Playalinda Beach Whiting

Several people told me that they were murdering the Playalinda Beach whiting during the incoming tide.

Today I decided to take their advice and catch a few for dinner.

According to the solunar tables, the peak fishing period was 11:58 a.m. however I missed it by about two hours. I didn't get out to Canaveral National Seashore until about 1:30 p.m. and because of the line of cars waiting to get into the beach, it was another half hour before I actually wet a line.

I stopped at lots #8, #9, and #11 in order to see what was biting and how the fishermen were doing. For the most part no one was really taking a lot of fish.

Because of Memorial Day, there was a lot of beach activity at all the lots and except for a few serious fishermen, most of the guys I spoke with didn't know the first thing about surf fishing.

The serious fishermen I spoke with caught a variety of fish from bluefish, a few whiting, a banjo shark, a sail catfish and a bonnet head.

Unfortunately, they were leaving the beach. They said the bite had slowed down to a halt and the surf was getting a little too rough. Not really a good time to catch a mess of whiting!

Anyway, I was already here so I took some pics of the beach activity and finally wet a line at lot #9.

I baited up one of my river rods with peeled shrimp and started flipping the light rig in very shallow water, gradually moving farther out into the closest trough. Since the tide was well on its way out and the wind was blowing in, the waves were getting serious.

I had several bites in one trough but only hooked a couple small whiting before the bite stopped.


I got tired battling the waves so I decided to head home via Bio Lab road and try for a redfish or a seatrout.

There was a serious fire going on at KSC but no one seemed to know what was going on. I took some pics and moved on to Bio Lab road.

As I drove past the Whales Tail, I spotted some guides doing their thing in the shallows along with a couple of other boats trying their luck.

The water was gin clear today but the weeds were horrific. I stopped at one of my favorite wading spots and started pitching a gold Johnson spoon into the sandy holes.

Despite the weed problem, I managed to bag two slot seatrout and missed a small redfish.

I spooked several seatrout and saw some nice sized sheepshead in the shallows but since I left the shrimp in the truck I never got a chance to try for one.

After about an hour fighting the weeds, I decided to give it up and head for the hacienda.

Evidently this guy liked my gold spoon. He kept following me as I waded the shallows so I took his pic for posterity.

All in all it was a very enjoyable Sunday afternoon.

Till next time, Tight Lines!

Windy Conditions On The River

The windy conditions on the river today evidently prevented a lot of people from fishing. It did not however stop the wind surfers from enjoying their sport.

Despite the conditions, I decided to try my luck this afternoon on the Indian River for some redfish.

Unlike yesterday's fishing trip the fishing today proved challenging to say the least.

The temperature was in the low 90s and the wind was blowing the river into a light chop which made casting difficult. Not only that, the fish had lockjaw; Big Time!

I fished with artificial jerk baits, top water STORM Rattlin' Chug Bug - 3.25" - Gizzard Shad, SkitterWalks and finally live baits without having any outstanding results to brag about.

On the way into the Merritt Island National Wildlife Preserve I netted a few finger mullet and small ladyfish for bait in case the artificial lures I prefer to use didn't produce. And I'm glad I did.

If it wasn't for the live bait, I probably would have been skunked. Even with the live mullet and ladyfish, the fishing was pretty slow.

I fished three areas today. The flats around Bio Lab road, the shallows around Gator Creek Road and finally Peacocks Pocket road.

Although I spotted fish moving around in the afternoon, I couldn't get anything to bite.

The flats around Gator Creek and Bio Lab road proved to be a waste of time. Perhaps if I had tried fishing these areas later in the day, they might have produced a red or two but in the heat of the early afternoon; the fishing was pretty dismal.

About 6:30 I decided to try my luck at the Pocket. On the way in I netted some bait at a culvert and because it was later in the day I was anticipating better luck .

I drove almost half the length of the road looking for signs of fish and blind casting artificial baits with no success. There were some baitfish being busted by something big but I couldn't get them to hit my lures.

At the fourth stop I switched to a 7" ladyfish and free lined it around a milling bait pod.

