Friday Before A Cold Front

The Friday before a cold front should be a good time to fish the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River and today was no exception.

Late this afternoon Karen, Elmo and I packed up our gear and headed for the Indian River.

The weather was beautiful. The temperature was in the low 80s and there was a very slight to almost non-existent breeze that left most of the marsh areas looking like a mirror just before sunset.

Midway through Peacocks Pocket road was the first place we decided to fish.

There were some telltale swirls near a small school of finger mullet that led me to believe that a redfish or sea trout was in the area.

Karen rigged up with a jumbo dead shrimp and an indicator bobber while I opted for a gold Bagley diamond spoon.

My third cast hooked me up with a nice redfish that made the mistake of thinking the spoon was a mullet.

The red fought until it was close to the bank but because there was so much brush on the bank there was no way to physically land the fish.

The fish swam to within a couple of feet from the bank and finally shook the spoon loose. One of my better releases!

Several casts later and a twin to the first redfish hit the spoon and put up a spirited fight until it too shook loose.

Karen had a couple of "maybe" bites but didn't get a hookup. The reds were definitely feeding on bait fish.

I had one other hit on the gold spoon that didn't get a solid hookup before the bite went cold.

Something swam down the marsh canal but we couldn't make out what it was. The short video below will let you make up your own mind.

We tried one other spot were I caught a couple of nice reds the week before but this evening nothing was happening.

As the mosquitoes were starting to get really nasty, Karen suggested we pack up and head for home and I whole heatedly agreed.

I'm hoping to get in some fishing tomorrow, so until then. Tight Lines.

Fishing The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

Although Friday evening wasn't very productive, Saturday afternoon in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge proved to be a bit better.

My wife, Elmo and I headed out to the "swamp" as she calls it to fish for reds that are now prowling the shallows.

In the northern portions of the Indian River, there are 30 to 40 pound bull redfish being caught right now on cut bait, live pigfish, pinfish and finger mullet.

In the marsh canals, the reds prowl the shorelines looking for an easy meal and this is the area we targeted.

I picked up some jumbo head on shrimp from a local source for my wife to fish with and I decided to fish with a variety of lures.

We started at gator creek where on my first cast I spooked a large redfish in about 6" of water.

Several casts later I briefly hooked up with a medium sized sea trout on a Strike King rage tail lure hooked with a weighted jerk bait hook.

I picked and missed a few ladyfish on a new Bagley top water bait before moving on to the area where I caught some nice reds the week before.

The weather was beautiful and we spotted only one other person in the area who was taking advantage of the day taking pictures of the wildlife. He had Virginia tags on his car and was obviously having a great day.

We passed him up and parked at a spot I hoped would hold some reds. It was at a point near two small islands that sheltered the marsh canal from a shallow saltwater pond.

Karen pitched out her shrimp and I walked several yards down the road to fish another location that looked "fishy".

The fishing was slow but I did spot three redfish waking up the marsh canal. One briefly tapped my "Rage Tail" bait but didn't hook up.

Karen had a nice redfish on but it wrapped around a brush stickup and before I could get up the where she was fishing to help her out, the fish got off.

I gave up on my top water bait, changed rods and started fishing with my gold Bagley Red King spoon.

I had two good hits that were probably small trout and finally hooked up with a slot redfish shown below that I promptly returned.

Karen had another hit close to dusk but didn't get a hookup so we decided to call it a day.

Fishing the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is always interesting. We got to see this large "big bird" drying his wings and several alligators looking for dinner.

The scenery this afternoon was simply gorgeous, even with thunderstorms on the horizon and despite not getting the bull redfish we were looking for, it was a great outing.

Till next time, Tight Lines!

Gator Creek and The Marsh Canals

Today for my Sunday afternoon fishing excursion, I targeted Gator Creek and the marsh canals.

After a rainstorm moved through our area early this afternoon and the temperature dropped down into the low 80s, I decided to "jump" fish some spots that my wife and I passed by yesterday.

Gator Creek is very shallow and on the southern end totally dry for a good part of the year.

The recent weather change caused a lot of bait fish to move into the shallows along with the usual predatory species that feed on them.

I decided to start fishing with a Heddon® Saltwater Super Zara Spook™ Lure - Silver Mullet top water plug around the first culvert at the entrance to Gator Creek road.

The water was only about a foot deep, but my first cast towards a mangrove root was rewarded with an explosive strike from a large ladyfish.

The fish made several jumps before I landed and released it.

Several casts later and my plug was eaten by a Snook that looked like it was in the slot.

Unfortunately I didn't bother getting a Snook stamp this year but regardless of that fact, the fish made several wild jumps and landed on the grass on the bank.

I was debating on whether I should wade in to get the fish but before I could make a decision, the fish flipped into a mangrove root, broke off my plug and headed off to parts unknown.

Disappointed but undaunted, I tied on a 4" Rapala SkitterWalk that was in the tackle box and continued walking the dog on both sides of Gator Creek Road.

