Mosquito Lagoon/Cocoa Beach Fly Fishing Guide – Capt. Willy Le

When the conditions are too windy for long periods of time, some people need to fish to fulfill their addiction….especially for the Tarpon junkies out there. Tarpon fishing on fly can be one of the most addictive things on earth and we only get to target them a few months out of the year in my area during their migration. There is a way to get your Tarpon fix if you go to the right place at the right time, in my case it’s just a short drive inland. It is also the cheapest way to catch Tarpon on fly….you don’t need high end flyfishing equipment, and you don’t need a super expensive skiff, just an old pair of sneakers and any kind of 5 or 6 weight rod since these fish only range from 5-15lbs. Early morning or late afternoons are the best times to target these little poons and you can find them in some ditches or canals that line the rivers and lagoon systems. Any kind of fly that mimics a small minnow will work. We have caught them on browns, blacks, whites, and chartreuse patterns. Since the water is dark and dirty most of the time, you can’t see the fish underwater, the best way to catch one is to wait for the fish to roll and cast to the bubbles.

Dominic Agostini got me into the ditch fishing thing, at first I thought it sounded boring catching small Tarpon but with a 5wt it can be a blast! Dominic has all the lighter flyfishing equipment from when he used to live up north and fish little streams so I would always use his stuff. This type of fishing is only to get your Tarpon fix, so only an hour or two before or after work is enough to get you by until the winds calm down and you can take your expensive skiff out with your high end 11-12wt flyfishing equipment and get you that 100-150lb+ Tarpon that you’ve been waiting all year to catch and release.

Capt. Willy Le
321-303-7805
nativeflycharters@gmail.com

Last week Glenn Kross and his two boys (7 and 15) from New Jersey joined me for a half day targeting Cobia out of Port Canaveral. Well, when we approached the mouth of the inlet that morning, the high winds and short period swell made it VERY uncomfortable for us in the 22′ Pathfinder so I decided that it was unsafe to go out and opted to take them in the river for some trout fishing. Glenn and Anthony(15 year old) are tournament anglers from up north usually fishing for big sharks or tuna, but the main focus was to keep Nico(7 year old) busy reeling in some fish since it was his first time fishing from a boat. The river was still very windy but we did end up catching catfish and trout on live shrimp under popping corks. I had a great time on the water with them and will hopefully see them agian this Summer for better conditions. Nico asked if he could have his name on one of his trout photos so of course I was happy to do that for him!

Today Sergio Diaz from New York joined me for a half day on the Mosquito Lagoon. Sergio has fished this area a few times with guides but has not had much luck. He really put the pressure on me by telling me that but luckily we were greeted with a beautiful morning and schools of Redfish pushing all around us. First, we started out flyfishing, he made some great casts but the fish were not letting us get close enough to make a good presentaion so switched to a light spinning outfit and casted a jerkbait to a school and instantly hooked up to his first Redfish! After a photoshoot and releasing the upper slot fish, we went back to the flyrod. Sergio must have had 20 perfect shots at overslot Redfish schooled up in 3ft of water but these fish were being VERY picky. At the end of the day I rigged Sergio with a D.O.A. Cal Shad Tail on a 1/4oz. jighead and had him blind cast for trout on a drop off. He ends up catching a smaller Redfish and a Ladyfish to end the day…..he did get a ladyfish on fly earlier in the day as well! Sergio will be back to spend more time on these Redfish and he WILL get one on the flyrod next time!

The sun beaming through the fishes fins and tail showing why they are called “Redfish”

-Capt. Willy Le
321-303-7805
nativeflycharters@gmail.com

This past week I’ve been concentrating on the Cobia action while it’s still somewhat hot. There are plenty of fish to be seen but the hard part is getting them to eat. There’s not one particular bait that they will key on right now. One day they will eat jigs and not touch a live baitfish or even a jumbo shrimp, the next day will be the opposite, then the next day they will not eat either and will not even give you a chance to make a cast at them. I started treating them like Mosquito Lagoon Redfish recently and that seemed to work. Getting in front of the fish as far as you can make a cast and working the jig away from them has been working good lately. The fish are not liking boats on top of them like they were a month ago, and they sure don’t like 3 or 4 jigs or baits bombing them all at the same time….take turns casting at the fish, if he doesn’t eat, the next person cast and so on. I’ve seen plenty of boats doing that on one fish, next thing you know the fish has a giant headache and goes under. Also, keep your eyes peeled while you are eating lunch floating on the water….you may find some Tripltail float right up to the boat waiting for a fly, D.O.A. shrimp or even a jig intended for Cobia to pounce on like this tasty one below.



