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!