After a few minutes the bait took off and I thought I had hooked a large trout. I gave the fish some line before setting the hook and immediately got a jumping fish.

Much to my surprise the fish turned out to be a longnose Garfish.

I fought the fish until it tired and then gingerly pulled it out onto the bank. I took these pics before letting it go back into the depths.

I was really surprised how well the fish fought but was disappointed it wasn't a sea trout.

I moved up the road and fished the same places Karen and I fished yesterday without getting even a nibble.

I finally moved to a place I call Snook Point, for obvious reasons and threw out my last finger mullet.

After about 15 minutes I finally hooked an under sized "Rat" redfish that swallowed the hook.

The fish was bleeding when I got it on the bank so instead of salvaging the hook, I cut the line and released the fish hoping it would survive the day.

With all the alligators I saw in the canal today; I believe that was wishful thinking.

Anyway, I took several pics of the beautiful spoonbills and egrets that were in the area before pulling up stakes and calling it a day.

The windy conditions on the river today proved to be more than I cared for.

Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day.

Till then, Tight Lines.

Peacocks Pocket Redfish

The Peacocks Pocket redfish are on the prowl and they're hungry.

This time of year is great for chucking topwater lures to "gator" size sea trout in the shallows early in the morning and late in the afternoon, however; when you don't get time to schedule your fishing trips, its time to go after redfish.

Redfish can be caught almost any time of the day or night if you know what you're doing and provide great sport on light tackle.

After spending a couple of weeks in the mountains of North Carolina, it's great to be back in salt water.

Although I was raised in Pennsylvania and am used to fishing the limestone creeks in the Pocono Mountains for native trout, I never did get the time to wet a line in the beautiful creeks of Highlands, N.C.

This video shows the scenery and type of fishing conditions you can expect to see there.

Now to the Peacocks Pocket redfish situation.

My wife, Elmo our wonder dog and I got a late start to our favorite fishing spot.

As we entered Peacocks Pocket Road, we stopped to pick up a few 6" plus size finger mullet for bait with my cast net at the kayak and canoe launch ramp.

Since the last time we fished the area, the water levels had risen considerably; so we decided to fish some new areas just for the hell of it.

The roseate spoonbills, egrets, ibis and other waterfowl were out in mass wading the shallows for their dinner. I took some pics below.

The wind was blowing quite a bit from the west, so we fished the marsh side of the road.

My wife and I both decided to bait up with finger mullet. At the first spot we fished, there were some swirls made by bait fish, but the reds didn't seem interested.

The second and third stops provided some taps but no fish. At the third spot we tried, it was another story.

I flipped out a mullet about 7" long at a swirl that I noticed on the opposite bank and after about two minutes, the line started screaming off my spinning reel.

I was using a 7' Medium action Shakespeare Fishing Ugly Stik Fresh Water Rods Rod, 7' 0", M, 12 20lb., a Quantum "energy" reel loaded with 10# Cajun line, 3 feet of 15# flurocarbon leader and a 5/0 Owner hook.

The fish made an inital run of about 75 yards before it decided to slow down. During the run, it went around a brush pile and I had to "baby" the fish until it finally freed itself.

After Karen brought the boca grip, I fought the redfish for about 15 more minutes before I could finally lip the fish onto the bank.

These pictures speak for themselves.

The fish measured in at almost 38" long and was one my better catches.

Karen took some more pictures of me and the fish before I released it to fight another day.

While Karen was getting me the Boca Grip so I could land my redfish, a second redfish hit the mullet on her rod but it wasn't hooked well and got off.

The wind was picking up and the weather was getting ominous so we decided to move on to another spot we call "bobcat bay".

Karen tossed out her mullet and I free lined a mullet with one rod and started casting a jerk bait with my other one.

I saw the wake of a large fish chasing some bait on a sallow point, so I chucked out the pink and green jerk bait.

Almost immediately I hooked on to a very large fish that I thought was another redfish however, when it made a half hearted jump I realized it was a huge gator sea trout.

