Tarpon In The Surf

Tarpon in the surf and just off the beaches, along with the sharks have started showing up along the Brevard County coast following schools of baitfish.

The surf between Bethune Beach and Playalinda Beach and from Cocoa Beach south to Patrick AFB has been holding schools of mullet and pogies.  The area from the tip of the Cape up to the shuttle pads has also been holding good numbers of baitfish.

Since the passage of hurricane Irene, the Tarpon are starting to roll once again in the mullet pods just off of the Brevard Co. beaches in water depths from 6 to 30 feet.

This Labor Day will give surf fisherman the opportunity of hooking up with a Tarpon or shark from the beach and small craft fishermen will have more than a good chance of doing the same just offshore in these areas.

The best way to catch them is to fish live mullet or live menhaden rigged on 80# fluorocarbon leader with a BMC 5/0 to 9/0 circle hook under a large cork.  Cast out beyond the last sand bar.

Tarpon in the 40# to 90# range are the average right now however, fish caught in the 140# range are not uncommon.

If you are a shark fisherman, sharks up to 90# are also being caught right off the beach in parts of these areas.

Since Snook are now in season, the beach at Patrick AFB behind the officer's club should be a prime target for snook anglers looking for a slot snook for the dinner table.

Catch then using live finger mullet on a sliding sinker rig and cast just beyond the coral heads in the surf.  Be prepared for break offs around the rocks.

This video shows that Tarpon in the surf are caught when the conditions are right and when you have adequate tackle for the job.

If you can avoid the crowds of surfers and sun worshipers that are expected along the beaches; this long weekend could be a good time to break out your surf rod and try for a Tarpon in the surf.

Tight Lines.

OOPs She Did It Again!

Well, She did it again!

My wife and I tried for some Indian River Tarpon, and got some trout instead. Just like last time, hers was the biggest!

Being the glutton for punishment that I am, I decided to try again for the tarpon that just won't bite, in the far north portion of the lagoon. Lockjaw must be the trend up here.

We went in from the southern entrance way to Shiloh road, and met only one other fisherman all the time we were out on the river.

The weather was beautiful, the mosquitoes were out in mass, and the fish were biting. Except for the damn tarpon!

The culverts were open from the marsh side, and with the flowing water moving the baitfish around, the fish were following.

We spotted several large redfish, trout, and tarpon on both sides of the trail, but only had success with the trout.

As the title indicates, my wife caught another large, "sub gator" trout on her favorite setup; a "Billy Bay"popping gurgle bobber with a large, fresh dead shrimp below.

I on the other hand continued on my quest to subdue a tarpon with artificials.

Although I caught several trout, smaller than my wife's, I could not for the life of me get the damn tarpon to eat my bait. I wore my arm out casting top waters, swim baits, jerkbaits, and Ieven tried a large shrimp with no success.

The scenery was phenominal, as you can see by the short videos and photos, and the fishing was
great except for the tarpon.

July 4th. is another story to tell, if we go out again. Until then, tight lines!

Oh, by the way, her trout was over 20 inches.

Pre July 4th Tarpon Fishing

Got out late Thursday and decided to try for some of the small tarpon that are now in the north part of the Indian River Lagoon, north of Scotsmoor, Fl.

My wife and I saw a few small tarpon busting finger mullet in the north part of the river, and in the salt marsh canal adjacent to it, but had no takers.

I tried mullet imitating lures, as well as smaller swim baits for over an hour, with absolutely no hits. I didn't bring my cast net, so for today, live bait was not on the menu for these tusslers.

The water in the Indian River was a bit choppy from a West wind, and the temperature hovered in the high 80s with a clear sky; so it was almost perfect for this sort of fishing.

At low light, my wife and I moved to a favorite spot where I knew some trout were always on the prowl. Last week she caught an "almost" gator trout, so we decided to try and repeat the performance.

Karen had several hits here, on a shrimp Cajun Thunder bobber combo, and I picked up several trout in the marsh canal fishing a drop off ledge that I knew was there.

I started catching trout on Creme swim baits, but decided to switch to a new top water lure I had in my tackle box, to try for a larger trout comparable to the one my wife caught last week.

Several casts and two misses later, I picked up a small redfish that exploded on the bait.

The little fella acted like he was one of the bull redfish that this part of the river is noted for.

Several casts later, it was apparent that the bite was about over. This is typical for this area.

The fish turn on in spurts, and provide some great action while it lasts; then like someone turned off a magical switch, it's over.

The low light turned to dusk, so we left the preserve deciding to try again tomorrow.

Maybe Friday will be a lucky day for a tarpon! Tight lines!

North Indian Lagoon River Fishing Report

This Friday afternoons fishing expedition proved to be pretty frustrating to say the least.
The water temperature was high and on the river side of the lagoon the water was up due to the rainfall this past week.

My wife and I fished primarily on the marsh side of Shiloh road, with little success. The water was like glass, the fish were spooky but they were feeding.

This is one trip that I tried literally every lure I had with me, with no success.

My primary target were the small tarpon and very large gator trout that I spotted in the northern part of the marsh.



There were 4 or 5 tarpon rolling, and smacking something on the surface, that I could not match with my lure selection. I tried jerk baits, top water skitter walks, jigs with gulp baits, feather jigs, creme swim baits and even my favorite D.O.A. shrimp in several colors.

All I got for my efforts was a severe case of mosquito bites and loss of blood to the little buggers.

My wife tried for several redfish that she spotted down the dirt road from where I was fishing, and had exactly the same luck that I did.

The fish were not eating what we were offering.

It looked like the tarpon were eating newly hatch fish fry of some unknown species, but even the small jigs I used to "match the hatch" didn't do any good.



With a sore arm from casting and blood loss to the mosquitoes, we left just at dusk and on the way out tried one last favorite spot.

My wife scored a trout on a dead shrimp under a popping cork and I still remained fish less.

Oh well, the scenery was great, the roseate spoonbills were in, and the sunset was awesome!

Here are some pics of the evening trip. We plan on trying again with some live bait if possible. I want one of those tarpon.


Until next time, tight lines!