The Sea Trout Are Biting!

The sea trout in the Indian River Lagoon are biting with a vengeance if you present them the right imitation.

Shiloh Road this Saturday afternoon was as windy as some of our Congressional members, and the water was just rough enough to make it hard to detect a bite.

My wife, our wonder dog Elmo, and yours truly hit the shallows in the northernmost part of the Indian River.

The area we normally frequent around Peacocks Pocket, was again closed off for reasons known only to NASA and God. I personally believe they are too lazy or overpaid to bother opening up the gates after the space shuttle lands.

Anyway, for the first hour or so we didn't have much luck. The shrimp my wife was using produced a nice sized catfish which we promptly released, and a nice hit by a trout that she missed.

I was using my favorite top water baits and quickly changed over to Creme swim baits.

I had a couple of half hearted hits on the top water, but after a couple hundred casts I was getting worn out!

We stopped at a place my wife is particularly fond of and after several casts with a green colored Creme bait, I hooked and released a couple of scrappy slot sized trout.

There were tons of horseshoe crabs doing their breeding thing and I managed to inadvertently hook several of them.

On one cast, I hooked into a nice 20" sea trout right at shore, and several casts later, hooked and landed it's 19" relative. Since we didn't get a chance to hit the store, we kept the two for dinner.



After an hour or so, the bite slowed down and we both got tired of fighting the wind so we headed to the hacienda.

I was hoping for a small tarpon or large redfish, but tomorrow's another day.

Till next time, Tight Lines!

Playalinda Beach Smorgasboard

Playalinda Beach surf fishermen have been doing quite well on bluefish, pompano, and "bull" whiting inside the breakers.

The large "Bull" whiting up to 15 inches are holding along the surf from the Canaveral National Seashore at Playalinda Beach northward.

I've gotten several reports from my surf fishing neighbors who are telling me that the bluefish are still running just outside the surf break.

Any small live bait or crustacean will be gobbled up almost immediately, and Krockodile spoons, jigs, and small plugs will also do the job when the water is murky or in low light.

Pompano are also still being caught in the surf just outside the first line of breakers.

Rig a 2/0 or 4/0 circle hook in tandem, with a 4 oz. sinker, or just enough weight to hold bottom. The most effective baits are sand fleas, cut clams or mussels, and small shrimp.

A friend of mine who usually scores fish told me that fresh peeled shrimp, soaked in diet Coke, is one of his "secret" baits for pompano. I can't argue with him on that, but he does catch fish.

The bonnethead sharks are also starting to show up on the beach in this area.

A minimal fee is charged to get into the Canaveral National Seashore which tends to keep the beaches somewhat uncrowded.

If you have never visited the area before, I'm sure you'll enjoy the beautiful white sand and natural surroundings.

Till next report, Tight Lines!

Shiloh Road Fishing Trip

Sunday afternoon was rainy and dreary on the Space Coast, so around three o' clock this afternoon, I gathered my wife and Elmo our wonder dog, and headed for the Indian River to try our luck.

We traveled light. I took only one rod for a change, loaded with a Heddon topwater plug and a small box with some Creme paddle tail lures.

My wife grabbed her favorite Cajun Thunder rig and a small bag of shrimp, and we were off.

We decided on driving up to Shiloh Road to see if it was open for fishing and as luck would have it, it was. It was probably a bad omen when two vultures greeted us into the drive, but we had nothing else to do in the rain but go fishing.

The rain was steady but light enough for us to try several spots along the marsh and the shallows of the north Indian River.

The water was almost dead calm and we saw only a couple of redfish and zero trout.

My wife fished her shrimp and missed one nice sized trout in a spot where she caught an "almost gator trout" last year. That was the only good fish she had on all afternoon.

I "walked the dog" until my arm got tired and had absolutely no hits, so I switched to a white and brown Creme paddletail bait.

After almost wearing out my casting arm, I finally hooked on to either a super large gator trout, or a juvenile tarpon.

