Memorial Day Weekend Redfish On Topwater Baits

Next to sea trout, catching redfish on topwater baits is one of my favorite activities and this evening turned out to be one of my better fishing excursions.

I got home late from work and didn't hit the wildlife refuge until around 6:30 pm.

The air temperature was in the high 80s and there was almost no breeze blowing when I entered East Gator Creek road.

As I was tying on a new Skitterwalk topwater bait that I bought at Bass Pro in Savannah, a Fish and Wildlife officer drove up for a license check.

We chatted about the fishing and when some of the roads would be opening, if ever, before he continued down the road.

I started casting the new Skitterwalk into the shallows over the weeds and was eventually rewarded with a hit from a large sea trout.  The fish missed the bait and didn't come back for a return hit so I continued fishing the area casting into likely looking spots.

It took about twenty casts and two more misses before I hooked up with and landed a nice ladyfish.

I took a pic and returned the fish to the shallows before moving up the road towards Peacocks Pocket road.

I spotted a slot redfish in the shallow marsh canal and started pitching a Zman jerkbait to the fish when a "fisherlady" I see in this area on a regular basis drove up and started chatting about the fishing possibilities.

Beatrice told me she was catching some nice sea trout and redfish in the area on various baits and I shared some of my reports before she moved on to her spot.

The fish were not in the shallow ditches this evening.  They appeared to be in the shallow grassy ponds chasing baitfish around, so I decided to target a large pond that I knew harbored some nice reds.

This pond usually produces some nice sea trout and reds but only early in the morning and later on towards dusk.

I "jump fished" my way to the spot and had a couple of nice hits on the way but no fish landed.

When I got to the area I intended to fish, I started fishing a gold Johnson's Sprite spoon but after many fruitless casts, I put the rod up and changed over to the Zman jerkbait.

I briefly hooked a small sea trout but it spit out the bait.  I continued fishing the jerk bait without any luck until the evening topwater action started.

It was like a light switch that just turned on.   The fish started busting baitfish in the weedy shallows and they weren't small fish!

I changed rods and started casting the new Skitterwalk bait as far out into the pond as I could.

I had two misses before remembering that I neglected to smear up the bait with some Pro-Cure.

The Pro-Cure made the difference.

I made two more casts around a big fish that was busting bait around a small grassy island.  On the third cast, the fish inhaled the Skitterwalk and started peeling line off my spinning reel.

On the first run the redfish almost spooled me but I increased the drag enough to pump back line.

The second run wasn't as long but the fish showed no sign of giving up.  It continued making shorter and shorter runs until I was beginning to think I could land it.

After 20 minutes or so I crawled down the bank with my Boca Grip and finally lipped the fish to the bank.

 

The stocky fish measured just over 30" and was in great shape.  By it's girth it was obvious it had been feeding on mullet.

I took a few quick pics before reviving the fish and letting it go to fight another day.

 

It was getting late and I decided to head for home.

On the way out I spotted Beatrice.  She told me she had just caught a 25" black drum on a "rancid" shrimp in the shallows around Catfish Creek Loop.

I told her about the red I caught and headed for home and some dinner.

Hopefully this Memorial Day weekend will prove to be as fruitful as this evening's trip was.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Skunked!

Well I got skunked this evening. Not a first, but hopefully not the norm.

I didn't get home from work until around 6:30 pm but before 7:00 pm, I was on the water.

I packed several rods into the truck along with a cast net and some lures, and headed for East Gator Creek road to pick up some finger mullet.

My first cast near a culvert snagged me a half dozen 8 to 10 inch mullet which I promptly dropped into a  5 gallon bucket before heading to a spot where I hoped I could catch a red or a gator sea trout.

I passed several spots that I normally would have stopped to fish but  since it was late, I focused on getting to an area on the Indian River where I know big reds feed.

I passed several fishermen before finally pulling up to where I wanted to fish. 

I put two live mullet on casting rods and cut one mullet unto chunks for bait to use on my Okuma bait runner spinning rod.

The air temperature was in the high 60s and the wind was blowing too much for me to mess around with the 9 weight fly rod I brought along, so I started blind casting a gold Johnson's sprite around the marsh canal on the other side of Peacocks Pocket road.

After a half hour without a bite, I was beginning to think I was jinxed but since I seldom fish with live or fresh dead baits,  I decided to give this type fishing a reasonable shot.

About this time a sea osprey picked up one of my live mullet.  I saw the line peeling off the reel on the casting rod  and thought I had a "bull redfish" on until I noticed that the line was going up to the sky.

I got to the truck where the rod was and pulled the mullet away from the Osprey but it wouldn't let go.  Finally, I pulled the ornery bird into the water with a plop, and it still didn't let go of the mullet.

When I started reeling the bird in, I thought I had hooked it but finally the eagle let go of his dinner.

I reeled in the mullet to put some line back onto the spool and decided to let the bait sit far out in the river.

Damned if the Osprey didn't pick up the same mullet again.  This time when I yanked it, the bird dropped the bait and kept flying on it's merry way.

As it turned out, that was to be my only catch of the day.

More waiting and no bites on the other rods.  I finally switched out the gold spoon to a topwater "speckled trout" pattern Skitter Walk and started blind casting the river side around some baitfish pods in hopes of picking off a gator sea trout.

I finally got a hit on the bait from a small sea trout which almost immediately flipped off the plug.

Another fishermen had pulled up a few yards up the road from me with his girlfriend or wife and was also doing the "bait fishing" thing.

He fished until almost 8:00 pm before giving it up.  As they passed me, he said he hadn't gotten any bites and was trying another spot.

I told him about my bad luck and started packing up my gear to also get out of the area.

