Happy Monday Spacefish!

Well… somebody apparently forgot to turn off the faucet.

If you’ve spent any time around the Space Coast lately, you’ve probably noticed that we’ve had more than our fair share of rain; and while a little freshwater falling from the sky is certainly nothing unusual in Florida, prolonged periods of heavy rainfall can have some pretty significant consequences for our beloved Indian River Lagoon system.

As anglers, one of the first things we notice is the change in water clarity. Those beautiful stretches of clear, shallow water suddenly look like somebody dumped a few gallons of chocolate milk into them. Sight fishing becomes considerably more difficult, familiar fishing spots look completely different, and finding fish can feel like starting from scratch. But there’s a lot more happening beneath the surface than simply dirty water.

Heavy rainfall can alter the lagoon’s salinity, introduce pollutants, change dissolved oxygen levels, and affect the movement of both baitfish and predators. Some of these changes happen almost immediately, while others can create environmental problems that linger long after the skies clear.

So this week, I want to look at what’s actually happening to our lagoon when the rain starts piling up, and then share three of my favorite artificial lures for finding fish when the water looks more like chocolate milk than the Indian River Lagoon; because while we can’t control the weather, we can certainly adjust how we fish.

When Freshwater Takes Over

The Indian River Lagoon is an estuary, which means its ecosystem depends on a constantly changing mixture of freshwater and saltwater. That mixture creates the unique environment that supports everything from seagrasses and oysters to the redfish, trout, snook, and tarpon we love to chase.

Rainfall is a natural and necessary part of this system. The problems begin when enormous amounts of freshwater enter the lagoon over a relatively short period.

When heavy rains fall across Brevard County, water makes its way into the lagoon through neighborhood drainage systems, canals, creeks, and rivers. In some areas, particularly those with limited tidal exchange, freshwater can significantly reduce salinity.

Now, species like redfish and snook are remarkably adaptable. They can tolerate a pretty wide range of salinities, which is one reason we encounter them in everything from coastal flats to brackish tributaries.

However, sudden changes can still influence where fish move, where baitfish congregate, and which areas remain productive. And while mobile fish can often relocate when conditions become unfavorable, stationary organisms like oysters and rooted aquatic vegetation don’t have that luxury.

The Trouble with Runoff

Unfortunately, rainwater doesn’t arrive in the lagoon empty-handed. As stormwater travels across our roads, parking lots, neighborhoods, and lawns, it collects all sorts of things we’d rather not have in our waterways.

Fertilizers, automobile chemicals, grass clippings, pet waste, sediment, and other pollutants can eventually find their way into the lagoon. One of the biggest concerns involves excess nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus.

These nutrients can fuel algal blooms, which reduce the amount of sunlight reaching underwater seagrasses. When large quantities of algae eventually die and decompose, the process consumes dissolved oxygen, potentially creating dangerous conditions for fish and other aquatic organisms.

Over time, sediment and decomposing organic material can also contribute to the accumulation of muck along the lagoon bottom, further complicating efforts to restore healthy seagrass habitat.

Heavy rainfall can also overwhelm wastewater infrastructure and saturate septic drain fields, increasing the potential for bacterial contamination and additional nutrient pollution. The important thing to understand is that these problems don’t necessarily disappear when the rain stops. A storm might last a day or two, but its environmental consequences can extend well beyond that.

Not All Brown Water Is Bad Water

Here’s where I want to make an important distinction. Not every stretch of brown or stained water is necessarily unhealthy. Anyone who has spent time fishing Turkey Creek, the St. Sebastian River, or other tannic waterways around Central Florida knows that naturally stained water can support some outstanding fishing.

Much of that tea-colored appearance comes from naturally occurring organic compounds released by decaying vegetation. That’s very different from muddy water carrying excessive sediment, polluted stormwater, or an active algal bloom.

In other words, water clarity alone doesn’t tell us everything we need to know about water quality. And for anglers, that’s an important distinction because fish don’t necessarily stop feeding just because the water gets dirty.

Think Like a Fish: Finding the Bite After Heavy Rain

When the water loses clarity, I like to think about the situation from the predator’s perspective. Imagine you’re a redfish cruising a shallow flat, or a snook positioned along a mangrove shoreline. Yesterday, you could spot a passing baitfish from several feet away. Today, you might only see it when it’s practically in front of your face.

How do you find your next meal? Fish have sensory systems that help them detect movement and vibrations in the surrounding water. Their lateral line is particularly useful for sensing nearby disturbances, while vision remains important when prey gets close enough.

As anglers, we can take advantage of that. In dirty water, I generally want a lure that produces some combination of vibration, water displacement, flash, or a recognizable silhouette.

I also pay close attention to moving water and transitions. Creek mouths, canal intersections, shoreline points, and areas where stained runoff meets relatively cleaner water can all create feeding opportunities.

