Well we have had record cold snaps which has cleared the water up and the Reds are schooled up as well as hanging in sand holes just waiting for us to toss a bait to them. On cloudy mornings they are eating top water like they are starved and the site casting in the evening is insane to tailing Reds . For the next couple of months Im offering afternoon charters for up to two ppl for $275.00 I can only do these in the winter sorry to hot in the summer . Its a great time of yr to fish the water in the lagoon is the clearest it will be all yr . Trout are being caught on the edges of drop offs with jigs or small cranck baits lots of action great for the kids . Should be great fishing for next couple of months
Getting Fat Ones Going Skinny
Fat Fish Guide Service
Capt Mike Mann
386-295-5991
mannsurf@yahoo.com

Well the fishing has been good to great over the last few weeks slow day is 6 reds and trout to a best day of 30 Reds many oversized mostly sight casting . We have been using Gulp shrimp, jerk baits , Skitter walk and Top Pup top water baits . The snook have been eating on night trips as well as a lot of Jacks mixed in good fun for a strong pull on the rod . The water is high so the Reds are tailing just not sticking their tails out of the water , and they are starting to school up . Fishing is hot right now and dont forget Charter Gift cert. are a great gift for the holidays .Tight lines
Getting Fat ones going skinny
Fat Fish Guide Service
Capt. Mike Mann
386-295-5991
www.fatfishguide.com

Well the bite has been good for reds an trout with top water and jerk baits being the best on cloudy days and shrimp or gulp on sunny days for sight casting . The weather is cooling over the next week and this should turn the bite on even more its a lot less crowded on the lagoon this time of yr and there are still some tarpon to be found . The water is up allowing acess to new areas and fish are pulling hard when caught . Great time of year to book a trip.
Capt. Mike Mann
Fat Fish Guide Service
386-295-5991

Small tarpon have been showing up in good numbers the past couple of weeks as they prepare to move south for the winter. Even though our days are still warm, I can see the fall changes starting to occur with baitfish schooling up, and fish feeding well.

We caught some nice redfish this week despite the high water we have been experiencing. Our high water is due to a combination of slow northerly flow from the Gulf Stream, an earlier-than-normal onset of the autumn west winds, and the normally higher waters we see around the equinox.

Compound the high water with some dirty water, and sight fishing has been hard. However, if you keep at it with either lures or bait, you will likely be rewarded with some nice fish.

We also got a couple of pompano in the Indian River this week, and I suspect there are lots more for those that want to target them with small jigs.

Contact Captain Keith at 321-279-1344, and check out www.capt-keith.com for lots of information!

Hot it has been and fishing early in the day has been necessary for man and fish alike. With water temperatures starting at 80+ degrees at sunrise and reaching 90 degrees by mid-day it’s imperative we start our day in the wee hours of the morning.

Most mornings we are leaving the dock before the rooster crows and before the false dawn has any hope of offing a flicker of morning glow. Many mornings the Bio-luminescence is in full effect and our boat’s trail is alight with a blue-green glow as we slide through the water. Too, any and all marine life making its way through the wet stuff will leave a trail even a bat could see!

Unlike most of the winter, spring and even the early summer seasons of this year, we are now FINALLY into a typical summer pattern which gives us calm, albeit muggy mornings. This is coupled with vast quantities of bait mullet are responsible for great opportunities to fish for redfish, trout and even black drum. All are present on area flats, sometime all at the same time!

Clients have been catching good numbers of redfish and trout on Exude RT Slugs in several colors. However, the best color as of late has been “Old Penny” a new laminated color combining a Golden Bream back to a New Penny belly. This color should be available at dealers now, give a bag a try.

Black drum have been moody to say the least. Live or dead shrimp have been the most effective when offered freelined on the smallest hook usable. On the right day we had outstanding action on Exude shrimp in the Orange Bloodline and Natural Shrimp colors, rigged weedless and fished just over the grass.

If plastic isn’t your thing, cut mullet is hard to beat. Fish the chunk bait in sand spots where the mullet are streaming through in big numbers or sight-fish with it! Redfish and trout of all sizes will often gobble up a fresh chunk of mullet when ignoring everything else.

Well the fishing has been a little up and down for April but May is usually one of my favorite months to fish. We have been catching Reds still schooled up as well as singles laying in the sand holes . They should start to cruise the banks as the water levels have increased due to the spring tides . Cruising fish will hit layed up gulp shrimp , jerk baits and live shrimp or cut mullett . The Trout bite is getting much better In the last few days we have site cast to a 7lb trout and caught 5lbers on top water . With some luck the tarpon should start to move in over the next few weeks . For site casting to large reds up to 40lbs now is the time of year .
Getting fat ones going skinny
Fat Fish Guide Service
Capt. Mike Mann
386-295-5991

Fishing this week has been very interesting with all this wind.
Most days the winds are blowing 10-15 knots. The Big Reds are here but with the windy conditions it has been tough to buy a bite. I expect that as soon as better conditions are here in the next few days they will eat like crazy. The Black drum and smaller Redfish are still eating and easy to find as they group up into huge schools on the flats. The school of Black Drum still has some where between 200-300 fish in it. Today we were able to get them on the Fly Rod with a small crab fly. Today the fish were eating the fly as soon as it was striped through the school.

