Shiloh Road Topwater Fishing

Shiloh Road topwater fishing can be especially productive for juvenile tarpon and snook during the month of June so, this afternoon I packed up three spinning rods, my 8 wt. fly rod, and headed to the refuge.

I originally planned to fish the area early this morning, but I had a ton of catch up work to do around the house. When the storm clouds started moving in at the house this afternoon, I decided to sneak out and wet a line.

The water levels in the creeks are up and the culverts are open to drain the excess water from the marsh areas into the Indian River. 

Open flowing culverts often provide excellent fishing opportunities.

When I got to the culverts at Shiloh Road, I parked and watched the water for a while looking for signs of fish.  After about 15 minutes I spotted a couple of fish after baitfish along the bend in the creek.

The water on the side of the road that I was fishing was dead calm, so I started casting a Johnson's Sprite gold spoon to the banks to see if there were any takers.

About 10 minutes of fruitless casting caused me to switch rods and baits.  I picked up my all time favorite Chug Bug "baby bass" lure and started casting into the grass and hopping the bait into the water.

After six or seven casts, I flipped the Chug Bug into the grass, hopped it into the water and let it set as I was unraveling a minor tangle on the spool.

Evidently, that pause did the trick.  I heard a "slurp" as a big redfish sucked in the bait and started swimming up the creek.

I didn't set the hook on the fish and as I was slowly trying to bring it to the back to the road, it finally realized it was hooked and took off like a shot.    After a short run along the bank, it straightened out one of the treble hooks and got off.

To say I was disappointed is an understatement, but I pulled in the bait, reset the hook with my pliers, and continued fishing.

The commotion put down the fishing in the area so I drove up the road to another section of the creek and continued fishing.

This section of the creek is deeper and holds snook, juvenile tarpon, reds, and sea trout.

Fan casting the Chug Bug attracted one small sea trout that I released.

As the thunderclouds started getting closer and the lightning strikes got my attention I was going to call it a day, but I spotted a big wake coming up the creek so I made one of my famous "one last casts" ahead of the fish.

 I let the Chug Bug sit and waited for the fish to hit and just as I gave it a little twitch, the fish exploded on the bait.

The tarpon was about 3 feet long as it cleared the water and after the first jump, it was gone.

This was one time I wish I had worn my GoPro.  It would have made a great video.

Anyway, the wind picked up and the air temperature dropped several degrees as the storm hit.  You could actually see it coming down the road.

I threw the rods into the back of the truck, headed to the barrier to Shiloh Road to turn around, and headed into the refuge towards Haulover Canal to get home.

By the time I got to the Max Brewer bridge, the rods were washed down and I was ready for dinner.

Till next time,
Tight Lines