Scouting Trip

Got back in town Friday evening and tried fishing the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge Saturday afternoon, but many areas were closed to vehicle traffic, apparently because of the road work upgrades.

Gator Creek, Catfish Creek Loop and the flats around East Gator Creek were blocked off to vehicle traffic because of road work.  Unfortunately, these are where some of the best fishing occurs for black drum, redfish, tarpon, sea trout and ladyfish.

The run down Bio Lab road along the southern end of Mosquito Lagoon didn't produce any fish either.

Many spots where I usually wet a line were already staked out by anglers dunking live and dead shrimp or cut baits.

After speaking with a couple of fishermen in the area, I was told that the catfish and stingrays were hitting just fine but nobody except one guy was catching black drum or reds.  He managed to hook a slot size drum on a piece of peeled shrimp.

I planned on fishing a spot at the southernmost portion of the lagoon across from Pelican Island for tarpon but that spot was also taken by a couple groups of anglers.

Angler etiquette required that I move on, which I did.

Moving on to the Vistas along Playalinda Beach road also proved futile.  

I stopped to fish three of the Vistas with paddletail swim baits, spoons, and even a topwater bait to no avail.  

Except for a small gator, nothing was eating.  Even through it was late in the afternoon, it seemed like the fish had lockjaw.

I took a lot of pics and moved on to Playalinda Beach to check out the surf fishing possibilities.

The lower lots were loaded with sun worshippers trying to do their best acquiring a case of Melanoma with not one person trying to fish the surf.

The incoming tide was almost at it's peak and there were several fishy looking spots at lot number 8 with diving birds in the surf but nobody was fishing.

I was going to toss a spoon around to see if I could pick up a blue or jack but I decided to come back when the area wasn't as crowded with beach goers.  

The best times to fish the surf with the air temps in the 90s is in the early morning and later on towards dusk and at night.

I drove up to Haulover to check out the fishing there and again found that most of the spots along the bank were already occupied with bait dunking anglers.  

The other areas were cordoned off from fishing until the palms that were planted begin to grow.  

Apparently the administrators of the refuge are culling out the Australian Pine trees that line the canal and replacing them with palms.

I personally prefer the Australian Pines even though they are an invasive species. They provide much more shade and look neater than the palms they planted to replace them, but that's just the way it is.

I stopped to talk with two groups and both said they were catching a lot of catfish but no drum or reds.  

One angler who was fishing directly across from the boat launch told me that he saw several tarpon in the 100 pound plus range rolling in the middle of the canal but were not hitting.

As I was leaving, I found a spot to park at the bridge so I pulled out a rod with a 4" Swimbait and started tossing it around the pilings.  I hoped to get a shot at a tarpon but nothing but pelicans were interested in my offering.  

I took several pics of the area before calling it a day and heading back towards Titusville to walk the A. Max Brewer bridge before heading home.

I'll probably get out during the week when there are not so many people on the water.  Might even take the kayak out if the weather permits.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Haulover Canal Tarpon

This morning seemed like a great day to hit Haulover Canal and try for some black drum.

I loaded my heavy surf rods into the back of my truck, stopped at the local bait shop to pick up a half dozen blue crabs for bait, and headed for Haulover.

When I got to the canal the bridge was down so I hit the northwest side and got a spot right at the bridge.

I cut a blue crab in half and put one piece on both of my heavy rigs.  

I was using a 10 foot Tournament surf rod with an Okuma baitrunner reel loaded with 60 pound Power Pro.  

The current was pretty strong so I rigged the 6/0 hook on 40 pound fluorocarbon leader with a 3 oz. sliding sinker to hold bottom.

The other rod is a Penn Fierce III spooled with 30 pound Cajun Red line and the same terminal tackle setup.

I tossed the baits out, set both rods on medium drag and sat down to enjoy the beautiful day.

I immediately spotted a Cormorant swimming under my rods to grab an oyster cracker for lunch.  As I caught him on video I also caught a couple of tarpon busting the surface just under the bridge.  Click on the pics to see a video.

There was a pod of about 7or 8 tarpon in the 80 to 100 pound range rolling on the surface in the area of the bridge for about an hour after I arrived.  

