The
Indian River Lagoon is rapidly gaining
worldwide recognition as a fishing
destination for redfish. In fact, the
redfish of the northern Indian River
Lagoon and the Mosquito Lagoon have been
featured in countless regional and
national magazines, T.V. shows, and
newspapers. The reds here commonly reach
30-35 lbs. Years ago, scientists
discoverd that unlike other redfish
populations around Florida and the Gulf
Coast States, the redfish here do not
migrate to the ocean to breed due to the
lack of an inlet in the area. They live
their entire lives in the lagoon, which
is why it is not uncommon to see redfish
40-50 inches long cruising our
grassflats in water just barely deep
enough for them to swim. Seatrout are
another common catch along the Space
Coast, waiting along the grassflats to
ambush any baitfish or shrimp that
happens to get within their range. Snook
and Tarpon are also commonly caught in
the Indian River Lagoon and can be found
in canals, along mangrove shorelines and
out on the open flats. The area around
Sebastian Inlet is especially good for
these, in fact, Sebastian Inlet is one
of the top snook fisheries in the state.
Each year when the glass minnows, finger
mullet asnd other bait species are
cruising the lagoon they will be
followed by ladyfish, jacks, schoolie
trout, and many other species while
mangrove snapper, sheepshead, black
drum, flounder, whiting, pompano, round
out the fishing opportunities along our
Space Coast. |