Lackluster Fishing Trip In The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

Today's fishing trip in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge was uneventful to say the least.

The air temperature was 92 degrees when I left the house and there was a slight breeze blowing in the refuge as I drove past the Peacocks Pocket small boat launch.  It was a beautiful afternoon to go fishing.

As usual, I didn't leave the house until around 6:30 pm, and when I finally got on the water the temperature dropped a few degrees making fishing bearable.

As I drove past the first set of culverts I met up with a couple of fishermen who were casting topwater baits and still fishing cut baits for reds.  When I asked them if they had any luck, both guys said the fishing was dead today.  They said they were fishing the spot for a few hours with no luck.

I moved up to a marsh pond that I hoped would be holding redfish and started out casting a Chug Bug smeared up with Pro-Cure.

I finally bought a "sports cam" off of Amazon and decided to give it a try.  I got tired of writing about the fish "I had on but lost at the bank" without some documentation.  The SJ4000 full HD sports cam I picked up was a cheaper version of a more expensive $350.00 sports cam and works just as well if not better.   The wide angle lens picks up a lot of action but I still have to figure out the best way to mount it on a visor.

Anyway, I was hoping to get some decent video to show here but the fish weren't cooperating.

I had two followups at the first pond I stopped to fish and finally hooked a  small sea trout on the Chug Bug. 

The fish was quickly released and as it started getting towards dusk, I moved on to another spot I wanted to hit before dark.

This pond has a relatively steep drop off adjacent to some very shallow grass flats and the fish usually hang right at the drop off.

Today the fish were either out of the area or spooked by the afternoon's vehicle traffic.

As I mentioned yesterday, the feeder roads to Peacocks Pocket boat launch have been scraped to alleviate the potholes.  The main stretch from Catfish Creek Loop road to the boat launch has not been touched.

Personally, I like it because it cuts down on the vehicle traffic from people who are not used to driving on a narrow unimproved trail.

Anyway, the second spot I stopped to fish produced a couple of followups and a half hearted strike from a small sea trout.

All the time I was out in the refuge, I never saw a redfish or sign of redfish in the Indian River or the marsh ponds.

When the mosquitoes started eating me I decided to give it up and call it a day.  I hope to take Karen, Odie and Elmo out tomorrow and try again.

Till next time  Tight Lines.