Scrubbed Endeavor Shuttle Launch

Well as you all know by now, the scrubbed Endeavor Shuttle Launch on Friday disappointed not only tons of visitors including the President who drove in from all over the country to see it but also a lot of fishermen who planned to go fishing after liftoff.

The scrubbed launch pretty much killed the bank fishing in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Preserve as well as the surf fishing at Playalinda Beach.

All the entrances to fishing areas in the Preserve will remain blocked until the powers that be find out when the problems with the shuttle can be resolved.

After my doctors appointment Friday, I hoped to video the last Endeavor liftoff and do a little "jump fishing" for redfish in the Indian River.

Instead my wife and I decided to try Shiloh Marsh Road to see if the water levels were up from a couple weeks ago.

The pictures I took speak for themselves.

The water levels in the north Indian River lagoon are extremely low. That, in addition to the brisk east wind which pushed much of the remaining water to the West shores of the river made fishing this area nearly impossible and basically a total waste of time.

There were some open culverts that were draining into the Indian River from the mosquito control canal, but the water was so shallow that no fish could take advantage of the water movement.

My wife had a couple of hits on shrimp which were probably small trout, but other than that the fish just weren't biting.

We drove over to Bairs Cove boat launch at Haulover Canal to see if anybody was having any luck only to find the Coast Guard camped out there.

There were a lot of kayaks in the canal today but it didn't appear that anybody was fishing.

The kayakers were probably there to see the Shuttle Launch.

In any event, I managed to record the afternoon's events.

I hope they take down the barriers for this weekend. The bluefish are supposed to be hitting in the surf and I know that the trout are wacking top water baits early in the morning and just at dusk.

Hope's eternal!

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

The Sea Trout Are Finally Hitting Topwater Baits

Late Friday my wife and I managed to do a little fishing around Catfish Creek loop and even though we saw a few redfish feeding, they had absolutely no interest in anything we had to offer.

This afternoon I tried to get my wife interested in going fishing but she opted to stay at home; probably because of the lousy luck we had Friday.

I was debating on whether to go to Playalinda Beach and catch a few bluefish for dinner or hit one of the lagoons.

After checking the tide tables, I decided that the lagoon was a better bet; so I packed a few rods, my cast net and my trusty Nikon to see what was hitting.

Since it was almost 6:30 p.m. I headed for the closest fishing hole to get the most out of what was left of the day.

I passed two culverts before I saw any finger mullet that looked worthwhile to cast to and then only got three for my efforts.

Because it was late I didn't bother wasting any more time with the mullet; instead I slowly cased the canal and river on both sides of the unimproved road.

I spooked several redfish before I finally decided to stay with the spot that Karen and I fished on Friday.

I've learned through experience that the reds constantly run the shorelines of both the Indian River and the canal so I stopped the car, baited up with a finger mullet and free lined one rod on the river side.

The air temperature was 85 degrees when I started and there wasn't much wind to cool anything down.

I pulled out one of my other rods and started fan casting a blue Creme paddle tail swim bait on both sides of the road with no luck.

I didn't particularly care to get skunked like we did on Friday, so I switched to a top water plug and started "walking the dog".

On the fourth cast my luck changed and I picked up the slot size sea trout pictured here.

It seems like the sea trout are finally hitting topwater baits like they are supposed to this time of the year.

Even though I was fishing for redfish, I'll never turn down a nice sea trout.

I was going to keep the fish for dinner but I didn't feel like cleaning anything tonight so I released it.

About the time I resumed casting, the drag on the rod with the live mullet started making noise.

I let the fish run a little before setting the hook but somehow managed to miss a nice redfish of about 30". The fish sloshed around once and took off to parts unknown.

I put on the second finger mullet and almost immediately picked up another large sea trout pictured below.


I caught this fish in the canal and it almost got away by heading into the brush along the bank. This trout was a little over 23" and I again returned it to fight another day.

I set out the last finger mullet and continued walking the top water plug with my other rod.

After a short time I picked up another nice sea trout again about 22" which I returned.