Enjoying my new Nikon D7000!

-Capt. Willy Le
321-303-7805
nativeflycharters@gmail.com

Last Sunday I was invited on Capt. Scott Lums Contender to spend a day with Patrick Sebile(Designer of Sebile Lures), Russel, Belle, and Sam Root. First we went offshore to troll a variety of Sebile lures for Kingfish, we had a bunch of strikes but no hook ups. Patrick and Russell did hook a few while blind casting Sebile’s Stick Shad and Belle caught a couple using live pogies. After catching some Kingfish, we headed closer to the beach to target Cobia, Jack Crevalle, and Tarpon. Patrick and Russell had shot after shot at schools of big jacks but they kept missing the hooks after busting on the lures a few times. The Cobia were being picky and not wanting to eat that day, they had lots of follows to the boat but no commitments. I’m sure if we had more time on the Cobia we could have gotten a few to eat but we had to call it a day. Patrick is a wise man with great ideas and it was a pleasure hanging out with him and his friends. If you’ve never tried a Sebile lure, I highly recommend getting a few because the action on them are amazing especially the Stick Shads and Magic Swimmers! When Patrick has free time, he plans on coming back to fish with me in the Mosquito Lagoon for his first time to test out some baits on Redfish and Trout.

And here are some shots from Sam Root…

-Capt. Willy Le
321-303-7805
nativeflycharters@gmail.com

Bryan Hewitson aka “Hewy” is the biggest closet fisherman I know! He plays it off like he don’t know what he’s doing, but the dude has an eagle eye for fish and can cast on a dime! Our target was Cobia this day since everyones been slamming the Cobia left and right. Well, it was one of those day where “you shoulda been there yesterday”. Conditions were sloppy and the fish were no where to be seen. We did however, get into a nice Triple Tail and a school of giant breeder Redfish that were blasting bait on the surface and taking anything you throw in there. After Bryan caught the first one which was pushing 35lbs or more, we snapped some photos, released her and went back to the school again where we all hooked up on jigs that were intended for Cobia. It was chaos for a bit but well worth it, we all ended up catching our biggest redfish in our lives!

A little interview with the closet fisherman…

Of course I was out there today with another group of people, and the conditions were perfect and 5 Cobia were caught!

-Capt. Willy Le
321-303-7805
nativeflycharters@gmail.com

Yesterday Capt. Scott Lum and I were invite aboard Charlie’s 35′ Bluewater “The Sushi Wagon” that is fully decked out to the max! Joining us was Charlies friend Bill who did a great job handling the boat and getting us on the fish. The Cobia are now spread out, making anglers work harder to find them. They couldn’t hide from the Sushi Wagon for too long, with that giant upper deck, we could see for miles. We found lots of empty Rays with 1 out of 10 holding fish. 3 fish were caught until the conditions got snotty, but being in the Sushi Wagon made that rough ride back to Port feel like a Cadillac. Thanks Charlie and Bill for having us aboard and letting Capt. Scott Lum and I tug on some fish for once!

Cobia are still hot out there if you can find them. Being on the water a lot helped me track where these fish are holding the most, they are thinning out fast so get em’ while you can!

-Capt. Willy Le
321-303-7805
nativeflycharters@gmail.com

On Sunday I made a trip out of Port Canaveral in the 22′ Pathfinder TE in search of the great tasting/hard fighting Cobia along with a couple hundred other boats doing the same. We found a few pods on Manta Rays and a few free swimmers. 3 Cobia were boated and a couple were hooked but popped off….3 Triple tail were also landed but one was a hair short. Danny and Charlie had plenty of fillets to take home with them!

Today I made a trip to the Mosquito Lagoon with Cory Willis for a half day. I kind of had an idea of where an unpressured school of redfish were that I found 2 days ago. Sure enough, they were still at the same spot where I had left them. Cory landed 2 nice sized redfish on the D.O.A. Baitbuster and a topwater lure, and had plenty of topwater explosions and hook-ups that came unbuttoned. It was a spectacular sight to see big reds come out of the water to take the topwater.

Right now is Prime Time for Mosquito Lagoon Redfish OR Cobia off of the Space Coast on the fly or on spin. If you would like to book a trip, call me at 321-303-7805 or email nativeflycharters@gmail.com.

-Capt. Willy Le