Redfish In The Creeks

The redfish in the creeks in the northernmost part of the Indian River have been a hit or miss proposition lately, so I decided to use up the last few live shrimp that Karen and I didn't get to use the other day.

I normally prefer fishing topwater baits but the conditions this afternoon were more appropriate for live bait fishing.

The air temperature was 86 degrees and there was only a slight breeze over the water in the area where I planned to fish.

Regardless, I just had to toss a Chug Bug and even a Creme spoiler shad around a bit before settling down to fishing with the shrimp.

The creek I stopped to fish had no sign of activity.  The water was shallow and the dark bottom was mostly muddy.

I tossed one bait out on the bottom just short of the opposite bank and the second up the creek under a float with a single split shot to keep the shrimp on the bottom.

I popped the float several times to ring the dinner bell to any fish in the vicinity and set the reel on bait runner on the ground.

It only took a few minutes for a small redfish to pull the bobber up the creek.  I set the hook and after a brief fight landed and released the fish.

At least I didn't get the skunk like I did the other day.  Anyway, I took a quick pick and repeated the process.

This time it took a little longer before another small redfish inhaled the shrimp.

This time I brought my cell phone and took a couple of pics of the action.

After the second fish, I spent almost an hour waiting for another bite but nothing was happening.  I was hot, sweaty, and the insects were getting annoying so I decided to pack it in and head to the house for an early dinner.

As I got close to the main road, I spotted this lone duck enjoying the day.  Just had to get a clip of it.

On the way back I stopped at Haulover to check out the action.  There were several fishermen on both sides of the canal and a few boats targeting the two holes at the entrances, presumably after the big bull reds that they have been catching there.

I took a couple of pics before getting my dinner.

Till next time,
Tight Lines.

The Fishing Piers Are Open

On the way back from wetting a line in Gator Creek, I drove underneath the A. Max Brewer bridge and was happy to see that the fishing piers were finally open.

I stopped just long enough to take a couple of pics of the area to post here.

I was glad to see that they poured asphalt next to the sea wall on the south side of the bridge.  That area always managed to wash out with the weather, hopefully the upgrade will last a bit longer.

The fishing this afternoon wasn't great but I didn't get skunked.

When I left the house around 3:20 pm the air temperature was in the mid 70s and there was a moderate wind blowing across the water from the South.

The rods I had in my truck all had either topwater Chug Bugs, XPS Slim Dogs, or Creme paddletail baits.

I had a bucket of live shrimp on the porch that Karen and I picked up the other day, but I decided to leave them until tomorrow.

It was late and I didn't particularly want to fool around with live bait this afternoon.

I alternately tossed a baby bass pattern Chug Bug and an XPS Slim Dog around the shallow flats for awhile with no followups.  The water in the area was crystal clear and I spotted only one trout in that area.

I moved on towards the entrance to Catfish Creek Loop, knowing that it was still closed, and hoped to fish the shallow pond on the way.

Unfortunately there were two groups of anglers fishing with live baits in the area.

As I drove up to the barriers, two more groups of anglers were loading up a shallow boat into their vehicle so I turned around and started to head out.

On the way out, I spotted a fish break the surface so I stopped to give it a shot.

The second cast got a half hearted strike and two casts later I picked up a very small sea trout.

At least I didn't get skunked!

I released the fish without even bothering to take a pic of the undersize fish and decided to head home.

I got a shot of the Indian River on the way out along with the pics of the fishing piers above.

Till next time

Tight Lines.

SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Launch Today

I got up early this morning to wet a line in the refuge but decided to check out the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch today instead.

The "Vespucci" spacecraft launch had been scrubbed a couple of times due to various glitches but after crossing the bridge to the refuge and seeing all the people lined up along the shoreline, I decided to include myself with the throng.

This morning's launch was the first of the upcoming advanced next generation GPS III satellites that will improve GPS accuracy.

I went down to the river yesterday to see the takeoff but it never occurred, so I figured I had nothing to lose sticking around for today's effort.

I parked along the road and picked my spot along the shoreline of the Indian River to wait for the rumble of the two stage SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, and I'm happy to report I was not disappointed.

The "Vespucci" spacecraft lifted off on schedule this time at 8:51 a.m. EST after almost a solid week of delays.

