Scouting Trip In The Refuge

Got back home Friday night but couldn't wet a line until this afternoon when I took the "boys" out for a scouting trip in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

I loaded up Elmo, Odie, and three spinning rods tipped with soft and topwater baits and headed out to north Shiloh Road to see if anything was happening.  

Taking the dogs fishing alone is great for the boys, but not so much for my success at fishing.

I drove down the unimproved gravel road to the barrier with high expectations.  The air temperature was in the 70s, and there was little to no wind over the water.

The weather was beautiful but the fish apparently had lockjaw.

I pitched a couple of topwater baits around the first set of culverts for about 15 minutes without a hit or a follow up before moving up towards the barrier.

The water at the culverts was a dingy brown color which was undoubtedly brown algae.   In every spot we stopped to fish, I never had a hit or even a follow.

There was plenty of wildlife around the area and only one car parked close to the barrier. 

I spotted a coon, a wild pig, and tons of different bird species wading in the shallow ponds so I just had to take a few pics.

I spotted a guy on the other side of the barrier fishing from the bank but I didn't want to intrude, so I packed up Elmo and Odie and left the area.

We headed into the wildlife refuge towards Haulover Canal but on the way I decided to check out Patillo Creek.

Again, only one group of people was fishing the area close to the dead end along the northern part of the road.  The flats were dead calm and although both anglers were reeling in their rods, I didn't see anyone catching any fish.

I pitched around an XPS Slim Dog and a Chug Bug for awhile but never got a hit.

It was getting towards dusk and the sunset on the Indian River was absolutely beautiful.  I took a few pics of the scenery and the "boys" before heading out of the area.

As we crossed the Haulover Canal bridge, I couldn't believe the amount of people fishing the banks of the canal.  Apparently, that is where the fish were.

I drove past several bank fishermen before taking the opportunity to ask one angler who was leaving the area what the bite was all about.

He said everyone was catching black drum and redfish.  The drum bite was apparently on fire in the deeper waters of the canal.

He said shrimp and fresh crab sections were the baits of choice and that the drum were in the 12 pound plus category.

I thanked him for the information before leaving the area and heading for the house.

Till next time,

Tight Lines

Fishing With The Boys

After listening to the depressing Sunday morning talk shows, I decided to go fishing with the boys this afternoon in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

I loaded up Elmo and Odie along with a few rods and headed to East Gator Creek Road to see if the fish were hitting topwater lures.

The air temperature was a pleasant 82 degrees and there was a slight breeze on the water in the open areas enough to create a ripple, but the water was like glass along the sheltered areas.

The flats along East Gator Creek in many places were covered with floating vegetation making topwater fishing almost an ordeal.  It took strategic casts into the open areas to get a hit, followed by a quick retrieve over the vegetation to keep from snagging.

When a fish did hit, you had to quickly pull it over the floating weeds to land it.  Not an easy task, but do able.

I was using a Bass Pro XPS Slim Dog on one rod, a small size Chug Bug on the second rod, and a small size SkitterWalk on the last one.

I got two small spotted sea trout and most of my hits on the Slim Dog, and a slot size sea trout on the Chug Bug along East Gator Creek. 

Fishing with the boys was fun, but you have to keep one eye peeled on them to keep them safe from gators.  And there were several in the first area we fished.

I decided to drive over Haulover to check out the Patillo Creek area.  I hadn't been in that area for some time and it seemed like a good day to see if I could nail a tarpon.

Both Elmo and Odie were in their cruising mode.  One paw out the window and the wind blowing through their lips.   I just had to take this video.

When we got to Patillo Creek, we were the only people in the area and it was dead calm on the water everywhere.

I pitched my Slim Dog around several likely looking areas and had a small tarpon swirl on the bait, but it didn't eat it.  In the closed backwater opposite the river, I had a nice hit from a large sea trout but again, I didn't get hooked up.

Patillo Creek is beautiful but I have had only limited success in the area; mostly at dusk and early in the mornings.

