Haulover Canal Fishing

This afternoon, Karen wanted to take Elmo and Odie fishing in the refuge, so I suggested fishing Haulover Canal for a change. 

We stopped at Arby's to pick up some quick eats and headed to the bait shop to pick up some live shrimp and frozen mullet. 

When I asked about what was hitting in the area, the immediate reply was "the black drum are everywhere". 

Two other guys in the bait shop said that the schools meander close to the bank along Catfish Creek later around 5:00 pm but by that time, most of the spots along the unimproved road are already staked out. 

Since we had a bucket of live shrimp, we decided to try fishing the entrance to Catfish Creek.  As we pulled into East Gator Creek to see if there was any topwater action, we saw at least a dozen gators in the water up to the first set of culverts.  I took several pics before we stopped at out spot to fish.

I put out a rod with half of a fingerling mullet and no weight and Karen wanted to use a float with a live shrimp underneath.

It didn't take long before I hooked into a small sea trout that I quickly landed and released after taking a quick pic.

I hooked a couple of catfish immediately after but that was it for the spot.

After some time had passed, Karen still never got a hit on her shrimp so she wanted to move to another spot that was shady.   

I immediately suggested my original plan to fish Haulover Canal and she quickly agreed.

We headed to Haulover Canal to find a spot where the dogs could enjoy themselves and we had some chance of catching something. 

There was a surprising number of fishermen along the banks but we found a shady spot across from the Bair's Cove ramp that allowed plenty of casting room for both of us.

There was a large fat porpoise across from us that was rounding up a lot of fish for dinner that kept us occupied.

I baited up one of my Penn Battle III surf rods with half of a fingerling mullet and tossed out the rig with just enough weight to hold bottom.    I was using a sliding sinker rig with a 5/0 bait hook and a short piece of 30 pound fluorocarbon leader. 

Karen was fooling around with the dogs so I rigged up a rod for her with a similar but lighter rig.   She was using a Penn Fierce III live liner that I often use in Mobile, Al. to fish around the jetties and sea walls. 

After a short wait, I had a bite that took the mullet like a big fish should.   I waited a bit to set the hook and when I hit the fish, it put up quite a nice fight. 

After the first run, I knew it wasn't a black drum or redfish. It didn't fight like a catfish either so when I pulled it over the coquina rocks to the sandy shore Karen spotted a good size stingray on the line.

I took a couple of quick pics before unhooking the stingray and releasing the fish.

Karen missed a fish and asked me to put a mullet on her line.  I cut one in half and tossed it across the canal to the opposite bank.

There was a slight current moving towards the Indian River which was pulling our baits slowly along the bottom, so I showed Karen how to take the slack out of the line so it stayed there.

As we waited for something to bite, Odie was enthralled with a Cassiopeia Jellyfish (below) that was swimming close to the bank. 

 It was one of several that we saw locomoting along the waterway.

I missed two other bites before hooking into a catfish that was one of several I caught.  I released the fish after Odie had a good look at it and after a short wait hooked and landed one of two puffer fish that I caught.

Karen was missing fish and couldn't hook one if her life depended on it while I was landing fish back to back.   Finally, after changing to a live shrimp for bait, she hooked into a big puffer fish that I unhooked for her and released.

Unfortunately, I never hooked into one of the big reds or black drum that use the canal as a highway between the Mosquito Lagoon and the Indian River.

I did hook into a fish that broke off my rig on the rocks and since Karen was ready to head home,  we packed up our gear and headed out.

Hopefully, I'll get to wet a line again before I head back to work next week.

Till then,

Tight Lines.

Cruising Bio Lab Road

The weather was so nice today that when my wife got home from playing with her horse, we decided to try cruising Bio Lab Road with Elmo and Odie.

We didn't leave the house until around 2:30 pm and after stopping at Arby's for some eats, didn't get down to Bio Lab until a little after 3:00 pm.  By then the air temperature had dropped a couple of degreesto from 73 to 69 and with the wind blowing, it was pretty chilly.

As we drove into Bio Lab road past the first culverts, I spotted a small tarpon in the algae brown colored water apparently after small baitfish.  

On the other side of the road, a guy was tending to some crab lines and a small crab trap.

We passed by and were surprised to see the road ahead cluttered with bank fishermen.

