Catfish Creek Redfish

Today was the first time since I got home that I could wet a line in about three weeks, so this afternoon I packed up Elmo, Odie and two spinning rods and headed to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge to see if I could pick up a sea trout or two.

The air temperature this afternoon was a cool 72 degrees but with the wind chill factor, it felt like 60.

Although this trip was really for the dogs, I had high hopes of catching a fish or two for dinner, so when I drove into East Gator Creek road and saw a couple of nice wakes in the shallows, I pulled out my short river rod and started tossing a Z-man paddletail on a jig that I had rigged up.

I fan cast the area for several minutes and had a small hit, but I didn't get a hookup so I moved on to scout out the rest of the area.

There were tons of Coot in the refuge and a couple of large gators in the shallows around East Gator Creek, but after trying my luck in several areas, I was beginning to lose faith in catching anything.

The dogs were having fun watching all the Coot so I continued slowly driving around the refuge looking for signs of fish.

As I got to the first pond before Catfish Creek Loop, I pulled over to fish around a small island where I had caught reds last year about this time.

I walked the bank casting across to the other side and started retrieving slower to see if that would change my luck and after about a dozen casts, a fish picked up the bait on the drop.

There was no doubt in my mind that it was a redfish.  The fish immediately took off towards Peacocks Pocket road and I almost lost it around the brush at the culvert, but after a decent fight and a few good runs, I managed to land the red.

The fish measured roughly in at about 32 inches, so I unhooked the Z-Mann bait and released it to fight again another day.

Things were looking up!   

I fan cast the stretch for about 20 minutes without another hit before finally giving up to move on down the road.

As we drove into Catfish Creek Loop, we passed by Peacocks Pocket road with the closed sign still up and a bunch of vultures ominously standing guard at the entrance.

 

 I continued to fish likely looking areas without any luck until I finally decided to head for the house.  A cold front was moving in, the air temperature had dropped down into the high 60s, and I was getting chilly.

I stopped one last time to let Elmo and Odie do their duty before heading out.

 Hopefully, I'll get a chance to get the boat out before Christmas. 

Till next time, Tight Lines.