I was swimming the lure to the bank when I thought I'd hooked onto a snag. Then the "snag" started moving; FAST.

The fish ran up and down the narrow slough twice before it broke off. I could see that the fish was at least 36" long and that it looked silverish in the murky water, but I couldn't make out what species it was.

I know it was not a redfish because of the way it fought, so the only possible species left was either a big trout, or a small tarpon.

Whatever it was, losing the fish was my fault. When I replaced my topwater plug with the swimbait, I tied it on haphazardly and was in a hurry. Definitely a recipe for losing a fish.
On top of that, I had my drag tightened down way too heavy for 10# mono.

As I told my wife, that's why they call it fishing and not catching!

We got tired of being wet and on the way out of the unimproved drive took some pics of an American Eagle and some crazy spoonbills doing their thing.

Hope you enjoy the pics and till next time; Tight Lines!

Went Walking The Dog This Afternoon

This afternoon my wife and I decided to get out and try for some of the slot sized redfish that abound in the Mosquito Lagoon & Indian River.

We got a late start and decided not to take the boat because of the Redfish Tournament and the local fair that is ending this weekend. Parking spaces are hard to come by.

For some reason, Peacocks Pocket road was still closed; so instead, we fished a small feeder creek that empties into a larger shallow marsh area that almost everybody passes up when entering the wildlife refuge.

We jumped two nice sized redfish in water that was no more than a foot deep, but they weren't interested in our offerings.

We moved on and fished a point on the Indian River side for about an hour with no luck except for a large catfish that my wife picked up on her Cajun Thunder rig.

I was wading , the wind was picking up, and I was clammy, so when some rude people decided to park their car directly next to ours, we decided to leave.

On the way out of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Preserve we decided to give our first spot one last shot, so we pulled alongside the area which now had a flock of spoonbills feeding in it, and resumed our fishing.



My wife was using fresh frozen xlarge shrimp, and I was "walking the dog" with my Heddon Super Spook, Jr. top water.

In about an hours worth of fishing before dusk, I landed six slot sized trout, and missed at least three or four others, including one huge fish that blew the plug right out of the water.



There were 5 or 6 very large redfish busting baitfish in the shallows, almost into the grass. I tried casting to them, but they were way out of range and with the gators in the area, I decided to use discretion and not go wading in after them.

My wife didn't fare so well this trip, but we enjoyed the day none the less.

On the way back home, we saw at least a dozen shrimpers setting up for night shrimping on the Indian River, so we decided to stop and see how they were doing.

Guy and Cathy who regularly shrimp the area said the shrimp were "on and off" again. Guy got about 50 large shrimp the previous night and some of the other people I spoke with on the bridge reported about the same or less.



I promised to post their pictures, so here they are. Last time I spoke with them, I took a picture of a Jumbo shrimp in his hand and neglected to post his pic. Hope he can find my website!

Anyway, I took some pics and wished everyone well with their shrimping.

With any kind of luck, my wife and I (and of course our wonder dog Elmo) will get to wet a line tomorrow.

Till then, Tight Lines!

Mosquito Lagoon & Indian River Fishing Is Great

I'm happy to say that the weather for the past couple of weeks since the shuttle launch, has been wonderful and the Mosquito Lagoon & Indian River Fishing has been a sight fisherman's dream.

The redfish are tailing aggressively throughout most of the day and seem to be targeting small crabs and shrimp. You can occasionally see the shrimp zipping across the surface as the redfish chase after them.

Sight fishing schools of 100 fish are common, and you can spot lots of singles on the flats. The fish are spooky, so take care approaching them. Your success ratio always increases when you take your time sneaking up on the fish.

The best time to fish is early in the morning until about 10:00 a.m. and later on in the evening untill dusk. The redfish this past week have been aggressively feeding throughout the day, which makes them the prime target for the local guides.

Black drum are running with the redfish schools and are taking the same baits.

The pompano and bluefish along the Space Coast are also providing lots of action for surfer fishermen and small boaters running outside the breakers.