About the time it was getting dark and time to leave, a fellow fisherman who I met on Friday showed up and pulled over to talk about the fishing.

Don was wading around the "duck blind" farther up the road and although he saw fish tailing, they apparently weren't interested in eating.

We fished together for a short while until the mosquitoes started eating me up. It never amazes me how they get accustomed to mosquito spray. I think they think its perfume.

Anyway, it was getting dark and I decided to call it a day.

As I was heading out towards Peacocks Pocket boat launch, I saw a huge fish swirl on some baitfish.

I stopped the truck and pulled out my other rod that had a Storm Rattlin' Chug Bug - 3.25" - Gizzard Shad on it and shot a cast upstream from where the fish had busted on the baitfish.

On the third pop the water exploded and a gator trout smashed the lure and jumped right out of the water.

The fish put up a great fight and after about 10 minutes or so I landed this 29 incher below. It actually measured in at a little over 29".


Anyway, I was going to take it home to eat but she was loaded with roe so I released the fish to fight another day. What the hell, a picture is worth a thousand words so I'll eat a ham sandwich instead of a fish sandwich.

Tomorrow is Easter so if I don't get out, have a happy Easter and keep a Tight Line!

A Nice Day For Redfish

After almost getting skunked yesterday, Karen and I almost didn't bother going fishing today.

However, after I finished up with some chores, we decided to try some other areas we that we haven't fished in a while.

Since I had a lifetime pass to Playalinda Beach and hadn't been to the beach lately, we decided to check out the fishing and possibly catch some whiting if the conditions were right.

The weather was beautiful but the wind was whipping up the waves. A perfect day for surfers but not for fishermen.

We stopped first at lot #6 where I took these pics. There were virtually no fishermen in the area but lots of bathers and surfers.

We drove on to Eddy Creek and saw only a few catfish and small trout being caught so we moved on up to lot #9 where the fishermen usually catch fish.

I took these pics and after talking to some of the guys who were fishing, decided to pass on the surf fishing.

When the tide was coming in some nice bull whiting were being caught, but as the waves became more difficult to fish, almost everyone was "packing it in" for the afternoon.

These guys were the exception and were still catching whiting.

Elmo was getting antsy, so I took some pics of the last space shuttle that will ever launch from this pad and decided to take Bio Lab road along the Mosquito Lagoon out to our next spot.

I stopped to net some finger mullet for bait but couldn't get close enough for a good cast. I foolishly tried one half hearted cast into the wind at a school that wasn't nearly close enough before giving up and moving on up the road.

As we got close to the Bio Lab boat launch, we saw a group of fishermen who were thoroughly enjoying themselves out in the Mosquito Lagoon,lounging on their chairs and fishing with live finger mullet.

I just had to take this pic.

I was about to call it a day but Karen wanted to give one of our spots on the Indian River one last try if it wasn't too windy to cast.

As we came into Catfish Creek Loop I managed to net enough finger mullet for bait at one of the culverts.

We drove on up the road to the spot where she wanted to fish.

Karen stayed with her dead shrimp and bobber combo while I tossed out two live finger mullet baits. One was free lined and the other held on bottom with a 1 oz. sliding sinker rig.

As a car came by, Karen called me to make sure that Elmo was in the car.

I went to the car but he wasn't anywhere. I quickly realized that Elmo was still sitting where I netted the finger mullet for bait.

Karen was frantic and threw her rod into the truck as I backed down the road.

About 20 yards down the road I saw Elmo looking to find us. I opened the door and he flew into the truck with an incredulous look on his face that we would actually leave him like that.

After scolding him for not staying in the truck we moved back to our spot where my rods were still out.

Despite the wind, it was only about 10 minutes before a nice fat redfish picked up the freelined mullet bait and headed upstream.

After a really decent fight, I Boca Gripped the fish to the bank, took some pics and returned the fish to fight another day.

The fish measured in just over the slot at 29".

As I put on another mullet I heard Karen yell that she had a good redfish on.

I pulled out my trusty Nikon camera and took these videos of her landing a 31" redfish. As they say; "A picture is worth a thousand words".


