Another Windy Sunday On The Indian River

Today was yet another windy Sunday on the Indian River.

Late this afternoon I talked my wife into fishing the refuge with me, hoping that the wind would die down enough to make fishing at least not a challenge.

Unfortunately, it was just as windy in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge as it was yesterday and the day before.

We packed up a cooler, five rods and Elmo our wonder dog and headed to Peacocks Pocket road.

When we crossed the bridge it was obvious that we were in for another rough day fishing.

The temperature was hovering in the mid 80s and the wind was blowing steadily.








I stopped at the dual culverts to play with some ladyfish using a top water Chug Bug and hooked four fish that promptly threw the plug. 

Ladyfish are great fun when hooked.  They jump all over the place and will usually shake off a plug.

As I was casting, a couple of fishermen that I see in the area stopped and asked me about the fishing.  We chatted a while about what was hitting and what baits we were using. 

They both said that the fishing for the past month or so sucked, and I pretty much agreed even though I do catch my share of sea trout.

Both guys read this website (I apologize for not getting their names) and one even had a smaller version of the "baby bass" pattern Chug Bug that I like to use. 

Both guys said they were also catching ladyfish in the same area with the same results, but were not catching any reds or sea trout.

Since Karen and Elmo were in the truck waiting for me and our fishing time was short, I cut the conversation short and headed to where Karen wanted to try catching a redfish.

We drove slowly down the unimproved road looking for signs of fish activity but nothing was happening on either side of the road.   Karen did spot a huge wild boar in the salt marsh, so I took it's pic below.

I pulled up to where Karen wanted to fish and grabbed a couple of rods.  One with a Chug Bug and the other with a Fire Tiger paddle tail soft bait. 

Before walking down the road, I watched Karen pitch out her favorite bait.  Shrimp under a Cajun Thunder float.

The wind never let up and casting was more like work than fun, but I continued blind casting the Chug Bug to likely looking areas near the opposite bank and around submerged islands.

I missed six or seven sea trout and landed two slot size fish, all on the top water bait.

I tried the paddle tail bait but never got a hit so I continued fishing with the Chug Bug until dusk.

As I walked back to the truck I asked Karen if she had any hits. 

Today, she got skunked.  She had been casting the shrimp close to the bank and popping the float occasionally to attract attention to the bait but all the time she was fishing that spot she never got a hit.

Earlier last year she managed to land a 33" redfish and a larger one in the same area however, today it was not to be.

The moon was almost full and the mosquitoes were out in force so we decided to head for home and watch "Breaking Bad" on the tube.



I don't know if I can handle another windy Sunday on the Indian River.  It's too much like work!

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Another Windy Evening In The Marsh

It was another windy evening in the marsh but despite the handicap, I still managed to catch a few fish.

Because of the temperature, Karen and Elmo decided to stay home this afternoon and let me fish the "swamp" alone.

As I was driving down to the river, I was hoping that it wouldn't be as windy as it was yesterday in the marsh.  But as I crossed the bridge over the Indian River, I knew it was wishful thinking.

The wind surfers were out in force along the south side of the road, as well as a few shallow draft sail boats.

Since it was around 6:30 pm, I didn't waste any time and headed for a couple of spots that were holding sea trout in the refuge.yesterday.

I noticed some surface activity as I was driving over the dual culverts near Gator Creek road so I pulled over and pulled out a rod that had a Frog Pattern Chug Bug tied on.

The first cast attracted what I was hoping to be sea trout but turned out to be ladyfish.

Evidently there was a school of ladyfish around the mangrove islands that were chasing baitfish into the shallows.

The ladyfish that I hooked made a couple of insane leaps before shaking off the plug.

I decided to fish the area for a while and pitched out another cast.

I immediately hooked up with another ladyfish that provided me with some great aerial acrobatics before it too shook the Chug Bug off.