The bite was very good today.

Remember to pick up the new copy of "Florida Sport Fishing Magazine" and look for my reports in the Central Florida areas Reports section.

Couple of todays catches

The first 2 1/2 weeks of February have been fantastic unless you’re a black drum! My guests have been having a field day on these relatives of the redfish. Although not considered as glamorous as the more popular redfish the black drum gives a great fight on light tackle and is fine table fare.

We’ve been fishing a school of drum that consists of around 600 or so fish and they often group up into one huge bunch only to break up again into several smaller pods. The bite is great at first light and a live shrimp is eagerly taken. During the week of the full moon the bite was best later in the morning and peaked at mid-day.

On days when several boats show up to fish at the same time the drum (quite expectedly) become a bit shy. It became necessary to feed a biting fish 10 or 15 feet of free running line before attempting to sink the 3/0 circle hooks with a steady reeling action. It also helped to downsize the leader to 16 pound Gamma fluorocarbon where I usually use 20 pound.

While the fish moved up and down the shoreline over a quarter mile area they really didn’t leave unless the winds drove them from the flats. The high winds towards the middle of the month are what finally put a damper on our fishing. The school of around 600 fish now appeared to be 100 drum as most of the fish have gone to other areas. My guess is they’re looking for calmer and cleaner water…

Captain Pat and I found these fish on a Monday scouting trip. Pat caught at least 10 from the bow and I landed 3 from the poling platform. All were caught on Exude soft plastic baits either shrimp or darts. Many more were lost to pulled hooks or simply being snagged and the hook coming free.

Tuesday Stacy & David joined me for a frenzy of drum fishing. They caught over thirty (30) black drum between 6 and 12 pounds, keeping only 4 (half their legal limit).

Wednesday Deb and Brent from Vermont and long time clients and friends climbed aboard. A windy forecast sent us in a different direction only to find a bumper crop of catfish and puffers. I think I zigged when I should have zagged!

Thursday the weather was awesome once again and the drum seemed like a sure bet. They were and Deb and Brent also broke the thirty fish mark using live shrimp…

The next 4 days we caught drum, but in greatly reduced numbers. Higher winds and dirty water simply changed the game, but still resulted in happy fishermen!

Lots of pics on my site!

Luckiest Redfish in the Mosquito Lagoon !



At least he was in my opinion

The fish are in many small groups across the flats now and easily site casted to as they tail all over the place. Today was very cloudy but the wind was flat calm and that made it very easy to find the fish and get close to them with the low light. As soon as the full moon passes in the next couple of days expect the fishing to get even better.

Orlando Florida Fishing Charters with
Captain Tom Carver of FlatAddicted.com

Well if Jan. is any indication on how Feb. is going to be sweet because we slayed them best day was 47 reds and slowest was 9 reds . The reds are schooled up in huge groups of up to 400 fish its great to see that many fish in crystal clear water , We have also had the big oversized reds show . They are up to 40 + pounds and have been a little hard to make eat but when they do hold on . Feb. books up fast with the big fish moving in so get your day while you can . Good luck and tight lines
Capt. Mike Mann
Getting Fatr Ones Going Skinny
Fat Fish Guide Service
386-295-5991
www.fatfishguide.com

Fishing in our area is at an all time high for some of the best fishing we have seen in Years and Years. The Black Drum of course as you can see is outstanding but even in this wind of 15-20 mph the bite was good for the Big Gator Trout as well. The Trout have been hanging around the sand holes and today we were able to land one in the 5 pound range on a soft plastic bait. We did end up missing a couple more but this one made up for the 2 missed.

As I have been telling you for the last few weeks, the massive school of Black Drum are still eating even in this weather we had today that would have kept most guides on dry land.

Guess I'm not like most guides

Double digit catching day today !!!

Heres the spoils of their bounty












Orlando Florida Fishing Charters with
Captain Tom Carver of FlatAddicted.com

Still fishing that big old school of Black Drum... it's hard to not fish the school with 800 of them to catch from.

The Reds are on the flats but lately we are having so much fun with the Drum it's hard to leave them and look for other fish when you have them all to your self. The bite is very aggressive as the Cold Fronts move in... the winds pick up for a few days but then drop off and give us slick calm days. Most days we are getting Double digit numbers of fish so the bite is very good right now.

Lets go fishing !

One of the many caught today




Orlando Florida Fishing Charters with
Captain Tom Carver of FlatAddicted.com

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of taking a young man named Anthony Abbaleo and his friend Jack fishing. He is quite the aspiring fisherman, who has a decked out fishing cart he made for his bike and fishes almost daily! I enjoy fishing with children more than any other age group, as I feel it plays a very important role in cementing the roots of a life long sport and encouraging the next generation to be stewards of our fisheries.

