by John Kumiski
Overview
This area around Titusville, between Oak Hill and Cocoa, contains much of the Mosquito Lagoon, the northern end of the Indian River Lagoon, the northern end of the Banana River Lagoon, and Playalinda Beach, basically all the waters surrounding the Kennedy Space Center. Obviously, you find a wide variety of angling opportunities available here, and the season lasts all year long. These lagoons are completely landlocked in this section and therefore have very little to none whatsoever tidal influence. The redfish here are also landlocked, spawn in the lagoons, and offer the finest sight fishing for really big redfish that you can find anywhere in Florida. Finally, because of the Kennedy Space Center, the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, and Canaveral National Seashore, much of the lands surrounding these waters are undeveloped, offering a wonderful aesthetic to fishing here.
Opportunities for the Do-It-Yourself Fly Fisher
- Inshore Wading: Wading fly fishers can enjoy some fantastic sight fishing for redfish on the shallow grass flats of both the Mosquito Lagoon and the Indian River Lagoon. Dike roads run along the southwest side of the Mosquito Lagoon (accessible from SR 3) and along much of the east side of the Indian River Lagoon (accessible from SR 3, SR 406, and US 1) allowing access to these many of these flats. You can sometimes spot waking or tailing fish from your vehicle. There are no tides at all in these places, so fishing can be good at any time. Especially along the Mosquito Lagoon road, parking your vehicle and walking along the shoreline on a warm, sunny winter afternoon can lead to multiple hookups on tailing redfish.
The flats here tend to be soft, so expect to do some work when wading.
- Hand Powered Boat: From River Breeze Park south to LeFil’s Fish Camp (both off of US 1 in Oak Hill), the islands east of the ICW in the north Mosquito Lagoon offer a maze of fishing opportunities. Trout and redfish are the principle species, although flounder, jacks, ladyfish, and assorted odds and ends will also turn up. The same is true if you come down SR A1A from New Smyrna Beach. You’re just coming in from the other side of the lagoon.
From the dike roads mentioned above, cartop boats can be launched almost anywhere.
For anglers who really enjoy paddling, the Banana River Manatee Sanctuary (locally referred to as the no motor zone), north of SR 528, provides some of the finest angling in the entire state. Boats with motors of any kind are prohibited from entering this area. Redfish, trout, black drum, snook, tarpon, and more can be caught in here. Since no motors are allowed, the area gets less fishing pressure than other areas.
- Inshore Boat: With a boat, more of the flats in the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River Lagoon are available. The entire south end of the Lagoon is ringed by grass flats, and there is also a middle flat extending north from Pelican Island, at the south end of the Lagoon. North of the Haulover Canal, flats extend along the east shoreline of the lagoon all the way to Oak Hill. There are a lot of flats in the Mosquito Lagoon, and all of them hold fish at one time or another.
In the Indian River Lagoon, flats ring the entire lagoon north of the railroad trestle in Titusville. Flats extend southward along the east side of the Indian River to the NASA Causeway and beyond. The spoil islands along the ICW can be reached, too, both in the Indian River Lagoon and north of the Haulover Canal on the west side of the Mosquito Lagoon.
Additionally, flats on both sides of the Banana River Lagoon between SR 520 and SR 528 can be fished. Redfish, seatrout, baby tarpon, snook, jack crevalle, and black drum are all found on the flats here.
Finally, the power stations off of US 1 south of Titusville can provide non-stop action for jacks, tarpon, and big ladyfish. These areas are now closed to all entry between November 15 and March 31 in the name of manatee protection.
-From the Beach : Playalinda Beach has good fishing when the weather allows. During the summer months, anglers using light tackle with sinking lines and small weighted flies can catch pompano, whiting, and the occasional redfish. During the fall mullet run, jacks, Spanish mackerel, bluefish, and sometimes other species can be added to the catch.