 I asked a couple of anglers about the bite and was told that the black drum usually didn't start hitting until around 3:30 in the afternoon.  

Everybody I spoke with was fishing with dead shrimp, which is obviously the bait of choice for these fish, especially in the algae stained water.

 Karen and I passed by several other bank fishermen who had enough rods staked out that they could snag a drum if they didn't bite.

We decided to hit a spot I like to fish where I saw a dead alligator the other day.

When we got to the spot, another angler was tossing an artificial around the area.  

We parked away from him to give him room and I walked up the unimproved road past the barriers to where I hooked and lost a large snook two days ago.

 
I brought enough white Creme Spoiler Shad paddletail baits along with me so I didn't have to worry about running out if I lost one.

I was using a light rod with 8 pound test fluorocarbon main line and on my third cast, lost the bait on a stickup.  I tied on another bait and added some Pro-Cure.

After a couple more casts, I hooked into a very small tarpon that I released after taking his pic.

A couple more casts later I hooked and released a juvenile snook so small, I had to have Karen take a pic before releasing it.  

It has to be my record SMALL snook of the year.

The other angler was apparently not getting any action and left, so Karen let Elmo and Odie out to do their duty while I rigged another rod for her to fish with.

We spent about 45 minutes in the area fishing several spots and I picked up two more small tarpon and one more juvie snook a little larger than the first one I caught.

Karen wasn't getting any action and was getting cold and I wasn't doing much better.  

The air temperature had dropped to 63 and the wind started to pick up making it feel much colder, so we packed up the rods with the dogs and headed home.

On the way out, I had to pull over and take this shot of the sunset.  Awesome....

Today's outing was short and although they were small, we managed to get some action.

Hopefully, I'll get a chance to get out again this week,

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Plenty Of Drum In The River

Right now there are plenty of drum in the river as well as the Mosquito Lagoon and anglers have been catching them in good numbers from the bank and on the flats.

I haven't been fishing this area for awhile but yesterday when I finally managed to get out and scout the areas around the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, I was pleasantly surprised to see that a good number of bank fishermen were catching slot size black drum and redfish.

As I crossed the A. Max Brewer Bridge towards NASA, I was surprised to see how many people were on the North side of the causeway partying and parasailing.  I was under the impression that gatherings were limited to 50 people but apparently nobody read the memo.

As I drove past all the partying, I spotted the sign that said Playalinda Beach was closed.

I drove into East Gator Creek and planned to fish a couple of spots with a topwater bait, but both of them were already occupied with bank fishermen dunking shrimp and chunk baits.

One guy I spoke with had five rods staked out and said he had been limiting out on black drum along the banks of the Indian River for the past week.  He had been using shrimp for bait and said that all the fish were in the slot.,

I continued driving around the area and stopped a few times to chuck a Chug Bug around some promising areas just to say that I had "wet a line". 

I had one follow up but no takers; probably because the conditions were not great for topwater bait fishing.  The water was too choppy in most areas to work the lure properly.

I decided to check out the exit to Peacocks Pocket Road which is still closed and as I turned into Catfish Creek Loop I stopped to talk to a couple of guys fishing at the culverts.

When I asked Chris and his friend if they had caught any fish, Chris was happy to show me a couple of nice slot size black drum that he had caught on live shrimp.

When I asked for a pic, he happily obliged with the two below.

It was getting dark as I navigated the unimproved road but as I slowly drove around the far side of Catfish Creek, every fishing spot was taken.

A couple of guys who were fishing at the new culverts had several rods staked out and as I drove by, one of them was unhooking an under size redfish.  He told me he was using shrimp for bait and that they were catching a lot of reds and black drum.

By the time I drove out of the Catfish Creek area, I decided to walk over the 1.8 mile bridge before heading home and having to listen to the depressing news about the coronavirus on the television.

Catching Big Drum

Aubrey was catching big drum yesterday in Heron Bay and when he sent me the pics I just had to post them for you to enjoy.

Dauphin Island has a ton of good fishing areas if you bother to make the rounds and find them and since I've been working in this area, I managed to find one or two where anglers can fish from the bank.

Aubrey and his fishing buddy caught these in Heron Bay while fishing from a kayak in the same area I fished last weekend.

