Tight Lipped Redfish

There were some tight lipped redfish in the refuge today.

It was raining when I left the house at around 3:00pm and the air temperature was a pleasant 78 degrees.  By the time I got to the bridge, it had slowed down to a mist and as I entered East Gator Creek Road the rain had stopped entirely.

The wind was still a problem.  It was coming out of the east and making most areas choppy enough to make casting a chore.

I didn't plan on fishing till dusk this afternoon so I passed several spots I normally fish and headed to a large pond where I spotted some reds yesterday.

As I navigated the unimproved road which has become overgrown with grass, I ran into Ron, a fellow angler friend of mine who fishes the area regularly.

I asked him if he caught anything and he said he missed some reds and caught a black drum.  His friend caught an oversize 30" eight spot redfish that he showed me pictures of on his smart phone.

Since it was his first redfish catch ever, I told him to email me the pics and I would post them on this site.

We parted ways and I started fishing a gold Tsunami spoon at the pond I hoped had some actively feeding reds in it.

After casting into the wind without even a hit for a half hour or so, I decided to change lures and fish the somewhat sheltered marsh canal.

I tied on a Meps Timber Doodle that I never fished before.  I found it  in one of my tackle boxes and for the life of me, I don't remember ever purchasing it.

Anyway, it looks somewhat like a crab so I smeared it up with some Pro-Cure Inshore formula and started blind casting it to the opposite bank of the marsh canal.

It took a while to learn how to fish the bait correctly, you have to fish it very slow in order to make it look like a crab but after a few dozen casts, a redfish grabbed the lure and zipped down the marsh canal.

I thought the fish was solidly hooked but when it turned and started coming back to me, the line went slack and the fish was gone.

I wasn't happy about losing the redfish, I wanted a pic for this blog post but at least I knew that the bait works on reds.

I continued blind casting the banks and after three more stops, I had another hit from a redfish.  The fish picked up the bait as soon as it hit the opposite side of the canal and after a short run dropped the lure.

I checked the point of the single hook, got a file out of the truck box and sharpened it up a bit before continuing.

I continued casting several areas with no luck so I switched back to the Tsunami gold spoon.

The last spot I planned to fish was where the canal opened up to a small pond.  I saw some mullet scattering so I shot the spoon past the commotion and was rewarded with a hookup.

This redfish was way over the slot and had some shoulders.  It took off up the marsh canal on the first run and came back to me just as fast.  I was reeling fast to take up line and as it headed into the pond.

I tightened down the drag and made the mistake of tightening it too much.  I was trying to force the fish away from a brush pile when the rod snapped.

I was still trying to turn the fish with the broken rod, but it headed straight for the stick up and broke off my Tsunami spoon.

It was getting late and I was not a happy camper.  Three redfish hookups and none landed.

Today, these tight lipped redfish won the day.  Next time will be different.

As I was leaving the refuge, the wind died down and I had to take this pic of the beautiful sunset.

 

Back to Bass Pro Monday for another rod!

Till next time, Tight Lines.

A Windy Day In The Refuge

Well, today was another windy day in the refuge but it didn't put that much of a damper on my fishing.

It was raining when I left the house and by the time I got to the entrance to Peacocks Pocket road, the rain had subsided and the river was relatively calm.

The air temperature at around 2:30 pm was a pleasant 78 degrees but as the day progressed, it jumped back up to the low 80s.

My excursion this afternoon was mainly a scouting trip.  Karen didn't want to get wet so I fished alone today.

By the time I got to my second spot, the wind started blowing and it looked like another thunderstorm was coming through the area.

As I drove slowly down Peacocks Pocket road, I didn't spot any cruising redfish or actively feeding sea trout in the marsh canals or in the river.  It wasn't looking like a stellar fishing day but I continued casting mainly a gold spoon, a topwater Chug Bug and a DOA shrimp into likely looking areas.

As the wind picked up, I gave up on the Chug Bug.  I concentrated on fishing a Johnson's Sprite and the
D.O.A. Shrimp Lures.

I finally hooked and released a medium sized ladyfish that hit the gold spoon outside of a small pond.

Things were looking up when I got to an open culvert.  There were finger mullet trying their best to evade a predator which turned out to be a slot redfish.

I saw the red but the fish wouldn't hit my spoon so I switched to the DOA shrimp, smeared it up with some Pro-Cure scent and promptly picked up a nice sea trout.

I took a pic and promptly released the fish.

Several more casts produced another hit and another ladyfish.