I didn't bring my trusty Nikon along but I did manage to take a video of the launch below, using my cell phone.

After the launch, I decided to head back home to get some breakfast and give the out of town visitors time to leave the area.

I plan on hitting Patillo Creek this afternoon with the "boys" to dunk a crab or two.  I heard that the black drum were hitting there.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Dunking Crabs In Haulover Canal

Spent the last couple of hours of this afternoon dunking crabs in Haulover Canal hoping to catch an oversize redfish and I almost succeeded.

I was planning on heading out to Playalinda Beach to try for some Pompano in the surf, but because it was too late in the day to give it a fair shot, I decided to pick up a few crabs and head over to Haulover instead.

The crab shop had a lot of business, so I expected a decent couple of hours worth of fishing before dusk.

The air temperature was in the mid 50s and there was no wind on the water.

When I pulled into Haulover, the bridge was up for a sailboat, so I decided to fish from the bank on the south side of the canal close to the boat launch.

Today I brought along the tackle necessary for catching a big bull red.  I packed a Tournament series surf rod with an Okuma bait runner loaded with 60 pound Power Pro and a short length of fluorocarbon leader and a second heavy action Penn combo loaded with 30 pound fluorocarbon .

I put a half of a fresh blue crab on the one rod and a whole blue crab on the surf stick and waited for something to happen.

The canal had no current this afternoon and there was a lot of boat traffic heading south on the ICW.

I had a couple of nibbles while I was taking pics of the boat traffic but I didn't bet a hookup until it was just starting to get dark.

Something nailed the crab on the heavy rod with the Power Pro and started heading towards the boat launch.

The fish had heavy shoulders and bulldogged along the bottom for a few minutes but as it turned around, it must have hit the Coquina outcropping because the Power Pro just parted.

I never got a look at the fish but it had to be either a big bull red or an oversize black drum.

When I reeled in the line, it looked like it was sawed off by the rocks.

It was getting dark and cold, so I packed up my rods and headed to the house for dinner.

I hope to get out again tomorrow but I plan on leaving the house much earlier.

Till next time,
Tight Lines.

Skunked Again

Well, I went out to wet a line this afternoon and got skunked again.

I didn't hit the water until about 3:30 pm and the conditions were about the same as yesterday.  The air temperature was cooler, about 56 degrees, but there was no wind and the sky was clear.  A beautiful winter's day made for fishing and bird watching.

This afternoon I decided to try fishing Shiloh Road off of US 1.  I hadn't been there in about a month and was hoping that fish were in the shallows of the creeks in that area.

When I got to the first culverts, I noticed that the water was up on the Indian River side of the road as well as the north side.  The culverts were closed so no water was flowing.

I parked off the unimproved road and watched both sides to see if there were any sign of fish in the area before breaking out my rods.

After abut five minutes, I spotted some activity on the River side of the road so I started fishing very slowly with a Chug Bug in the "baby bass" pattern.

After several casts, I had a small fish follow the bait but no hits.  

I switched to another rod I bought last month at Bass Pro in Mobile, Al. that was loaded with 10 pound premium mono and a 3" Creme Spoiler Shad swimming bait and started slowly hopping it off the bottom.

I had one light tap but no other hits all the time I fished the area.  The fish just not hitting.

I moved up the road towards the barrier and pulled off to fish the shallow creek that runs along the road.  I was hoping that there would be some redfish cruising the creek in search of baitfish.

The water in this area is generally warmer in the winter and attracts reds, snook and sea trout.

Although I spotted two small pods of redfish pushing wakes up and down the creek, I never got another hit.

Close to dusk, it started to get colder so I packed up my rods and called Lil Ceasers for a fresh hot and ready to pick up for dinner.

On the way back, I drove through the refuge over Haulover Canal.  There were no boats in the canal but there were still a couple of groups of bank fishermen after black drum and oversize reds.

The bird watching, the scenery, and the sunset this afternoon was great but the fishing left a lot to be desired.  

I guess that's why they call it fishing, not catching.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Skunked

Sunday afternoon was the first time I had a chance to wet a line in the past month and although the weather and scenery was great, the fish

Sunday afternoon in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge was perfect for viewing wildlife.  Not so great for fishing.

I left the house in a hurry with only two rods.  Both had topwater baits attached; a Chug Bug and an odd colored XPS Slim Dog I picked up on sale at Bass Pro.