Anthony has been practicing fly fishing for a while, which is beyond impressive for a 10 year old boy as the rod is twice as long as he is tall, and I really wanted to show him what sight fishing Redfish on fly in Mosquito Lagoon was all about. He had never been to the lagoon and as we worked are way through a maze of islands and came to a stop, Anthony's eyes lit up as he saw just how beautiful the lagoon is with its grassy flats and large sandy patches.

I began to explain to him what to look for as I rigged up the fly rod with my favorite fly. He says to me "You mean like those?" As we drifted past a sandy spot filled with nearly 50 Redfish! I quickly jumped on the platform and positioned the skiff, and with Anthony ready, I gave the go ahead to cast. Anthony, who is quite good at casting, laid the fly out with about a 50 foot cast near the group of fish. I told him to wait, which he patiently did, and then strip tiny slow strips crawling the fly across the bottom. Within seconds the line snapped tight and Anthony began the battle with his first saltwater fish, a large Redfish no less, on the fly rod.

Fighting a fish on fly in cold, shallow, oxygenated water can be challenging to say the least. They are like energizer bunnies and just keep going and going. I asked him, "Is you wrist getting sore?"......He just looked at me and smiled! Within no time, he had the fish boat side. Remembering not to raise the rod, and to back down the skiff so I could land the fish, he seemed like a little pro!

This scenario played out several more times before the fish moved on. We decided we had "beat them up" enough, and I explained the importance of respecting the fish and their well being so we can come back and catch them again. He agreed and we headed to the ramp, with Capt. Anthony at the helm. On the way home, he must have said thank you 25 times, but I was the one who was thankful. Experiences like these are why I love to fish so much, and these days enjoy watching others catch fish more than catching them myself. Remember to take a kid fishing, and often, they are the future after all!

It’s great to be back on the water after shoulder surgery forced a brief layoff. While the Doctor told me to expect up to 4 weeks of down time I was back on the platform 11 days post surgery…

I realize I missed some hot and heavy action during my recovery, but I’m happy to say that my guests were able to scratch out a few fish in less than ideal conditions.

David was down from South Carolina and tried for a repeat of his last adventure with me where we killed the “Fat Girlz” in the IRL a couple of seasons back. This trip the timing wasn’t nearly as good and he had to settle for a puny 10 pounder.

Collum was treated to his first fishing trip by boat by his grandfather, David. These guys are from Scotland and aren’t used to our way of fishing. The youngster took a couple of reds with mullet chunks and David thought the puffer that ate the fly was wonderful!

Charlie and Ted join me every winter when Ted vacations from the Great White North. This year Charlie was in less than great shape with back problems. These guys have been fishing together for as many years as I’ve been alive and I’m 50!! So our usual method of fishing (sight casting) was replaced with bait tossing. Soaking hand-picked live shrimp in sand holes that afforded some extra depth relief resulted in several smallish reds and a few catfish. The pinfish also raised heck with the shrimp, a testament to our warmer than normal winter!

Al owns a great fishing lodge in Canada and lives on Merritt Island during the off season. We ventured into the ‘goon in hopes of finding good numbers of slot reds this morning. The fish I was hoping for had yet to return to spot one or two so a change was called for. I found a group Fat Girlz in the south end of the ‘goon and I moved into position. Al made a perfect cast and two twitches of the Exude Dart and it was “Fish-On”. A 20 minute line screaming battle and the 18 pound girl was aboard for a quick photo and release. Not a bad back-up plan after all…

Pics on my website

Well Happy New Year and what great end to 08 the fishing has been great with Red catches of over 20 a day . The water has been extremely low and the reds have bunched up in schools all over the lagoon . They have been hitting live shrimp, gulp shrimp , jigs and spoons . The weather has been great and the fishing should be great for the next couple of weeks . There are Black Drum being caught up to 11lbs and the the big oversized Reds have moved in its a great time to book a trip and catch a mixed bag .

Getting Fat Ones Going Skinny
Fat Fish Guide Service
Capt. Mike Mann
386-295-5991

Well the schools are in and on a good day u can catch 20 to 30 reds the site casting is amazing with the water dropping out and crystal clear . Good time to fly fish and great for targeting tailing reds . Right now we are finding schools from 60 to 150 fish thick its a great time of year the trout are eating all day and coming on jerk baits as well as jigs with paddle tails . Dont forget that special someone for Christmas a fishing gift cert. makes a great gift .
Getting Fat Ones Going Skinny
Fat Fish Guide Service
Capt. Mike Mann
386-295-5991

I was joined by Buddy and Parm for a little fishing before the Shuttle launch. These guys have been fishing partners for the past 50+ years and sometimes their wives join them and sometimes they assume the roles of bachelors.

