Where We Fish — One of North America’s Most Diverse Estuaries

One day we fish the inlet. The next we are in the deep mangroves of Vero, or the brackish water of the Sebastian River, or nearshore for species on the Vero reefs, or running the rural beachline of Melbourne Beach, or out on the flats of the lagoon. In winter we may be back in the residential canals and the deep backcountry.

Most charters give you one kind of day. This stretch of coast gives you a dozen, all within a short run of each other, and Captain Richard Ladrew picks the water on the morning from the wind, the tide and where the fish have been. It is why no two of these trips look quite the same.

In the same day you can catch a snook on the flats and a mutton snapper on the reef. One is an ambush fish sitting in two feet of grass; the other is a reef fish you would normally associate with the Keys. Most of the coast makes you choose. Here they are a short run apart. That is the kind of diversity this stretch has, and it is the reason the boat is rigged to do both.

Every trip is private, for up to six guests on a 26′ Avenger bay boat, with all rods, reels, tackle and bait supplied. Florida fishing licences are provided for everyone aboard — you are covered under the captain’s, so there is nothing for you to buy. No one in the group needs to have fished before.

The Water We Sit On

The Indian River Lagoon is a 156-mile estuary running down the east coast of Florida, made up of the Mosquito Lagoon, the Banana River and the Indian River itself. It borders five counties. It is cited as among the most biologically diverse estuaries in North America, with something like 685 species of fish in it.

Here is the part that matters for fishing: only five inlets connect that entire 156 miles to the Atlantic. North to south they are Ponce de Leon at New Smyrna, Sebastian Inlet, Fort Pierce, St. Lucie and Jupiter. Port Canaveral does not count — it has a lock system that deliberately limits water exchange with the lagoon.

Which means that across the whole middle of that system, from New Smyrna down to Fort Pierce, Sebastian is the only way in or out.

Everything that moves between the ocean and the lagoon along this stretch has to come through it. Bait, predators, clean water on the incoming tide, and fish that spend part of their life in salt and part in brackish. That is why a boat sitting at this inlet can reach so many different kinds of fishing without a long run — the inlet is the hinge, and the water on either side of it is completely different.

Where the Lagoon Splits the Map

The lagoon and the inlet cut through a lot of places. North of the inlet is Brevard County — Melbourne Beach, Indialantic, Satellite Beach on the barrier island, and Melbourne, Palm Bay, Grant-Valkaria and Micco on the mainland. South of it is Indian River County — Sebastian and Roseland at the river mouth, then Wabasso, Orchid and Vero Beach.

Those are lines on a map rather than lines in the water. The lagoon runs behind all of them and the fish move through it freely. What the geography does change is the character of each stretch: developed shoreline in one place, undeveloped mangrove in another, deep channel here, two feet of grass flat there. A trip can touch several of those in a morning.

Sebastian Inlet

The inlet connects the lagoon to the Atlantic, so bait and predators funnel through it on every tide. It is the most consistent piece of water here and the reason the fishing changes with the tide rather than with the calendar. Snook along the rocks and in the bridge shadows, tarpon through the warmer months, jacks and whatever else is running.

The Lagoon Flats

Shallow grass and sand, often clear enough to see the bottom. Seatrout over the grass and around the sand potholes, redfish working the edges, black drum schooled up in the cooler months. This is the water that keeps a windy morning honest — when it is too rough to run anywhere else, the flats are still there and still fishing.

The Spoil Islands

A run of islands scattered through the lagoon, each with points, cuts and shallow edges. They sit out in moving water rather than against a bank, so the tide works around them from both sides and there is almost always an edge doing something on one of them.

They fish well and they are worth seeing. On a day when the wind has one shoreline churned up, the islands give you somewhere to go, and on the sandbar and island-hopping trips they are the destination rather than a fallback.

The Vero Mangroves

Miles of mangrove shoreline along the back of A1A and behind the country clubs, much of it undeveloped. Root systems, shade, bait and an edge to hunt along. Snook sit tight to the roots and redfish work the edges.

The Sebastian River

Brackish water where the river meets the lagoon, and a different feel from anywhere else we fish — narrower, darker, more sheltered. It is somewhere to go when the wind has everything else stirred up, and it holds fish that have moved in off the open water.

The Backcountry

Skinny water surrounded by mangroves, with no buildings or houses in sight. It is as rural as this coast gets, and it does not look like anywhere else we fish — quiet, shallow, closed in. You are a short run from towns and you would not know it.

It fishes well and it is sheltered, which makes it somewhere to go when the wind has written off the open water.

Residential Canals

Winter water. The canals through Vero Beach and Melbourne Beach hold their warmth when the open lagoon cools off, and fish push back into them on a cold front. Not one particular canal — there are miles of them on both sides of the inlet, and the captain works whichever are holding fish.

It is close, quiet fishing, and it is often the answer on a day that would be written off anywhere else.

The Vero Reefs

An active patch reef and live reef system off Vero Beach, and one of the better things about fishing this end of the coast. Some of it is close enough for a nearshore trip and there is more of it further out, so the sea state decides which structure you fish rather than whether you fish structure at all.

Live bottom holds fish the way bare sand never does — structure, growth, bait, and predators sitting on top of it. Mangrove and mutton snapper, sheepshead and cobia are the regulars, and Captain Richard works the patches by what is holding bait on the day.

The Melbourne Beach Coastline

North of the inlet the beachline runs rural for miles, with very little development behind it. Running it is a different kind of day — close to the sand, watching for bait and for whatever is working it.

Offshore

Past the reef the bottom drops away, the water changes colour, and you are fishing for a class of fish that does not come inside. Offshore days are weather dependent by nature, and the captain will move a day rather than take a group into water that is not safe or not fishable.

What the Versatility Buys You

Two practical things.

The first is that weather changes your trip rather than cancelling it. A forecast that rules out the reef does not rule out the flats. A cold front that empties the open lagoon pushes fish into the canals. There is almost always somewhere fishing.

The second is that you can say what you are after. A family wanting steady action and a few fish for the table gets a different day from two anglers chasing one big snook, and both are available from the same boat on the same tide. Tell Captain Richard what you have in mind when you book and he will tell you honestly whether your dates line up with it.

What You’ll Catch

Across all of it: snook, redfish, spotted seatrout, tarpon, mangrove snapper, sheepshead, black drum and flounder. Size limits, bag limits and seasons change year to year — Captain Richard fishes to current regulations and will tell you on the day what you can keep. Florida fishing licences, bait and all tackle are provided — there is nothing for you to buy.