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

Wow, what a great day on the water with Eddie Oliveras and his wife Germi on their BT Skiff! Redfish ranging from 10-30lbs were schooled up tightly and were very hungry! Any fly or artificial would have caught these fish, 3 were boated, had lots of eats, and a few were broken off. On one fish, I had Germi hold the flyrod while I untangled a knot in the flyline. Since she already had the rod in her hands and in fighting position, I let her finish the battle after I got the line untangled. The fish took several long runs into the backing while I was telling her to let go of the handle and keep your knuckles clear, Germi did a GREAT job fighting the fish for the first time ever even holding a flyrod in her hands! About 15 minutes later we boated a beautiful 9-10lb Mosquito Lagoon Redfish!

Eddies fish

My fish


It took a while to find the fish, but when we finally did, we stayed on the school for at least an hour or two and could have stayed on them all day but we were happy with what we got and called it a good day! Thanks guys for the invite!!!!

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

Conditions have been very tough the past couple weeks with winds gusting up to 30mph. I had a couple trips lined up during these windy condition but there is always a way to get out of the wind and still have a successful day. Saturday, I had Neil from Jacksonville along with his brother, uncle and his father who were from Wisconsin join me on the water. Since I had multiple anglers, I called friend and fellow guide Capt. Jamie Glasner to help out with half of the group since 4 people on a flats skiff is a crowd. We went to a spot to get out of the wind, as soon as the first person casted a jig, they instantly hooked up to a trout, shortly after everyone was hooking up into small redfish and trout from 15″-25″. This lasted for a couple hours until they were saying their arms got tired. We had shots at larger redfish in schools but the winds made it tough for accuracy. Neil, who was on Jamies boat ended up landing his biggest redfish ever that weigh 32lbs! All anglers had a great time, the group agreed that they had caught the most fish ever along with Neil that caught his most and biggest that day! We estimated between 4 anglers, they boated atleast 150 redfish and 200 trout!! Wow what a day for Neil and family!

Monday and Tuesday I had Panos Galanopoulas from New York City on the bow of my skiff. Conditions were REALLY tough on Monday for the Lagoon but we stuck it out and kept fishing. Panos is a great flycaster, we tucked behind islands and had a few shots at large redfish and gator trout but no takers. Tuesday seemed to be a better day, still a bit breezy but we had more shots at tailing fish and schooled up fish. Panos made great casts to some of these fish which were not interested. He could have gave in a caught a bunch of redfish and trout on a spin rod but Panos was determined to get one on fly which I respect. We tried hard to get one but they just did not seem interested or the wind made casting very difficult. Panos did however get a nice sized Flounder to eat a clouser! He had a great taking shots at tailers and we are going to try again in a couple months where the conditions are easier to predict.

Book your trip today! Call or email me to see what dates are available, it’s that time for Cobia right now and the Large Tarpon should not be too far behind them!!

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

It’s that time of year again for the Spring Cobia run! They are out there on the East Coast of Florida as we speak free swimming in pods and hanging around Manta rays that migrate north this time of year. There were a couple days where conditions were great to head out in search of these tasty brown fish but now we are experiencing rough seas and high winds. The only thing us smaller boat guys can do is prepare and wait.  While I wait, I like to make sure my reels are working properly, re-spool my reels if needed, have plenty of lures and jigs in stock, and tie plenty of fly variations.

-My spin reel of choice is the Spheros 8000 by Shimano, affordable and dependable. These reels can really take some abuse and are an excellent choice for charter captains to stock up on!
-Spooled on the Spheros is 300 yards of 30lb Power Pro braid. Sometimes Cobia will take you around some structure and that braid will really increase your chances of landing the fish opposed to using mono.

-The rod I use is Gary Loomis’s signature series by Temple Fork Outfitters. It’s 7’6 Heavy action rod with a fast tip to make those longer casts if needed along with plenty of backbone for lifting power.

-Lures of choice are the D.O.A swimming mullet, the D.O.A. BFL and of course everybodys favorite, a bright colored nylon jig with a bright colored plastic grub tail(and they will hardly shy away from a live baitfish or jumbo shrimp)

-For fly gear I use a Nautilus NV 11/12 reel and TFO Ticr 12wt rod spooled with 300yards of 30lb backing and Jim Teeny “Bruce Chard Tarpon line” The Nautilus NV’s drag can really crank down on these fish when needed. Since Cobia are not too shy, I just use straight 60lb mono leader 5-6ft in length. Shorter leaders will help turn those heavier flies over a lot easier.
-The flies I tied shown in the photo mimic a Cobia jig. I will aslo use big baitfish patterns or natural eel patterns using a 5″ black bunny strip with palmered white/natural hackle or marabou and heavy dumbell eyes. Sometimes Cobia are tired of seeing bright flies/lures so try natural colors if that happens.