This adventure was of the later ilk and with the stiff breeze out of the SSW it’s a good bet the ladies might have called it a day with the setting of the sun. These guys were up to the adventure though and were more than capable of handling the four reds and what seemed like 600 catfish they caught between 3:45 and dark.

I’ll go on record here thanking John Oliverio for inventing the Power Pole, this trip like any winy day trip would have been much more labor intensive without this remarkable tool.

We anchored in strategic location south of Parish Park, having the best luck near prominent points and soaking cut mullet chunks. Live shrimp did not produce results. If not for the pesky catfish I’m sure the redfish count would have been higher.

Buddy battled three mid to upper slot fish to the boat and Parm managed one, but had a big lead on the whiskered trout.

Water temp was 77 and visibility was very poor with almost no bait mullet in evidence. There was plenty of giant black mullet jumping everywhere with what appeared to be black mullet schools feeding in the grass in about 18 to 24 inches of water.

You'll find the pics on my website!

Although the winds have been stronger than we like several days this past week proved to be better than weather conditions would have suggested. Fishing in the north Indian River was a bit hit or miss, but the hitting was grand Wednesday and Thursday!

Monday Pete and Linda of London, England (thanks Capt Tom) joined me for a bit of bait soaking. We fished a little south of Parish Park where I did well a couple of weeks back. Pete quickly caught a lower slot red before the light winds turned up their volume to full blast. It became necessary to move to a more sheltered locale where only catfish seemed to live. More moving brought similar results and we decided to cut our full day to a half and lick our wounds.

Wednesday, Mike (CustomRod) was onboard for an attempt at sight-fishing. While conditions were not conducive for this we had no trouble finding plenty of action. We spotted several schools of fish appearing to be upper-slot reds on the west shore of the north IRL. In fact they turned out to be black drum and ounce my slow acting mind figured this out and Mike tied on a DOA shrimp is only took 1 well placed cast to hear the drag scream! Mike also caught 4 reds while blind casting to nervous bait pods and I managed 1 red over 10 pounds doing the same from the platform. The reds all ate soft plastic twitch baits worked SLOWLY along the bottom…

Thursday my Londoner’s were back for more and they went home with great big smiles. It will always amaze me how different a day or two can make in the world of fishing even though conditions are virtually the same. Still fishing the north IRL as we did the day before I could not find the blackies, but we had plenty of action on redfish. Like our first trip, soaking cut mullet was the order of the day and spending 15 minutes at a spot and moving if no results were had was the game plan. I’m happy to report this plan was picture perfect and of the 6 reds Pete and Linda caught only 2 were in the slot the other 4 were 8+ to 13+ pounds. We only had 1 spot were we caught 2 reds before the catfish forced us to move. I’m sure we caught at least 3 dozen catfish and it didn’t seem to bother these folks in the least! As a note, the reds were NOT hammering the mullet. Once a bite was detected, opening the bail and letting them mouth the bait for a few (15-20) seconds resulted in more hook-ups Making a final stop near the ramp Pete hauls in a near 7 pound trout and Linda does battle with a sting ray with a 30 inch wing span at a place we call “Last Chance”!

Friday I was joined by Dr. Bill and at his request we fish from Oak Hill. Finding fish around 3 Islands, Bill quickly boated an undersized red on an Exude Dart. Switching to a Skitterwalk he then hooks a MONSTER trout that tangles the plug into the grass and comes un- buttoned. So ends our bite for the day. We find more fish around Middle Island, but they wanted nothing to do with us, our plastics, our mullet or our live shrimp!

Well we've had our first cold front and thats got the fish feeding like crazy in the last week we've been getting lots of big trout and reds on artificial as well as site casting live shrimp. The baits of choice have been top water in the am with the wind down and jerk baits or spoons later . The schools should be forming over the next couple of weeks and the water is clearing up nicely . This is a great time of year to fish the lagoon the weather is cool and the fish are feeding. This is the best time of year to find Tailing reds.
Take a kid fishing
Getting Fat Ones going skinny
Fat Fish Guide Service
capt. Mike Mann
386-295-5991

Oh to be 87 and still have it.

One of my best clients, Ed Miller of Orlando who books me about every other week had one of the best days this month. We started out about 7 am on the flats looking for a few keeper Reds. The first hour produced one small redfish. We changed spots and found a nice school of about 50 reds in the 6-8 pound range where Ed was able to land another handful of fish.

As we moved off to try the shore line we stumbled into another group of fish that didn't have any problems eating a gold spoon. Now Ed seems to start looking at his watch wanting to head in after about 3 hours most days and this was no exception. But today as we start heading in he gives the spoon a few last casts to hook into a large Sea Trout, this beast was 29 inches long and about 8 pounds fat. We quickly took a picture and let it go as soon as possible... his comment was, " Lets get her back to fight again " !

Not bad for an 87 year old... he can cast better than most 25 year olds.

Good show my Friend !!!!
I look forward to the days we fish together and this was one I will remember a long time.