I switched back to the gold spoon and hooked up with a redfish after the third or fourth cast but I never landed it.

The fish made two short runs and on the second one headed into an underwater stickup where it broke loose with my favorite spoon.

I decided to move on up the road to fish another culvert when I met up with Jason, a fellow angler friend of mine.

We chatted a bit and he told me about some nice sea trout and reds he picked up in the area last week.  (Pics to follow)


He went his way and I continued fishing the culvert.and picked up another nice sea trout.

I took it's pic before releasing the fish.

The wind was picking up and I was having a heck of a time casting so when my wife called, I decided to pack it in early.

I made my way up the road and met up with Ron, another fellow angler.  He said he didn't catch any reds today but he did get a nice black drum on the Indian River side on cut bait.

We parted ways and I headed towards the kayak launch.

As I made my way down Peacocks Pocket road, I met up with Jason who had several rods staked out on the bank waiting for a redfish or sea trout to pass by.

As I was leaving the refuge, I spotted some activity in a small pond so I pitched a Tsunami gold spoon to see if it was a redfish.

Two casts later produced another sea trout and ladyfish from the same spot.

The wind was picking up, I was having a hard time casting, and since it was around 5:30 pm, I finally decided to head for home.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Night Fishing Topwater Plugs

Night fishing topwater plugs has always been one of my favorite ways to fish for big sea trout and redfish.

Except for a couple of ladyfish, Saturday's fishing trip turned out to be a bust.

After taking a ride around Bio Lab road to see if there were any fish in the vicinity, I decided to fish Peacocks Pocket road instead.

The water was flat and there was little to no wind on the water. The air temperature was in the 80s and the fish weren't active.

The blimp that Jason and I saw on Friday made another pass over the Indian River, so I took a few pics of it to see if I could identify it.

It turned out to be a "Cloud Lab" blimp, whatever that is.

Anyway, I only fished for a couple of hours and if it wasn't for the two ladyfish I caught on topwater baits, I would have been skunked for the afternoon.

On Sunday,I had higher hopes but unfortunately I didn't get to the refuge until around 7:00 pm.

Again, the water was flat. The air temperature was 80 degrees and dropping because of the thunderstorms that were in the area.

When I actually got to the first pond I wanted to fish, it was almost dark and the air temperature was 78 degrees.

I started fishing a Johnson's Sprite gold spoon and had a couple of bumps. I decided to use the black back and gold Zara Spook Jr. to see if I could instigate some action.

The wind started blowing a bit as it got darker and I started blind casting the topwater bait around some grassy islands.

The first pond I fished was a bust. I spotted an oversize redfish cruising down the marsh canal and as it got to the pond, it swirled on a small ladyfish and continued on it's way.

I tried a cast but the fish was on a mission.

The sky got darker and as dusk approached I decided to try another small pond up the road.

On the second cast with the Zara Spook Jr. a big redfish busted on the plug but didn't hook itself. I let the plug sit for a second hoping that fish would come back and hit the lure but when I twitched the bait, nothing happened.

I made several more casts into the area without another hit so I decided to move to another area where a buddy of mine picked up a gator sea trout a few months ago.

It was dark when I pulled up to the spot but there was just enough light to see where the plug was landing. On the third cast, what was probably a big sea trout blasted the bait.

It sounded like someone heaved a boulder into the water when the fish hit. At first I thought I had the fish hooked, but apparently I jerked the bait out of it's mouth.

I reeled in the plug and shot several casts to the same general area but never got another hit.

Night fishing topwater plugs is fun but from land you need luck to be on your side in order to land the fish you hook.

The next spot I fished was a smaller pond that had two small grassy islands separating the main body of water from the marsh canal.

I couldn't see much but I cast the Zara Spook past the smaller island and started "walking the dog" back to the bank.

About half way back to the bank, another big sea trout busted on the lure. This time it was solidly hooked but after a long run the fish broke off my bait.

I couldn't tell if it went into the mangrove roots or hit a stickup, but the line parted with a snap.

Tonight luck was not on my side. The gnats were eating me alive and when my wife called me to come home, I didn't argue.

Night fishing topwater plugs is a blast but the ratio of landed fish to hookups is pretty low.  I was hoping to have a pic of any one of the fish I missed tonight for the blog but alas, it was not meant to be.

Anyway, I had a great time missing fish!

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Almost Got Skunked!

Well, almost got skunked yesterday evening but a couple of small sea trout and a lady kept my record clean.

As usual, I got out late on Friday and headed for Peacocks Pocket road as soon as I unpacked my truck and loaded up the rods.

