Drone view of a lone skiff on dark, still water at the Indian River Lagoon
Vero Beach & Melbourne, Florida

You will see the fish before you cast to it.

One guide. One skiff. Fly and light-tackle inshore charters on the Indian River Lagoon.

The Water

A working lagoon, not a postcard.

The Indian River Lagoon is shallow, wind-driven, and changes by the week. Some days the water is eleven inches deep and gin clear. Other days it isn't. Colton reads it daily and builds the day's plan around what the lagoon is actually doing, not a fixed spot list.

SeasonWhat's happening
Dec – FebLow light, low waterCold fronts push water off the flats. Reds tail in skinny, clear water on the warm afternoons in between.
Mar – MayPre-spawn snook stage upWater starts to warm. Snook move out of the backcountry toward the passes; trout stay active on the grass flats.
Jun – AugTarpon seasonMigratory tarpon move through the lagoon and along the beaches. Early starts to beat the heat and the wind.
Sep – NovBait pushes, snook runGlass minnows and mullet move, and the fish follow. One of the most consistent stretches of the year.
Casting from the poling platform across a shallow flat
A tarpon's head breaking the surface at the waterline
June — August

Tarpon, sight-fished.

They move through in strings of six or eight, rolling before you ever see them clearly. You get maybe nine seconds from first sighting to cast. Nobody promises you a hookup — some days the fish just aren't eating. But you'll see them, and you'll get your shot.

The Work

A shallow-draft skiff, run quiet.

Stepping off the skiff onto a shallow flat
Poling the skiff, low angle from the deck
The skiff idling past an oyster bar
Casting toward the mangrove shoreline
The Days

Three ways to spend it.

Third angler +$150 on any tier. A flat $400 deposit holds the date; the balance is due the morning of.

The Full Day

$950

  • 8 hours on the water
  • Up to 2 anglers
  • Tackle & licensing
  • Drinks aboard
Most booked

The Provisioned Day

$1,175

  • 8 hours on the water
  • Up to 2 anglers
  • Tackle & licensing
  • Drinks aboard
  • Lunch aboard

The Signature Day

$1,450

  • Everything in the Provisioned Day
  • Morning coffee
  • Photographs from the day
  • First-light launch
Add-ons, aboard for anyone
  • Coffee$16 / angler
  • Lunch$48 / angler
  • Photographs$175
  • Evening at the vise$150
  • Ninth hour$125
  • Door pickup$85
Booking

Reserve your day.

01

Tier

02

Date & tide window

SMTWTFS

Pick a date

    03

    Anglers

    04

    Add-ons

    05

    Waiver acknowledgment

    The Lagoon

    We fish a place that's still recovering.

    Everything brought to the boat that can be released, is. The Indian River Lagoon has had rough years — seagrass loss, algae blooms, fish kills — and a single guide running one boat isn't going to fix that. But how the boat operates is still a choice: barbless hooks where it doesn't cost you a fish, quick releases, no anchoring in grass beds.

    A redfish being released back into the water

    Every fish goes back.

    Close detail of a redfish tail at the water's surface
    Practicalities

    What's handled, what to bring.

    Handled

    • Tackle, rigged and ready
    • Fishing license
    • Drinking water
    • Sunscreen, if you forget yours

    Bring

    • Polarized sunglasses
    • A hat with a dark underbrim
    • Long sleeves — the sun is worse than the heat
    • Closed-toe shoes for the skiff deck
    Capt. Colton at the helm with his dog
    Your Guide

    Capt. Colton

    Colton has run this lagoon for years, mostly alone, mostly at first light. He fishes it the same way on his day off as he does on a charter — he'll tell you when the bite's off rather than pretend otherwise. The dog usually comes along.

    Clients

    Recent days on the water.

    Client holding a snook boatside
    Testimonial pending.
    Client holding a jack crevalle boatside
    Testimonial pending.
    Client holding a large snook boatside
    Testimonial pending.