About the time I finished putting the rods back into the truck, a rocket launch at the Kennedy Space Center got my attention.

 

I headed for the truck to get my camera but by the time I set it up, I missed most of the launch.

This afternoon I couldn't even get a good video of the launch.  It just wasn't my day.

On the way out of the refuge, I spotted a pod of black drum swimming up the canal.  I tried to entice them with a jerk bait but again, no bites.

I did manage to get some shots of some roseatte spoonbills and an American crocodile which is uncommon in our area.

 

 


The crocodiles have a very narrow snout and are larger than our alligators.

This one was about 14 feet long and wasn't afraid of anybody.

After finally admitting to myself that I got skunked, I decided to head for home and some dinner.

Although I didn't catch any fish this evening, it was still great to get out and enjoy the wildlife in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Gator Trout Are Hitting In The River

Right now if you get out early enough, the gator trout are hitting in the river for fishermen using anything resembling a finger mullet.

Although I haven't been able to get out as much as I planned, the reports I've received from some of my friends and a couple of guides, tell me that the sea trout fishing on the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon is outstanding.

Although May is one of the best times of the year to nail a gator sea trout, this year seems to be better than average.

The early topwater bite is generally over by 9:00 am for those using Chug Bugs, SkitterWalks, Zara Spooks and just about anything that looks like a finger mullet, but for live bait fishermen using finger mullet, pinfish, grunt or even cut baits, the fishing remains active almost all day.

My wife and I took our two "wonder dogs" for a ride around Peacocks Pocket road Saturday afternoon, but we didn't do much fishing.

The temperature was 91 degrees, the waterfowl were out in force as were the gators, but the wind made fishing with artificial baits a lot like work.

 

Both of the bank fishermen and wade fishermen we spoke with were catching mostly sea trout in the 20" plus category.

One guy who had a couple of rods out along the "duck blind" said he caught a nice 29" gator trout and a slot redfish.  This report was late in the afternoon after he had been fishing for a couple of hours.  He said both fish were caught on chunks of fresh mullet.

I made a quick trip around the "Pocket" when I got home from work late Friday evening and picked up a couple of small sea trout and two nice ladyfish on gold Johnson's Sprite spoons.

I was targeting redfish on Friday but only spotted two that were spooked by my misplaced casts.

The water in the Indian River is clear right now in most areas and the fish are spooky.

My friend Jason sent me some pics of his friend (left) with a nice 28 1/2" sea trout he caught on a live mullet along "Marsh Bay" on the Indian River this past Thursday.

Fish like these are being caught all over both lagoons right now.

All the pics below were of a trip he made last Wednesday.

All the fish below were caught along Peacocks Pocket Road on the river side with live and cut baits both bank fishing and from the Gheenoe.

 

 

 

 

These guys had six rods set out with cut baits and live finger mullet.  With the air temperature in the 90s, it seems like the way to go.

 


I planned on getting out today but had too many chores to catch up on but I will definitely be on the water bright and early next Saturday a.m. come hell or high water.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge Is Closed Again

The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is closed again for whatever reason.

I finally got a chance to get out of the house and do some fishing this afternoon and when I got to Gator Creek road was faced with a barrier.

East Gator Creek Road and Peacocks Pocket road were also closed so I continued to the Canaveral

National Seashore to see if it was open for visitors.

When I drove up to the guard shack and inquired about the closure, the ranger on duty said they had a burn in the area which is why he thought the area was barriered off.

I asked him if he had any fishing reports on beach fishing and was told that lots #10 and #11 were "hot" and the surf fishermen were catching nice size whiting and pompano on sand fleas and peeled shrimp.

As luck would have it, I didn't have a surf rod with me.

I packed three spinning rods and my 9 weight fly rod with some gotchas and poppers.

I asked him if Bio Lab road was open and he said he had taken down the barrier earlier in the morning.

I decided to drive down to the beach and check out the lots and then drive through Bio Lab road to fish the Mosquito Lagoon around the Whale Tail flats.

I stopped at lot #2 where there some vehicles and took a few pics of the deserted beach. 

A lone fisherman was dunking shrimp and wasn't catching anything so I moved on.


The lots were all virtually empty this afternoon.  It could have been because of the bad weather or just lack of interest.

Anyway, except for a couple of guys at the Eddy Creek fishing pier and some folks at lot #9, the area was empty.

I entered Bio Lab road from the beach road and stopped at the closed flats where I could wade out and fish the potholes.

I fished with a gold spoon and a jerk bait and only had one light hit on the plastic.

The wind started whipping up when I was out about a hundred yards or so and the waves started getting higher, so I made my way back to the truck and tried to warm up a bit.

A couple of other guys were fishing the area with no luck, and there was a lot of vehicle traffic on the road checking out the scenery.  I thought this was unusual for Bio Lab, anyway the wind got stronger so I made a quick run around the Boy Scout camping area and headed for home.

When I got close to Titusville, I decided to make one last stop in an area where I sometimes jump small Tarpon.

I pulled up and took a spinning rod with a gold Johnson's Sprite spoon and slowly waded out into the shallows.

Several fish were rolling on the surface so I started casting in front of  them to see if I could scrounge up a bite.

I had a tap from an unknown fish and two casts later a hookup with a two foot ladyfish.  The fish nailed the spoon and put up a dazzling fight jumping all over the place.

I landed and released the nice fish and continued casting.

I missed two more ladyfish before landing another that was over two feet long.

Several casts later got me a brief hookup with one of the rolling Tarpon.  The fish hit the spoon and made one jump that sent the spoon back at me.

I continued casting for another half hour or so and never got another hit so I waded back to the truck and headed for the house.

Hopefully the refuge will open soon.

Till next time, Tight Lines.