The big black drum above was about 40 pounds and was caught on an outgoing tide using blue crab for bait.

The fish below were also caught mostly on blue crab in the same general area.

The flounder in the pic below was caught by Kyle, Aubrey's friend, on a "bull minnow" which is what we call a "mud minnow" in our area.   The redfish in the back was also caught by Kyle on a finger mullet.

The redfish in the front and below was caught by Aubrey on a live croaker that was about 6" long.  A great bait in this area as well as in the Mosquito Lagoon.,

After seeing these fish I plan to get out over the weekend to see what I can dredge up from Heron Bay.

Till next time,
Tight Lines.

Black Drum Are On Fire

The black drum are on fire in our area right now on the flats, along the Klinker Islands, Haulover Canal, and around any of the bridge pilings.

After getting our taxes filed and getting a bite to eat at Victorio's, Karen and I decided to get out for a little bit and wet a line.

I normally prefer using artificial baits but because of the reports I received from the bait shops and local guides, I decided to give bait fishing a shot today and I'm glad I did.

This afternoon we managed to catch and release three nice black drum  all over the slot outside of Haulover Canal in only a couple of hours.    Karen got two nice fish over 24":and I got one about 29"  using fresh dead frozen shrimp.   .

Some of the other fishermen along the banks of Haulover this afternoon were also catching nice size drum mainly with shrimp and pieces of fresh blue crab for bait.

You had to get there early today to snag a spot .   When we first drove up, all the "good" spots along both sides of the canal were taken, but as we were ready to move to another location, Karen said she thought a guy on the other side of the canal was getting ready to leave..  

Karen and I lucked out and got the spot on the north side of the canal just as a guy was driving off in his truck..

It was at a natural coquina rock formation that already had holes for our fishing rods.  Perfect for bait fishing.

I was using 30 pound Power Pro and a 30 pound fluorocarbon leader with a sliding sinker rig and Karen was using the same rig with 20 pound mono as the main line on a Penn combo that I picked up for her at Bass Pro for her upcoming birthday.

We both didn't have to wait long before we had hits and finally hookups.

I didn't have my cell phone charger with me and my battery was almost gone but I managed to get a couple of pics anyway before it died.

I've got some work to do tomorrow morning but I'm hoping to get out later in the afternoon to give it another shot while the bite is still hot.

Till next time

Tight Lines.

Titusville Fishing Piers

Although the two Titusville fishing piers this evening were virtually devoid of sport shrimpers and fishermen, I decided to stop and see what was being caught.

The weather today was pretty windy and a cold front was in the works but after catching up on some paperwork for work, I decided to make a quick run around East Gator Creek Road to see if anybody was out fishing.

I left the house as it was getting dark and as I crossed the bridge across the Indian River, it was obvious that very few anglers were dunking baits.

The air temperature was 54 degrees F and there was a North wind blowing across the water when I got to my first spot.

I stopped and made several fan casts around the area with a gold Johnson Sprite spoon and a "baby bass" pattern Chug Bug without even one followup.

As it got dark I drove up to the barriers at Peacocks Pocket Road and Catfish Creek Loop to turn around.   I planned to shoot a few casts around the area, but the wind made it too problematic.

I slowly drove back to the main road and as I drove towards the A. Max Brewer bridge, I decided to check on the progress being made at the boat launch.

Canaveral Construction is doing the job and the sign says should be completed by May.

I took a couple of pics and decided to check out the two Titusville fishing piers before heading home.

As I pulled into a parking spot I noticed that very few anglers or shrimpers were on the piers.  Most everyone was enjoying a cold brew or a nice dinner at the Pier 220 Seafood & Grill restaurant.

The four groups of people that I spoke with at the lower pier were setting out their shrimp lights and all reported less than stellar luck with the shrimping. 

The wind was making waves and the waves were making it difficult spotting shrimp this evening.

I made my way to the upper fishing pier and took a short video of the area.

Just as I got to where a gentleman was fighting a nice fish, my cell phone battery went dead and I was unable to get a picture of his catch, a nice black drum of at least 20 pounds or so.  

The drum looked looked like it was around 34 inches or so long, but it had a nice pot belly.

