Post Thanksgiving Day Fishing On The Indian River

Thanksgiving Day was bleak and post Thanksgiving Day fishing was almost as bad.

I've been taking care of my wife for the past few days so I haven't been able to do any fishing however, this afternoon I took a couple hour break to scoot around Catfish Creek on the Indian River to see if I could stir up a bite or two.

I entered the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge via East Gator Creek road to see if there was any action in the shallows.

The wind was blowing steady and the air temperature was dropping from 79 degrees as I entered to 65 degrees when I left the area.

There was a front coming trough and it started raining as I entered Catfish Creek Loop.

Today I only brought along three rods.  One with a DOA Shrimp, one with a Nemeire Red Ripper gold spoon and one with a Carolina rigged jerk bait.

The majority of the time I fished with the Red Ripper spoon to try and locate some fish.  Unfortunately I had no takers so I changed over to the jerk bait.

After several casts to likely looking spots with that bait I realized if there were any fish in the area, they were not hitting minnow imitations.

When I spotted a small school of black drum in the area below, I finally changed over to the root beer colored D.O.A. Shrimp Lure smeared up with some shrimp scented Pro-Cure .

After several casts I finally got a hit and lost either a drum or a redfish.  The fish nailed the bait but I snatched the bait away from it before it was solidly hooked.

I made several more half hearted casts to the general area not really expecting anything but to my surprise I hooked up to nice oversize redfish.

At first I thought I had a snag but the fish started it's run and kept on going.  I thought it was a big drum but after several runs I finally got it close enough to see it was a big red.

I got the Boca Grip from the truck as I was fighting the fish and finally lipped the red onto the bank.

The Stanley tape put the fish right at 32".

I quickly released the red just as it started to rain again.  It started as a light mist and gradually got to pneumonia like weather.

I decided that one fish was enough so I headed out of Catfish Creek and came upon these two fishermen.

They were sitting in their truck waiting out the rain and had set out at least four rods.

I asked them how they were doing and they said they just had a double header.  The one guy said he caught a 25 incher and the other a 27 1/2 inch fish.

When I asked about what bait they were using, he told me they were using the shrimp they caught last night on the fishing pier.

Evidently the shrimp are finally running.

Anyway, I took a few pics of the nasty weather and headed home to see how my wife Karen was doing.

The pain pills she was taking pretty much knocked her out but I didn't want to leave the house too long.

Hopefully, after she gets well we can go out with a pail of shrimp and nail a few more.

Shrimp is the bait of choice right now for almost everything.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge Seasonal Road Closure

The annual Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge seasonal road closure is now apparently in effect.

After my Doctor's appointment this afternoon, I decided to wet a line in the refuge however, as I meandered up to Peacocks Pocket road, I was greeted with the closure notification below.

Peacocks Pocket road will be closed from November 1st thru February 15th of next year to vehicle traffic.

I guess I'm going to have to either start walking in earnest or find another mode of transportation to get into my favorite winter fishing holes.

From my conversations with a couple of wildlife management officers, I learned that the closure coincides with the waterfowl hunting season.

Years ago there was no closure however, someone who had a few bird shot pellets land on them complained and now the area is closed for everyone.

In any event, I fished the Indian River and marsh areas around Catfish Creek Loop hoping for a redfish.

During the time I fished Catfish Creek Loop,  I saw a small school of black drum feeding in the shallow marsh area and two redfish that obviously had a case of lockjaw.

I started fishing with a topwater Chug Bug but had no takers or follow ups, so I switched over to a Johnson's Sprite and a Gold Neimire Red Ripper spoon.  Both pieces of hardware didn't produce anything either.

Evidently the fish were either not in the area, or they were feeding on crustaceans.  I suspect the latter.

There was a slight wind was coming out of the east this evening and the air temperature was in the high 70s and dropping as I decided to leave the area. The gnats and mosquitoes were out in full force and I forgot my insect repellent, so fishing became a torturous endeavor and not much fun.

I did manage to get some nice pics of the area before calling it a day. 

 

 

On the way out, I decided to drive through East Gator Creek road.  I saw some topwater action just at dusk and missed two sea trout on the Chug Bug.  Both fish were short strikers.

Except for those two fish, it remained an unproductive trip but it was still great to get out in the air and enoy the great scenery.

The sunset was awesome as usual.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Gloomy Day In The Wildlife Refuge

Saturday turned out to be a rather gloomy day in the wildlife refuge for Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River fishing but despite the inclement weather, I still opted for a short fishing trip around Peacocks Pocket road.

I left the house around 3:30 pm and it was drizzling as I crossed the bridge over the Indian River.

There were several bank fishermen along both sides of the causeway road fishing with cut baits and live finger mullet.  Most of them had at least three rod holders set for reds and as I passed, nobody seemed to be catching anything.

As I was driving down Peacocks Pocket road looking for actively feeding redfish, I spotted several very large gators along the bank.

Since the air temperature was 72 degrees, I really didn't expect them to be as active as they were this afternoon but I spotted at least half a dozen during my trip.

