Bio Lab Road Is Now Open To Vehicle Traffic

Karen and I took Elmo and Odie for a quick spin around Bio Lab Road this afternoon.

We were looking for a good spot to launch our Kayaks on the Mosquito Lagoon, and as we drove into the launch area at Bio Lab Road, we were pleased to see that the road was now open to vehicle traffic.

Bio Lab road is now ONE WAY ONLY from the entrance at the boat launch to the last road before Playalinda Beach, but even though there were signs posted; we still came upon one idiot who insisted on driving in the other direction..

The last time I spoke with the Refuge Manager, Layne Hamilton, I was told that both Bio Lab road and Peacocks Pocket road could be permanently closed to vehicle traffic due to funding problems, however we both hoped that because of the extensive shoreline access, Bio Lab would open some time in the future.

I'm glad to report that they have done a great job at opening up the shoreline to bank fishing, wading and shallow water boating.  In addition, they have opened up a few spots for parking and easy access to launching a kayak or wading.

The water in the flats this afternoon was crystal clear, and I spotted several nice pods of mullet within easy casting range of the road.

I tossed a Chug Bug to some trout that I spotted busting on the surface, and had one decent hit that I missed because of an early strike.  But, the ride this afternoon was mainly for the "boys", not for fishing.

Karen and I ran the road to Playalinda Beach and saw several fly fishermen tossing flies around the ditches on both sides of the road for snook or sea trout, but I didn't stick around to see if they were catching anything.

We drove all the way past lot #13 to the turn around, and then into Eddy Creek, which is another great spot to launch our kayaks.

The improved access to shoreline fishing and the crystal clear water in the southern Mosquito Lagoon along Bio Lab road will probably attract a gaggle of visitors to the area.

I just hope the public doesn't screw up access to this great area by littering, etc. like they did to Haulover Canal, Shiloh Road, etc.

Only time will tell.

Tight Lines and bent rods to you all.

Lazy Thursday Afternoon On The River

It was a lazy Thursday afternoon on the river this week and despite all the rains we had, we caught a good number of fish.

Karen suggested a scouting trip around the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge so we could take the "boys" (Elmo and Odie) for a ride and to see if Peacocks Pocket Road was opened up yet for vehicle traffic.

I knew that the road would probably not be open, but I never pass up a chance to go fishing so, I loaded several rods, a cooler full of water and some bait into the truck and headed out to the refuge.

We entered via East Gator Creek road and as the name implied, was greeted by several gators along the road.  I couldn't fish a top water bait without having one of these guys follow it up to the bank, so I took a pic and headed towards "Pocket road".

As I suspected, Peacocks Pocket road still had the barricade up, so we drove to a spot along the river, set out a couple of rods with shrimp and cut ladyfish, and sat down to wait for a fish to come along.

I was fishing an Okuma Avenger bait runner with 30 pound Power Pro and Karen had the same reel spooled with 14 pound Cajun Red line.  We both opted for small #2/0 hooks on a light weight sliding sinker rig.

I immediately missed a couple of bites and hooked up with a small river whiting.  I thought about keeping a few fish for dinner but since the whiting was small, I tossed it back and continued fishing.

Not long after catching the first fish, I picked up another whiting that was larger than the first fish.  I unhooked the fish and tossed that one back.

This continued for several more fish and I was silently cussing myself for not keeping any of the whiting for dinner.  They are great eating with garlic butter, salt and pepper.

Anyway, Karen kept missing bites but finally picked up a stingray that she thought was a black drum.

I unhooked the ray and as I tossed it back, rushed to pick up my rod.  I expected another whiting but it turned out to be a small sea trout.

I released the fish and continued fishing as a slight rain started.

Making a long story short, Karen and I managed to catch several more  whiting, sea trout, and a couple of nice size catfish before the mosquitoes started to become a problem.

Although I was after redfish or a black drum, we had a great time fishing with Elmo and Odie.

Elmo usually comes along for the ride and stays in the truck while Karen and I fish, but Odie likes to check out the territory as we fish.

While we were fishing, a porpoise swam by late in the afternoon looking for his dinner and managed to stir up the fish.  I took this video of the action..

Odie was watching the porpoise and when it came too close, he started growling to warn it off.

Cool dude...

After  the porpoise left the area, we were still catching fish but the bites were not coming as fast as they had been so we decided to pack it in for the day.

On the way out, I stopped at a culvert at East Gator Creek and tossed a Chug Bug at some cruising fish.  I had three hits from either a trout, ladyfish, or snook, but I never got a hookup.  After several more casts without a follow up, I packed up the rod and headed for home.

Anyway, even though we didn't catch any trophy fish today, we did catch a good variety fishing a lazy Thursday afternoon on the river.

Till next time,
Tight Lines.

Sharks In The Indian Rvier

I've always know that there are sharks in the Indian River and this afternoon's fishing trip only confirmed my recollection.

Because of the rain, I decided to leave Elmo and Odie home this afternoon so I could pitch some artificial baits around the area without having to watch them.

