Culvert Fishing

Went to Gator Creek this afternoon with Odie to take advantage of some culvert fishing.

We left the house armed with three rods and a box of lures hoping to catch anything along the dirt roads in the reserve.

When we got to Gator Creek Road, I stopped at a spot where I usually catch fish in the shallows, especially when the culverts are open and the water is running.

I spotted a lot of action around the shallow grassy area adjacent to the road so I decided to toss a few lures to see what was biting.

Odie sat in the truck with the A/C going while I started tossing a Storm paddletail bait around the milling baitfish.  The lure was apparently way too small so I tied on a larger version and almost immediately started getting hits.

On the third or fourth cast with the 3" Creme paddletail bait. I briefly hooked a ladyfish that shook off the bait after the third jump.  

I continued casting into the grassy area and hooked a couple more ladyfish that I promptly relesed.

I let Odie out of the truck to do his duty and started casting a small topwater bait around the area with no success.  

It was around 5:00 pm and the fish should have been interested in the bait but today they were only interested in paddle tail baits.

I switched to another Creme paddle tail bait and after a few casts hooked into a small redfish that I quickly released.

Several casts later, I hooked into another red that I took a pic of before releasing.

The action around the open culvert continued for about a half  hour or so before I decided to try another spot.  Odie was in the truck and I didn't want to leave him alone too long.

We headed to East Gator Creek where I tossed around a Chug Bug and a Badonk-A-Donk top water bait.

I had a couple of hits on the Chug Bug but couldn't get a hookup, so I switched back to the smaller paddle tail baits.

I spooked a good redfish that I walked up on along the bank and after getting a brief bump on another fish decided to move on up the road.

The next spot I stopped at produced a couple of Mayan Cichlids that wanted to murder the paddle tail bait I was fishing with.   I kept getting good hits but I couldn't get a hookup.

Finally, a Mayan nailed the plastic bait enough to hook itself.  The fish put up a surprisingly goods fight for its size so I took its pic before releasing it.

After landing a second fish, I decided to get back home.  

Odie was getting antsy and I couldn't watch him while I was tossing lures.   Way too many gators in the area for him to get too close to the bank.

The tally for the short time I was on the water was 3 ladyfish, 2 redfish, and 2 Mayan Cichlids.

Not bad for an hour and a half of fishing.

Till next time,

Tight Lines. 

Early May Culvert Fishing On The Indian River

Late Friday evening, May 1st., my wife and I decided to try for a late April snook or gator trout in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Preserve.

The wind was up and the weather was great. Unfortunately, the fishing could have been a bit better.

My wife lost a nice sized redfish in the canal alongside the drive. Her drag was set to tight and the line broke off in the brush at roadside. I missed several trout and caught three that were under limit on a silver and black D.O.A. Terror Eye lure.

Saturday was also a nice day but the wind was gusting to at least 20 knots. I caught several nice trout, no gator trout, and missed a redfish. My wife caught a couple of catfish and again missed a nice redfish.

Trying to fish without getting a birds nest in the line every other cast or getting hung on the brush along side the road became a drain on my emotional stability. We started late and fished till dusk without any real success.

Sunday was a clone of Saturday's weather except the wind was gusting higher.

My wife and I decided to wait until late afternoon for the wind to die down before trying our luck.

Unfortunately, the wind never died down. I took pictures of a gang of wind sailing enthusiasts and some jet skiers that took advantage of the windy conditions.

The culverts were open and water was flowing throughout the north Indian River system so we decided to fish the open culverts. I caught several trout before stopping at a favorite hole. A swirl caught my eye and I suggested to my wife to tie on a dead shrimp and give it a shot despite the wind.

Almost immediately, she hung into a nice slot redfish that just about yanked the rod out of her hands. After a relatively long struggle, she landed and released a fat 26 inch redfish.

After stopping at another open culvert near dusk, she tried to duplicate her success without luck. I gave up on the dark colored D.O.A. and tied on a white Creme swim bait to see if my luck would change.

On the third cast, I hooked into an over sized redfish that bumped 30 inches. I was using 10# Cajun Red fishing line and had to run alongside the canal to keep up with the fishes run.


After about 15 minutes I finally managed to land the plump female.

After taking pictures of her, which I included here, I released her to continue her breeding.

May is an excellent month for both gator trout, and redfish, throughout East Central Florida.

Hope you enjoy the pics and till next time; tight lines!