Diving For Redfish

This evening proved to be one of the most interesting fishing excursions I've had the pleasure of experiencing in quite some time.

Even though my wife had a colonoscopy procedure early this morning, she wanted to take our wonder dog Elmo, to the "swamp" and get some late afternoon redfish fishing in.

She seemed to be fit enough, so we took off for one of our favorite spots at around 4:30.

The wind was settling down, and the water in the marsh canals had enough of a ripple to suggest the fish should be biting.

We stopped at several spots and caught some trout and catfish. I picked up some barely legal trout on D.O.A. white paddle tailed jigs, missed several on my chug bug topwater lure, and missed two over slot sized trout before moving on to our favorite spot.

Karen, used her tried and true dead shrimp, on a 5/0 Owner hook with 20 pound florocarbon leader.

I fished until I was about about 40 yards from where Karen was fishing, and just as the sun was setting, I heard my wife yelling. I thought she had a fish for me to dehook and soon noticed her predicament.

As she came down the road, it soon became obvious that she took a swim. She was wet from hair to toe, and looked like something the cat dragged in.

She caught a nice, heavy, over sized redfish that had put up quite a fight.

When she climbed down the bank to pull the fish out, the fish took off, and Karen took a head first dive into the canal, trying not to lose the fish.

Diving for redfish is something I do not recommend, especially in these waters. She was extremely lucky there were no gators in the area.

The redfish is pictured here, and was released after I cut the line and revived her. It measured 33 inches, and according to Karen, was worth the swim.

Needless to say, we packed up our rods and headed home before she got sick.

I wanted to take her picture for the blog, but she threatened my life if I took the picture. I decided that discretion is the better part of valor, and gave up on the picture.

Anyway, tomorrow we hope to duplicate the fishing, without the diving incident.

Till next time, tight lines!

Temporary NASA Closure To Indian River Fishing

Well, I'm glad to report that the fishing is still great on the northern Indian River area around Titusville and Mims, Florida.

The redfish are still schooling all over the place in the shallow flats, and the trout are always eager to slurp up properly presented baits.

The Shiloh Road, in the uppermost portion of the Indian River, is still closed to motor traffic, with the exception of motorcycles, bicycles and obviously, foot traffic. It's too bad because this is a very hot area for the 30 lb. plus redfish that cruise the shallows and the large gator trout that inhabit both sides of the road.

Peacock Pocket road was open until about 7:30 this evening when a NASA chopper politely told my wife and I to get the hell out of there.

Perhaps this is too strong, but we were hustled out of the area just about the time the fishing really gets good.

Friday evening, I fished the same area and picked up about 25 trout in a matter of about two hours time. I missed about half that amount again. They ranged from about 14" to 20" and I missed two trout that were definately in the gator trout category.

All were caught on 4" Chug Bug topwater lures and a white DOA paddletail jig. I've put up a couple of sample pics, just for the hell of it. Nothing to brag about but lots of fun to catch and release.

Sunday, my wife Karen, my wonder dog Elmo and yours truly, hit the same area but were run out just as the fishing was getting hot.

My wife wanted me to teach her how to fish a Chug Bug, and I obliged her as best I could. She gets frustrated, but is coming along quite well. She usually fishes with dead bait, but this time of the year, it doesn't produce as well as artificials.

She got a couple of hits and I picked up about 6 trout and missed another very large one just as the friendly NASA boys paid us a visit.

I forgot the shuttle was scheduled for a Tuesday evening launch, which is probably the reason for the closure.

They generally close it 2 days before, and 1 day after a shuttle launch. In any event, I'll be waiting eagerly for next weeks opening.

Till then; Tight Lines and good fishing to all!

Marsh Fishing

The weather this afternoon has been in the high 80s and the wind almost non existent in the North Indian River marsh areas.

The shuttle launch and space station rendezvous has the Shiloh Road area closed to the public.

For me that's too bad; I'm still after my elusive tarpon that simply hate my offerings!

My wife and I jump fished the other open areas and picked up some trout, and probably the smallest redfish I caught all year.

The trout I picked up were larger than the red, but who's measuring!

This outing wasn't memorable like our prior treks turned out to be, however the fish were biting on spoons, jerkbaits, and dead shrimp.

The weather late in the afternoons has been stormy for the most part and the fishing has generally been quite good. Today was no exception, but the fish could have been bigger.

Until next time, tight lines!

Indian River Marsh Redfish

An often overlooked fishing area in the Northern Indian River Lagoon system, is the marsh canals adjacent to the main body of the river.

These areas provide some great fishing, especially when the culverts are open and water is flowing.

The running water signals a "dinner bell" to redfish, trout, snook, and lately small tarpon that cruise the banks.

My wife and I call it "jump fishing", and it produces phenomenally at times.

Shiloh Road, and others in the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge, provide some great "jump" fishing opportunities that are often missed by landlocked anglers.

The pics here are poof that slot sized, and over sized redfish, occupy the marsh side of the roads, as well as the Indian River shallows.

This one was right at the slot limit, and was caught on a Johnson gold spoon at dusk. A slow retrieve got the most strikes with reds and trout.

Since it was so late, and I didn't feel like cleaning the fish for dinner, this one will live to fight another day!

The water level in the river is up due to rains these past few weeks, and the trout and redfish are still hitting artificials with gusto. Prior to catching this redfish, we caught several trout and of course a catfish or two to fill out the short trip.

I've got two weeks worth of vacation time to spend finding the fish, and will report on other areas soon.

Till then, tight lines!