It was raining when I left the house, which is why I didn't load up the Maverick or a kayak, so I decided to make a quick trip around East Gator Creek to see if I could stir up some fish.

The water levels in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge are up from last month and the bait fish were in the lagoon system.

I saw several nice fish in the shallows on both sides of the road but they were not interested in the Baitbuster that I was pitching to them.  I switched over to a Chug Bug and started getting strikes when I worked the bait slowly.

After spending a half hour fishing the first culvert with only a couple of follow ups, I slowly moved down the road looking for some topwater action.

The air temperature had been 89 degrees earlier in the day, but when the afternoon rains started, it dropped into the high 70s.  There was a slight breeze over the water that produced some very light ripples which makes for some good topwater fishing.

I smeared the Chug Bug up with some Pro-Cure Gel and started getting hits in several areas.  I briefly hooked a couple of under size speckled sea trout and was happy to shake them off the bait before landing them.

At a sheltered spot where I often score on keeper trout, I made a long cast to the opposite bank and almost immediately hooked up with a ladyfish that thought it was a tarpon.  The fish made several super fast runs before I could bring it to the bank.

I normally release ladyfish, but because my wife wanted to go fishing tomorrow, I decided to keep it for cut bait.

The fish was over 2 feet long, so I only needed one to keep us fishing.

I moved on to a pond where I spotted several sea trout and one redfish busting on the surface, but after hooking and releasing only one sea trout that just made the slot and spending another half hour of fruitless casting, I decided to fish Catfish Creek.

It was around 5:30pm and as I drove along the Indian River I stopped to talk to three fishermen who were bank fishing with shrimp.  All three said they were catching black drum along the Indian River shallows but no redfish.

I stopped at one of my favorite spots along Catfish Creek and chunked up some of the ladyfish I caught for bait.

As I put out the chunk of ladyfish, I spotted a dead catfish and a small shark in the shallows that someone had killed and thrown back in.

 

I retrieved the fish to take a couple of picks before throwing it back and as I was taking the pics, the Okuma baitrunner reel started free lining line.  I picked up the rod, set the hook and landed a catfish which I quickly released.

I caught three more catfish before I hooked up with a fish I thought was a red.  The fish was shaking it's head and as I got it closer to shore, I saw that it was another small shark.  Apparently, the shark were in the river breeding.

I landed the fish and quickly released the fish to grow up and fight another day.  I think it was a juvenile bull shark but I couldn't be sure.

Anyway, after missing three more fish, I couldn't stand the mosquitoes buzzing around me so I packed it in and headed to the house.

I plan to get out again tomorrow with my wife, Elmo, and Odie, to see if I can pick up a black drum or two or a redfish for dinner.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

June Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River Fishing Report

With all the rain we have been getting lately, the water levels in both the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River are up, and the fish have been chewing well.

The redfish and sea trout bite in and around the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge has been hot for the past couple of weeks, and anglers fishing early and late have been catching some nice fish on artificial baits, chunked up mullet, and live shrimp under Cajun Thunder rigs.

When I got back into town Friday evening, I made a quick run around Catfish Creek Loop to check out the water levels and to see if anybody was catching fish.

The areas that were completely dry three weeks ago had now filled with water, and I could see fish cruising in the deeper shallows.  I briefly flipped a DOA Baitbuster around the shallow drop offs at East Gator Creek and had a couple of nice hits as the sun was setting, but I couldn't get a hookup.

Several bank fishermen had caught slot redfish and two guys had some nice keeper sea trout that they caught on paddle tail baits.  Almost everyone else I spoke do was fishing live mullet, cut baits, and shrimp.

The Saltwater Assassin die dapper rigged weedless looks like a finger mullet and has been the bait of choice for a lot of anglers fishing the edges of the bars in the southern Mosquito Lagoon.

The False Channel bar, Cucumber Island bar, and Whale tail flats have been producing redfish in the 30 to 40 inch range, but some slot size reds have been coming up onto the flats to ambush baitfish, primarily in the early mornings and late afternoon.

The Tiger Shoal, Orbis Cove and Barracuda Bay areas are also good right now for slot size and larger redfish.

Once the early morning bite slows down and the sun comes up, switch over to a 4", Mud Bug colored Saltwater Assassin Shrimp Cocktail rigged on a 1/8th oz. jig head or offset worm hook and fish deeper for the reds.

Although Snook season is now closed, some nice snook are being caught throughout our area from Ponce Inlet all the way down to the Sebastian Inlet area.  

The "rocks" at the the Port Canaveral and other jetties are always productive, but snook are also being caught in the surf at Patrick AFB, Melbourne Beach, Satellite Beach, and with the increased rains we have been receiving, outside of the feeder creeks all around our area.

I've also received several reports of snook up to 30 pounds being caught around the spoil islands, bridge pilings, and docks in the Indian River.    The baits of choice are live mullet, live pilchards, and live Croaker.

Now that we have a full moon, I plan to take a few  kayak rides around the flats and try some top water night fishing this week for some gator trout.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.