Shiloh Road Tarpon Fishing

This afternoon I decided to get out and do some Shiloh Road tarpon fishing in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Last year around this time of the year there were loads of juvenile tarpon in the northernmost feeder creeks to the Indian River, so I brought along an 8 Wt fly rod with some Deceivers and a couple of poppers, and three spinning rods with topwater and plastic swim baits.

The air temperature was 91 degrees F. when I crossed the bridge to make my way into north Shiloh Road and there was a breeze on the water which made fly fishing somewhat difficult.

It was around 4:00 pm  when I got to the culverts and although there was some activity, I didn't spot any tarpon rolling on the surface.

I strung up my fly rod and started blind casting on both sides of the culvert.  After about a half hour with only one take (which I missed) I decided to see what was going on behind the barrier at the next set of culverts.

A couple trucks passed me while I was dunking my Deceiver, and I was interested in what, if anything they were catching.

I parked at the barrier and made a few half hearted castes with my spinning rod to see if I could entice a sea trout, but nothing was taking my bait.

I started walking up the road to where two guys were fishing and stopped to chat.

I introduced myself to Rick Mellott and his friend who were dunking ladyfish and live mullet for redfish.

We talked a bit about the redfish fishing in the area and about several other spots that we knew some catches were being made.

While we were talking, Rick and his friend caught a couple catfish but no reds.

Rick said that the best time for reds in this area was in the early mornings.  Usually things go south around 9:00 or 10:00 am during the summer months.

We swapped phone numbers and after a while I decided to fish the creek down the road.

I pulled up to the area and the water was like glass.  I watched for fish and saw one large wake but I decided to give it a shot anyway.

I spent the next hour or so tossing a Chug Bug, an XPS Slim Dog, a small SkitterWalk, and finally a paddletail bait that I had along with me, all smeared up with some Pro-Cure Inshore Formula..

I had two followups on the Chug Bug, and a nice hit that I missed on the paddletail bait.

The gnats were getting to me, so I moved on down the road to fish the culverts as dusk was approaching.

That magic half hour or so just before dark paid off.  I managed to hook and release 4 spotted sea trout on the small size SkitterWalk; and I briefly hooked into a tarpon about 3 feet long.  

I hooked the tarpon on a large paddletail bait but after the second jump, it tossed the bait back at me.

When dusk hit, the fish stopped biting.  But the bugs didn't.

I packed up my rods and headed home for dinner (which turned out to be a Pizza).

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Fishing With The Boys

After listening to the depressing Sunday morning talk shows, I decided to go fishing with the boys this afternoon in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

I loaded up Elmo and Odie along with a few rods and headed to East Gator Creek Road to see if the fish were hitting topwater lures.

The air temperature was a pleasant 82 degrees and there was a slight breeze on the water in the open areas enough to create a ripple, but the water was like glass along the sheltered areas.

The flats along East Gator Creek in many places were covered with floating vegetation making topwater fishing almost an ordeal.  It took strategic casts into the open areas to get a hit, followed by a quick retrieve over the vegetation to keep from snagging.

When a fish did hit, you had to quickly pull it over the floating weeds to land it.  Not an easy task, but do able.

I was using a Bass Pro XPS Slim Dog on one rod, a small size Chug Bug on the second rod, and a small size SkitterWalk on the last one.

I got two small spotted sea trout and most of my hits on the Slim Dog, and a slot size sea trout on the Chug Bug along East Gator Creek. 

Fishing with the boys was fun, but you have to keep one eye peeled on them to keep them safe from gators.  And there were several in the first area we fished.

I decided to drive over Haulover to check out the Patillo Creek area.  I hadn't been in that area for some time and it seemed like a good day to see if I could nail a tarpon.

Both Elmo and Odie were in their cruising mode.  One paw out the window and the wind blowing through their lips.   I just had to take this video.

When we got to Patillo Creek, we were the only people in the area and it was dead calm on the water everywhere.

