lakes, rivers and creeks in Central Florida.

Captain Tom Van Horn  

Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters
 Near Shore  Inshore Flats Fishing

Capt. Tom Van Horn
 540 Lake Lenelle Drive
 Chuluota, Florida 32766
 407-416-1187
 mosquitocoast@cfl.rr.com

Copyright (c) 2002 Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters

Site Design, Hosting  Maintenance by
 Will White Creations @ http://www.compwareusa.com/

Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Guide

On the St Johns, dropping water levels drain the pastures and uplands carrying ditch minnows and grass shrimp into the main river channels. When this happens, crappie, largemouth and sunshine bass, catfish and shad move into the main river channels from the big lakes to feed. These concentrations of bait and feeding fish set the stage for some outstanding light tackle fishing.

I mixed it up a little last week fishing some of the Orlando area lakes. We caught some fish but they were very small. I returned to the St Johns River this week and as usual we are catching much better fish with many in the 3 to 6 pound range. I had Nick and Eddie from Denver and Connecticut out for 5 hours today. Fourteen fish were boated on top water and swim baits and a few nice fish jumped off halfway to the boat. Very fun morning with a couple great guys. We are only a few weeks a way from the start of the spawn and with the water levels being high on the St Johns River I think it's going to be another great season for Trophy Bass. Also, for 2013 I am bringing back the BIG FISH OF THE YEAR CONTEST. We haven't done this in a few years. The winner will receive ONE FULL DAY FISHING ONE NIGHT HOTEL STAY AND DINNER AT THE WORLD FAMOUS CATTLE RANCH STEAK HOUSE located right here in SANFORD FL. 

Thanks for fishing with us at Bass Challenger Guide Service. Serving Central FL for over 32 years.

The water temps are staying in the mid 60s with this cooler weather and the big fish are liking it. Artificial baits and Wild Shiners are both working great. Water levels are dropping and it's pushing the big fish out of those high water hiding spots they like so much. I expect this great fishing to continue right through the winer spawn. 

The weather has been beautiful the past 2 weeks with many morning lows in the mid to upper 40's and highs around 72.

he water has cooled off to the mid 70's the past week and the fish have been biting very well throughout the day and some days mid day has been better then early morning. 

Oct 15 I guided one of my regular clients Allan W from Ohio. We had a blast catching schooling fish most of the day. The shad were thick in the river and the Bass were taking full advantage. We ended up with 29 fish to 5 lbs caught on top water and Texas rigged worms. 

Tue Oct 16th I had Bruce Taylor and his two young sons from Utah. We opted to shiner fish sense this was the boys first Largemouth Bass fishing trip ever.

A little front came through this morning at daylight and the fish didn't seem to want to eat very well. But these guys stuck it out and did manage to catch 10 nice Bass with Young Brice Taylor catching his first ever Largemouth Bass that weighed 6 pounds. The boys couldn't believe how hard it was to drive the hook into a Big Largemouth Bass compared to a Utah Trout. It took them a few misses before they caught on then it was some of the meanest hook sets I have ever witnessed.

Thanks for fishing with Bass Challenger Guide Service.

Fishing Report

I fished today with my good friend Hank G and we had a ball catching a bunch of fish. We didn't see a lot of shad today but with all the cloud cover the fish bit from daylight until noon non stop. I have no ideal just how many we caught but well over 30 I'm sure and Hank caught the best one of the day weighing 8.4 pounds. We fished main river shell beds most of the morning and caught fish on top water prop baits and a Texas rigged worm. The current is flowing just right with the higher water levels and I see a great fall pattern coming into place.

Back on the St Johns River today after a week on Lake Okeechobee. The water is up on the St Johns River and the fishing is great. There is a lot of shad as the fall shad run is here. We caught a lot of fish on main river shell beds casting a Bitters June Bug Blue Tail worm Texas rigged. Best 5 went 24 lbs and we boated over 30 to 8 pounds in 5 hours fishing. Remember the St Johns River in only minutes from Orlando Disney World and Daytona Beach.

Headed back out on the St Johns River today with a couple friends John Cox and Keith Carson. These guys are getting ready to leave this week for the Detroit River FLW tournament and wanted to get out and snatch on a few before leaving.

We headed to one of the area I fished yesterday and found them biting but the size was not very good. After catching 15 or so up to 3 pounds we left them biting and headed to the area where they were schooling on shad yesterday. The action was great for the next couple hours catching another 25 or so before heading in at 10 am. The size was much better at the second spot. Caught a lot of fish again today casting a worm on main river shell beds and throwing a trap when they were busting shad. Best 5 weighed 23 to 25 pounds

I want to wish both John and Keith the best of luck next week on the Detroit River.

There is doubt the heat of summer is on here on Florida's Space Coast, so it's extremely important to adjust your routine and your tactics to be successful and to enjoy your experience on the water.