I headed towards a small pond where I saw some fish activity and started casting gold spoons into the glassy water.

The air temperature was 83 degrees when I started fishing and there was no wind on the water.

As I was tossing around my spoon, Jason Cooper pulled up and started chatting about the fishing.  He had some jumbo shrimp in a bag hooked up to an airstone to keep them healthy and was scouting out spots to duck hunt.

As we were talking, the Goodyear blimp made a pass across Catfish Creek as it was heading south. 

I didn't think about taking a pic until it was too late and almost out of sight so I kept on fishing.

Jason took off and I headed up to another spot on the Indian River side of the road where I caught a red last weekend.

Nothing was taking my spoon so I moved to a top water Heddon Jr.and started blind casting both sides of the road.

I was just about to move on up the road when a small sea trout hit the plug and flipped off.  Several casts later and I got a hookup with a small ladyfish that shook off the plug.

I almost got skunked but I still hadn't landed a fish until another small sea trout hit the plug on the Indian River side of the road.

After a brief  tussle, I unhooked the fish and returned it to the marsh side of the road.

I was getting killed by gnats so I moved up to where my wife likes to fish for reds.

I made several unfruitful casts without even a follow up so I changed back to the Tsunami gold weedless spoon.

Just before I was ready to call it a day and admit defeat, I spotted a nice redfish cruising up the marsh canal.

I shot a cast above where the fish was headed and let the spoon sit on the bottom until the fish was within "eating" range.

As I lifted the rod tip the redfish hit the lure and took off up the shallow canal.  The 8# Cajun line I had on this outfit was peeling off the spinning reel until the fish decided to swim around a small grassy island.

I tried to keep up with the fish and was walking quickly down the road when the fish swam around the island and broke off my spoon.

Needless to say, I was a very unhappy camper.  The red was the only decent fish of the day and it took one of my favorite spoons.

I reeled in the line and as another nasty bloodthirsty gnat took advantage of my body, I decided to head for home and call it a day.

I almost got skunked but for the two small sea trout and ladyfish, anyway tomorrow is another day.

Till then, Tight Lines.

Fishing In The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

Fishing in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge can be extremely productive if you know what you're doing and have a little bit of luck on your side.

Jason Cooper, a fellow angler that I happened to run into this weekend in the refuge sent me some pics of his catches that he recently made so I thought I'd post them for your enjoyment.

This one was caught on 9/14/2013 in the north end of the Indian River on a large finger mullet.

The sea trout below was caught along Peacocks Pocket road on the marsh side last week.

This red was caught on a chunk of ladyfish last Friday.

The two reds below were caught off Bio Lab road in the Mosquito Lagoon on live mullet. 

This is one area I love to wade fish with top water plugs and weedless gold spoons.

The grass flats off Bio Lab road are pretty much under fished and are loaded with sea trout, redfish,  jacks, black drum and big sheepshead.  

 

And finally another Peacocks Pocket redfish caught on live bait in one of the  areas that I often fish.

Fishing in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge can be an extremely "iffy" proposition, but if you have the patience and a little bit of luck,  you too can catch fish like these.

By the way, Jason and I both practice "catch and release".  Almost all of the fish pictured were oversize and all were released to fight another day.

Fishing in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge can be productive throughout the entire year.

Thanks Jason and till next time, Tight Lines to you all.

Fishing Glassy Water In The Marsh

Didn't get out this afternoon until around 6:30pm and there was glassy water in the marsh ponds.

The weather was 83 degrees when I drove into Peacocks Pocket road and there was absolutely no wind on the water.

I decided to fish some of my favorite "honey holes" so I didn't bother stopping to fish some pushes I spotted in the shallow marsh canal.

When I drove close to the area I planned to fish, I spotted some topwater activity so I decided on fishing a funky looking Zara Spook Jr. that I picked up on special at Wally's World (Wal-Mart).

The lure had a black head and a chartreuse body but for a couple of bucks, I didn't care if I got hung up and lost the bait.

I hooked a large ladyfish that I lost after the third or forth jump, I'm not sure which and after several more casts into the area decided to switch to a gold Tsunami spoon.

I smeared up the spoon with Pro-Cure and started blind casting to the Indian River side of the road where I spotted some baitfish activity.

After about ten casts or so I hooked into a small tarpon.  The fish jumped several times and tossed the spoon back to me. 

I was surprised to hook a tarpon in this area but I guess they are pretty much all over the place.

