Unfortunately, the algal bloom has gotten even worse now. You can’t even see two inches down, and it has the look of green slime. It also has spread much further now. It made its way north from the Railroad Bridge all the way to the very north end of the river and into most of the Mosquito Lagoon almost all the way to Ponce Inlet. It spread much further south in the Indian River and now is impacting most places almost all the way to Sebastian Inlet. It still is less bad down there than north of Rockledge. It also has made its way east into most of the Banana River where it keeps getting worse. Please do your part by not using fertilizer, keeping everything you can out of storm drains, researching what candidates will or will not support clean water, practicing catch and release, etc. If we all do something, it will make a difference. An inlet probably will not fix the problems either, but that is such an under researched concept.
Tarpon are pretty much the only thing that can live in this because of their ability to breathe air. Even the mullet seemed to have left, and what little I caught died within 2 minutes of being hooked because of low dissolved oxygen. Fortunately, I was able to find some keyed into glass minnows and other small fry. I typically would say that the DOA mini terroryz is a great choice, but the water is so bad they can’t seem to find that. I switched to a Rapala x-rap saltwater subwalk in the smallest size they make. It produces a loud rattle and bright flash to help the tarpon find it. I also put some Pro-Cure mullet scent on it to further help the tarpon find it. Tarpon are all over the lagoon system as usual this time of year, so just move around until you find them.
I look forward to getting out of this nasty water and on the ocean the next chance I get. It’ so much better fishing out there if you know how and where. I can’t say for sure without fishing myself, but you should catch something no matter what. Mullet pods are definitely here, but it’s not what I’d call a good run yet. The last few years have been weak, but hopefully this is the start and not the peak.
Tarpon fishing during the first wave of the mullet run before it shut off again:
Thanks so much for the report Kurt, as always I really appreciate you calling it like you see. So disheartening to see the current water conditions throughout the lagoon.