Another 33" Redfish

Well my wife did it again with another 33" redfish.

Yesterday my wife stayed home while I got skunked fishing the Mosquito Lagoon. So today, she wanted to get in some quality fishing and hopefully break her "dry spell".

We headed for Peacocks Pocket road which was closest.

The first stop we made was just past Catfish Creek loop.

A medium sized gator was sunning itself on the bank where I wanted to fish so we drove past and parked a few yards up the road from the sunning reptile.

Because the water was relatively calm, I decided to use a white Creme Spoiler Shad swimming bait instead of my favorite gold Bagley spoon.

Several casts netted me a small trout and a couple of misses which were probably sea trout.

I was walking towards the car, ready to move on up the road when the water near the gator exploded.

At first I thought the gator left the bank but it was a huge redfish that was busting bait in the grass.

I started working the shoreline with the swim bait hoping for a hit but didn't get a rise.

A couple of sight seers from Wisconsin stopped to see how I was doing just as the big redfish again exploded next to the bank.

The two guys in the van couldn't believe a fish that big was in water this shallow.

Although I continued trying to get the fish to bite, it wanted nothing to do with my lures.

We moved on down the road to another spot where I picked up two more small trout before moving to our final stop near "bobcat bay".

Karen was using jumbo frozen shrimp under a Cajun Thunder bobber but the water in the marsh was so shallow, I changed out her bobber to a smaller thinner version that was less likely to spook any fish.

I walked about a hundred yards down the road and started fan casting back to the truck.

Meanwhile, Karen chucked out her rig next to a grassy point, sat down and enjoyed the beautiful afternoon.

I caught and released another small sea trout and missed a large redfish when I heard my wife yelling for help.

I walked back to where she was fishing and saw she was fighting a really nice redfish.

I grabbed the camera and the boca grip and got the last end of the battle on the video below.

The fish was as long as her leg and measured in at a bit over 33".

My wife finally broke her "dry spell" in a big way!

She released the fish and almost lost my boca grip that was still in the redfish's mouth as she was releasing it. She managed to grab the big red by the tail and retrieve my "tool" before it swam away.





After the fight, we decided to head for home and scout out the rest of the refuge.

As we got to "bobcat bay" we saw a porpoise surrounding a school of redfish and running through the school to get his dinner.

I was fishing and went back to the truck to get the camera but before I could get the best video of the redfish actually jumping out of the water to escape the porpoise, he had eaten his fill and was leaving the area.

The mosquitoes were starting to get nasty so we decided to call it a day and head for home.

This was at least the third 33 " redfish Karen caught in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

I have got to get a smaller movie camera I can carry with me as I fish. I keep missing some great actions shots.

Maybe for Christmas!

Till next time, Tight Lines!

Mars Curiosity Atlas Launch

This morning's Mars Curiosity Atlas launch caused NASA to temporarily close part of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge to fishing.

I had originally planned to hit the beach at Playalinda, catch some bluefish for supper and then drive around Peacocks Pocket road to see if I could pick up a redfish.

 

The Atlas launch screwed up my plans, so I decided to run up to Bio Lab road to fish the lower flats of the Mosquito Lagoon instead.

The weather was perfect with only a light breeze pushing the water towards Bio Lab road.

I noticed that Bio Lab boat ramp is now requesting a fee for launching your boat.

Don't know how many locals will pay it but it seems like every time you turn around, some government agency is trying to pick your pocket.

Anyway, the road was crowded with  people enjoying the scenery, mostly the alligators and only a few fishermen.



Before I decided on an area to fish, I talked to three fishermen.  None of them were catching much except for catfish and a stingray.

No one was catching redfish.

I took a ton of pics and drove close to the Pelican Island flats where I saw some fish chasing bait on the surface.

 
The area is good for wading but very weedy.  Despite the weeds, I started fishing with my favorite gold Bagley spoon hoping for a cruising redfish.

Although a lot of fish were being chased, I evidently couldn't "match the hatch" because I never got a hit.









I carefully waded around the area methodically fan casting to cover as much water as possible but nothing seemed to be interested in my spoon.

Finally after an hour or so, I decided to run up to Bairs Cove boat ramp on Haulover Canal.

There were several  fishermen on both sides of the canal fishing with shrimp and live bait but again, no one seemed to be catching anything.

I took the pictures you see below but didn't even bother wetting a line.  It was getting late in the afternoon so I decided to head home and rest out for tomorrow's outing.

 

 






On the way, I passed the western entrance to Peacocks Pocket road and noticed that the NASA personnel reopened the refuge.

Perhaps tomorrow will be a better day for catching.

Till then, tight lines!

Post Thanksgiving Day Shrimping

Shrimping on the new fishing pier this evening reflects the fact that it's the day after Thanksgiving.

Post Thanksgiving Day shrimping was as I expected.

There were only a few shrimpers out this evening and from what everyone was telling me the shrimping wasn't all that great.