I spent about a half an hour playing with the smaller members of the Tarpon family before finally moving to the main spot I wanted to fish this afternoon.

I noticed a big redfish on the Indian River side of the road chasing baitfish, so I had to stop and give it a try.

Several casts into the wind at that spot only got me the small sea trout pictured to the right, so I quickly moved to "Pelican Cove" where I had picked up some nice fish yesterday and the week before.

I started casting my topwater Chug Bug as best I could but the wind was causing my retrieves to look very unnatural.

I missed four sea trout before I finally landed a slot sized fish on the "Baby Bass" pattern.

There was very little vehicle traffic in the area this evening but a couple stopped to ask how I was doing.

We introduced ourselves and chatted for a while about the fishing in the area.  Tim Foldy and his wife said they regularly read my website so I asked if he wanted to be "famous" and have his pic posted.

He agreed and here it is!

Tim said he was a Realtor and sometimes drove down to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge with his wife to enjoy the scenery.

He mentioned that the algae bloom in the Edgewater area was coloring the water and making fishing difficult.

Another truck trying to pass on the narrow road cut off our conversation so we parted ways and I continued casting into the wind.

 

I switched rods and started throwing a Berkley Fire Tiger paddle tail bait to see if I could drum up a redfish, but after several unwieldy casts the only thing that hit the bait was an undersize sea trout.

I switched back to the frog pattern Chug Bug and caught another slot size sea trout on my third cast between the two grass islands in the picture above and missed three more sea trout in the same general area before the sun started dropping behind the horizon.

Tim and his wife had evidently turned around, and as they were leaving the refuge, they stopped to ask if I had caught any more fish.

I told them about the sea trout and the missed fish and bid them well.

Although it was another windy evening in the marsh, I expected the wind to subside as the sun started to set however, this evening it just continued to blow.

I was getting tired of fighting the wind while blind casting and was about to pack it in for the evening, when another slot sized sea trout hit my Baby Bass Chug Bug.

When I landed what was to be the last fish of the day, I took it's picture and promptly released it to grow up for someone else to catch.

Maybe Karen and Elmo will want to come along tomorrow.

Till next time, Tight Lines!

Sea Trout Fishing Rocks!

Sea trout fishing rocks, even though today's fishing in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge was a bear.

As usual for a Friday I didn't get home from work until late in the afternoon. However that's when the fish bite in this area starts to turn on.

Today's sea trout fishing was really tough. The temperature was in the low 90s and the wind was steady and brisk.

The water on the Indian River side of Peacocks Pocket road was rough and the salt marsh wasn't much better.

My wife didn't want to fish with artificial lures so she baited up with a jumbo dead shrimp under a Billy Bay float.

I decided to try out a new "Baby Bass" pattern Chug Bug that I picket up at Bass Pro in Savannah.

My other favorite Chug Bug pattern (STORM Rattlin' Chug Bug - 3.25" - Metalic Silver Black - Branded Topwater) that I had been catching the majority of my sea trout on was eaten by a huge gator trout last week.

Since time was short this evening, I opted to fish the same areas where I had hooked into the big fish last week.

Karen picked a spot and lobbed her shrimp between two grassy islands while I walked down the dirt road looking for places out of the wind to cast into.

Fishing was tough.

The wind picked up the line and "skated" the top water plug on almost every cast,  making a good presentation almost impossible.

Despite the windy conditions, I still managed to hook and release a few sea trout that were in the slot.

I missed at least six fish in about an hour and a half, and landed three.

When I changed rods and tried a paddle tail bait, I never got a hit.

Meanwhile, Karen had a hit on her shrimp but the fish wasn't hooked well and got off.

After a while, we both got tired of battling the wind so we decided to move up the road to find a more sheltered area to fish.

The second spot was almost as windy as the first but it looked "fishy", so we stopped to give it a try.

I missed three small trout on the Chug Bug and when I changed over to a paddle tail bait, never got a hit.

