Fishing Early And Late For Sea Trout

Fishing early and late for sea trout this time of year is the norm around central Florida's Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River.

My wife had a bad case of cabin fever so when I got home from work this evening, I quickly unpacked the truck, loaded up several rods and headed for Peacocks Pocket for some trout fishing.

Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River fishing during August can be frustrating. Late afternoon thunder showers can sometimes perk up the fishing and today was one of those days.

When my wife and I drove into Peacocks Pocket road it looked like it had already rained.

The temperature was in the mid 80s, it was slightly overcast and there was very little wind on the river.  The salt marsh was was like a mirror in most areas with only a hint of a wind.

Before we got to the first set of double culverts, I pulled over to the side of the road and decided to try a spot I usually pass by.

The water levels were up in the salt marsh and the area I decided to start fishing was usually dry.

I pulled out a Chug Bug and started blind casting the area while my wife sat in the car with Elmo.

After a few casts and a couple of follow ups, I finally hooked a small sea trout that blasted the top water plug.

I took a picture of the fish before releasing it.

Karen got interested in fishing  when she saw me catch the trout so she pulled out her rod and started fishing.

I missed a couple more small trout and two ladyfish in the area before we decided to move up the road and check some other spots.

The next area we fished was totally flat.  The water looked like glass.

I didn't expect to catch anything but  after a couple of casts I saw a fish follow the bait.

I continued casting the Chug Bug to the same area but slowed down the retrieve a bit.  After the second cast I hooked and missed another sea trout in the 15" category.

Karen, pitched out a shrimp under a Cajun Thunder float on one rod and started fishing another rod that had a Fire Tiger paddletail bait tied on it.

I slowly fished the banks down the road while Karen went the other direction.

I hooked and missed about six ladyfish before I finally landed a small one.

Karen, yelled at me that she also hooked into a sea trout.

She got the fish to the bank and lost it as she tried to horse it up the grassy bank.

That area produced three more sea trout and another small ladyfish before we moved on.

There were clouds of dragonflies happily eating insects all over the area and the mosquitoes were starting to come out of hiding.

It was getting late and the bite was slowing down so we moved into what was to be the last fishing spot of the evening.

As we got to the spot, Karen spotted a couple of nice wakes which were obviously redfish.

Karen again flipped out a shrimp and started fishing the soft plastic bait with her other rod.

I started blind casting into the shallows and had a couple of short strikes but never hooked another fish.

Karen continued casting the paddletail bait and eventually picked up another sea trout that hit right at the bank.

There was absolutely no one in the area this evening. 

We had the entire refuge to ourselves but the "no see ums" and mosquitoes were killing us.

Karen was also getting bitten and Elmo started whimpering, so we decided to call it a day and head for home.

I took this shot of the sunset on the way out.

Hope you enjoy them,

Tight Lines.

The Sea Trout Are Still Hitting Topwater Lures

The sea trout are still hitting topwater lures in the marsh canals early in the morning and later on towards dusk.

Because of the thunderstorm activity in the area my wife again didn't want to go fishing with me, so I packed up three rods and headed out to the "swamp" to see if I could duplicate yesterday's success with the sea trout.

It was about 6:00 pm when I left the house and the temperature was in the low 80s.  A mild breeze was blowing across the Indian river and it was starting to drizzle.

I missed the heavy thunderstorm activity and I thought the fishing would be slow but my first stop produced a nice slot size sea trout on my third cast, with my newly purchased Chug Bug.

I snapped a pic of the fish that measured in at 19" before releasing it.

Several casts later produced a nice ladyfish that jumped all over the place before shaking off the lure.

Since it was overcast and late in the afternoon, I decided to fish "pelican cove" where I lost my Chug Bug to a big sea trout yesterday evening.

The wind was picking up just enough to create a slight ripple on the water.  For me this is the best scenario for topwater lures.

I started fan casting between two grassy islands and promptly hooked up with another nice sea trout.

The fish blasted the Chug Bug just as I was "chugging" it from the shallow flats into deeper water.

I took a pic and put the fish back into the canal.

I walked up the road a piece and started casting to the edge of the grass in the shallows.