East Gator Creek was the closest location so I started tossing the Chug Bug around the culverts, the shallow flats, and the slightly deeper canal.

There was a slight breeze on the water and the air temperature was in the high 60s, so it should have been a decent day for topwater fishing.

After getting only one half hearted followup by a sea trout, I switched rods and finished the day tossing the Slim Dog around various likely looking spots.

As dusk approached, I slowly drove to a shallow pond that I like to fish but was surprised to see an angler already fishing the area in a small boat powered by a trolling motor.

He was in the middle of the pond tossing a jerk bait towards the bank, apparently without much success.

I took a few pics as he was fishing and tossed the Slim Dog around a bit before moving up the road to the entrance of Peacocks Pocket road.

I switched to the Chug Bug and fished until it started getting too chilly.

Getting a case of Pneumonia was definitely not on my agenda for the holidays.

On the way out I saw the fisherman loading his little boat back on the trailer.   I was going to stop and ask him if he had caught anything, but I decided to head for the house and some dinner.

On the way out of the refuge, I took a few more pics of the scenery and the awesome sunset.

Fishing Playalinda Beach

Since the conditions today were supposed to be optimal for surf fishing, I decided to try fishing Playalinda Beach where I  scouted some areas yesterday with my wife and the "boys".

I headed out around 9:30 am to hit the falling tide with a trio of surf rods, a cooler, and my newly purchased sand flea rake.

I stopped at Mosquito Lagoon Bait and Tackle to pick up a bag of "fresh dead" shrimp in case the sand flea rake didn't pan out and headed out to lot #10.

There were a few cars parked at the lower numbered lots but only one at #10.

As I walked the ramp to the beach, I reminded myself to pay attention to the rips in the area.

These are great to fish but not so much fun if you get caught up in one.

I know because it happened to me once at lot #8.

Anyway, when I got to the lookout at the top of the walkway, I took a bit of time to read the waves and decide where to fish.

A man and his son was catch fishing north of the walkway, so I decided to fish south of him where I spotted a decent looking area yesterday.

I picked a spot where the Sanderlings were picking around in the surf and where there were a lot of shells.  It looked like a rip area so got out the rake and started searching for sand fleas.

Although they were smaller than I'd like, it didn't take long to get some for bait.

I rigged a double hook rig with 3/0 Eagle Claw circle hooks and finished it off with a 3 oz sinker at the bottom.

I was using a Penn Fierce 8' surf combo I picked up on sale at Bass Pro to fish the closest trough and an Okuma Coranado bait runner reel on an Ande Tournament 11' 0" rod for the outer troughs.

It took several casts to locate where the fish were but I finally started to catch fish on the sand fleas.

I caught 5 pompano that were all undersized, one really small black drum, and several nice size whiting that I took home for dinner.

When the bite slowed down around 1:30 pm, I decided to pack up and head to Haulover Canal.

On the way to the truck, a game warden on a four wheeler pulled up and asked me about my catch.  I told him what I caught and that I didn't need a fishing license due to my age.  I offered to get my wallet from the truck to prove my age and thanked him for the complement when he said I didn't look it.

When I got to Haulover Canal, it took a while to get a parking spot.  There were fishermen lining both sides of the canal and most were catching fish.

I hooked a large fresh dead shrimp on my other Okuma rig and sent it to the middle of the canal.

It didn't take long before I caught a small stingray which I quickly released.

I had two more bites which I missed and finally hooked into a large redfish.  The fish made three really long runs and got tangled with another line before breaking off on the rocks, at least so I thought.

A minute later, the fisherman next to me, Vlados, started hand lining the fish I had on my line that had just broken off.  I walked over to help him and his friend  bring the fish in and after a few minutes we had it right at the bank.

The redfish was well over 40 inches long and had a couple more fishing lines tangled up with it.

As it got close to the bank and I was pulling out my camera to take a video, the fish broke off.

I was going to continue fishing but I had enough of the close quarters for one day, so I packed up my gear and headed for the house.

On the way home, I decided to give East Gator Creek a try.  It was getting close to dark and the mosquitoes were viscous as usual, but I just had to give it a try.  The full moon makes fish do crazy things, especially in the refuge.

