The Mosquito Lagoon In December

The Mosquito Lagoon in December is a great time to catch a redfish or two if you practice stealth and persistence.   
                                                                  

     

The waters are literally crystal clear, even with the windy fishing conditions my wife and I experienced yesterday.

Bio Lab road that leads to Playalinda Beach was crowed with tourist traffic out to enjoy the day, and the fishing guides along with their clients, were peppering the shorelines looking for redfish and trout that where taking refuge underneath the floating grass mats.

The windy conditions didn't stop us from trying our luck, and as luck would have it, my second cast with a weedless gold red ripper, Nemire Spoon picked up a nice, just legal sized redfish.

We moved on to the Indian River Lagoon later in the afternoon, but the wind made any sort of sane fishing damn near impossible.

My wife picked up a stingray, missed a redfish, and landed a couple of redfish.

I picked up a couple of smaller trout on the same gold spoon and gave up relatively early.

I spent my time taking some pictures of the beautiful sunset and of both the lagoons.

                                                                                

Hope to get out again this week, but I picked up a killer ear infection that's making me, my wife  and my dog Elmo.

Till next time............

Tight Lines to all!

Fishing Bobcat Bay

Late Saturday, with the temperatures in the 60's, my wife and Elmo our wonder dog, decided to go fishing and asked me along.

Being the avid fisherman that I am, we decided on the Lagoon for some redfish action.

The wind was whipping, and the conditions were far from great, but even so there were a lot of people fishing the Indian River.  I guess everyone was glad to get some fresh air after the family Christmas get togethers.

I used gold spoons of several types to try to lure a redfish, but only wound up with two legal sized trout.
Since the season is still closed in East Central Florida, I put them both back in to catch another day.

My wife was using her tried and true shrimp for bait and wound up catching a few catfish.

Just as we decided to leave for the comfort of our nice warm home, Karen finally broke her dry spell and

landed a nice slot sized redfish.

The picture is here for your enjoyment.

It's been a good December for fishing the Lagoons.  The water is crystal clear, and the fish are biting when not spooked.

Hope to be out on the water next week.

Till then, Tight Lines!

Christmas Day On The Indian River Lagoon

Christmas Day on the Indian River Lagoon turned out to be a great day on the water, and many locals apparently agreed.  There were more people on the river Christmas Day than I expected to see with the windy conditions.

The temperature was in the low 70's and the wind was brisk.  I planned on making a quick trip around the drive in the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge area when I started before noon, but the fishing side tracked me.

The fist stop was in a very shallow shallow area  just into Catfish Creek.  I was using a Bagly Hammered Gold spoon with a red tag that I found works great in very shallow water.

On the fourth cast, I hooked into a nice sized snook that jerked off the hook, right at the bank as I was unhooking it.

The next stop was at a culvert on Gator Creek that no one usually fishes.  I hooked, landed and released a nice 22" seatrout on the same lure.  I took pics of this one before sending him back home.

Running the marsh road, I stopped several times, "jump fishing" and picked up several small redfish, a catfish, and missed a nice redfish of at least 36".



The pics are here for your enjoyment along with the only gator I saw sunning itself on the bank

Needless to say, I didn't get too close to this one.   It was definitely a Hooser, as my wife would say!

When the weather started getting too balmy, I got tired of pitching metal and went home to explain to my wife why my 15 minute ride took 3 hours to accomplish.

Tight Lines to you all, and Merry Christmas.

Christmas Eve Reds

Merry Christmas to all!

Except for the mildly windy conditions, the weather looked  good enough for another fishing excursion to the Indian River Lagoon.  So, after making a quick decision, my wife and I decided to jump into the car and give it a try.

We figured that since it was Christmas Eve, not many people would be cruising around our favorite areas, and we were partially right.

There were a few anglers giving it a go, and a few tourists taking pics of the waterfowl and the scenery around the Kennedy Space Center.

We decided on doing a little "jump fishing" , and at every stop we were rewarded with something...Redfish, catfish, puffers, drum and stingrays.

My wife fished with dead shrmp under a DOA bobber rig, and later opted for free lining with a little success. 

