Fishing Low Water In The Mud Flats

After a long 8 hour drive from Highlands, N.C. I had to take Odie out for a drive in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

I was beat but my loyal little dog insisted on a road trip so we packed up my rods and headed out to the nearest water which happened to be Gator Creek.

The weather today was in the 70s and there was only a slight breeze on the water.  A good day for submerged baits.

The water in Gator Creek was very low exposing several acres of mud which provided the waterfowl a smorgasbord of exposed crustaceans  

There were several groups of anglers fishing live baits from the shore and two guys wading near the entrance of Gator Creek fishing with fly rods.

As Odie and I drove around the unimproved road, I spotted a pod of baitfish breaking on the surface so I pulled over and started fishing with the rod tipped; with a Storm Wild Eye Swim Shad.  This is my "go to" bait for dirty water conditions that usually produces hits.

I was fishing the paddletail bait on 10 pound mono and started casting to the area where I spotted the baitfish.

I started pulling the plastic bait from the shallow mud flat onto the dropoff and after the third or fourth cast, hooked up with a nice redfish that looked like it was just over the slot.

The fish was solidly hooked, so I foolishly decided to record the fight with my cell phone.  Bad idea!!

Click on the pic to see the results of a portion of the fight is below.  

The red put up a great battle before finally pulling the hook at the bank.   I had the fish on for several minutes while I was trying to get a video but as it got to the bank, I almost dropped my cell phone and in the process of catching it managed to get my feet wet.

Undaunted, I went back to the truck with Odie, ditched my socks and continued fishing the area.

After several casts around the area, I got another solid hit from what I thought was a good red but after again trying to video the fight realized it was a large stingray.

This time the fish stayed on longer but managed to break off on the brush at the bank.  

Since this was the last paddletail bait I had with me, I decided to head home and dry off my wet feet.

All in all fishing the low water in the mud flats proved to be a good idea.  The bite was on and Odie had a nice ride.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Snook In The Mangroves

After my dentist appointment this afternoon, I finally got a chance to wet a line in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge>

I brought four rods tipped with plastic swim baits, a Chug Bug, and a Badonk-A-Donk topwater lure and headed to the nearest water which happens to be Gator Creek.

At 4:15 pm the air temperature was around 70 degrees and dropping. There was a good breeze over the water which made for a chilly outing.

There were plenty of fishermen on the banks dunking fingerling mullet, live and dead shrimp but nobody I spoke with had caught anything.

After fishing with Creme paddletail swimbaits at several spots with only one hit, I decided to drive around East Gator Creek to fish the mangroves along the opposite side of the creek.

I switched to the Badonk-A-Donk and started tossing the bait as close to the opposite side of the bank as possible without catching a limb.

I started tossing the bait around the mangroves and retrieving it as slowly as possible around several spots until, I got an immediate hit when the bait landed just underneath a mangrove.

The fish jumped completely out of the water and pulled drag for a second or two until it shook the bait.

I immediately recognized it as a snook of about 30 inches or so.

The bite was unexpected to say the least so I waited a few minutes before tossing the bait around the same area.

After about 15 minutes or so, I got around to fishing the same spot.  This time a fish  of about the same size hit the bait as it hit the water and again jumped completely out of the water.  

I had the snook on for two more jumps before it pulled off.

I waited a while before casting to the same area again but the fish was definitely spooked, so I moved on down the road to try another spot.

I had a boil under another mangrove bush but after making several more casts, never got another hookup.

As I was leaving East Gator Creek, I stopped to talk to another fishermen who said the fish were hitting but the weather was crazy.  Although he and his daughter were from Orlando, he said he fished this area for over 20 years.

I forgot his name but he told me that the bite for black drum, redfish, and snook bite was on fire.

The upcoming cold front should only improve the fishing on the muddy shallow flats along the area.

As I was leaving the refuge, I crossed the bridge and took a pic of the temperature inversion over Titusville.  The cold front is upon us.....

With any kind of luck I'll be able to get a few more days of fishing in before the new year.

Until next time,

Tight Lines and Merry Christmas 

A "ride" In The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

Despite the 90 degree plus temperatures this afternoon, my wife and I took Odie for a "ride" in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge along Bio Lab Road.

Odie had just undergone oral surgery and was pretty sore but he perked up a lot when we asked him if he wanted to go for a ride.

The air temperature was 93 degrees when we left the house around 2:30 pm which is undoubtedly the worst time to do any fishing, but I brought along a few rods "just in case" we came upon any tarpon.

Bio Lab Road was where I wanted to scout out to see if there were any tarpon in the area.  

The water in the lagoon was down and the water clarity was better than I expected.  You could easily see the dark splotches of grass among the bottom in the shallow flats along the road.  

There wasn't much baitfish activity on the flats and although we saw several fish hitting bait on the surface at the deep edge of the flats, I didn't bother to fish the area.

