Topwater Fishing In The Refuge

Around 5:30 pm this afternoon, my wife asked if we could take the "boys" out to the swamp for some topwater fishing in the refuge.

Since it had just rained and the temperature was tolerable, I quickly agreed and started loading up the truck.

Today I brought two spinning rods with Chug Bugs, one rod with an XPS Slim Dog, and one rod with a sliding sinker rig for redfish.

The dogs were in the truck almost before I opened the door, and when my wife finished loading the cooler with some drinks and a single frozen ladyfish for bait that I caught the other day, we were off to the "swamp".

My wife was in charge of watching Elmo and Odie so she opted for fishing a chunk of ladyfish on the redfish rig.  Meanwhile, I walked the banks of East Gator Creek with my topwater rods looking for signs of fish.

I started casting with the Slim Dog bait but "walking the dog" was difficult with the slight wind and chop on the water.

I switched to a new Chug Bug I bought to replace my favorite Baby Bass pattern and started fan casting in several areas.

After getting a couple of half hearted hits, we decided to move to another less windy spot.

There were a lot of gators on the bank croaking away and only a few in the water which made topwater fishing a pleasant experience.  I hate when the gators follow the bait.

The last stop we made was at a small pond where I missed a nice spotted sea trout the other day.

Karen set up her chunk bait at the bend of a small island and I again started walking the bank, fan casting, to cover as much water as possible.

I missed a large ladyfish on the XPS Slim Dog and because it was so hard to fish, I switched to the Chug Bug.

I started fan casting and catching fish almost immediately.  The trick today was to let the bait sit perfectly still for a minute or so after a couple of quick jerks, and repeat the process to the bank.

I managed to catch and release seven decent sized sea trout in the next hour, and missed at least that same amount.

I took a few pics and a short video of the action before releasing the fish.

About 6:45 pm the bite abruptly stopped.

I started walking back to the truck when I heard Karen ask for help with a large fish she had just caught.

When I got closer I saw that she had caught a large garfish.

I got my pliers but the gar had swallowed the chunk of ladyfish, so I cut the line to let the fish digest the hook instead of my fingers.

After a few pics, I released the gar, packed up our gear and headed to the house for dinner.  There were a couple of pork chops with my name on them and I hadn't eaten all day.

Till next time,
Tight Lines.

Gator Creek Topwater Action

When I drove home late Friday night, I planned on getting in some Gator Creek topwater action Saturday morning, but like many well laid plans, I didn't get to wet a line until this afternoon.
Well, better late than never.

Anyway, after making a water change in our tropical fish tanks, it started to rain so I quickly decided to head to East Gator Creek for some topwater action.

I was going to bring Elmo and Odie along, but I knew it was going to be muddy out and I didn't feel like mucking up my truck so I left them home for another trip.

As I crossed the bridge, I saw a lot of activity on the north side of the causeway. People were fishing, swimming, wading, eating, and in general having a good time despite the afternoon storms.

I brought along two spinning rods today. One with 60 pound Power Pro, a 3 foot length of fluorocarbon leader, and a Bass Pro Shop XPS Slim Dog topwater bait. The other with 20 pound Cajun Red mono and a two foot length of 30 pound fluorocarbon leader and a Chug Bug tied on by a loop knot.

It was sprinkling when I pulled over to park at the first culvert on East Gator Creek road but by the time I pulled out a rod, it stopped.

My first cast into the culvert with the Chug Bug produced an aerial strike from a two foot long ladyfish.  I had my SJCAM SJ4000 version of a Go Pro on my hat, but my batteries weren't charged up so I lost most of the interesting portion of the video that I hoped to get.

After the strike, the fish jumped several times and as I brought it close to the bank at the culvert, an 8 foot alligator tried to make a meal of it.

The gator missed the fish and I jerked it out of the water onto the bank.

The fish was hooked well and as I was trying to remove the sharp trebles, the fish tried to escape and the rear treble sank into my right hand.

