In April last year, I had to go to Florida on business. Without a second thought, I added a vacation day onto the end of the trip and called my old friend, Eph, who lives in the Orlando area. Given that he is another dedicated fisherman, I did not have to ask twice, and he locked in the day off.
We ran out to Mosquito Lagoon on the East Coast of Florida, where he launched his homemade plywood boat into the clear water. With a crank on the engine, it roared to life, and we headed to the first “hot spot” on the map he had.
As a freshwater guy, it was interesting to see how much fishing for sea trout was like fishing on shore. We had to find the “structure”. The fish would hang out on the edges of the clear areas, waiting for their prey to wander into the open. In many cases, we could see the fish and would throw directly to them – just like you do with sight fishing for trout in a stream.
We fished Gulp! Flavored jerk baits and top water baits with a spinner on the front. You fish the top water by giving them a strong jerk to mimic a minnow – not the gentle pop you give a bass lure. The jerk baits sink, and then we pop them through the seaweed.
All in all, a great day – especially since we got skunked the last time we tried this!
It’s a shame that I have few excuses to head south – I would love to go back!
Structure is under the water – you fish the edges of these areas
Now… that’s a fish!!
We needed that “hot spot” map to navigate to the good places!
Eph’s homemade plywood boat
Unless stated otherwise, this article was authored by Steve Moore