johnd Posted November 26, 2019 Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 3 years now the Banana has been filled with the dreaded brown algae. During the summer there were some areas of clearing (mostly south of CCBeach Golf course).. however in past 6 weeks brown is much reduced. Then the cold front hit dropping surface temps from 80's to low 60's a few days and the normal blue/green quickly died. To everyone's surprise visibility exceeded 3' in many areas. With the 'clean' water you can see the bottom and it's depressing. Moonscape. No grass anywhere. There are some larger area of the macro algae (I can't spell, something like Culipera) On a great note, the 'river' is loaded with small trout. Few Reds (we lost breeders during the major fish kill). Black drum and Sheepshead rolling thru. Really small Ladyfish blowing up the surface each morning. While mostly small, there seem more Snook than I've seen in years too. to just bend a rod (a really light rod) 1/16 to 1/8th jig heads with small paddle tails fished in deeper (4' plus) water will catch trout. Some of the smallest you will ever see. Still, for a river that was almost given up for dead, this is so encouraging. Due to family issues, I missed fishing my favorite time of the year (Sept/Oct) .. back out now. Tight lines. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Compton Posted November 26, 2019 Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 Thanks for the report. I have easy access to Indian River Lagoon, west of Honeymoon Lake and am seeing the water clear up in this area as well. Fortunately there are some grass beds that survived and are holding plenty of bait along with a variety of typical inshore species. The drop in water temps is certainly improving the water quality, hopeful that the grass rebounds as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wthree3 Posted November 26, 2019 Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 Ran from Titusville to Edgewater today. Water is still a nasty shade.of brown everywhere. Visibility was about one foot most places. Decent amount of bait in the water but no takers in the few places we stopped to fish. However, the fish sandwich at JB's was delicious and the weather was perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lil Bingo Posted November 27, 2019 Report Share Posted November 27, 2019 I saw bottom running in 7 feet of water today, afternoon winter sun angle and all. Not sure what to make of it Melbourne area, certainly not known for clear water... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Compton Posted November 27, 2019 Report Share Posted November 27, 2019 17 hours ago, wthree3 said: Ran from Titusville to Edgewater today. Water is still a nasty shade.of brown everywhere. Visibility was about one foot most places. Decent amount of bait in the water but no takers in the few places we stopped to fish. However, the fish sandwich at JB's was delicious and the weather was perfect. Was this in the Mosquito Lagoon only? I was going to venture up towards Port St. John and south Titusville in the Indian River Lagoon on Friday...was hoping the clear water made its way up to that area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wthree3 Posted November 28, 2019 Report Share Posted November 28, 2019 North Indian, haulover canal, and mosquito lagoon areas are still pretty low visibility. Fished yesterday farther south between the Titusville (406) bridge and NASA causeway. Water there was better, about 6 feet of visibility. Saw several schools of black drum but not a single red. A few dink trout here and there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donh Posted January 22, 2020 Report Share Posted January 22, 2020 Fished up that way last week. Lots of big black drum schooling, but looks like reds have left the building. Any opinions why they have moved out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wthree3 Posted January 22, 2020 Report Share Posted January 22, 2020 No food. With the loss of the grass so went the crabs, shrimp, and baitfish. The available food sources are a tiny fraction of what they used to be. The reds and trout have moved on to greener pastures. Not sure what's keeping the black drum around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnd Posted January 24, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2020 On 1/22/2020 at 9:34 AM, Donh said: Fished up that way last week. Lots of big black drum schooling, but looks like reds have left the building. Any opinions why they have moved out? Lots and lots of small trout around and more Snook than I remember. My guess as to the lack of Reds: the major fish kill a few years back killed LOTS of the large breeders. Picked more than a few floaters out of my canal. Last 2 falls (Sept-Nov) none of the schools we used to see on the middle grounds, Sykes south of airport, near Horti point were non existent. I have caught only 2 reds since Oct, both little rat Reds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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