You Gotta Love February Sea Trout Fishing

You gotta love February Sea Trout fishing in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. 

When I got home this past weekend, Karen and I took the dogs for a spin around Peacocks Pocket Road to see if anything was in the area.

It was just prior to the cold front and although the air temperature was dropping, it was a pleasant day for fishing in the salt marsh.

We loaded Elmo and Odie into the truck and as an afterthought I brought along a couple of spinning rods, just in case.

The grass along the road was mowed and although we saw several groups of bank fishermen trying their luck, the ones we spoke with didn't seem to be having much luck.

Almost everyone was using shrimp or cut baits, but catfish and rays seemed to be the only catch.

As we slowly drove along Peacocks Pocket Road, I spotted several large redfish cruising the marsh canals moving from pond to pond.  I tried a couple of casts with a topwater bait and had a follow up by one oversize red but other than that, I never had a bite.

The water was flat with little to no wind on the marsh side of the road and the water level was still quite high.  Perfect conditions for marauding sea trout in the shallows.

I spotted several large sea trout that were just within casting range, but I didn't bother trying to cast to them.  Instead, I made a mental note to try the area after the front moved past the area.

We spotted some early spoonbills wading in the area, and there were several people enjoying the waterfowl around the road as we drove to the boat launch.

As we drove past the Ferris wheel and other rides at the fair, it was evident that the cold front was already here.  The windows were down and it was downright chilly.

When we got to the house, I checked my emails and got this fishing report from a fishing buddy of mine who also travels a lot.

Craig and Mary sent me these pics of the fish they caught these past weeks in the Mosquito Lagoon during cold weather conditions.  As ;you can see, the sea trout are quality fish.

Jan. 16th. 

" I had a jerk bait and Mary had a Kietech. Her 2nd cast she hammers a 26” trout. 2^nd cast!

            

She stuck with the Kietech and caught a 24” trout and 23” red.

           

I caught a few small reds and trout but that’s it.   Just shakers."

Jan.31st.

"We go back to the same area. Mary had shown her 26” trout pictures off to a girlfriend of hers.

Maggie has her nephew down from Connecticut for the weekend so she rents a 2 seater kayak in mims and joins us for the day.

As Maggie and Cody were new to this stuff we picked up a couple dozen shrimp.

The weather was cooler than our previous trip.   Fish were very inactive.

I had Cody with me and got him hooked up with a nice slot Red.

We kept after it and I got a bite that knocked slack in my line but didn’t stick.

Meanwhile out on the point Mary and Maggie were drifting shrimp.

I hear Mary calling for the net.   We paddled over and she has a 8# 27 inch Gator Trout.

            

A short time later she hooks a second one but it bites off the 15# leader.

I had a nice outing paddling the canoe about but I sure didn’t catch any fish."

Feb. 6th.

"Fished the same place.  Again the temps are low. We take out time getting over to the coast so the temps can rise a bit.

            

We know it’s gonna rain in the afternoon. We get to the launch about 09:00 after picking up a couple dozen shrimp.

            

Were thinking the bait bite’s gonna be the deal. Again we fish our way in. Soaking some nice big shrimp under popping corks.

            

We go a couple hours without a bite.

            

We end up in one of our favorite spots that almost always produce. Nothing on Shrimp!

            

I’m getting squirley by this time so I start rigging up a second rod with a weedless swim bait.   I tie on a 5” Bitters swimmer in Phantom.  Then I added a 2^nd bait behind that on a whim.   A 4” Strike King caffiene shad in Pearl White.

 

Mary was laughing at me.  On the 2^nd cast in the spot where we were popping shrimp, BAM! 24” trout eats the trailer! Awesome!!!

            

I love it when a plan comes together. We fished another hour until the wind picked up and the rains came.

            

We got a couple more small trout on the shrimp and short Red on the Phantom.

            

It was a cold wet paddle back into the wind to get out. But after taking a beating the 2 previous trips I was happy to finally lad a keeper.

           

And you know the ball game on Sunday was pretty good too!"

I always appreciate information about the fishing conditions in our area, and will always withhold where the fish are caught unless requested otherwise.

Thanks Craig and Mary!