We drove to the southernmost section and pulled into an area we call "manatee bay"

and spotted several manatees in the area.

I started tossing a topwater plug along the mangroves hoping for a snook or tarpon and after several blind casts had a brief hookup with what looked like a juvenile tarpon.

The fish smashed the lure and almost immediately shook off.

Because of the heat, Karen wanted to head for home so we meandered out of Bio Lab Road towards Playalinda Beach and hit a couple of Vistas before leaving.

All three of the Vistas we stopped at were void of any fish.  I had expected to see some tarpon or ladyfish but nothing was hitting any of my baits.

I tossed a sub surface Mirr-O-Lure, Johnson Sprite gold spoon, and a Tsunami Paddletail bait for several casts at each spot with only one follow.

At this point, Odie was panting and my wife was getting very uncomfortable, so I decided to head for home.

Till next time

Tight Lines

Pocket Road Mini Slam

Finally got out this afternoon to wet a line in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge around Peacock Pocket Road.

It was around 3:00 pm when I pulled up to the barrier at the lower end of Peacocks Pocket and the air temperature was a cool 90 degrees.

I originally planned to fish Bio Lab Road at the southern end near Pelican Island but when I drove into Gator Creek Road, I decided to walk Pocket Road instead.

There is a lot of vegetation around the banks of the road making casting and landing a fish pretty tough.  Here are a few pics of the area to let you know how difficult the fishing can be.

I was using soft Creme paddletail baits, a Tsunami shrimp, and a small Chug Bug to cover the entire water column.

After tossing lures in several spots prior to parking at the barrier without any action, a walk up the road seemed like a good idea.   I figured I would get my walking in for the day and maybe catch a few decent fish.

My first cast around the culverts hooked me up with a dink rat redfish like the one below.  

The little fish hit the paddletail bait at the bank near the culvert and put up a short fight before I released it to grow up.  

There are a lot of oversize reds that cruise the shoreline along the road, but they are not usually active until dusk or at daybreak.  During the heat of the day I didn't expect to catch any lunkers.

I continued fishing up the road in several spots where I could cast the soft bait and managed to hook into a couple of dink sea trout like the one below.

I lost three more trout around the brush at the bank before hooking into this snook.

The fish hit the lure at the bank and put up a decent fight before I could land and release it.  The snook was in the 20 inch plus category which is unusual for this area.

As I walked down the road tossing baits into areas where I could without getting hung up, I managed to get several more hookups but the fish kept getting off in the heavy brush along the bank.

When I got a relatively clean area near a small pond where I used to catch some nice redfish before the road was closed, I hooked into another snook that I managed to land and release.  The fish wrapped around some submerged brush twice, but each time I gave it slack and it pulled off without breaking off.

This fish was a bit smaller but good sport to catch and release.  

I continued casting the area and lost another sea trout before hooking into a ladyfish that jumped all over the place before I could land and release it.

As the bite stopped I moved up the road to another secluded spot and hooked into another trout that broke off my lure in the brush.  This was my last paddletail bait so I decided to head back to the truck and head home.

With the heat and skinning up and down the bank to get a good casting spot to fish, I was pretty beat.  I had walked about two miles down Peacocks Pocket road and had not brought any water along to rehydrate, so heading back seemed a prudent option.

When I got back to the culvert at the barrier, I was soaked with sweat and light headed.

The air conditioner in the truck was definitely a live saver today.

All in all I had a productive day on the water.  I managed an inshore "mini slam" of redfish, sea trout, snook, and ladyfish, if you count them.

Not Bad....

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Sunset On The Mud Flats

It was almost sunset on the mud flats before I was able to get into the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and wet a line.

A "cold front" was expected to hit our area so I thought that it would be a good time to get out and catch up on my fishing.

Catfish Creek Road was the closest location and since I've been catching fish around some of the culverts in that area; I targeted the same locations.

My first casts around the mud flats picked up a hit and a miss, so I moved to the culvert I fished the other day and started getting solid hits.

I was using a Creme paddletail bait that is one of my "go to" lures for this area and casting tight to the grassy bank.

After several misses, I finally hooked, landed, and released a slot sea trout that nailed the bait in the culvert flow.

When things cooled down a bit, I picked up this rat redfish that inhaled the lure.

Several casts later, I hooked into a solid red that might have been his mother that hit the mangrove roots along the bank and broke off my favorite lure.

I tied on a Tsunami paddletail bait and started fan casting the area again.  

The sun was getting low and after getting some pics of the area, I landed and released a dink sea trout that nailed the lure.

There must have been a school in the area because I picked up two more fish before the bite died off.

I was about to leave the area and head home when I spotted some action around the grass, so I shot a couple casts to the area and picked up another rat redfish.

The sun was dipping to the horizon and after a few more fruitless casts, I decided to head home for some dinner.

