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Jeffrey Briggs has good things to say about the day of Florida redfishing he enjoyed this past March with Capt. Scott MacCalla of Mosquito Lagoon Fly Fishing in Titusville (www.mosquitolagoonflyfishing.com). He was on a family trip to Kennedy Space Center, which is only one of the two major family attractions in this area of Florida, of course, the other being Disney World 65 miles to the west. He writes:
“I recently traveled to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida with my wife and son. My son is interested in rockets and space flight, so we went to see the launch of the SpaceX rocket on March 1, and we stayed to tour the space center for a day and a half. I highly recommend the space center, especially the Saturn V rocket display and the Vehicle Assembly Building. Best of all, the center is within five miles of world-class fishing! I never miss an opportunity to fish, even when I’m on a family trip. On this trip, I booked a full-day charter with Capt. Scott MacCalla for my son and me on his 17-foot Hell’s Bay flats boat. I was excited by the opportunity to fish Mosquito Lagoon, which I’ve seen highlighted on several fishing shows.
“Unfortunately, my trip coincided with the arrival of a cold front that pushed temperatures down into the 40s and kicked up high winds. The flats were quite murky, but Scott still put us onto redfish and speckled trout. My son caught his first trout and redfish, and I caught my first trout. Some of the trout we caught were large, in the 22- to 24- inch range. At one point, we had the chance to cast to some tailing redfish in the shallows. In all, we boated more than a dozen trout and six redfish. There was also a lot of wildlife to see, including manatees and roseate spoonbills. It was a real treat to fish with the Kennedy Space Center and the Vehicle Assembly Building in the background.
“I cannot recommend Scott MacCalla enough. He is a young, enthusiastic guy with excellent equipment and an intimate knowledge of the area. He is a great family guide, too. He was happy to give my son some casting tips! All in all, we had a great (but cold) day on the water.” Postscript: Briggs gives the cost of his day of fishing as $450 for two anglers, with all equipment provided.