Baitfish may concentrate along these boundaries, and predators often position themselves where they can intercept an easy meal. Sometimes the best fishing isn’t in the cleanest water or the dirtiest water. It’s right along the edge where the two meet. With that in mind, here are three artificial lures I’d want in my kayak after a stretch of heavy rainfall.

Number 1 – The Gold Spoon

If I could only take one lure into shallow, stained water while searching for redfish, a weedless gold spoon would be really difficult to beat. There’s nothing particularly complicated about this presentation, and that’s exactly why I like it. A gold spoon produces a combination of flash and wobble as it moves through the water. That movement creates vibrations fish can detect at close range, while the flash provides a visual cue when visibility allows.

I especially like a quarter-ounce or half-ounce weedless spoon around flooded grass, shallow shorelines, and scattered vegetation. The key is finding a retrieve speed that allows the spoon to wobble without spinning uncontrollably. I generally prefer a steady retrieve with occasional changes in speed. Sometimes a brief pause or flutter is enough to convince a following redfish to commit. One of the biggest advantages of a spoon is its ability to cover water efficiently.

When conditions have changed dramatically after a storm, covering water can be just as important as making the perfect cast; and when I’m searching for fish rather than targeting something I’ve already spotted, a gold spoon is one of my favorite tools for the job.

Number 2 – A 3-4 Inch Paddle Tail

My second choice is a 3 or 4 inch paddle tail like the DOA CAL Shad, or the Fishbites Buttkicker. This is one of those lures that has earned a permanent place in my tackle collection because it’s versatile, affordable, and effective across a wide range of conditions.
The paddle tail produces a steady kicking action that displaces water as the lure moves. That makes it useful when fish are relying on a combination of movement, vibration, and short-range vision to locate prey. In shallow water, I generally start with a relatively light jighead, often around an eighth of an ounce, depending on current, wind, and the depth I’m fishing.

Around grass, mangroves, or other snaggy structures, I’ll consider a weedless presentation. When visibility is limited, I like colors that provide either contrast or a noticeable visual target, preferably on a chartreuse jighead to provide a little extra pop.
Darker colors can create a defined silhouette, while brighter options like chartreuse may help fish locate the lure under certain conditions. That doesn’t mean there’s one magic color that works everywhere. In fact, I’d argue that getting your bait in front of feeding fish is considerably more important than obsessing over the perfect shade of plastic. Also in these hard-to-see environments a scent dispersion like that of the Fishbites products or adding some ProCure to the DOA baits can add a big X factor to your presentation here.

I like to retrieve the paddletails slowly enough that the tail continues kicking, occasionally allowing it to fall along depth changes or beside structure. This is an especially useful presentation around docks, creek mouths, and the edges of drainage canals where fish may be waiting for bait to move past them. And unlike some hard baits, a soft plastic gives me plenty of flexibility to adjust depth, retrieve speed, and rigging without completely changing my approach.

3. MirrOlure MirrOdine: The Flick-Flick-Pause

Anyone who has followed my fishing reports for a while probably knew this one was coming. Along with paddletails; I have a hard time writing about artificial lures for the Indian River Lagoon without mentioning the MirrOlure MirrOdine.

It’s one of my confidence baits for trout, redfish, and snook, and while I don’t necessarily consider it my first choice in the absolute muddiest conditions, it can be extremely productive when I’m working stained water or the edges of cleaner-water pockets.

The MirrOdine produces a distinctive darting action and reflective flash that can imitate a wounded or disoriented baitfish. My preferred retrieve is pretty simple…Twitch, twitch and Pause. Rinse & Repeat.

In clearer water, fish may be able to track that lure from a greater distance. In stained conditions, I often slow the presentation and lengthen the pause, giving nearby predators a better opportunity to locate and strike it. I particularly like fishing a MirrOdine along shorelines, around points, and near areas where moving water creates a defined transition between cleaner and dirtier water.

One thing worth remembering is that heavy rainfall doesn’t necessarily make every section of the lagoon equally dirty. Sometimes finding a pocket of better visibility is all it takes to put a familiar confidence bait back into play. And when that happens, the MirrOdine is usually one of the first lures I reach for. But the classic flash of this bait can show up big in dirty water, and while it may lack some of the vibration of the others on this list, it can hold that thick, slimy ProCure bait gel really well and for a long time.

Safety and Stewardship

Before wrapping things up, I want to address something considerably more important than which lure catches the most fish. Heavy rainfall creates real safety concerns around our waterways. Flooded roads, submerged debris, unusually strong currents near drainage structures, and contaminated runoff can all create dangerous situations for anglers. Don’t be like the kids from FIT that had to be rescued this week!

We also need to remember that our lagoon is dealing with environmental challenges that extend far beyond a single storm. The Indian River Lagoon is an incredibly productive and biologically diverse estuary, but it’s also an ecosystem that has suffered from decades of development, altered drainage patterns, nutrient pollution, and habitat loss.