Karen wasn't getting any action either so after about 20 minutes we moved to "bobcat bay" which was a bit more sheltered.

I continued pitching the Chug Bug but only had one anemic hit from a small sea tout.

Karen didn't get anything until just at dusk when her bobber disappeared and a short time later she was unhooking a catfish.

 At least she didn't get skunked!

A gator in the marsh canal was getting a little too interested in our fishing activities so we decided to head for home and call it a day.

Even though the mosquitoes weren't all that bad this evening, Elmo was grateful to leave the "swamp".

On the way out, I took these pics of the sunset you might enjoy.

 

Till next time, Tight Lines!

The Sea Trout Are Still Hitting Topwater Lures

The sea trout are still hitting topwater lures in the marsh canals early in the morning and later on towards dusk.

Because of the thunderstorm activity in the area my wife again didn't want to go fishing with me, so I packed up three rods and headed out to the "swamp" to see if I could duplicate yesterday's success with the sea trout.

It was about 6:00 pm when I left the house and the temperature was in the low 80s.  A mild breeze was blowing across the Indian river and it was starting to drizzle.

I missed the heavy thunderstorm activity and I thought the fishing would be slow but my first stop produced a nice slot size sea trout on my third cast, with my newly purchased Chug Bug.

I snapped a pic of the fish that measured in at 19" before releasing it.

Several casts later produced a nice ladyfish that jumped all over the place before shaking off the lure.

Since it was overcast and late in the afternoon, I decided to fish "pelican cove" where I lost my Chug Bug to a big sea trout yesterday evening.

The wind was picking up just enough to create a slight ripple on the water.  For me this is the best scenario for topwater lures.

I started fan casting between two grassy islands and promptly hooked up with another nice sea trout.

The fish blasted the Chug Bug just as I was "chugging" it from the shallow flats into deeper water.

I took a pic and put the fish back into the canal.

I walked up the road a piece and started casting to the edge of the grass in the shallows.

About the third or fourth cast I hooked into a huge sea trout that made the gator trout I missed yesterday look small.

The fish blasted my Chug Bug and started running up the canal acting just like a redfish.

I followed the fish as best I could and finally maneuvered the big trout close to the bank after it's second long run.  The fish had to be 30" long.  Anyway, as I tried to shimmy down the bank to lip the big sea trout, the fish made a last ditch effort as it was swimming under some brush and pulled free of the Chug Bug.

I couldn't believe it!  Two trophy sized sea trout in two days and I lost both of them.

I was going to move to another spot after all the commotion the fish made but I decided to stay and keep trying for another shot at the trout.

It took several casts to hook up with another trout but I eventually did hook and land three more sea trout from the same pond.

While I was fishing a couple of guys who passed me earlier stopped to ask how I was doing.

Steve and Chuck were in an SUV that I see in the area on a semi regular basis, so I shot the breeze with them a bit.

They had been fishing on the Indian River side, but didn't do well today because of all the sea grass that was being blown in towards shore.  I showed them the Chug Bug I was using and told them about the trophy sea trout that I missed earlier.

As they were leaving the refuge, I mentioned this web site and took the pic below to post.

As they were rounding the curve I caught the last sea trout of the afternoon.

This was the only fish of the day that didn't make the slot but it was still fun to catch.

Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River fishing from the bank is alway an "iffy" proposition but as long as the sea trout are still hitting topwater lures, I'll keep coming back.

I love when a sea trout or a redfish explodes on a Chug Bug or Skitter Walk topwater bait.

The mosquitoes and gnats were starting to get to me and the sun was setting so I decided to call it a day.

The total tally for today was six sea trout and one ladyfish landed, and one trophy sea trout lost.

Not a bad couple hours of fishing if I do say so myself.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Great Topwater Fishing For Sea Trout

Topwater fishing for sea trout has always been one of my favorite activities.

You just can't beat the rush you get from a gator sea trout exploding on a topwater bait.