These two fish made up for the lousy fishing we had on Friday.

After I put her fish back, I walked back to where my other rod was and lost another redfish.

Since I hadn't bothered to bring any aireation along, the mullet I netted were all dead. So, I hooked up a 7" mullet and punched some holes in its guts to get the juices flowing and pitched it into another area where I saw a fish swirl.

After about 5 minutes or so I hooked onto another nice fat redfish that put up a good fight. This fish was just at the slot and almost made it to the dinner table tonight.

Instead I opted to put the fish back to fight another day.

Karen and I were getting eaten up by the mosquitoes and it was getting late, so we decided to head on up the road and call it a day.

The full moon over the Space Center will probably keep the reds eating throughout the night.

Anyway, it was A Nice Day For Redfish and today's fishing excursion definitely made up for yesterday's less than stellar trip.

I'm not sure I can get out tomorrow so until next time, Tight Lines to you all.

Scouting Trip To Peacocks Pocket

After a long drive home, my wife and I decided to scout out Peacocks Pocket to see what people were catching.

Although we didn't get out until about 6:00 p.m. we were hoping to catch some reds or at least a couple of sea trout.

We entered from the east entrance to the shallow water boat launch and stopped briefly at several spots without having even a bite.

The air temperature was still in the low 80s and there was a chop on the Indian River.

Karen was fishing with frozen jumbo shrimp and I was tossing a blue Creme paddle-tail swim bait, a gold Johnson's spoon and several other artificial baits.

Karen was getting bites but losing whatever was hitting and I never got a tap.

We kept moving until we hit "bobcat bay" where we met up with R. Morgan, a very polite Fish & Game officer who checked our licenses but couldn't give us much information on where the fish were biting.

He only said that the fishing in this area was in cycles and that it would eventually pick up.

He left but the fishing never did get any better so we moved to another spot at a culvert.

I saw a small pod of finger mullet scattering for their lives, so I flipped my paddletail lure to the opposite bank and twitched it off the bottom.

After several hops, what I believe was a gator sea trout grabbed the lure and pulled a couple of yards of drag off my reel before the hook pulled out.

I was using 12# Cajun Red main line and about 3 feet of 15# fluorocarbon leader.

I made several dozen casts to the area but never got another hit.

Since it was getting dark and the mosquitoes were eating Elmo, Karen and myself almost to death; we decided to pack it in for the evening and call it a day.

Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day.

Till then,

Tight Lines.

Late Afternoon Indian River Redfish

The Indian River redfish bite north of the Peacocks Pocket shallow boat launch has been reported good by wade fishermen and kayakers.

Unfortunately, I spent most of this weekend laying sod in our front yard and painting the house.

Late Saturday, my wife and I took a brief run around the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge to get some pics of the area and talk to some fishermen about their catches.

There was a carnival was in town complete with Ferris wheel, tilt a whirl, and the usual array of vendors so we thought the area would be mostly free of vehicle traffic.

We were wrong! The area was loaded with sightseers, fishermen, sun worshippers, and people just generally enjoying the beautiful day.

Most of the people we encountered fishing from the bank weren't having much luck.

They were catching stingrays, catfish, and a few small trout.

We did see several groups of fishermen who were wading out and staking out their rods in the shallow water just shy of where the water drops off from the flats.

Most of them were using live finger mullet and a couple of them were pitching jerkbaits.

We saw several of these fishermen reeling in redfish and black drum.

Apparently, fishing the dropoffs near dusk is the ticket to success.

I took some pics of kayakers who were scoring sea trout using live shrimp and finger mullet.

Karen and I did stop at the "duck blind" area for a few minutes and managed to pick up a couple of stingrays on dead shrimp, that we thought were tailing redfish.

In any event, the water on the canal side of the road was dead calm with no fish visible.

The river side was just as calm until you reach the deeper water areas.

Since I was dog tired and aching from laying sod; I took these pics and proceeded to the local Subway shop for a couple of subs before heading home.

I've got some house painting tomorrow, so I probably won't be on the water.

Until next trip, Tight Lines.

