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.