The temperature today was in the low 90s, so I didn't even think about going fishing until late in the afternoon when the mercury started easing up a bit.

My wife Karen didn't want to put up with the heat today so she decided to stay home and work around the house instead of going fishing.

Around 6:30 pm I finally decided to get my ass into gear, so I picked four spinning rods with different lures and loaded them into the back of the truck along with a small cooler filled with some bottled water.

Since I was bank fishing and it was late, I immediately headed for an area I call Pelican Cove where I usually pick up some sea trout and an occasional redfish.

I started fishing with a Berkley Fire Tiger paddle tail bait but quickly changed over to a STORM Rattlin' Chug Bug - 3.25" - Metalic Silver Blue - Branded Topwater bait.

The wind made it so difficult to accurately cast the paddle tail bait that I correctly decided a topwater lure would attract more interest.

I was cussing myself under my breath for not bringing along the gooey fish attractant that I was using yesterday.

As it turned out, I really didn't need any attractant.

After only a few casts with the Chug Bug, a nice slot sea trout exploded under the plug as I was retrieving it from around a grassy island.

The fish almost broke off as it got tangled in the brush at the bank, but I gave it some slack and as it swam away from the bank I managed to bring it back in and land it.

I took a couple of pics and released the trout to fight another day.

Several more cast into the same area hooked me up to another sea trout that was slightly smaller than the first fish.  Again, I took it's pic and released the fish.

I started casting farther out into the marsh pond where I noticed a big fish smacking something on the surface.  As I retrieved the Chug Bug in quick sharp jerks, I let it set for a second and the surface erupted under the lure.

A huge gator sea trout engulfed the lure and started peeling off line from my reel.  As it swam toward me, I could see that the fish was in the 10 pound category.  It was fat as hell and looked to be at least 30 inches long.

This particular rod was spooled with 8# Cajun line and a 12# fluorocarbon leader and when the fish decided it didn't want to be close to the bank, it took off for parts unknown along with my Chug Bug.

I couldn't believe the line broke but when I reeled in I saw that it let go at the leader knot.

Undaunted, I tied on a suspended MirrorLure and started casting to the same area hoping to get another shot at the big sea trout.

After several more casts I hooked up with another slot size trout which I landed and released.

The MirrorLure picked up another trout a bit smaller than the first fish that I promptly released.

I decided to tie on a Heddon Zara Spook Puppy - Bullfrog - Branded Topwater lure that I had in the truck.

The MirrorLure didn't make enough of a splash for me and I figured that a larger lure would get me a larger sea trout.  As it turned out, I was right!

After a couple of casts into the same area where I was casting the MirrorLure, I picked up an almost gator sea trout.

The fish tried to inhale the lure on a slow retrieve and put up a great "tug of war" fight before I finally managed to land the fish.

I had to get into the water to land the fish but it was worth a "wet foot".

I was taking some pics of the fish as another fisherman in an SUV was passing by.  He didn't comment about my catch but he was awfully interested in what I was fishing with.

I released the big sea trout and continued fishing.  I was still hoping to get the big gator trout that took my Chug Bug, but today it wasn't in the cards.

I caught four more sea trout around the same area on the Zara Spook before I decided to try one other spot near a culvert before the sun set.

As I drove up to the culvert, there was plenty of activity.  I flipped out the Zara Spook and missed a nice redfish that hit the bait, but it didn't hook itself.

I continued casting to the same area but only picked up a couple more small undersize sea trout before I decided to head for home.

Topwater fishing for sea trout paid off today as you can see from the short video below.





The total tally was 8 sea trout landed, two missed fish and one fish that took my favorite Chug Bug.

The topwater fishing for sea trout today was exceptional and I was sorry that my wife decided not to come along today and take part in the fun.

Maybe tomorrow!

Till next time, Tight Lines.

