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!