Another Windy Day On The Indian River Lagoon

Today was a windy day on the Indian River Lagoon which almost caused my wife and I to forgo our late afternoon fishing trip.

At the last minute, we decided to just pack up Elmo and the rest of our gear and see what was biting on the river.

Because I had caught a nice redfish on Friday; Karen and I decided to see if we could duplicate our success in the same area.

Unbelievably, almost no one was out on Shiloh Marsh road.

On the way into one of our "spots"; I managed to net about a dozen finger mullet and a small croaker for bait. The wind made it difficult to cast properly but I managed filling our bucket after only three casts.

We passed a family who set up a makeshift tent on the back of their truck and seemed to be just enjoying the balmy day. They didn't appear to be doing any serious fishing, so I didn't bother getting any information from them.

We finally pulled off the unimproved road at a running culvert where fish normally congreate.

Running culverts on the Indian River Lagoon are like a dinner bell to roaming redfish and sea trout. Unfortunately, the hard head catfish also find the culverts to their liking.

I baited up one of my rods and cast out to see if anything was hungry. While the finger mullet was doing it's thing, I began casting a gold Johnson spoon with my other rod hoping to duplicate my redfish catch of the previous day.

I hooked a catfish on the rod that had on a finger mullet and promptly threw it back.

Karen lost a fish on her Cajun Thunder & mullet rig that was probably a redfish, but she couldn't be sure.

I had a couple of hits on my gold spoon that felt like trout and finally did manage to catch one of about 18" that I returned to fight another day.

The only other person we saw in the area was a local fisherman we often see in our travels named Glenn. He stopped and we shared some information on local fishing areas for gator trout and redfish, and the lures used to catch them.

He was partial to DOA jerk baits fished snagless on a weighted worm hook and a small topwater bait in "baby bass" attire that looked like Heddon Zara Spook Jr . He also showed me a DOA type shrimp bait that he uses primarily for gator sea trout.

After trying to get him to buy my other tri hull boat, he left and I continued fishing with my Johnson spoon.

After about a dozen casts, I had a hefty strike from something that felt like a big redfish but it shook loose.

About the time I was getting my camera out to capture the awesome sunset, a Florida Fish & Wildlife officer came around the bend to check our licenses and preserve permits.

He was a nice gentleman named Michael Slocum, (hope I didn't butcher the spelling too much) and among other things, we talked about why more people didn't take advantage of the beautiful scenery and fishing the open culverts.

The only things I can attribute it to is the windy conditions or the televised football games. Anyway, after chatting a bit, he left to patrol the rest of the area and I continued fishing, missing another redfish.

Karen switched sides and also missed a good sized redfish that tried to engulf her finger mullet.

Since it was getting towards dusk and the mosquitoes were starting to suck on my body fluids; we decided to call it a weekend and head to the house.




Hope you enjoy the pics of the scenery and until next time;
Tight Lines to your all!

Redfish Anniversary Present

After a 6 1/2 hour drive from Columbia, S.C. my wife and I decided to celebrate our anniversary with a fishing trip to the Indian River lagoon.

We exchanged cards and packed up the minimum amount of equipment so we could get in as much fishing as possible before dark.

As we headed for our fishing spot in the southern part of Shiloh

Marsh drive, we noticed that the Black Point Wildlife Drive was for some reason closed.

The weather was splendid and the scenery was beautiful as usual for this time of year and I really didn't care if I caught any fish or not. I just wanted to get out and enjoy the fresh air and unwind from the drive.

On the way into the drive we didn't see one single person in the area, which suited me just fine.

We dediced to stop at an area that I only fished a couple of times with mixed results, but since there was nobody else in the area, we parked the truck, baited up and started fishing.

Karen wanted to fish one rod with cut bait and another with shrimp, so I cut up some mullet for her and myself and we cast out to different sides of the river.

I caught a couple of nice sized catfish and Karen had something steal her shrimp, which I suspected were probably trout that were chasing bait fish in the area.

The culverts were open and the water was flowing into the Indian River side of the swamp area.

This is usually a recipe for good fishing. The flowing culverts push bait fish and small crabs into the maws of waiting catfish, sea trout, redfish and black drum.

There was little surface activity so I tied on a 3/4 oz. gold Johnson Sprite spoon with a red tag.

After about a dozen casts, I had a savage strike from what I believe was a large snook that was prowling in very shallow water. I missed hooking it and watched it take off like one of the space shuttles.

After several more casts, I hooked on to a heavy fish that sent my reel screaming.

I was using yellow Power Pro line with a 20# fluorocarbon leader which makes a unique sound as the line goes through the rod guides when a fish runs.

