The Upper Indian River Lagoon & its Fishery
The Indian River Lagoon System (IRL) took 240,000 years to form, and is designated as the most diverse estuary in all of North America. It is well known for its unique plant, fish, fowl, and shoreline animal life. The Indian River Lagoon contains 20 percent of the mangrove forests found in the eastern United States, and provides habitat for 700 species of fish, 310 species of birds, and is home to 1,350 species of plants in its waters or around its shoreline. Its waters are home to 33 threatened or endangered species.

Bordered by coastal barrier islands which are broken up by inlets, its widest and longest bodies of water are in north Brevard County. The lagoon system extends from Ponce de Leon Inlet in Volusia County south to Jupiter Inlet in Palm Beach County, and stretches along 40 percent of Florida's East Coast. Its length is over 150 miles long! Its width ranges from 1.5 to 5 miles wide, averages 3 to 4 feet in depth, and the Intercoastal Waterway channel proper averages 11 to 12 feet deep, or less. In the Brevard County area the lagoon's depth is regulated most by rain, evaporation, and the strength, duration, and the direction of wind.
Salinity levels in the lagoon system vary according to proximity to the ocean inlets, as well as by evaporation and rain levels. Water moving through the Canaveral locks does not noticeably affect lagoon water levels. Although there is some current in northern Mosquito Lagoon, areas south of Haulover to the Pineda Causeway are generally the most brackish and have little if no tidal flow.
There are seven species of aquatic seagrass living in the lagoon's waters, and they are a vital keystone to all of its marine life. After decades of misuse, stormwater runoff, septic tank leakage, and prop scars are becoming problems. Please do not pollute the lagoon(s) or damage the seagrasses. Don’t throw trash into the water or drive motorized watercraft in areas they aren’t designed to be in. While enjoying this great ecosystem please leave “small footprints” to ensure the fish, flora & fauna will remain for future generations!
We anglers must also take responsibility for our part in preserving our exceptional red drum fishery by protecting our breeder-size redfish. Treat them gently & with respect. A mature female red drum can produce up to 2 million eggs per mating and may spawn more than once per season. Removing a large male vertically from the water during the mating season may inhibit its ability to participate in the spawn.

Because of the northern Indian River Lagoon’s uniqueness, a land-locked haven for large redfish has developed. Unlike most coastal inshore areas of the eastern United States and the Gulf of Mexico, Brevard County’s mature red drum rarely enter the ocean. Most stay in the upper IRL year-round and spawn here as well. As a result, Brevard has a fantastic shallow water red drum fishery, perfectly suited to sightfishing for tailing bull redfish!
Capt. Robert Jaspers

Capt. Robert A. Jaspers ~ USCG #955013 ~ flatstime@cfl.rr.com
321.626.0104


   
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