If you would like to book a trip and target Cobia with me in a 22′ Pathfinder Tournament Edition, now is good time while they are here! Call me at 321-303-7805 or shoot me an email at nativeflycharters@gmail.com. You can also find me on facebook!

Hope to get on the water with you soon!
-Capt. Willy Le

The weather this past weekend was beautiful…so beautiful that I wanted to make the day perfect by fishing the Mosquito Lagoon with Eddie Oliveras. Schools of Redfish in the hundreds were seen from as far as the eye can see, along with schools of Gator Trout laid up in large sandy areas. The best part is that most of the fish that we presented flies to ate! After getting some fish on fly we got into a mess of rat reds that loved the D.O.A Holographic shrimp, these fish kept circling the boat while we were Wanged and enjoying a few ice cold beers. The highlight of the day had to be when I sight fished a nice Gator Trout on fly….the big breeder attacked my redfish slider twice before getting stuck. Sight fishing Sea Trout on the flats with a flyrod is equivalent to flyfishing for bonefish or permit in the keys, some say it’s even harder just because how wary they are, but when the stars align you will have a good chance of getting one.

We also got a chance to really test out an 8wt flyrod made by Pieroway rods. These super fast action rods can shoot big flies really well and it can also handle those windier days pretty good. Pieroway fly rods not only perform well, they are well built and the matching colored guides are beautiful! Thanks to Brad McGrath for introducing Pieroway rods to me. To learn more about Pieroway flyrods, go to www.pierowayrods.com

The next day I had a 3 boat half day charter set up by Capt. Richard Bradley of Lagooner fishing guides. Richard asked me and Capt. Jamie Glasner to be his multiple boats for a corporate trip. Wind was blowing way more than the forecast called for which made stalking schools of the bigger reds difficult so we opted to stake out next to each other and fish a hole that that held schools of trout and reds. All of our anglers caught 15+ redfish and even more trout each. The fish were on the small side but constant action and double hookups on all boats made for fun times! Lures of choice aboard my boat were D.O.A. Cals in all colors.

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

…and don’t forget to visit www.saltyshores.com for great fish and wildlife photography, product reviews, and more from all around the globe!

I have nothing against Wintertime fishing but I’m sure glad it’s over! Cold water temps can put fish in a weird state of mind where they will not want to eat your usual offerings. Don’t get me wrong, Wintertime fishing is really good, but it’s nothing like Spring time, you don’t have to fish in bulky jackets and the fish are chasing down your lures/flies like it’s their last meal. Today I had had Dominic join me to scout around for some trips I have lined up. The Redfish were moving around in big schools and the Sea Trout were all over the flats thanks to the warm temperatures that we’ve been having this week. I’ve been fishing these same fish about a month ago, they drove me crazy seeing them but not catching them. Todays high of 78 degrees and calm winds made it a different story.

Also, I was at a store in the crafts department and came across some cool looking googly eyes that I thought would work on some baitfish patterns. These eyes actually make a good rattling sound and the crazy movements are sure to drive the fish nuts(that’s if they even notice them)but they sure do look cool! I think I bought this pack for 97 cents, I tied one up using these eyes last night….fish seem to like em!

-Capt. Willy Le
321-303-7805

The temperatures have finally become comfortable for us anglers and slowly getting there for our finned friends. The Redfish are now moving around in big numbers but can be a little picky on certain days. Fishing with finesse is the key to success. Jerkbaits rigged weedless have been most productive for me.

Surf fishing in Cocoa Beach has been steady with whiting keeping anglers busy and a pompano being caught here and there. Surf temperatures are are almost right for the pompano here, anglers have been having better luck a little further south around Satellite and Melbourne beaches. A couple weeks of temperatures in the upper 70’s or 80’s will warm the water enough to bring those pompano further north. Use sand fleas if you can find them, if not, cut clams or fresh peeled shrimp will work just as good. Find beaches with rocky bottom or deeper troughs for best results. Most anglers like to fish 2 hours before and after high tide, I like to fish early morning or a couple hours before dark as well at any tide.