Duck Blind Redfish

Finally, after two days of lousy luck, my duck blind redfish broke the streak I was on.

Karen and I didn't get out today until about 4:30, so we again headed for the closest fishing location which happened to be Peacocks Pocket road.

We briefly stopped at two locations where I spotted fish swirling on baitfish near the bank, but the fish had lockjaw and were very spooky.

Our second stop at Catfish Creek Loop was cut short by a large gator that was creating a problem for Karen. The gator kept following her on the bank where ever she stopped to fish.

As we left that area, we spotted the gator below sunning itself on the bank. This one was a bit larger than the one that kept following Karen.

It was getting late and the gnats were starting to really bother Elmo our wonder dog, so we decided to try fishing an area we call the "duck blind".

I was flipping a white D.O.A. ® C.A.L. Jerk Bait on a green jig head with little success. Although I had a few taps from sea trout, I never did get a hit from a redfish.

I switched to a large fresh dead shrimp, as did Karen and after only about five minutes or so watched the line peel off my spinning reel.

The fish put up a nice battle and immediately headed for some stickups. I managed to lead the fish back to open water and after a few minutes landed it on the bank.

It measured in at 25" and if it wasn't for Karen would have been on the dinner table this evening.

She wanted to release it and because I didn't particularly want to clean the fish, it lived to fight another day.

I missed two more reds within 15 minutes of catching the first one and landed a catfish before we decided to head for home.

The no see ums were killing me, Elmo and my wife to a lesser degree.

Skin So Soft worked for her but Elmo and I didn't bother putting any on.

Anyway, I took some pics of the area and this beautiful sunset before calling it an evening.

My "duck blind redfish" finally broke the "skunk" I've been on for the past couple of days.

Hopefully next week will be better.

Till then, Tight Lines to you all!

Scouting Trip To Shiloh Marsh Road

Yesterday my wife and I planned a scouting trip to Shiloh Marsh Road for the main purpose of locating "fishy looking" areas to launch our Gheenoe.

We crossed the new bridge in Titusville and took the South entrance to the area so we could check out a sheltered deep water canal where kayakers sometimes launch their water craft.

When we first got to the canal at about 3:30 pm, we were the only people in the area; so we pulled out our rods and tried our luck.

There was a slight wind on the northern Indian River, but in the canal nothing was moving.

Karen and I both fished with fresh dead shrimp for a while and neither of us could buy a bite.

Since I hate sitting around, I pulled out my other rods and started tossing D.O.A. shrimp, D.O.A. CAL series jerkbaits, gold spoons and finally a Skitter Walk top water lure. All without a bite.

As were were packing up to move on, a two kayakers paddled up the canal in a matched pair of neat looking catamaran type kayaks. One was red, the other was yellow and both were fitted out for fishing.

I took a couple of videos and after talking with them discovered that they were having no better luck than we were.

We moved on to scout out some other areas and found that even though the potholes in the unimproved road had become deeper after the weeks rain, it didn't have any affect on the amount of vehicle traffic.

There were a lot of people in the area fishing and taking pictures of the wildlife.

To make a long story readable; Karen and I fished several spots throughout Shiloh Marsh road without getting even one bite. However, we did find several great launch areas where we could put in our 15' 6" Gheenoe without too much trouble.

I talked to a few fishermen who were after the bull redfish that cruise the area and none of them were getting any bites.

I don't know if it was because of the rising water or what, but neither the bank fishermen, the guys wading out into the middle of the river, nor the guys poling their flats boats around the shallow mudflats seemed to be having a great deal of success.

I did notice the absence of baitfish in the river, which I'm positive is one reason why the redfish bite in this area was so dismal today.

I did manage to get some pics of the scenery and the beautiful wildlife that I hope you will enjoy.

Although Karen and I didn't catch any fish on today's scouting trip to Shiloh Marsh Road, we did find two new launch areas and some potential fishing hotspots we hadn't tried before.

One thing is sure, there are tons of good redfish in both the Mosquito Lagoon and northern Indian River; today we just didn't get one.

Till next time, hopefully you will have Tighter Lines than I've had recently!