I brought along four rods tied with a Red Ripper spoon, a Chug Bug, a Heddon Zara Spook Jr. and a purple tube bait I decided to try out just for the hell of it.

A guide in Savannah, Ga. told me he kills reds in the shallows with this setup so I bought the Bass Pro Shops Bargain Tube Kit 45-Piece set and smeared some Pro-Cure Inshore Saltwater formula into the tube to mimic a crab crawling around in the weeds.

Bass Pro Shops 67-Piece Tournament Series Jig Kit is also supposed to work for redfish when they are targeting crustaceans in the grass but I haven't yet tried them.

I knew from last week's trip that the reds are targeting crabs and shrimp in the grass, but because I left the house in a hurry, I neglected to bring along any fresh dead shrimp.

As it turned out, I probably should have stopped at one of the local bait ships to get some.

Other than just a couple other die hard bank fishermen, there was not much vehicle traffic along the road.  A few guys were leaving the area as the rain started picking up, but other than that it was a gloomy day in the wildlife refuge for sure.

After blind casting to several spots that I normally fish, I quickly realized that today was probably going to be a "live bait" day.

I had a slot redfish hit the gold Nemire Red Ripper Spoon Lures in a shallow weedy area and missed a small sea trout on the Heddon Zara Spook Jr. topwater bait in another shallow marsh area.

Other than those two misses, I remained fishless for the afternoon.

Normally, I love to fish the fronts especially when there is a tolerable rain falling on the surface of the water but this afternoon, the fish just weren't hitting any of my baits.

As I was moving to another spot, I stopped about midway up Peacocks Pocket road and asked some bank fishermen how they were doing.

They said they caught a black drum and a small redfish both on shrimp on the river side of the road.

I wished them good luck and moved on up the road to fish "bobcat bay" on the Indian River side.

After many blind casts to likely looking spots with no takers, I decided to head for home.   The rain was beginning to beat down harder, it was getting late and a bit chilly.

As I was slowly driving up to the double culverts near the shallow water canoe launch, I saw two waders plodding their way out of the shallow marsh area where they were fishing.

I slowed down and yelled to them that there are some really big gators in that immediate area.  By big, I mean in the 10 foot category.

When I asked them if they caught anything, they said they were fishing with Cajun Thunder floats and live shrimp but had no fish.  They said "they were definitely out there" but were not hitting anything.

I didn't bother to watch and see if they made it across the deeper marsh canal without being eaten.  Instead, I called my wife and asked her if she wanted a SubWay sub for dinner.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

A Day At The Beach

After having a terrible day fishing in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge yesterday, I opted for a day at the beach today.

My wife went horseback riding this afternoon so I packed up some rods and headed for Playalinda Beach to see if anyone was having any luck in the surf.

I wasn't expecting much because of the windy conditions but I decided to scout out the area anyway.


When drove up to the entrance to the beach, I asked the ranger if anyone was catching any fish today and as usual they were clueless.

It was high tide when I turned the corner to the first parking area and as I stated, there was a brisk wind whipping up the surf.

 

I stopped at parking lots #4, #8, #9 and #10 to see how the surf fishermen were making out and at every stop I found that nobody was catching any fish.

The heavy surf was pushing up literally tons of seaweed onto the beach and every surf fisherman I spoke with was pulling in more seaweed than fish.

The only fish I saw being caught were a couple of mediocre whiting

and a small pompano that flipped off due to the load of seaweed on the guy's line as he was trying to land the fish.

I took a few dozen pics and decided to see if anyone was doing any better at Eddy Creek.

When I pulled into the turnaround, there were several fishermen around the boat launch and more on the fishing pier. 

A few guys were pulling in fish but nothing spectacular so I decided to fish Peacocks Pocket road via Bio Lab road.

As I drove through Bio Lab road, I stopped at several likely looking areas to pitch a Red Ripper spoon around.  I had one hit but missed the fish, whatever it was.

There were a couple of hardy souls braving the wind fishing the Whale Tail but other than that the Mosquito Lagoon was relatively free of fishermen.

 

When I finally entered Peacocks Pocket road, it was getting late.  The air temperature was 73 degrees and the wind was still blowing from the northeast.

I fished several spots with a gold Red Ripper and a silver and black Chug Bug.

There was zero interest in the Chug Bug and I missed two reds in the grass.  The last red that I hooked took my gold Red Ripper.

As it neared dusk, I decided to call it a day early and head for home.

On the way out of the refuge, I spotted several bank fishermen dunking shrimp and finger mullet.

As I was driving past them, I saw a lone porpoise chasing redfish almost on the bank where the fishermen had their lines set.

I stopped and took this video of the action as the big porpoise was rounding up a redfish dinner.


Sorry about the quality but it was almost dark.

It has been a tough weekend for fishing.  Almost everyone I encountered was having difficulty catching fish but, that's why they call it fishing and not catching!

Till next time, Tight Lines.