Also, I got some new stickers made recently. If you would like a couple mailed to you. Please send your address to nativeflycharters@gmail.com.

I plan on hitting the surf and the flats hard next week so check back for updated reports. Weather is looking great for next week so if you have a chance to get out there, Good Luck!!

-Capt. Willy Le
321-303-7805

The ocean sunfish, Mola mola, or common mola, is the heaviest known bony fish in the world. It has an average adult weight of 1,000 kg (2,200 lb). The species is native to tropical and temperate waters around the globe. It resembles a fish head with a tail, and its main body is flattened laterally. Sunfish can be as tall as they are long when their dorsal and ventral fins are extended.

Sunfish live on a diet that consists mainly of jellyfish, but because this diet is nutritionally poor, they consume large amounts in order to develop and maintain their great bulk. Females of the species can produce more eggs than any other known vertebrate. Sunfish fry resemble miniature pufferfish, with large pectoral fins, a tail fin and body spines uncharacteristic of adult sunfish.

Adult sunfish are vulnerable to few natural predators, but sea lions, orcas and sharks will consume them. Among humans, sunfish are considered a delicacy in some parts of the world, including Japan, the Korean peninsula and Taiwan. In the EU, regulations ban the sale of fish and fishery products derived of the Molidae family. Sunfish are frequently, though accidentally, caught in gillnets, and are also vulnerable to harm or death from encounters with floating trash, such as plastic bags.

A member of the order Tetraodontiformes, which also includes pufferfish, porcupinefish and filefish, the sunfish shares many traits common to members of this order. It was originally classified as Tetraodon mola under the pufferfish genus, but it has since been given its own genus, Mola, with two species under it. The ocean sunfish, Mola mola, is the type species of the genus.

While fishing out of Port Cananveral with Capt. Scott Lum and friend Ricky aboard the “Outcast”, we spotted one while catching bait along the ships channel buoy line. You can’t help but smile and have a good day when encountering one of these creatures that greet you with a smile back and friendly approach!

A new bait company out of Haines City, FL. has sent me a bundle of new baits to test out on the saltwater species in my area. This is just one of the flukes in “baby bass” color that they make. I have several more models and colors to test out then I will have a full write up and more info on the products. I had a chance to throw this fluke at one fish and it seemed to like it!

-Capt. Willy Le
321-303-7805

Did a little scouting this week with a few buddies to locate some fish for some upcoming trips. Wednesday I had Danny Francis aboard to help me key in on what the fishes moods are and what artificials they were willing to eat. I had Danny throwing MirrOlures New 5″ Soft Mullet soft plastic bait in a golden bream color rigged weedless. Blind casting the edge of a flat first thing in the morning resulted in some nice Sea Trout, shortly after catching a few trout Danny makes a long cast to a school of redfish that immediately gets hammered by a slot fish. Once the sun got high enough to sight cast for Redfish, we moved to a shallow grass flat close by. Tails started popping up around us along with cruising fish pushing “V” wakes. Danny gets a few of the tailing fish to eat but they shortly come unbuttoned. Winds started to blow 15-20mph out of the North which made the sight fishing tough so we decided to call it a great day!

Thursday, Matt Martin joined me for a half day. We arrive at the same flat first thing in the morning, we immediately see schools of Redfish. Matt was armed with an 8wt flyrod making great casts to schools all morning but we had a hard time getting the fish to eat. Maybe the full moon had something to do with it. After dropping Matt of at the ramp around 1pm, I decided to head back out and mess with the schools. Eddie Oliveras was also out there on his skiff fishing solo, we both met up and worked a flat chasing schools of fish around. I had a few redfish eat the 5″ MirrOlure soft mullet but landed only one of them. I then had Eddie anchor his boat up and hop on mine to do some flyfishing. We had great shots at multiple fish but none of them showed any interest. We decided to leave the schools and tailers to find different fish before in got dark. I follow Eddie to a flat that he had success on the week before, before even getting to his spot while idling in, we run into a huge feeding frenzy of Black Drum ranging in sizes of 10-20lbs, these fish were “drumming” under water and you can literally hear and feel the vibrations from them while they drummed all around us. Eddie anchors his boat and hops on mine, we then pole closer towards the schooled up tailing fish with me on the bow for a change. I tied on a black EP crab pattern that I had tied the night before just for Black Drum. After a few casts into the pods of fish, with a very slow presentation I come tight with my biggest Black Drum on a flyrod! After releasing the fish, Eddie hops on the casting platform, makes a couple casts and also comes tight on a Black Drum a tad bit smaller than mine. By this time the sun was going down, we were just admiring the scenery of the sun setting and tailing black drum all around us while we pole my skiff off of the flat to head back to the ramp.

