Almost Skunked!

Today' late afternoon trip, netted only one small redfish.

The air temperature was 75 degrees, and the water a bit cooler with balmy conditions.

There was a decent breeze on the water, and the overcast conditions should have made for a great fishing excursion. Unfortunately, no one bothered telling the fish.

My wife and I hit the river late this afternoon; just to get out of the house.

We fished the Indian River north of Peacock Pocket, near a "duck blind" that occasionally produces redfish and some larger trout.

I used gold and silver spoons, gulp shrimp and crabs, a DOA shrimp under a bobber, and several paddle tail lures only to miss two redfish.

When I finally switched to dead shrimp, I caught two catfish and a small trout that was just enough for me to say; I didn't get skunked.

My wife landed a small redfish right out of the box, with a dead shrimp for bait, and then managed to catch a puffer and catfish.

There were several dolphin trying to corral some dinner in the shallows bay where we were fishing, but they weren't pushing the fish far enough in to our location.

The rest of the time we were out on the river, neither of us caught another fish.

I guess that's why they call it fishing; not catching!

Here's a pic of the redfish just for the heck of it.

Tomorrow's another day!

Tight lines.

Early June Culvert Fishing On The Indian River

Early spring is the time to load up on Gator trout, as well as slot sized dinner fare.
These were caught using D.O.A. watermelon jerk baits, and D.O.A. jig heads, with 4" Gulp "Nuclear Chicken" jerk baits.

This slot sized trout fell for a black and silver Rapala floating diver.
You can jump fish these trout around likely looking culverts, that are used to control the water levels in the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge area.

The drives that boarder the Indian River, in the Wildlife Refuge, offer the opportunity for some fine wading ,or bank fishing when they are open for traffic.
High water levels, that cause flooding of the drives, and the launching of a space shuttle, cause closures of the drives for safety and security reasons.

There are times, when the powers that be, close the drives for no apparent reason except to piss off the local anglers.

I also enjoy taking pictures of the breathtaking scenery in and around the Wildlife Refuge. Some of the sunsets are here for your enjoyment.

The photograph below was taken north of Haulover Canal at a "secret" fishing spot my wife and I frequent.

The photo below was taken last week, around the Indian River, in an area where I occasionally pick up Snook or two.

Both pictures were taken using my Nikon Cool Pix 8700, 8X optical zoom that I picked up for a steal on an Ebay auction. The pics were taken without the need for a tripod at dusk.

There are times when life is just plain enjoyable; and being on the Indian River fishing, or taking pics. with my wife and wonder dog Elmo, makes all the rest of the BS that is going on in our country irrelevant.

The shuttle that was going up this morning didn't make it because of fueling problems, so I imagine that the Refuge area will be closed. When I get a report, it will be posted today or tomorrow at the latest.
Good Fishing And Tight Lines To You All!

Mid May Fishing On The Indian River

Hot weather this weekend, and work around the hacienda, prevented me from checking out the Mosquito Lagoon fishing.

So, late Saturday afternoon, my wife and I took Elmo for a ride down to the Merrit Island National Wildlife Preserve.

There were not as many people in the area fishing as I would have thought, and those that were enjoying the weather, didn't seem to be catching much.

Undaunted, I
Undaunted, I proceeded to jump fish the areas around Catfish Creek and the area around Peacock Pocket.

I was using a D.O.A. Terror Eye with nothing to show but a trout a little bit larger than the lure.

My wife and I chased several redfish and finally scored one on a dead shrimp that she was using under a "Billy Bay" Pop N Gurgle in shallow water.

I continued with the D.O.A. and several other
lures with little to show for my efforts other than the beginnings of a sun burn.

We finally hit a stretch alongside the Indian River that we call "Snook point", and for good reason.

Opposite the point in the adjacent canal, I finally started getting some good trout hits.





Fishing in about 2 feet of water with a Creme paddle tail swim bait, I picked up about nine trout in 20 casts. The fish were scrappers, but only two over the legal limit.



I grabbed my Nikon Cool Pix, and snapped a couple pics of the fish and some early Spoonbills for posterity.

We are expecting some rain this week which hopefully will raise the water level in the river a bit.

The flats fishing is still pretty great around this area but some rain should give it a bump.

Hope you all enjoy the scenery and until next week; tight lines to all.