I fought the fish for at least 10 minutes before getting it close enough to identify. A few more minutes of fight and a boga grip finally got the bruiser to the photo op I planned for her.

Karen measured the fish in at 32" and after taking a hook from another angler out of her gullet; I revived her and put her back into the river top fight another day.

Like clockwork, the mosquitoes started their blood sucking ritual on Elmo, Karen and myself, so we decided to head to the ranch.

This redfish broke the fishing slump I was in and for me, topped off our wedding anniversary. It was a perfect redfish anniversary present.

I took some pics of the scenery and the beautiful sunset. Hope you enjoy them.

Till next time; Tight Lines!

9-11-2010 Indian River Fishing Trip

The weather on Saturday was in the low 90s with a slight breeze coming in from the Southwest.

My wife wanted to try out Shiloh Marsh Road on the northern end of the Indian River instead of taking out our Maverick flats boat; so we packed up our rods, my underused cast net, a live bait bucket, and took off for the lagoon.

Coming into Shiloh road we stopped for a two foot water moccasin that was crossing the unimproved road and also saw a couple of deer farther down towards the lagoon.

Rounding the first bend, we saw one angler waist deep in the water about 100 yards out, with four rods in sand spike rod holders, baited up with finger mullet.

This is a great area to fish for the "bull redfish" that come into the shallows to feed on baitfish or small crustaceans and is almost always inhabited by at least one fisherman.

The schools of reds travel up and down the the shorelines and always eventually come into this area.

At the next bend we saw a couple of parked trucks, and a shallow water boat out in the river with several fishermen using the same technique.

Karen and I decided to get some bait instead of just using dead shrimp or lures and try for a really big redfish.

I headed for a culvert that I knew harbored either small ladyfish or mullet and after two or three casts had enough 4" to 6" mullet for our excursion.

On the way I took a few pics of the waterfowl in the area that you might be interested in.

Since it was getting late in the afternoon, we went to a spot that my wife loves to fish and baited up four rods with live finger mullet and dead shrimp.

On one of my rods, a nice redfish picked up my mullet, but after only a very short run wrapped the 10# Cajun line around a stickup and got off.

I missed a second red that I was in too much of a hurry to hook. I'm used to fishing with artificial lures and obviously don't have the patience to wait the proper amount of time before setting the hook.

My wife missed one fish that she thought was a redfish and then just when it was beginning to get dark, she hooked up to a nice slot sized red that put up a respectable fight.

I wanted to keep the fish for dinner, but Karen wanted to release it, so we did.

The mosquitoes were beginning to get nasty and Elmo, our wonder dog, was begging to leave so we all decided to call it a day.

Even though I got "skunked", I enjoyed the trip and got some nice pics of the areas bird life.


The wood storks, egrets, roseate spoonbills, and herons were all massed together feeding in the marsh shallows.

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

Shiloh Marsh Road Bull Redfish

On Labor Day, Monday afternoon, my wife Karen talked me into another late fishing trip; this time in the Shiloh Marsh Road area of the northern Indian River Lagoon.

As usual we left late and entered via US1 before the Kennedy Parkway turn.

The water on the opposite side of the river was extremely shallow, despite the rains we had over the weekend; so we decided to fish the river side where the larger "bull" redfish frequent.

As we drove into the northernmost part of the Indian River Lagoon,
several fishermen had several poles in the water, baited up with live finger mullet, waiting for the "big one".

We passed them by and continued to a cove where we usually catch redfish and trout this time of year.

On the way I picked up a few finger mullet for bait and one small ladyfish. These guys are like candy to big bull redfish.

After a couple of stops where we caught catfish and missed a few small trout, we finally hit "our cove" and staked out our spots.

Karen baited up one rod with finger mullet and another with dead shrimp.

I saw no topwater action, so I started throwing artificials and had absolutely no luck whatsoever.

The wind was blowing and continued to increase towards evening as we sat back and waited for some action.

Karen had a couple of misses and finally caught a catfish and later a trout.

I fished in another nearby area with my finger mullet and caught a respectable sea trout.

I missed two others and was out of bait except for the ladyfish, so I hooked her up and shot out a long cast into water that was about two feet deep.

For about 20 minutes or so, the ladyfish didn't do much. Finally it started going crazy pulling my bobber all over the place. I waited until the Cajun Thunder bobber was being towed at a good clip out of the cove before I set the hook into a very large redfish.

I could see it's tail when it came out of the water and it was about 12" across.

The fish took off and the drag screamed but after a short run, it spit out the ladyfish.

