# Visited Old Spots Fishing Report



## Bill Payne (May 22, 2018)

Great job on the big red captain! I am saddened by the overall assessment of once great fisheries though. I wish I had known in the 90s that I was fishing the last great decade in the lagoon system that will likely exist in my lifetime. Is anything actually being done?

I seem to recall that Miami was able to clean up Biscayne Bay. Can the same sort of thing be done for our lagoons and the ICW? I live in Ormond Beach and have been told that the tomoka basin used to be clear and have a grassy bottom. And that even the intracoastal was clear. What happened , is it just runoff from fertilizer etc?


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## spottedtail (Nov 5, 2013)

Bill Payne said:


> Great job on the big red captain! I am saddened by the overall assessment of once great fisheries though. I wish I had known in the 90s that I was fishing the last great decade in the lagoon system that will likely exist in my lifetime. Is anything actually being done?
> 
> not yet
> 
> ...


the problem started when flagler built the railroad. since then the size of the drainage basin has tripled. all that water coming in is carrying nutrients and herbicides. people love their roundup.

if you put it on the ground, it ends up in the water

how many new sewage treatment plants have you seen go in?

when the ocean rises above the barrier islands the lagoon will get the flushing it needs. i won't be here to see it. but that will probably happen before the politicians do anything


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## Seawoods (Feb 4, 2019)

Captain: I'd be interested to learn, generally, where you were located on Friday in hopes of avoiding a similar fishless and sad experience. I'm interested in the River north of the RR Bridge. 
*
Friday* On a perfect morning Scott Radloff and I went kayak fishing on the Indian River lagoon. Our boats hit the water at sunrise, and we were out until mid-day. Not a fish did we see. I hardly made any casts. Beautiful morning, lovely birds, I don’t need to check here again for a long time.


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## spottedtail (Nov 5, 2013)

Seawoods said:


> Captain: I'd be interested to learn, generally, where you were located on Friday in hopes of avoiding a similar fishless and sad experience. I'm interested in the River north of the RR Bridge.
> *
> Friday* On a perfect morning Scott Radloff and I went kayak fishing on the Indian River lagoon. Our boats hit the water at sunrise, and we were out until mid-day. Not a fish did we see. I hardly made any casts. Beautiful morning, lovely birds, I don’t need to check here again for a long time.


we were at peacocks pocket


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## el9surf (Dec 23, 2008)

spottedtail said:


> we were at peacocks pocket


The pocket was full of all sorts of fish when I first started fishing the IRL back in the 90's. It was nearly impossible to have a bad day out there. A topwater in 3-4 ft would produce solid trout all day. A blind casted deer hair mullet would yield trout till you got tired of casting. In the summer the tarpon would be on the edge of the flats out there, some were big fish. Big reds would wag their tails frequently all over that area. Makes me sad seeing what it is now. Glad I have those memories but it sure makes you miss what we had.


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## Bill Payne (May 22, 2018)

el9surf said:


> The pocket was full of all sorts of fish when I first started fishing the IRL back in the 90's. It was nearly impossible to have a bad day out there. A topwater in 3-4 ft would produce solid trout all day. A blind casted deer hair mullet would yield trout till you got tired of casting. In the summer the tarpon would be on the edge of the flats out there, some were big fish. Big reds would wag their tails frequently all over that area. Makes me sad seeing what it is now. Glad I have those memories but it sure makes you miss what we had.


That's the truth. I first started fishing the NIRL out of a tandem kayak in '95 I think. I could literally put a rod in my girlfriend's hand, tie on a Chartreuse Cotee minnow on a red jighead and catch trout nonstop.

The old timers then used to say how much better it was 'back in the day.' Sucks getting old I guess...


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## spottedtail (Nov 5, 2013)




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## el9surf (Dec 23, 2008)

There are some good size trout on that board. Glad most folks have gotten away from the kill anything you catch mentality.


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## spottedtail (Nov 5, 2013)

jackson man said:


> Wonder how much fishing like this had to contribute to the less than spectacular fishing of today?


i'm sure it had something to do with it, but is a lot less significant than the crappy water quality we now have


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