Hope to get out Sunday afternoon if the weather permits.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Gator Trout Are Hitting In The River

Right now if you get out early enough, the gator trout are hitting in the river for fishermen using anything resembling a finger mullet.

Although I haven't been able to get out as much as I planned, the reports I've received from some of my friends and a couple of guides, tell me that the sea trout fishing on the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon is outstanding.

Although May is one of the best times of the year to nail a gator sea trout, this year seems to be better than average.

The early topwater bite is generally over by 9:00 am for those using Chug Bugs, SkitterWalks, Zara Spooks and just about anything that looks like a finger mullet, but for live bait fishermen using finger mullet, pinfish, grunt or even cut baits, the fishing remains active almost all day.

My wife and I took our two "wonder dogs" for a ride around Peacocks Pocket road Saturday afternoon, but we didn't do much fishing.

The temperature was 91 degrees, the waterfowl were out in force as were the gators, but the wind made fishing with artificial baits a lot like work.

 

Both of the bank fishermen and wade fishermen we spoke with were catching mostly sea trout in the 20" plus category.

One guy who had a couple of rods out along the "duck blind" said he caught a nice 29" gator trout and a slot redfish.  This report was late in the afternoon after he had been fishing for a couple of hours.  He said both fish were caught on chunks of fresh mullet.

I made a quick trip around the "Pocket" when I got home from work late Friday evening and picked up a couple of small sea trout and two nice ladyfish on gold Johnson's Sprite spoons.

I was targeting redfish on Friday but only spotted two that were spooked by my misplaced casts.

The water in the Indian River is clear right now in most areas and the fish are spooky.

My friend Jason sent me some pics of his friend (left) with a nice 28 1/2" sea trout he caught on a live mullet along "Marsh Bay" on the Indian River this past Thursday.

Fish like these are being caught all over both lagoons right now.

All the pics below were of a trip he made last Wednesday.

All the fish below were caught along Peacocks Pocket Road on the river side with live and cut baits both bank fishing and from the Gheenoe.

 

 

 

 

These guys had six rods set out with cut baits and live finger mullet.  With the air temperature in the 90s, it seems like the way to go.

 


I planned on getting out today but had too many chores to catch up on but I will definitely be on the water bright and early next Saturday a.m. come hell or high water.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Sea Trout Fishing During A Thunderstorm

Sea Trout fishing during a thunderstorm is often extremely productive and this afternoon's trip was no exception.

My wife planned to go horseback riding, so I packed up four rods along with a cooler full of water and headed for the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge to do a little sea trout fishing.

When I left the house it had been raining steadily, but I decided to go fishing anyway hoping against the odds that the rain would let up in the "swamp".

As I crossed the bridge across the Indian River I knew that it wouldn't.

It was raining cats and dogs and the lightning was visible on the horizon.

I turned on to Peacocks Pocket road from the easternmost entrance and as I was driving past the kayak launch the rainstorm increased in strength.

There was no point in even trying to fish during a lightning storm, so for safety's sake I stayed in the truck until the lightning passed by.

 

As soon as it was possible to fish, I started blind casting into the Indian River hoping to pick up a sea trout or a redfish.

It pays to fish the fronts because it is almost always productive, but thunderstorms are a different proposition entirely.

After making several casts to likely looking spots I quickly realized that either there were no fish in the area or they just weren't in the mood for my baby bass Chug Bug top water bait.

It was still raining so I decided to fish the salt marsh canal on the other side of the road.

It took only a couple casts into the narrow canal to stir up some action.

I had a couple of misses on the Chug Bug from sea trout but they would not hold onto the plug.

I pulled out my little container of Pro-Cure super gel and smeared the sticky stuff all over the Chug Bug paying particular attention to the flashy trailer on the rear treble hook.

The second cast hooked me up to a chunky slot size sea trout that put up a great fight in the confines of the narrow canal.

Since my wife wasn't with me, I tried to take some pics of me and the fish while holding the camera awkwardly with my left hand.

I continued fishing the marsh canal and picked up a gator sea trout of about 28" at the entrance to a small pond.

The big fish blasted the Chug Bug and literally tried to inhale the bait.

I learned to give the fish slack when they hit a top water lure so they hook themselves and this fish did just that.