Fishing is now starting to get really good, give me a call if you would like to chase some Redfish and maybe even get into some Black Drum as well if they are still around.

-Capt. Willy Le
321-303-7805

I’ve done a lot of camping in my days but never in the Mosquito Lagoon. My good Amigo Eddie Oliveras and I have been putting together a “fishing destinations” list and camping the Mosquito Lagoon was one of them. Although we both live only and hour away, we thought staying on an island in the Goon, catching our food, and being one with nature while exploring new waters in the way back country of little oyster creeks was a great idea….and a great idea it was!

Once we got our permit and reservations from the Canaveral National Seashore Ranger station for the island that we planned on taking over for a few days, Eddie and I loaded up our trucks and met up at River Breeze Park in Oak Hill. From there we loaded all of our camping supplies on his skiff and headed a couple miles north in the main channel and arrive to a small creek to the right of us. That creek led us to our home for the next 3 days and 2 nights, right in the middle of a maze lined with mangrove shorelines and oyster bars which we plan on fishing during our stay. After we set up camp and crab traps, we headed out in hopes of catching lunch and dinner. My buddy Etienne Gele who lives on the East side of the Lagoon in New Smyrna Beach joined us for Day 1. Etienne (also known as Dee) films for a few Fishing shows that you see on your television like Sport Fishing Television, he was actually filming a show right there in the Lagoon the next 2 days so he couldn’t stay on the island with me and Eddie. After picking Dee up at J.B.’s fishcamp which was a few minutes from Dee’s house, and a few miles across the Lagoon from our campsite, we ran to some flats to do some Redfishing. Conditions were tough with high winds and low visibility but we ran into a few schools of redfish and Dee ends up hooking into one right off the bat. After catching and releasing that fish(into the fishbox), we hung out for a bit to see if we could get another one but it was getting late and we had to start the fire and prepare to cook. On the way back, we checked our crab traps that we set out that morning, 8 blue crabs came to join us for dinner along with the redfish!

The two nights that we stayed, the weather forecasted for low’s in the 30’s and winds out of the N/NW about 20-30mph! Luckily our camp was surrounded by big tall trees that protected us from the wind chill. After we had dinner and some beers, it was time to drop Dee back off at JB’s fish camp so he can prepare to film for the next days fishing show. The rest of the night, Eddie and I huddled(not cuddled HUDDLED) next to the camp fire and drank the rest of the case and a half of beers that we brought. Then hit the sack shortly after.

The next morning it was FREEZING!! Waking up a little slow from all of the beers, we noticed it was a blue bird day…no clouds in the sky but windy and cold. We made some hot cocoa, ate breakfast and decided to look for fish in deeper holes. Sea Trout was our dinner mission today and redfish would be a plus. We headed north through some crazy little oyster bays and creeks and came across a nice deep cut where we would catch Sea Trout and Redfish on every cast using D.O.A shrimp and D.O.A. CALS on 1/4oz. jigheads. The redfish were on the small side but the trout were slot and they were a load of fun to catch! We easily could have stayed and caught over 100 fish in the same spot and it definitely relieves the stress of sight fishing spooky fish that have lockjaw!

On the way back, we decided to hit the same flat where Dee got his Redfsh to see if we can find them again. Of course the winds made it tough but we did find the fish and Eddie gets him one over the slot limit. At this time the sun was going down and we headed back to camp to start another fire and to have our Blackened Sea Trout and rice dinner….we also roasted some Vienna sausages for appetizers, YUM! More beers were drank until we ran out, then it was bed time.

If you would like to be one with nature and fish the Mosquito Lagoon like we did, I plan on putting together and offering a camping package in my guide services. Everything would be included, all you have to bring is all the beer that you plan on drinking! I am still calculating everything that needs to be done at the time so I don’t know what the price will be yet. Keep checking back for more info on that. Come see this for yourself…..

-Capt. Willy Le
321-303-7805