Orlando Florida Fishing Charters with
Captain Tom Carver of FlatAddicted.com

Early October ’08 Fishing Report

I love the Fall season and although so far it’s been a bit breezy the reds have been chewing. I’ll re-cap the past few trips starting with the Hunt for Reds held on October 5th.

Greg won the essay contest with the Brevard County Boy Scouts and was treated to a fishing trip with Yours Truly on Hunt Day (thanks, Dr. Bill Slomka!). Soaking cut mullet along eastern shorelines in the Indian River produced a nice slot red within a few short minutes of the tournaments official start time. It took mother Nancy a few hours longer to reel in her slot redfish, but we finally succeeded in catching our limit. We also did a good job of terrorizing the local catfish population. LOL! High winds kept us confined to anchoring the boat and soaking baits, though that’s not my preferred method for catching reds.

The following Tuesday Bill & Mike joined me for a short boat ride in 15 mph winds. After a few minutes in our first location the winds cranked up to 25+ mph and we hurried back to the ramp ahead of a major storm. Rescheduling for Friday was a great call…

Thursday Dennis and Jeremy enjoyed their first inshore fishing experience. Well versed in bottom fishing off of Port Canaveral this light tackle stuff was different to say the least. While we didn’t see the “schools of a thousand redfish” that Dennis has read about in the fishing publications the guys did very well indeed.

Blind casting to schools of finger mullet that were forming about 25 yards from eastern shorelines produced 5 redfish in short order. All fish were caught on Exude RT Slugs fished in a twitch-twitch pause retrieve. The bites came on the pauses as is typical with this style of artificial bait.

After the action slowed we moved to a group of big fish that wouldn’t hold still for us and we moved again for more slot fish. We were surprised to find a few fatties with the slot fish and Dennis catches a 43 inch red and later Jeremy hooks another big girl that comes unbuttoned.

Friday Bill & Mike come back for round 2 and the weather is much better and so is the fishing. Within 15 minutes of dropping off of plane we are into the redfish in big way. The guys are, however not hooking them. A little coaching and I get them to slow down and the screaming drags begin, for Mike anyway. It’s 5 to 1 in 20 minutes as Mike is landing all of his and Bill’s are coming off. Same rods, reels, line and hooks! The action only stopped because of another boater coming too close and spooking the fish. Oh, well it happens. We caught a few more reds and a couple of trout to round out the morning. Once again a s-l-o-w moving R T Slug did the job in solid white, smokin’ shad and mangrove red.

Saturday was more of the same, albeit a bit more breeze, a lot more fisherman and fewer redfish. Still, Rick and Keith had a great time with their handful of reds and trout. We had to cover a little more of the eastern shoreline than the previous few days and play leap-frog with some of the other anglers, but that’s Saturday on the IRL!

The water is a bit dirty y’all either all white or dark colored Slugs are working best for us. Twitch them aggressively once, twice or even three times, but let them pause long enough between your groups of twitches that the lure can touch the bottom. Virtually all of our bites are coming as the bait is coming in contact with the bottom or after it has rested on the bottom for a second.


Pics available on my website...

Capt Pat and I split 5 guests between two boats today. I didn’t know about the odd person and luckily I had an extra PFD in the truck. We went to two separate locations to start and although Pat was on fish the anglers were having trouble getting the barbs into them.

My boat got lucky on our first stop and limited out using cut ladyfish (thanks Pat) in less than an hour. A call to my partner to make sure they were catching fish too brought them running in our direction. Cut bait from both boats resulted in a limit for all 5 anglers and lots of released redfish, too many catfish to count, a stingray and a couple of pinfish that also turned into cut bait.

The high winds and dirty water didn’t seem to slow down today’s bite at all, or maybe we just got very lucky!

Pix are on my site if you get a minute... www.captmarkwright.com

Dr Bill Slomka and his friend Frank joined me on Sunday 9/21 for a day on the Mosquito Lagoon. The stained waters were not ideal for sight fishing and the action was less than stellar. Bill did, however manage a River Slam by casting a Bone colored Skitterwalk across sand patches in the back country ponds. Sorry no pics of the reds (Bill has too many already), but you'll find the trout and snook in MY photo gallery!

Here is the Twist in the report:

I’ve always said one of the greatest perks of my job is the interesting people I meet. Some of these folks through repeat business and similar interests become friends, both professional and personal. Usually distance dictates which category the relationship rests.



Dr. Bill Slomka of West Palm Beach, Florida is one of if not my favorite and best client. We met several years ago when he coordinated a fishing trip for a group of doctors in the area for a convention.



We have been on numerous fishing trips in the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoons, all of them successful. Of course some of these trips were more successful than others, but all of them memorable. Last October we fished in the 9th annual Hunt for Reds in October. While we didn’t catch any spotted redfish Bill really enjoyed the experience and booked me for the following year.



This past July it became clear that personal commitments were going to keep him from keeping our engagement for this year’s “Hunt”. While I had no problem with letting the good Doctor “off the hook” as I knew I could rebook the day, he already had an interesting solution for the dilemma.



