Peacocks Pocket Sight Fishing

Peacocks Pocket sight fishing isn't something we often write about but with the almost crystal clear water we experience during the winter months in our area, I thought a word or two was in order.

My wife and I originally planned to hit the beach and check out the surf fishing for pompano that is expected to ramp up next month but she forgot about her  doctor's appointment, so I decided to check it out for myself.

I loaded up a couple of surf rods "just in case", pulled out some blanched, frozen, sand fleas from the freezer to use as bait and headed for Playalinda Beach.

Being Thanksgiving week, you would assume that the beach would be crowded but except for vehicles touring the area, not many sun worshipers planted themselves on the sand.

The air temperature today was in the 70 s and there was very little wind over the surf.  The tide was already out and there was very little water movement in the surf

Perfect casting conditions bur not so great for the bite.

I stopped at lots numbers 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, and drove around Eddy Creek to see if anybody was fishing the lagoon flats and was surprised to see only three surf fishermen on the water.

After talking to them, it was apparent that the Pompano run had not yet occurred in this area of the coast.  

One guy was catching a few whiting and catfish while the other two anglers I spoke with were  just dunking dead shrimp.

I took some pics of each area and decided to head towards home and stop at the northern end of Peacocks Pocket to see if anybody was fishing the flats in that area.

The barrier was up and the water in Peacocks Pocket was clean and clear, which was probably why several trucks and trailers were parked at the shallow water ramp.

I spotted three guys poling around the Eastern shoreline of the Pocket and another angler in a flats boat fishing close to Stony Island in the Banana Creek area.

There are always at least a couple of fishing rods in my truck so I pulled them out and started blind casting a Chug Bug around the calm water in the Pocket.

After a couple of hesitant follow ups, I switched to a gold Johnsons Sprite spoon and repeated the pattern with no hits.

I spied only one wake from a redfish or a black drum that was outside of casting range and several small pods of fingerling mullet, but I never hooked up with anything except a stickup.

It was getting chilly and since the bite from shore was less than enthusiastic, I decided to head back to the house and make something for dinner.

I plan on taking my kayak to the pocket if it stay relatively warm and check out that Eastern shoreline.  Both sight casters that were fishing the area had fish on but I couldn't make out what they were.

On the way out, I took a couple of pics of the sun going down.

Awesome!
Till next time,
Tight Lines.

Clean Water In The Lagoons

Went for a short spin this afternoon and found a lot of clean water in both of the lagoon systems.

The water conditions right now make for almost perfect sight fishing in both the Mosquito Lagoon and north Indian River.

I had three rods with me tipped with a topwater Chug Bug, a Johnson's Silver Minnow, and a Mirrolure suspended bait that I was using on juvenile tarpon earlier this year.

I started slowly cruised around Catfish Creek Loop searching for signs of fish activity and found a plethora of wildlife.  Duck hunting is still in season and it seemed like all the ducks were sheltering in the area to keep away from the hunters.

The birders today would be envious of the different species of waterfowl that I spotted this afternoon.,

I tossed in a pic of the water snake above that was crossing the road around the Peacocks Pocket road barrier, just for grins.

There were a lot of fishermen on the water and along the banks today were dunking fingerling mullet, chunked baits, and shrimp. 

Most everybody I talked to said that the bite was slow and only two guys had caught anything.  A slot sea trout on a finger mullet and a juvenile black drum that another guy picked up on a dead shrimp,

As I was driving around Catfish Creek Loop, I spotted a guy in a flats boat tossing plastic baits around the mangroves.  I watched him long enough to see him finally get a hookup with what looked like a sea trout.   I took a series of pics of the guy and discovered one that had a UFO type object (below) mysteriously show up in the background.

I fished both sides of the road at several locations tossing the gold spoon around the pods of mullet and had one bump but no hookups.

As I drove out of the area, I decided to head back to the house and get something for dinner.

As much as I enjoy fishing in the refuge, I like catching more and this afternoon the bite didn't seem to be on.

