Capt. Michael Savedow

Winter has set in with the first cold snap of the season in East Central Florida, frost on my yard is a sure sign, water temperatures reaching down into the 50’s begins the true winter pattern. Fish be come less scattered and more concentrated, some in the deeper holes and channels, some on the flats when the sun shines and warms the shallow water. Searching skinny water for Redfish and Seatrout is a winter favorite here at Mosquito Lagoon, the holes, sloughs and channels can hold Black drum, Sheepshead, Whiting, and more. If it doesn’t get too cold, the Snook will continue to feed also on dro

Long awaited cooler weather has come to East Central Florida with the arrival of November, water temps finally lower after a long summer, the fall migration of fish has been moving through the area as they work their way south, schools of Jack Crevalle, Ladyfish and Bluefish, attacking the migratory finger mullet on the surface with white water strikes showing the way to sight casting hook ups with lures or bait and drag pulling bent rods. Water levels also beginning to drop after flood levels of late summer following much rainfall we have had this year. All the different species of our reside

Fall 2020 is just around the corner after a long Florida summer, starting to see to first early signs of autumn on the coastal saltwater intracoastal waterway, bait fish schools arriving from the north with schooling Jack Crevalle surface attacking with white water sight fishing action. Temperatures, air or water won’t start to drop for a few weeks yet as early fall pattern is still a warm one, end of summer melds together with early fall, other changes include the water and wading bird migration begins as well as other inshore saltwater schooling game fish, including Bluefish, Pompano, Ladyfi

Summer of 2020 continues with a fair number of charters, not the usual busy vacation season as many are suspending vacations this year, some visitors coming to the area as well as locals doing fishing trips. Fishing remains normal this summer even though the world is anything but normal this year. Lots of variety catching on my backwater lagoon trips, beautiful mornings, calm conditions, light coolness in the air before the afternoon heat comes. Big numbers of Mangrove Snapper and Whiting this summer, a few Seatrout, Redfish, Snook, Black Drum, Jack Crevalle, Ladyfish, Pompano and always some

Summer 2020 is here with beautiful calm mornings, the waters surface alive with baitfish in the early morning, game fish can also be present, striking the bait from below, making for great sight catching opportunities. Open water surface activity with smaller fish can be Seatrout, Jack Crevalle or Ladyfish, larger fish at times on the surface can be Tarpon or bull Redfish. The smaller game fish will take lures, live shrimp and little bait fish, best baits for large surface fish are blue crabs or bigger bait fish. Targeting the variety of different back waters species where you never know what

We continue to social distance here in East Central Florida, very few visitors coming to town, so in turn very few charters the last several weeks. Still making my monthly fishing report with information from my last several charters before the shut down began. In spring the first of the migratory species make their way north along the east coast of Florida after spending the winter further south, schooling inshore coastal migrating fish include Bluefish, Jack Crevalle, Ladyfish, Pompano, Spanish Mackerel, they travel in schools following the temperature increase, so the exact timing is differ

Spring 2020 has arrived to East Central Florida fishing waters, air temps in the 80’s, water temps up to the 70’s, more baitfish schools appearing on the waters surface with returning game fish like Jack Crevalle, Bluefish and Ladyfish striking the top water bait in early morning. Spring run shrimp are also coming through with the tide, down the intracoastal channel as well as the in the backcountry creeks and back channels. Seatrout, Redfish and Snook getting more active with warming water, ready to ambush bait fish, shrimp and artificial lures in the back waters. Black Drum are spreading thr

Water temperatures have ranged from the mid 50’s to the upper 60’s as we have had a chilly week then a warm week through the winter, colder water schools up the fish while mild temps spread out the fish. Winter fish like Sheepshead and Bluefish are usually every trip catches here in the backcountry, and year around fish also, Redfish, Snook, Seatrout, Black Drum, Mangrove Snapper, and more. During the warmer weeks we see signs of early spring, tiny schools of tiny newly hatched fish hiding around the Mangrove roots, and a few spring fish biting like Spanish Mackerel, Jacks and Ladyfish. Water

Winter 2020 is here with chilly water, regular “Florida” cold fronts coming through followed by north and west winds lowering our water levels and making the water nice and clear. East Central Florida winter conditions range from mild to chilly, during mild periods fish are more spread out through the backcountry along drop offs, in channels and in holes, a colder period after a strong cold front concentrates the fish more in a tighter schooling pattern. A couple cold water fish we are catching in winter are Bluefish and Sheepshead in addition to all the resident species which we catch year ro

November is the transition month leaving our short fall behind us moving towards a Florida winter fishing pattern, however it has been a mild autumn so far with water temperatures still pretty warm, extending fall fishing. Baitfish schools still in the area, schools of migratory inshore gamefish Jack Crevalle and Ladyfish still prowling the backwaters, most resident fish are still in the warmer water scattered pattern. This is a good time of year for better Mangrove Snapper in the intracoastal waterway after they have grown all year with lots of summer food and getting bigger before heading of

Autumn 2019 has arrived, we’ve had plenty of east winds off the ocean, cooling us down just a little bit , as early fall is still fairly warm here in East Central Florida, the east winds raise water levels in the Intracoastal Waterway and saltwater Mosquito Lagoon by pushing more ocean water inside the near by Ponce De Leon Inlet and filling the estuary with clean seawater, also beginning the process of clearing the water clarity after the usual cloudy water of summer. Schooling inshore game fish as coming through the region as well as the fall migration of baitfish, surface striking Jack Crev

School is starting, summer vacation season is over, the waters are less crowed with fewer boats and fishermen as fall is approaching, the annual mullet run will be starting soon with migrating bait fish schools moving south down the coast and in the intracoastal waterway with schooling game fish to follow. But for now late summer patterns continue as cooler temperatures are still a couple months away here in Florida. Summer variety catching is still the usual in the backwaters here at Mosquito Lagoon and New Smyrna Beach, many different species on every trip, including good numbers of Speckled

The summer of 2019 is going great with lots of fun fishing trips, we catch lots of different species of fish on my backcountry variety mixed bag trips, the highlight fish are Seatrout, Snook, Black Drum and Redfish, but other good fish we catch more numbers of include Mangrove Snapper, Jack Crevalle, Ladyfish, Whiting, Pompano, and always some surprise catches too, this year some of the unexpected fish we have caught include Permit, Bonefish, Sharks, Scorpion Fish, Mutton Snapper, Horse Eye Jacks, and Cutlass Fish. Summer can have high species variety as some of the more sub tropical Florida s

Water temperature up to the 80’s F as summer is in full swing, scattered fish is the warm water normal pattern with less schooling than in cooler water, however some areas will have more fish than others in locations and holes more favorable to the fish at any given moment with presence of bait ( food ), tidal flows, water levels or temperature. Open water fun inshore game fish like Jack Crevalle and Ladyfish are usual summer rod benders, other fish are more structure oriented, in the back waters staying near drop offs, creek mouths, points, downed mangrove branches, oyster bars, and holes, li

Early summer fishing patterns have arrived here at East Central Florida in the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon backcountry now as of May 2019, water temperatures have risen into the upper 70’s F, more numbers of bait fish schools arriving, game fish becoming more widespread and less concentrated as normal for summer, more variety of species being caught on my trips as the subtropical warmer water types moving back north for the rest of the year after their wintering down south. These fun rod bending inshore game fish include Jack Crevalle and Ladyfish which join our local residential fish lik