Christmas Eve Sea Trout

Christmas Eve sea trout fishing was something I didn't really plan on doing today, but since I had to go to the store to pick up some items to finish out our Christmas dinner, I decided to drive through the Merritt Island National Wildlife preserve to see what was happening.

The sun was out, the wind was blowing briskly and the air temperature was a cool 59 degrees at about 2:30 this afternoon when I got to the "swamp".

Although I didn't plan on fishing, I did take my fishing rods along, "just in case".

As I drove through the area, I just had to pull over at a spot where I thought I saw the tell tale swirl of a redfish right up on the bank. I pulled out the closest rod that happened to have a Bagley gold spoon tied on it and made a quick cast ahead of where I saw the swirl.

Almost immediately I hooked up to a sea trout that was obviously a keeper.

I fought the fish until it tired, then unceremoniously hauled it out onto the bank and put it in the back of the truck while I looked for my camera.

When it stopped flopping around, I took a picture of the fish that you see here and then put it back into the tannin colored water.

Several other casts in the same area didn't yield any more fish, so I moved on up the road.

I passed the only other people I saw in the area today. They had a blue kayak on top of their vehicle and looked like they were going to call it a day as I passed them.

Because I still had groceries in the back of the truck, I hastily made my way out out of the area until I spied another swirl that made me stop the truck and again pick up a rod.

I cast the spoon almost to the spot where I saw the fish swirl and again hooked up to a sea trout that was a little larger than the first one. This one measured in at 19" and was beautifully colored; as are all the fish in these waters.

I fought the fish to shore and lifted it out onto the road where I took it's picture before letting it go.

The people with the blue kayak passed me as I got back into the truck and made my way out of the preserve.

My wife called to see where I was at, so I decided to get my butt back home to unload the groceries.

I probably could have eventually picked up a redfish but decided that since it was Christmas Eve, I needed to put down the fishing rods and thank the Lord for another year.

Till next time, Tight Lines and a Very Merry Christmas to you all.