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.
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2 Please SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS HERE!:
i fished the refuge area yesterday. i think it was one of the spots where you made that video about catching 2 redfish at the same time right before peacocks pocket rd i believe. i was using a gold spoon on braided line. i made a cast and right as it almost got back to the bank i got a nice hook up. the fish jumped 3 times right in front of me and it was a pretty decent size. on the third jump it shook its head and shredded my line and i lost my spoon. i could see it was a decent size gar. ever seen or caught one out there before?
I catch gar occasionally. The problem is that they are hard to hook and usually flip off.
Check out: http://johns-centralflorida-fishing.blogspot.com/2009/09/labor-day-north-indian-river-redfish.html
Karen caught several on shrimp and I usually hook up with them on spoons.
The spot you're talking about is where I missed a redfish that hooked me in the side a couple of Sundays ago.
Tight Lines.
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