I went to the truck, got a pair of fisherman's pliers from my toolbox, and tried to get the hook out of my hand.  I was holding the fish, the Chug Bug, and the pliers in my left hand, all the while trying to get the damn hook out of my right hand.

It took way too long, but I finally yanked the barb out and unhooked the ladyfish.  I decided to keep the lady for cut bait and put it in the cooler.  It was one hell of a start for a fishing trip to say the least.

I put some Iodine on the puncture wound and went up the road to continue fishing the shallow flats along the road.

I caught a couple more small sea trout on the Chug Bug and decided to pull out the other rod and fish the XPS Slim Dog.

I picked up two more small sea trout on the Chug Bug and missed a much larger sea trout on the Slim Dog as I fished my way along the unimproved roadway.

I headed towards Catfish Creek Loop and stopped to fish a small pond where I usually manage to catch a few sea trout.

I picked up two more speckled sea trout and what looked like a sand trout before changing rods again to fish the Slim Dog.

After about ten casts walking the dog, an absolutely gorgeous oversize red redfish nailed the Slim Dog at a dropoff near a small island.

The fish put up a nice fight and as I finally managed to land it, I couldn't believe it's color.   The photo really doesn't do it justice.

I took some pics and a selfie before releasing it to fight another day.

As I moved up the road to Catfish Creek Loop, there were three other guys fishing the open culvert, and the road was barricaded.

I didn't want to mess up their fishing, so I turned around and headed back towards East Gator Creek road and continued fishing likely looking spots.

To make a long story short, I hooked and released three more sea trout, two of which were keepers, and I missed a juvenile tarpon that spit my XPS topwater bait.

At my last stop, I stepped on a red ant hill and got attached by the biggest damn red ants I've seen in the State of Florida.  I quickly removed my sneakers and started shaking them off my shoes.

These things were over a half an inch long, were extremely aggressive, and had a really painful bite.

About this time, I realized that I was having too much fun and hurting way too much for any further fishing, so I took one last pic of the sun going down over the shallow mudflats and headed for home.

Till next time,
Tight Lines.

Fishing Bayou La Batre

Saturday afternoon, I got the urge to wet a line and I heard from one of our new employees that fishing Bayou La Batre would be a good choice for some laid back bank fishing.

I originally planned to drive down the Dauphin Island and fish on the jetties for redfish, but I decided that a scouting trip to Bayou La Batre was in order.

The air temperature was in the low 90s and there was no rain in the forecast.

I didn't expect to catch anything with the heat index as high as it was but I brought along a heavy spinning rod with my topwater outfit, just in case.

I was told that Bayou La Batre is supposed to be one of the best places in Alabama for fish, so I followed directions and made the trek.

When I got there, the first thing I noticed was the shipbuilding facilities.  There were vessels in various stages of construction all along the inland waterways.

There appeared to be a serious commercial fishery in the area as well.   I couldn't help but notice a mountain of oyster shells in one area and various businesses dealing with fin and shellfish.

I drove down several roads and stopped to fish a couple of interesting areas from the bank with no outstanding results.  

Shell Belt Road runs along the Gulf and provides some of the best areas to fish from the bank but I continued driving around looking for some better locations to wet a line for redfish.

I stopped along several areas to take some pics and toss a couple of baits, but I quickly realized that some local help was needed to find some good fishing spots.

The amount of shoreline in this area makes catching a red or big black drum a matter of pure luck if you don't know the area.

Anyway, after scouting the area, I decided to run down to Dauphin Island and see what was happening in that area.

As I crossed the long bridge to the Island, I realized something big was going on.  There were tons of people, vehicles, and boats everywhere.

 I quickly found out that a fishing rodeo was in progress and the anglers who participated were weighing in their catch.

I took several pics of the action and these folks in particular with a nice catch of Red Snapper.

I knew that the road to the jetties would be crowded, but I made the journey despite my gut feelings.

