The Black Drum Are In The Creeks

After taking care of some work around the house, my wife and I decided on the spur of the moment to go fishing and try and catch some Black Drum.

It was around 4:00 pm before we finally loaded the truck and headed for the Indian River.  

We decided to hit the local bait shop to pick up some live shrimp,  so we stopped at Captain Hooks on Garden Street and picked up a baker's dozen of "bombers".  

These are super size shrimp in the jumbo  plus category that are great for gator sea trout, snook and big redfish.  

I didn't have a bait bucket so we used the cooler I brought along to keep our drinks in.  

We drove into Gator Creek road and into Catfish Creek Loop and decided to fish a point where I have caught reds in the past.

I baited up a jumbo shrimp for Karen on her spinning outfit,  then set out three bait casting rods  with live and dead shrimp and sat down to wait.  (Not one of my better traits.)

After a few minutes I had a hit on the rod with a smelly shrimp on it but missed whatever was dumb enough to try and eat it.

I re-baited with a live shrimp and after several minutes picked up an undersize spotted sea trout which I quickly released.  Shortly after that, I landed another sea trout that was the smallest I ever caught in salt water.  The little trout was no longer than 6 " and when Karen wanted to take my picture with the trout, I quickly vetoed the idea.

While I was unhooking the little trout, Karen hooked a black drum on a bait casting rod I asked her to watch.  

The fish put up a "sloshing" fight that was atypical of a drum and when she landed the fish we knew why.  The juvenile drum had its tail removed by some predator, probably a dolphin looking looking for a drum dinner.

Tailless Drum

Tailless Black Drum

I took a couple of pics of the tailless fish before  releasing it.

In the next half hour just as dusk was on us, I hooked and released two more black drum and another as it got dark.  All the drum were caught on either live shrimp or some smelly dead shrimp I brought along that was cluttering up the freezer.

We released all the fish and when it got too dark to see, we decided to head for home.   Except for the one black drum that Karen landed, she never got a hit on the live "bomber" shrimp she was using.

Apparently I was in a small school that was just a few feet away from where she had her rod staked out.  The other two bait casting rods I had out never got a hit either and they were to the right and left of where I was catching fish.

We were hoping to catch a redfish, but I couldn't complain about the fishing.  The tally was two sea trout and three black drum in the 22' to 25" range.

After I get through with my projects tomorrow, we'll probably go out again and wet a line or two.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Catfish Creek Was Hot This Evening

The bank fishermen around Catfish Creek were catching this evening, not just fishing.

When my wife asked me to pick up a prescription for her, I packed up a few rods and took Elmo and Odie along for a spin around Catfish Creek in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

As we crossed the A. Max Brewer Bridge it looked like everyone had at least one fishing rod out in the river.

I drove around Catfish Creek and stopped to talk to several fishermen to see what was biting and what the fish were biting on.

The first guy I spoke with was landing a slot size redfish as I drove up to him.  He and almost everyone I spoke with was using shrimp for bait, and catching either slot size and under Redfish, or slot size Black Drum.

 I didn't want to waste his time so I drove up the road and talked with another couple who were fishing a culvert.  They said they had just got there and were using shrimp for bait.

I brought along three rods this evening each tipped with different lures but I didn't expect to do much fishing with the dogs along. Elmo usually chills out in the back seat but Odie is a handful and has to explore and watch everything that is going on.

The air temperature was in the high 70s and the river was like glass. There were several people paddling kayaks and a couple of guys at the mouth of Catfish Creek fishing from a shallow draft flats boat. The scenery this evening was awesome.

I spotted several pushes of water that were probably Black Drum and a couple of redfish in the shallow marsh area. I tossed a gold spoon for awhile with no luck and switched to an Electric Chicken paddletail bait and got one hit from a sea trout.

As it got closer to dusk I made a few casts with a Chug Bug and got a follow up from something but no hits.

I used my camera this evening more than my fishing rods and took these pics of the sunset before moving out of the refuge.

As I was driving past one area I like to fish, a fisherman was landing this slot size Black Drum that he caught on a piece of shrimp. I took his pic but forgot to get his name.

 
Anyway, after taking a few pics of his fish I packed up Elmo and Odie and headed home.

Karen and I plan to go fishing tomorrow with the "pups" and I plan to hit the spot where I spooked the reds this evening.

Hope you enjoy the pics,

Till next time; Tight Lines.

