A Great Afternoon Fishing Trip In The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

Well, despite the rolling thunderstorms that hit us this afternoon, my wife and I had a great afternoon fishing trip in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

I had to stop mowing the lawn a couple of times because of the severe lightning but as soon as I finished up I rounded up Elmo and Karen for a trip to the Refuge.

I cast netted about a dozen finger mullet and a few small ladyfish for bait as we entered Peacocks Pocket then headed for where we caught some nice fish the other day.

The thunderstorms stopped but we could see them off of the horizon.

Today we stopped at three spots and caught fish at all three locations.

I picked up a nice 22" sea trout on a finger mullet at the first stop and missed a nice redfish of about the same size.

Karen didn't get a bite and was too busy freaking out because of an alligator that kept following her in the canal.

We moved on down the road to our second spot where I picked up another sea trout a little larger than the first.

The pic below is not good quality because it was taken along with all the other pics on this post with my Nokia cell phone.

In our rush to go fishing, I neglected to take my trusty Nikon along on this trip and true to form, we missed some great photo opportunities.

It was getting close to 8:00 so we moved to our final spot where Karen picked up a nice 32" redfish on a free lined finger mullet.

I heard her yelling as I was releasing another sea trout so I dropped my rod and ran for the boca grip in the truck.

The fish put up a great fight (part of which I captured on the cell phone) and as it finally gave up the battle, I skidded down the bank and gripped the bull redfish onto the bank.

I took these pics of Karen holding the fish and released it back into the canal. It remained motionless for some time but finally swam off into the depths.

I normally revive the fish I release but the alligators were out this afternoon and I didn't want to take a chance of losing my arm.

Since it was getting on towards dusk, we decided to call it a day.

It was definitely a great afternoon fishing trip in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge with no one else around but two other people in the entire preserve.

Till next time, Tight Lines!

Oops, I did it again

Oops, I did it again! Got another gator sea trout.

The gator trout are definitely biting in the Indian River lagoon.

It was raining and lightning when I got home from work late this afternoon but when it slowed down a bit, my wife and I decided to go fishing and try for another gator trout or two.

The alligators were out in full force looking for food in the marsh area and there were plenty of fish around for them to feed on.

We didn't get to the river until about 6:30 and the weather was just plain nasty.

I netted up a few 6" mullet for bait and we drove to an area where I caught a near gator trout earlier this week.

We made a couple of stops and I had a few hits on a gold Johnson spoon but missed both fish. It seemed like everything was chasing finger mullet.

The weather got progressively worse as a huge thunderstorm moved in. The wind started really blowing and the temperature must have dropped at least 10 degrees.

Karen was afraid of the lightening and stayed in the car while I pitched out a finger mullet on one rod and started casting to fish with my gold spoon.

After only a couple of minutes, I saw the line with the mullet paying out and after a few seconds I set the hook.

The water exploded as a gator sea trout jumped clear out of the water and made a couple of super quick runs. The fish reacted just like a snook.

After the second run I played the fish to the bank, landed it and got Karen to take a couple of pics. The fish measured in at hair over 27".

I was going to let the fish go but the fish was bleeding and I wanted some fresh trout for dinner so I put it in the back of the truck. It couldn't fit in the small cooler we were using.

The weather didn't let up a bit but after I caught my fish, Karen decided to start fishing despite the lightening.

She pitched out a mullet on her clacker bobber rig and after a brief wait hooked onto a nice sea trout.

As she got it to the bank she tried to pull it up but the fish was too big and broke off at the hook.

For a brief couple of seconds the sea trout just sat there in the shallow water so not thinking about the alligators, I just slid down the bank and grabbed the trout around it's midsection.

The fish was at least 20" and as I tried to stand up I lost my balance and almost slid head first into the canal.

Karen was laughing herself silly and I wasn't having a good day at this point.

As she pulled me out of the water and I figured "what the hell" as long as I was drenched, why not keep fishing.

The thunderstorm activity sparked a feeding frenzy and the baitfish were being chased all over the place by big sea trout and redfish.

We continued fishing and just as it started getting dark, I hooked onto another gator trout that was quite a bit larger than the one I landed earlier. This fish was at least 30" and jumped three times before the hook pulled out.

Karen and I were drenched to the bone and we were both getting cold, so we decided to head for home to change our clothes and fillet the sea trout for dinner.

I believe we could have caught more fish if we had stayed out there but it wasn't worth getting a case of pneumonia.

Maybe we can repeat the performance tomorrow.

Until then, Tight Lines!

