fly rods,fly reels, flies for seatrout in mosquito lagoon, indian river, banana river, tomoka basin

The Spotted Seatrout is not a true member of the trout family, but a member of the drum family, much like the redfish and black drum. This fish is a highly prized game fish along the Central Florida Coastline, including the Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River, Banana River and Tomoka Basin areas. The average spotted seatrout in these areas will be about 2 pounds. However, much larger specimens, referred to as "Gator Trout" and weighing up to 15 pounds, can be found in the shallow grass flats. Smaller seatrout are often the first fish taken by new saltwater fly fishing anglers. They usually school up and are voracious feeders, making them easy targets. The true "Gator Trout" are complete opposites on fly rod. Many guides and local anglers feel that large trout are the hardest fish to sight fish; this makes them a true trophy when taken on fly. The larger trout are usually solitary fish, except during spawning time, and have keen eyesight and a lateral line that picks up even the slightest vibrations. The spotted seatrout is not known for making long, drag pulling runs, but makes up for this with great topwater explosions and head shaking. If you are truly wanting to put your fly fishing skills to the test, then get a guided trip hunting for trophy spotted seatrout on fly.

Fly Selection: The spotted Seatrout feeds on various prey throughout its life cycle. In the early portions of the cycle, they tend to focus on shrimp and small baitfish. As they get larger, they start to focus more on larger baitfish. They will also take crabs, if they present themselves just right. Here are 12 flies that our guides and staff recommend for targeting Spotted Seatrout in the Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River and Banana River areas:

Rod and Reel Selection: Since Spotted Seatrout don't have the long, powerful runs that redfish and bonefish have, you can use lighter fly tackle. In fact, lighter fly tackle enables some delicate presentations to the larger fish in the shallow waters. Fly rods for seatrout can be in the range of a 5-weight to a 7-weight. A matching reel that will hold 100 yards of 20 pound dacron and a weight forward, floating fly line. Here is this gear that our guides and staff use for trout fishing:

Captain John Tarr: St. Croix Legend Elite 7 weight or Sage XP 6 weight fly rod, Tibor Back Country Wide CL or Tibor Freestone fly reel, Cortland Bonefish Precision Taper fly line
Rich LeBlond (The Fly Fisherman Titusville): Thomas and Thomas Horizon II 5 weight (saltwater version) or Sage XP 7 weight fly rod, Abel Super 5N or Tibor Freestone fly reel, Scientific Angler GPX fly line
Captain Nick Sassic: Sage XP 6 weight fly rod, Tibor Back Country Wide CL fly reel, Rio Bonefish Taper fly line
Captain Doug Blanton: G-Loomis GLX 6 weight or 7 weight fly rod, Ross Evolution 3 or 3.5 fly reel, Scientific Angler Saltwater Taper fly line
David Olson (The Fly Fisherman Orlando): G-Loomis Streamdance MLS 5 weight fly rod, Abel Creek #1 fly reel, Scientific Angler Bonefish Taper fly line
Greg Dini (Orlando Fly Fisherman): Thomas and Thomas Horizon II Saltwater 5 weight fly rod, Tibor Tailwater CL fly reel, Scientific Angler GPX fly line

Check out our Fishing Report for the latest fishing conditions and flies that are being used to catch Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River trout.

Fly of the Month will have several fly patterns, with step-by-step instructions, that will catch spotted seatrout in any conditions.