September 2023 Fishing Report for the Indian River Lagoon
It’s Been A Mixed Bag of Black Drum, Redfish and Sea Trout during the cooler parts of the Year in the IRL
Monday September 25, 2023 Fishing Report
September has been a beautiful month for fishing with a fairly good amount of rain. As I am writing this Indian River Fishing Report and Forecast the Atlantic is producing active tropical waves, storms, and hurricanes. The fishing has been good for snook, some redfish and flurries of tarpon on the Indian River. I’ve been fishing on the coast for several weeks now and have rarely dipped into the inland lagoons except when the wind & waves have given us grief. For the most part, the weather has been stellar with afternoon thunderstorms, keeping me fishing the coastal ocean waters for big tarpon, kings, snook and sharks.
Look for the rain to produce a lot of activity in the backwaters over the next few weeks. Stormwater runoff can make feeding troughs for gamefish looking for easy pickings flowing out of the shallow water impoundments.
September is the month for spawning redfish in the Indian & Banana River Lagoons. I personally haven’t looked for these spawners, but have kept my ear to the ground with other anglers to see if they are having success. So far, the spawners have not shown in any numbers, but if historical fishing reports ring true, there should be some great redfish caught in the next several weeks.
Gina and I have kept busy with our fishing charters while surfing during an active hurricane season. Hurricane Fiona passed far offshore today, creating Havoc in Puerto Rico and the Turks & Caicos Islands, and making coastal fishing difficult. The new storm developing in the Gulf of Mexico is expected to hit South Florida and will impact our area next week.
The forecast is good going into October, so stay with me as fish, surf, and keep up with the tropics this fall.
As warmer weather starts to evolve over the next few weeks, follow me to the ocean as I pursue larger and more aggressive fish along the beaches and deep water reefs and wrecks. The Indian River Lagoon will still produce some special catches, but the summer will eventually signal in the large breeder redfish that show up in late August and continue into early fall.
Hopefully, this year’s efforts will help improve the environment in the Indian River Lagoon. With the decline of seagrass, the manatee population suffered this winter when nutrition was absent from their normal foraging areas. Next winter and spring or 2021-2022 will determine if we are heading in the right direction. Until then, we will still be here for our anglers and working our hardest to find gamefish each season.
The Indian River Lagoon is National Treasure
With every non-profit group looking to solve and evolve our lagoon back to its former self, our hopes are with them as both Government and private organizations seek to restore the waterway. Efforts are underway to manage development and deter the onset of algae blooms that have devastated the seagrass and destroyed some of the fisheries. Efforts to repopulate clams, oysters, and seagrass have so far fallen short. A decade after the first bloom, we have yet to bring the natural vegetation back.
Join Captain Richard on your next visit to Florida’s Space Coast and the incredible Indian River Lagoon and the Banana River Lagoon.