Evidently the 4/0 Owner hook didn't get a good enough bite. Anyway, I reeled in and cut about a 6" long piece from the midsection of a dead ladyfish that washed onto the rocks where I was fishing. Since I was out of live bait, it would have to do.

Another long cast under the bobber and about a ten minute wait got me hooked up to another "bull redfish".

This time I waited for the fish to eat the bait before striking and again had the same result. The fish surfaced, sloshed around like a baby manatee out of water, and took off for parts unknown.

It was getting dark, I was getting disgusted, so we decided to leave and return next week powered with heavier gear.

Anyway, the scenery was great!

Playalinda Beach on Labor Day Weekend

I expected Playalinda Beach on Labor Day Weekend to be fully packed and horrible for fishing.

I was almost right!

On Saturday, I wanted to get out and run the boat and try for some reds in the Mosquito Lagoon, but my wife wanted to work on her stained glass project instead.

After Friday's experience with the catfish in my ankle, I decided that discretion was in order so I packed up one of my surf rods, my small surf fishing tackle box, a baggie full of frozen shrimp, and a home made sand spike.

The tide was coming in and the surf wasn't as rough as I expected it to be with the hurricane passing offshore.

I decided to fish parking lot #10 and try for some whiting for dinner.

Walking up the boardwalk, I talked to a couple of people who tried fishing but had no luck at all.

They said they never had even one bite in an hour's worth of fishing but that the tide was coming in and I should do better.

I took some pics and geared up for some great whiting fishing.

The water was relatively cool and I quickly found out how deceiving the waves were. I couldn't hold bottom with 3 oz., so I tried 4 and finally had to go to 5 oz.

I don't like fishing with a lot of weight, but even with 5 oz. of pyramid sinker, I couldn't hold bottom.

I was getting bites but only slight taps that resulted in lost shrimp at every cast. Anyway, I was enjoying the water and the salt water was definitely helping heal my catfish wounded ankle, so I kept at it until I finally caught a hard head catfish in the surf.

For me, that was the last straw! The hell with the whiting and the fish dinner! I didn't need another catfish on my line for awhile, so I packed up my gear, said adios to the other angler who was fishing next to me, and headed for the hacienda.

Tomorrow was another day.

Besides, I made a KILLER Jambalaya for Karen and myself, using some shrimp that a friend of mine, Bob Bewley, had cast netted up in Green Cove Springs, Fl.

Bob, they were great!

Till next time, Tight Lines!

Labor Day Weekend Fishing 2010

This Labor Day turned out to be pretty much a do nothing weekend for me and my wife.

Friday evening we decided to try out the Indian River Lagoon for some black drum or redfish.

I heard that the drum were hitting on cut bait in the area that we planned to fish, but since I didn't have any fresh dead mullet available, I just used large fresh dead shrimp instead.

As we drove into the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge, we saw several telltale swirls that looked to be either redfish or trout, but they weren't interested in our baits.

There were a couple of redfish guides poling the shoreline looking for marauding redfish or trout however after awhile they moved off to greener pastures, leaving us bank fishermen the area to ourselves.

I stopped several times trying to entice the trout I saw chasing baitfish with my Donka Donk topwater, a Johnson's gold spoon, and finally my DOA CAL jerkbait. I had a couple of halfhearted hits but nothing of size to brag about.

We finally decided to just soak the dead shrimp in a spot where my wife usually catches redfish and drum.

There were thunderstorms rolling around the area and a light breeze was beginning to make the hot evening somewhat enjoyable despite the mosquitoes that were trying to carry us away.

All in all, it was good to just sit back, enjoy the scenery, and kick back.

Poor Elmo, our wonder dog was miserable and just jumped into the back of my truck trying to evade the hordes of bloodsucking mosquitoes that came with the rain.

After catching a few catfish and watching two large black drum swim by so close we could hear them "drumming" as they passed; I was ready to call it a night when something yanked my rod almost into the water.

At first I thought it was a drum but after setting the hook I knew it was just a large hard head catfish.

As I grabbed my pliers and shook the hook out of his mouth, the catfish fell sideways directly into the top of my ankle.

The spine penetrated almost to the bone and the immediate pain was incredible, but I managed to pull the catfish spine from my ankle and chuck it into the water to torture someone else another day.

I almost forgot how much pain those critters can generate when they penetrate your skin.

My ankle was bleeding profusely but Karen poured some peroxide over the puncture wound and put on a band aid.

Needless to say we called it a day as I hotfooted it out of the refuge in second gear.

Not much fish to brag about, but it was still an experience I won't forget for a long time!

Tight Lines, and remember not to shake catfish off the hook!