Tarpon, Manatees, and Mayans on Bio Lab Road

My wife and I decided to take Elmo and Odie for a ride along Bio Lab Road to see if the Tarpon I fished for yesterday were still in the same area.

Although today's trip was a scouting trip I brought along four spinning rods "just in case" anything was hitting.

Normally, I don't even bother wetting a line when air temps are in the 90s and the sun is directly overhead, but for tarpon, you can never be sure when they decide to eat.

We loaded the dogs into the truck and headed to the entrance of Bio Lab.

Along the way, we spotted a blue runner off the side of the road and a tortoise that decided on having a snack next to the highway.

When we drove into the road, I was surprised to see that the pump was still going full throttle moving water from the Mosquito Lagoon into the marsh on the other side of the road.

For a microsecond I thought about fishing but when I saw eight anglers lined up side by side tossing a variety of baits, I quickly changed my mind and continued down the road.

The scene was like opening day trout season on a Pennsylvania  trout stream.

As we drove down the road, I spotted some activity on the marsh side of the road which was enough to get me to try several lures.  At first I thought the fish were tarpon but it turned out to be ladyfish.

I missed one small lady on a soft paddle tail bait and after a few more casts decided to give it up.

We stopped a few times to fish the southern Mosquito Lagoon but I never got a hit on any of the baits I tossed to the fish.  The fish were targeting mullet but none of my lures could get a hit.

I talked Karen into trying an area close to Playalinda Beach road where some larger tarpon call home but she said that there would probably already be people there.

I drove in anyway and was surprised to find that nobody was around.

We let Elmo and Odie out to do their duty while I tossed a Creme paddletail bait around a shallow area where I spotted some juvenile tarpon.

After a few blind casts, I got a hit but missed the fish.  After several more missed I finally hooked and released this Mayan Cichlid.

The little fish put up a surprisingly good battle before giving up and I could have caught several more but I was worried about Odie around the water.  There are a couple of very large gators that could easily make him and Elmo an afternoon brunch.

As I walked back to the car, I spotted some Manatees having a good time in the shallows.  I took this short video before packing it in and calling it a day.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Bio Lab Road Fishing

Spent a few hours with Odie this afternoon fishing Bio Lab Road with topwater baits with little success..

Despite the cold weather that rolled into our area late yesterday afternoon, I decided to hit the flats again along Bio Lab road to see if anything was interested in getting caught.

We entered via the boat launch and stopped along the road in several areas to fish a Chug Bug and XPS Slim Dog hard bait.

The wind was not as strong as it was on Monday, but the air temperature was only in the high 50s.  

I stopped to talk to the only other fisherman I saw on the road who had caught an oversize sea trout and two oversize redfish on fresh dead shrimp.  He was using sliding sinker rigs on both of the rods he had out and said the bite had slumped off just before I drove up to talk with him.

I wished him luck and started blind casting the Slim Dog bait a few yards up the road from him on the other side of the road.

After what seemed like several hundred casts, I had only one hit so I got Odie and moved to another spot up the road close to the Whale Tail flats.

Along the lower flats I finally hooked up with a small sea trout that I released before moving down to where Karen and I spotted a bunch of sea Manatees yesterday.

When I pulled into the area, the first thing I noticed was that the sea Manatees were still in the area.

Evidently they staged in this area during colder weather.  

I started fishing the Chug Bug smeared up with some Pro-Cure on both sides of the culvert.  I tried fishing a normal retrieve, a very slow retrieve, a fast retrieve, and a stop and go retrieve with absolutely no hits.

It was around 5:35 pm when I called Odie to hit the truck and head out of the area before the 6:00 pm closing time.

The cold weather was obviously not helping any with my topwater fishing.  

As Odie and I left the area, I made a mental note to bring along some live or fresh dead shrimp the next time I planned to fish the area.

There were plenty of fish there, but they just weren't interested in topwater baits.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Haulover Canal Manatees

A windy day on the Mosquito Lagoon didn't make for much fun fishing. Coming back from the Lagoon we decided to check out the Haulover Canal area for some possible action.

Unfortunately, the current in the canal was moving pretty fast and my wife and I were not really prepared for that kind of fishing. It probably would have taken at least a 4 oz. sinker to hold bottom, and with the light spinning gear we brought, it was almost impossible to chuck a sinker out that far without busting the 10 lb. lines we were using.


My wife and I drove to the boat launch and were pleased to see at least 20 manatee munching on the sea grasses found there. The weather was cooling down and the manatee were congregating around the seawall and walkway next to the ramp.

Several were sporting prop wounds on their tails and one on it's back. Unfortunately not everyone heeds the slow motor, no wake zone in and around the canal. These were the lucky ones. Every year thoughtless boaters run across the backs of these gentle creatures.

Till next time, tight lines!

Slot Redfish - Fishing The Culverts

Fishing the culverts, especially when the water is flowing, is an excellent method of jump fishing for redfish, trout, and an occasional snook.

This slot redfish was caught on a Chartreuse/Blue Back  2" Creme Spoiler Shad  swimbait at an open culvert flowing into the northern Indian river lagoon near Titusville, Fl.

It was a beautiful day just to get out and enjoy the scenery.

Later in the day I tried fishing Haulover Canal and had some success with slot size sea trout.

The manatees were out feeding and playing in the basin at the Bairs Cove boat launch.

I saw two that were unlucky enough not to get out of the way of a boat's propeller.

It's a shame to see them with the scars on their backs.

Most of the fishermen I know in the area obey the slow motor zones and heed the manatee signs. Unfortunately, some either don't know or don't care about the manatee zones.

Every year I see and hear about manatees being run over by boaters that are ignorant to the zones.

This Florida Manatee Program link has tons of information on the Florida manatee that you might find interesting.

This link has HTML and .pdf maps to the no motor and manatee zones that will help you keep in compliance with the current regulations.

Till next time,

Tight Lines!