More Big Sea Trout In The Swamp

There are definitely more big sea trout in the swamp than most people are aware of. The trick is to learn how to catch them!

This afternoon's fishing trip again proved that a slow retrieve and a stealthy approach will get you more big trout sea trout in the swamp than any other tactic you can use this time of year.

My wife and I didn't get to go fishing today until late this afternoon.

When I got home from work after a long drive from Vidalia, Ga., I unloading my stuff from the truck, I packed up a few fishing rods, a cooler, Elmo and my wife and proceeded to the closest entrance to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge to grab an hour or so of fishing before sunset.

Karen wanted to just park herself at a spot and dunk a jumbo frozen shrimp under a float, so I picked a spot where she could easily fish and I could walk the banks casting to areas I knew held sea trout.

I picked up a couple packs of 3" Berkley paddle tail baits when I was in Savannah, Ga. at the Bass Pro Shop store, along with a bottle of super sticky Pro-Cure inshore salt water "super gel" that another fisherman talked me into trying.

The stuff is supposedly made from fresh bait and has bite stimulants and amino acids in the formula that is supposed to entice fish to strike.

Since the "dog days" of August are almost here, I thought I'd give it a try this evening to see if it made any difference.

If you are a regular reader of this site, you already know that I have caught more big sea trout in the swamp and marsh canals than I have in the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River flats.

At our first stop, I pulled out a light action rod spooled with 10# mono and a three inch "baby bass" Berkley paddle tail bait.

I smeared the gooey super gel on the bait and started casting into the sea grass on the small islands and opposite bank of the marsh canal using a super slow retrieve.

On my third cast around a culvert, I hooked up to what I thought was a redfish, but a couple of minutes into the battle, I realized it was a big sea trout.

The drag was set light and the fish put up a great fight.

Eventually the fish tired enough for me to "gill" it and bring it up the bank to take a couple of pics.

As you can see, the fish had beautiful colors and measured in at just under 27".

I got Karen to take these pics with a Samsung 18X zoom 24mm wide angle camera that my sister sent me to use while my Nikon is being repaired.

I smeared some more super gel on the bait and on Karen's shrimp to "sweeten" it up a bit and continued casting to the grass hoping for another fish.

Several casts later in the same general area produced the fish below which I also caught using the same super slow retrieve. This one was close to 20".

 
This particular spot produced a total of five sea trout that were all around the same size as the fish above and to the left.

I also managed to miss a couple of strikes that I'm sure were sea trout.

At this point I was beginning to become a believer in the gooey stuff I was smearing on my lure.

The bite slowed down, so Karen and I decided to move down the road to fish another area.

Our next spot was at a bend in the marsh canal, where we saw a pair of sea manatees.

At first Karen and I thought it was a gator but the distinctive tell tale trail on the water's surface and a quick view of the manatee's nostrils quickly identified it.

I thought that the manatee activity would stir up the area and hopefully attract a redfish.

Karen and I fished this area until it was close to dusk but unfortunately, neither of us got another hit.

I don't know if the manatees spooked the fish, but neither Karen or I had a bite for the rest of the time we were out in the refuge.

For a Friday afternoon, the refuge was almost uninhabited. All the time we were fishing, we only saw one other fisherman who eventually passed us as we were deciding to leave the area.

This evening the weather was pleasant. The air temp was 82 degrees and there was just enough of a breeze blowing to keep away the mosquitoes, put a nice ripple on the water and keep things relatively cool.

On the way out of the refuge we were privileged to enjoy another beautiful sunset.

I'm almost convinced that the gooey stuff on the lures helped catch more big sea trout in the swamp this trip but even if it did, you still need to use a stealthy approach and a slow retrieve this time of year to catch them.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Salt Marsh Sea Trout

Salt marsh sea trout are generally much more difficult to catch than those in the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon.

In the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, the sea trout get a lot of fishing pressure and visitor traffic from people all around the country who enjoy taking pics of the wildlife.