Anyway, after pitching the Chug Bug and SkitterWalk in a few other areas without any success, I decided to call it a day and head back to the house.

I took a few pics of the area and closed it down.

The dogs were happy to get out, but they were ready to head for the Hacienda.

On the way home, there was a function on the west side of the bridge which was closing down that I later found out was the Mullet Festival.  

Hope to get out again tomorrow to check out the fishing, without the boys.  Fishing with the boys is something they look forward to but I catch more when they stay home.

Tight Lines.

Shiloh Road Snook Fishing

The rainy weather has made fishing a hit or miss proposition for me but this afternoon after a brief shower, I decided to take a drive down to Shiloh Road for some Snook fishing.

I packed up a couple of spinning rods and decided to leave Elmo and Odie at home for a change.

They love going fishing with me, but it's hard to fish and keep an eye on them without Karen being along.

Shiloh Road is still closed but there were still several vehicles at the barricade.  Some people were fishing the deeper water flats but most of the folks I saw at the end of the road were crabbing, and doing quite well I might add.

When I crossed over the first culverts I noticed some activity on the Indian River side of the road.

 
A large sea trout was making it's way along the shoreline busting small baitfish here and there.

I pulled out the rod with a Zara Spook Puppy and made a few fruitless casts into the area before I changed rods.

The other rod had a Bass Pattern Chug Bug tied on, so I started tossing it around on the other side of the road to see if I could rustle up anything.

After fan casting the area using a variety of retrieves, I finally got a small under size sea trout to hit a "stop and go" retrieve.

At least I didn't get skunked.  Anyway, I switched sides when I heard another fish blasting small baitfish along the bank and started tossing the Chug Bug into the grass, and gently hopping it into the water.

This tactic proved to be the ticket, because on my second cast into the reeds, I jerked the Chug Bug into the water, gave it a little jerk and let it set.    As soon as I twitched the lure, a snook literally sucked up the Chug Bug.

The fish put up a nice fight and I took my time landing it so I could take these pics.

The snook was under the slot so after I took some pictures, I gently released the fish to grow up and fight another day.

I continued fishing with the Chug Bug up the road from where I caught the first snook for another half an hour or so and missed two more sea trout before hooking into another small snook.

This one was a little smaller than the first one but also put up a pretty good fight considering it's size.

I released the fish and was deciding if I should leave the area or not.   The bugs were starting to eat me alive, so I packed up the rod and headed towards Patillo Creek to see if it was open for fishing.

As I was driving there, two wild turkeys flew low across the road right above my truck and one of them grazed my antenna.  I pulled over to check for damage and was happy to see that only a small chip of paint was missing.

It was beginning to sprinkle when I pulled into Patillo Creek and I immediately noticed that work was being done to the roads.

The large mound of dirt on the left side of the road near the entrance was over halfway gone and when I drove on the road, all the ruts and ditches were filled up.  Yeah!

I drove past two vehicles that were coming out and a fisherman that had a couple of rods at at the creek.   He said he was fishing for black drum and was using shrimp for bait.

I left him and was happy to see that they also repaired this section of the road.   The large divots and ruts were now filled up with fresh dirt.

When I got to the turnaround, I was surprised to see that it was no longer there.  Workers had leveled out the area and made it into a dirt parking area.

I got out and started pitching the Zara Spook and Chug Bug but only had a couple of followups.

There were some baitfish in the area as well as some sea Manatees that looked like they were thoroughly enjoying themselves.

I  took a short video and a couple of pics before leaving the area and heading for home.

The gnats were getting to me and I was getting hungry.

Hopefully before I head out of town again, I'll get a chance to get in some more fishing

Till then, Tight Lines.

Fish Kill In The Mosquito Lagoon

My wife and I decided to take Elmo and Odie for a ride this past Sunday to see if the cold weather we have been suffering with these past few days had caused a fish kill.