I fought the big trout carefully and finally found a spot to pull it up the bank.

After taking a couple of pics of the fish, I released it to fight another day.

As I was smearing some more Pro-Cure on the Chug Bug, I noticed two redfish tailing their way down the middle of the narrow marsh canal.

I cast well past their path and let the lure settle before twitching it. One of the reds swirled completely around and hit the plug as I twitched it but when I dropped my rod tip to let the redfish hook itself on the plug, the fish wasn't there.

I tried several more casts to the fish but they were spooked and showed no interest in my offering.

It was still raining so I got into the truck and drove several yards up the road to a new spot to continue fishing.

The canal was wider in this area and I started making long casts close to the opposite bank and working the Chug Bug back at an angle.

After a few casts and a followup, I hooked onto another big sea trout that was well over the slot.

This fish also put up a nice fight but I finally gilled it out of the water, took it's pic and released it.

As long as the rain was still coming down, I was catching fish.   And, as soon as the rainstorm subsided, the fishing slowed down and finally came to a halt.

Before the rain stopped entirely, I managed to land eight sea trout that were all in or over the slot.  (15" to 24")  Two of the fish were in what is commonly called the "gator trout" category.

The biggest was 29" and the next biggest was just at 27".
 

Sea trout fishing during a thunderstorm is not what I would recommend to everyone, but for me it was a fishing bonanza.

All during the time I was in the refuge I saw only two other vehicles and two other fishermen.

I had the entire area all to myself for the majority of the time I was fishing.

After all, how many people are crazy enough to go fishing during a thunderstorm?

As the sun was setting I was privileged to an awesome sunset.  I took a few pics for you to enjoy.

 

 

As I was driving out of the refuge, I passed Ashford, the young fisherman I met last weekend and his buddy who were also leaving the area.

When I asked him about the fishing, he said he caught a nice 24" redfish on a Chug Bug earlier in the day.

All in all I can accurately report that sea trout fishing during a thunderstorm can provide some great fishing if you can tolerate the rain and don't mind the no see ums and mosquitoes that brings them out.

Till next time, Tight Lines!

Ladyfish Schools Are All Over Gator Creek

Ladyfish schools are all over Gator Creek and many other areas in the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River, so this afternoon I decided to spend time having fun with these smaller versions of the tarpon family.

My wife didn't feel like fishing this evening so I packed one rod with a paddle tail bait and three others with various top water lures (STORM Rattlin' Chug Bug - 3.25" - Metalic Silver Black - Branded Topwater) and headed to East Gator Creek road.

Gator Creek last week proved to be a good fishing spot choice for top water plugs.

I caught, released and missed several very nice sea trout, one of which was in the gator trout category on top water baits, so I thought I would try to duplicate my success this afternoon.

As I pulled into Gator Creek, it was overcast and the wind was blowing enough to create a ripple on the water's surface.

The air temperature was 88 degrees and signs of thunderstorm activity was making me leery of fishing out in the open.

Although I didn't see any sign of fish I pulled off the dirt road and pitched a frog pattern Chug Bug into the weedy shallows near a submerged grassy island anyway.

The lure made it about three feet before a ladyfish smacked the bait into the air and jumped all over the place before shaking it off.

The next cast produced identical results.  I hooked a ladyfish on almost every cast for the next 45 minutes or so and landed only three of them which were quickly released.

I actually got tired of catching ladyfish so I moved up the road to where I lost a gator trout last week.

Ladyfish schools were all over Gator Creek and I just couldn't seem to get away from them.

Every time I made a decent cast into "trouty" areas, a ladyfish would screw me up and hit the Chug Bug.

After about an hour and a half of playing with the ladyfish schools the sky got very dark and it looked like the weather was about to get very nasty.

I was the only person in this area of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge so I decided to try one more spot on the way out of the area before heading for home.

At an area where four culverts feed the salt marsh from the Indian River, I spotted two nice redfish in the shallows chasing baitfish.

 

Not wanting to spook them, I changed rods and flipped a Berkley baby bass paddle tail bait close to where they were feeding.

