Haulover Canal in December is a great place to fish for huge black drum and bull redfish.

My wife and I decided to take Elmo and Odie for a quick trip around Catfish Creek loop to see if any bank fishermen were catching black drum yet.

The drum start hitting good during the winter, with November and December being the best months.

Karen and I were surprised that only one group of fishermen were on the bank and they had not caught anything when we drove by and asked them about the fishing.

We left Catfish Creek Loop and drove over to Haulover Canal to see if the fishing was any better.

There were a lot of trailers parked in Bairs Cove and the banks were lined with fishermen, mostly dunking cut baits and shrimp.

I saw a couple of bank fishermen with drum and pinfish, and one guy with a nice redfish.

There was a guy anchored off of the bank apparently fishing for mangrove snapper but we didn'
t stick around long enough to see how he was doing.

We drove to the south side of the canal where I got out to take a few pics of the area which I consolidated into the video above.

The guy who was fishing at the drawbridge was fishing with cut mullet but hadn't been there long.

He told me that the bank fishermen were catching drum, redfish, sea trout, flounder, and snapper.

I wished him good luck fishing and we left the area to head for the house.

Although it was late in the afternoon when we visited Haulover on Saturday, there were still a ton of fishing boats anchored at the both entrances to the canal.

Fishing Haulover Canal in December is always good for black drum and reds especially if you have a boat with a good quality fish finder.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Scouting Trip To Catfish Creek

Went on a scouting trip to Catfish Creek with Elmo and Odie late this afternoon to see if anybody was catching fish prior to the cold front.

 We got to East Gator Creek road around 4:30pm where I immediately spooked a redfish in the area around the first culvert. 

Tried a couple cast to the fish but it was long gone so we moved around the area to Catfish Creek Loop.

The air temperature was 59 degrees and there was no wind over the water.  The fish I saw were super spooky and seemed to be pretty well worked over by fishermen.

As we passed by the first pond, the water was dead calm and no fish sign was visible anywhere so we moved up towards Catfish Creek Loop.

Peacocks Pocket road is closed till Feb. 15th of next year and when I spoke with the folks at the wildlife refuge, they said the road is still unsafe to travel. 

I spoke with two groups of fishermen who had cut baits out on the Indian River side of the road but they were still waiting for a bite.    As we chatted about the fishing conditions, both groups said that the redfish were hitting pretty good before the front but this afternoon looked like a bust.

It was getting as I slowly drove around the loop, I spotted a couple of guys in a Gheenoe poling around the deeper flats in the Indian River but they also didn't seem to be having any luck.

It was getting chilly and the dogs were getting restless so I took a pic or two of the sunset and headed for the hacienda to continue working on an aquarium stand I'm building for a 40 gallon tank.

Didn't get much fishing in but we all had a good time.

Till next time,
Tight Lines.

Atlas V Weather Satellite Launch

Went down to the fishing pier this evening to see how the shrimpers were doing and got to see the Atlas V weather satellite launch that blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 6:42 p.m. Eastern time.

I planned on getting some fishing in this weekend but I got tied up making a custom aquarium stand that took longer than expected.

When I finished the stand this evening, I decided to see how the shrimping was going on the Indian River.

This is the time of the year when the shrimp run starts to get hot in our area but when I got to the fishing pier and started to inspect the buckets, most were empty.

The guys I spoke with said that they[ were waiting for the wind to pick up (in a couple of hours) as the cold front moves into our area.  The weather was a pleasant 70 degrees, but we are expecting 40 degrees tomorrow morning.

Anyway, while the shrimpers were waiting for the wind to pick up and move the shrimp around, I took a few pics and drove up onto the A. Max Brewer Bridge to see the Atlas V launch.


I parked between a couple of cars on the very top of the bridge and after a brief wait took the video below.




The Atlas V launches in my opinion can't compare to the shuttle launches we used to witness, but I still enjoy watching them.

Immediately after the launch, I drove up the road to see if anyone was fishing for reds from the bank.  I spotted a couple of fishermen dunking cut baits but nobody was catching.  Everyone seemed to be fishing.


I drove by the fishing pier one last time before heading home and was serenaded by the band they had at the outdoor bar.


More people were partying than shrimping or fishing this evening.

I may pull out my shrimp net this week to see if I can get a few for the pan.
Till next time,
Tight Lines.

Indian River Reds

Fishing for Indian River Reds is usually on fire in November but this afternoon the bite left a lot to be desired.

I decided to hit the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge this afternoon to wet a line and see if I could scrounge up a redfish or two, but the fish weren't cooperating.

The weather was beautiful and the water levels in the dikes was up.  Most of the culverts were open and water was flowing through them but the fish were just not biting.

When I drove into East Gator Creek road, the air temperature was 79 degrees and there was virtually no wind over the water.