- Nearshore: Ocean access is through Port Canaveral. Some days there are so many fish in the Port itself it's hard to make it outside. In the Port you may find snook, bluefish, jacks, seatrout, and many other species. Night fishing under the lights is also possible, and can be extremely rewarding. Have you ever caught a ribbonfish on a fly?
The buoy line out of the Port attracts many types of fish. Cobia and tripletail love to lounge under the buoys and other flotsam. The buoy line also attracts king mackerel which can be chummed up. Expect little tunny and jacks to appear in the chum line! Spanish mackerel appear during the fall and can be found fairly consistently all winter when the weather allows.
Flies and Techniques
For fishing the flats in the lagoon systems floating lines are a must. A selection of flies should be carried that includes Clouser minnows in variety of colors, crab patterns for tailing fish, seaducers in yellow and grizzly and red and white, and surface flies such as poppers and sliders. Some of your flies need to have weedguards.
The surface flies are used mostly when blind casting, especially by waders. The sound of the fly attracts fish which cannot be seen. Use other patterns for sighted fish, depending on water depth, the amount of floating and bottom grasses, and what the fish are doing. For example, tailing redfish are usually suckers for a well presented crab pattern.
Since there are no tides in the lagoons, fish tend to move a lot. The most successful anglers have good hunting skills which they use to locate fish. For fly fishers it’s definitely better to hunt first, then fish after you’ve found some. Blind casting without results gets old very quickly. Fish in the lagoon system could be scattered about in singles or pairs, or may be in schools containing hundreds of fish.
Beach flies depend on the target species. For whiting and pompano a small mole crab fly works best when delivered with a sinking line. For snook along Satellite Beach, large Deceivers or Blanton's Sar-Mul-Mac pattern tethered to a monocore line works best. Jacks and bluefish will slam poppers cast along the beach.
Off the beaches, Clouser deep minnows work well for Spanish mackerel and tripletail. The 'tails also like seaducers. Cobia and kings want a bigger mouthful, and large Deceivers in white and/or chartreuse work well. Any time you fish in a chum line the fly should reasonably imitate the chum.
Access
For Waders: several points allow access to the Mosquito Lagoon. On the southeast side of the lagoon try the boat ramp between parking lots 7 and 8 at Playalinda Beach. The flats in Eddy Creek and the flat to the north of Eddy Creek (getting here demands a major commitment by someone on foot) are often productive.
On the west side there is a dike road which runs along the bank, and can be accessed from BioLab Road off of SR 3. Look for a small sign which says "NASA Atmospheric Sciences". This road is about six miles north of the intersection with SR 402.
There are other access points to the north of the Haulover Canal along SR 3. These are dirt roads which are marked with small brown boat ramp signs. These roads will put you on the inside of the spoil islands on the west side of the lagoon along the ICW.
Indian River Lagoon Access- 100 yards south of the "NASA Atmospheric Sciences" sign (which marks the entrance to the Mosquito Lagoon dike road) is the L Pond Road on the opposite side of SR 3. This road accesses Dummit Cove, an excellent wade fishing spot off the Indian River Lagoon. The road twists and turns its way around for a few miles before coming to what looks like a parking area, further identified by the culverts under the road. You'll find the bottom here is kind of soft.
Another excellent access to the east Indian River Lagoon flats lies one or two miles north of the Haulover Canal off of US 3. A dirt road on the west side of the road leads into a citrus grove and immediately turns and heads north along the east shore of the Indian River Lagoon. The flats all along this road are both wadable and productive.
On the west side of the Indian River Lagoon are access points off of US 1 in both Scottsmoor and Mims. The Florida Gazetteer shows both of these access points as boat ramps.
Lastly, to the south of SR 406 on Merritt Island is a dike road which gives waders access to Catfish Creek and Peacock Pocket. One word of warning- never try to cross the ditches which often separate the dike roads from the main river. The bottom of these ditches is soft and treacherous and could easily trap an unwary wader.