I chose a Bagly gold spoon that I have had a lot of success with lately, and later switched to a gold Johnsons Sprite when I lost the Bagly.

The first two stops yielded puffers and catfish for my wife, and a couple of small "puppy drum" for me on the Bagly spoon.

The second stop, in an area we call  "snook point", gave up another larger redfish and two smaller clones.

The last stop we fished in was a sheltered cove where the water was no more than a foot deep.  The wind had picked up, the air temp was around 72 degrees, and the water was cool from the fronts that we experienced in the past few days.

I fished the hammered gold spoon and missed three fish before I landed another puppy redfish.  After a few more casts, I hooked into one of those oversize "bull" reds the Lagoon area is famous for.

I fought the fish for a good  five minutes or so, before it decided to head for a brushy area and wrap around a mangrove root. 

The big redfish was sloshing around and I couldn't untangle it so I decided to go in after it.  Bad Move!
I chucked my shoes, took a step into the water and landed up to my crotch in Indian River Lagoon muck.

My wife gave me a helping hand to get back out, and about that time the fish mercifully broke off, taking my favorite spoon with it,  to parts unknown.

The fish was well over the slot limit, and was the best fish of the day for me.  Although I continued fishing with a Johnson spoon, I only caught one other small redfish before it was time to leave the area and enjoy Christmas Eve with my wife.

Till next time,
Tight Lines!

Indian River Fishing - Fishing The Mud Bottom Shallows

Fishing this time of year can be absolutely fantastic if you when and where to fish.

Is this a learning moment?  I certainly hope not.  This time of year, with the sudden drop in air and water temperatures, the fish can usually be found in very shallow water, over dark mud or sediment bottoms.

Although in the Mosquito Lagoon, the redfish start bunching into small schools;  the North Indian River fishing is a bit different.

Here we find the redfish in small pods or feeding alone over the dark mud bottoms on small  crustaceans and the occasional baitfish.

Monday afternoon, my wife and I , and of course our wonder dog Elmo, again tried the Merritt Island National Wildlife refuge around Gator Creek,  and eventually towards the Peacock Pocket shallow canoe launch.,

The conditions were absolutely gorgeous and the water on the river was calm as glass, especially towards dusk.

My wife fished dead shrimp and I decided on spoons to cover more water and try to locate any stragglers.

I chose a Bagley gold hammered spoon with a red tag, that is much thinner than the Johnson gold spoon I often use in deeper water.

The 3" spoons can be fished in 6" of water or less, without hitting bottom if you know how to fish them.  The trick is to start retrieving before the spoon hits the water, in order  to take out the slack, and then  fishing it as slow as possible using a steady short pumping action.

I spotted several good sized wakes and saw a few tails before getting my first redfish.  The fish are extremely spooky during this time of  the year because of the crystal clear water conditions.  You have to drop your spoon, or whatever lure you happen to be using, into the water gently, without "plopping" it, and scaring the devil out ot the fish.

I had a couple of bad presentatioins before I finally made a textbook presentation and hooked up with a 28" oversize redfish.

I cast well in front of, and past the redfish, and as slowly as possible pulled the gold spoon near the feeding fish.

The fish was hungry, and inhaled the spoon almost immediately.  The dead calm water was broken by the fighting fish, and the scene would have provided a superb video, but my wife was 50 yards down the road doing her thing close to   the truck and my Nikon.

After several nice runs, I finally pulled the red from the cold shallow water, got my wife to take a picture, and returned the fish to it's home in the river.  The water where I caught this redfish, and missed two more, was not more than 6" deep.

Here are some pics of the area and the fish for your viewing.

Till next time, Tight Lines To All!

December Fishing Conditions.

With the cold front coming through the area, the fishing was somewhat disappointing on Saturday; so much so that my wife and I decided to just stay inside this Sunday.

There is a bright spot on the horizon.  The shrimpers are starting to appear in numbers, even though the bridge construction is taking up precious parking spaces.

The people I spoke with on Friday evening said that the shrimp were just starting to run and that with the cold front just around the corner, they expected it to pick up.

I plan on getting some pics for your viewing when things start to perk up a bit.