About the third or fourth cast I hooked into a huge sea trout that made the gator trout I missed yesterday look small.

The fish blasted my Chug Bug and started running up the canal acting just like a redfish.

I followed the fish as best I could and finally maneuvered the big trout close to the bank after it's second long run.  The fish had to be 30" long.  Anyway, as I tried to shimmy down the bank to lip the big sea trout, the fish made a last ditch effort as it was swimming under some brush and pulled free of the Chug Bug.

I couldn't believe it!  Two trophy sized sea trout in two days and I lost both of them.

I was going to move to another spot after all the commotion the fish made but I decided to stay and keep trying for another shot at the trout.

It took several casts to hook up with another trout but I eventually did hook and land three more sea trout from the same pond.

While I was fishing a couple of guys who passed me earlier stopped to ask how I was doing.

Steve and Chuck were in an SUV that I see in the area on a semi regular basis, so I shot the breeze with them a bit.

They had been fishing on the Indian River side, but didn't do well today because of all the sea grass that was being blown in towards shore.  I showed them the Chug Bug I was using and told them about the trophy sea trout that I missed earlier.

As they were leaving the refuge, I mentioned this web site and took the pic below to post.

As they were rounding the curve I caught the last sea trout of the afternoon.

This was the only fish of the day that didn't make the slot but it was still fun to catch.

Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River fishing from the bank is alway an "iffy" proposition but as long as the sea trout are still hitting topwater lures, I'll keep coming back.

I love when a sea trout or a redfish explodes on a Chug Bug or Skitter Walk topwater bait.

The mosquitoes and gnats were starting to get to me and the sun was setting so I decided to call it a day.

The total tally for today was six sea trout and one ladyfish landed, and one trophy sea trout lost.

Not a bad couple hours of fishing if I do say so myself.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Mosquito Lagoon And Indian River Fishing

The Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River fishing has been great so far this month for sea trout, redfish and medium to large schools of black drum.

I took off late this afternoon to score some trout in the Indian River and wasn't disappointed.

The late start was intentional since I have found that the trout bite better later in the afternoon and just before dusk.

Today's trip was a clone of yesterday afternoon's fishing trip. The water had a slight ripple and the wind had a chill to it that was not quite as bad as yesterday.

The trout in the marsh canal were biting but they were sluggish and would not take a lure unless it was fished very slow.

In about an hour and a half, I managed to catch only three trout that were keepers.

I had several taps and half hearted hits that I believe were from smaller trout and I missed one slot sized redfish.

The trout were hitting my green DOA jig head tipped with a Strike King 3X cyber flex jerk bait. The salt impregnated jerk bait has a garlic flavor and can stretch up to at least a foot, if you care to do it.

The bait is perfect for winter time fishing when you have to fish lures very slowly. The fish just refuse to let go of the bait.

Anyway, I was going to keep the trout but since it was late, I didn't feel like cleaning them so I just took a couple of pics and let them go.

All the fish were caught within a 50 yard stretch of water in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge marsh area.

After I missed the redfish, I decided to head for home and came across a couple of guys in a canoe that weren't having much luck and were also packing up to leave.

They told me they came across a school of black drum on the Indian river side, but they didn't catch any of them.

They then hauled the canoe over the to the other side of the road and fished the marsh canal without any luck.

The canal is about three feet deep at its deepest point near the road and gets progressively shallower everywhere else.

The best places to fish near dusk is right at the road, which is why I go out late in the afternoon during the winter. During the day, you will have better luck casting right on the opposite bank and slowly swimming the bait back to you.



On the way out of the preserve I took these pics of the beautiful sunset. No matter how many times I fish this area, I still become awed by the wildlife and the beautiful sunsets.

Till next time.

Tight Lines.

Went Walking The Dog This Afternoon

This afternoon my wife and I decided to get out and try for some of the slot sized redfish that abound in the Mosquito Lagoon & Indian River.

We got a late start and decided not to take the boat because of the Redfish Tournament and the local fair that is ending this weekend. Parking spaces are hard to come by.

For some reason, Peacocks Pocket road was still closed; so instead, we fished a small feeder creek that empties into a larger shallow marsh area that almost everybody passes up when entering the wildlife refuge.