He caught the fish one a piece of shrimp and didn't even know the fish was on until it got tangled in his shrimp lights.

After landing the fish, an onlooker was kind enough to text me the above picture he took of the guy's fish.

It was getting too cold for me to stick around and no one was netting large amounts of shrimp, so I decided to head home for a cup of java and snuggle up the the television.

I may get out tomorrow to wet a line around Shiloh Road.

Till next time,
Tight Lines.

Scouting The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

Because of the Peacocks Pocket Road closure, I decided to try scouting the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge this afternoon to find some other fishing spots.

I knew that the Haulover Canal bridge was closed for repairs for the next month so I headed down SR46 to Mims so I could take US1 towards Scotsmoor.

After I gassed up the truck, I decided to hit the Jones Street Boat launch to see if anybody was fish there.   After driving over the dusty road to Jones Street and crossing the railroad tracks, I parked at the waters edge to check out the area.

The huge abandoned bi-hull houseboat was still in the same spot as last year, but the top was now off.

The water was crystal clear so I pulled out one of my rods with a swimbait and made a few casts towards the boat.   After several casts without a bite, I decided to move on to another potential fishing area.

My next spot up the road was the Scottsmoor Boat Launch.  I hadn't visited that area in about a year so I drove onto Huntington Ave. to see what the water level looked like.

When I pulled up close to the ramp, I was surprised that there was plenty of water at the dock to launch my Maverick, or the kayaks that I picked up last month for my birthday.

The water around the shallow flats looked clean but I didn't bother to fish.  I took a few pics and headed out to Shiloh Road.

I crossed the bridge, took the right turn into the refuge and slowly headed down the dusty road toward the barrier.

When I hit the first culvert, I noticed that it was open and there was a good flow of water coming in from the Indian River.

I pulled over and took a few pictures of the area.  I remembered that this area was good for juvenile tarpon, ladyfish, and redfish during the spring, so I took out a rod with a Johnsons Sprite gold spoon and started blind casting the area.

I caught and released several ladyfish on the spoon before taking this brief video of the action.  The ladyfish were small and I could have used them for bait, but I didn't have anything to keep them fresh in so I returned all the fish.

After the fourth or fifth fish, I had a hit from a juvenile tarpon about 2 feet long, but it flipped off and never took the spoon again.

I tried the spoon, a DOA Baitbuster, and a jighead with a paddletail bait on both sides of the culvert but the fish quit biting, so I moved on up the road to check out where I could launch my kayak.

At the barrier to Shiloh Road where several cars were parked, there appeared to be a small launch area that people had been using for kayaks or canoes.  Just the ticket for my kayak debut.

I turned around and decided to ride over to Patillo Creek and check out the fishing conditions there.

On the way, I spotted a very large Timber Rattlesnake that was crossing the road.  I pulled over to take  a pic of the snake as it crossed safely and laid stretched out on the grass shoulder.

The snake was not in the least bit afraid and just laid there eyeing me up as I slowly took these pics and the brief video.

He started to move under my truck, so I decided to get out of his way and continue my scouting trip.

I drove into Patillo creek and headed to several spots I used to fish on a semi-regular basis.

I fished three spots but never got a hit or a follow up, so I continued to the deeper water area where Karen and I sometimes fished for black drum.

As I pulled into the area, several fishermen were on the bank dunking shrimp and cut baits.

I stopped to ask how one group was doing and Alex and his friend Chico said they had caught 4 nice drum.  He was eager to show me their catch, so I pilled over and took these pics along with a brief video.

Alex said that when they had been using fresh shrimp, they were not getting any bites, but when they switched to old "stinky" shrimp, the fish started hitting.

As I passed by their truck where the bait was being kept and got a whiff of the shrimp, I had no doubt that he was telling me the whole truth.

Alex's friend told me that some fisherman yesterday had caught 14 drum in the same spot.

I bid them farewell and decided to make one more stop before heading home.  I drove past the radar dome that my wife calls the "gumball"  to check out Beacon 42 boat ramp.

 

I was surprised to find the parking area empty.  Nobody was fishing the area.

 

I got out of the truck and checked out the water.  It was relatively clear and the water levels were down only slightly. A perfect day to take out my flats boat.

Anyway, it was getting towards dinner so I headed out towards US1 and the house.