An Unproductive Afternoon In The Marsh

Well, it turned out to be a very unproductive afternoon in the marsh.

I didn't get to go fishing today until around 4:00 pm and the weather was beautiful.

The air temperature was in the low 80s and there was only a hint of a breeze over the Indian River and marsh areas of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

I was hoping for a couple of redfish this afternoon, but as it turned out, I got skunked!

The baits of choice this afternoon were a topwater Chug Bug, a gold
Nemire Red Ripper Spoon Lure, and a DOA CAL jerkbait.

For the most part I concentrated on fishing likely looking spots in the grassy areas with the Nemire spoon but there were no telltale signs of fish today anywhere.

All the time I was out on Peacocks Pocket road I never saw a tailing red or any fish busting baits of any type.

I fished hard and several vehicles passed me by but there were only two other people fishing the area other than myself.

As I was flipping my Red Ripper into a likely looking area in the marsh, a wildlife ranger drove up to watch me fish.

I walked over to talk to him about the conditions and he told me that nobody today was catching any fish.

He wished me luck as he departed and I continued casting until it started getting dark and the mosquitoes became unbearable.

As I was driving out of Peacocks Pocket road, I saw a couple of fishermen in their truck getting ready to leave the refuge.

I stopped to ask if they were doing any good and they told me that they caught only one small sea trout but the other guy landed a 31" redfish on a DOA shrimp.  In fact the wildlife ranger even netted the fish for the guy.

The spot where he caught the red was the same area where I picked up a couple of reds last weekend.

I knew I should have started fishing from the other end of Peacocks Pocket road!

 

Anyway, the scenery was awesome as usual and tomorrow is another day plus,  my wife wants to come along.

Till then, Tight Lines!

November Redfish Are In The Grass

November redfish are in the grass and they are hungry this time of the year.

I didn't get home until late this evening so I headed straight to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge to get in a little fishing before dusk.

After unloading my work stuff from the truck, I packed three rods and took off to the swamp.

I decided that fishing Peacocks Pocket road from the easternmost entrance would give me the most fishing time, so I didn't waste any time getting to Peacocks Pocket and the small ponds just past the area.

This evening the air temperature was a pleasant 82 degrees and there was a slight breeze blowing.

I had one rod tipped with a Metallic Silver Black STORM Rattlin Chug Bug, one rod with a custom made DOA spinnerbait, and the third tied to a Nemire Red Ripper Spoon.

After tossing the topwater bait around several areas, I decided that the fish would probably be more interested in the gold spoon.

The Red Ripper when fished slow looks a lot like a crab and when retrieved quickly resembles a small wounded minnow.

The water was glassy in most areas so I decided to fish the newly submerged grassy areas around some small islands that were previously high and dry.

It didn't take long before I had a bump on the spoon but I missed the hookup so I decided to smear some Pro-Cure Inshore Saltwater formula on the spoon to "spice it up" a bit.

I continued moving up the road taking pot shots at every area that I thought a redfish might be searching for a crab dinner.

After several casts to likely looking spots, a redfish nailed the Red Ripper and took off  up the marsh canal.

As I fought the fish, I slipped down the bank just as a couple of guys in an SUV stopped to see what I was battling.  The one fellow asked me if I needed any help as I was on my butt, but I told him I was doing just fine.

I had the Boca Grip in one hand and was fighting the fish on my but on the bank.

Finally after three or four nice runs, the fish started getting tired.  The red headed for the brush piles alongside the bank several times, but each time I managed to slowly lead the fish away from the problem areas until I could finally lip the redfish onto the bank.

When I told the guys in the truck that the fish looked like it was too big to keep, they said it looked like a slot red to them, so I pulled out my tape to prove them wrong by one inch.

 


It turned out that the fish was a fat 28" and just oversize.

I took a couple of these pics and a brief video of the release all the while listening to the two guys telling me to keep the fish.

They departed and I kept fishing the grassy areas with the spoon until it started to get too dark to fish.

I had two more bumps and missed another redfish in the grass just at dusk before deciding to call it a day.

As I was heading out of the refuge, I spotted a familiar couple fishing in the same spot where they caught a nice gator trout last year.

As I pulled up to Craig and Mary, they immediately recognized my truck, so we shot the "bull" a bit about the fishing in the refuge.

Craig said he caught two 15" sea trout on soft baits earlier and that Mary lost two nice redfish on shrimp right before dark.

Mary told me that they went deep sea fishing out of Mayport in Jacksonville during the three day red snapper season and did quite well.

Mary caught two red snapper in the 14 pound range, an amberjack and a nice flounder.  Craig said that they also caught a bunch of black sea bass on the trip.

I fished the St. Johns River in that area several times and caught some flounder but I never took a trip on one of the "head" boats up there.  However, I may do so in the future.

Anyway, when Karen called me on my cell phone telling me it was dark,  I decided to head for home and get some dinner.

Just about every November redfish are in the grass during the higher water periods eating shrimp, crabs and other crustaceans, and this year is no exception.

Till next time, Tight Lines.