After the Seagrass Collapse, Is Mosquito Lagoon Back and Other Top Stories from Fishing on SI

In case they slipped by you, following are the most read fishing stories of the week. After the Seagrass Collapse, Is Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Again?; Five Miles From the Truck, With a Limit of Walleyes — and a Problem; Svivlo Draken ONE Baitcaster Review: Is This Really a Backlash-Free Reel?

1.) After the Seagrass Collapse, Is Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Again?

Capt. Troy Perez running his skiff across the Mosquito Lagoon. — The Space Coast is back and fishing again. — Capt. Troy Perez | Photo by Ken Baldwin

Florida never represented Disney to me as a kid. It was always fishing. When I heard the state mentioned, I pictured tarpon in the air, anglers wading for bonefish, and guides poling skiffs across endless flats.

TV shows like The American Sportsman, and Walker’s Cay Chronicles showed me clear blue water and exotic fish I had never seen before. They were using fly rods, but everything else was different.

I grew up fishing for rock bass, bluegill, and the occasional trout. If I fished saltwater, it was jigging for cod. What those guys on TV were doing was “adventure” fishing. It seemed a world away, and I wanted it…GET THE REST OF THE STORY HERE.

2.) Five Miles From the Truck, With a Limit of Walleyes — and a Problem

Close up of a grainy black and white photo of an angler's thumb after an accident with a fish hook. — Five miles from the truck, after dark, with a limit of walleyes — and a treble hook I didn’t plan on bringing home. | Joe Shead

I throttled my snowmobile down a packed, sometimes hilly trail. There are not many slam-dunk walleye spots I know of, but my plan was to make a 5-mile ride to a little isolated rock reef on an overlooked lake in northern Minnesota.

I reached the spot about 3 p.m. and Swiss-cheesed the structure with holes. At 3:15 a bright red mark appeared on my Vexilar just below my spoon, and seconds later, I felt a heavy thump. Soon, the night’s first walleye was on the ice.

It was 45 minutes before I marked another. After 4:00, however, those red marks were a frequent sight on my screen. These fish clearly hadn’t seen much fishing pressure and bit aggressively.

As darkness descended, the bite slowed.…GET THE REST OF THE STORY HERE.

3.) Svivlo Draken ONE Baitcaster Review: Is This Really a Backlash-Free Reel?

Close up of an angler showing off a nice largemouth bass with a frog lure in its mouth, and a new Svivlo Draken baitcast reel — After two full days on the water, here’s what I experienced using Svivlo’s innovative Draken ONE reel and its CastGuard braking system. | Photo by Craig Mazurek

I spent two days fishing with a new Draken ONE baitcast reel, from Swedish reel manufacturer, Svivlo. I had high hopes that their claims of backlash-free fishing were legitimate. After hundreds of casts, I can tell you they’ve kept their promise. I am blown away by the Draken One baitcast reel.

This reel looks good—matte black finish, clean, minimal graphics, with slightly aggressive lines and shapes. It feels good—ergonomic, low-profile form, large handles, not exceptionally light, but reassuringly solid.

I saw that this reel comes with setup instructions in the box, but I intentionally didn’t read them. I was hoping for this anti-backlash experience to not need much input from me. I mounted it to a rod, factory settings as-is, and hit the water…GET THE REST OF THE STORY HERE.