Early May Culvert Fishing On The Indian River

Late Friday evening, May 1st., my wife and I decided to try for a late April snook or gator trout in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Preserve.

The wind was up and the weather was great. Unfortunately, the fishing could have been a bit better.

My wife lost a nice sized redfish in the canal alongside the drive. Her drag was set to tight and the line broke off in the brush at roadside. I missed several trout and caught three that were under limit on a silver and black D.O.A. Terror Eye lure.

Saturday was also a nice day but the wind was gusting to at least 20 knots. I caught several nice trout, no gator trout, and missed a redfish. My wife caught a couple of catfish and again missed a nice redfish.

Trying to fish without getting a birds nest in the line every other cast or getting hung on the brush along side the road became a drain on my emotional stability. We started late and fished till dusk without any real success.

Sunday was a clone of Saturday's weather except the wind was gusting higher.

My wife and I decided to wait until late afternoon for the wind to die down before trying our luck.

Unfortunately, the wind never died down. I took pictures of a gang of wind sailing enthusiasts and some jet skiers that took advantage of the windy conditions.

The culverts were open and water was flowing throughout the north Indian River system so we decided to fish the open culverts. I caught several trout before stopping at a favorite hole. A swirl caught my eye and I suggested to my wife to tie on a dead shrimp and give it a shot despite the wind.

Almost immediately, she hung into a nice slot redfish that just about yanked the rod out of her hands. After a relatively long struggle, she landed and released a fat 26 inch redfish.

After stopping at another open culvert near dusk, she tried to duplicate her success without luck. I gave up on the dark colored D.O.A. and tied on a white Creme swim bait to see if my luck would change.

On the third cast, I hooked into an over sized redfish that bumped 30 inches. I was using 10# Cajun Red fishing line and had to run alongside the canal to keep up with the fishes run.


After about 15 minutes I finally managed to land the plump female.

After taking pictures of her, which I included here, I released her to continue her breeding.

May is an excellent month for both gator trout, and redfish, throughout East Central Florida.

Hope you enjoy the pics and till next time; tight lines!