Another Great Day Fishing The Cold Fronts In December

My wife and I went out earlier than usual Wednesday to enjoy the beautiful weather and catch a few redfish.

We scouted several areas around the Mosquito Lagoon and decided on fishing the Indian River marsh areas where we usually have some success.

The temperature was in the low 70s and there was almost no wind to speak of. The water was like glass in the shallows and in the middle of the river, only a slight chop.

The alligators were out in force sunning themselves on the banks.  This is probably why there were so many visitors in the refuge today.  It looked like "Grand Central" with all the traffic.

I rigged a pencil float on Karen's rod with a 4/0 hook. She was using frozen shrimp while I opted for my favorite beat up Bagley gold spoon.

Because the water was so calm, I didn't really expect to catch many fish, so we slowly drove around Peacocks Pocket road from the first entrance to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge looking for signs of fish activity.

All I spotted were some cute little diving ducks that looked like feeding redfish.

We finally stopped at one of our favorite spots and started fishing.  I started fan casting in deeper water, working my gold Bagley spoon as slowly as possible and Karen cast her shrimp close to a weedy island.

Since a cold front came through the area yesterday when I was fishing Playalinda Beach, I correctly assumed that the water temperature dropped and the fish would start heading for deeper water.

Redfish and sea trout get sluggish during colder weather and don't like to chase after speeding baits.

My strategy was apparently right on because after a few casts, I hooked up to a nice 17" sea trout that I unceremoniously dragged from the marsh canal, just as a man and his dog were walking by.

Bob and his neat dog "Buck" stopped and we chatted a while about fishing the marsh and a couple of other areas I didn't know about.

He said that fishermen were now catching big Black Drum in Haulover Canal at the entrance to the Mosquito Lagoon.

Bob and Buck had walked all the way from the new bridge past where we were fishing and was on his way back when I picked up another sea trout that was a clone to the first one.

The sea trout were holding in deeper water and were viciously nailing the gold spoon on a slow drop.

I caught a couple more fish before we moved on to try a few other areas.

The trout were cooperating but we couldn't find any redfish until we came to "Bobcat Bay".

Karen parked herself at a culvert and tossed out her shrimp bait, while I walked around the bend to fish the Indian River side of the road.

It was getting late and the temperature was dropping. It was in the high 50s before I finally got a hit from a redfish.

The fish nailed my spoon on a slow drop but I missed the strike. Several casts later in the same general area I again had a tap on the spoon.

This time I jerked too soon and missed the fish, but as I quickly reeled in to re-cast, the fish swirled around and hit the spoon a second time. 

This time it hooked itself and took off like a shot but after only a couple of feet, the hook pulled loose.

As the big redfish swam by me only a few feet away in about a foot of water, I could see that it was well over 30" long.

I was going to keep fishing but Karen drove the truck up to where I was and wanted to move.

It was getting really cold and I didn't have my jacket on so we decided to call it a day.

Karen hooked a couple of fish but lost one that swam under a rock and another that made for a stickup and pulled loose.
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For a change we left the refuge early and saw several more gators on the way out.

The sunset this evening was awesome as you can see by the pics below.

 

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Another Cold Front

By the time I finally made it home Friday, it was way to late to go fishing. Instead, my wife and I took a little trip over the newly constructed Max Brewer bridge to see if anyone was fishing or shrimping from the new pier or the bridge.

The restaurant at the fishing pier apparently was the place to be. There was live music playing and everyone seemed to be having a hell of a good time mixing it up.

There were a few shrimpers with lights dropped along the sea wall and pier but the shrimp didn't seem to be cooperating.

Several fishermen were catching small undersized sea trout and all the while I was there, nobody caught anything of any size.

The lack of catching certainly didn't have any affect on anyone's spirits. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

I had planned on getting into some serious fishing today but I had an appointment with Jackson Hewitt to go over my taxes. How I love April 15th!

Anyway, the weather today was in the low 50s for most of the day and the wind was blowing enough to attract a gaggle of wind surfers on the North side of SR 406. The wet suits they were wearing were appropriate attire today.

Anyway, we drove around Catfish Creek road and into Pump House Road on the other side of SR 406 to see if anyone was catching fish. There were a lot of people on the banks fishing, but no one was pulling in fish; at least when we were driving by.

It was getting late and the temperature was dropping, so we headed home.

With the option of going fishing or picking up groceries at Wal Mart; I chose stocking up on grub.

On the way back from the store, I stopped at the Municipal Marina to see what progress was being made on the new boat ramps and park areas.

Here are the pics along with one of a rat redfish I caught flipping a spoon into the grass flats along the Indian River. The red must have had a death wish. Anyway, I just couldn't leave a Saturday go by without catching something!

If the temperature gets decent tomorrow, I'll be out on the water at least for a little while to give you guys another report.

Till then, Tight Lines.