Till next time
Tight Lines

 

North Indian River Redfish

The North Indian River redfish bite has been on all month and this afternoon, even though I was beat from working around the house and mowing the lawn, I decided to drive up to Shiloh Road and wet a line.

It was around 3:30 pm when I got to the turnoff at US 1 and the weather was awesome.  The air temperature was around 73 degrees and there was almost no wind blowing over the water.

The water level in the marsh and creeks is way up but I couldn't spot any topwater action so I drove up to the barrier and decided to toss a Chug Bug around the area.

I could hear an occasional shotgun blast from the waterfowl hunters in the area but other than that, it was a peaceful afternoon.

There were a couple of oriental ladies watching the spoonbills that were feeding in the area but they were the only people in the area as I started fan casting the area.

I had one hit from a sea trout but no hookups and after a little while I decided to try another area.

As I was loading up my rod, another lady came walking down the road with a nice redfish that someone in her party had caught.

I asked her if I could take a pic and after finally breaking though the language barrier, found that her spouse caught the red on a finger mullet.

The deeper flats in the north area of the Indian River this time of the year is always good for reds and I made a mental note to try the area tomorrow with some live baits.

I took these pics and took off to try another location.

I headed towards Haulover Canal and decided to pull into Patillo Creek to see if anything was happening.

I drove slowly looking for signs of fish and finally stopped at a wide section of backwater when I spotted some cruising redfish.

I spent an hour tossing a Chug Bug, a Mirrolure and finally a Johnsons Sprite ahead of the wakes before finally getting a hit.

The redfish hit the gold spoon that I smeared up with some Pro-Cure and took off like a shot toward the shoreline where it broke off on some stickups.

It never ceases to amaze me that with all that open water, the fish would head toward the one spot where it could break off,..

Anyway, I tied on another gold spoon and continued casting until it started getting too dark to fish.

I never did get another hit but like they say, that's why its called FISHING.

Till next time,
Tight Lines.

Bluegill On Chug Bug

Catching a bluegill on a Chug Bug was the last thing I had in mind this afternoon but when I decided to take Odie for a ride around East Gator Creek and toss a topwater bait around, that's exactly what happened.

A brisk wind was blowing when I crossed the A. Max Brewer bridge but since this was just a "scouting" trip I didn't pay much attention to it.

Odie and I drove into East Gator Creek around 5:15 pm looking for any sign of topwater activity on the shallow flats.

The first set of culverts were closed and no fish were moving around so I drove slowly around the area towards a spot I usually catch fish.

I pulled over and let Odie out of the truck to do his duty while I pulled out a spinning rod tipped with a frog pattern Chug Bug.

The wind made casting a bit difficult but I managed with low casts and was able to work the bait enough to make it look lifelike.

About the fourth cast, I had a hit from a small spotted sea trout that rolled on the plug close enough to the bank that I could see what it was.

I continued casting and got a hit on the Chug Bug when it was just floating on the water.  I was looking after Odie when the fish hit.

At first I thought it was another under slot sea trout, but when I started pulling it to the bank, I saw that it was a large bluegill.

I pulled the gill out, took a few pics, and put it back into the water wondering about where it came from.

This was the same spot where I caught a nice bass a couple of months ago, so I presumed that there was either an underground spring feeding this area or the water here was almost fresh.

Anyway, after several more unfruitful casts, I packed in the rod and Odie to continue our "scouting trip".

We drove around Catfish Creek Loop and was surprised that every good spot to fish was taken by guys drowning live or chunked mullet.   A sign that the redfish bite was on.

I took a few pics of the area and headed back across the bridge and decided to check out the fishing piers at the restaurant.

The place was jumping.  A band was playing and there were a lot of people on the fishing piers. 

I couldn't walk them because I didn't have Odie's leash so I drove around the area and headed back to the house.

Hope to wet a line again tomorrow before I have to head back to work.

Till next time,
Tight Lines