The fish was close to the size of the redfish I caught earlier and probably would have weighed in at around 10 pounds, but after another run, the hook tore out of the fish's soft mouth.

I heard Karen shouting that she had a fish on and as I started out to help her with the fish, she yelled back that she lost it. It was another nice over size redfish.

It was beginning to get dark and as the rains started, I hooked another redfish with the finger mullet that I was free lining.

The fish tore off several yards of mono from the reel before it broke off.

I have no idea how big the redfish was but I do know it was big. When a fish pulls off that much line, that fast; it's a big fish.

Anyway, it started lightning and it was beginning to rain harder, so we decided to call it a day.

All in all, we both hooked a total of five fish and landed one.

Not bad for my first day fishing after being out of practice in Highlands, N.C.

Till next time, Tight Lines!

Shakedown Cruise And Fishing The Mosquito Lagoon Flats

My wife and I finally took out the Maverick out for a "shakedown cruise"; mainly because the barriers are up in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge for the Endeavor space shuttle launch.

We decided to put in at the new boat launch at the Titusville Marina and head through Haulover Canal to fish the Tiger Shoals flats.

Before even getting to the ICW channel, I noticed that the gas tank was showing almost empty. Since I wasn't sure about the gauge, I decided to top off the tank at the marina.

I gassed up and almost had a heart attack. The 30 gallons of gas cost me over $140.00 at the dock. Talk about sticker shock!

Anyway, we headed up the ICW through the canal with no problems except for the trim tabs. They were not working at all, so I chalked it up as a blown fuse until I could better troubleshoot the problem.

We got to the Mosquito Lagoon and fished the flats across from the entrance to Haulover. We got a few hits from trout, but no fish. A school of dolphin was feeding nearby so we headed north to the shoals.

The fishing here could have been better but we did manage to stir up and spook a couple of schools of redfish. The fish were wary and I couldn't get within casting range so we pulled up to a spot near a drop off and put down the Power Pole.

The flats are loaded with mullet schools right now and we could see big sea trout occasionally busting up on a school.

I tried fishing a top water skitterwalk but the weeds made a good presentation almost impossible, so I moved on to fishing various colored jerk baits.

For some reason I kept missing the sea trout. I must have had at least two dozen strikes but I never actually landed a fish.

I find it hard to believe that the fish were undersize with so many big ones hitting the mullet on the surface, so I'll just chalk it up to lack of practice on my part.

My wife wanted to fish shrimp under a cork and she also kept missing trout.

She finally caught a few nice sized catfish but I got skunked on this trip. Hard to believe with all the fish out there.

Since this was a shakedown cruise we decided to head back early. It was getting much more windy and I wasn't sure how much fuel I actually had in my tank.

On the ride back through Haulover Canal, I marked several nice schools of fish on my Lowrance LMS 350A. They were running 9 to 12 feet deep with some big singles (probably big redfish or drum) just off the bottom.

As we headed back to the Titusville Marina ramp, we crossed over a wake made by a nice sport fisherman and the instrument gauge warning signal went off.

I immediately shut off the motor and checked the oil and temperature to see what the problem was.

I couldn't find anything wrong so I cranked up the Yamaha 150 and continued on.

The motor ran fine at low to mid speeds but started sputtering at high r.p.m. and the warning signal kept sounding periodically all the way back to the launch.

The motor definitely was not overheating and the oil reservoir was 3/4 full, so I loaded the boat on the trailer and took it to Mosquito Lagoon Outfitters to see what the problem is all about.

Evidently we're not the only ones with boat problems. They have at least a two week backlog.

Well what the hell. I left the boat and asked him to give me a call when he figures out what happened.

For a shakedown cruise, I guess the trip was a success. I identified three things wrong with the boat. A bad gas tank sensor, trim tab problem and a possible oil mix or thermostat problem with the engine.

The new bridge over the Indian River at Titusville will be closed two hours before and two hours after the Endeavor launch on Monday.