There were a ton of glass minnows in the canal, so I assume that they were chowing down on them.

I briefly thought about trying to hook up with one of them but there wasn't a chance in hell I could have landed one that size from the bank, especially were I was set up.

I continued watching the fishermen on the other side of the canal and a little blue heron that was catching glass minnows for his lunch as I waited for something to bite.

Finally, the baitrunner took off and I tightened up the line to set the hook on the fish.  As soon as I pulled back, I felt the weight of the fish briefly before the fish cut me off on the rocks.

I reeled in the barrel sinker without the hook and snelled on another 6/0 Owner hook.  I baited up with another half of a crab and tossed the bait almost across the canal.

The current was getting stronger than when I arrived and there was a lot of weeds in the canal that were causing problems holding bottom.  

After 5 minutes or so, you had to reel in, strip off the weeds and make another cast.

Finally, I got tired of catching weeds and moved to another spot near the middle of the canal, hoping that the weeds would not be as much of a problem.  Unfortunately, after an hour of removing weeds with only one bite that took my crab, I decided to call it a day and give it up.

I normally fish artificial baits but I do enjoy fishing the canal but when the weeds are this thick, it's too much like work.

I finally packed it in around 5:00 pm and let the tarpon have the canal to themselves.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Glass Bottom Kayaks

When I took Elmo and Odie for a ride this afternoon over to Haulover Canal, I met a guy who rents glass bottom kayaks for night trips. 

I met Josh when I drove to the end of the road where the kayak rentals usually take over the area, but today the weather was cool and he was the only outfit there.

I never saw a "glass bottom" (lexan) kayak before so I stopped to take a few pics and ask some questions.

He told me the kayaks are imported and go for over $1,000.00 each.  He said that they were great for viewing the bio luminescence in the lagoon waters at night.

I've seen the luminescence a couple of times when I went shrimping in Haulover and it is really magical.

I took a few pics of the kayaks and of a lone boater fishing the deep hole at the west entrance to Haulover.  The fishermen were using cut crab for bait and had not caught any fish, that he told me about.

Anyway, I stopped to let Elmo and Odie out for a while while I flipped a plastic DOA shrimp around the bank.   The current was pretty strong and after about 20 casts or so, I decided to load up the "boys" and head back.

I talked to several fishermen who had their spots along the canal and only one reported catching and releasing an oversize redfish.

He said he would text me a pic, but I never got it.

Most of the guys along the bank were using shrimp and cut mullet for bait and everyone I spoke with complained about getting caught on the coquina and losing their rigs.

I've learned how to avoid that problem.  You put on a heavy sinker to hold bottom in the current and when you get a hookup or want to check your bait, reel like hell to keep the weight above the rocks.

I might head out there Thursday or Friday and kill a couple of crabs.

Who knows??

Till next time,

Tight Lines

Haulover Misses

Went down to Haulover Canal to fish for some of the bull redfish that are in there right now and wound up breaking my favorite spinning outfit on the rocks.

I managed to slip on a step down coquina outcropping and it was either break a bone or the rod.

 Needless to say, I'm too old to suffer any broken bones so the rod suffered.

Fortunately, I just got the email link below about Bass Pro Shops Annual Clearance Sale with Up to 70% off and free shipping over $50.

The sale already started 12/26/2019 and ends 1/8/2020.

I picked up another graphite spinning rod and a Penn Fierce II baitrunner outfit which should be here before I have to get back to work in Mobile, Al next week.

I fished the canal for about an hour and a half with a smaller outfit that was spooled with 10 pound Cajun Red and had two hits on sections of live blue crab.

The first fish broke off on the coquina rocks after about  a minute or so, and the second fish took off up the canal towards the bridge pilings and also got off.

I usually spool up with 30 to 65 pound Power Pro to handle the bruisers, but I left those rods at the house.

It was chilly on the water today so after losing the second fish I decided to head for the house and try again tomorrow with some heavier tackle.

Till next time,
Tight Lines and have a Happy New Year...........

Fishing Playalinda Beach

Since the conditions today were supposed to be optimal for surf fishing, I decided to try fishing Playalinda Beach where I  scouted some areas yesterday with my wife and the "boys".