I got to the fishing pier on the Indian River Lagoon at about 10:00 p.m. and only stayed long enough to get a shrimping report.

On the day after Thanksgiving, everyone stays home with their family and this evening was no exception.

The shrimp that were caught were medium to jumbo in size and everyone I spoke with had some in their buckets.

No one this evening had underwater lighting arrays set up and the people shrimping this evening were evidently "newbies" to sport shrimping.

I personally believe that the underwater lighting they were using  could have been the reason for the poor results.

Everybody I talked to had above water incandescent lights taped to the rails, which really didn't light up the water column enough to spot or attract the shrimp.

There were large shrimp jumping out of the water on a regular basis, evidently being chased by sea trout and as I was leaving for home the activity seemed to be picking up.

There were at least a dozen shrimp caught while I was taking these pictures.

I suspect that a lot more shrimp would have been caught if the shrimpers would have been using the underwater 1000 to 3000 lumens colored shrimp lights that the regulars use.

In any event, it was a nice evening on the pier.

Many of my subscribers have asked about where they can purchase underwater lighting for fishing or shrimping.  

The link below will take you to some videos of different types of lighting that the shrimpers in this area use on the fishing piers.

You could also use these lights from your boat to really light up the water column.  They would be great in Haulover Canal.

Didn't get to go fishing today, but I hope to wet a line tomorrow.

Till then, Tight Lines!

Thanksgiving Day Fishing

Thanksgiving Day turned out to be a bummer for fishing the Indian River marsh areas.

I didn't get a chance to wet a line until very late in the afternoon when the air temperature was down to the high 60s and the wind was whipping up white caps on the river.

Despite these conditions, I decided to try my luck fishing the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge marsh areas to catch a redfish or two.

Although I met several vehicles on the unimproved roads, nobody was fishing except for myself.

Since I left the house in a rush, I only took two rods with me. One with a top water Zara Spook Jr. plug and the other with my favorite beat up gold Bagley spoon.

Because of the windy conditions, I never even bothered with the top water lure.

I "jump fished" several areas and only had four strikes on my gold spoon from redfish.

All of these were just at the bank at the end of my retrieves.

I could have had other hits on the spoon but with the wind blowing as hard as it was, it was next to impossible detecting a strike.

The only way I am positive that the hits I had were redfish was because of their proximity to the bank.

Anyway, it was getting dark and after only an hour and a half of fishing with the temperature dropping, I decided to give up and call it a day.

Fishing on Thanksgiving Day for the past several years has been productive (see the archives) but this year the weather did me in.

Hopefully I'll have a better report for everyone in the upcoming days.

Till then, Tight Lines!

Indian River Fishing Report For Week of Nov 19, 2011

The water levels in the marsh areas in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge are still above normal.

Redfish, sea trout and ladyfish are feeding on small baitfish and crustacean that are finding cover in the submerged grass.

This past week the fish have been most active later on in the day and as temperature get colder, expect them to be most active in the shallows as the sun warms the water later on in the afternoons.

Live finger mullet freelined in or close to the weeds, weedless rigged jerk baits fished in the weeds or weedless spoons all work well.

My wife and I fished the marsh areas later yesterday afternoon until dusk with mixed results.

The water was dead calm and the fish were spooky.  The ones  we spotted in the weeds were skittish but we still managed to hook some fish.

Karen used jumbo dead shrimp under a Cajun Thunder popper and I was using a gold Bagley spoon, DOA CAL jerk baits rigged weedless on a weighted hook and close to dusk, a top water Zara Spook Jr.

Karen never got a strike but I managed to hook and release two redfish, an out of season sea trout and three ladyfish in about two hours of fishing.

The trick to fishing the marsh areas is to be methodical and cover anywhere you see or think fish will hide out.






Moving grass was a dead giveaway yesterday but most of the fish I hooked were just off the edges of the submerged grass.  The fish were ambushing small bait fish that made the fatal mistake of leaving their cover.

On the Indian River side of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge drives and on both sides of the Max Brewer Causeway, fishermen were for the most part using live finger mullet or dead shrimp with mixed results.

I for one don't care to wait for fish to bite.

I much rather prefer "stalking" the fish and sight casting to them from land or boat.

Regardless of how you like to fish, they are biting in the Indian River if you know how to catch them.

Till next time, Tight Lines and good fishing.

Night Shrimping On The Indian River Is Picking Up

Evidently night shrimping on the Indian River is picking up a bit.

Yesterday evening just after the full moon, the new fishing piers were populated with a variety of shrimpers and night fishermen who were thoroughly enjoying the evening.

The temperatures are getting cooler and this month should see an increase in the amount and size of shrimp that are being dipped from both piers.

I was told by a couple of old timers that Haulover Canal shrimpers are getting more than their share of shrimp by boat.

The dirty little secret is that Haulover Canal is pretty decent for shrimping almost all year around.