Dr. Bill contacted the Brevard County chapter for the Boy Scouts/Cub Scouts of America. They held a little competition of essay form. The winner and his father or guardian will be fishing with me on tournament day October 5th compliments of Dr. Bill Slomka. The winner will be named on Friday October the 4th at the Captain’s Meeting and you know that Dr. Bill is already in next years log book for the first Saturday in October to fish the Hunt for Reds in 2009.

18 days in God's Country was just what Kim and I needed. The first real vacation we've taken in many years. We enjoyed 5 charters in total, all of them successful. Strangely each Captain to a man apologized for the poor fishing. Personally I saw no reason to feel sorry for the fishing as it was FANTASTIC…

EVERY bait lowered to the bottom was bitten by something, eventually. The only question was whether it took a minute or a second (or less) and that was entirely dictated by the stage of the tide.

While it’s true we caught no MONSTER halibut we were completely worn to a frazzle by constantly battling 15 to 40 pound halibuts that we literally had to rest our arms on occasion. It was the Captains job to decide which fish to put in the box as part of our 2 fish per person limit.

Trips dedicated entirely to halibut you could be more selective and combination trips the angler most likely would need to keep smaller Butts to fill their limit quickly in order to have time to chase salmon or other species.

We fished two trips in Homer, two in Seward including a trip with Crackerjack Charters like our Boldwater Friends (they did not steer us wrong!) and a salmon trip in Soldotna on the Kenai River.

Pics are posted on my website photo gallery in the Alaskan Album

Well we have had TS Fay hover over us for 2 days and the increase in water and cooler water temps should have the fish in a feeding frenzy . The Tarpon should be going nuts and the red and trout should be scattering out into the sandholes . Look forward to the next couple of weeks of fishing it should be hot.
Getting fat Ones Going Skinny
Fat Fish Guide Service
Capt Mike Mann
386-295-591

Here we go again... I feel like a broken record.
The Black Drum are all over the flats and eating like crazy. I can't believe this is August and we are still catching these fish from this huge school. Every day it seems like the school gets bigger. Tomorrow I will be concentrating on the Big Reds and see if they are ready for the fall spawn catch-a-thon.





Orlando Florida Fishing Charters with
Captain Tom Carver of FlatAddicted.com

u Lord.

This morning I found a nice flat that had tailing Redfish all over it with out another boat in sight. After catching a few Reds we moved on to do battle with the huge school of Black Drum I have come to depend on each day, today was no different as they didn't let us down and again had a strong bite from them. the fishing seems to be picking back up again and with the weather just about perfect every day... should continue to be the same every day.

Lets go Fishing !!!!




Orlando Florida Fishing Charters with
Captain Tom Carver of FlatAddicted.com

One of the greatest perks of my “Job” is the variety of people I meet and recently I met an interesting gentleman named John.

John lives in Indiatlantic, Fl. and knows of me through the Coastal Angler Magazine where I write another fishing forecast. He booked a trip with me and let me know in no uncertain terms that I was to cater my attentions to the lady he was bringing along. In fact during the next few discussions we had, John was so emphatic on this point that I thought I might be in serious trouble if his guest did not catch anything!

Game day arrives and I finally meet John and his mysterious guest at Parish Park in Titusville. I’m a bit baffled as I see John’s Lady Friend is so young, you see he is well into his Golden Years. John introduces her as Lieutenant Evelyn Rivera of our U.S. Air Force.

Clearly they are not related, but John is as proud of this young woman as any father could be. After spending the morning with Evelyn I can tell you I’m proud to know her too!

This was Evelyn’s first fishing trip on a boat and the first time she’s really casted a spinning rod. While sight casting proved too much for these two on this day, anchoring down and soaking cut mullet did a fine job for us.

Yes, the catfish were a handful, but Evelyn caught a monster trout, a slot redfish and a redfish that was too big to keep. I know John went home happy too!

Grab someone special and get out and fish!

Photos available on my website; check out the Whale of a Tale Photo Album!

Russ and Broody joined me today for a trip on the Mosquito Lagoon for Reds and Trout.

The day started out with a beautiful Sunrise as the boys worked top water plugs looking for Trout. Soon after we found a group of Black Drum and switched to live Shrimp.

Broody did battle with one of the hard fighters and soon after caught a Redfish. We ran to my Snook spot but didn't get any takes. Before we called it a day... I stopped by one last spot and low-n-behold, Broody latched into a fat 28 inch Sea Trout (a Gator Trout that is) The large silent stalking Trout was sitting in about 10 inches of water along a sand hole where She ambushed his Live Shrimp.

That was a heck of a fish Broody... Good job fighting that fish brother.