About halfway up the road, I spotted a flock of turkeys on one side of the road and a cleanup crew of vultures on the other side of the road making a dead hog the main course.

I pulled up to the crew of 10 vultures, and they weren't in the least bit intimidated.  I took these pics and left them to their dinner.

As I headed home to my dinner, I was glad I made the scouting trip.  I found several spots to put in my kayak without drowning on the first try, and several more to bank fish.

Till next time, Tight  lines.

A Mixed Bag At Catfish Creek

It was a mixed bag at Catfish Creek this afternoon with Atlantic Croaker, black drum, and redfish on the menu.

Since I have to get to work tomorrow, Karen and I decided to take Elmo and Odie out to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge to see if we could catch some fish and just enjoy the day.

We waited until after 3:00 pm to leave the house and were on the water before 4:00 pm.

I stopped at Mosquito Lagoon Bait and Tackle to pick up some live shrimp and headed out to Catfish Creek Loop to stake out a spot.

The air temperature was 73 degrees and there was only a slight breeze blowing over the river when we pulled into a spot where Karen caught some drum last year about this same time.

I didn't feel like flipping artificial baits today, so I brought along a folding sports chair and set out two rods with live shrimp to watch.

For the next hour or so, that's all we did.  Watch the rods.

Finally, as the sun started to dip I hooked a small (very small) croaker which I promptly released.

After a short time, Karen spotted some swirls in the shallows closer to the bank so I reeled in my shrimp and shot a short cast to the area.

Within a couple of minutes I hooked into a Puppy Drum which was released after a brief fight.

Karen had a couple of bites but couldn't seem to hook anything so I told her to cast into the same area where I caught the drum.

After another five minutes or so, I had another hookup with a small, multi spotted redfish that just made the slot.

After another brief tussle I landed and released the redfish to grow up a bit.

There were a lot of people driving around the refuge apparently watching the Coots, ducks, gators, and God knows what else.   Anyway, the traffic started getting ridiculous and as the sun started going down, the gnats also started to get ridiculous.

We were both getting eaten alive and although Karen didn't catch anything this evening, she was ready to call it a day.

We packed up and headed home along with all the other visitors in the refuge.

The fishing is beginning to pick up in this area, and as the cooler weather sets in, we should be getting more and larger fish.

When I get back in town again I plan on walking the Pocket road to target some of the gator sea trout that roam the area.

Till next time, Tight Lines and bent rods. 

Haulover Canal in December is a great place to fish for huge black drum and bull redfish.

My wife and I decided to take Elmo and Odie for a quick trip around Catfish Creek loop to see if any bank fishermen were catching black drum yet.

The drum start hitting good during the winter, with November and December being the best months.

Karen and I were surprised that only one group of fishermen were on the bank and they had not caught anything when we drove by and asked them about the fishing.

We left Catfish Creek Loop and drove over to Haulover Canal to see if the fishing was any better.

There were a lot of trailers parked in Bairs Cove and the banks were lined with fishermen, mostly dunking cut baits and shrimp.

I saw a couple of bank fishermen with drum and pinfish, and one guy with a nice redfish.

There was a guy anchored off of the bank apparently fishing for mangrove snapper but we didn'
t stick around long enough to see how he was doing.

We drove to the south side of the canal where I got out to take a few pics of the area which I consolidated into the video above.

The guy who was fishing at the drawbridge was fishing with cut mullet but hadn't been there long.

He told me that the bank fishermen were catching drum, redfish, sea trout, flounder, and snapper.

I wished him good luck fishing and we left the area to head for the house.

Although it was late in the afternoon when we visited Haulover on Saturday, there were still a ton of fishing boats anchored at the both entrances to the canal.

Fishing Haulover Canal in December is always good for black drum and reds especially if you have a boat with a good quality fish finder.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Peacocks Pocket Road Is Still Closed

Although Peacocks Pocket road is still closed, bank fishermen along the causeway and the open dike roads are still picking up good numbers of redfish and black drum.

Javier Cuazo and his friend Luis were good enough to send me these pics of their trip to Gator Creek Thursday morning.

 They got out early and around 8:00am Luis picked up a nice slot black drum on a live shrimp and later on, a rat redfish on a dead shrimp which was quickly released to grow up into a bull red.

