# Misquito Lagoon report 4/1



## tojo (Dec 12, 2006)

If anyone is going to get these reds to eat it will be you. Everyone is talking about running into reds with lockjaw. Any theories?


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## tom_in_orl (Dec 9, 2006)

Nice report. I need to launch out of Beacon 42 one of these days and learn that area.


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## Ron_W. (Dec 14, 2006)

I'll say the near full moon has them feeding at night. The fish I was on at sun up were moveing off a shallow flat and heading for deep water, I was to far from them to have spooked them and was alone on that flat so I believe they were moveing deep after feeding.
The other areas I worked the fish were moveing and a good presentation was getting bit, the wind was the main problem. I saw very few fish just laid up.


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## litlblusrn4bigred (Jan 8, 2007)

> If anyone is going to get these reds to eat it will be you.  Everyone is talking about running into reds with lockjaw.  Any theories?



when artificials arent working, try live bait. if they wont take shrimp, try crab, if not crab try mullet, the main source of food on the goon for reds is mainly pig fish, atleast thats what i hear. i hear of a lot of people casting to a school and twitching their lure just as the school gets to it. You need to wait until the school is over your lure. They are looking for bait that is in the mud, sand, bottom and when they find bait on the bottom the bait wont spook out of that area until the fish find it. When you twitch your bait as the school is moving in on it they see a bait twitch un-naturally. If you wait and try casting to the outsid of the school and try to pick one off on the edge of the school you wont spook the whole school if you miss a fish. This will keep the scool in the area longer. If at all possible to follow the scool until they settle down then start casting when you see them stop and start to feed. Its all about patience. They have to feed somtime. I have tried this approach and it seems to work well. Good luck!


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## rcmay (Dec 12, 2006)

> > If anyone is going to get these reds to eat it will be you. Everyone is talking about running into reds with lockjaw. Any theories?
> 
> 
> 
> when artificials arent working, try live bait. if they wont take shrimp, try crab, if not crab try mullet, the main source of food on the goon for reds is mainly pig fish, atleast thats what i hear. i hear of a lot of people casting to a school and twitching their lure just as the school gets to it. You need to wait until the school is over your lure. They are looking for bait that is in the mud, sand, bottom and when they find bait on the bottom the bait wont spook out of that area until the fish find it. When you twitch your bait as the school is moving in on it they see a bait twitch un-naturally. If you wait and try casting to the outsid of the school and try to pick one off on the edge of the school you wont spook the whole school if you miss a fish. This will keep the scool in the area longer. If at all possible to follow the scool until they settle down then start casting when you see them stop and start to feed. Its all about patience. They have to feed somtime. I have tried this approach and it seems to work well. Good luck!



Good tip, well spoken!


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## Ron_W. (Dec 14, 2006)

Plastic crab baits are my top though bite choice as I rarely carry my net or buy bait. The main draw back is these baits must be worked slow and they foul in the grass so you need fish you can put the bait in front and let it sit. Most of the reds I keep have crabs in there bellies.


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## litlblusrn4bigred (Jan 8, 2007)

> Plastic crab baits are my top though bite choice as I rarely carry my net or buy bait. The main draw back is these baits must be worked slow and they foul in the grass so you need fish you can put the bait in front and let it sit. Most of the reds I keep have crabs in there bellies.



I caught a red once with 10, yes, 10 shrimp in him, he must have been hungary. I caught him on one of my favorite lures, the exide jerk, new penny color, awesome bait.


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## Guest (Apr 5, 2007)

Beacon 42 boat ramp is one of my favorite fishing spot in southern mosquito lagoon. I always fished in troll'n'pole zone around the islands. I have always use fiddler crabs and jumbo shrimp to lay on the bottom and wait for them to hit it. Most of the time, it works and sometimes it don't.


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## tojo (Dec 12, 2006)

Ron the plastic crabs are interesting. You never hear alot about them. We were working a school last week and they did not hit anything moving. It takes alot of discipline to just let your artifical hang on the bottom until it is found.


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## Ron_W. (Dec 14, 2006)

Typed a long reply but it did not post. [smiley=frustrated.gif]

Let me just say that when you have fish holding in casting range that refuse other baits try the crab baits. This has caught me fish many times when other lures are ignored. They cast lousey though and tend to spin on retrieve if not rigged carefully.


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