The surf fishermen are using cut clams, peeled shrimp and sand fleas for the pompano just off the beach. Small white, yellow, chartreuse and pink 1/4 oz. jigs in tandem are also picking up nice pompano in the 3 to 5 pound class.

The blues are smacking Krocodile chrome spoons, X-Raps, and live bait with gusto off the rocks at Port Canaveral and in the troughs at Playalinda Beach.

The Cobia run is in full swing and are being caught outside the Port close to any structure or floating object.

My wife and I tried to fish Peacocks Pocket Road Friday evening, but it was still closed to vehicle traffic; probably due to Obama's visit to the Cape on Thrusday.

Instead we fished another shallow water area and jumped four tailing redfish that appeared to be well over the slot limit. I tried one of my favorite top water baits without any success, and my wife used cut shrimp with the same results.

The fish were actively feeding on small crabs and apparently didn't care for our goodies.

On the way out of our fishing spot we spotted some police activity up the road so naturally we checked it out.

Someone didn't negotiate the curve going to Black Point Wildlife Drive and wound up in the marsh. The Titusville Police, NASA officers, and Fish & Wildlife people were all on sight with lights blinking.

I'm sure the car will still be there today. Anyway, till next time.

Tight Lines!

Saturday Night In Peacocks Pocket

Saturday night at Peacocks Pocket proved worthwhile for a change!

Except for the fact that NASA closed the exit at the other end of the drive, it was a great evening.

There was a slight chop on the Indian River and almost dead calm in the marsh areas on the other side of the road.

My wife and I got about an hours worth of fishing in before sunset, but it was enough for me to snag a couple of slot sized plus sea trout.

I used only one lure, a black and gold colored Heddon Super Spook, Jr. topwater.

In a spot where my wife usually outfishes me using dead shrimp, I managed to miss several nice sized trout, and caught two that were well over 15".

The one trout jumped clear of the water and hit the topwater plug on the way down before getting itself hooked. See the pic below.

Moving upstream from where my wife was fishing, I started blind casting toward the far bank of the narrow canal.

About 50 yards from where my wife was fishing, I was "walking the dog" with my topwater when a huge redfish of at least 38" busted my Super Spook.

The fish ran upstream and angled toward the bank before it changed direction and started swimming right back towards me.

I was reeling in line as fast as I could, and as the line tightened up again, the fish shook the lure loose and swam down the middle of the canal towards where my wife Karen was fishing.

She saw the fish go by her at about 30 m.p.h. to parts unknown.

Oh well, as they say; that's why they call it fishing and not catching!

The fishing is getting better as the water warms up so until next time, Tight Lines!

Help Fight Fisheries Closures!

I recently received this request from "Ocean Minded Anglers" of Florida that I believe is extremely important and worthy of all of our attention.

Although the species in the Mosquito Lagoon & Indian River Fishing areas are not yet impacted by this particular proposed legislation; draconian measures such as this are already effecting our right to be able to fish, have a good time on the water, and enjoy eating the fruits of our labor.

The South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council (SAFMC) has now made major closures of snapper and grouper fisheries and has a proposal for a total closure of snapper for an undetermined amount of time, as well as a proposal to stop all bottom fishing because of the potential that a snapper may be killed as by catch.

The areas affected run from the Carolinas to Key West and similar restrictions are being enacted in the Gulf.

In a cooperative effort the following clubs and organizations have joined forces to fight current and potential fishery closures dictated by the SAFMC as well as demand the science used to enact those closures be examined and fixed.