Saturday proved to be a waste of time catching wise, but the scenery was just beautiful.

Here are some pics of December 19th in Central Florida.  It sure beats the blizzard conditions of the northeast corridor.  My little sister Cathy, said they were having over a foot of snow in Pa.

We can't complain about the fishing when the weather down here is so great.

Enjoy, have a blessed and Merry Christmas, and Tight Lines To All!!

Almost Skunked!

Today' late afternoon trip, netted only one small redfish.

The air temperature was 75 degrees, and the water a bit cooler with balmy conditions.

There was a decent breeze on the water, and the overcast conditions should have made for a great fishing excursion. Unfortunately, no one bothered telling the fish.

My wife and I hit the river late this afternoon; just to get out of the house.

We fished the Indian River north of Peacock Pocket, near a "duck blind" that occasionally produces redfish and some larger trout.

I used gold and silver spoons, gulp shrimp and crabs, a DOA shrimp under a bobber, and several paddle tail lures only to miss two redfish.

When I finally switched to dead shrimp, I caught two catfish and a small trout that was just enough for me to say; I didn't get skunked.

My wife landed a small redfish right out of the box, with a dead shrimp for bait, and then managed to catch a puffer and catfish.

There were several dolphin trying to corral some dinner in the shallows bay where we were fishing, but they weren't pushing the fish far enough in to our location.

The rest of the time we were out on the river, neither of us caught another fish.

I guess that's why they call it fishing; not catching!

Here's a pic of the redfish just for the heck of it.

Tomorrow's another day!

Tight lines.

Waterfowl Hunting On The North Indian River

Sunday afternoon seemed to be a good day to try our luck fishing.

The weather was beautiful and a bit windy, but getting out on the river for some fresh air seemed the thing to do.

My wife Karen, our wonder dog Elmo, and yours truly decided to try fishing the Shiloh Road area, just off of US 1, to see if the powers that be opened up the unimproved road that parallels the North part of the Indian River.

The area is noted for bruiser "bull" redfish and large gator trout. Tarpon and ladyfish can also be found here during certain times of the year.

Today, the trail was closed to everyone including the waterfowl hunters. Evidently only bike and foot traffic is now allowed in the area.

My wife rigged with fresh dead shrimp, and I started pitching a gold spoon at some wakes I saw in the shallow water.

The only thing I could dredge up was a couple of nice sized ladyfish. There were two redfish in the shallows that were well over the slot limit, but the clear water and a bad cast on my part, spooked them.

We only fished a little while but I did take a few pics of the waterfowl on the river.



As you can see, ducks were all over the place. A duckvention no doubt!

I don't keep up with the waterfowl season, but there were shotgun shells scattered around the area.

Anyway, enjoy the pics.

Tight Lines!

Sunday Afternoon Mosquito Lagoon & Indian River Fishing Outing

Sunday afternoon was much to nice to spend the day inside the hacienda, so my wife, our wonder dog Elmo and yours truly hit the water to try our luck.

The Mosquito Lagoon north of Haulover Canal was calm and the water was very clear, which is par for the course this time of year.

We didn't do much fishing, mostly looking, however several reports we received stated that the redfish were beginning to really school up and some nice ones were being taken on lures imitating finger mullet.

We saw luckless fishermen at Haulover, and moved on towards the Indian River marsh areas in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Again the water was very calm and crystal clear on both sides of the gravel roadway.

We spotted several slot redfish and swirls that I believed to be trout, so I pulled out my Creme paddle tail swimbaits and started fishing the swirls.

My wife fishedwith fresh dead shrimp on her outfit,  in several places, without any luck.

I  hit a couple of schools of sea trout and landed five before they moved on.  All were nice sized keepers, but with the season closed, I returned them to fight another day.  If it wasn't for the closed season, they would have been on the dinner table.  You get of eating turkey leftovers after a while.

We were hoping for some redfish, but today it was not to be. 

Till next time.

Tight lines to all.

P.S.  For all you surf fishermen, I was told that the Pompano are starting to come in on Playalinda Beach at several Lot locations.  Sand fleas and bits of shrimp seem to be doing the trick.

