The Grass Is Cut!

The grass is cut in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge but it didn't really help the fishing much.

My wife and I took Elmo for a ride around Peacocks Pocket road to see if the grass was cut and to get a few casts in before dusk.

The temperature this evening when we went out was hovering in the low 80s and there was a mild wind on the Indian River which totally subsided towards dusk.

Karen was using her favorite rig (dead shrimp under a Cajun Thunder float) and I started out using a Fire Tiger paddle tail bait.

As we got to the entrance of East Gator Creek road it was apparent that the mowers were out this past week.

The entrance was nicely cleared and as we got to Pocket road, we were pleasantly surprised that it too was mowed on both sides.

Since this was mainly a scouting trip, I drove slowly looking for signs of feeding activity in the marsh canal. I was also checking the Indian River side of the road for fish but didn't spot any activity until the wind died down.

Karen and I stopped at several likely looking spots where I spotted swirls along the bank. She never got a bite at any of the stops and I only had three hits on the paddle tail bait from what were probably sea trout.

When the wind died down, we stopped at an area where there are several grassy islands across from the canal that opens up into a couple of large shallow ponds.

I got a hit on my Fire Tiger bait but decided to change over to a Baby Bass Chug Bug top water lure as the wind began to level out.

My third cast with the Chug Bug produced a short strike from a sea trout and several casts later I had a small redfish blast the bait out of the water without getting hooked.

I continued casting the top water bait until we decided to leave the refuge but never landed a fish. I spotted five nice redfish, saw several sea trout and got at least a dozen strikes but never got a hookup.

Karen and I saw several vehicles drive by but there was only one other fisherman I knew who had his girlfriend with him. He stopped briefly and said he saw a couple of reds, but nothing was hitting his paddle tail baits or top water lures.

After he drove off, I made a few more casts to the river side where a large sea trout jumped totally out of the water after my Chug Bug and missed the lure on the way down.

Karen wasn't getting any action and I was exhausted from the drive from Vidalia, Ga. where I was working this week, so we decided to head for the hacienda and call it a day.

There is almost a full moon out this evening which could make the fish more active.   I'll find out tomorrow.

 







Anyway at least the grass is cut.
Till next time, Tight Lines.