Shiloh Marsh Road Fishing Trip

Shiloh Marsh road was the target for this afternoon's fishing venture.

The northernmost portion of the Indian River Lagoon is lauded by local fishermen "in the know" for bull redfish, gator sea trout, and a variety of other game fish.

Today my wife and I decided to try the shallows in the marsh area to see if the tarpon were in the shallow water canals along side of the unimproved road.

Except for a mild wind, the weather was superb and schools of finger mullet were everywhere in the shallows on the Indian River side of the road. This heron got his dinner early on the marsh side.

We didn't spot any tarpon, but we did see several large gator trout killing mullet on the surface and some redfish tailing in several areas we normally fish.

With a bum shoulder, I did as little casting as possible but still managed to catch a couple of just slot sized trout on a top water SkitterWalk bait. I missed at least 10 fish before hooking up with the one in the picture.

Still using the plug, I tried to entice a couple of redfish that were swirling in the shallows of a cove we fish a lot with no luck. They seemed to be feeding on crabs or something on the bottom, and my top water plug didn't even get a follow.

My wife was fishing with Elmo and for the first hour or so only got one bite.

At around 8:00 pm the fishing started to improve and she caught a nice slot sized drum on a Cajun Thunder rig with a dead shrimp for bait. After a brief tussle, she landed and released the fish.

Using the same rig, she managed to catch and release a couple of slot sized trout and two catfish.

After landing the second catfish and because my shoulder was killing me; we decided to head for home.

We crossed Haulover Canal and noted shrimpers setting up on the north west bank and at the western mouth of the canal.

There were a few boats anchored at the mouth of the canal on Mosquito Lagoon side, with fishermen that were probably trying to catch one of those bull redfish or oversized black drum that frequent the area.

Coming towards Titusville, we noticed that the lights on the newly completed fishing pier were lit and that the restaurant and lounge was open for business. The place was loaded with customers who were obviously having a great time.

There were several shrimpers on the bridge doing their thing; along with several groups of fishermen who were also doing their thing! We didn't stop to ask them how they were doing but they were dipping up something!

The trip was a success and the weather was great. With any kind of luck and if my shoulder feels better, we hope to duplicate the trip tomorrow in another area.

Till then, Tight Lines!

P.S. I've been getting tons of mail from readers who are sharing interesting bits of information about their fishing experiences, techniques, history of the area, etc.

Although I will answer all your emails, why not just post your comments along with your photographs?

All comments are moderated, but as long as they remain on topic and benefit other readers they will probably be approved.