I continued casting the spoon and after not getting any more hits, I switched back to the Zara Spook Jr.

Several casts into the marsh pond finally hooked me up with a small sea trout which I released to fight another day.

 I made several casts to a couple of redfish that were pushing a nice wake but they weren't interested in eating the odd colored plug.

After catching two more small sea trout and getting bit by a lot of viscous gnats, I was just about ready to call it a day.

I decided to flip a couple more casts toward a small grassy island when a fellow angler stopped to see how I was doing.

His name was Jason Cooper and he told me he was a local who has been fishing for many years in the refuge.

We traded information and he showed me a pic of a nice redfish he caught on a live finger mullet earlier. 

Jason said he missed several reds that took the bait but didn't stay hooked up.  My friend Ron told me the other day he had the same problem.

That is one of the reasons I don't fish live bait on a regular basis.  Anyway, we talked till a storm cloud started moving over the area and we both decided to head for home.

It started sprinkling as I turned around and started driving out of the refuge.  The air temperature dropped to a pleasant78 degrees and the wind started up.

Hopefully, next time I'll do better with the slot size trout.

Tight Lines!

Friday The 13th Reds On The Indian River

This evening on Friday the 13th reds in the Indian River was the last thing I expected.

Driving home from a rough week of work in Georgia, the last thing I planned on doing this evening was to go fishing.

By the time I finished unpacking the truck it was past 6:30 pm, but when my wife asked me if I was going out to the "swamp", I quickly decided to take a spin around Peacocks Pocket road to see what the fishing conditions were looking like for the weekend.

I quickly packed five spinning rods into the bed of the truck, took a cooler full of bottled water and headed out to see what was biting.

Because it was so late, I decided to concentrate on fishing a shallow pond where I usually pick up some sea trout and an occasional redfish.

On the way to the spot, I took some pics of the scenery and got sidetracked by a cruising redfish in the shallow marsh canal that runs along side of the road. 

I just had to stop and see if it was interested in being caught.

Several casts with a gold spoon, a topwater STORM Rattlin Chug Bug and a DOA shrimp smeared with Pro-Cure got yielded only a small ladyfish.  The redfish continued cruising down the canal.

As I was tossing lures, a couple of cars passed me on the way out of the refuge and a fellow angler with a brown kayak strapped to the top of his car stopped to chat with me about the fishing.

I didn't get his name but he said the fishing for the past couple of days was pretty lousy.  He told me that the reds in the marsh ponds were not biting and then briefly talked about all the road closures in the refuge.

North Shiloh Road remains closed to vehicle traffic and will probably continue to stay closed, as is L. Pond Road and others.  We wondered where all our tax dollars were going and why the "powers that be" couldn't just leave the unimproved roads open for us fishermen to navigate at our own risk.

I finally cut off the conversation and headed up the road to fish my favorite pond.

When I got there, the water level was noticeably down and there was absolutely no fish activity.

I made several casts with a Johnson's Sprite gold spoon before switching over to a Chug Bug but got no interest from anything.

I was putting up the rod with the Chug Bug when I heard a fish blast some bait in the Indian River side of the road.

Since the water in the spot was extremely shallow, I decided to try a gold instead of the Johnson Sprite that I usually toss to redfish.  The Tsunami is wider and can be fished shallower and slower without getting hung up on the bottom.

I smeared it up with some Pro-Cure and started blind casting the area.  On the third cast a nice redfish smacked the spoon and started peeling off line from my reel.

I was using 10# Cajun line with a 15# fluorocarbon leader and fortunately had the drag set light.  

The fish took off on a long run towards the middle of the river and I eventually stopped it and started pumping back line.  I had to play the fish carefully because of all the stickups and mangrove roots in the area so I pretty much gave the fish it's head. 

The redfish made four more long runs before I could bring it close enough to the bank to lip it and it took me almost 20 minutes before I finally landed the fish.

The water where I hooked the red was between six inches and a foot deep, and with all the brush, roots and stickups in the spot, I was actually surprised that I landed the redfish.

The oversize red measured in at 30" and after taking a few of these pics, I released it on the other side of the road into the marsh canal to grow into a bigger "bull".

 

 

Since I forgot the bug spray and the gnats were killing me,  I decided to take one more pic of the sunset before calling it a day.

Although I'm not superstitious, catching Friday the 13th reds on the Indian River was the last thing I expected today.

With any kind of luck, tomorrow will be a repeat performance.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Saturday's Fishing Report

Saturday's fishing report for the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge could have been much better had I bothered to cast net some mud minnows or finger mullet.