I briefly stopped to fish the first culvert when I spotted a wake in the shallows that looked like a redfish.  I tied on a DOA Baitbuster and flipped several casts into the area but didn't get any hookups.

After fan casting the water on both sides of the road, I moved up to see if Peacocks Pocket Road was open yet.  I've been out of town in Mobile, Al and was hoping they repaired Pocket Road so I could try some of the ponds.

When I got there I was disappointed to see that the area was still closed.

I drove around Catfish Creek Loop and spotted a couple of wakes that were definitely redfish but after making several casts to them with the Baitbuster and a Live Target shrimp I had on another rod, I never got a hit.

There were plenty of people fishing, checking out the gators, and the waterfowl in the area, but nobody I spoke with caught anything but stingrays.

I took several pics of the area and of the water fowl before leaving the area.

 
When I hit the main road, I decided to swing toward the beach.  As I got to the intersection of the Cape, I spotted a flock of wild turkey off the side of the road.

They were too busy eating to pay any attention to me, so I took a couple of pics before heading home.

As I was leaving the flock of turkeys, I remembered that Thanksgiving Day is next week.
Hummmm.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Dauphin Island Bull Reds

Because my work has been keeping me in Mobile, Alabama, I've missed fishing the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River, so this afternoon, I decided to take a drive and check out the Dauphin Island bull reds that some of the locals have been talking about.

Dauphin Island, Al is a barrier island situated directly across from Gulf Shores, Alabama.   

Fort Gaines on Dauphin Island and Fort Morgan in Gulf Shores guard the entrance to Mobile Bay.

During the fall months, some nice bull redfish can be caught along the shores of both areas and in particular the jetties at Fort Gaines, which is why I decided to wet a line this afternoon.

The air temperature was in the low 70s and there appeared to be an outgoing tide when I drove into a parking spot at the end of the road at Fort Gaines.

The only rod I had with me today was a 7' river rod with 8 pound fluorocarbon line.  Not what I needed to tackle a bull redfish!  

I planned on fishing the farthermost jetty but it was already occupied with a for or five fishermen so I didn't want to intrude.  Instead,  I walked down the beach to a rocky outcrop and started fan casting with a 1/4 oz. jighead and a chartreuse Strike King paddle tail bait.

The water was a bit rough and dirty close to shore so I spent a lot of time bouncing the jig across the bottom without any response.

As I was fishing, I noted that the guys on the long jetty were catching fish on their 8' to 10' rods.  These guys came prepared.

After  about a half an hour of casting, I finally hooked into a fish that took off like a "bat out of hell".  It came close to spooling me before breaking off the jig.

As I was reeling in my limp line, I saw one of the guys on the jetty hooking up with something decent.  At first I thought it was a redfish, but it turned out to be a hefty sail catfish.  The short video below shows the catch.

Almost immediately after he landed the Sail Cat and got back to his spot on the jetty, he hooked into another fish which turned out to be a nice bull redfish that looked to be at least 25 pounds.

At this point I stopped fishing to take some pics and another video of the catches.

After he caught the second fish, I tied on another jig and started fan casting but I never got another hit, so when the guys on the jetty hooked into another fish, I decided to walk over to take a pic or two of his catch before heading back.

The second fish was a bit larger than the first red and looked to be about 30 pounds.  Definitely candidates for a decent fish fry!

Although these two reds would be illegal to harvest in east central Florida; Alabama regulations allow harvesting one fish per day over the slot, with a three fish limit.

Both of the bull reds were caught on chunks of cut mullet for bait.

As I left the jetty, I made a mental note to pick up some mullet for bait and a heftier outfit for my next trip to the jetties.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Peacocks Pocket Road Is Still Closed

Although Peacocks Pocket road is still closed, bank fishermen along the causeway and the open dike roads are still picking up good numbers of redfish and black drum.

Javier Cuazo and his friend Luis were good enough to send me these pics of their trip to Gator Creek Thursday morning.

 They got out early and around 8:00am Luis picked up a nice slot black drum on a live shrimp and later on, a rat redfish on a dead shrimp which was quickly released to grow up into a bull red.

Around noon they moved on to Catfish Creek and fished around an area where this crabber was picking up his cages.    Usually if there are crabs in the area, it's a good area for reds.

He said they were fishing into the wind, but he did not what they caught in that area.

Yesterday, another reader said that the reds in that area were nailing fresh dead shrimp and chunks of cut mullet and ladyfish.

In my experience, an 1 1/2" thick steak cut from a freshly caught ladyfish on a 4/0 or 5/0 Owner hook is hard to beat for big redfish.

Right now, fresh dead or live shrimp is the bait of choice for black drum.

Till I get back into town again, Tight Lines and don't forget to vote.