Fishing Peacocks Pocket Road Before A Front

Finally got a chance to wet a line around Peacocks Pocket Road this afternoon, but the conditions could have been a little better.  A front was moving in and the weather was getting nasty.

When I crossed the Max Brewer Bridge heading towards the beach, the wind was blowing steadily out of the North and the air temperature was hovering in the high 80s.  There were white caps on the left side of the causeway and only a couple of fishermen were along the bank.

I was told that the redfish bite was on and that the best baits were cut mullet or fresh ladyfish chunks.

Since I was using artificial baits, I decided to target the sea trout and sight fish the reds if they were around.

I drove into East Gator Creek road and stopped to fish the first set of culverts.  They were closed but the water was up and it looked "fishy", so I pulled out my rod with an XPS topwater bait and started tossing the plug around the mangrove roots.

 After four or five casts I was ready to move on but I decided to try one more cast towards a really shallow area.

Almost as soon as the plug hit the water, a Snook blasted it back at me.  The fish surprised the hell out of me as I jerked the plug from it's mouth.

After several more casts into the area I thought I got another hit from the Snook, but it turned out to be a ladyfish that I landed and quickly released at the culvert.

After the second fish, I thought that the narrow waterway was about done with but I gave it one last shot and as luck would have it, I hooked up and landed a garfish.

The fish was only about 20" or so long, so I shook it off at the culvert so I wouldn't have to mess around with their teeth.

A misty rain started to fall so I decided to drive along the road and check out the area.  I've been out of town working and the water levels are much higher than when I left town.  Fortunately, the fish were still in about the same areas that I usually fish.

When I got to Peacocks Pocket Road, I stopped to fish several places with the topwater plug and a red Berkly Rattlin Jig that I picked up at a WalMart in Mobile, Al.  I got a couple of taps on the jig but no fish, so I decided to concentrate on using just the topwater bait.

The wind was blowing all the time I was out in the refuge and it continued until I finally gave up fishing.  Working a topwater "walk the dog" bait in choppy water with the wind blowing into your face is a challenge to say the least, but I made the best of the situation.

I stopped at several places and fished the marsh canal with the topwater bait.  I picked up three sea trout in the 18" to 22" range and missed a redfish that seemed more inquisitive than hungry to eat.

All the fish were nicely colored and fat.  Apparently they were chowing down for the upcoming winter which explains why they were nailing the XPS Slim Dog topwater bait.  The lure looks like a finger mullet or a small ladyfish in the water and when you smear it up with some Pro-Cure, it even smells like a baitfish.

After passing (and being passed) by several fishermen, I decided to head for the house.  The wind was wearing me out and I got tired of casting into the waves with the wind in my face.

The high grass along Pocket road was also getting to be a pain.  My line kept getting caught in the grass as I retrieved my topwater baits.

I stopped to ask a couple of anglers how they were doing but nobody I spoke with had caught anything, Yet.

One fisherman said that his friends were catching a lot of redfish on cut mullet in the marsh but they were all oversize.    Another guy a bit farther up the road said they had also been catching some nice slot reds on the Indian River side of the road on cut baits.

I was genuinely surprised to see how many fishermen were in the wildlife refuge today until I remembered that it was already October 2nd.   The Hunt for Reds in October was a tournament stop for Titusville.

On the way home, I couldn't help to notice how many more bank fishermen were dunking cut baits and live mullet since I drove into the refuge.   It looked like opening day of trout season on a Pennsylvania limestone stream.

Anyway, as I called Lil Ceaser's to order a Pizza, I made a mental note to bring some mullet along tomorrow if I decide to go fishing.....

Till next time, Tight Lines.