I pulled into an area where I caught a few tarpon earlier in the year and started casting an XPS Slim Dog topwater bait that I smeared up with some Pro-Cure gel.

It took two casts before an under size sea trout nailed the bait.  I released the fish and continued fishing.

Two or three casts later, I hooked into another larger sea trout that got off when it got tangled in the sea grass.

I wanted to fish a small pond on the way to Catfish Creek Loop before it got dark so I drove up the road to that area.

The first cast hooked me up with a small "rat" redfish that I thought was a large sea trout.

The fish put up a respectable run for it's size before giving up the fight.  I took a quick pic and released the red to grow into a bull some day.

The skeets were killing me and I was getting weak from loss of blood and nourishment, so I headed back to the house

.

Took a couple of pics on the way of of the sunset.

Tight Lines.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving and tight lines to everyone this coming year.

Garfield was patiently waiting for Thanksgiving Day dinner so after stuffing ourselves with turkey, dressing, etc., Karen and I decided to take a ride with Elmo and Odie around the area to see if anybody was catching fish.

It was beautiful weather and a good day to wet a line, but it was getting late in the afternoon and I didn't particularly care to fish with the two dogs in tow.

We decided to hit the beach first to see if any fishermen were after Pompano in the surf.

We drove around Eddy Creek and headed farther north to lot number 12 to check it out first.

There were a couple of cars parked there and a lone fisherman who was leaving as we pulled up.  He told me he was fishing since noon and only had a couple of bites with no hookups.  

He said nobody else was fishing the area so instead of checking out the area, we drove up to the turnaround at lot #13 and headed back south.

I pulled into lot #10 and parked.  Karen stayed in the truck with the "boys" and I walked to the beach to check out the surf.

Except for some Sanderlings scooting along the beach, there was nobody around.

The waves were manageable and the surf looked very fishable.   I spotted a rip and made a mental note to try fishing the spot tomorrow.

After taking a couple more pics I headed back to the truck to check out some more areas.

The beach at Lot #8 was also void of human activity so I decided to head to Haulover Canal and see how the bank fishermen were doing there.

There were a few people at Bair's Cove watching a gaggle of manatees frolicking around near the boat ramp, so I drove around and pulled over at the first open space we could find to let the dogs out for a spell.

The area was loaded with bank fishermen who were after black drum and bull redfish.

As I was taking some pics of the area, several manatees came right up to the bank apparently looking for sea grass to eat.

I took a few pics and a short video before we decided to head for the house.  I didn't bring along any bait or I definitely would have tried fishing the area.

Till next time,
Tight Lines.

Playalinda Beach Pompano

The Playalinda Beach Pompano run was supposed to be going hot and heavy by this time in November, so even though I got a late start, I decided to head on out to the beach and see what was being caught.

It was around 4:30 pm when I left the house and it wasn't until I stopped at Mosquito Lagoon Bait & Tackle before I realized I forgot to bring along my surf rods.

I picked up several 2 oz. to 5 oz. Sputnik type surf fishing weights and a pack of 2/0 Eagle Claw circle hooks to rig up some Pompano rigs.

I asked Phil about the fishing at Playalinda and was told that the surf fishermen this past week were bringing back coolers full of Pomapano, Whiting, and Bluefish.

The higher numbered lots seemed to be producing the most fish but Phil said he was getting reports of fish caught from almost all areas.

I thanked him for the information and decided to head to the beach and see if I could see for myself.

It was a little after 5:00 pm when I drove past the guard booth and the sky was gloomy to say the least.

The air temperature was 68 degrees F. and there was a moderate breeze blowing when I drove into lot #11.

When I walked up the ramp to the beach, I spotted two lone people on the beach who looked like they were getting ready to leave.

There was absolutely nobody on the beach fishing, anywhere.

It was low tide so I took some pics of the waves so I could tell where the sand bars were if I decided to go fishing tomorrow. There was a nice rip and a double sand bar which showed some potential.

Playalinda Beach closes at 6:00 pm sharp, so I headed back to check out lots #9 and #8 before leaving.

Both of the areas were void of human life and all the areas I stopped at had nice, deep troughs that could hold Pompano.

I made a quick swing around Eddy Creek and took some more pics before being run off by the authorities.

If the weather holds, I plan on fishing the beach at least by Friday of this week.

Till next time,
Tight Lines