In a word, the fish are savvy.

Karen and I didn't even think about fishing today until about 6:30 pm when the afternoon thundershowers started rolling through the area.

We loaded up Elmo (our wonder dog) and several rods with various artificial lures and headed for the "swamp" (as my wife affectionately calls it).

The temperature was in the low 80s when we got to Peacocks Pocket road and there was virtually no wind on the water.

 

I drove slowly into the refuge looking for any sign of fish but other than some finger mullet in the marsh canal, I didn't spot anything of any size until about half way through Peacocks Pocket road.

The water in this area was dead calm and except for the occasional fish busting the surface feeding on finger mullet, the surface looked like a mirror.

 

 

Karen baited a fresh dead shrimp on a 5/0 hook on one rod, and the other with a Cajun Thunder float over a jumbo shrimp.

I started out blind casting a Berkley Fire Tiger paddle tail bait on a light spinning rod with 10# line to likely looking spots in the marsh canal.

In the next hour I missed six sea trout and caught two smaller fish on the paddle tail bait and on a freshwater Chug Bug.

The one big sea trout I hooked off the tip of a grassy island was in the 25" range but it shook out the paddle tail lure on the second jump.

The two sea trout I managed to hook were so small, I could have used it for bait.

 

There were several huge redfish in the salt marsh pond adjacent to the canal busting bait but they were way too far off to make any sort of decent presentation to.

Karen lobbed her baits in between two small grass islands where the reds sometimes use as a corridor to the deeper marsh canal.

She had one pickup but missed whatever the fish was.

Salt marsh sea trout sometimes feed all night long, especially during full moon periods but this evening the fish quit hitting just as the sun was setting.

The mosquitoes weren't bad this evening but the gnats were killer.  When they swarm on you, it feels like your skin is on fire and they seem to thrive on insect repellant.

Elmo started whining and Karen and I both were getting the hell bitten out of us, so we decided to call it a day.

 

The sunset was awesome as you can see by the pics and even though we didn't pickup a redfish this evening, the salt marsh sea trout were a lot of fun.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Late Start Fishing

Got a late start fishing today but in only a half an hour managed to pick up a couple nice sea trout and miss a very nice over sized redfish.

Marsh fishing is always a matter of timing and when fishing from land, you also need to mix it up with some skill and a good portion of luck.

The air temperature today was in the low 90s but it felt hotter with very little wind to cool things down.

Because of the rains this past week, the salinity of the water in the marsh changed more than usual and the fish were feeding in areas that were submerged earlier in the month.

I got to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge around 7:00 pm and the thermometer still registered 84 degrees.

I only saw two other bank fishermen and a couple of wade fishermen near the Peacocks Pocket kayak launch all the time I was out fishing.  Only the wade fishermen seemed to be connecting and they were using live shrimp for bait.

The water in the marsh was like glass in most areas and the fish were skittish.

I only brought one rod this evening which was tipped with a Fire Tiger paddle tail bait that I have been catching most of my fish with lately.

I only fished three areas this evening and all my fish were caught just at dusk.

I was getting taps from small sea trout in the first spot but nothing of any consequence so I moved up to a hole where I was sure there would be some fish.

My second cast with the Fire Tiger bait hooked me up with the sea trout to the left.

Two casts later and I picked up another clone to the first fish.

I released both fish and moved up to the last spot I was going to fish this evening which was at a small pond which opens up to the marsh canal.

After several casts and a couple hits from small sea trout, I was just going to call it a day when I picked up this slot size sea trout in the grass.

Again I released the fish and because it was getting dark I decided to make one last cast into another shallow grassy area where I thought I saw a swirl.

The Fire Tiger paddle tail bait didn't move over a yard before a nice fat over size redfish hit the bait and started off down the canal.

The fish caught me by surprise and because my drag was set super light for the sea trout I was catching, the redfish felt the resistance and dropped the lure after a brief run.

