Fishing Guide

By Jerry Fox

Between the Mosquito Lagoon at Edgewater, Florida and the City of Titusville, Florida lies the Indian River Lagoon. Like the Mosquito Lagoon, it is renowned for its flats fishing in the extensive shallow water, and also for something else. When you go fishing in the Indian River Lagoon, you need to stay alert at what else is around you. For the bottle nose dolphin and the Florida Manatee both hang out there. The Manatees can usually be found near the bridge over Haulover Canal on Florida State Road 3, rather than widely throughout the lagoon - but it’s worth heading your boat that way just to have a look at the very large but gentle creatures.

The dolphins, on the other hand, like to swim and play - often in groups - and all over the Lagoon. The bottlenose dolphin is one of the wider known small whales because of its tendency to inhabit coastalwaters.It is also the dolphin you see at places like Sea World.

The large size bottlenose dolphin, ofen reaching 3 meters or more, is usually found out to sea. The small bottlenose is the one often seen in the Lagoon. They live on the average about 25 years, reaching maturity around five or six years old.

By some estimates, the population of bottlenose dolphins in the Indian River Lagoon goes as high as 800 in the summer, with about half as many in the fall.

So while you might be fishing the Lagoon for Redfish or Sea Trout, the two most popular catches, you can also have a free dolphin show if you just keep your eyes peeled. If you are having a slow day catching, you can still motor over to Haulover Canal to see the Manatees, and have a great time just enjoying the beauty of the Lagoon, and the dolphin show.

To learn more about fishing the Indian River Lagoon, go to abouttitusville.com/outdoors/fishing/IRL1.html

By John Carll

Florida is a state that is known for its bass fishing, but a bass fishing Florida guide is a good idea, since many expert anglers from other parts of the country can really find themselves befuddled. Fishing for the big bass in Florida is unlike many other parts of the country. Lakes tend to be much more shallow and grassy. Some techniques, such as trolling rapalas, you often have to throw right out the window. This doesn’t mean that a giant lunker isn’t catchable, but you may need a bass fishing Florida guide to figure out how to nail that trophy!

Many of the professional bass fishing Florida guides tend to use one main lure and only one or two techniques to locate the best area to catch big bass. By having an idea of what these lures and techniques are, you have a much better idea of what to expect and how to go about fishing those Florida waters.

The best lure recommended by many of these bass fishing guides in Florida is the “Wild Golden Shiner.” Many of the guides swear by this as the lure you want and/or need to catch the really big bass in Florida. One of the most popular methods that any bass fishing Florida guide will use with these lures is “Drifting.” Drifting is very similar to what it sounds like. This is especially good for shallow lakes, which Florida has an abundance of. The point of this technique is to cover a large percentage of the lake area. The reason for this is that fish often congregate in one area, but without the normal currents, creek flows, or other common traits of other lakes, you can’t just guess at where the fish are: they could be anywhere! So drift until you get a couple hits, and then you know you’re in the right place.

Pulling is similar to drifting, but involves trolling over casting. A bass fishing Florida guide is likely to try this technique if the drifting doesn’t seem to be leading you anywhere profitable. Pull your wild golden shiner while trolling, and as you cover a lot of ground, eventually you will hit one of the hot spots. When you do, stop and drift and let the bass fishing Florida guide help you land a trophy for that bare space on the wall back home that’s just begging for it!