Orlando Florida Fishing Charters with
Captain Tom Carver of FlatAddicted.com

On the north Indian River Lagoon, a slam is considered to be the fundamental goal of most shallow water flats anglers. Depending on the area you fish the species in the slam varies, but for us it’s the successful catch and release of a redfish, sea trout, and a snook all in the same day. Now if the slam is the fundamental goal, the ultimate goal is the grand slam, a redfish, sea trout, snook, and tarpon all caught and released in the same day, and now is the best time of year to do just that. Both snook and tarpon are tropical species calling the IRL home during the summer, and here is how to structure your day to accomplish the IRL grand slam.

First, target your sea trout very early in the morning before first light throwing a top water plug like the Storm Chug Bug or Rapala Skitter Walk if the widgeon grass isn’t too thick. If the floating grass is problematic, switch to weedless top water soft plastic bait like the DOA CAL with a Chug Head. Focus your attention in areas of concentrated bait activity, especially along the deeper edges of sandbars and spoil islands.

Once you’ve accomplished the first leg, it is time to move up into the shallow flats and start looking for tailing redfish while the water’s still glassy. Quietly work your way in towards the shallow water, and once you’ve located a school or tailing redfish, try working the CAL Tail across the surface quickly holding the rod tip high. With the recent heavy rainfall the Lagoon water levels are elevated and the water is usually dirty, so the redfish will often aggressively strike at what they think is a needle fish moving quickly across the top of the water. The purpose of holding your rod tip up high is twofold. First, it helps you keep your lure skipping across the top of the water. Second, when the fish strikes at the bait, you can quickly drop your rod tip giving it some slack and a chance to eat the bait before setting the hook.
Now that you’ve accomplished the second leg of your quest, it’s time to move up in close to the shoreline in search of your snook and tarpon. Remember, water levels are high this time of year, so you shouldn’t have a problem getting in close to the shoreline. The best areas to target are those with flowing water like culverts, creeks, or spillways. Also watch for showers of very small minnows near the edge of the shoreline and or grass line. Again throw the same CAL bait, only this time down size it a bit. Snook, tarpon, and ladyfish will all be staged in the discharges of these flowing waters, and once you’ve located the right spot, you shouldn’t have a problem completing the slam. I know of two different anglers who made this accomplishment this past week, so give it a shot.
As always, if you have any questions or need more information, please contact me.

Good luck and good fishing,

Captain Tom Van Horn

Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters
http://www.irl-fishing.com
407-366-8085 landline
407-416-1187 on the water
866-790-8081 toll free

Book a charter, and let’s go fishing.


Visit http://www.mosquitocreekoutdoors.com for all of your outdoor adventure needs, its Where the Adventure Begins!

Summer is in full swing and with summer’s blistering heat we anglers must adapt our fishing tactics accordingly.

First and foremost we should fish when the temperature is most comfortable. Let’s face it that means either very early in the morning or late in the day when the shadows are the longest. My charters start at 5AM this time of year and we’re off the water before many of you have your second cup of coffee.

A second prime bite exists from about an hour before to a bit after sun-down and many of you Regular Joe’s who work the daily 9 to 5 schedule have kept this secret to yourselves long enough. The deciding factor for this evening bite is usually the thunderstorms that we all must deal with this time of year.

The third prime pattern for summer is the night bite and the Full Moon Cycle is the epitome of night fishing patterns. Often fish that have been super spooky and impossible to catch during the day become so aggressive you can’t believe they are the same critters!

Favorite lure selections for dark or near dark fishing times are the RT Slug in White, Glow/ Silktreuse tail and Golden Bream. The Exude Shrimp in the same colors too and don’t forget to charge the Glow baits with a flashlight. Top-water plugs work well too as long as they are retrieved in a steady fashion and my favorite choice here is a Jitterbug.

Fish early, late or at night, but get out and fish!

Pics from this column available on my site; check 'em out

Go to http://www.captainmarkwright.com

Along with the Black Drum returning, today we found the BIG REDS... a really nice school of about 75 20-30 pounders showed up today and just about jumped into the boat due to the fact that they swam right up to us and smashed the bait 10 feet away. Jon was so excited from the explosive take that I thought he was going to hug me !!! Thank God he didn't

This was the first fish of the day... not just how calm the water is in the back ground.



This was the Big Boy we watched crash the bait next to the boat.



Orlando Florida Fishing Charters with
Captain Tom Carver of FlatAddicted.com

Snook fishing is still the top dog as we boated fish from 27-29 inches today. Along with a few nice Jacks and a fat 27 inch Trout as well. Tarpon are finally showing them selves good but we have yet to hook up on one, any day now ! All Snook came on a Yozuri diver at about 5 inches long. Any color will work as long as it's tossed into the right spot... :0)

Snook are slamming the hard plastics right now. Fish caught today range from 27 to 32 inches... it was a very good day for the hardest hitting fish we have. Snook are explosive ambush predators that we all go nuts for here in Florida. So when the bite gets hot like this I start freaking out and boy let me let you... I'M FREAKING OUT MAN !!!!!


Lets go get you one or two, or three... heck lets make it 4-5 !

