As hurricane season begins to wane and our prevailing winds shift to the northeast, fall marks the transition period setting the stage for our fall mullet run on Florida’s Space Coast.Along the beach, look for the silver kings (tarpon), smoker kings, blacktip sharks, jack crevalle, and redfish to be shadowing pods of Atlantic menhaden (pogies), thread fin herring (greenies), Spanish sardines, and bay anchovy (glass minnows) in close to the beach. Also look for snook fishing in the surf to improve, as we get closer to the commencement of the fall bait run. In and around the inlets, look for Spanish mackerel, tarpon, jack cervalle, and bonita to be working schools of glass minnows on the outside, and snook, redfish, mangrove snapper, and flounder in the area of jetties and other structure.Angling on the in-shore lagoons will continue to show improvement, with fishing in the predawn and late evening hours being most productive. Look for schools of redfish in the skinny water holding in the vicinity of bait concentration, and target them utilizing smaller topwater plugs. Once the sun starts to grow hot, the topwater bite will shut down, and bait becomes your better option. For larger trout, fish live pigfish in close to docks and other structure adjacent to deeper water. In deeper water, look for large schools of ladyfish, small trout, and tarpon pushing schools of glass minnows near the surface. These schools are easy to locate by watching for concentrations of birds, terns and cormorants, joining in on the frenzy, and they are perfect for fly anglers who are interested in the continuous fast and furious action provided by these speedsters. Last but not least, look for pompano schools holding in the shadows of the causeway bridges. Fish jigs tipped with shrimp or sand fleas (mole crabs) along the deeper edges and drop-offs. Lagoon water levels are extremely low, so please use caution when accessing skinny water.The shorter days in August also set the stage for the beginning of our fall mullet migration as the silver mullet begin to form up for their journey south for the winter. Along with this transition, breeder redfish form up for their spawn in the north Indian River Lagoon and inlet passes, as well as the snook in the surf.In closing, I would like to thank all of you who enjoy angling on Florida’s east central coast for your courteous and respectful treatment of the resource, other anglers, and the sport, and encourage all recreational anglers to become part of the solution by signing up and participating in the Angler Action Program, make your fish count.As always, if you need information or have questions, please contact me.Good luck and good fishing, Captain Tom Van Horn
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Capt. Tom Van Horn is a Florida native with over 30 years experience fishing on the estuaries of east Central Florida. Capt. Tom specializes in light tackle saltwater fishing on the Mosquito, Banana, and Indian River Lagoons. Species targeted include redfish, sea trout, snook, tarpon, cobia, tripletail, and kingfish. Capt. Tom is sponsored by RipTide Lures, Evolution Rods, Lipper Tools, Maui Jim Sun Glasses, Woodies Rattles, Mosquito Creek Outdoors, Frog Toggs, and Team Daiwa. He writes weekly fishing reports, fishing forecast, and articles about his outdoor adventures. Contact Info: Capt. Tom Van HornMosquito Coast Fishing Charters540 Lake Lenelle DriveChuluota, FL 32766(p) 407 366-8085(p) 866 790-8081 Toll Free(p) 407 416-1187 Boat(e) captain@irl-fishing.com(w) irl-fishing.com