There was a long line of vehicles for the ferry, and the boats coming  in for the fishing rodeo weigh in were lined up at the ramps.  

I took some pics, drove past the jetties, and quickly headed off of the island.  

Since I had no bait with me, I decided to pack in the fishing for today and give it a try tomorrow if weather permitted.

I created the following video from the days pics that may be of interest.  Enjoy..

Till next time,

Tight Lines

Learning How To Fish A Chug Bug

Learning how to fish a Chug Bug  is a big deal for someone who fishes almost exclusively with live, frozen, or chunked up baits.

My wife wanted to take the "boys" to the "swamp" this afternoon, so I packed up three spinning rods with various topwater baits, loaded Karen, Elmo and Odie into the truck, and headed for the area where I landed a juvenile tarpon yesterday.

When we left the house the temperature was in the high 80s and it looked like a thunderstorm was on the horizon. 

Karen wanted to see the exact spot where I caught the fish, I guess hoping that it would still be there.

When I pointed out the spot to her, she couldn't believe that a fish that size would be in that location, so I pulled out the rod that I caught the tarpon with and tossed the beat up Chug Bug to the other bank.

On the first cast, a small ladyfish nailed the Chug Bug and after two jumps pulled free.

That sealed the deal with my wife, and for the first time in a long time she asked me to show her how "it works".

I gave her a brief tutorial on topwater bait fishing and offered her the other rod to practice with.

We drove over to Catfish Creek Loop and pulled over to let the dogs do their thing and I started casting the Chug Bug around the area.  The water was dead calm in most areas with only a hint of a ripple on the Indian River side of the road.  

I had several hits from ladyfish and landed a couple before a sea trout nailed the bait.  

After I released the undersize fish, Karen caught her first fish on a Chug Bug; a small sea trout.

I took these pics of her first fish but she didn't want to be in any of the pictures.

Not dressed properly is my best guess.

Anyway, the sky started getting darker and the late afternoon thunderstorms could be seen over Titusville in the distance.

The ripples on the water picked up and so did the fishing. 

Karen landed and released another sea trout and a ladyfish before getting a birdsnest on her reel.  It's something I learned to deal with when fishing with PowerPro against the wind.

I had the same problem but rather than wasting time trying to unravel a birdsnest on my reel, I decided to switch over to the other rod that a Slim Dog XPS topwater bait tied on it.

It was getting late and I didn't feel like changing out the bait with another Chug Bug, so I started walking the dog on the shallow mud flats with the XPS Slim Dog.

I had a couple of hits from small ladyfish before finally landing one, and jerked the hooks out of the  mouth of a nice snook before hooking up and landing a small redfish, all in the same area.

The redfish was only about 20" long, but it put up a respectable fight on the shallow flats before I could finally land it.

Karen took a couple of pics and we released the fish to grow into a bull red someday.

A gator discovered that we were fishing topwater baits and bullied his way into our area, so we packed in our rods and headed towards the house and some spaghetti dinner.

On the way out I took a shot of the VAB at the cape.

We may try to get out tomorrow for a repeat performance.

Till next time, 

Tight Lines.

Tarpon On A Chug Bug

Catching a tarpon on a Chug Bug this afternoon topped today's fishing trip, especially when I landed the fish using only one hand. I was taking a video with my left hand.

With all the rain this afternoon I just had to get in some topwater fishing, but my wife wanted me to go with her to help unload a hay shipment for her horse Mandy and the other horses at "the barn".

It was raining sporadically when we left the house and by the time we got to the barn, it had picked up to a steady drizzle.

I helped Karen move some bedding around and since there was a pond on the property, I decided to wet a line.

I always carry a spinning rod in the truck loaded with 30 pound Power Pro, a 20 pound fluorocarbon leader, and a Chug Bug, so I pulled out the rod and started casting around the shoreline and the lily pads.