We jumped two nice sized redfish in water that was no more than a foot deep, but they weren't interested in our offerings.

We moved on and fished a point on the Indian River side for about an hour with no luck except for a large catfish that my wife picked up on her Cajun Thunder rig.

I was wading , the wind was picking up, and I was clammy, so when some rude people decided to park their car directly next to ours, we decided to leave.

On the way out of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Preserve we decided to give our first spot one last shot, so we pulled alongside the area which now had a flock of spoonbills feeding in it, and resumed our fishing.



My wife was using fresh frozen xlarge shrimp, and I was "walking the dog" with my Heddon Super Spook, Jr. top water.

In about an hours worth of fishing before dusk, I landed six slot sized trout, and missed at least three or four others, including one huge fish that blew the plug right out of the water.



There were 5 or 6 very large redfish busting baitfish in the shallows, almost into the grass. I tried casting to them, but they were way out of range and with the gators in the area, I decided to use discretion and not go wading in after them.

My wife didn't fare so well this trip, but we enjoyed the day none the less.

On the way back home, we saw at least a dozen shrimpers setting up for night shrimping on the Indian River, so we decided to stop and see how they were doing.

Guy and Cathy who regularly shrimp the area said the shrimp were "on and off" again. Guy got about 50 large shrimp the previous night and some of the other people I spoke with on the bridge reported about the same or less.



I promised to post their pictures, so here they are. Last time I spoke with them, I took a picture of a Jumbo shrimp in his hand and neglected to post his pic. Hope he can find my website!

Anyway, I took some pics and wished everyone well with their shrimping.

With any kind of luck, my wife and I (and of course our wonder dog Elmo) will get to wet a line tomorrow.

Till then, Tight Lines!

Max Brewer Causeway Bridge Closure

The Max Brewer Causeway Bridge, at Parrish Park on SR 406 has been closed since Feb 21, 2010.

Initially I believed it was due to the swing bridge being stuck, however several people I have spoken with said that the closure was due to the ongoing bridge construction. No one seems to have any idea when or if the bridge will be reopened to vehicle traffic.

Several subscribers emailed me on this and all I can report to date is that it is still closed.

For now, anyone wanting to launch their boat at the Parrish Park ramps, will have to enter the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge from North US 1, then going onto Kennedy Parkway (Co Hwy 3), and then to Max Brewer Memorial Parkway.


When I visited the bridge late this afternoon, I spoke with a couple of shrimpers to get an updated report.

The general consensus is that the shrimping still 'sucks' compared to prior years.

The gentleman in the picture has been wintering in Titusville, from his home in Ohio and shrimping here since the 80's. He said the shrimping has been gradually going downhill.



The colder than average weather, along with the commotion from the new bridge construction, has caused the shrimp to run deeper than normal, making them harder to net.

I was surprised that they were still loading their generators onto the bridge, even though it was officially closed, but I guess that's what die hard shrimpers do.

In any event Bart, I believe he said his name was, said that the last good shrimp run this year was back in late January, and that he was still hoping for better shrimping when the water gets a bit warmer.

Although he seemed genuinely disgusted with the shrimping, it couldn't have been that bad if he bothered to unpack all his gear and lug it on to the bridge for the night.

I might get out with my wife and our wonder dog Elmo tomorrow to try some fishing and get some fishing reports on both the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River Fishing.

Till then, Tight Lines and enjoy the pics!

Sunday Afternoon Mosquito Lagoon & Indian River Fishing Outing

Sunday afternoon was much to nice to spend the day inside the hacienda, so my wife, our wonder dog Elmo and yours truly hit the water to try our luck.

The Mosquito Lagoon north of Haulover Canal was calm and the water was very clear, which is par for the course this time of year.

We didn't do much fishing, mostly looking, however several reports we received stated that the redfish were beginning to really school up and some nice ones were being taken on lures imitating finger mullet.

We saw luckless fishermen at Haulover, and moved on towards the Indian River marsh areas in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Again the water was very calm and crystal clear on both sides of the gravel roadway.

We spotted several slot redfish and swirls that I believed to be trout, so I pulled out my Creme paddle tail swimbaits and started fishing the swirls.