I headed out around 9:30 am to hit the falling tide with a trio of surf rods, a cooler, and my newly purchased sand flea rake.

I stopped at Mosquito Lagoon Bait and Tackle to pick up a bag of "fresh dead" shrimp in case the sand flea rake didn't pan out and headed out to lot #10.

There were a few cars parked at the lower numbered lots but only one at #10.

As I walked the ramp to the beach, I reminded myself to pay attention to the rips in the area.

These are great to fish but not so much fun if you get caught up in one.

I know because it happened to me once at lot #8.

Anyway, when I got to the lookout at the top of the walkway, I took a bit of time to read the waves and decide where to fish.

A man and his son was catch fishing north of the walkway, so I decided to fish south of him where I spotted a decent looking area yesterday.

I picked a spot where the Sanderlings were picking around in the surf and where there were a lot of shells.  It looked like a rip area so got out the rake and started searching for sand fleas.

Although they were smaller than I'd like, it didn't take long to get some for bait.

I rigged a double hook rig with 3/0 Eagle Claw circle hooks and finished it off with a 3 oz sinker at the bottom.

I was using a Penn Fierce 8' surf combo I picked up on sale at Bass Pro to fish the closest trough and an Okuma Coranado bait runner reel on an Ande Tournament 11' 0" rod for the outer troughs.

It took several casts to locate where the fish were but I finally started to catch fish on the sand fleas.

I caught 5 pompano that were all undersized, one really small black drum, and several nice size whiting that I took home for dinner.

When the bite slowed down around 1:30 pm, I decided to pack up and head to Haulover Canal.

On the way to the truck, a game warden on a four wheeler pulled up and asked me about my catch.  I told him what I caught and that I didn't need a fishing license due to my age.  I offered to get my wallet from the truck to prove my age and thanked him for the complement when he said I didn't look it.

When I got to Haulover Canal, it took a while to get a parking spot.  There were fishermen lining both sides of the canal and most were catching fish.

I hooked a large fresh dead shrimp on my other Okuma rig and sent it to the middle of the canal.

It didn't take long before I caught a small stingray which I quickly released.

I had two more bites which I missed and finally hooked into a large redfish.  The fish made three really long runs and got tangled with another line before breaking off on the rocks, at least so I thought.

A minute later, the fisherman next to me, Vlados, started hand lining the fish I had on my line that had just broken off.  I walked over to help him and his friend  bring the fish in and after a few minutes we had it right at the bank.

The redfish was well over 40 inches long and had a couple more fishing lines tangled up with it.

As it got close to the bank and I was pulling out my camera to take a video, the fish broke off.

I was going to continue fishing but I had enough of the close quarters for one day, so I packed up my gear and headed for the house.

On the way home, I decided to give East Gator Creek a try.  It was getting close to dark and the mosquitoes were viscous as usual, but I just had to give it a try.  The full moon makes fish do crazy things, especially in the refuge.

I pulled into an area where I caught a few tarpon earlier in the year and started casting an XPS Slim Dog topwater bait that I smeared up with some Pro-Cure gel.

It took two casts before an under size sea trout nailed the bait.  I released the fish and continued fishing.

Two or three casts later, I hooked into another larger sea trout that got off when it got tangled in the sea grass.

I wanted to fish a small pond on the way to Catfish Creek Loop before it got dark so I drove up the road to that area.

The first cast hooked me up with a small "rat" redfish that I thought was a large sea trout.

The fish put up a respectable run for it's size before giving up the fight.  I took a quick pic and released the red to grow into a bull some day.

The skeets were killing me and I was getting weak from loss of blood and nourishment, so I headed back to the house

.

Took a couple of pics on the way of of the sunset.

Tight Lines.

Haulover Canal Doldrums

Haulover Canal fishing is usually good to excellent this time of the year, so I decided to drive over and see if anybody was catching and just not fishing.

I considered bringing Elmo and Odie along for the ride, but I decided against it at the last minute if I decided to hit Playalinda Beach instead.

I stopped at the bait shop and after getting the skinny on the fishing conditions, I decided to hit the beach first to see if the surf fishing was any good.

