Fishing The Thunderstorms

Went fishing the thunderstorms this afternoon in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge for tarpon and I wasn't too disappointed.

Late this afternoon around 4:00 pm I decided to wet a line and try to beat the thunderstorms that were predicted to roll into the area,

When I crossed the A. Max Brewer bridge towards Playalinda Beach, the causeway on both sides was jam packed with people bent on enjoying themselves for the 4th.

Social distancing was definitely not on the agenda but everyone seemed to be having a great time.

I passed the throng and headed to East Gator Creek where I missed some fish on topwater baits the other afternoon with Karen and the dogs.

I pulled into the same area and saw some topwater activity on the other side of the shallow grassy flats.  Something big was busting on baitfish just off from the deeper water canal on the opposite bank.

I spotted a couple of soft shell turtles swimming along the deeper canal close to the road and a two gar at the bank waiting to pounce on some baitfish.

I pulled out the Badonk-A-Donk that I was using the other day, smeared it up with a goodly amount of Pro-Cure super gel and started fan casting around the dropoff on the other side of the shallow flat.

I spent about 15 minutes casting with only a couple followups and was getting discouraged when the wind started picking up and the skies darkened.

Like a light switch, the next cast had a fish bust on the lure knocking it out of the water.  I walked it back but the fish didn't follow.

I made a couple more casts over the shallow grass and as I sped up the retrieve a bit, a juvenile tarpon of about 3 feet nailed the bait, jumped once, and sent it flying back to me.

I tossed the bait around for a few more minutes without another hit and changed rods to fish an XPS Slim Dog.

On the third or fourth cast a small snook hit the bait and started jumping all over the place.  The fight lasted until it headed to the mangroves at the bank and got off.

I lost the lure to either the fish or the mangroves.

I put on another Slim Dog that looked like a finger mullet, smeared it up with Pro-Cure and started casting as the thunderstorm got closer.

Just as it started to rain, another tarpon a little larger than the other fish busted on the bait and took off over the flats.   It jumped once when it was over the grass and when it landed, the lure let loose.

About this time, the air temperature dropped, the rain started blowing into the windows of the truck, and the gusty wind turned into a gale.   When it started lightning, I decided to call it a day and head for the house.

I took a few pics of the area before and during the thunderstorm as I was leaving the refuge.

My wife called to ask me when I was going to come home as I was leaving and I told her about the tarpon.  She asked me why I didn't take along the Go Pro I bought so I could record the action and the truth is, I really didn't even think about it.

Next time I will.

Fishing the thunderstorms is almost always productive especially during the summer months, but when it gets as bad as the conditions in the two videos below, it's best to just pack it in.   (Click on pics)

By the way, I was the only fool out there during the storm.

Till next time,
Tight Lines.