Windy Conditions

Got out this afternoon to see if the bite in the refuge was as good as reported but with the windy conditions, fishing my favorite topwater baits was pretty much an effort in futility. 

After driving over 500 miles from North Carolina, I was tired but had expectations of catching at least a few sea trout.  As it turned out, the bite left a lot to be desired.

The wind was blowing in from the East causing a chop on the water.  I started tossing a Skitterwalk around but quickly switched over to a Chug Bug that was easier to fish.

After tossing the Chug Bug around for a half hour or so in various "fishy looking" spots, I had only one hit from a small sea trout for my efforts.

I switched to rod with a Creme paddletail bait and started getting hits almost immediately.

For the next hour or so, I hooked into three keeper trout on the grass flats which I promptly released.  

Along the shallow ditch leading into the first pond heading towards Peacocks Pocket road, I hooked and released two small "rat" redfish before I decided to head back to the house and scarf up some dinner.

On the way out of the refuge, I snapped a few pics of the sunset that I miss when working up in North Carolina.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Friday Morning Launch

Early Friday morning I planned on hitting the refuge to try for some sea trout action but when I got close to the A. Max Brewer bridge, it was obvious that a Friday morning launch was scheduled.

Spectators were all over the area so I decided to take part as well.

I found out that the launch was going off in a few minutes so I pulled into an open spot near the Coast Guard station and walked across the road to find a spot on the Indian River.

I only had to wait a few minutes before the rocket took off from the Kennedy Space Center. 

I took the short video below to commemorate the takeoff before hitting my fishing spot.

After walking back to where I parked my truck, I had a long irritating wait to get out of the area so I decided to pass on the morning fishing and head home to catch up on some overdue chores.

I'll probably head out this afternoon to try for some trout.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Trout In The Culverts

The sea trout in the culverts this afternoon were cooperating quite well.

I planned on trying for some juvie tarpon around the weedy flats of East Gator Creek but after a half hour of fishing without a hit I decided to walk Peacocks Pocket Road and hit the ditches.

When I pulled up to the barrier, which was pulled down, I parked off to the edge and took a couple of rods tipped with a gold Johnson Sprite spoon and a creme paddletail bait.

I planned to walk up to the first pond but when I saw fish activity around the first culvert I decided to stop and give it a try.

The water movement in the culvert was brisk and a small pod of fingerling mullet was periodically breaking the surface, so I started blind casting the area.

On my second cast I had a light tap and on my third cast I hooked into a slot sea trout that I quickly landed and released.   

I thought about keeping the fish for dinner but since I just bought a ham, the fish lived to fight another day.

After letting the area settle down a bit, I started casting the bait around the roiling water around the culvert.

A couple of casts later, I hooked into another larger sea trout that I landed and released.

On the next cast, I hit another sea trout that was slightly larger than the last fish.  This fish almost got into the brush at the bank, but I skinnied down to the culvert and managed to land the trout.

For the next half hour or so, I managed to hook and release four more sea trout that were all in the slot from 15 to 18 inches in length.

Just as the bite abruptly stopped,  an angler with a fly rod pulled up and started walking up the road.  

He stopped and we talked about the bite and difficulty in landing fish on a fly rod with all the brush around the banks.  

He told me that he loses a lot of fish but like me it's fun to hook them.

I offered him my spot as I started gathering my gear to head to the truck.

On the way out of the refuge, I took a spin around Catfish Creek to check out the sunset and see if anybody was still fishing the bank.

Hope to get out again this week to wet a line.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Monday Scouting Trip

Despite the windy conditions, Monday afternoon seemed like a good time to check out the refuge to see if anybody was catching fish.

Driving into the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge, I was surprised at the number of people viewing the wildlife.   

Several visitors with out of state tags were driving around the area, but only two groups of anglers were on the banks fishing.

As I entered the area, I took several pics of the waterfowl.

The roseatte spoonbills were out in force along with a ton of egrets, wood storks, ibis, herons, and ducks that I could not identify.

I had one spinning rod with me today with a Skitterwalk tied on, but the wind was not really conducive to topwater fishing.  

I tossed the new Skitterwalk that I bought around the shallow weed beds, but it was apparent that the fish weren't interested in surface baits.  After tossing the bait into the wind in all my favorite spots, I finally decided to give it up and head for the hacienda.

On the way out of the refuge I took a couple of pics of the sunset which I never get tired of.

Hope to get out tomorrow with more tackle,

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

East Gator Creek Fishing Report

After walking the bridge Sunday afternoon, I decided to get a fishing report for the East Gator Creek area.

Armed with four spinning rods tipped with Skitterwalks, Chug Bugs, and plastic Creme paddletail baits, I headed for the clear flats to see if the bite was on.

I drove slowly into the east entrance and stopped to talk to an angler who was tending to four rods staked along the bank.  He was fishing with shrimp for black drum that could be seen tailing farther out on the southern mud flats.

He told me that he caught a couple nice fish the day before, but had no bites up to the time I spoke with him.

I wished him good luck and drove to one of the spots I usually fish.

The day was calm and the air temperature was in the high 70s, so I started fishing the area with a Skitterwalk topwater bait.

I spent a lot of time blind casting to several areas on the east side of the road and had several follow ups, but only one small ladyfish to show for my efforts.   

The ladyfish jumped once and managed to hook itself into a circle, so the fight was a lot like pulling in a clump of weeds. 

I started fishing one of my other rods with a Creme paddletail bait and after missing several fish, hooked into a juvenile tarpon that hit the bait about six feet from the bank.

The tarpon jumped several times and put up a nice fight but I played it right for a change and slowly pulled the fish to the bank.  As the tarpon got closer, it headed for the brush along the bank where the treble hooks on the Skitterwalk hung up.

I put the rod on the bank and got my cell phone to take a pic as the fish dislodged itself and took off into the shallow flat.   

I never had another hit in that spot and it was getting late so I headed for Peacocks Pocket Culvert at the entrance to Catfish Creek Loop.

There is a small pond before the culvert that looked "fishy" so I pulled out the Skitterwalk and started walking the dog as close to the shoreline as I could get without snagging.

After a half dozen casts or so I hooked into a very large sea trout that I fought close enough to the bank to identify.  The trout was over two feet long and as soon as it saw the bank, it got it's second wind and took off across the weedy flat.

I fought the fish close to the bank the second time and as it took off on another run, the knot came loose and the fish got away taking my Skitterwalk with it.

I moved up to the culvert that was flowing weakly and spooked another big sea trout that was laying right off the bank.  

After several casts it was obvious that the fish wasn't in a feeding mood.

The barrier to Peacocks Pocket road was down and it was obvious that someone other than the refuge managers did it.   The signs were still up advising that the road was closed.

I was going to walk down a bit and try the other culverts but it was getting late and I decided to head home for dinner.

On the way around Catfish Creek Loop I took these pics of the gorgeous sunset.

A few groups of fishermen had rods along the Indian River but I only spoke with one guy who had an oversize red he picked up on a chunk bait.

I plan to get out tomorrow afternoon to wet a line and hopefully pick up that trout.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.