Haulover Canal Redfish

Haulover Canal redfish are usually cooperating this time of the year and some of our readers have been taking advantage of the bite.

 Craig and Mary are subscribers to this site and occasionally send in pics of their catch. 

Craig recently commented that Mary caught a 42", 31 pound redfish the weekend of Jan 13th. just north of Haulover Canal.  They were in their canoe and the fish dragged them over 100 yards before it could be landed. 

Hi, this is Craig and Mary. Saw your last blog, kind of small compared to what we have been catching :) Mary caught at 42 inch, 31 lb red fish this weekend a little further north of Haulover canal. We were in the canoe and we were dragged over 100 yards! - See more at: http://johns-centralflorida-fishing.blogspot.com/2015/01/catfish-creek-sea-trout.html#sthash.EakQz6pc.dpuf

Hi, this is Craig and Mary. Saw your last blog, kind of small compared to what we have been catching :) Mary caught at 42 inch, 31 lb red fish this weekend a little further north of Haulover canal. We were in the canoe and we were dragged over 100 yards! - See more at: http://johns-centralflorida-fishing.blogspot.com/2015/01/catfish-creek-sea-trout.html#sthash.EakQz6pc.dpuf

Hi, this is Craig and Mary. Saw your last blog, kind of small compared to what we have been catching :) Mary caught at 42 inch, 31 lb red fish this weekend a little further north of Haulover canal. We were in the canoe and we were dragged over 100 yards! - See more at: http://johns-centralflorida-fishing.blogspot.com/2015/01/catfish-creek-sea-trout.html#sthash.EakQz6pc.dpuf

Hi, this is Craig and Mary. Saw your last blog, kind of small compared to what we have been catching :) Mary caught at 42 inch, 31 lb red fish this weekend a little further north of Haulover canal. We were in the canoe and we were dragged over 100 yards! - See more at: http://johns-centralflorida-fishing.blogspot.com/2015/01/catfish-creek-sea-trout.html#sthash.EakQz6pc.dpuf

The pic above is obviously NOT the fish but it was apparently also caught in Haulover.

Craig didn't mention what bait he used but from past experience, shrimp, cut baits, fresh blue crab pieces and live mullet all work well this time of the year.

Big black drum are also hitting at the mouth of the Mosquito Lagoon.

My wife and I planned on fishing this afternoon, but the windy conditions and work around the house screwed up our plans.

Maybe tomorrow if the wind dies down.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Fishing For Black Druim In Catfush Creek

Fishing for Black Drum is always fun, so  Karen and I decided to head for Catfish Creek and do a little Black Drum fishing this afternoon after finishing our chores were completed.

The weather was chilly this Saturday morning but as the temperature began to improve, so did my desire to go fishing.

I packed up several rods, a 12 volt battery, a home made aerator and a cooler large enough to keep a couple of dozen shrimp live for a few hours.

As soon as Elmo and Odie saw me picking out the fishing rods, they knew it was time to "head for the swamp" and help us catch some fish.  Both dogs were in the car as soon as I opened the door.

We didn't get to the bait shop until around 4:00 pm, but I usually don't bother fishing until late in the afternoon anyway.

I picked up a couple dozen of medium shrimp and headed for a spot in Catfish Creek where Karen and I caught some drum a couple of weeks ago.

As luck would have it, the spot was open so I pulled in and set out three spinning rods with live shrimp on standard sliding sinker rigs.

The weather was beautiful this afternoon.  The air temperature was in the low 70s and there was no wind to speak of.   The weather report announced the possibility of some rain but we never experienced any.

I missed two fish within the first 20 minutes and finally landed a small spotted sea trout.  I put on a new shrimp and missed another couple of fish on both rods that I had out before finally landing a barely over size slot black drum that hit just as the sun was starting to go down.

The fish below was a hare over 24" long and put up a decent fight on the light tackle we were using.  Karen took a couple of pics before I released the fish.



As I was putting on a new shrimp,  Karen had another fish on that turned out to be a Black Drum.

I took a quick video of the action before landing the fish for her.  This fish was shorter than my drum but stockier.  After taking a couple of pics, Karen released the fish and we both continued fishing.

It took less than five minutes before Karen and I had another fish on.  I had mine almost in before the hook pulled out, so I picked up the sports cam and tried to take another video of Karen landing her fish but it came out much too dark to bother posting.

After she landed her fish and I took another pic, she released it and we both decided to head for home.

It was getting chilly and both Elmo and Odie were ready to leave.

I packed up the gear and drove around Catfish Creek Loop to see if anyone else had any luck.

On the way out of the refuge, we spotted nine other vehicles and almost everyone seemed to be catching fish.

With any kind of luck, Karen and I will get a chance to get out again tomorrow.

Till next time,  Tight Lines.

Catfish Creek Sea Trout

Except for the day before New Years, my wife and I didn't get much fishing in so, this afternoon, Karen and I decided to take Elmo and Odie fishing at Catfish Creek.

Catfish Creek sea trout are smaller than what I normally catch around Peacocks Pocket Road but since that area is still closed, we had to make do with what was readily available.

We loaded up the dogs, several fishing rods and headed to Captain Hooks Bait Shop on Garden St. to pick up some live medium sized shrimp for bait.  Because it was late in the afternoon,  I only picked up a dozen and headed out to find a spot where we could fish and still keep a tight leash on the dogs.

Most of the spots were already taken when we got to the area but we managed to find one spot on a shallow point to set up our rods.

I baited all the rods with live shrimp on standard sliding sinker rigs and sat down to wait.

Karen got the first bite and landed an undersize sea trout which we promptly released. 

 


I got two sea trout about the same size on live shrimp on two other rods I had set out.  Both were undersize and released to grow up.

In the next hour Karen and I caught six undersize sea trout on live shrimp, a large hard head catfish that Karen caught, and an undersize "rat" redfish that I caught.

 
We didn't get out on the water this afternoon until around 4:00 pm, and by 5:15 pm the sea trout bite stopped entirely. 

As it was getting dark, I started pitching a gold Johnson's Sprite spoon and missed another redfish on the third cast.  A couple casts later I picked up another juvenile sea trout that was a hair longer than the spoon I was using for bait.

The mosquitoes were getting nasty so when it got too dark to tie on a hook that I lost, we decided to head for home.

It was a beautiful afternoon on the Indian River and Elmo, Odie, Karen and I had a good time. 

We certainly didn't catch anything to write home about, but the action was steady all evening.  Anyway, we got to enjoy the awesome sunset on the river.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Captain Hooks on Garden Street

Captain Hooks on Garden Street

Captain Hooks on Garden Street

Captain Hooks on Garden Street