Fishing In A Tropical Storm

Fishing in a tropical storm isn't something I do on a regular basis, but with hurricane Sally's passing yesterday evening, my wife Karen and I decided to take a cruise around Peacocks Pocket road to see if anyone was braving the weather enough to do any fishing.

As we crossed the bridge I knew it would be a bad day fishing.

The wind surfers had been having a ball and were packing it in for the afternoon as we drove by and there were absolutely no boats on the river.   The parking lot at the boat ramps was empty.

The wind was still gusting to sub tropical storm strength and the temperature was in the mid 70s all the time we were out, which wasn't very long.

Both Karen and I expected little to no visitor traffic this afternoon but to our mutual surprise, we counted  more than half a dozen vehicles in the area.

Most of the people we saw driving Peacocks Pocket road were not fishing but just out to see the wildlife.

I brought three rods along with me today tipped with a top water Chug Bug, a baby bass pattern Storm paddle tail swim bait and a Johnson's gold spoon.

Although Karen didn't bother fishing, I just had to give it a try despite the nasty conditions.

I've learned from experience that fishing during a thunderstorm during lousy weather sometimes is the best time to fish, but today wasn't one of those days.

We stopped at several spots and on my second stop I picked up a small sea trout on a black and silver Chug Bug. 

The fish busted the plug a few feet from the bank and acted like a slot sea trout but it measured in at about twice the length of the top water plug I was using.

I forgot to take along my camera so I couldn't take pics this afternoon.

The next few spots I stopped at produced a couple of hits on the gold spoon but no reds or sea trout.

I switched to the paddle tail bait but couldn't control the bait in the wind so I continued using the spoon and the Chug Bug.

As the temperature dropped to 69 degrees, the wind made it feel much cooler and since the gusts never did let up, Karen and I decided to get a submarine for dinner at Subways and head for the house.

Fishing in a tropical storm definitely isn't my idea of having a good time, so hopefully tomorrow the conditions will improve enough to pick up some sea trout and maybe a red.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Sea Trout On Topwater Baits

Catching sea trout on topwater baits is one of my favorite endeavors and late October is one of the prime months for catching sea trout as well as marauding redfish in the marsh areas of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

My wife had a bad sore throat and decided to stay in bed instead of going fishing with me this evening so I packed my usual variety of rods all tipped with different baits and headed for the "swamp" to catch some fish.

I didn't get out until after 4:30 pm, which is when I prefer to fish.

There are usually fewer people in the refuge later on in the day and today was no exception. I only saw two other vehicles in the area all the time I was fishing and they were out of town sight seers.

The air temperature was 79 degrees as I entered Gator Road and there was virtually no wind on the water.

Most areas in the marsh were like glass and on the river side, only a few ripples could be seen.

I started out using a new Tsunami bait that I picked up on special today at WallMart.

After a few casts I knew why they were so cheap.  The 5" paddle tail swim bait was designed to be used with weighted worm hooks, but I couldn't get the damn things to swim true.

The baits kept spinning on the retrieve, so I changed over to a Storm paddle tail that usually produces for me.

I smeared the bait up with some gooey scent and after several casts in a couple of areas finally hooked up with a respectable sea trout.

As I slowly drove up Peacocks Pocket road, I spotted a couple of redfish swirling on bait fish on the bank.

 I tried several casts to the reds but only managed to spook both fish.

Whatever they were feeding on, they weren't interested in my paddle tail baits. 

When I got to an open marsh pond I changed over to a Black and Silver Chug Bug. 

Several casts later produced another nice sea trout and several followups by sea trout and this large gator.

As the water in the marsh became even more calm, I moved up to where I lost a redfish last week.

The water in the area looked like a mirror and I really didn't expect to catch anything on the top water bait but I started pitching the bait anyway.

After many unfruitful casts, I finally picked up another sea trout.

The fish nailed the plug at the edge of a grassy island and put up quite a respectable fight before giving it up. 