I tried fishing Patillo Creek on Saturday, but nothing was hitting.  I used shrimp and crab along the deeper stretches, but after an hour of freezing my butt off, I gave it up.

Sunday, the weather was a bit warmer but even though I brought along a couple of rods, we never bothered putting out a line.

Odie took his favorite position with me in the driver's seat and we headed towards Haulover Canal as our first stop.

There were boats out and a lot of people fishing along the bank, but nobody I spoke with was catching anything of any consequence.

We drove around Beacon 42 boat launch, and only one trailer was parked.  This was a good indication that the fishing was not too great.

From there, we drove to Patillo Creek where I talked to a fisherman from Albany, New York who was also getting skunked.

He was fishing with "smelly shrimp", fresh dead shrimp, and crab, which under normal circumstances should have gotten him at least a bite from a black drum, but he told us that after a couple of hours, he never got a hit.

We wished him good luck and drove to the turn around where Karen spotted some dead tarpon in the water close to the bank.

We stopped to get a better look while I tossed a topwater bait around the area.  Again, not even a follow up.

There were a half dozen juvenile tarpon scattered along the bank of Patillo Creek that had apparently been victims of  the cold snap. 

I took a couple of pics and loaded the boys up so we could ride up to Bio Lab Road.

The culvert at Bio Lab road was open and flowing but there was no activity there.  Some people were crabbing on the opposite side of the culvert, but nobody was fishing.

As we drove slowly down Bio Lab road towards the beach, I discovered why nobody was fishing.

The banks of the Mosquito Lagoon were littered with dead juvenile tarpon and various sized snook.

I took several pics and compiled this short video.

From the entrance of Bio Lab road at the boat launch, all the way down to the beach, the majority of dead fish seemed to be along the northern section of the road.

On Sunday, there were a lot of sightseers but I seemed to be the only person fishing.

After we got to Playalinda Beach road we decided not to make the drive down to the beach but to go home and get something for dinner.

This last week's cold snap was almost as bad as the one we had a few years ago that killed off the snook population in the lagoons.  Fortunately, it didn't last as long.

Hopefully, the snook and tarpon population will rebound quickly.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Tarpon Hunting On The Fly

Late Saturday afternoon I decided to go Tarpon hunting in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

I've been out of town for a few weeks and with another hurricane brewing in the Gulf, I decided to take advantage of the high water levels, the Harvest Moon, and the barometer to get some much needed fishing in.

The last time I tried Tarpon hunting, conventional lures were pretty much useless, so this time I brought along my 8 wt fly rod and a few flies to augment the 7' spinning rod that I always carry in the truck.

As I crossed the A. Max Brewer Causeway bridge I was beginning to think I made a drastic mistake. There were tons of people on both sides of the causeway fishing and kite surfing.

Although the wind was brisk, the weather was gorgeous so I continued driving past the refuge entrance towards Bio Lab Road.

The barriers are still up on Gator Creek, East Gator Creek, Catfish Creek Loop, and Peacocks Pocket roads, and although you can still walk the areas, nobody had cars parked so I can only assume that nobody was bothering to walk the areas.

Too bad, there's some great fishing along most of the roads, especially when the water levels are up like they are right now.

Park your butt next to a flowing culvert and you usually have some good fishing in store.

I drove past Black Point Wildlife Drive towards Bio Lab road and was surprised at how many parked vehicles there were along the road.    Probably due to hunting season..

Anyway, the water levels in the Mosquito Lagoon were way up and because there were people fishing the creek at the Bio Lab boat launch,  I decided to head towards Patillo Creek to see if the barricades were still up there.

 

I noticed that Beacon 42 boat ramp road was still closed and when I made the left turn into Patillo Creek, it also was closed to vehicle traffic at the second entrance.

I stopped at the barrier, strung up my fly rod, tied on a black and white Lefty's Deceiver and headed towards the first set of culverts.

When I lived in Pennsylvania as a youth, I grew up with a fly rod in my hand and even though I'm out of practice and don't use a fly rod all that much in saltwater, I picked it up almost immediately.