Another Gator Sea Trout

Late this afternoon, my wife and I decided to try our luck in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge for some redfish and hopefully another gator sea trout.

The temperature was 94 degrees when we left the house and settled in at 89 degrees as we pulled into Peacocks Pocket road.

I didn't forget my cast net for a change, so I stopped at a place I know where there are always some small ladyfish and finger mullet.

After netting a few for bait we moved to the first of four stops we made today.

The first was at the culverts just past the Peacocks Pocket kayak launch.

Karen fished dead shrimp and a small ladyfish under a bobber and I used a gold Johnson's spoon.

After about 20 minutes of fishing we decided to move on up the road. I caught a long nose gar fish of about 28" and Karen never got a bite.

The next two stops didn't produce anything but a couple of light taps. We saw feeding redfish but they weren't hungry.

Our last stop proved to be the best spot of today's trip.

I stopped when I saw a lot of feeding activity in the shallows next to the opposite bank of the marsh canal.

Karen tossed out her two rigs and I loaded up a rod with a lively 9" ladyfish on a 4/0 Owner hook.

I put out a second rod with a dead ladyfish cut in half while I tossed a white D.O.A. Paddle tail bait around the opposite bank of the canal.

After about 15 minutes, I hooked onto a nice redfish on the ladyfish baited rod.

I fought the fish for about 10 minutes or so before the fish wrapped around a stickup and broke off. That fish was at least 30" long and definitely not a keeper.

After only a few minutes, Karen yelled that she had a redfish on.

I grabbed my camera and took a few pics of her fish. It was just legal size but we let it go anyway.

I hooked up with a lively fat 7" mullet and tossed it out to where I saw a fish swirl.

It took only a few minutes before the fish took off with the mullet in it's gut.

At first I thought it was a redfish because of it's size but I quickly realized it was a gator sea trout by the way the fish fought. It just sloshed around instead of making a long run like redfish are notorious for.

I landed the fish and had Karen take these pics with my Nikon.

Although I look like hell, it was a nice sea trout (about 24") so I decided to crop the pic and post it. The second pic is what the fish looks like just before I cleaned and ate it.

We were both tired and because it was getting dark we decided to call it a day.

It's nice fishing on a weekday in the Refuge. We only saw two other people in the drive and the fish were feeding just about everywhere.

Weekend fishing is much more challenging because of all the activity. The fish get spooked and you don't usually catch anything until just at dusk.

Till next time.

Tight Lines.

The Shrimp Are Still Running In The Indian River

A friend of mine told me the shrimp are still running in the Indian River and that the regulars were getting up to a couple hundred shrimp a night.

There wasn't anything exciting on the boob tube so I decided to take a ride down to the new fishing pier and check out the shrimping activities.

Since it was Monday evening, I didn't expect to see many people out and about but boy was I wrong!



When I parked at the pavilion near the fishing pier it was about 11:45 p.m. and the place was loaded with people.

Some were shrimping, some were catching crabs and many were fishing for the sea trout that were competing with the shrimpers.

I brought one rod and my trusty Nikon and took these pics of the evenings festivities.

There was a steady wind blowing from the south and it was hard to spot shrimp under the lights but despite the challenge, several of the shrimpers I spoke with had several dozen large to jumbo shrimp lining their 5 gallon buckets.

I took some more pictures and decided to try my luck on the sea trout that were just above the lights. Occasionally you could see them dart out from the depths to snag a shrimp or small bait fish from the surface.

I tossed a Creme paddletail swim bait, a Lazer eye jig, and a D.O.A. shrimp at the fish with no takers. Finally I changed over to a Johnson gold spoon and that did the trick.

I discovered that when I cast just outside of the shrimp lights and brought the spoon in about a foot under the surface, the trout couldn't let the lure alone.

I caught five fish in about a half an hour and missed three more.

All the fish were undersize and released but they were still fun to catch.

I finally got tired of messing with the trout and left the pier to the shrimpers at about 1:30 a.m.

Hope to get out tomorrow and catch a red or two.

Till then, Tight Lines!

Shiloh Marsh Road Water Levels Are Dangerously Low

Because of severe thunderstorm activity in the Central Florida area yesterday, my wife and I never got a chance to get out and wet a line.

This afternoon we decided to see what the water levels looked like around Shiloh Marsh Road in the Indian River.

I was hoping for a chance at a tarpon but would be happy with anything I could catch.

There is a meandering narrow creek at the uppermost part of the Indian River where tarpon occasionally inhabit and where fishermen almost never bother fishing. So, that was the first place we hit.