My wife fishedwith fresh dead shrimp on her outfit,  in several places, without any luck.

I  hit a couple of schools of sea trout and landed five before they moved on.  All were nice sized keepers, but with the season closed, I returned them to fight another day.  If it wasn't for the closed season, they would have been on the dinner table.  You get of eating turkey leftovers after a while.

We were hoping for some redfish, but today it was not to be. 

Till next time.

Tight lines to all.

P.S.  For all you surf fishermen, I was told that the Pompano are starting to come in on Playalinda Beach at several Lot locations.  Sand fleas and bits of shrimp seem to be doing the trick.

November Indian River Lagoon Fishing

Despite the windy conditions throughout the day on the upper Indian River Lagoon, the fishing has been upbeat.

Finger mullet are still all over the river.  There are bait pods are being followed by trout and redfish,  all over the shallows on both banks of the Indian River.

Farther out in the river in deeper water, jacks are busting bait pods along with some gator trout.

My wife and I, and of course our wonder dog Elmo, didn't get the tackle out until about 3:30 this afternoon.  Since we got a late start, I decided to hit the "swamp" instead of taking out the boat.

We fished the kayak and canoe launch area at Peacock Pocket, right through to the end of the road.
      
Artificial lures produced only a few small trout today, mostly on ChugBug top water lures.

I had a good hit that could have been a redfish, on a Creme swimbait, but I was enjoying the scenery instead of paying attention to the fishing.

My wife Karen, caught and released a decent trout using a large dead shrimp near the Pocket, and later picked up a slot sized redfish in another area we frequent with the same bait.

The deep colors on the fish are just beautiful, this time of year as you can see by the photos.

As dusk approached, the wind picked up and it looked like a winter storm was going to blow in, so we decided to call it a day.

With any kind of luck, we might get out tomorrow for some more Mosquito Lagoon & Indian River Fishing.

Till next time; Tight Lines To All!!

September Spawning Reds

September is when large "Bull Redfish", in the 20 to 40 lb. range, can be more easily caught as they congregate for the spawn in both the Mosquito Lagoon and northern Indian River estuaries.

There are several prime areas in the north Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon, where these monsters congregate to spawn; however, my all time favorite is the Haulover Canal area, north of Titusville, Fl.

This time of year, a half or whole ladyfish, blue crab, mullet, croaker, or pinfish can pick you up one of those huge redfish that you read about in the sportsman's magazines.

Slot sized reds up to 11 lbs. are also scattered in the shallow flats, busting baits throughout the day.

The trout are still hitting like crazy on the flats on topwater lures, jerkbaits, and live bait if you care to fool with it.

I like my artificial lures.. No muss, no fuss, and sometimes no fish, but it's not boring.

My wife picked up a couple of slot redfish this evening, and I hit a few trout, ladyfish, and a gar that just couldn't resist my chug bug.



Somefish pics and the beautiful sunset are here for your viewing.



I'll be out of town next week but hope to be furnishing something new when I return.

Till then, Tight Lines To All!

The Dog Days Of August Are Upon Us!

The temperatures are hovering in the low to mid 90s, and the water temperatures in both the Mosquito Lagoon, and Indian River, are warm enough to harbor the larger tarpon I've been trying to get for the past couple of weeks.

I've been getting reports of tarpon from 50 to 120 lbs in the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoons, but I've not personally hooked up with one of them yet.

I've seen mostly rolling fish in relatively shallow water, but schools of daisy chaining tarpon and laid up fish are all over the place.

I've missed several good sized tarpon on artificials, but still haven't put one in the boat!

It never ceases to amaze me how you can see a bunch of tarpon rolling all over the place, and every damn one of them with a case of lockjaw! I guess tarpon are acting like tarpon usually do!

Anything resembling a mullet seems to get their attention. My all time favorite lure has become a Chug Bug topwater lure. The big trout and redfish love it, and every now and then I'll get a hit from a tarpon.

The trout in the Indian River have been running in the slot to 24 inches with an occasional gator trout between 5 and 10 pounds being caught. They are everywhere and relatively easy to catch. The best time to get a big one, for me, is just before dusk.

Again, the best baits to use are top water lures, D.O.A. Baitbusters, jerkbaits and live pigfish under a Cajun Thunder bobber, or free lined.

