Indian River Fishing - Fishing The Mud Bottom Shallows

Fishing this time of year can be absolutely fantastic if you when and where to fish.

Is this a learning moment?  I certainly hope not.  This time of year, with the sudden drop in air and water temperatures, the fish can usually be found in very shallow water, over dark mud or sediment bottoms.

Although in the Mosquito Lagoon, the redfish start bunching into small schools;  the North Indian River fishing is a bit different.

Here we find the redfish in small pods or feeding alone over the dark mud bottoms on small  crustaceans and the occasional baitfish.

Monday afternoon, my wife and I , and of course our wonder dog Elmo, again tried the Merritt Island National Wildlife refuge around Gator Creek,  and eventually towards the Peacock Pocket shallow canoe launch.,

The conditions were absolutely gorgeous and the water on the river was calm as glass, especially towards dusk.

My wife fished dead shrimp and I decided on spoons to cover more water and try to locate any stragglers.

I chose a Bagley gold hammered spoon with a red tag, that is much thinner than the Johnson gold spoon I often use in deeper water.

The 3" spoons can be fished in 6" of water or less, without hitting bottom if you know how to fish them.  The trick is to start retrieving before the spoon hits the water, in order  to take out the slack, and then  fishing it as slow as possible using a steady short pumping action.

I spotted several good sized wakes and saw a few tails before getting my first redfish.  The fish are extremely spooky during this time of  the year because of the crystal clear water conditions.  You have to drop your spoon, or whatever lure you happen to be using, into the water gently, without "plopping" it, and scaring the devil out ot the fish.

I had a couple of bad presentatioins before I finally made a textbook presentation and hooked up with a 28" oversize redfish.

I cast well in front of, and past the redfish, and as slowly as possible pulled the gold spoon near the feeding fish.

The fish was hungry, and inhaled the spoon almost immediately.  The dead calm water was broken by the fighting fish, and the scene would have provided a superb video, but my wife was 50 yards down the road doing her thing close to   the truck and my Nikon.

After several nice runs, I finally pulled the red from the cold shallow water, got my wife to take a picture, and returned the fish to it's home in the river.  The water where I caught this redfish, and missed two more, was not more than 6" deep.

Here are some pics of the area and the fish for your viewing.

Till next time, Tight Lines To All!

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!