
2 minute read
EDGEWATER BACKCOUNTRY FORECAST
Summer is here, that means school vacation time for the kids. The Indian and Halifax River is a great place to teach them the basics of fishing at their skill level, making it easy for them to catch a bunch of fish. For younger children, the best way for them to learn new fishing skills is to fish for the small abundant pan fish, such as mangrove snapper and sailors choice, aka pinfish. They will learn basic techniques to use in years to come to catch bigger and better fish. A small hook will catch loads of smaller fish, but also will catch a surprisingly large fish when a bigger one bites. Use a #4 or #6 hook, a light weight, and a small piece of peeled shrimp then fish in the right spot and the kids will catch fish one after another. They will learn to bait a hook, fight their fish, take a quick photo of a few, then safely unhook them, and learn about catch and release. This is the best technique for them to learn good fishing skills and they will be better anglers as they get older. For kids with a little more experience teach them to freeline fish with live shrimp, or easy to use artificials like a leadhead jig with soft plastic tail. They will catch seatrout, ladyfish, jack crevalle, and more. Don’t make it complicated, keep it easy and fun. Teach them about conserving our marine resources, and to be good stewards of our wildlife in to the future. Snook season is closed June, July and August so you can catch then take a photo and release on linesiders until the first day of open season starts again September 1. Our area’s snook population is the best it has been in many years, use gentle care with them for release to keep the good numbers going for years to come. Summer fishing with live pigfish and croakers is a summer tradition on Mosquito Lagoon for Seatrout, Redfish, and Snook. They are also good for many other inshore fish, including snapper, tarpon, jacks, and ladyfish. In the Lagoon, fish them free lined and tail hooked along drop offs, sloughs, and off the edges of flats. Popping the rod gives a tug on the bait, pulling him up off the bottom, encouraging “oinking”, and attracting a fish to attack. In the Edgewater backcountry fish them along drop offs of any depth, for deeper drops free lined allows them to swim down the face of the under water cliff. Shallower drops, small sloughs, and oyster bars, are all good to try. In shallower spots a float can be added, which will keep the bait suspended above the bottom as they will always try to swim down. Croakers, pigfish, spots, mullet, and pinfish can be prime baits for bull redfish, snook, tarpon, and sharks. Lip hooked for drifting the main ICW channel from Edgewater to Ponce Inlet for big reds. Sight cast to surface rolling tarpon anywhere from offshore Ponce, into the inlet, the ICW channel, all the area bridges over the intracoastal waterway, and through New Smyrna south into the backcountry. Summer rainy season means heavier storm water run off, please learn about and obey the fertilizer ban laws, use less lawn chemicals of all kinds to help protect the already damaged Lagoon and Intracoastal Waterway. The chronic “brown tide” algae blooms have been a major factor in our sea grass loss and decrease of oyster and clam populations. Which in turn directly effects our water quality and fishing now and into the future.

