Chug Bugs For Gator Sea Trout

It's hard to beat Chug Bugs for gator sea trout and this evening was no exception.

When I got home from work this evening I heard that a cold front was moving into the area so I loaded up a few rods and headed to Peacocks Pocket road to cast a few top water plugs around the area.

Unless something changes this year, the managers of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge usually close Peacocks Pocket road to the public from November 1 until mid April; so I decided to get in my "last shot" at catching some fish before the closure.

When I crossed the causeway bridge I could see that top water fishing was going to be a challenge.  There was a steady wind blowing across the water which would make a decent presentation difficult to impossible.

I headed straight for a couple of ponds that I wanted to fish before it got dark.

At the first pond I started throwing an XPS top water bait around some promising areas.  I had a couple of followups and nailed one nice ladyfish that I kept for future use as redfish bait.

Another fisherman pulled up behind me where I had parked and started putting on waders.  He told me he was going to fish a deep "trough" on the Indian River side of the road with paddletail baits.

He said he usually does quite well with reds and sea trout that use the deeper trough as a sort of deep water highway.

I left him to his fishing and moved up to another smaller pond where I nailed another 2 foot ladyfish on a Chug Bug.  The wind was blowing too hard to fish the "walk the dog" bait properly and the Chug Bug was a better option.

I missed a couple of small sea trout in the same pond before I decided to make one last stop at another area Karen and I fish on a regular basis.

As I rounded the bend on a larger pond I decided to fish the leeward side of a small grassy island.

The water was calmer and it just looked "fishy" so I started tossing the Pro-Cure coated Chug Bug into the grass.

My second cast plopped down into the middle of the grass and a huge fish erupted on the Chug Bug.

The fish inhaled the bait and started peeling off drag into the middle of the pond.  I was silently cussing myself for not putting on my sports camera.  It was a great fight.

The fish headed towards the brushy shore twice but I eased up the pressure and it turned to swim back into the open pond.

I thought I had an oversize redfish on until I got the fish to the bank.  As I reached down to "lip" the fish, I saw that it was a big gator trout.

I pulled it to the bank and quickly got the camera and tape measure.  The fish measured in at 32" using the pinched tail method.

I got the pliers out and unhooked the fish, took a few pics and quickly released it to fight another day.

The fish took off like a shot and I'm sure it won't eat another Chug Bug for at least a few days, if ever.

I moved up to another stretch and missed another fish that I believe was a red.  The fish hit the Chug Bug completely out of the water but didn't hook itself.

I never ceases to amaze me how a fish can nail a bait with two treble hooks and still not hook itself.

Anyway, it was getting dark and the air temperature was dropping quickly.

I packed up my rods, tried to call my wife and headed for home.

I hope the refuge is open tomorrow but if not, I'm sure I'll find some place to wet a line.  On thing is for sure, you can't beat Chug Bugs for gator sea trout or anything else for that matter.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Topwater Sea Trout Fishing In The Marsh Canals

The topwater sea trout fishing was this afternoon was on fire close to dusk.

When soon as I got home from work this evening, I hastily loaded up a few rods and headed out to fish some marsh ponds in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Peacocks Pocket road seemed to be the place to be this evening.  Several vehicles passed me by as I was tossing top water baits to sea trout in the marsh canals and only two other people were actually fishing the banks.

I only had an hour to fish when I finally got home from Savannah this evening, but I made the best of it.  I managed to catch three sea trout and missed two more nice fish before it got too dark to fish.

The second fish of the day that I hooked took one of my favorite top water baits and broke off around some Mangrove roots. 

October is usually great for fishing.  As the weather starts to cool down, the fish start to get more active and the larger sea trout seem to get more interested in eating topwater baits.

I usually use Chug Bugs but this evening I took the wrong rod and wound up using the XPS topwater bait that was already tied on.

I entered East Gator Creek road and made a couple of casts around an open culvert but only managed to spook a fish that was close to the bank.  I didn't have time to waste so I drove up Peacocks Pocket Road and started pitching the XPS bait into likely looking spots.

The air temperature was down to 72 degrees and there was a slight wind over the water.  Perfect for topwater baits.

The first two spots were a waste of time but at the third spot I saw a swirl at the opposite bank and pitched the XPS bait towards the shore.

Almost immediately a nice sea trout nailed the plug and I horsed the fish to an open spot at the bank to land it.  The fish was nice and fat and looked to be about 24 inches.

After I released the fish I walked up the canal to where I spotted another swirl and pitched the bait across to the other bank.  Another fish smacked the plug but I didn't get a hookup.

Several more casts told me that the fish moved on, and so did I.  Besides, I was having problems with the gators chasing my bait.  The eight foot gator below was a good reason to move on.

I got back to the truck and drove to a small pond where I hooked another nice sea trout.  The fish was much larger than the first trout that I caught and I couldn't horse it in.   As I fought the trout it took drag and headed for some mangrove roots where it eventually broke off.