I missed a couple of small bass around the shoreline but when I made a long cast into the middle of the pond, a nice fish blew up on the topwater bait. It didn't take long to get the bass to shore but as I was pulling it over the submerged grass, the fish flopped a couple of times and the hook pulled loose saving me the trouble of unhooking it. The bass was a chunky fish of around 5 pounds or more.

Karen opened the gate for the driver to leave and as the rain started picking up, we decided to head for the house.

At the house, the rain had slowed down but since I couldn't do any yard work, I packed up my other two spinning rods into the truck and headed for East Gator Creek Road to catch some trout.

The air temperature was in the high 70s and there was a very slight breeze blowing over the water making it a perfect day for tossing a Chug Bug.

I started fishing at the culvert and picked up a couple of small ladyfish before moving to the shallow grass flats along the road.

I started blind casting around the flats and picked up a couple of small sea trout, and lost two very nice keepers in the 22 to 24 inch category.

One day I'll remember to ease up on my drag settings when I fish for trout. I usually keep it tight for reds, but when I don't lighten it up for sea trout, I usually lose the first good size fish I hook. The hooks usually pull out after the first or second jump.

Anyway, a gator who evidently thought he owned the entire flats started chasing my Chug Bug where ever I started to cast. It got to the point that he followed me even when I got into the truck and moved several yards up the road.

I took several pics and a video of the water lizard before moving several hundred yards up the road.

The area I stopped to fish usually holds big ladyfish and juvenile tarpon, so I smeared up the Chug Bug with some Pro-Cure Inshore Formula and started pitching the bait as close to the opposite bank as I could get.

It took three blind casts before a juvenile tarpon blasted my bait and started jumping all over the area.

I didn't have my GoPro so I pulled out my cell phone and started taking a video of the action with my left hand, while I was fighting the tarpon with the rod in my right hand.

The results below aren't great, but I did manage to land the fish, get the video and a few pics of the fish, and release it to fight another day.

After landing and releasing the fish, another big gator started annoying me so I decided to fish the flats around Catfish Creek Loop.

I stopped several times to cast at wakes in the shallow flats, but only hooked and released a couple of small ladyfish.

The rain had stopped but the bugs were out with a vengeance, so I decided to pack it in for the day and head for the house.

On the way out, I saw the only other fishermen who was reeling in a redfish as I stopped to take a pic of the scenery. I took a video of the guy and his son as he was reeling in his catch, but he lost the fish as he was trying to unhook it.

On the backside of the road, the water was dead flat. I made a few casts to wakes, but nothing was biting so I headed home.

Hopefully, I'll get out again before I have to head back to work.

Till next time,
Tight Lines.

Snook and Ladyfish

After making my Dentist appointment and finishing up the lawn, I finally decided to hit a few areas in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge this afternoon for snook and ladyfish.

I brought along a couple fly rods, an assortment of flies, and two spinning rods tipped with a Chug Bug and Super Spook Jr.

It was around 6:00 pm when I left the house and the air temperature was still almost 90 degrees. There was a slight wind over the Indian River that created problems for fly fishing but made for excellent topwater fishing.

I hit Catfish Creek Loop first and tried several spots with my fly rod and a Deceiver with no luck.

On the backside of Catfish Creek, I switched over to a Super Spook Jr. and started "walking the dog" to see if I could wake up some fish.

At the third spot I stopped to fish, I picked up a nice ladyfish of about 16" around some mangrove roots.  The fish jumped a couple of times and made a nice long run before I landed and released it to fight another day.

A couple of casts later I landed another really really small ladyfish that was slightly larger than the bait I was using.

I managed to miss a large sea trout that jumped completely out of the water after the topwater bait that was at least 24" long and landed a couple more ladyfish before I decided to move on the Shiloh Road and try for some snook.

On the way out of Catfish Creek, I stopped and talked to a couple of guys who were fishing for reds.  

The first guy said he missed a fish and the second fellow said he caught a "rat" red of around 14".   

I wished both of them good luck and headed out to the "creek".