I'd like to report that I hooked up with a red but I didn't.  The fish were after something other than what I was offering and after many unsuccessful casts with the paddle tail bait and another light patterned Chug Bug, I was ready to head for home.

As the wind was picking up, I took these pics of the sunset before leaving the large ladyfish schools in the area.

 

Hope you enjoy them.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Fishing The Marsh Canals In The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

Fishing the marsh canals in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge during a rainstorm can provide some great opportunities for gator sea trout and big redfish.

After driving in from onion city this afternoon I was eager to get out and fish the marsh canals in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.  

After last weeks successful initiation into artificial lure fishing, Karen was also ready to "hit the swamp" and try for another 29" redfish.

It was raining off and on but that didn't stop us from packing up a half dozen rods tipped with a variety of paddle tail swim baits and Elmo our "wonder dog".

Since I didn't get home until late this evening, we headed for a few spots that I knew probably held fish especially since it was raining.

There was little to no wind and the water had only a light ripple on the surface.  Perfect for artificial top water and  soft plastic baits.

Coming into the entrance I stopped at the fourth culvert and started flipping a redfish colored paddle tail bait.

On the first cast I had a good hit but jerked the bait out of the fish's mouth.

Several casts into the same area didn't yield any fish so we moved on to a small pond area that looked "fishy" but didn't give up a hit.

It was still raining pretty heavy and Karen stayed in the truck while I continued trying out likely looking spots.

At a small "honey hole" in the marsh canal, I  changed rods and pitched a natural black backed colored Creme paddle tail lure towards the bank.

The lure didn't go three feet before a nice sea trout hit the bait and started up the marsh canal.

I skinned down the bank  to get the fish away from the heavy brush and after a brief battle gilled the fish onto the bank.

The fish was about 28" and what I call a "near gator trout".

Karen took the picture to the left, before I released the fish to fight another day.

The rain slowed down and we moved off to another pond area to see if we could spot some more fish.

Karen suddenly got interested in fishing and started slowly bouncing her baits to likely looking spots as I did the same with another pattern down the road from her.

I saw two nice oversize reds chasing mullet in the shallows but they weren't taking my baits.

I tied on a fresh Creme swim bait in a different pattern with a loop knot to give it more action and picked up another sea trout a bit smaller but fatter than the first in a pond area down the road from where Karen was fishing.

I got her to take another pic and released the fish.

Karen had the tail of her lure bit off so I tied another lure on her rod with a loop knot so she could continue fishing.

We both saw some nice redfish busting finger mullet in the shallows but they were not interested in our offerings.

It was getting late and the mosquitoes were out in force so we moved on towards the last area for the day.

I cast to a couple of redfish that were cruising down the marsh canal but only picked up another small sea trout.

Karen lost a couple more lures in the shrubbery and I finally lost my lure on an over cast to the far bank.

I was tired from the long drive while Karen and Elmo were fed up with the mosquitoes, so we decided to "pack it in".

The sunset this evening was absolutely awesome and as luck would have it, the battery in my camera gave out after I took this pic of a rainbow next to the Space Center.

Evidently fishing the marsh canals in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge during a rainstorm has become a more popular pastime.

We saw several small groups of fishermen wading in the shallows of the Indian River and fishing from the banks on both sides of Peacocks Pocket road.

I saw one wade fisherman in an area we call "the duck blind" landing a slot redfish and another guy up the road from him picking up a fat sea trout both on the Indian River side of the road.


Fishing the marsh canals in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge can be extremely productive for redfish and sea trout during most of the year if you know how to do it.

Till next time, Tight Lines!

The April Gator Sea Trout Bite Is On

The April gator sea trout bite is on in the Indian River and the Mosquito Lagoon.

The mullet are in the lagoons and the big sea trout are eating them as fast as they can catch them on the flats.

My wife and I spent a windy Friday evening on the river but didn't catch much.

We saw a few fishermen in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge bank fishing and several fishermen wading in the shallow flats tossing silver spoons and jerkbaits with the wind at their backs.

Although I saw two waders catch nice sized sea trout on silver spoons, Karen and I didn't get a bite all afternoon.

This afternoon after I took care of some chores around the house, I decided to give it another try despite the windy conditions.