For boaters: Boat ramps can be found at the following places:
-Eddy Creek, between parking lots 7 and 8 at Playalinda Beach, giving access to the Mosquito Lagoon;
-at the Haulover Canal off of SR 3, giving access to both the Mosquito Lagoon and the Indian River Lagoon;
-on SR 402 just east of Titusville there’s a ramp at Parrish Park, giving access to the Indian River Lagoon;
-off of US 1 just south of SR 50 there’s a ramp at Kennedy Point Park, accessing the Indian River Lagoon;
-off of US 1 in Port St. John south of Titusville, giving access to the Indian River Lagoon and the excellent cold weather fishing at the power station discharges;
-at Kelly Park on Banana River Drive just south of SR 528, giving access to the Banana River Lagoon;
-at Port Canaveral, which accesses the Port and the Atlantic Ocean.
Canoeists can get into the Banana River Manatee Refuge on the east side just south of the Canaveral Air Force Station entrance on SR 401, and on the west side at the north end of Banana River Drive, just north of SR 528. Paddling north about two miles will bring you to the refuge. Don't get tunnel vision about reaching the refuge, you may see fish all along the flats here.
Beach access : Playalinda Beach has superb access. Take SR 406 east from Titusville, then bear right onto SR 402. Obey the posted speed limits– the rangers love to set up radar on this road!
Keep in mind this is a public beach and it can get mighty crowded on summer weekends. Try to get your fishing done early in the day.
Fly Shops
The Fly Fisherman, 1400 S. Washington Avenue, Titusville, FL 32780. 321.267.0348; www.flyfishermaninc.com. A full service fly shop.
Boat Rental
-Space Coast Watercraft Rental, Titusville, 321.267.7776; www.spacecoastwatercraft.com. Powerboat rentals.
-A Day Away, Titusville, 321.268.2655 ; www.nbbd.com/kayaktours. Kayak rentals.
Guides
-Captain John Kumiski, 407.977.5207; www.spottedtail.com. I can custom design various trips in this area: sightfishing for reds and other species in the Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River Lagoon, or Banana River lagoon; canoeing or kayaking in the Mosquito Lagoon or Banana River Lagoon Manatee Refuge for reds, snook, seatrout, and baby tarpon; night fishing under the lights in Port Canaveral; fishing off the beach for cobia, tripletail, and Spanish mackerel; and more. I am a full service fishing guide, and an FFF certified fly casting instructor.
-Capt. John Turcot, 321.267.9818; www.backcountryonfly.com.
-Capt. Chris Myers, 321.229.2848, www.floridafishinglessons.com
State Parks and Other Attractions
-Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, 321.861.0667, http://merrittisland.fws.gov
-Canaveral National Seashore, 321.267.1110, http://www.nps.gov/cana/
These two natural areas lie next to each other and provide tens of thousands of acres of wildlife habitat. MINWR is administered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, CNS by the National Park Service. Birding here is especially rewarding. There are several nature trails and wildlife drives, and you may see dolphins, manatees, alligators, wild hogs, bobcats, otters, raccoons- any number of wild creatures. There are several places to camp in the Canaveral National Seashore (you’ll need a permit, available at the Turtle Mound Ranger Station 386.428.3384x10), many of which are accessible only by boat.
Accommodations
There are lots of motels in Titusville. The Holiday Inn on US 1 in Titusville caters to fishermen and is right next to the Kennedy Point Park boat ramp. Their number is 321.269.2121. Ask for the Angler’s Rate.
The phone number of the Titusville Chamber of Commerce is 321.267.3036.
The Space Coast Office of Tourism can be very helpful. Their number is 800.872.1969. The website is www.space-coast.com.
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This excerpt was written by John Kumiski of John Kumiski Outdoors and Travel. Contact him at his website www.johnkumiski.com or via email at john@spottedtail.com. Copyright 2007 John Kumiski.
John Kumiski 's most recent fishing guidebooks are How and Where to Catch Redfish in the Indian River Lagoon System (Argonaut Publishing Company), and Fishing Florida's Space Coast (Argonaut Publishing Company).
John Kumiski's newest book is Redfish on the Fly- A Comprehensive Guide.
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