Drum, Drum and More Drum

Drum, Drum and more Drum has been the name of the game for the past few weeks on the northern part of the Indian River.

Several fishing fanatics that I talk to on a semi regular basis said that everyone fishing shrimp was catching Black Drum  in the river, so I decided to see if I could pick up  a couple.

Late this afternoon I finally decided to check out the river and see what was being caught in the area.

I hastily packed a few rods, some bait and my cameras and headed for Catfish Creek.

I left the house around 4:30 pm and got to the river about 10 minutes later.

On the way into the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge I spotted a pair of Great Blue Herons doing their mating ritual.

I stopped to take a pic but before I could pull out a camera, the female took off and left the male courting himself.

I took this quick pic and continued up Gator Creek towards where I hoped to get a fishing spot.

There were a surprising number of fishermen on the Indian River and around both sides of Catfish Creek had fishermen staked out at their favorite spots.

At one spot I hoped to fish I spotted Bernice, a fishing acquaintance who always seems to catch some fish.

She was fishing next to a couple of other guys and when I asked her if she was catching anything, she show me these pics of juvenile Black Drum that she had been catching for the past couple of weeks.

 

I took these copies from her actual photos and continued down the dirt path looking for a spot to fish.

The next opening was free and since it was almost dark I decided to put out my poles and fish with frozen cut bait and shrimp.

There was a mild wind blowing and all my rods were rigged without sinkers.  I baited up one outfit with a medium fresh dead shrimp and was going to add a sinker to hold bottom when I realized I didn't bring along any tackle. In my haste to get out of the house, I forgot everything so I tossed the bait out as far as possible and let it set.

I baited the second rod with a cut ladyfish steak and again tossed it out as far as I could and sat down to enjoy the overcast weather.

After several minutes, it was evident I needed a sinker.  I was fishing braid and it acted like a float pulling the baits with the wind.  Not a good way to fish for reds or drum!

I saw a couple of guys fishing the entrance of Catfish Creek with artificial baits in a shallow draft boat so I decided to give that a try.

I pulled out another rod and tied on a gold spoon hoping to entice a cruising redfish, but after a couple dozen casts, I realized it was a losing proposition.

It was around 5:30 pm when I finally decided to put everything up and head home.  

As I drove around the loop a kayaker was loading up his kayak so I asked him if he was catching or fishing.   He tole me he caught a  few small sea trout but had no luck with the Black Drum or the redfish.

I thanked him for his report and headed home for some more turkey.

Maybe tomorrow I'll get out earlier and pick up some drum for dinner.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Christmas Eve On Playalinda Beach

I didn't expect to spend Christmas Eve on Playalinda Beach but that's exactly where I was this afternoon.

Because of some health problems I've had, I have been spending time at home recuperating instead of going fishing at my usual spots and this afternoon I couldn't spend another hour at home, so I decided to hit Playalinda Beach to see how the surf fishermen were doing.

The tide was out when I hit the entrance and when I asked the attendant if she had any fishing reports, she told me that this past week the surf fishermen were catching Whiting and Pompano.

She suggested fishing lots #3 and #10 so I thanked her for the information and headed to the beach.

I passed an energetic gopher tortoise tripping down the road and a gator at the first curve to the beach but no humans.

When I stopped at lot #3 to see if there were any fishermen on the beach, I only saw a couple of family groups making the best of an overcast day.    The surf was up and I was surprised that no surfers were in the area.

I decided not to fish the spot and headed toward lot # 10.  As I passed Eddy Creek I was surprised to see no cars in the lot so I parked and pulled out my tackle.

I set up a couple of sand spikes along a trough and baited up with fresh dead shrimp on one rod and finger mullet on the second.

 

The waves were strong this afternoon and there was a good rip current just past the first trough that required a 6 oz. sinker to hold bottom.

I started out fishing my Okuma bait runner rod with a finger mullet and a 4 oz. sinker.  That didn't last more than one cast.  Added an ounce per cast until I finally got the bait to hold on the bottom just past the first trough.

I had mono on the other surf rod I brought along so I tied up a two drop leader with a couple of small circle hooks and started fishing with a 4 oz. pyramid sinker.

I baited the second rod with small pieces of peeled shrimp and tossed the rig out just past the breakers.

The fishing was slow but the company was great.  Some gulls, terns, sandpipers and a snipe were all interested in my shrimp.

