East Gator Creek Fishing Report

After walking the bridge Sunday afternoon, I decided to get a fishing report for the East Gator Creek area.

Armed with four spinning rods tipped with Skitterwalks, Chug Bugs, and plastic Creme paddletail baits, I headed for the clear flats to see if the bite was on.

I drove slowly into the east entrance and stopped to talk to an angler who was tending to four rods staked along the bank.  He was fishing with shrimp for black drum that could be seen tailing farther out on the southern mud flats.

He told me that he caught a couple nice fish the day before, but had no bites up to the time I spoke with him.

I wished him good luck and drove to one of the spots I usually fish.

The day was calm and the air temperature was in the high 70s, so I started fishing the area with a Skitterwalk topwater bait.

I spent a lot of time blind casting to several areas on the east side of the road and had several follow ups, but only one small ladyfish to show for my efforts.   

The ladyfish jumped once and managed to hook itself into a circle, so the fight was a lot like pulling in a clump of weeds. 

I started fishing one of my other rods with a Creme paddletail bait and after missing several fish, hooked into a juvenile tarpon that hit the bait about six feet from the bank.

The tarpon jumped several times and put up a nice fight but I played it right for a change and slowly pulled the fish to the bank.  As the tarpon got closer, it headed for the brush along the bank where the treble hooks on the Skitterwalk hung up.

I put the rod on the bank and got my cell phone to take a pic as the fish dislodged itself and took off into the shallow flat.   

I never had another hit in that spot and it was getting late so I headed for Peacocks Pocket Culvert at the entrance to Catfish Creek Loop.

There is a small pond before the culvert that looked "fishy" so I pulled out the Skitterwalk and started walking the dog as close to the shoreline as I could get without snagging.

After a half dozen casts or so I hooked into a very large sea trout that I fought close enough to the bank to identify.  The trout was over two feet long and as soon as it saw the bank, it got it's second wind and took off across the weedy flat.

I fought the fish close to the bank the second time and as it took off on another run, the knot came loose and the fish got away taking my Skitterwalk with it.

I moved up to the culvert that was flowing weakly and spooked another big sea trout that was laying right off the bank.  

After several casts it was obvious that the fish wasn't in a feeding mood.

The barrier to Peacocks Pocket road was down and it was obvious that someone other than the refuge managers did it.   The signs were still up advising that the road was closed.

I was going to walk down a bit and try the other culverts but it was getting late and I decided to head home for dinner.

On the way around Catfish Creek Loop I took these pics of the gorgeous sunset.

A few groups of fishermen had rods along the Indian River but I only spoke with one guy who had an oversize red he picked up on a chunk bait.

I plan to get out tomorrow afternoon to wet a line and hopefully pick up that trout.

Till next time,

Tight Lines. 

 

Walking The Pocket

When I took Elmo and Odie for a ride on Wednesday afternoon, I spent a little time fishing at the entrance to Peacocks Pocket Road but walking the Pocket was impossible with them along, so I decided to put it off until this afternoon.

When I finally decided to head out, it was around 3:30p.m. and the air temperature was a balmy 73 degrees.

There were strong wind gusts out of the northeast and even the wind surfers were putting their gear up.  When I finally got to the barricade at Peacocks Pocket,  I was almost sorry I decided to go fishing.   The wind chill made the temperature feel like 60 degrees, and it probably was.
 
I didn't bring along a backpack, so I hooked a small box of replacement lures to my belt hook, grabbed a rod with a Chug Bug and a second with a gold Johnson's Sprite spoon, and started walking the Pocket.

I started fishing with the gold Spoon mainly because it was easier to handle in the wind, as I cast into several areas to find fish.

The fishing along the road was tough to impossible in most areas.  The heavy growth along the side of the road was high making casting extremely limited. 

 Even then if you did hook up with a fish, landing it was almost impossible unless you had a lot of luck on your side.

The water in the marsh canal was low and the shallow ponds that used to be there, were not.   But despite the conditions, I still managed to hook up with three slot size redfish in the 20 to 22 inch range, and land two of them.

 

I also missed hookups with at least four other fish that were probably reds.