I took it's picture and promptly released the fish. 

I managed to catch and release three more sea trout in the same general area before the gnats started getting to me. 

It was getting dark and the air temperature dropped to 73 degrees so I decided to head back to the house.










 I turned around and on a lark decided to drive through Catfish Creek Loop road to see if any redfish were cruising the area.

I stopped two more times to shoot casts at some large wakes.

This only produced one followup from a red and a large ladyfish that nailed the bait completely out of the air before hooking itself.

I released the ladyfish, got into the truck and headed for the hacienda.

The gnats and no seeums this evening were especially vicious and I had enough of a good time for one evening. I enjoy catching sea trout on topwater baits but I don't like being eaten alive by the gnats.

Hopefully I'll get out tomorrow and hook up with a red.

Till then, Tight Lines!

Hunt For Reds In October

The Hunt for Reds in October fishing contest ended today, which is why I waited until later in the afternoon to fish the marsh.

My wife was doing her thing today and didn't want to go fishing with me, so I packed up a few rods and headed for the "swamp" to get in a little redfish fishing.

When I entered Peacocks Pocket road the air temperature was 83 degrees and there was a mild wind blowing over the Indian River.

I decided to fish the marsh canal today in an effort to pick up a cruising red, so I opted for fishing gold spoons and my favorite Chug Bug.

I started fishing with a gold Johnson The Original Sprite Spoon and quickly picked up a couple of slot sea trout and a ladyfish.

I switched over to a weedless silver spoon that I had on my other rod and quickly picked up another ladyfish that was in the 20" range.

As the wind started to die down, I "jump fished" the marsh canal with a baby bass pattern STORM Rattlin Chug Bug.

I picked up a couple of small sea trout on the Chug Bug and bumped into a reader of this website, Craig Bates.

He was also fishing the canal using a black and silver Chug Bug.

I stopped to shoot the breeze with him a bit and discovered that he lives in the Orlando area and is a bass fisherman.

He showed me a pic of an over slot sized redfish that he caught in the Indian River some time ago, north of one of the islands. I asked him to send me an email with the pic and told him I would post it on the site.

I moved on and started blind casting an area where I picked up redfish a few weeks ago and after several casts to the opposite bank I was rewarded with a slot sized redfish that hit the Chug Bug right on the bank.

The fish made a fast run and turned directly into a bush at the bank where it got hung up. I gave the fish some slack but it just sloshed around until it finally shook the hooks loose.

Since this was my last baby bass pattern Chug Bug,, I took off my shoes and waded out to untangle the lure from the brush hoping that an alligator didn't think I was for dinner.

I retied my Chug Bug and drove past where Craig was fishing and stopped at another spot where I briefly hooked up with another red.

The fish wasn't hooked well and the Chug Bug pulled out at the beginning of the run. From the size of the wake it pushed, it looked like a nice oversize red.

Undaunted, I continued down Peacocks Pocket road and stopped at another spot where my wife had caught her 36" redfish a couple of years ago.

A few casts with the Chug Bug produced another slot size sea trout and a ladyfish, but no redfish.

Meanwhile, Craig passed me and parked at a spot where I knew some big reds frequently cruise out from a small marsh pond into the deeper canal.

As I was packing it in for the evening, I drove up to where he was fishing and saw he had a nice slot size redfish.

I asked him if I could take his pic and he agreed so here are the results for the evening.

 

He said he had to "horse" the red past a gator that was eyeballing the fish as he was landing it.

I gave him my pliers to get the hooks out of the redfish just as my wife called to see when I was coming home.

I probably could have picked up a red at another section that I fish regularly, but I was getting bitten by no see-ums so I decided to hit the road and head for home.

October is one of the better months for catching redfish in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and my wife and I will probably be out again next week to try our luck.

The "Hunt for Reds in October" was over for this year's contestants, but not for me.