Weird Buzzards

Took a drive with my trusty dog Elmo and came upon some weird acting buzzards near L. Pond road. on the Northern Indian River Lagoon.

They weren't in the least bit spooked by Elmo or myself when I decided to get out of the truck and take a pic or two.

Usually buzzards will take off when humans get too close, but this crew obviously didn't give a hoot. They just kept walking around with their wings outstretched.

Anyway, caught a few trout on green Creme swimbaits before heading back to the North 40.



Enjoy the pics of the weirdo birds, sorry I didn't take any of the fish.

Oh well, they weren't much to brag about.

Tight Lines to All!

Late November Fishing

I went to check out the Shuttle landing hoping to get a nice video to post, but I couldn't get my Nikon on the right settings fast enough.  All I could capture was the last part of the descent, as the shuttle came in to the right of the Vehicle Assembly Building.  In any event, it was an impressive landing on a beautiful crisp Fall morning.   Here's the only shot I got.

The double sonic booms definitely get your attention.

The water level is up in the marsh areas and shallows of the North Indian River, and the water is crystal clear throughout the areas I visited.

There are some large schools of redfish still roaming the flats earlier in the day, and they seem to be partial to anything resembling a finger mullet.

My wife is still having good luck using large dead shrimp for bait, and I've been told that .

I haven't had much luck with sea trout on the artificials that were producing well for me last month, but because of the closed season, I really haven't targeted them all that much.

The fish that have been caught and released are generally larger, and were caught on darker Gulp baited, white jig heads.  Other good trout offerings this time of the year are natural colored Gulp shrimp and DOA clear body shrimp w/green tail, or reddish brown colors.

Due to the lower water temperatures, the trout and redfish seem more interested in slower retrieves.

I tried my favorite top water lures, ChugBugs and SkitterWalks, but never got a hit.

The cooler temps should heat up the fishing in the upcoming weeks and give better shots at tailing redfish.

The mullet will be gone from the Mosquito & North Indian River Lagoon systems as winter conditions prevail, and shrimp, small crabs, or lures that resemble them will be the baits of choice for winter redfish.

Looking forward to some good fishing.

Tight Lines!

OOPS! She Did It Again!

November has always been a great month for redfish in the shallows, and so far this weekend, nothing has changed to make me believe otherwise.

Late this afternoon my wife and I decided to hit the "swamp" and try our luck for some redfish.  The trout season is closed here until the end of December, so we decided to target the reds.

As usual we got out late, which for me is the best time to dunk a bait!

The spots we normally frequent were occupied by other fishermen, so we hit a tried and true spot Karen loves to fish.

I dropped her off at her favorite spot, and moved down the road about 50 yards with 
Elmo our wonder dog, to try my luck with artificials.

I started chucking a 3" Storm Kickin' Shad,  that a guy at Bass Pro Shop in Savannah said was a killer bait for Sea Trout and Redfish.   I got a couple of half hearted hits, and after about 15 minutes I heard my wife yelling for me to come help her.

I thought she had another redfish on, but as I drove the truck up to where she was fishing; I found her about  halfway into the Indian River, head first, for the second time this year. This past September she went for a swim at about the same spot!.

Karen was trying to retrieve her prescription sunglasses that she had lost in the September 
outing, in exactly the same spot where she fell in last time trying to land her other redfish.

Evidently the bank gave way underneath her when she made a grab for the glasses in the water!

As I was trying to pull her out of  her precarious position; upside down and almost in the river; the drag on her rod started screaming, and a big fish took off for parts unknown. 

Before I could get to the rod, the fish had stripped almost all the line from her spinning reel.

I started pumping the fish to regain some line, while my wife tried to regain her composure and dry off before I passed the rod back to her.  After all it was her fish.

The pictures speak for themselves.  The redfish measured in at an even 36 inches and was the biggest fish that Karen has landed to date.  We didn't have a scale on the Boca Grip, but the fish had to way at least 20 pounds.

The fish are beautiful, and heavy bodied this time of year, and they fight like hell.

After we took some pics and released the redfish to fight another day, we headed home to get my wife a change of clothing and dry out.