When I got there, the culvert was closed and no water was flowing.  Not a good sign to say the least.

I watched for some wakes but only saw a few small fish in the area, so I pulled out my fly outfit and started casting around some fish.

The wind was at my back and casting was not a problem, but the fish weren't taking my fly; assuming something was even there.

I wasted 20 minutes practicing my casting skills before deciding to move on to the next spot.

I picked up both spinning rods in lieu of the fly rod and walked through the marsh grass to a good spot along the creek.

The wind had died down and the water was like glass.   I watched the water for several minutes before casting to see if there was any movement, but there was none.

I started casting the Super Spook Jr with a super slow retrieve and after ten minutes or so didn't get even a follow up.  As I was reeling in to change rods, a snook hit the bait on a fast retrieve midway in the creek.

The little snook made a couple of strong runs before I landed it, took a pic, and released.it.

Evidently the snook wanted a faster retrieve today, so I sped thins up a bit.

It was getting late and the wind was picking up ever so slightly enough to put a ripple on the water in a couple of areas so I switched to new Chug Bug I bought at Bass Pro.

I fished the exact same areas that I had been fishing with the Super Spook Jr. but faster with some good results.

After about 7 or 8 casts, I picked up another snook off a point.  The fish blasted the Chug Bug and after a short fight was on the bank.

I took a pic, released the fish, and continued casting the area.

A few more casts produced another snook about the same size as the one above.  I took this selfie with the fish and decided to call it a day.

It was getting on towards dusk and the bugs were starting to get to me to the point that fishing was no longer fun.   

I took one last pic of the beautiful sunset and as usual was the only person in the area as I left the refuge.

Till next time,

Tight Lines and have a happy Independence Day

Topwater Snook

After changing the water in our aquariums,mowing part of the front lawn, and fixing Karen's bumper on her truck, I decided that I needed to hit one of my favorite areas to try and catch a few topwater snook.

I left the house at 7:10 pm and got to the spot in about 15 minutes via I-95.

I planned to fish using my new 8wt fly rod I picked up last week at Bass Pro in Mobile, Al. but there wasn't much time to fish and since I already had my topwater spinning rods loaded and ready for bear; I used those instead.

The water in the area was dead calm, the air temperature was in the mid 80s and it was beginning to get dark with the afternoon thunderheads rolling in.

"Snook Creek"

I started out fishing a flowing culvert with my baby bass Chug Bug that I had smeared up with some Pro-Cure Inshore Formula and after the third cast lost my favorite bait ever on a large snook that blasted the bait and headed for parts unknown.

The big fish hit the Chug Bug as soon as it hit the water and as it headed toward the first bend in the creek, the fluorocarbon leader parted at the barrel knot to the 10 pound Cajun Red line I had spooled on the reel.

I was not a happy camper after losing the fish and my favorite bait, but I marshaled on and picked up my other spinning rod to continue fishing.

This outfit had a Saltwater Super Spook Jr. tied on so I smeared it up with some more Pro-Cure and started walking the dog around the spot.

After several casts with no hits, I decided to move down the road and walk out to the bend in the creek to try my luck there.

The water was still dead calm and I wasn't sure a walk the dog retrieve would match my Chug Bug action but I gave it a shot anyway.

Much to my surprise, on the second cast along the bank, I hooked up with a small snook that seemed to really like my bait.

The fish made a couple of short jumps and a nice run before I landed it.  I thought it was a sea trout until I got it close to the bank.

After taking a pic I released the fish and continued casting the Super Spook Jr. in another area of the creek.

I spooked two fish before hooking up with another snook that was a bit larger than the first one.

Again I released the fish and continued fishing.

I caught one more Snook in the same general area and spooked two more before the gnats and mosquitoes started munching on my body.

Almost like clockwork, when it gets dark in the marsh, the bugs come out.  That's when I leave.

I plan on coming back to the area this week with my fly rod to pick up a few more fish.  That should really be a blast.

Till next time,
Tight Lines