Till next time, Tight Lines!

Chug Bugs For Sea Trout

Fishing Chug Bugs for sea trout often works when everything else fails.

This evening after my doctor's appointment, my wife surprised me with a new member to our household.

 

 

I'm not sure if we're going to keep him yet, it depends how he gets along with Elmo, Garfield and our other critters.

Anyway, after getting over the shock of potentially having another mouth to feed, we decided to take Elmo and make a quick drive through the wildlife refuge.

I grabbed a few rods while Karen got some bait out of the freezer and we headed for Peacocks Pocket road.

The wind was blowing briskly and the temperature was 80 degrees as we entered the area.

Since it was quite late and we only had about an hour's worth of fishing available to us, Karen wanted to fish her "tree" to see if she could pick up a cruising redfish.

I didn't argue so I drove up to her sheltered "spot" and pulled off the roadway.

Reds in October especially in this area can be very productive using shrimp or cut bait.

As my wife settled herself to wait for a redfish, I took two rods with me and started blind casting the opposite bank of the marsh canal.

One of the rods was rigged with a white DOA shrimp and the other with a Chug Bug.

I took the DOA shrimp rig with me in case I spotted a cruising red in the canal but started casting with my Chug Bug.

This is my "go to" bait this time of year because I can cover a lot of water in a short period of time.

To make a long story short, I had four follow ups from sea trout, two hits and two fish landed in about an hours time.

The fish were just in at the slot but I returned both to the water to grow up and fight another day.

Casting into the wind and using a moderately fast jerky retrieve with the Chug Bug seemed to do the trick this afternoon.

I saw two reds cruising the canal but the DOA didn't seem to interest either fish.

As the sun was setting Karen was ready to head for the house.  She didn't get any hits and it started to get "chilly".

For Florida weather, 78 degrees is "chilly" I guess.

Anyway, the mosquitoes were getting to me and Elmo and I was tired from driving in from Georgia so I made one last cast before heading for home.

All the time we fished the refuge we saw only one other vehicle in the area and they were sight seers admiring the gators.

Hopefully, tomorrow after I mow the lawn and take care of some business we can get out and hook up to a redfish or two.

The "Hunt for Reds" in October registration tents were set up at Mosquito Lagoon Bait and Tackle this afternoon, so we can expect lots of anglers tomorrow.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Fishing During A Thunderstorm

Fishing during a thunderstorm isn't normally considered a great idea in terms of personal safety however in terms of productivity, it is one of the best times to be on the water.

This afternoon's weather was mediocre, but I managed to easily talk my wife into coming along with me on a quick "scouting trip" to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

We were targeting redfish but as usual, I fish for anything that hits.

As we entered East Gator Creek road it was apparent that it had been raining for quite a while before we got there. There were deep puddles and gouged out tire tracks everywhere.

Karen and I got a late start and only had about a couple of hours to fish before sunset so we passed some spots I would have fished had I been alone.

Instead, we headed for a couple of spots where Karen could have a chance of hooking up with a cruising redfish.

The first spot we stopped at didn't produce anything so we moved on to a shallow pond that opens up in several spots to the shallow marsh canal that parallels Peacocks Pocket road.

Karen tossed out her Cajun Thunder float with a frozen shrimp to the edge of a grassy island and I started out casting a white Berkley paddle tail bait around the bank opposite the road.

I got several taps and finally landed a small sea trout, but we didn't see any reds.

Karen had a couple of hits from what were probably small sea trout but got no hookups.

Being the impatient person I am, we picked up stakes and moved to another area.

I changed over to a STORM Rattlin Chug Bug and again started casting to the weeds along the shoreline.

I've learned from experience that although you get fewer strikes on the Chug Bug,, the fish you catch are usually quality fish.

The weather had become more ominous as the thunderstorm that were hovering over Titusville and Mims started blowing across the marsh in the refuge and as the storms moved in, I started getting more hits.