I wasn't too happy about losing the fish and my XPS topwater bait, but I went back to the truck, tied a trout pattern SkitterWalk on to a 20 pound fluorocarbon shock leader and continued fishing.

It was getting overcast and beginning to get dark when I moved to a small pond.  It was going to be the last stop of the evening for me.  The mosquitoes were eating me alive and it was getting chilly.

I tossed the SkitterWalk as far as I could into the marsh pond and "walked the dog" back to the bank.

On the third or fourth cast, another nice sea trout nailed the bait at a shallow drop off in the marsh canal only five or six feet from the bank.

This time the fish was so close I could horse it on to the bank, so that's exactly what I did.

It was dark but I still managed to take a picture (below) of the fat 27" trout before releasing it.

That fish was the last one of the evening.  The mosquitoes and gnats were unusually viscous this evening and I didn't feel like being a blood donor, so I got into the truck and headed home.

Hopefully after I get through working on my swimming pool tomorrow, I'll be able to give topwater sea trout fishing another shot.

Till then, Tight Lines.

Karen Scores Another 30 Inch Redfish In The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge Fishing

The fishing this week has been steadily improving with lots of redfish and sea trout being caught in the Mosquito Lagoon, Northern Indian River and mash areas of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Friday's fishing trip was spattered with small to medium size sea trout catches along with Ladyfish, a Garfish, Needlefish and three missed redfish. 

All the catches were made on either Chug Bugs or an XPS topwater "walk the dog" type topwater bait.

Most of the fish were caught towards dusk around the open culverts, as the sun was going down.

I managed to pick up three sea trout back to back on a Chug Bug at the boat launch in a matter of 15 minutes.

For some reason the fish were not hitting jerkbaits or spoons however, the live bait fishermen I spoke with were catching redfish on fresh cut mullet baits.

Fishing at Dusk on the Indian River

My wife and I went out  Saturday afternoon to see if we could catch a redfish or two and she did quite well.

I was using Chug Bugs at an open culvert at the Peacocks Pocket boat launch where I caught several sea trout yesterday evening, but only had a few follow ups. 

None of the fish were interested in my topwater baits.  I caught a juvenile needlefish on a gold spoon but nothing of any size.

Karen and I moved to a small pond and I switched to cut ladyfish for bait.  I cut up a ladyfish and smeared on some Pro-Cure for "flavoring" for Karen and myself and we settled down to enjoy the afternoon.

I was getting bored so I picked up another rod and started casting a South American Peacock Bass topwater lure around just to see if I could stir up some action. 

As usual, as soon as I started fooling around with to other rod, a redfish picked up my cut bait and started peeling off line.   Karen yelled at me to pick up the rod and as I started to pick it up, the fish dropped the bait. 

I put on another piece of ladyfish and set out a second rod to cover more area.  

After about five minutes we saw a large school of reds move up the marsh canal and as they moved into the small pond; one of them picked up Karen's bait and started peeling off line.

I went to the truck to get the Boca Grip and the camera when I saw that it was a nice fish and started taking a video of the action.  Unfortunately the battery in the cam was almost gone so I only got the first part of the battle.

Her redfish put up a good fight and almost got free when it wrapped around some mangrove roots.  I told Karen to give it a slack line and the fish turned back out to open water.  About ten minutes later she got the fish close enough for me to put a grip on it and land it.

I took these pics, measured the fish and promptly released it.  The fish measured in at a "fat" 30 inches and definitely made her day.

Hoisting Her Redfish

Nice Red

She hooked the fish at around 6:45 pm and by the time she landed it, it was almost dark. 

We continued fishing for few minutes until the mosquitoes moved in and caused us to leave.  They get particularly viscous at dusk.

Hopefully tomorrow we'll get another shot at a red or two.  This time we plan on bringing along Elmo and Odie.  That ought to be a real trip!

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Mediocre Fishing Weekend

Although it was a mediocre fishing weekend, my wife and I still enjoyed getting out on the water to do some fishing.

When I got home from work Friday evening, I loaded up my rods and decided to drive to Peacocks Pocket road to see if it was open.   It had been closed for repairs for the past couple of weeks and when I saw that the barriers were down, I headed in to fish the ponds.

The road crews did a great job.  The potholes and numerous bumps in the unimproved road were filled and both entrances to Peacocks Pocket Road are now almost a joy to drive.

Friday evening proved to be a bust.  I fished Chug Bugs exclusively and missed at least seven sea trout and a slot red in an hour and a half of fishing the open culverts.  The biggest propblem Friday was the gators that kept following my baits at almost every stop.

The fish were following the Chug Bugs and short striking for some reason.  One redfish grabbed the Chug Bug sideways in it's mouth and swam by me in the marsh canal.  I was sure that the fish was hooked but it just dropped the bait when I put it to the fish and tried to set the hooks.

I did manage to catch two 24" ladyfish for bait on topwater lures, but I could not hook a sea trout or a redfish to save my life on Friday.

Saturday afternoon Karen and I decided to take Elmo and Odie to the "swamp" for an outing. 