I was the only person fishing the area and it was obvious that nobody had been there in quite some time.

The grass was high, there were no human footprints anywhere, and the fish were hitting the Johnson Sprite spoon like they never saw one before.   It was almost like fishing a pristine wilderness area, but without the wilderness.

I walked a few miles up the road casting where I could without getting snagged and took some pics of several areas that because of erosion, made the road impassable to vehicle traffic.

I hope that management will eventually repair the roads, but I'm skeptical at this point.

Anyway, I jumped a 10 foot gator that was sunning itself along the bank but as I reached for my cell phone to take a pic, he quickly disappeared into the canal.

When the wind picked up and it started getting colder, I decided to turn around and head back to the truck.  It was close to 6:00 p.m. when I got to the truck and stowed my gear, and I felt like it was much colder than the low 60s.

As I headed out of the refuge, I took a couple of pics of the beautiful sunset.  I'll never get tired of our sunsets.

Till next time, Tight Lines and bent rods.

Fishing The Late Afternoon Thunderstorms

After yesterday's scouting trip to the wildlife refuge, fishing the late afternoon thunderstorms seemed like a good idea.

I got to East Gator Creek road just as the rain started moving in.  I managed a couple casts at the first culvert with a Chug Bug and had a follow up from a ladyfish.  I shot a couple more casts to the area as the rain started but the fish wasn't interested and since I forgot my new Frog Togs at the house, I hit the truck for shelter.

I was hoping that the storm would pass over the area quickly but it started coming down in torrents.

I slowly drove onto Peacocks Pocket road checking the water to see if anything was moving around.

I pulled up to the pond where I caught a redfish the other day and started casting the topwater bait around despite the rain that was coming down.

I picket up a small sea trout that I quickly released and went back into the truck to dry off.

The fish that were following the Chug Bug were all striking short, so when I decided to fish the bait slower, Istarted hooking up with fish.

As the rain continued, I started fishing the deeper sections of the marsh canal around the area below.

In a stretch that ran about 50 yards, I managed to hook and release three more small sea trout on the Chug Bug.  The trick seemed to be fishing the lure very slowly.  Smearing it up with Pro-Cure also helped a lot.

I didn't bother taking pics of all the fish I caught but they were all under the 15" slot except for one that I missed.

When the thunderstorm finally subsided, I pulled off the road at the pond below where there were a couple of redfish tailing in the weedy shallows.

I smeared the Chug Bug up with some more Pro-Cure and tossed the bait several feet behind the fish and let it sit.  The redfish didn't spook, and when the ripples died down, I waited a bit more and gave the lure a little twitch.  Nothing happened so I repeated the tactic and on the third or fourth twitch, the redfish let loose on the lure.  Unfortunately, it didn't get hooked up.

I reeled in and made several more casts to the reds but they were put down so I moved a bit up the canal blind casting the bank.

I caught a couple more sea trout a little bit larger than the fish above before deciding to head to the house.

On the way out of the refuge, I took a shot of this guy fishing for his evening meal.

The thunderstorm cooled down the air and got the baitfish in the marsh canal moving around.along with the sea trout and redfish.  I've found that this is one of the better times to toss around a topwater bait, regardless of the time of day.

With the 4th. of July weekend, I expected to see the refuge loaded with fishermen, but except for one other guy fish the Indian River side for redfish, I was the only one in the refuge.

Karen wants to give it shot tomorrow, so if it doesn't get too nasty, we plan to take Elmo and Odie fishig.

Tight Lines.

Late Start For Snook Season

Well, for me it was a late start for Snook season this year, but better late than not at all.

I heard that the redfish bite in the Indian River was pretty good so late this afternoon I finally decided to go down to the river and wet a line.

I packed up two spinning rods and decided that if I couldn't catch anything on a Chug Bug or a Johnson Sprite gold spoon, I wasn't going to catch anything at all.

When I passed the "beach" just past the Marine Patrol station it was evident that the fish had to be biting.  There were a lot of fishermen out there dunking finger mullet and generally having a good time.