A few shrimpers I talked to were using 12 volt batteries with the lights below hooked up in tandem with good results.

The days of gas powered generators powering underwater lighting arrays are pretty much over with.

These days the shrimpers are plugging into the outlets on the pier or bringing their own batteries.

The underwater lights in the pic are relatively cheap and put out enough light to do the job. When a few are hooked up together, they light up the water column enough for easy snagging.

Most of the shrimp caught were large to jumbos which is common for this area.

Around Oak Hill farther north in the ICW, the shrimpers are catching more shrimp but they are almost always smaller in size.

I plan on picking up some more underwater lights and giving it a try again.

The last time I went shrimping was in Haulover Canal in my old boat a few years ago.

I loaded up on shrimp, but had to spend the night out on the water until I could get a tow into the boat launch the next morning.

My old Mercury outboard wouldn't start and even though I enjoyed the night's activities, I learned why Mosquito Lagoon got it's name.

Till next time, Tight Lines!

Getting A Late Start

Today was a perfect fall day for fishing and after getting a late start this afternoon, my wife, Elmo and I had to get out of the house to enjoy the day.

I got a Thanksgiving Day turkey from my boss that I put into the oven and we had to wait until 4:30 until it was done before we could leave the hacienda.

We only had an hour or so fishing before dark so Karen wanted to hit a submerged grassy cove where she and I had caught redfish the last few weeks.

The water in the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge was dead calm.  There were leftover fishermen from a redfish tournament that is being held today and tomorrow in the refuge but for the most part, everyone was leaving the area as we were coming in.

We enjoyed another beautiful sunset which is typical for this time of year and as we rolled off the side of the unimproved road, I spotted a couple of fish swirling in the area.

Elmo had his specs on and was enjoying the afternoon as Karen and I geared up.

I was casting my gold Bagley spoon and Karen was using her usual shrimp and clacker bobber rig.

On my very first cast, I missed a small redfish.  It bumped my spoon about half way back from my cast and took off down the marsh canal.

Karen cast her bait close to a grassy island and I moved down the road blind casting the area.

I missed another redfish and after several more casts landed a ladyfish that was about 30" long.

The fish jumped several times before I landed and released it.  I didn't bother taking a pic.

Meanwhile, Karen had a hit but missed the fish.

It was getting dark and as just as if someone turned on a switch, the mosquitoes started attacking in droves.

I'll probably never know why they do it but they managed to drive us out of the area.

Hopefully, tomorrow we'll get an earlier start.

Till then, Tight Lines!

Balmy Sunday Afternoon Fishing In The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

It was a balmy Sunday afternoon fishing in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge but it was also a productive one for both me and my wife.

Because of the windy conditions this weekend, I really didn't expect to get out and do any fishing.

Karen and I went down to Coco Beach yesterday and happened to come upon the air show.

The blue angels and some local stunt pilots were performing around and just off the beach.  They put on quite a show but unfortunately I didn't bring along my camera.

We parked on the causeway close to the boat ramp on the Banana River to watch the wind surfers and what we could see of the air show.  I tried casting a spoon but the wind was gusting so hard it was impossible to fish.

This afternoon the wind was still brisk but we were able to hit some of our favorite spots and still make reasonably decent casts.

Karen was using jumbo frozen shrimp under a Bett's Billy Bay Brass Weighted Click Clackers - Oval - 2-1/2" - Orange - Terminal.

I started out using my favorite beat up Bagley gold spoon with a worn out red tag.

The first stops we made didn't produce even though we saw fish chasing finger mullet close to shore.

At the next stop which was about a quarter of the way up Peacocks Pocket road, I nailed a nice 22" redfish on my first cast.

I usually spot some fish activity before I bother casting but today the windy conditions made spotting fish almost impossible.

This fish followed the lure in from a shallow weedy island that was almost covered by water.

It hit right at the bank and I didn't give it a chance to put up much of a fight.

\It started raining so we decided to move on up the road  and try another place I caught some fish last week.

Karen parked at her favorite spot while I made my way down the unimproved road casting to various locations.

The wind was picking up as the afternoon wore on and casting became work.

I must have made at least a hundred casts and I think I had one hit.  I couldn't even be sure of that.

Anyway, Karen yelled to me that she had a fish on so I moved up to where she was fishing and picked up my camera to take a couple of pics.

The fish was a clone to the one I caught earlier and was a beautiful bronze color.  The tannin water in the marsh brings out the colors in the redfish and sea trout.

She held up the fish while I took these pictures.

The fish gulped down the shrimp and was hooked deep.  Since I didn't have my disgorger with me, I just cut the leader at the hook and let Karen release the fish.

The wind was whipping up and it started to rain so we decided to call Lil Ceaser's to order a pizza and call it a day.

 

The moon was out and the sunset would have been much more beautiful if it had not been for the wind.

Till next time, Tight Lines.