Karen didn't want to get beat to death by the wind again so she stayed home while I quickly packed three spinning rods into the truck.

I headed for the same place we fished Friday evening, but again the redfish were not in the area.

There were a lot of people bird watching but only a few fishermen in the area and I was really surprised that no one was wading the river.

The wind was not as bad as Friday, but it was enough to cause casting problems.

A cold front was moving in and the temperature was cooler than yesterday.  The fish didn't get really active until around 5:30 p.m. when the wind started to calm down.

Today I was tossing a Tsunami green paddle tail bait, a D.O.A. jerkbait, a Johnson gold spoon and a trout colored Zara Spook Jr. top water bait.

I missed a couple of very nice sized sea trout on the top water bait just before the wind died down.

One fish jumped completely out of the water and hit the plug on the way down.  I was so surprised that I missed the hookup.

The Johnson gold spoon gave me several follow ups and finally the 29" redfish seen in the pictures below.
 

I tried taking a video of the fish while I was landing it, but most of the video below had to be edited out because it was so shaky and out of focus.




This redfish was caught in very shallow water.  It hit my spoon on my first cast into the area and actually turned around to eat the lure.

I was taking videos of the fight with my Nikon in one hand and almost lost the redfish as I was trying to land it.  The fluorocarbon leader broke just as I pulled the fish onto the bank.

Fortunately the fish was tired out and didn't try to swim off as I reached down to "gill" it out of the water to take a couple of still pics.

I released the redfish to fight another day and on the way out of the preserve, picked up this nice 22" sea trout on Zara Spook Jr. top water bait.

I caught the fish on the Indian River side, around a bait pod.

It was getting late and I was getting hungry so I decided to take a few pics of the sunset and head back to the house.

I was almost all the way out of the refuge and was driving past a couple of culverts when I noticed a single bait fish jumping completely out of the water trying to evade a predator.

Not being one to pass up a possible gator trout, I backed up and quietly tossed out the green Tsunami paddle tail bait.

On the second cast, the lure didn't move a foot before this 27" almost gator trout hit the bait.

The fish was jumping all over the place and at first I thought I had hooked a Snook.

Finally I managed to tire the fish out enough to "gill" it onto the bank.

I was going to release it but it was bleeding, so I put it in the back of the truck for dinner.

For the past week, the number of large sea trout that are being caught in the 5 to 9 pound range should be evidence enough to prove that the April gator sea trout bite is on. 

I took these pics of the sunset before calling it a day.

All in all, it was another wonderful day on the Indian River.

Till next time, Tight Lines to you all.

Windy Evening On The Indian River Lagoon

Although it was a windy evening on the Indian River Lagoon and my wife and I weren't even sure that the wildlife refuge would be open we still decided to give it a try.

It was late afternoon before I got home from work and after packing a few rods, some lures and the cast net, it was after 7 o'clock before we got to a spot where I can usually pick up some bait.

This evening, there were lots of small ladyfish and a couple small finger mullet for the bait well.

Karen and I looked for signs of where the wildfires last week had caused the refuge to be closed and we quickly found areas on the east side of the road that were burned.

The wind made it difficult to spot signs of feeding redfish or sea trout, so we finally decided to try the last spot we fished and hoped for the best.

I dropped Karen off at her spot and I drove a few yards up the road to fish another area I hoped would be productive.

I tossed a green DOA jig head with gold and chartreuse jerkbait body on one rod and baited up my other rod with a 5" ladyfish for bait and didn't get a bite on either offering the entire evening.

Evidently I wasn't holding my mouth right.

Karen on the other hand yelled that she had a big trout on so I picked up my Nikon CoolPix and ran to help her out with her fish.

The gator trout was over 24" and inhaled the live ladyfish Karen was using for bait.

I took her picture and after I snipped off the hook, Karen released the fish unharmed.

It started raining again and after the wind died down the bite stopped dead.

The fish seemed to have lockjaw; nothing was hitting anything.

Since it was getting dark and the mosquitoes were eating me alive, we decided to call it an evening.

I didn't get a fishing report from any of my friends this week, but the fishing should still be good early in the mornings and late in the afternoons. At leas it was this evening for my wife.

Till next time, Tight Lines.