CFOA - Central Florida Offshore Anglers - Orlando, FL - www.centralfloridaoffshoreanglers.com
FSFA - Florida Sport Fishing Association - Merritt Island, FL - www.fsfaclub.org
HSFC - Halifax Sport Fishing Club, Daytona Beach, FL - www.hsfc.com
SISA - Sebastian Inlet Sport Fishing Assoc - Sebastian Fl - http://sites.google.com/site/fishsisa/Home
FCSC - Flagler County Sportfishing Club - Flagler County FL - http://www.fcsportfishing.com
Ft. Pierce Sportfishing Club - FPSC - www.ftpiercesportfishingclub.com
RFA - Recreational Fishing Alliance - http://joinrfa.org
FRA - Fishing Rights Alliance - www.thefra.org
Deep Blue Sea Fishing - http://www.deep-blue-sea.org

Our members have fished and dived along the Florida East coast areas for many years and maintain a first hand knowledge of the health of the fishery.

To be honest- where it was in decline 20 years ago, the current restrictions for minimum size and catch have worked to point where we believe the red snapper stock is healthier than it has been at any time in the last 25 years.

We contest the data being presented that shows the fishery to be in decline as being significantly flawed. And to be honest, as sportsmen, if we felt that the fishery was in trouble as we did many years ago, we would advocate new restrictions.

These draconian measures are already having a catastrophic economical snowball effect in the State of Florida, from tourism dollars, to tackle and bait shops to charter Captains along with a degradation in the historical way of life for all involved.

But the biggest impact will be to our way of life as citizens of this country and what we support as our right to be able to go out and fish, have a good time and eat what we catch in a reasonable recreational sustainable fishery.

The petition calls for Congress to pass legislation to restrict the Commerce Department from enacting any further closures in the South Atlantic Region, and rescind the current interim closure of Red Snapper until fisheries managers improve the MRFSS system (data collection) and it passes a peer review.

WHAT can you do to help:

Go to this website- read the information and sign the electronic petition.

http://petition.deep-blue-sea.org

FORWARD this mail to everyone that you know and ask them to do the same. Open the attachment- print it and share with others.

We appreciate you taking the time to read this, making an informed decision to sign the petition and passing it along to others that feel the same way.

Sincerely,
Ocean Minded Anglers of Florida

Enough Said! I signed the petition today and believe that we can affect legislation if we band together.

Right now, I'm going to the Indian River to check out the shrimping. I'll let you know the results tomorrow.

Till then, Tight Lines!

Beautiful Pre Launch Weekend

NASA gave the space shuttle Discovery the green light to launch this Monday morning.

Needless to say, the fishing areas in the Peacocks Pocket portion of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge were filled with out of town sightseers and fishermen.

This Friday evening and Saturday, up until the NASA people ushered everyone out of the unimproved drives, there seemed to be more people than fish in the refuge area.

The shuttle will take its seven member crew to the International Space Station and is expected to liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center on Monday at 6:21 a.m. EDT.

So far the weather looks great for the shuttle launch, and the only concern seems to be fog forming at the Space Center.

The fishing, according to the NASA official that was removing everyone from the area, was pretty slim. Hardly any trout were being caught and I saw no redfish anywhere.

Usually you can spot a single cruising redfish or a small school in this area, but on Saturday I didn't see anything resembling a redfish.

I used my standard variety of soft baits along with a skitter walk on top and a Red Ripper below with no success.

My wife was using a Cajun Thunder type bobber and fresh dead shrimp for bait like the one in the picture below.

In one of the spots that was not cordoned off by NASA, she hooked into something really big that took her bobber rig and just kept on going to parts unknown.

We surmised it was probably a large bull redfish, or one of the over sized black drum that cruise the shallows in this area, because of the way it just took off and kept on running.

She kept looking for her rig to surface, but it never did. Whatever took her hook, line, and bobber rig had to be huge!

Anyway, coming back from the refuge, I took some shots of the new fishing pier that is now under construction. They have finished pouring concrete and have already installed light posts on the pier.

As we crossed the bridge we watched the early bird shrimpers beginning to set up their spots for the night's shrimping activities.

The new pier should be the center of activity when it's completed for both fishermen and hopefully the sport shrimpers. We shall see what rules and regulations the powers that be will impose on us!

As long as the shuttle remains on schedule, I hope to get shots of the launch on Monday to post here.

Till next time, Tight Lines!