 

I kept getting hits on the finger mullet but whatever was biting kept chopping off the baits up to the head.  It could have  been bluefish or mackerel but I never landed a fish on that rig today.

I did manage to hook and release a few small whiting on the peeled shrimp.  They were all about the size of the fish below.

 

All the whiting I caught this afternoon were literally by accident.  I never felt a bite on any of the fish I landed but the small circle hooks did their job.

Fishing the surf during windy conditions is tough enough but when a strong rip current is included in the scenario, feeling a bite is next to impossible.

I didn't get to the beach until around 4:00 pm this afternoon and even though the tide was coming in, I decided to head for home at around 5:30 pm.  I probably could have caught some more whiting but I got tired of fighting the current.

I took the long drive home via Bio Lab Road and saw several people wade fishing the flats.

Next time I'll bring along a "river rod", just in case I decide to fish the lagoon.

Till next time, Tight Lines to your all and have a Merry Christmas.

The Redfish Were Biting This Weekend In Catfish Creek

The Redfish were biting this weekend in the Indian River on live shrimp and cut baits.

Saturday afternoon I took Elmo and Odie out to the river and ran around Catfish Creek Loop to see

Odie

what people were catching.

I wasn't exactly on a fishing trip with the two dogs along, but I brought along a couple of rods just for the heck of it.

Saturday the weather was perfect for bait fishing along the shoreline.  The air temperature was in the mid 70s and there was very little wind on the water.

As I drove past the gate into Catfish Creek Loop I saw several fishermen with rods set out fishing finger mullet, cut baits and shrimp.  

There were schools of mullet milling around in the shallows and every once in a while something would bust up the school sending baitfish off in a flash.

The two spots I planned to fish were occupied so I drove past them and met up with Beatrice, an avid fisherwoman, who had a couple of rods set out in the shallows. 

She said she caught four small redfish on shrimp and a few black drum the day before in another area of Catfish Creek.

Elmo kept barking so I didn't spend much time swapping fish stories with her.  Instead, I moved on to check on some other anglers.  

Evidently Saturday was a "hot" day for reds because everyone seemed to be catching them, mostly on cut baits.

I tried fishing a couple of spots with artificial lures but gave it up after a short time.  The dogs, especially Odie were uncontrollable.  I took some pics of the area and talked to a couple other fishermen before leaving for the house.

Sunday turned out to be a bummer.  I left the house late and decided to pick up some live shrimp to fish with.  I'm not usually a bait fisherman but when everyone is catching and I'm just fishing, it's time to get it on.

I picked up some live shrimp at the local bait shop and was told that the fishing hadn't been that great today.  The owner told me that "yesterday they were tearing them up" in Catfish Creek.  

I didn't bother telling him I already knew that and was wondering why he didn't tell me that the fish were not hitting until after I paid for the bait.  Oh well, you can always freeze the shrimp.

When I drove into Gator Creek Road I immediately noticed the lack of fishermen in the area.  The air temperature was 65 degrees and the wind was blowing constantly.  It was tough fishing for anyone using artificial baits so I decided to try shrimp and cut ladyfish.

I only saw three other fishermen while I was in the area and only one said that he had caught any fish.

I fished for an hour in a small cove without a strike before pulling in my baits and moving on up the road.

A couple of guys in a kayak were fishing the cove but they weren't getting any hits either.

I was going to fish a spot on the river where I caught fish in the past, but another fisherman had five rods out at the spot.  

When I pulled up to him and asked him how he was doing, he showed me a 22" redfish he was taking home for dinner that he caught on a cut bait.

He introduced himself as Charles Actice and he reported that the redfishing had been hot for the past few days in this area.  He said he caught his limit every day on cut baits and that he fishes the area on a daily basis.

Since he was packing up to leave the area, I pulled in past where he was fishing and tossed out a chunk of ladyfish on one rod and another rod with a large shrimp.

I'd like to tell you that I nailed a couple of nice redfish, but I only had one bite and that turned out to be this catfish who picked up a chunk of  Ladyfish.  

At least I didn't get skunked!

Anyway, I fished until it was almost dark and it finally got to chilly for me to hang around, so I packed it in and headed for home.

I took a couple pics of the sunset before heading out and you can see from the pic that it was a chilly afternoon on the Indian River.

I bought the 50 shrimp special today and could have gotten away with only a half dozen but when I got home and finished rinsing off my rods, I tossed them in the freezer for another day.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.....