I guess I'll go back to bank fishing for a while.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Tough Fishing Conditions

Despite tough fishing conditions this afternoon, I still managed to bag a few trout from the mosquito control canals in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Mothers day was hot in central Florida. The temperatures ran into the high 80s but the wind made it bearable enough for me to venture out this afternoon and try my luck.

My wife was sore from doing yard work and helping me lay a pallet of sod yesterday and to be perfectly frank, so was I.

Karen opted to stay at home and get some rest while I took off for the Indian River.

I got a late start and didn't get on the water until about 6:30 p.m.

The wind didn't let up like it usually does in the afternoon which made casting somewhat of a challenge.

Because of all the fishing pressure that the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge has been getting, I decided to use my ultra light "Bill Dance" Quantum rod and reel combination that was loaded up with 6# test Red Cajun mono.

I was using a new Creme 2" green glitter paddle tail swim bait that I picked up earlier at WalMart.

Since the trout in the canals have been peppered with every kind of lure known to man, I thought that going "light" with a small bait would give me better luck and I was right.

Within 20 minutes of driving into the area, I hooked and released two slot sized trout.

Both of the fish put up a nice battle on the light line and even gave me a couple of nice jumps before giving it up.

I "jump fished" and within a couple of hundred yards managed to hook a total of six sea trout however, I only landed three of them before the sun set.

The mosquitoes were getting really nasty and a green headed horse fly thought I was dinner, so I decided to get out of the preserve.

On the way out, I spotted some top water action near a duck blind in the Indian River, so I pulled over and got out my other spinning rod that was loaded with a Bagley's "Finger Mullet" top water plug.

I tossed the plug to within a foot of the bank and the water exploded.

After a short battle, I landed the biggest sea trout of the afternoon. It measured in at 25".

Since I didn't feel like cleaning sea trout tonight, I released the fish after unceremoniously taking it's picture in the bed of my truck.

My wife usually helps me with the picture taking duties but since she stayed home, the truck bed picture was the quickest way to go.

Anyway, till next time hope you all are blessed with Tight Lines!

Fishing In The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge,

Late this afternoon my wife and I decided to see if the NASA folks still had the barriers up in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

The shuttle launch has been rescheduled again until the 16th. so we decided to give the area a "shot".

It was late so we packed up the minimum of tackle and headed for Peacocks Pocket road to see if anything was happening.

The barriers were down so took the first open entrance.

As we stopped by one of my favorite trout fishing areas, we saw one of the wild boars that frequent the swamp in this area. He was walking around the opposite side of a salt water pond looking as if he didn't have a care in the world.

I took these pics and headed to another area to catch some trout for dinner.

We passed a half dozen gators before settling on a stretch that we usually have good luck with.

My wife Karen was fishing with frozen jumbo shrimp and I decided on a green DOA jig head and a green 4 " Strike King jerk bait in the stinger end to start with.

Even though we were fishing late in the afternoon, it had been raining in the area sporadically throughout the day and the fish didn't appear to be very active. We didn't even get to the area until about 7:00 p.m.

Walking the bank and fishing both sides of the unimproved road, I had hits from 6 sea trout using the jerk bait.

I couldn't hook a fish to save my life so I baited up a second rod with a dead shrimp and tossed it close to the opposite bank to see if I could pick up a redfish.

I switched baits and moved to a top water plug. I managed to attract a couple of half hearted smacks from small trout with the plug but again couldn't hook anything.

I was about to pull up stakes and move up the road when my other rod started bouncing up and down.

I set the hook and after a short fight landed a slot sized "rat" redfish that I took pics of and returned to grow up.

I was hoping for some top water trout action which is normally quite good this time of year, but I just couldn't hook any fish.

This large gator was sunning itself but slowly moved into the stretch of water we were fishing, so Karen and I decided to call it a day.

The mosquitoes were bad enough, but a 9 foot gator trying to sneak up on you when you're trying to land a fish is something I choose to avoid.

Anyway, I've got a pallet of sod to lay tomorrow morning but if I can still hold a fishing rod afterwards, I'll be out here again trying my luck.

Till next time, Tight Lines.