As usual, they enjoyed hanging their heads out of the truck during the ride to and from Peacocks Pocket road.  The rest of the time, Odie was a pain and Elmo just sat in the truck waiting for us to get done fishing.

Karen and I both fished with cut ladyfish at a couple of spots, while I tossed a Chug Bug around the marsh canals.

I missed several fish before finally hooking up with this slot redfish on a Chug Bug.  The fish nailed the lure coming off a bank at the entrance of a small pond.

I released the fish and a few minutes later hooked up with another smaller version. 

The "rat" red followed the Chug Bug to the bank and nailed it as I was pulling it out of the water.

Karen took this pic before I released the fish.  Please excuse the outfit.

We both missed a couple of redfish each on the cut baits but didn't land any fish.

The mosquitoes and "noseeums" finally forced us out of the refuge.

Sunday afternoon we decided to leave the dogs at home and headed to the same area where we kept missing redfish the day before.

On the way I made a brief stop at East Gator Creek Road to see if I could pick up a fresh ladyfish for bait.  The culverts were flowing and fish were hitting bait but I couldn't get a ladyfish to hit the bait.

I did get a hit from this shortnose garfish that I landed and released before heading to Peacocks Pocket Road.

I made a couple of quick stops to pitch topwater baits into likely looking spots and missed a gator sea
trout of at least 30" in the marsh canal at the entrance to a small pond. 

The fish hit this XPS topwater bait that I picked up at Bass Pro in Savannah last week but I couldn't hook the fish.

The XPS bait is great for "walking the dog" and apparently looks like a real finger mullet to the fish.

Karen and I fished a large pond and finally moved to a smaller pond where we fished until it got dark.

We both missed a couple of redfish each on the cut ladyfish, but all we landed on Sunday afternoon was this large hard head catfish.

The fish were not hitting topwater baits at all.  The were following the lures but either short striking or veering off at the last minute.

The air temperature this evening was in the mid to low 70s and the breeze that was blowing all afternoon was still present as the sun was setting over the Indian River.

Fishing artificial baits was challenging this afternoon.  The breeze made good presentations difficult and the damn gators had a habit of following my topwater baits until I had to move.

The sunset as usual was awesome and although it was a mediocre fishing weekend, Karen and I had a great time fishing.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Patillo Creek Tarpon

Patillo Creek is an area I like to fish when Peacocks Pocket Road is closed for the season and since the "Pocket Road" was closed this evening for repairs, Patillo Creek is where I headed.

I didn't get home from work this afternoon until around 6:30 pm, so I didn't have much time to fish.

I intended to hit Peacocks Pocket road but when I saw that the barriers were up, I headed towards the Boy Scouts camping area to try out that area.

Except for one other truck, the camping area was uninhabited. I drove through some deep puddles to a turn around and started pitching a Chug Bug and a newly purchased Strike King "Sexy Dawg" topwater bait.

I got to practice my "walk to dog" technique but only wasted a lot of time at the spot.  There was no topwater action in the area that I could see, so I packed up the rods and headed over to Patillo Creek Road.

When I drove up to the culverts at Patillo Creek road, I immediately noticed that they were open and dumping water into the large marsh pond.  A perfect scenario for "catching" instead of just fishing.

I turned on the sports cam to hopefully pickup some of the action, if there was any, and recorded the videos below.

I fished the area thoroughly with topwater baits, a ZMann jerk bait and a Johnsons Sprite gold spoon with some success.

Juvenile Tarpon

When I started casting topwater baits, it was apparent that the fish were chasing baitfish just under the surface.

I missed several fish on a topwater Chug Bug and on the ZMann jerkbait before finally connecting with a small Tarpon.

There were several other juvenile Tarpon in the area, along with several nice redfish and small sea trout.

I was targeting the Tarpon with the Chug Bug and missed three fish that hit the bait but didn't get hooked, so I changed over to the jerkbait smeared up with Pro-Cure.

Finally the small Tarpon above gobbled up the bait and danced around the shallow pond before I could land it and unceremoniously release the fish.

Although the fish was only the size of a slot redfish, it put up a decent fight.  Too bad it wasn't one of the big ones in the area.

I continued fishing with the jerkbait and missed a couple more fish before changing back to the Chug Bug.

Juvenile Snook

As I was casting to another rolling Tarpon, I got a hit from what I thought was a small sea trout.

I quickly noticed that it was a very small Snook.  In fact it had to be the smallest Snook I ever caught in this area.

Anyway, I took a couple of pics before putting the fish back to grow up.

A thunderstorm was coming in fast and the fish were getting more and more active, but when a lightning strike hit too close to me I decided it was time to head for home.

By the time I settled into the truck, the rain was coming down in buckets with no sigh of letting up.

I was hoping it would stop, but no such luck.

I drove up to the dead end turnaround at the end of Patillo Creek and left the area towards home.

When I got to the house, it was dark and still raining but I considered the outing a success.

I managed to get several hits from Tarpon and a redfish; caught a Tarpon, a Snook and a small sea trout and all in all had a good time.

Till next time, Tight Lines.