After picking up a bag each of frozen sand fleas, shrimp, and finger mullet, the beach was my first stop.

It was late in the afternoon and more traffic was coming out than in.  When I finally got to the toll both, I asked about the tide and Pompano fishing.

The attendant said that the fishing for Pompano was great the last two weeks but today the bite stopped at about 10:30am.  High tide was at about the same time so I decided not to fish the beach at all and turned around and fish Haulover Canal instead.

I drove into Bairs Cove boat launch road and parked at the first open spot, which just happened to be at the bridge.

Several people were fishing around the area, but nobody seemed to be catching any fish.   The water in the canal was dead calm with no visible current, and there were several boats fishing the pilings under and around the bridge.

I pitched out a river rod with an Okuma bait runner reel loaded with 30 pound PowerPro line and a sliding sinker rig as terminal tackle.  I baited up with a quarter of a blue crab and sat down to wait.

A "fantasy yacht " silently cruised through the canal along with several smaller boats, but not one person fishing in my sight caught any fish during the time I stayed at the spot.

After losing and having to re-tie three rigs to the Coquina outcroppings, I decided to call it a day for that spot..

I drove towards the boat launch and pulled into a spot that was away from any possible boat trailer traffic.

I always carry a topwater rod with my favorite Chug Bug bait, and since the sun was slowly going down, I thought I might pick up some topwater action with speckled sea trout.

I walked down to a cove and after fan casting the Chug Bug a dozen or more times, I was rewarded with a nice sea trout that looked like it was just under the slot.

I released the fish and after a few more casts picked up a couple more before moving on to another area.  All the fish were just under the slot, but at least I didn't get skunked.

I drove towards the "Boy Scout" encampment to make my last stop and pulled into a spot at the point.

The Chug Bug was ready so I started fan casting from the shallow point out into deeper water.

It took only a few casts before a small sea trout nailed the bait.  I released the fish and continued casting the area.  Several casts later, I caught another small trout that was a clone to the first.

 

 I heard a school of Black Drum "drumming" along the deeper channel but I didn't feel like dunking a bait for them.  Instead, I continued fishing the top water bait to see if I could pick up a winter gator trout.

I probably should have dropped a shrimp into the area, because I never got another fish before the sun finally set.

As the gnats started eating me alive, I loaded up my rod and headed to the house for some dinner.

Hopefully I'll be able to hit the beach tomorrow and pick up a couple of Pomps for dinner.

Till next time,
Tight Lines.

Bio Lab Road Boat Ramp

Sunday afternoon was the first chance I got to get out of the house and check out the fishing in our area.

My wife wanted to take Elmo and Odie for a ride, so we decided to see if Peacocks Pocket Road was open for vehicle traffic.  It was supposed to reopen on the 15th, but I had my doubts.

Karen didn't want to fish but I packed a rod with a DOA Baitbuster along anyway, just in case.

As we drove around East Gator Creek road, we were surprised at how low the water levels were in the marsh.  The water was down at least a couple of feet since the last time I made the circle, which was about three weeks ago.

There was a rocket launch early Sunday morning, which was probably why the area was full of people.  The fair was also closing down on Sunday, which also brought in a lot of people; plus the weather was beautiful.

We drove to the entrance to Peacocks Pocket and saw that the barrier was still in place.  The reason given for the closure was unsafe road conditions caused by the last hurricane.

You would think they could have repaired the road by now, but after calling the Refuge people, I discovered they apparently did not have the funds to repair the road.  At least that's what I was told.

We drove around Catfish Creek Loop and watched a bank fisherman land an under slot redfish before moving on.   I was going to take a pic of the fish, but there was traffic behind us so we moved on.

We saw several more bank fishermen dunking shrimp, but didn't notice anybody else catching anything.

As we left the refuge, we decided to check out Bio Lab road to see if they had finished the shallow water boat launch.

There were signs up warning that the Haulover Canal bridge was closed, so as we headed to Bio Lab road, we decided to check out Haulover afterwards.

The boat ramp at Bio Lab road was finished and there was a brand new dock to boot.

I took several pics of the ramp and the general area before heading out to Haulover.  The results are in the short video above.