My first cast into the area at the culvert hooked my up with an almost gator sea trout of about 25 to 27 inches. The fish hit the deceiver on the second or third strip and after a very brief run, broke off in the brush along the bank.

Lesson number 1. Use a heavy leader in salt water.

I made several more casts with another deceiver fly on both sides of the culvert but the fish weren't interested, so I headed back to the truck and decided to run towards North Shiloh Road.

As I drove up Shiloh Road, I spotted a group of fishermen about to leave the area I planned to fish.

When I asked them how they were doing, they said they hit a few small tarpon that would not take anything but a small original floating Rapala.    The one guy said he caught a tarpon in the 24 inch category and the other wasn't specific about the size.

When they saw me pull out my fly rod, they both said that the fish were hitting small minnows and that they wished they had brought along theirs.

After the group left, I started casting against the wind into the open culvert side where I expected the larger fish to be holding, but after making what seemed like a million casts, I never got a hit.

The other side of the culvert was where all the activity seemed to be.   There were dimples in the water with rolling tarpon all over the place and occasionally, a larger fish would blow up along the submerged banks to attack the baitfish that were holding there.

I spotted several redfish or snook wakes along the banks, but most of the fish in the area were Tarpon. Just what I was interested in.

I started pitching another deceiver pattern with a blue back and white feathers into the area and almost immediately had a juvenile tarpon hit the fly, jump, and break the fly off the leader.

I was silently cussing myself for not bringing along my GoPro.   It's impossible trying to get a video of jumping tarpon on a smart phone when you have a fly rod on one hand and the line in the other.

I tied on another streamer pattern that was in a redfish and speckled trout selection of saltwater flies from  Orvis and after several more casts suffered the same results.   A larger juvenile tarpon of around two feet jumped once and immediately broke off the fly.

During the course of the next hour and a half, I hooked six more juvenile tarpon which broke off after jumping or after making short runs, and had a slot size snook follow this white Conehead Bunny Muddler.

The snook followed the minnow imitation all the way up to the culvert but turned off twice. I guess it saw me?

Anyway, as it started getting toward dusk, I ran out of flies and decided to start pitching a Johnson's Sprite gold spoon that I had on my other rod.

I had two or three bumps on the spoon, but no solid hits.    I believe if I had a smaller sized spoon, I would have caught something, but the 3 1/2" gold spoon just didn't "match the hatch".

As the sun started to set, two guys on the way out asked me what I had caught.   I told them and they replied that they caught a tarpon of about 26" and a small snook, both on a fly.

The mosquitoes were finally driving me crazy, so I packed up, turned the truck around and headed home.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Scouting The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

Because of the Peacocks Pocket Road closure, I decided to try scouting the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge this afternoon to find some other fishing spots.

I knew that the Haulover Canal bridge was closed for repairs for the next month so I headed down SR46 to Mims so I could take US1 towards Scotsmoor.

After I gassed up the truck, I decided to hit the Jones Street Boat launch to see if anybody was fish there.   After driving over the dusty road to Jones Street and crossing the railroad tracks, I parked at the waters edge to check out the area.

The huge abandoned bi-hull houseboat was still in the same spot as last year, but the top was now off.

The water was crystal clear so I pulled out one of my rods with a swimbait and made a few casts towards the boat.   After several casts without a bite, I decided to move on to another potential fishing area.

My next spot up the road was the Scottsmoor Boat Launch.  I hadn't visited that area in about a year so I drove onto Huntington Ave. to see what the water level looked like.

When I pulled up close to the ramp, I was surprised that there was plenty of water at the dock to launch my Maverick, or the kayaks that I picked up last month for my birthday.

The water around the shallow flats looked clean but I didn't bother to fish.  I took a few pics and headed out to Shiloh Road.

I crossed the bridge, took the right turn into the refuge and slowly headed down the dusty road toward the barrier.

