Scrubbed Endeavor Shuttle Launch

Well as you all know by now, the scrubbed Endeavor Shuttle Launch on Friday disappointed not only tons of visitors including the President who drove in from all over the country to see it but also a lot of fishermen who planned to go fishing after liftoff.

The scrubbed launch pretty much killed the bank fishing in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Preserve as well as the surf fishing at Playalinda Beach.

All the entrances to fishing areas in the Preserve will remain blocked until the powers that be find out when the problems with the shuttle can be resolved.

After my doctors appointment Friday, I hoped to video the last Endeavor liftoff and do a little "jump fishing" for redfish in the Indian River.

Instead my wife and I decided to try Shiloh Marsh Road to see if the water levels were up from a couple weeks ago.

The pictures I took speak for themselves.

The water levels in the north Indian River lagoon are extremely low. That, in addition to the brisk east wind which pushed much of the remaining water to the West shores of the river made fishing this area nearly impossible and basically a total waste of time.

There were some open culverts that were draining into the Indian River from the mosquito control canal, but the water was so shallow that no fish could take advantage of the water movement.

My wife had a couple of hits on shrimp which were probably small trout, but other than that the fish just weren't biting.

We drove over to Bairs Cove boat launch at Haulover Canal to see if anybody was having any luck only to find the Coast Guard camped out there.

There were a lot of kayaks in the canal today but it didn't appear that anybody was fishing.

The kayakers were probably there to see the Shuttle Launch.

In any event, I managed to record the afternoon's events.

I hope they take down the barriers for this weekend. The bluefish are supposed to be hitting in the surf and I know that the trout are wacking top water baits early in the morning and just at dusk.

Hope's eternal!

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Slot Redfish - Fishing The Culverts

Fishing the culverts, especially when the water is flowing, is an excellent method of jump fishing for redfish, trout, and an occasional snook.

This slot redfish was caught on a Chartreuse/Blue Back  2" Creme Spoiler Shad  swimbait at an open culvert flowing into the northern Indian river lagoon near Titusville, Fl.

It was a beautiful day just to get out and enjoy the scenery.

Later in the day I tried fishing Haulover Canal and had some success with slot size sea trout.

The manatees were out feeding and playing in the basin at the Bairs Cove boat launch.

I saw two that were unlucky enough not to get out of the way of a boat's propeller.

It's a shame to see them with the scars on their backs.

Most of the fishermen I know in the area obey the slow motor zones and heed the manatee signs. Unfortunately, some either don't know or don't care about the manatee zones.

Every year I see and hear about manatees being run over by boaters that are ignorant to the zones.

This Florida Manatee Program link has tons of information on the Florida manatee that you might find interesting.

This link has HTML and .pdf maps to the no motor and manatee zones that will help you keep in compliance with the current regulations.

Till next time,

Tight Lines!