Good job handling that fish today Doc... see you next year !

I'm sure I will start sounding like a broken record but it is what it is and today was even better than yesterday. Unless you don't like catching Snook and having 25 pound Redfish explode on a top water plug in 3 feet of water on the Grass Flats of the Mosquito Lagoon.

I found a school of about 200, 20-30 pound Reds chasing our top water plugs down like a pack of Wild Wolves on a Baby Deer. I mean to tell you that as soon as this thing hits the water and starts chugging along it gets it's hooks knocked off. If that does get you excited then check your pulse... YOUR DEAD DUDE !

Hi All,

This issue is from last month, but I had to start somewhere... I'll try to keep current from here on out as issue #12 goes to print in a few days.

Best Fishes,

Capt. Mark

June in the Lagoon is my favorite time of year. Quite simply, it just doesn’t get any better than this for the shallow water angler.

The shrimp are still running in areas, albeit the numbers are dwindling as the season is coming to a close. The silver mullet schools are growing steadily and will soon be the dominate bait fish of the season. Pinfish can be seen flicking about here and there across the sand spots looking for a meal. Best of all if you’re a trout angler, it’s pigfish season!

All of this bait activity along with warm, but not hot water temperatures are the perfect recipe for great fishing. Coupling these factors with the typical mild weather patterns we have in June and we can usually fish to our hearts content.

Whether you decide to soak a pigfish at the proper distance below a popping float and catch a bunch of trout. Hook a fingerling mullet in the nose on a 3/0 light wire circle hook and free-line it around a mullet pod for what ever might inhale it. Toss a feisty pinfish on the same rig to schools of monster redfish on a calm morning. You can do it all in June.

Of course I’ll also be using my beloved Exude RT Slugs, mostly in the Smokin Shad color as it’s a great imitation to the silver mullet that are so plentiful now.

Now is the time to get out and fish!

Mosquito Lagoon July Forecast

Dawn patrol is the name of the game this time of year. Get out early before the sunrise and the lagoon will already be alive with redfish and seatrout with rafts of mullet above.
Toss a jerk bait or top-water lure into the mullet pods and use a casual retrieve to find the redfish or seatrout that are swimming with the mullet.
Sand bars and marsh island drop-offs only a couple of feet deep are the place to cast your live pinfish and pig fish. Redfish and slot-sized seatrout with plenty of them going over 20 inches are stacked up in some areas.
If you're going to use live shrimp make sure you cast directly to redfish or it will get devoured by the trash fish. Large shrimp work great on the tailing reds and cast well when tail hooked. Smaller shrimp placed under a popping cork provides great fun for kids who just want to get hooked up.
Quietly poling the shallows while the surface is still glassy can get you in range of tailing redfish. Along with the tailing reds you just may see a large "gator" trout fin pop up. Stealth and long casts can you a hit from these finicky eaters.
Delicious Mangrove snappers are in the river and along the ICW. Find a fishing hole on your chart and drop a bait. Best bait advice from the "mangrove regulars" is a live pinfish or finger mullet.
If your a fly rod fan, a 7 or 8wt. rod with a # 4 Borski Slider is the best thing since sliced bread.

Enjoy the outdoors! Get out and fish!


Capt. Brian Clancy
Owner/Operator
Mosquito Lagoon Fish Camp
Waterfront Accommodations and Fishing Charters
www.mosquitolagoonfishcamp.com
bclancy1@cfl.rr.com
(386) 566-6303

Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report, June 8, 2008

Compliments of Mosquito Creek Outdoors, Apopka Florida

Summer has arrived here on Florida’s Indian River Lagoon Coast, and the summer doldrums have begun to settle in. The winds for the most part are beginning to settle down, and the afternoon temperatures are peeking in the mid nineties. Along with the early summer doldrums comes calming sea conditions in the Atlantic, and expanded opportunities for shallow water boats to chase game fish along the beach. The bait pods have also moved in and the water is clean, so the kingfish and the feisty associates have set up camp in 15 to 40 feet of water and they’ve been putting on the feed.

My opportunities this week were limited to one day in the No-Motor Zone shared with my good friend Captain Chris Myers, and although the wind was troublesome, we found a good number of large redfish and black drum were tailing and cruising the flats. The redfish were bunched up in pods of three to four fish, and they were constantly on the move, and the black drum were tailing in pairs. Although I had multiple strikes, I was unsuccessful in connecting with anything other than sea trout, but Chris saved the day with a handsome black drum caught on a well presented D.O.A. Shrimp.

With the action along the beach heating up, keep a sharp eye on the horizon for the green shades of Three Quarter Time tomorrow, and later on in the week I will be spending several days a the D.O.A. writher conference rubbing shoulders with some of the best outdoor communicators in America, so catch some fish and stay tuned for my next episode.

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

Good luck and good fishing,


Captain Tom Van Horn
407-416-1187 on the water
407-366-8085 landline
www.irl-fishing.com