I landed 7 more ladyfish in the 17" to 25" category and missed about the same number until the sun came out and the bite stopped.

It was like somebody pulled a light switch. Nothing was biting on any of the lures I was throwing.

I moved on to Peacocks Pocket road and fished both sides with Gold Nemeyer spoons, Creme paddle tail swim baits, the SkitterWalk and finally a hammered gold Bagley spoon that I found in the back of the truck.

As I moved up the "Pocket" road the wind started picking up and there was a light ripple on the water's surface. Evidently this turned on the fish because I started getting hits again.

I passed a couple of guys fishing the Indian River side of the road with finger mullet who said they weren't catching anything.

About a hundred yards past where they were fishing, I spotted some activity in the shallows around some weeds. See the picture below.

I flipped the gold spoon towards the commotion and promptly hooked up to an over sized redfish.

The fish took off like a shot and managed to wrap itself around a tree limb that was submerged in the marsh canal. I kept the pressure on until the fish tired and finally unwound itself from the brush stickup.

I landed the fish and took these pics before returning it to the water to fight another day.

The male redfish measured a little over 34" and had a total of 15 spots on its body.

One of the guys I passed walked over to where I was still fishing and asked me if I had caught anything. I answered truthfully but I don't think he really believed me!

Anyway, as he returned to his buddy I continued casting the gold spoon into the grass and hooked up to another redfish.

This one was much larger than the one I had just released. Instead of making a run into the canal, the big redfish took off into the shallow pond that fed into the canal.

Evidently the fish wasn't hooked well and after a very short run, the fish managed to spit out the spoon.

This gator spied the commotion and started making its way into my area so I decided to leave.

It was getting late and I was getting hungry so I decided to head for the exit.

Some folks in the Indian river out from the kayak launch were catching fish but I couldn't make out what they were.

The only other fisherman I talked to said he had caught a 44" bull redfish near the culverts at Peacocks Pocket on a dead shrimp.

Normally I would take this information with a grain of salt however, today I knew for a fact that the fish were in spawning mode and in Gator Creek and the marsh canals they could easily attain that size, or even larger.

Till next time,

Tight Lines!

Fishing the Marsh Canals

Fishing the marsh canals in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is an "iffy" situation at best.

There are times when you can load up on sea trout, black drum and redfish. At other times you can fish hard all day long and can't buy a bite.

Late this afternoon my wife, Elmo and I headed for the "swamp" hoping to grab one of the over sized redfish that are now prowling the northern shallows of the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon.

I netted a few medium sized finger mullet for bait and headed for a couple of areas where I spotted some reds in the shallows last week.

Karen skewered a mullet and pitched it out to a likely spot. I decided on a top water plug and started "walking the dog" hoping for some top water action.

The Heddon Zara Spook Jr. I was using immediately attracted a sea trout in the 15" class.

I released it at the bank and continued fishing the plug while my wife patiently waited for a redfish to hit her mullet.

In about an hour of fishing, I managed to attract at least two dozen strikes on the bait.

Most of the fish were undersize sea trout and medium to large ladyfish that acted like small tarpon when hooked.

Karen missed a nice redfish that ate her finger mullet off the hook.

She re-baited and moved slightly up the road to continue fishing. I asked her if she wanted to move on to another spot but she was happy where we were, so I continued walking up the road fishing my top water plug.

I hooked a couple more ladyfish and missed two redfish in the 34" to 36" category that were cruising the bank feeding on small finger mullet.

Once they spook you might as well give up fishing the area.

Meanwhile, Karen watched a fish chase her finger mullet around the shallow canal but it never did bite.

It was getting on towards dusk and the bugs were starting to eat on us so we decided to call it an evening.

Fishing the marsh canals this evening was not a productive as I had hoped but I wouldn't give up the hectic top water action I experienced this afternoon for anything.

Till next time, Tight Lines!

Peacocks Pocket Pre 9/11 Fishing Trip

In order to prevent the Koi in our front pond from developing hunger pains; my wife, Elmo (our wonder dog) and I decided to drive down to Dania, Fl. to pick up a couple hundred pounds of Koi food from a supplier friend of ours.

After walking his Koi ponds I just couldn't resist picking up a few juvenile show Koi and a small albino Plecostomus for our pond.

On the way back, we drove by Boynton Inlet to see if any of the locals were catching anything, particularly Snook.

Surprisingly, there weren't many fishermen on the piers and those who were fishing didn't seem to be catching much.

Since we didn't get back until late in the afternoon, I didn't get out until about 6:30 p.m. for my Peacocks Pocket pre 9/11 Fishing Trip.

I hurriedly packed a couple of rods and headed for the easternmost entrance to Peacocks Pocket.

The water at Peacocks Pocket kayak launch was like glass and except for some alligators, feeding herons and a few small pods of finger mullet, there was very little surface activity.

Because of the glass like conditions, I really didn't expect to catch any fish but I decided to try a top water Mirror Lure and a Gold 3/8 oz. Nemire Spoon Buzzer Lure just for the hell of it.