I pitched my Slim Dog around several likely looking areas and had a small tarpon swirl on the bait, but it didn't eat it.  In the closed backwater opposite the river, I had a nice hit from a large sea trout but again, I didn't get hooked up.

Patillo Creek is beautiful but I have had only limited success in the area; mostly at dusk and early in the mornings.

Anyway, after pitching the Chug Bug and SkitterWalk in a few other areas without any success, I decided to call it a day and head back to the house.

I took a few pics of the area and closed it down.

The dogs were happy to get out, but they were ready to head for the Hacienda.

On the way home, there was a function on the west side of the bridge which was closing down that I later found out was the Mullet Festival.  

Hope to get out again tomorrow to check out the fishing, without the boys.  Fishing with the boys is something they look forward to but I catch more when they stay home.

Tight Lines.

Playalinda Beach surf fishing report for Sept 22, 2018

Just got back to town and decided to make a Playalinda Beach surf fishing report for Sept 22, 2018.

I hit the beach around 4:00 pm with my lifetime beach pass at the ready and discovered that today was a FREE day for beach goers at Playalinda.

I asked the attendant about the fishing but he was oblivious and had no idea what was biting or not biting.

I drove to several parking areas to check out the action (or lack thereof) and talk to a few fishermen to see what was going on.

The first lot I stopped at was #8 just past Eddy Creek where I spotted a guy in the parking lot taking down his surf fishing rod.

He said it was a beautiful day for the beach, but a crappy day for fishing.  He went on to tell me that the rough surf, windy conditions, and seaweed in the ocean made it tough to feel a bite.  He was using live sand fleas for bait and said the only fish he saw caught while he was fishing was a large ladyfish.

I asked him if the mullet were running, and was told that he saw a few small pods moving south, but no bird diving activity.

After thanking him for his input, I walked up the ramp to the beach and took a few pics of some folks enjoying the day and dunking some baits.  I talked to a few more guys on the beach who had caught a few whiting, but nothing of any consequence.

They gave me the same reason as the fellow in the parking lot.  Windy, weedy, and rough.

The story was basically the same at lots #9 and #10.

The water was clean and the tide was going out but for some reason the fish just weren't cooperating today.  Maybe because it was a FREE day.  Who knows.

Anyway, I decided not to bother breaking out my surf rod, instead I drove into Eddy Creek and came up on another surf fisherman who was in the process of leaving.  He told me the same thing.

He had been fishing sand fleas and shrimp for pompano and whiting but he had problems with the weeds and being able to detect a bite.  He had a couple of small whiting that he said he released.

I thanked him for the info and took this vid of a huge tortoise making his way across the parking lot.

The water at Eddy Creek was low and after watching the area for a few minutes for any signs of fish, I decided to head to Peacocks Pocket on the way back to the house.

The Peacocks Pocket  boat launch was occupied by a couple who were dunking baits for redfish.  They said nothing was biting and they were just enjoying the day.

I drove past them and tossed a topwater plug around a couple of areas with only a follow up from a ladyfish, so I decided to head over to East Gator Creek and check out the shallows.

East Gator Creek was covered with floating vegetation in most of the shallows.  The water was crystal clear, and although the floating vegetation made fishing a topwater bait a problem,k I managed to pick up a ladyfish and a couple of small sea trout on an XPS topwater lure.

I moved up the road to check out Catfish Creek Loop, but the road was still closed to vehicle traffic.  I parked and started fishing the XPS Slim Dog around the marsh canal and the shallows on the other side of the road.

After several casts I hooked a nice sea trout and just as I was pulling it out of the canal, a large gator decided he wanted the trout more than I did and came out of the water after it.

I got the sea trout, and the gator slid back into the water and just stayed at the bank looking at me as if I took it's last meal.

I took this quick video of the gator and decided to head home and partake of the ham I had cooking in the oven.

By 7:15 pm I was back home eating a ham sandwich and drinking a glass of moo juice.

Till next time, Tight Lines.