I couldn't believe I missed the red but that's part of the fishing experience.  Sometimes you land them and sometimes the one that got away is the best fish of the day.

From experience, I've learned to use 10# or lighter mono and a slightly heavier fluorocarbon leader with the drag set extra light when fishing for sea trout.

A light action rod with this setup will also land you more fish. 

Although this setup is just the ticket for a sea trout's paper thin mouth, it isn't my preference for the tougher mouth of a redfish, and today's missed fish is the reason.  It's harder to set the hook.

Anyway after losing the redfish, the gnats and mosquitoes were starting to draw more blood from me than I cared to lose, so I decided to head for home .

On a lark as I was crossing the bridge I decided to stop and check out the fishing pier to see if anyone was doing anything with the shrimping.

I walked both the upper and lower piers and as I expected saw that only a few shrimp were being caught.

More than anything else, people were dipping out small blue crabs as they were drifting by.

Personally, I would use them for bait.  They're killer on big reds.

Anyway, even though I got a late start fishing I thoroughly enjoyed the evening and the sunset

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Friday The 13th Fishing Trip

A Friday the 13th fishing trip is only bad if you believe in superstition and bad omens.

Even though today is Friday the 13th.the fishing was relatively good in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

My wife and I grabbed Elmo and the fishing gear as soon as I got home from work and we headed for an area where I caught a couple of nice gator trout last week.

Karen was dead set on catching a redfish and I was mostly after sea trout,  so we decided to head for her favorite redfish spot while briefly stopping to sample some areas where I had caught sea trout in the past.

It was about 6:00 pm before we got to the salt marsh and the air temperature was still hovering around the 86 degree mark. 

A pleasant breeze was blowing which rippled the surface of the marsh canal just enough to give the fish a false sense of security and still allow for easy casting.

I grabbed a Berkley Fire Tiger paddle tail bait on one of my light 10# spinning rods at our first stop and immediately started getting short strikes from what I thought were small sea trout.

After several misses I finally hooked up with a small ladyfish.  The fish was about 14" long and jumped several times before I shook it off at the bank.

A few casts later in the same general area, I hooked up with a nice slot sized sea trout that I promptly released after a brief battle.

Walking down the road and casting to the opposite bank at likely looking spots produced four more sea trout and three more ladyfish, all withing a thirty yard stretch of where I caught the first trout.

Karen was not getting any bites on the shrimp she had dangling underneath her "Billy Bay" float so after a couple more misses and another small sea trout we moved off to another area.

This spot produced a slot sea trout on the very first cast to the bank in the narrow marsh canal.

The fish made a couple of small runs before I took it's picture and released it.

I walked the canal casting to likely looking spots but that was the only fish I hooked. 

I missed a couple of light strikes that were probably small sea trout but since Karen was still not getting any hits, we decided to move on to her favorite spot.

When we got to her "spot", she flipped her shrimp close to the bank and I started walking the bank of the canal casting into small cuts and flooded sea grass areas.

The wind was dying down and the sun was setting so this stretch of canal didn't have the rippled water that produced trout in the other areas I fished.

I had only one small tap in this area so I backtracked and started fishing the other direction from where Karen was located.

I fished slow with the same paddle tail bait but never got another bite in this area.

Meanwhile, Karen said she had a fish on so I quickly walked to her spot to help and found she had hooked this stingray.

She pulled the ray onto the bank while I got the pliers to unhook the fish.

I clipped the barb off the ray just to play it safe and since the fish swallowed the hook, I clipped the hook off and tossed the ray back into the canal.

At least Karen didn't get skunked!

It was getting late and we decided we both had enough fun for one day so we headed back home.

For a Friday the 13th fishing trip, we didn't do so bad.

The final tally for me was 6 sea trout and 4 ladyfish.  For Karen, 1 stingray. All in an hour and a half.

Till next time, Tight Lines!