Spring has arrived here on the Space Coast, and my focus thus far has been targeting trophy size redfish and black drum in deeper water. The flats fishing has been good when the weather is favorable and should improve as the silver mullet continue to migrate back into the lagoon. The nearshore tripletail and black drum have been good as well, but again in late March and early April Mother Nature holds the upper hand in determining where we fish.

By Captain Tom Van Horn

It’s a cold post-frontal January morning in east Central Florida. While launching my skiff in predawn darkness I can barely see the end my trailer as a heavy fog bank has settled in. Luckily, I know this part of the Saint Johns River like the back of my hand, so finding my intended fishing spot in zero visibility goes according to plan. Heavy fog of this nature is uncommon on the Saint John River basin, requiring a precise mixture of warm river water, cold winter air and dead calm conditions to occur. Idling slowly through the impenetrable fog to position my skiff, and I can hardly bare the anticipation of my first cast and the impending solid pull of an American shad on my 5-weight fly rod. As I lay out my first cast and my fly settles in a shad takes and the battle is on. On the first hard run this hearty fish takes me into my backing, jumps sever times and starts doing laps around my boat. As the battle wains and my excitement peaks, my mind drifts back some 50 years to my very first shad fishing trip with my Uncle Joe.

For starters, let me begin with an apology for not posting many reports in October and November.  It’s not because I haven’t wanted to fish. It’s because I couldn’t.  You see on October 22^nd I had an accident at home while working on my house.  Although I only fell eight feet off of a ladder, I sustained critical injuries resulting in an eleven day stay in a trauma center.  Result was seven broken ribs and three fractured vertebra.  I’m currently on the mend, but it’s is looking like I will continue to be landlocked until just before Christmas.  These are challenging times for me, but the good news is I survived to fish on another day.

As a Florida native I can’t begin to count all of the outstanding fishing adventures I’ve experienced on the Indian River Lagoon Coast of Florida in November. We’re truly blessed by the opportunity to experience the natural side of such a magnificent resource, and blessed am I to have a loving and considerate wife who understands and tolerates my passion for the outdoors and stretching line.