I had several followups and short strikes from sea trout and as the weather got worse, the fish became more aggressive.

Karen missed a red and I picked up a couple of nice sea trout on the Chug Bug.

As the lightning got closer, I had great hit from what was either a redfish or large sea trout.

The fish smashed the top water bait, made a short dash before the hook was set and as it spun around, hit the bait the second time. The fish wasn't hooked well and after making a short run pulled off.

The big fish hit just as it started getting dark from the storm and as the lightning got closer, I started heading to the truck. I love fishing but I'm not stupid.

As I was walking back to the truck, I saw a couple of big redfish pushing a large wake cruising down the marsh canal. I made a half hearted cast to the fish but they never slowed down.

It was getting dark so Karen pulled her rig and we both decided to head for home.

Fishing the marsh canals before a cold front and  fishing during a thunderstorm from my experience is usually productive and today's trip demonstrated that as the fronts moves in, the fish become more active.

Hopefully, I'll get a chance to wet a line tomorrow.

Till then, Tight Lines!

Another Productive Gator Trout Fishing Trip

Well what started out as a scouting trip this evening quickly turned out to be another productive gator trout fishing trip.

After a long drive from Georgia, I wasn't really in the mood to go fishing but since it was raining, I knew that the fish in the refuge would probably be in their feeding mode.

I only had about an hour and a half of fishing time available so I quickly packed three rods, my trusty Nikon and Elmo our "wonder dog".

The temperature was 82 degrees and falling as I drove into the refuge and there was almost no wind on the water.

 I stopped at a couple of my favorite spots on the way in and flipped a paddle tail bait around some likely looking grass islands.

I briefly hooked and missed three sea trout before landing an under sized fish which I quickly returned to the water.

I decided to change to a Chug Bug in lieu of the paddle tail bait in order to catch a more respectable size fish.

The next stop produced another undersized sea trout that smacked the "baby bass" patterned Chug Bug.

This time I took it's picture before returning it to the water.

Several casts later produced another fish that was slightly larger.

My next few stops were around some grassy islands where I had caught redfish a couple of weeks ago.

I started casting past the islands into very shallow water and bringing the Chug Bug past the grass in short "hops".

About half way to the edge of the grass I saw a large wake overtaking the Chug Bug.  The fish circled the lure and smashed the bait out of the water.

I thought I lost the fish but it hit again and hooked itself in the mouth and side.

The fish put up a great fight with two long runs up the marsh canal.  I thought I lost it once as it got into some brush alongside the canal but I kept up the pressure on the fish until it moved into open water.

As I got the fish close to the bank, what I initially thought was a redfish turned out to be a huge sea trout.

The fish measured in at just over 28 inches.

I took a few pics and put the female back to grow bigger for my next trip.

It was getting late and the gnats were killing my legs so I moved on up Peacocks Pocket road where I met up with the only other fishermen in the refuge.

Ashford, a young man who frequently fishes the area and his father were casting Chug Bugs into an area where Karen and I frequently catch redfish.

I pulled up to them and asked how they were doing before moving down to one last spot that I planned to fish.

Ashford's dad showed me a picture of a nice fat 25" sea trout that Ashford caught some time ago.  He said he was trying to break the 25" barrier.

I assured him that he would before moving on to fish my last spot.

When I got to my spot, the water was calm as glass and I even though I didn't expect to pick up any fish here I decided to give it one last shot.

It took four casts with my topwater before another big sea trout blasted the Chug Bug.  The fish wasn't as big as the other one but it put up a nice fight before giving up the battle.

I briefly thought about taking the fish home for dinner but I didn't feel like cleaning the trout after dark so I returned it to the water to fight another day.

Elmo was having problems with the bugs and I was getting bitten on my legs by numerous bloodthirsty insects, so we decided to head for home.

Hopefully tomorrow will become another productive gator trout fishing trip.

Till then, Tight Lines.