My wife has still been using her tried and true shrimp under a bobber rig, with minimal success.

If you're going fishing during the month of August, better go very early, or late in the afternoon. This is and continues to be the most productive times to be on the water.

Didn't get any good fish pics this weekend except for some trout that didn't come out right so I'll pass on the photos.

Till next week, tight lines!

Indian River Trout Fishing

The Mosquito Lagoon & Indian River fishing is still going gangbusters in East Central Florida's Space Coast.

With all the construction work that's going on, some fishermen who normally opt for an early morning boat launch, are turning to bank and wade fishing.

The new bridge construction on the Max Brewer Causeway, along with refurbishing of the boat ramps at Parrish Park and the Titusville Marina, are causing some minor irritations to public boaters and fishermen.

Additionally, the closures of Shiloh road to vehicle traffic, and some other prime fishing pathways to the public, in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, have caused irritation with the management bureaucracy.

When I called about the closures, the reasons given for the closures varied from, the "shuttle launch", to insufficient funding to repair the "potholes" in Shiloh road, to flooding, to whatever else they can think of as an excuse. It seems like they are intentionally trying to keep the public away from the area, at least by land traffic.

In any event, late Saturday afternoon, after trying to get into the north part of the Indian River at Shiloh road, my wife and I resigned ourselves to the fact that we were relegated to fishing Peacock Pocket road.

Don't get me wrong, this is a great area to fish if you know how! My wife and I do.

Sticking to the golden rule of Central Florida fishing, "fish early and fish late", we struck out at aobut 6:30 for an evening of "jump fishig" in the marsh areas.

The weather was hot but not blistering, there was a nice breeze and a slight ripple on the water, that helped the fishing.

My wife was using a weighted jerkbait hook baited with a large dead shrimp with the tail removed. When you hook the shrimp through the tail and pull it slowly along the bottom, it usually produces nice redfish and trout.

I used my usual variety of baits that included; D.O.A. paddle tail jerk baits in green/white body, Creme swimbait, Johnson gold spoon, and my trusty Chug Bug.

We stopped by several areas and decided to finish at our "secret spot" where my wife had previously caught nice redfish and black drum. Today however, she only caught a catfish that acted like a sea trout!

I caught about a dozen smaller trout. which were all released. And just at dusk, my favorite time to fish, I switched to my Chug Bug.

After about two dozen casts to the far bank in the narrow canal, I got an explosive hit right on the bank in about 4 inches of water.

After about a 10 minute battle up and down the canal, I pulled in a "sub gator" trout that measured 26 inches. The pics of the scenery and the fish are here for your viewing.

We plan on doing the whole thing again tomorrow, after my household chores are finished with, so until then.... tight lines!

April Gator Trout Fishing

Early spring fishing in central Florida's Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River systems is noted for producing huge Gator trout. In normal years, April would hail the mullet migration into the estuaries, however this year the silver schools may be running a bit late.

The abnormally low water levels that we experienced this year, cleaned out the river system and produced the crystal clear waters which is good for the estuary.

The February and March low water conditions provided some incredible sight fishing opportunities for gator sea trout in the sandy pockets of the Mosquito Lagoon's grass flats, and also for early morning tailing redfish on the shallow flats.

The fly fishermen in particular did quite well, using stealthy approaches, and making long casts, to fish in crystal clear water less than a foot deep, in many locations.

If the rains begin on time, and the water levels start rising,we should see some great trout fishing this April.

Egg laden female gator trout of up to 3 feet long will be spawning in the shallows before the new and full moons and chasing silver mullet schools all over the place. This is really the best time of year for anyone interested in snagging a trophy trout.

Early morning and late evening fishing with top water skitter walks or chug bug lures will get you some action with the trout and redfish if they are in the area.

Don't forget the huge schools of redfish. The rising water usually draws slot size schools of reds into the shallow flats to feed. Larger "bull redfish" are often cruising the sand bars and deeper areas just off the flats.

As the sun warms the water, you can easily see the redfish tailing in the shallows and grabbing a bite to eat.

I am eagerly waiting for April's showers .....

Tight lines to you all!