We drove into Bairs Cove boat ramp where several people were fishing and a bunch of people in kayaks were having  great time.

I talked with one couple who was fishing with shrimp along the sea wall who said he caught a few sea trout on live shrimp under a DOA float.   He showed me a pic of the fish that he took on his cell phone which looked to be well over the slot.

He said there were a ton of Manatees in the Cove which they had been watching all afternoon.

While Karen and I were there, we didn't see any but they are almost always in the area.

On the way out of the boat launch I stopped to take a pic of the bridge.  I couldn't tell what they were working on but they had scaffolds all over the place, which means that the road was probably going to be closed for a while.

It was getting late, so we decided to head for the house and get something for dinner.

Now that they have the boat ramp in at Bio Lab road, I'll probably start taking out my Maverick flats boat.

It seems that every fishing area in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge has been closed, or is being closed to vehicle traffic for some reason or another.

Since I have been living in the Titusville, Fl. area, they closed Shiloh Road, Long Pond Road,  the access roads to Granny's Cove, Pumphouse Road, the Southeast road along Haulover Canal, the dirt road along Pelican Island, and now possibly Peacocks Pocket Road.

All I want to know is what are they doing with the money.

They obviously are not "fixing" the roads and year after year, the bank fishing opportunities we once enjoyed have disappeared.

Tight Lines, if you can find a place to wet them!

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 Closure

The Peacocks Pocket road closure was a total surprise for me this past weekend.

When I got back to town, the first thing Karen and I did was to take our two "best friends" for a scouting trip to see how the locals were doing with the redfish and sea trout.

When we got to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and saw that the barriers were up, I was not a happy camper.  We drove down towards Peacocks Pocket kayak launch hoping that the gate was open, but it too was chained and closed.

Since the weather was great, we decided to see if any of the other areas in the refuge were open to fishing and vehicle traffic.  We drove towards L Pond Road and as usual it too was chained, so we took a ride towards Haulover Canal and managed to check out most of the unimproved roads leading to the Indian River around Dummit Cove.

We found a couple of people fishing at the Boy Scout camping area but they weren't having any luck.

I pretty much resigned myself to a fishless afternoon, so Karen and I decided to head over to Bairs Cove boat launch.

When we got there, we were happy to see that a large group of sea manatees were in the cove playing around.  I stopped the truck and took a video of their antics before moving on to check out some other potential fishing areas.

We crossed Haulover Canal bridge and checked out the fishermen who were bank fishing on the side opposite the boat launch.  The three guys I spoke with were catching sting rays, catfish, and one had a redfish on which he lost at the bank.

I wished them all good luck and headed towards Patillo Creek and Shiloh Road to see if anybody was fishing that area.

We only saw three fishermen fishing and wading the flats south of the deeper canal and I didn't bother them to find out if they were fishing or catching.  Instead, we let the dogs out to do their "duty" while I cast a topwater XPS walk the dog bait to see if I could stir up a sea trout or two.

After thirty casts or so, I resigned myself to the fact that I wasn't going to catch any fish this afternoon.

We drove up to Shiloh Road where again, another barrier was blocking vehicle traffic.

I took several pictures of the areas we scouted out and headed to the hacienda for dinner.

When I got home, I called the Fish and Wildlife people to see why the roads were blocked off to vehicle traffic.

The third lady I spoke with told me that Peacocks Pocket Road would be closed until May 15th. because of road repairs.   She said it could be opened earlier but that it was doubtful.

I asked her about the possibility of Shiloh Road and L. Pond Road being opened, and was told that both roads were closed indefinitely.  The funding was not available to repair the unimproved roads and is not likely to be available anytime in the near future.

She told me that both roads could be fished by hiking or biking, but vehicles were prohibited.

I politely thanked her for the information and hung up wondering what is being done with the revenues from our license fees.  With the national debt heading towards 20 trillion dollars and government waste in the billions, I wonder why nobody in our government can't scrape up enough money to fix a couple of great fishing access roads.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Haulover Canal Summertime Reds

During the hot summer months, Haulover Canal is your best bet for really big Bull Redfish.

Cayden Bly's caught this big redfish on a shrimp outside of Bairs Cove boat launch.  The big grin on his face indicates that he will probably be fishing the area again.

