Going For The Gold

Going for the gold spoon this time of the year is just the ticket for redfish in the shallows of the salt marsh.

This morning after my wife waited for two and a half hours to vote, we took Elmo and Odie for a ride into the "swamp" to see if anyone was catching any fish.

We were surprised at the number of people who were fishing and sight seeing around Peacocks Pocket road and for good reason.

The roseate spoonbills were in the area and the alligators were out in force.  I counted 16 gators sunning on the banks or partially submerged and who knows how many were not visible.

  

  
We didn't have any fishing rods with us so I just took some pics of the wildlife.

    
Although we counted at least half a dozen fishermen in various areas, none seemed to be catching any fish.

There were three boaters close to shore on the Indian River side fishing the shallows, but they also didn't seem to be catching anything.

 
The weather was in the high 70s and there was barely a hint of a wind on the water.

We drove all the way through Peacocks Pocket road and went home to do some work around the house.  We planned on fishing later on in the afternoon.

Around 4:30 pm I decided to go back to the area and see if I could catch some redfish or sea trout.

Karen didn't feel like fishing so I packed up four spinning rods and headed for the "swamp".

When I got to the area the temperature had dropped to a pleasant 72 degrees and there was no wind.  The water was absolutely flat on the marsh side of the road and almost flat on the river side.

I started fishing with a paddle tail bait and missed a couple of small sea trout at my first two stops.

I decided to target redfish so I chose the rod tipped with a gold Johnson's spoon and started blind casting into the submerged grassy areas that I thought would hold fish.

For the next hour and a half I managed to hook up and land three redfish and five sea trout.

The reds measured in at 26", 29" and 31".  I missed two reds that hit the spoon but shook off the treble hook at the bank.

 

All the sea trout were under the slot except for one which just hit the 15" mark.

 

All the fish were released to fight another day, hopefully again with me and my wife.

The fish were all caught in the marsh areas at several of my favorite locations which shall remain nameless.

The 31" red was caught just off an area that my wife calls "snook point" in shallow water that was only about a foot deep.

When it nailed the gold Johnson's spoon, it headed back into the grass where I almost lost it.  It took some patience and steady pressure on the fish to pull it out of the submerged grass and eventually grip it onto the bank.

I was using a 7 1/2 foot graphite rod, 10# Cajun Red line and about 6 feet of 15 pound test fluorocarbon leader.  The Johnson's gold spoon was rigged with a small barrel swivel and split ring to enhance it's action.

Going for the gold spoon is something I do during the winter months. 

I have always been partial to using a Bagley's gold hammered spoon but the company no longer makes them.  The last one I had is in the mouth of a big redfish somewhere in the "swamp".

The last redfish I landed was the smallest and hit just off a grassy point in shallow water.

As I was fighting the fish, my wife called me and asked me to pick up a pizza on the way home.

Holding the phone with one hand while fighting the red with the other hand was tricky, but I still managed to land the fish.and take the pizza order.

As the gnats and mosquitoes started going for my jugular,  I decided to call it a day and head for Little Caesars Pizza.

I've learned from experience that going for the gold spoon during the winter months is a sure way to catch a red or a big sea trout in this area.

Till next time, Tight Lines to you all.