I never did get a chance to catch anything, but it was a great afternoon excursion .....

Maybe tomorrow!

Tight lines to all!!

Indian River Shrimping Is Right Around The Corner

With the water temperatures in the Titusville, Fl. area getting a bit cooler, some of the locals have already started the ritual of cleaning out their freezers, to make room for their upcoming shrimping catches.

Shrimping should start really getting better as the full moon approaches, and when the water temperatures hit the magic 67 degree figure.

I previously described what's necessary to get started shrimping from land; and when I ran across this little video that explains nicely how its done by boat; I decided to put it up for your viewing.

The lights that they use, are also widely used by bridge and dock shrimpers, and the green color, definitely makes everything much more visible topside.



I made a personal vow this year to get out and do a little more shrimping instead of tryig to snag the Bull Redfish and seatrout that also come into the green lights to gorge on the shrimp.

The last time I went shrimping was with my neighbor on his pontoon boat in Oak Hill on the ICW.

When the tide changed and the current started moving, we loaded up the 5 gallon buckets in very short order.

Hummm! Makes me hungry.

Till next time.

Tight Lines To All!

November Indian River Lagoon Redfish

The weather for November is simply unbelievable.  The air temperature this afternoon was a pleasant 73 degrees at 4:30 p.m. and the wind was for all practical purposes, nonexistent.

After spending the day working on my computer, and my wife working on her stained glass sun catchers, we decided to get a little fresh air and tool on down to the "swamp" at the north end of the Indian River Lagoon.

We loaded up the truck, almost got run over by our wonder dog Elmo getting into the car, and proceeded to our favorite stretch on the river.

Today proved fruitless on top water lures.  I tried silver mullet Chug Bugs with not even one strike. 

I reverted to one of my favorites, the Creme green colored paddle tail swim baits and promptly picked up a couple of legal sized trout.

At an area we call the duck blind, I noticed a boil in the water on the opposite bank and quickly sent my creme lure almost directly on top of the roiling boil.

I immediately hooked up to a nice fat 26" redfish that took me about 15 minutes to land on my 10# test Cajun line.

I tried shrimp on my other rod but never even got a catfish..

My wife Karen, wasn't  doing much so we moved to another spot around an area we call "bobcat bay", for obvious reasons. 

Last year in that spot, a bobcat walked up to my wife while she was fishing on the bank, and just sat down and watched her fish.  If I'd had my camera, I would have posted the neat shot, but it was left at the house that day. 

Anyway, that's how the spot is forever remembered by us!

After catching a few more nice sized trout in our second stop, my wife hook up to what we thought was a nice redfish.  It fought for about 15 minutes until we could get it to shore and discovered it to be a large black drum. 

The fish checked in at about 12 pounds and was over 28" long.  Check out the pics of the fish, and the beautiful wheather.
 

It was a beautiful calm Saturday afternoon fishing trip that we both enjoyed to the max.                                                      

It's great to live in the redfish capital of the world!

Till next time.

Tight Lines To You All!

November Indian River Lagoon Fishing

Despite the windy conditions throughout the day on the upper Indian River Lagoon, the fishing has been upbeat.

Finger mullet are still all over the river.  There are bait pods are being followed by trout and redfish,  all over the shallows on both banks of the Indian River.

Farther out in the river in deeper water, jacks are busting bait pods along with some gator trout.

My wife and I, and of course our wonder dog Elmo, didn't get the tackle out until about 3:30 this afternoon.  Since we got a late start, I decided to hit the "swamp" instead of taking out the boat.

We fished the kayak and canoe launch area at Peacock Pocket, right through to the end of the road.
      
Artificial lures produced only a few small trout today, mostly on ChugBug top water lures.

I had a good hit that could have been a redfish, on a Creme swimbait, but I was enjoying the scenery instead of paying attention to the fishing.

My wife Karen, caught and released a decent trout using a large dead shrimp near the Pocket, and later picked up a slot sized redfish in another area we frequent with the same bait.

The deep colors on the fish are just beautiful, this time of year as you can see by the photos.