When I hit the first culvert, I noticed that it was open and there was a good flow of water coming in from the Indian River.

I pulled over and took a few pictures of the area.  I remembered that this area was good for juvenile tarpon, ladyfish, and redfish during the spring, so I took out a rod with a Johnsons Sprite gold spoon and started blind casting the area.

I caught and released several ladyfish on the spoon before taking this brief video of the action.  The ladyfish were small and I could have used them for bait, but I didn't have anything to keep them fresh in so I returned all the fish.

After the fourth or fifth fish, I had a hit from a juvenile tarpon about 2 feet long, but it flipped off and never took the spoon again.

I tried the spoon, a DOA Baitbuster, and a jighead with a paddletail bait on both sides of the culvert but the fish quit biting, so I moved on up the road to check out where I could launch my kayak.

At the barrier to Shiloh Road where several cars were parked, there appeared to be a small launch area that people had been using for kayaks or canoes.  Just the ticket for my kayak debut.

I turned around and decided to ride over to Patillo Creek and check out the fishing conditions there.

On the way, I spotted a very large Timber Rattlesnake that was crossing the road.  I pulled over to take  a pic of the snake as it crossed safely and laid stretched out on the grass shoulder.

The snake was not in the least bit afraid and just laid there eyeing me up as I slowly took these pics and the brief video.

He started to move under my truck, so I decided to get out of his way and continue my scouting trip.

I drove into Patillo creek and headed to several spots I used to fish on a semi-regular basis.

I fished three spots but never got a hit or a follow up, so I continued to the deeper water area where Karen and I sometimes fished for black drum.

As I pulled into the area, several fishermen were on the bank dunking shrimp and cut baits.

I stopped to ask how one group was doing and Alex and his friend Chico said they had caught 4 nice drum.  He was eager to show me their catch, so I pilled over and took these pics along with a brief video.

Alex said that when they had been using fresh shrimp, they were not getting any bites, but when they switched to old "stinky" shrimp, the fish started hitting.

As I passed by their truck where the bait was being kept and got a whiff of the shrimp, I had no doubt that he was telling me the whole truth.

Alex's friend told me that some fisherman yesterday had caught 14 drum in the same spot.

I bid them farewell and decided to make one more stop before heading home.  I drove past the radar dome that my wife calls the "gumball"  to check out Beacon 42 boat ramp.

 

I was surprised to find the parking area empty.  Nobody was fishing the area.

 

I got out of the truck and checked out the water.  It was relatively clear and the water levels were down only slightly. A perfect day to take out my flats boat.

Anyway, it was getting towards dinner so I headed out towards US1 and the house.

About halfway up the road, I spotted a flock of turkeys on one side of the road and a cleanup crew of vultures on the other side of the road making a dead hog the main course.

I pulled up to the crew of 10 vultures, and they weren't in the least bit intimidated.  I took these pics and left them to their dinner.

As I headed home to my dinner, I was glad I made the scouting trip.  I found several spots to put in my kayak without drowning on the first try, and several more to bank fish.

Till next time, Tight  lines.

Fishing Patillo Creek

Fishing Patillo Creek is often productive before a weather change so this afternoon I decided to pack a couple of rods and give it a try.

I didn't bring along any live bait today.  Instead I planned to give topwater baits a shot.

The weather was in the high 70s and when I left my house there was only a slight breeze blowing.

I drove up I-95 and took the Scotsmoor exit to US1 and headed for Shiloh Road to see if by some act of congress, it would be open.  The last time I scouted the area, the barriers were still up and vehicle traffic was prohibited.  I was hoping that it was open, but when I got to the end of the unimproved road there was a truck parked at the wire rope barrier with nobody in sight.

I was looking for signs of sea trout or redfish cruising the area but the only life in sight was a flock of white Pelicans and a plethora of waterfowl.

I spotted something pushing a wake in a small creek that sometimes holds juvenile tarpon in the summertime, but after several casts with an XPS topwater bait, I gave up and continued to Patillo Creek.