First, dress is loose fitting light colored breathable long-sleeved shirts and pants. The more skin you have covered, the less sun exposure and mosquito bites you will experience. Many of our modern fishing garments are constructed of materials designed to reflect the sun and dry fast. Second, a large brim sun hat with neck flaps will help keep your head cool and protect your face from the sun. I use the Sunday Afternoons Adventure Hat, which is well vented and has extended neck flaps. Third, cover exposed areas of your skin with sunscreen of SPF rating of 30 or better, and reapply every few hours. Lastly, stay hydrated by drink plenty of water. I typically drink a complete bottle of water before reaching the water in the morning, and then try to drink a bottle on the hour throughout the day while under direct sun exposure.

As far as tactics, fish early in the morning and late in the evening or at night. I usually like to get stated before sunrise and finish the day before noon. Also wear a good quality pair of polarized sun glasses to protect your eyes from harmful reflected sun rays and to improve your ability to see fish.

It seems the alga bloom is starting to clean up a little and there are still areas of clean water if you look hard enough. Also, I think the fish are feeding better as more tailing redfish are being spotted. Due to the dirty water conditions and accurate cast is a must. This past week, many of the slot size redfish were working the very shallow edges of the shore and some schools of larger reds were on the outside deeper edges of the sandbars.

Along the beach some tarpon have been working the troughs north out of Port Canaveral in the area of bait pods and both kingfish and cobia have been concentrated along the near-shore reefs and wrecks like 8A.

Mosquito Creek Outdoors Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report, August 6, 2012

By Captain Tom Van Horn

Up Coming Event and Free Seminars

Saturday August 11th , 10:00 to 12 Noon "Free Seminar" Class 7 of Fundamentals of Flats Fishing series,"Tackle Storage and Maintenance" instructed by Captains Tom Van Horn, Chris Myers, located in the Outback at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Ave., Apopka Florida, www.mosquitocreek.com. www.mosquitocreek.com .

Thursday August 16th - 6:30 P.m. to 8:30 p.m. "Free Seminars" "Snook Fishing Tactics" instructed by Captains Tom Van Horn, Chris Myers, located in the Outback at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Ave., Apopka Florida, www.mosquitocreek.com.

This Week's Fishing Report

Here's wishing I had some new photos of quality fish to post, but if you haven't heard fishing on the Lagoon Coast of Florida hasn't quite been up to par lately. On the Lagoons, an outbreak of brown alga moved into the Mosquito Lagoon around the first of July and then moved west and south into the Indian River Lagoon. This occurrence has made sight fishing difficult as visibility is challenged. There are still fish out there and there are pockets of clean water if you look hard enough, but even then getting the fish to eat was tough last week. As the days grow shorter and the water begins to cool, conditions should improve. There are varied theories on the cause of the bloom from increased salinity levels due our earlier drought, pollution to our warmer than usual winter, but the fact of the matter is fishing in the lagoons is challenging right now.

Now that I'm almost done with the doom and gloom, the bright side is there is some good fishing out of Port Canaveral. Several weeks back, the cold water started moving in and reports of a mid-summer cobia run started coming in. Well I had the privilege of fishing outside last week with my old friend Captain Butch McCoy, I kept a close eye on the water temperature gauge throughout the day, and I discovered the water temps outside were actual warming up. As we left the Port, the temp was 77 degrees which is still cool for the summer, but as we reached the inshore reefs the water surface temperature reached 82 degrees, which is not bad. Our objective was to capitalize on the full moon kingfish bite on the near-shore reefs and wrecks, and we found a consistent kingfish bite boating ten up to 28 pounds and missing about another ten fish. We did have to run the beach way south to around Coconuts to find pogies, but one cast floated the net.

On a gloomy note, I think my trusty skiff "Three Quarter Time" developed a fuel leak after 17 years of service, so it's off to dry dock for some well dissevered maintenance and repair, and my subsequent fishing adventures over the next few weeks will be limited to paddle power or fishing with friends.

As always, if you need more information or have questions please contact me.

Good luck and good fishing,

Captain Tom Van Horn

Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters

www.irl-fishing.com 

407-416-1187 Cell 

Water levels have leveled out and the river current has stablized.

The past week we have seen some changes in water levels after TS Debby passed through just north of Daytona Beach. The fishing was off a little for a couple days but picked right back up once the water stopped rising. Chad Dore and his father had a great trip on Friday catching 22 fish in 6 hrs. It was a 50/50 split between rattle traps and swim baits. This was a trip for Mr Dores retirement party and he had a blast. Main river shell beds have been the key for us the past few months and with the steady river current and higher water level we now have I think the fishing will stay steady through the summer months. Water temps are staying in the 80's so it very important to get on the water early.