As dusk approached, the wind picked up and it looked like a winter storm was going to blow in, so we decided to call it a day.

With any kind of luck, we might get out tomorrow for some more Mosquito Lagoon & Indian River Fishing.

Till next time; Tight Lines To All!!

Halloween Redfish? Or Not!

The Halloween Redfish were out in the Lagoon in mass, but  they suffered from a severe case of lockjaw.

Now I know why fishing is called fishing, and not catching......

This weekend, it seemed like the curse of the fish gods was upon me.

I couldn't hook a redfish if my life depended on it, and there were plenty around.  It's not like the fish weren't there... they were, but with the clear water conditions, and a severe case of lockjaw every time I got close to them, they just weren't biting my offerings.

Fishing the Indian River Friday and Saturday evenings, proved to be a futile effort in catching. 

My wife, my wonder dog Elmo, and yours truly, managed to dredge up only a few catfish and stingrays. 
We didn't technically get skunked; we seldom do, but the redfish we were targeting, weren't cooperating worth a flip.

I saw several slot reds within casting distance, but they weren't interested in any of my offerings.

DOA shrimp, gold Johnson spoons, chug bugs, jerk baits, and even dead shrimp didn't produce any action.

The weather was extraordinarily great for Halloween, with a full moon and a nice breeze on the water; the lagoon was just beautiful.

The weather should be changing in the next few weeks, and shrimping will be the focus as the water temps drop.

The locals are concerned about the bridge construction, hampering the shrimping activities, but it's a little early to worry about it. 

I guess we'll find out in the next few weeks.

Till next time, Good Luck and Tight Lines!

Hunt For Reds In October

This weekend was anything but what you would expect an October weekend to be like.  The weather has been nothing short of blissful and the fishing has started to improve.

Some of my friends, who religiously fish the Mosquito Lagoon, say that the fishing this past week has started to improve.  Small schools of redfish are still cruising the flats, and with the windy conditions have made it easier to cast to them.

Sea trout are still easy to catch however the larger, gator trout, aren't hitting like they were earlier in the spring.
You can still pick one up early in the morning or just at dusk, but the sow gator trout get that way because they are extremely wary.  The clearer water make them doubly so come winter.

My wife, my wonder dog Elmo and I spent some time on the Indian River Saturday, and this evening, getting some nature pics and a little fresh air.

I fished top water Chug Bugs, SkitterWalks, a shallow running Yozuri Minnow, gold spoons, jigs, and just about everything else you can think of trying for a redfish or large trout.  Other than a few small trout, nothing earth shaking occurred.

My wife removed her Cajun Thunder rig and fished large dead shrimp both afternoons with some better results.  She picked up several catfish, a large stingray, puffers and missed a couple redfish.

After wearing out my casting arm, I reverted to fishing frozen shrimp in a small canal we often frequent.

 I picked up a top end slot redfish just at dusk that put up a great fight.  The particular rod I was using was threaded with 10 lb. Cajun Red Lightnin line and 20 flourocarbon leader, so I had to spend some time getting the red to land.

Until this evening, I was beginning to think I had some sort of fish curse on me.
Oh well, that's why they call it fishing instead of catchin.

Till next time; Tight Lines To You All!

Max Brewer Memorial Parkway Bridge Construction

The Max Brewer Memorial Parkway bridge on the Indian River at Parrish Park in Titusville, Florida, will be replaced by a single span bridge sometime in 2011.
                                        

Construction on the bridge piers, has been proceeding at a rapid pace by Lane Construction Co. and the way progress is being made, they just might complete the bridge on schedule

The fishing pier that was partially destroyed by the hurricane a couple of years ago, has been torn down and is also in the process of being rebuilt.  See pictures of new construction.

                                                                     
    
I'm happy to report that the boat launch at Parrish Park, that was also rendered unusable by the last hurricane, has been rebuilt and is currently available for launches.


It remains to be seen just how the bridge construction will affect the upcoming sport shrimping season.  Only time will tell.

I do know one thing for a fact; the huge redfish that accompany the shrimp run and hover in the shadows of the shrimp lights, are here to stay regardless of what goes on topside!

Tight Lines!