My first stop was at the kayak launch area where I spotted this gator snapping up some type of shore bird that was feeding in the shallows.

It's not a very good photograph but I did manage to capture some action. The other birds in the flock are just out of the picture.

After about a dozen casts with only one follow, I moved up the road to the double culverts and started casting on the Indian River side of the road.

A few casts later netted me a ladyfish that flipped off the Nemire Spoon. Two more casts after that and I missed a sea trout.

Thinking that something was wrong, I checked the lure only to discover that the hooks coming right out of the package were as dull as chopsticks.

I sharpened the single hook up as best I could and started working the lure on the surface. It was a lot like bass fishing in the St. Johns river around the lily pads.

I had three more hits and one hookup with a sea trout that was under size. It wasn't much larger than the lure so I didn't bother with any pics.

I fan cast several other areas and as the sun was going down I switched to the Mirror Lure top water plug. Walking the dog with a top water is usually better just before sunset.

I caught two more under sized trout on the plug and had a couple of followups that hit but missed the treble hooks.

Just before sunset, I saw a nice over size Redfish waking down the marsh canal from a small pond where it was feeding. I made a cast past where I thought it was heading and was rewarded with the fish batting the top water bait out of the water. Again, I missed a hookup.

On the way out I talked to two other fishermen who were fishing live finger mullet on the bottom. Both groups hadn't had a bite all day so I didn't feel so bad about not catching a redfish today.

I took these pics of the beautiful sunset and then decided to leave and walk across the bridge to get in some badly needed aerobic exercise before heading home.

The band was jamming at the restaurant but there weren't many people fishing on the big pier.

My Peacocks Pocket pre 9/11 fishing trip wasn't exactly a blockbuster event, but it was still a beautiful evening on the Indain River Lagoon as you can see by these pics.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Gator Creek Road Scouting Trip

Late Saturday afternoon my wife and I decided to check out Gator Creek road to see if it would be worth our time to go fishing.

Since this was a rush deal and I didn't want to take time to pack up all our fishing equipment, we just decided to leave the rods at the house.

I packed Elmo into the truck along with my trusty Nikon, just in case there were any picture taking opportunities and we took off for Gator Creek road.

The water levels were up in the marsh areas and bait fish were all over the area.

Unfortunately, we didn't see any fish targeting the mullet.

On the way into Peacocks Pocket road we came across some folks who had the right idea for scouting the marsh canals.

They were seemed to be having a great time paddling down the canal adjacent to Pocket road.

The weather was beautiful and the temperature was tolerable because of a nice breeze that was blowing.

The waterfowl were out in full force, as were the gators.


















I took these pictures to document the size of some of these big boys. The two here were at least 9 feet long judging by their snout to eye measurements.

Because it was a Labor Day weekend, we expected more people to be fishing in the area but during our scouting trip we only saw three other vehicles roaming Peacocks Pocket road.

In two of the areas we fish on a regular basis, I spotted a couple of redfish and several small sea trout. The reds looked like slot fish but I couldn't be sure.

Gator Creek for the most part wasn't too impressive but some of the other areas around the Pocket road looked mighty fishy.

I took some more pics and vowed to get out tomorrow afternoon to do some fishing.

Hope you enjoy the pics.

Tight Lines to you all!

Tarpon In The Surf

Tarpon in the surf and just off the beaches, along with the sharks have started showing up along the Brevard County coast following schools of baitfish.

The surf between Bethune Beach and Playalinda Beach and from Cocoa Beach south to Patrick AFB has been holding schools of mullet and pogies.  The area from the tip of the Cape up to the shuttle pads has also been holding good numbers of baitfish.

Since the passage of hurricane Irene, the Tarpon are starting to roll once again in the mullet pods just off of the Brevard Co. beaches in water depths from 6 to 30 feet.

This Labor Day will give surf fisherman the opportunity of hooking up with a Tarpon or shark from the beach and small craft fishermen will have more than a good chance of doing the same just offshore in these areas.

The best way to catch them is to fish live mullet or live menhaden rigged on 80# fluorocarbon leader with a BMC 5/0 to 9/0 circle hook under a large cork.  Cast out beyond the last sand bar.

Tarpon in the 40# to 90# range are the average right now however, fish caught in the 140# range are not uncommon.

If you are a shark fisherman, sharks up to 90# are also being caught right off the beach in parts of these areas.

Since Snook are now in season, the beach at Patrick AFB behind the officer's club should be a prime target for snook anglers looking for a slot snook for the dinner table.

Catch then using live finger mullet on a sliding sinker rig and cast just beyond the coral heads in the surf.  Be prepared for break offs around the rocks.

This video shows that Tarpon in the surf are caught when the conditions are right and when you have adequate tackle for the job.

If you can avoid the crowds of surfers and sun worshipers that are expected along the beaches; this long weekend could be a good time to break out your surf rod and try for a Tarpon in the surf.

Tight Lines.