My angling adventures this past week carried me away from the central lagoon coast to an exotic location where I was privileged to attend the D.O.A. Outdoor Writers Conference held at the River Palms Cottages in Jensen Beach Florida. Hosted by Captain Mark Nichols and his DOA family, the event also included two days of fishing with members of the D.O.A. Pro Staff. This invitation only event provides an opportunity to rub shoulders with an exceptional group of outdoor journalist and industry experts while learning about and fished with D.O.A.'s newest product innovations.
 
The setting for the three day event was the River Palms Cottages in Jensen Beach. Staying at River Palms is just like stepping into a tropical paradise. This low-key resort presents the feel of a far away tropical island were the exotic flora and the lagoon beach draws all of the life's tension from your bones as soon as you step foot on the premises. The resorts owners have planted hundreds of exotic tropical fruit trees and shrubs on the property giving you the feeling of a coastal jungle paradise. Located just minutes from the St. Lucie Inlet the resort features a large outdoor pavilion, deep water access dock, swimming pool and white sandy beach. For those of you reading this report, there is no need to travel thousands of miles and spend thousands of dollars to escape to a tropical paradise, simply book a few days at the River Palms instead (http://www.riverpalmcottages.com).
 On my first day of fishing, I had the pleasure of spending the day with Captain John Irwin form Charleston South Carolina and Captain John Young as our guide. Our plan was to start out fishing for big trout just south of Fort Pierce on the IRL but only landed several smaller trout and mangrove snapper on a 3 inch DOA Golden Glow shrimp. Next we ventured back to the St Lucie River and I caught a nice 30 inch snook fishing the bridges on the old reliable brown dog (rootbeer Terror Eyz). Although the bite was slow and we didn't catch a lot, we had great fun and there were some larger snook caught by other boats.

On my second day I fished again with Captain John Young and we targeted the south jetty of the St Lucie Inlet, catching several smaller male snook before sunrise, again on the Golden Glow 3 inch DOA Shrimp. The remainder of the morning was the same old story you hear from snook fisherman, missed two big fish, one came unbutton at the boat and the other cut me off on a dock.
 
Although my escape was quite and enjoyable, strong easterly winds made fishing conditions tough, but with the support of the DOA Pro Staff Guides and some hardcore anglers, we still managed to catch quite a few snook over 30 pounds. The big females were holding up in the inlet near the "Hole in the Wall", as they fell victim to the big Terror Eyz in the rootbeer/gold glitter color bounced on the bottom during the falling tide. For me, I managed to catch four snook from 18 to 30 inched fishing docks, jetties and bridges.

In closing, I would like to also thank Hobie Kayaks, Minn-Kota, seagar fishing line and Eagle Claw, for co-sponsoring the event and my guide, Captains John Young() for putting me on fish despite the blustery conditions.
 
As always, if you need more information or have any questions, please contact me.
 
Good luck and good fishing,
 
Captain Tom Van Horn
Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters
www.irl-fishing.com
407-416-1187
 

WOW. The big Bass are on the main river shell beds feeding on the big shell cracker (bream). This is one of my best times of the year to catch Trophy Bass on artificial baits. Remember last years report around this same time when I had the 5 fish 32 pound stringer on the second day to win the Seniors Bass Champions Classic on the St Johns River. Today I had a morning trip with a good friend Brian and we hit the main river schoolers. We caught 15 Large Mouth but no big fish. I dropped Brian off at the dock and headed back out to look around for next weeks trips. I hit the jack pot around noon and it was on. In 30 minutes I landed 3 fish between 7 and 9 lbs. I tried taking some pictures of these fish by my self and couldn't get it to work holding the fish and taking the picture. After trying it twice and letting the fish go. I got a phone call. I answered my phone and was talking to a friend when my line started taking off, I set the hook with phone in hand and the fight was on, after a long battle I was able to lip this big bass. Just so happened my buddy on the phone was on the river with his son so I ran to where they were and had his son Travis hold this fish for a good picture. At least I got one good picture out of 3 big fish. I have plenty of days open in June and look forward to some great SUMMER TIME TROPHY BASS FISHING with you.

As I have said for years. You don't have to come to Florida during the winter months to catch trophy Bass. It can happen year round with the right guide

Things haven't changed much the past week. Were still catching lots of fish on Artificial Baits on just about every trip. Some days 15 other days 50 in 4 to 6 hours. The only problem we are having is keeping the BIG BASS on and landing them. I was guilty of loosing an 8 or 9 pounder myself yesterday in a local team tournament but that's no surprise for me this year in tournaments as I have fished awful all year. Its hard keeping these big river fish from jumping and ripping the rattle trap hooks out in the rivers current. Even using the KVD hooks its still tough to keep them on. But my client today did a masterful job of keeping his 8 pounder on even after a jump that cleared the water by 3 ft. His buddy Dan was running a video of this great fight and jump and I will post it as soon as Dan emails the video to me. All and all I don't think you can find a better place in FLORIDA to fish this time of year. The St Johns River Is RED HOT.