There was a lot of activity all along the creek but no tarpon. For the most part there were large sea trout chasing finger mullet in the shallows right up onto the bank.

I spotted a couple of slot size redfish, but never could get a lure close enough to attract a bite.

It was late in the afternoon and the temperature hovered in the high 80s. There was a brisk wind that was blowing water in the lagoon northward.

As we moved south on Shiloh Marsh Road, the water levels on the marsh side of the road were dangerously low.

Areas where we previously caught redfish, sea trout and sometimes small tarpon are now completely dried up.

One area I particularly liked to fish was dotted with dead horseshoe crabs and the odor reminded me of a Savannah crab shack.

I took some pics and we continued to scout the road looking for some fish activity.

At one stop I netted a few juvenile lady fish and a couple of mullet for bait. There were schools of bait fish moving close to shore but very few fish were chasing them.

One of the spots that we planned to fish was already taken by several wade fishermen who were casting live finger mullet.

Another good spot where we sometimes fish for bull reds was also taken by a couple of wade fishermen who even had their cooler on the water.

Our last stop turned out to be around a culvert where Karen usually catches some fish.

I tried several lures and managed to miss a couple of sea trout with a white Terror Eye D.O.A. Everything else I tossed at the fish was a waste of time.

Karen missed a couple of fish using dead shrimp but finally changed over to a 6 " live finger mullet.

Fishing today was slow and difficult due to the windy conditions but just as we were preparing to leave the area, Karen picked up a slot size sea trout shown here.

I was planning to release the fish but it was gill hooked so I decided to put it on the dinner table instead.

Hopefully, I'll get my Maverick out of the shop tomorrow so we can get into deeper water at the edges of the flats.

One of my guide friends tell me that the trout are still hitting well in the early mornings and just at dusk.

During the full moon nights, fishing is also very productive using top water plugs like Mirror Lures, Chug Bugs or Skitter Walks.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Smokey Evening On The Indian River

It was definitely a smokey evening on the Indian River today.

As I was driving home from Highlands, N.C. today, I heard on a 690 AM radio station out of Jacksonville a report that there were currently 3,500 wildfires burning in the state of Florida.

From Savannah, Ga. all the way to Titusville, Fl. there was smoke in the air that in some places made driving pretty hazardous.


Despite the smoke, my wife and I decided to get out and scout the north Indian River around the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge to see if anything was happening.

I didn't get home until late, so we didn't get to the river until about 7:00 p.m.

There was a lot of smoke in the air, the wind was blowing and there was a storm brewing but despite these conditions we tried our best to catch a redfish or two.

We saw only one other vehicle in the preserve and he didn't look like he was going fishing.

Karen and I only had time to stop at a couple of our favorite locations and we made the best of it.

Karen fished dead shrimp and I tried fishing several artificial lures with no success.

I tried a gold Johnson spoon, Chug Bug, a D.O.A.TerrorEye and finally a white Creme swimbait that I found in the center console of my truck.

Although Karen had a couple of hits that she thought were sea trout; I didn't get so much as a tap until just before dusk.

I was blind casting the white Creme paddle tail swimbait all around the Indian River side of the road and finally hooked a redfish about 5 feet from the bank.

I thought I had a snag when the redfish hit, but when I saw the beautiful blue hue on it's fins I immediately knew what I had on.

The fish was about 26" long but wasn't hooked well. It spit the lure out almost immediately and took off into the deeper part of the river.

I continued casting around the spot hoping for another bite, neither Karen nor I had another hit for the rest of the evening.

Since it was getting dark and starting to rain, we decided to pack it in and head for home.

Although it was a smokey evening on the Indian River this evening, I hope the rain clears up the smoke enough to get in some decent fishing tomorrow.

Till then, Tight Lines!

The Reds Are Still Biting

The reds are still biting in the Indian River Lagoon as this picture can attest to.

This one we couldn't keep even if we wanted to. It measured in at 32 inches with the tail "squished".

The sea trout I was really targeting today didn't pay much attention to what I was offering, but the redfish were eating just fine.

This one was taken by Karen on a frozen "red shrimp" we picked up at the local fish market. She fished it under a Cajun Thunder popper rig with a 5/0 Owner hook and about two feet of 15# fluorocarbon leader.

I almost didn't get any of these deep water shrimp because of their red color, but the price was right so I picked up a 10 pound bag to eat and for bait.

Evidently the redfish didn't care too much about the color.

I'll be putting down a pallet of sod tomorrow and if I survive, I plan to try again for a gator sea trout.

I guess that's why they call it fishing!

Till next time, Tight Lines.