On the way out I took these pics of the area.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Ladyfish Outing

After dealing with doctors all week, I finally got a chance to get out and wet a line in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. 

Because of thunderstorms in the area, my wife Karen didn't want me to leave the house, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to catch a tarpon or ladyfish in the "swamp".

I had planned to run Bio Lab road but the rains were upon me, so I headed for the closest body of water in the area which just happened to be East Gator Creek in the refuge.

They have been working on repairing Peacocks Pocket Road so the entrance of it and Catfish Creek Loop are blocked by heavy road grading equipment and literally tons of road gravel.

I entered the work entrance as the rain started and began casting a topwater bait around the area.  

I had several light hits before finally hooking up with a small ladyfish that was not much larger than the Chug Bug that I was using.

I hooked and lost two more fish on the same bait before the lightning started.

I like fishing before and after a thunderstorm but common sense prevailed and I decided to hit the car and head for home when the lighting got closer.

I was the only angler in the area during the time I was fishing in the refuge.

I took a few pics of the area before heading home to get some dinner.

Might get out tomorrow if I get a chance

Till next time, Tight Lines.
 

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.

Peacocks Pocket Road Update

Went to walk Peacocks Pocket Road this afternoon for some "jump fishing" but when I tried to drive into the easternmost entrance towards the small boat launch, I was greeted with signs and a dump truck driver who said it was closed to vehicle traffic.

He suggested I call the refuge managers to see when it would be reopened so when I got back to the house, I called the Merritt Island National Wildlife refuge to get the story.

The contact I originally spoke with didn't even know that Peacocks Pocket Road had been closed, so she asked me to hold while she could get some updated info.

After a brief hold, I was informed that the road was being worked on.  When I asked if it would be opened all the way to Catfish Creek Loop Road, I was told that they expected reconstruction to be completed in about 10 to 11 months.

I asked if this was realistic and was told that to the best of their knowledge, the information was correct.

I have a good number of readers asking me about the road so I decided to write this post.

There is a lot of good fishing and birdwatching along Peacocks Pocket Road, so I hope the timeline is adhered to.

Till next time,

Tight lines. 

Snook In The Culverts

Happy Thanksgiving...

After eating a great Thanksgiving meal, my wife suggested that we take the "boys" for a ride around the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

I readily agreed and loaded up some rods along with Elmo and Odie who were ready to go.

The temperature was in the low 80s and for a change the wind wasn't blowing so I expected a lot of anglers to be out and about.

We crossed the A. Max Brewer Bridge and I was disappointed to see that there was a barrier up at the entrance to Gator Creek.

As we drove past the entrance, I was surprised to see that there was no barrier to East Gator Creek road but since I was going at a good clip, we voted on checking out the area around Peacocks Pocket boat launch.

We entered Pocket road and as we got to the shallow water launch, only one car was parked in the area. 

The water was calm so I pulled out a rod to briefly toss a small Chug Bug around the area while Karen watched the dogs.

Nothing was happening on top or on the Jerkbait I switched over to, so we loaded up and took off to check out Bio Lab Road.

The water in the lagoon is still brown from algae but is clearing up in some areas.

We traveled down Bio Lab and spotted a couple of fishermen on the bank fishing for redfish with live mullet and another group of people just having a good time at a pullover.

As we got close to the road to Playalinda Beach, I noticed that a barrier to a turnoff was taken down so I drove along the southernmost part of the lagoon to a spot where I used to fish for sea trout and snook.

 

I parked the truck and let the dogs loose to do their thing while Karen and I started fishing.

The culvert was open and flushing plenty of water and baitfish into the backwater.

I tossed out a D.O.A. Jerkbait a short distance in front of the culvert where some small baitfish were scattering and immediately hooked up with a small snook.

 

The fish put up a good fight for it's size so after taking a brief pic I released the fish.

The snook in the culverts and the nearby area were obviously targeting baitfish coming through the culverts but they were spooky as hell.

I watched several large snook in the 30" plus category blasting baitfish on the surface, so I started tossing a BadonkADonk around where they were hitting.  

After many unfruitful casts, I switched over to an XPS Slim Dog that more resembled the baitfish in the area but still didn't get any hookups.

 

I finally switched over to a small Creme Spoiler Shad paddletail bait and started catching small snook again.  The problem was that they were too small.

 

 

Karen was using the Jerkbait and missed a fish and then started using the paddletail bait on the opposite side of the culverts.  Unfortunately, the bite died down and the fish finally quit hitting.

 

I managed to catch and release four small snook an missed at least three more before we finally decided to pack it in.

 

When two gators about 10 to 11 feet long showed up on the scene, Karen was concerned about Elmo and Odie safety so we loaded the rods into the back of the truck and headed home.

 

It was around 5:15 pm when we drove onto Playalinda Beach road and headed to the house.

Although we didn't catch any of the really big snook, we both had a good time fishing with our "boys".

Till next time,

Tight Lines.