I got home too late to go fishing Friday evening so I decided on hitting the refuge after working around the house on Saturday.

The air temperature was in the mid 80s when I finally got to East Gator Creek road and there was a slight breeze blowing across the marsh which made for almost perfect conditions for topwater fishing.

Chug Bugs and gold spoons were my choice for this afternoon's fishing but since it was 5:30 pm, I decided to concentrate on fishing Chug Bugs.

The first sections fished produced three ladyfish that eagerly hit my Chug Bug before either shaking off the lure or being released.  I continued moving up the road looking for an elusive redfish to pitch my lure to, but this afternoon I only spotted one red that was busting baitfish well out of casting range in a shallow pond.

As I hit Peacocks Pocket road, I spotted some sea trout activity but they had a case of lockjaw.  The bite today was very very slow.

I drove to a shallow pond that usually holds fish and switched to a that I smeared up with some Pro-Cure super gel and started blind casting around some grassy islands.

Normally, I favor a gold Johnson's Sprite but this time of the year in the marsh, there is too much sea grass to make fishing it feasible. 

 

I'd like to say that I killed the fish, but I had only one good strike and missed setting the hook.  That's one problem I have with a single hook weedless spoon of any type.  Unless you sharpen the hook to a needle point, you lose more fish than you hook.

I saw fish feeding on baitfish in several areas, but nothing was  hitting artificial baits this afternoon.  It would have been a good day to dunk a live finger mullet or croaker and watch the bird life in the refuge.

As the sun began to set, a fellow angler with Washington plates on his SUV stopped to give me his fishing report.

I forgot to get his name, but he told me he had a hit from something big on a topwater bait and missed the fish, whatever it was.

For a beautiful Saturday afternoon I was surprised that more fishermen weren't in the refuge.  Other than the guy I spoke with, there were no other people fishing the area and only three other cars passed while I was tossing lures.

The mosquitoes were not out this afternoon but the no-see-ums were murder and I forgot the bug spray.

When the bites became intolerable, I took a few pics of the sun going down over the Indian River and decided that Saturday's fishing report was over.  At least I didn't get skunked!

Hopefully, I'll be able to get on the water tomorrow.

Till next time, Tight Lines!

September Fishing In The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

September fishing in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge can be productive if you can adjust to the weather.

This afternoon I didn't plan on going out but I decided to see if Shiloh Marsh Road was open.

When I left the house it was around 5:30 pm and by the time I crossed the bridge at the entrance to Shiloh Marsh Road, it had started to rain.

I drove down the road towards the gate and found that the powers that be still had the barrier up.  No motor vehicle traffic today.

On the way out, I noticed some action in the shallow creek that is the northernmost portion of the Indian River Lagoon.  Several casts with a silver spoon, a gold Johnson's Sprite and a Zara Spook Jr. didn't produce any hits, so I decided to head for Bio Lab road where a fellow angler said he caught a tarpon yesterday afternoon.

I started down the road towards Haulover Canal and had to turn around because the bridge was being worked on.  The sign said it would be closed until Sept.6th or the 9th., I'm not sure which.

Anyway, I had to drive down to Titusville to get to Bio Lab road so I did.  I was interested in playing with a tarpon or two.

When I drove to the shallow water boat launch, I was treated to a beautiful rainbow over the Mosquito Lagoon.  I took a few pics and drove around looking for tarpon.

 

After checking out all possibilities, I was sure there were none in the area today.  I saw some ladyfish chasing baitfish in the shallow pond so I pulled out a Chug Bug and managed to catch two before I decided to move on.

September is supposed to be the cooling down month but today the air temp was still in the low 90s until the rain dropped it into the 80s.  It was hot and balmy.

I decided to hit Peacocks Pocket on the way home and entered the eastern entrance.  As I drove past the kayak launching area, I saw the only other fishermen other than myself in the refuge today. 

The two guys were tossing Chug Bugs into the marsh canal at the first set of culverts and were not catching anything that I could see. 

I started fishing with the gold Johnson's Sprite and after not getting any hits, I changed over to a frog pattern Chug Bug.

It started blowing too hard to make a decent presentation with the top water bait, so I changed rods and fished the gold spoon for the balance of the time I was in the refuge..

I caught a couple of ladyfish and two sea trout that just made the slot, and released them all to grow up and fight another day.

It was tough fishing this afternoon but at least I didn't get skunked.

As the rain started, I decided to head home, get something to eat and watch Breaking Bad.

Till next time, Tight Lines.