As I approached the entrance, the weather began to change.  The wind started picking up and the air temperature dropped down to around 71degrees F.

I tossed the topwater bait at the first culvert and into the pond on the right side of the road before the first turn, with no luck.

Since there was nobody around the area, I drove right to the dead end turnaround, parked the truck and started walking the bank casting the XPS plug.

I started fan casting the area targeting the near and opposite bank of the deep trough.  After several casts I walked back to the truck for some Pro-Cure to smear up the plug with.

Evidently, that did the truck because after several casts I was surprised by a big sea trout blasting the plug completely out of the water.  I missed the fish but continued casting into the area hoping to score another hit.

It was over a half an hour before I got another hit from a juvenile tarpon that wasn't supposed to be in the area this time of the year.  Apparently, there are still some stragglers that haven't moved out for the winter.

Anyway, the wind continued and it started to rain so I drove to another spot farther south and started pitching the bait into the Indian River shallows at the mouth of Patillo Creek.

The water is extremely shallow there but I gave it a shot anyway and again missed a nice sea trout.

The fish didn't seem to be feeding, they were just pissed at the bait and seemed to be nosing the lure, not eating it.

I finally got tired of casting and getting wet so I packed it in and headed towards home.

On the way back I drove into the Boy Scout camping area to give it a try, but there were several people already in the spots I planned to fish.

I was mentally cussing myself for not bringing along my Gheneoe.

Anyway, although I got skunked this afternoon, I plan to fish the area again.  There were some really nice trout missing my topwater plug.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Patillo Creek Tarpon Fishing

Late yesterday afternoon I had originally planned on doing some Patillo Creek Tarpon fishing, but decided instead to fish closer to home around Peacocks Pocket road.

As it turned out, I would have probably done better fishing the Patillo Creek area.

Last Sunday evening while I was fishing Peacocks Pocket Road, Craig Bates told me about the fish he and Mary were catching on their vacation as well as that day in the Pocket area.  He sent me an email along with some pics of fish he caught in that area this past Monday which I thought I'd share with you below.

"When we saw you Sunday night on our way out, we told you about hooking some tarpon in the river side of the access road.

At home Monday morning I was thinking on being slapped to the curb by that handsome 3 footer.
A couple cups of coffee later I was loading up and heading back over for a chance at redemption. Maybe a little OCD?

Last summer we saw lots of baby Tarpon in Patillo Creek so I drove in there first. Sure enough, fish were rolling all over in the finger.

I launched the canoe and quickly observed 3 manitee’s munching mangrove branches hanging in the water. I took several pictures and backed away.

My forest green canoe must have looked like the next meal as 2 of the manitees came over to me and were nudging me and floating right next the canoe.

They have some stinky breath! One of them was so close I could have touched him.

I counted 10 manitee’s in the canal I wanted to fish. I had to be carefull where I cast to. Tarpon were rolling and splashing everywhere but would not take an artificial.

I tried small minnow plugs, swim baits, jerk baits and suspending baits. A slot sized Redfish picked up the Yozuri3D suspending plug. But those tarpon were not feeding.

Rumbling of impending showers told me it was time to relocate so I loaded up the canoe and drove over to Peackocks Pocket.

It started raining and blowing pretty hard as I drove around towards where I wanted to look for Tarpon. 
 
I waited out the storm as the radar showed it wouldn’t last long.

I pulled up to where I saw them the previous day. Sure enough there they were, rolling within a cast from the beach.

It was still sprinkling lightly as I geared up. Tied on a new 25# leader with a 3/0 screw lock hook and a Kietech 4” Easy Shiner.  I like the Kietech Silver Flash Minnow and Bluegill Flash colors. Both are Squid scented. Trout, Reds, Snook like them too.
 
A nice one rolled right in front of me. Led him by 10 feet, cranked twice and BANG! The fish instantly went into the air about 5 feet.

