Christmas week fishing is better than not fishing at all and since I've been out of town for a month or so in the mountains of North Carolina, I was more than ready to wet a line in some salt water when I got home this weekend.
The weather this evening was rainy and slightly windy. The air temps were in the low 70's and the water in the area where I was wetting a line was crystal clear; usual winter time conditions for east central Florida.
I bank fished several areas in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge with mostly topwater Chug Bugs and Bass Assassin soft baits with mixed results.
In the shallow flats around Gator Creek and East Gator Creek, I was using a Chug Bug around the mangrove roots and dropoffs. I missed a couple of small trout, or at least I think they were trout, and managed to hook and release three ladyfish.
The ladyfish were all hooked on a slow retrieve when the lure stopped moving in the water. I was using a very slow stop and go type retrieve.
I spotted a nice gator sea trout swimming along the bank in one area that was in the 25 inch category, but I couldn't get a lure to the fish.
I briefly tossed a white 4" Bass Assassin on a jig head in a couple of areas and after getting a sore wrist with only one hit decided to continue fishing with the Chug Bug.
I parked at Pump House road and walked around the area a bit to see if anything was going on. The water here was clean and clear but other than one small sea trout that I hooked and released on a Creme soft bait, I didn't score any respectable fish.
When it started raining more than just a light mist and the wind picked up, I got cold and decided to head back to the house for some dinner.
I was only out for a couple of hours but considering I had not fished the area for a little over a month, I can't complain about the fishing.
At least I was catching today.
Hope to get out to the beach before Christmas to check out the surf fishing. The Pomps should be out there by now.
Till next time,
Tight Lines.
![](<A HREF="http://www.safesurf.com/"><IMG BORDER=0 SRC= "ssurf.gif"></A>){kind=small}
3 Please SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS HERE!:
I have been fishing the northern lagoon (New Smyrna Beach) since the mid 80’s. The fishing has gotten poorer in the last 3 years. One fact that no one want to address is the mitigation that was done to the mosquito ditches a few years back. This quest was incredibly detrimental to the lagoon’s health. The biomass and chemicals found in the sediment were brought up into the water column. The die off of grasses was accelerated, and now we have algae clogging the water and settling on the bottom. The area once covered by grasses are now mud. The clam beds have, for the most part, gone. There needs to be a concerted effort to restore this area. Sewer systems need to be developed in all communities surrounding the lagoon. All the boats moored in the lagoon need to be addressed, I have seen black water pumped from some of these boats directly into the river. I do not want to believe the lagoon is becoming a dead body if water, but without quick action, this is the future of this area.
The clam restoration project would help if more people knew about it.
Clams are the best filtration system God ever created.
John, I do believe the clams will be one of necessary elements, but increased water flow by opening up a flow through on the southern lagoon would help as well. Until the City of Edgewater stops pumping treated waste water into the river, communities convert septic systems to sewer systems, moored sail and power boats are strictly enforced regarding brown and black water discharge, and growth around the lagoon is stopped, this trend will not cease.
Post a Comment