Around noon they moved on to Catfish Creek and fished around an area where this crabber was picking up his cages.    Usually if there are crabs in the area, it's a good area for reds.

He said they were fishing into the wind, but he did not what they caught in that area.

Yesterday, another reader said that the reds in that area were nailing fresh dead shrimp and chunks of cut mullet and ladyfish.

In my experience, an 1 1/2" thick steak cut from a freshly caught ladyfish on a 4/0 or 5/0 Owner hook is hard to beat for big redfish.

Right now, fresh dead or live shrimp is the bait of choice for black drum.

Till I get back into town again, Tight Lines and don't forget to vote.

Black Point Sea Trout

The Black Point area is an overlooked fishery for sea trout, redfish and some nice ladyfish during certain times of the year.

Michael, a subscriber of this site emailed me this pic of a nice gator sea trout that his friend Matt caught earlier this spring.

He didn't say what he caught the fish on, only that it was quickly released to fight another day.

However, after taking a closer look at the picture, it looks like a long soft bait hanging out of the fish's mouth.

Although I have been fishing a bit in Mobile, Al. the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and Central Florida in particular still produces more huge redfish, black drum, and "gator" spotted sea trout than  anywhere I've been privileged to fish, especially when it comes to sight fishing.

The video below was taken under one of the bridges going to Dauphin Island, an area just west of Mobile.

The black drum was estimated at 40 to 50 pounds and was caught on an incoming tide on half a blue crab.

When I fished the area where the guy caught the drum, I managed to hook a couple of fish on a Berkly Rattlin Jig but both broke off around the rocks.

The people on the opposite bank were wading and pitching freshly netted finger mullet but from what I could see while I was fishing the area, they weren't doing all that well.

Like the beaches at Playalinda, the tides in the Mobile Bay area dictate the best times to fish.

Apparently, I wasn't there at the right time!

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Fishing For Black Druim In Catfush Creek

Fishing for Black Drum is always fun, so  Karen and I decided to head for Catfish Creek and do a little Black Drum fishing this afternoon after finishing our chores were completed.

The weather was chilly this Saturday morning but as the temperature began to improve, so did my desire to go fishing.

I packed up several rods, a 12 volt battery, a home made aerator and a cooler large enough to keep a couple of dozen shrimp live for a few hours.

As soon as Elmo and Odie saw me picking out the fishing rods, they knew it was time to "head for the swamp" and help us catch some fish.  Both dogs were in the car as soon as I opened the door.

We didn't get to the bait shop until around 4:00 pm, but I usually don't bother fishing until late in the afternoon anyway.

I picked up a couple dozen of medium shrimp and headed for a spot in Catfish Creek where Karen and I caught some drum a couple of weeks ago.

As luck would have it, the spot was open so I pulled in and set out three spinning rods with live shrimp on standard sliding sinker rigs.

The weather was beautiful this afternoon.  The air temperature was in the low 70s and there was no wind to speak of.   The weather report announced the possibility of some rain but we never experienced any.

I missed two fish within the first 20 minutes and finally landed a small spotted sea trout.  I put on a new shrimp and missed another couple of fish on both rods that I had out before finally landing a barely over size slot black drum that hit just as the sun was starting to go down.

The fish below was a hare over 24" long and put up a decent fight on the light tackle we were using.  Karen took a couple of pics before I released the fish.



As I was putting on a new shrimp,  Karen had another fish on that turned out to be a Black Drum.

I took a quick video of the action before landing the fish for her.  This fish was shorter than my drum but stockier.  After taking a couple of pics, Karen released the fish and we both continued fishing.

It took less than five minutes before Karen and I had another fish on.  I had mine almost in before the hook pulled out, so I picked up the sports cam and tried to take another video of Karen landing her fish but it came out much too dark to bother posting.

After she landed her fish and I took another pic, she released it and we both decided to head for home.

It was getting chilly and both Elmo and Odie were ready to leave.

I packed up the gear and drove around Catfish Creek Loop to see if anyone else had any luck.

On the way out of the refuge, we spotted nine other vehicles and almost everyone seemed to be catching fish.

With any kind of luck, Karen and I will get a chance to get out again tomorrow.

Till next time,  Tight Lines.