The "Dog Days" of August are coming up and like the past month or so, the best times for catching are in the early morning hours till about 8:00 am and then again at dusk.

The exception is the deep waters of Haulover Canal where big Redfish, Tarpon, Snook, Black Drum, Mangrove Snapper and Grouper can be caught at almost any time of the day or night.

The video below captures the action and joy of catching, not just fishing.


I might just head out there tomorrow.

Till next time,
Tight Lines.

More Late Afternoon Thunderstorms On The Indian River

There were more late afternoon thunderstorms on the Indian River today but it didn't stop me from trying out my luck in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

My wife Karen wanted to get a couple of subs and take Elmo and Odie for a ride around the "swamp", so I packed up some rods (just in case) and headed to Subway.

We decided to check out Haulover Canal and eat our meal under the relative coolness of the pines that line the waterway.

When we got to Haulover Canal, it was still closed for repairs so we found a spot to park near the bridge to eat lunch.

Elmo and Odie were enjoying the opportunity to scout out a new territory while I was casting a Gold Johnson's Sprite into the waterway.

There was virtually no current in the canal today and little boat traffic, however, there were several boats anchored at the mouth of the Mosquito Lagoon side of the canal fishing for the black drum and bull redfish that congregate there.

I didn't get any hits so I ate my lunch and headed home via the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

We entered Peacocks Pocket road to drive past the kayak launch and take a quick tour of the nine mile stretch of unimproved road.

The grass was still chest high in most areas and the fishermen we did see weren't catching anything.

The temperature was in the high 80s and there was a slight wind over the water which made "catching" difficult.  The fish just don't bite well during these conditions.

As we headed home, Karen said she was interested in going out later on in the afternoon.

As late afternoon arrived, we had more late afternoon thunderstorms on the Indian River and over Titusville, so Karen decided to stay home and work on her latest stained glass project.

Despite the thunder and lightning, I decided to give it a shot.

I packed some water bottles and five rods into the truck and headed out to Peacocks Pocket road again to see if the fishing was any better than earlier.

It was around 6:30 pm and raining hard when I got to the culverts at East Gator Creek Road and Peacocks Pocket road but there were fish dimpling the surface, so I stopped and started casting a baby bass pattern Chug Bug and a gold Johnson's Sprite.

The second cast with the gold spoon produced this small barely legal sea trout which I promptly

released.

Several casts later, I switched to a silver spoon which produced a small ladyfish.

I moved to the first pond and wasted my time trying to catch a redfish that was busting bait along the bank.

Since it was late, I decided to slowly drive the muddy road and see if I could spot some reds or sea trout.

It was raining steady, lighting, and the wind was blowing as I meandered the road and I didn't spot any fish so I slowly pulled up to a large pond where I caught the gator trout that didn't get away a couple of weeks ago.

At first I didn't get any hits but as the rain let up I hooked a slot size sea trout in the marsh canal which I quickly released.

As it got more calm, the fish started getting more active.  I spotted at least a dozen feeding redfish in one pond and a few of them were feeding in such earnest that half their bodies were completely out of the water as they were foraging.

I don't know what they were eating but they refused my Chug Bug, jerk bait and spoon offerings.

I caught and released several small ladyfish on a silver spoon which I probably could have used for bait before moving on.

As I drove to my next spot, I spotted a cruiser on the river that had apparently run aground in the shallows during the storm.  

I sympathized with the captain, I've done it myself in Savannah, Ga.

  

At the next pond I stopped to fish, there was more redfish activity similar to what I saw in the previous pond.

The redfish were eagerly feeding on something in the shallow grassy areas and in several cases, their tails were coming half way out of the water as they were foraging..

Like the other ponds, the reds were not in the mood for artificial baits.  I do believe that a live shrimp strategically plopped near a feeding red would have made the difference.

As it was getting closer to dusk, I finally hooked up with a redfish that surprised me at the bank and promptly disgorged my gold spoon.

The insects were not bad until the wind died down but then they came out in hordes to suck my blood, so I decided to call it a day.

Here are some pics of the awesome sunset.

 

Till next time, Tight Lines.