Rainfall may be natural, but much of what gets washed into our waterways is the result of human activity. Reducing fertilizer runoff, properly disposing of waste, maintaining septic systems, and supporting local restoration efforts are all ways we can help protect the resource we enjoy. After all, the fishery we love depends on the health of the water itself.

Final Thoughts

One of the lessons fishing has taught me over the years is that conditions are constantly changing. A productive shoreline today might be completely different tomorrow. A stretch of water that looked beautiful last week might resemble chocolate milk after a couple of days of heavy rain.

That doesn’t necessarily mean the fish have disappeared…Sometimes they’ve relocated, sometimes they’re feeding in different areas, and sometimes they’re still exactly where we left them, but we need to change our presentations to get their attention.

That’s why I like keeping things simple. A gold spoon for covering water, a paddle tail for searching structure and varying my presentation, and a MirrOdine for working those productive transitions. Three lures, three different approaches, and plenty of opportunities to adjust.

But I also think it’s important that we look beyond the immediate fishing conditions and consider what these heavy rainfall events mean for the long-term health of the Indian River Lagoon. Because at the end of the day, catching fish is only part of what makes spending time on these waters special. Understanding the ecosystem, recognizing how our actions influence it, and doing our part to protect it are just as important.

Whether you’re looking for a trusty gold spoon, a pack of paddletails, or a MirrOlure MirrOdine, be sure to stop by Strike Zone Fishing in Melbourne before your next trip! The folks at Strike Zone have a great selection of artificial lures, terminal tackle, and just about everything else you need to tackle the Indian River Lagoon. They’re a fantastic local resource for anglers looking to adjust their approach when conditions change. And as always, I’m a big believer in supporting the businesses that support our fishing community!

So until next time, stay safe, watch those flooded roads, and may your lines be ever tight!

Snook: Thinking About Their Winter Homes

Snook present a different challenge. Because they are more sensitive to cold temperatures, many snook begin gradually repositioning toward areas that provide greater thermal stability as fall progresses.

During the warmer months, snook can be found around beaches, inlets, and lower estuary habitats. As conditions change, many begin moving toward protected rivers, creeks, canals, and deeper portions of our coastal waterways.

Around the Space Coast, this makes places like Turkey Creek, the Eau Gallie River, Crane Creek, and the St. Sebastian River particularly interesting systems to study as temperatures begin declining.

That doesn’t mean every snook immediately abandons the inlet, or the flats & mangroves around the inlet. During stable, warm weather, snook may continue feeding aggressively in shallow water. The difference is that I want to start looking for shallow feeding areas with deeper water nearby.

A mangrove shoreline bordering a creek channel offers a snook more flexibility than an isolated stretch of uniformly shallow shoreline. A shallow grass flat with potholes connected to deeper water can provide similar advantages.

Fish can move shallow to feed when conditions are comfortable and retreat toward more stable temperatures when necessary. Current is another major factor. Snook are ambush predators, and moving water can deliver food directly to them. Mangrove points, creek bends, undercut banks, docks, and narrow channels are all worth investigating. The ideal location combines several advantages: food, current, cover, and access to deeper water. If I can find all four in one location, I’m going to spend some time fishing it!

Final Thoughts: Understanding the Why Before the How

If there’s one thing I hope you take away from this week’s report, it’s that successful fall fishing isn’t necessarily about finding new places to fish. Sometimes it’s about understanding why the places we’ve been fishing all summer are changing.

The grass flat that was too hot in August might become a redfish buffet in October. That creek mouth you’ve paddled past a hundred times might suddenly become a highway for snook looking for their winter accommodations. And those mullet schools that seemed to be everywhere during the summer might now be pointing us toward some of the most productive fishing of the year.

The trick is learning to recognize these changes before we make our first cast. Remember, redfish and snook are responding to the same environmental conditions, but they’re not necessarily making the same decisions. Redfish may be perfectly content hanging around shallow grass flats, while snook are already considering where they’ll spend the colder months.

Understanding those differences helps us eliminate unproductive water and spend more time fishing where the fish are actually likely to be. But finding the fish is only half the battle. Once we understand where they’re going and why, we still have to figure out how to convince them to eat.

That’s where we’ll pick things up in Volume 2. We’ll take a closer look at artificial lure selection, retrieve speeds, and how to adjust our presentations as water temperatures continue to fall. We’ll also discuss why changing the way you work a lure can sometimes be far more important than changing the lure itself.

Until then, don’t worry so much about what month it is. Pay attention to the bait, watch the weather, and look for those subtle changes happening in the water around you. After all, the fish don’t know it’s October, and they certainly don’t care about pumpkin spice lattes. Read the water, not the calendar. But before you head out, you should definitely stock up at Strike Zone in Melbourne!

Thank you for taking the time to read this report! Stay safe, be happy, and may the odds be ever in your favor! Tight lines, everybody!