On the 4th jump the fish tossed the hook. One cast! Incredible!

I let the area cool down for about 15 minutes and the fish started to come back in. I checked my hook and saw that the hook was bent open and my leader was chaffed.

Tied on a new hook and another bait. I made some random casts but tried to wait for a fish to roll and cast in the direction he appeared to be headed.

This worked pretty well. You gotta love it when you cast to specific fish and hook them up.

I landed 2 nice fish and jumped off a couple more. Even jumped one on a top water prop bait.
The floating grass was really heavy so the weedless swim bait was much better.

I’m including a shot of one of the Tarpon I was landing when some friendly fisher folks drove up.
The other is a nice snook caught Sunday while fishing the same spot for Tarpon with the swim bait.

I think you wrote a story a while back where you fished the marsh right after a storm blew through.
It’s amazing how crazy the fish get. Yesterday some really nice fish were hammering the mullet in the river for about an hour after the storm.

Hope you get back soon."

The pics below were included with his email.

 

Patillo Creek and several other areas around Peacocks Pocket road have always been good spots for river Tarpon and Snook, and this year is no exception.

Tight Lines.

Patillo Creek Tarpon

Patillo Creek is an area I like to fish when Peacocks Pocket Road is closed for the season and since the "Pocket Road" was closed this evening for repairs, Patillo Creek is where I headed.

I didn't get home from work this afternoon until around 6:30 pm, so I didn't have much time to fish.

I intended to hit Peacocks Pocket road but when I saw that the barriers were up, I headed towards the Boy Scouts camping area to try out that area.

Except for one other truck, the camping area was uninhabited. I drove through some deep puddles to a turn around and started pitching a Chug Bug and a newly purchased Strike King "Sexy Dawg" topwater bait.

I got to practice my "walk to dog" technique but only wasted a lot of time at the spot.  There was no topwater action in the area that I could see, so I packed up the rods and headed over to Patillo Creek Road.

When I drove up to the culverts at Patillo Creek road, I immediately noticed that they were open and dumping water into the large marsh pond.  A perfect scenario for "catching" instead of just fishing.

I turned on the sports cam to hopefully pickup some of the action, if there was any, and recorded the videos below.

I fished the area thoroughly with topwater baits, a ZMann jerk bait and a Johnsons Sprite gold spoon with some success.

Juvenile Tarpon

When I started casting topwater baits, it was apparent that the fish were chasing baitfish just under the surface.

I missed several fish on a topwater Chug Bug and on the ZMann jerkbait before finally connecting with a small Tarpon.

There were several other juvenile Tarpon in the area, along with several nice redfish and small sea trout.

I was targeting the Tarpon with the Chug Bug and missed three fish that hit the bait but didn't get hooked, so I changed over to the jerkbait smeared up with Pro-Cure.

Finally the small Tarpon above gobbled up the bait and danced around the shallow pond before I could land it and unceremoniously release the fish.

Although the fish was only the size of a slot redfish, it put up a decent fight.  Too bad it wasn't one of the big ones in the area.

I continued fishing with the jerkbait and missed a couple more fish before changing back to the Chug Bug.

Juvenile Snook

As I was casting to another rolling Tarpon, I got a hit from what I thought was a small sea trout.

I quickly noticed that it was a very small Snook.  In fact it had to be the smallest Snook I ever caught in this area.

Anyway, I took a couple of pics before putting the fish back to grow up.

A thunderstorm was coming in fast and the fish were getting more and more active, but when a lightning strike hit too close to me I decided it was time to head for home.

By the time I settled into the truck, the rain was coming down in buckets with no sigh of letting up.

I was hoping it would stop, but no such luck.

I drove up to the dead end turnaround at the end of Patillo Creek and left the area towards home.

When I got to the house, it was dark and still raining but I considered the outing a success.

I managed to get several hits from Tarpon and a redfish; caught a Tarpon, a Snook and a small sea trout and all in all had a good time.

Till next time, Tight Lines.