I entered the Wildlife Refuge at East Gator Creek Road and decided to fish the first culverts when I saw how high the water levels were in the marsh.

I pulled out my Chug Bug and made three casts before a nice ladyfish nailed the bait.  It put up a good fight and jumped around the narrow shallows before I finally landed and released the fish.  I briefly thought about keeping it for bait but I didn't want to kill it for no reason.

I missed two more ladyfish on the plug in the same area as I slowly fished up the road.  As I was fishing the eastern most shallows, a Fish and Game officer pulled up to check out my license.

I told him I didn't need one because of my age and showed my drivers license to prove it.  We talked a bit about the fishing before he moved on.  He also confirmed that the reds were biting all along the "beach" area on the river.

As I slowly drove up towards Peacocks Pocket and sight fished several promising areas, I got a couple of follow ups from sea trout but no solid hits.

A fisherman pulled up to me and told me about some juvenile tarpon that he caught at Peacocks Pocket boat launch on live mullet.  He said he got tired of fooling with them and was out for redfish.

I thanked him for the info and continued fish the area.

I passed a guy in a kayak fishing in the middle of the river who looked like he was catching something but I couldn't be sure.

Anyway, I spooked a couple of reds in the marsh ponds and missed another sea trout before deciding to head for home and getting something to eat.

The water in the marsh and the river was almost dead calm, and the air temperature was in the low 90s.  Not a good prescription for topwater fishing!

As I got close to the culverts at Peacocks Pocket, I decided to take a couple of pics of the sunset and some dolphin I spotted swimming single file down the river.

I noticed some baitfish in the river swimming for their lives so I pulled out the Chug Bug, smeared on some Pro-Cure and started working the plug around the area.

On the second cast, a Snook blasted the Chug Bug and took off on a nice run into the river.

It jumped a couple of times and made two more short runs before I landed the fish.

I quickly took some pics, a quick measurement and released the Snook to fight another day.

  It came in at 26" exactly.

Anyway, after a couple more casts with no follows, I called Lil Ceasers to order a Pizza, took another pic of the awesome sunset, and headed for the hacienda.

It was a late start for Snook season this year, but better late than not at all.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

37" Redfish On A Chug Bug

Catching a 37" Redfish on a Chug Bug wasn't exactly what I expected this afternoon, but that is exactly what happened this evening.

After a depressing day in the stock market, I decided to clear my brain and wet a line in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

I left the house at around 5:30 pm and headed towards Peacocks Pocket where I managed to catch some nice sea trout yesterday evening. When I got to the spot, the water was like glass and as I fished the area I quickly realized that there were no fish in the area today.

I slowly drove up the road towards the kayak launch looking for signs of fish but only saw an occasional sea trout dimpling the surface.

I pulled up to the mouth of a small pond and spotted a rolling tarpon in the deeper canal adjacent to the entrance, so I started pitching my Shad pattern Chug Bug around the area.

After several well placed casts, I hooked into a fat slot sized sea trout which I quickly released.

I spotted some tailing activity in the small pond but the fish were well past casting range but I decided to continue fishing the area anyway.   At least one juvenile tarpon was still in the area and I wanted a shot at the fish.

After many casts I spotted a wake coming around the point towards the pond's entrance so I shot a cast right at the bank several feet ahead of the wake.

The fish exploded on the Chug Bug and literally inhaled the lure.  The fish took off towards the pond and as soon as I felt it's weight I knew it was a good red.  The fish made several runs up and down the marsh canal, but each time I put on as much pressure as I could to stop the fish from heading towards the brush at the bank. 

After about 15 minutes or so I finally steered the fish close enough to grab it with my Boga Grip.

I landed the fish and skinnied up the  bank to unhook the big red, take a quick measurement and a pic before releasing it.    The fat redfish measured in at 37" without pinching the tail and it did literally inhale the Chug Bug.

I got out my fishing pliers and tried my best not to hurt the fish as I removed the treble hooks.  They were inside at the gills but I managed to extract the bait without doing too much damage.  At least the fish wasn't bleeding.

I got back down the bank and spent about another 10 minutes trying to revive the fish.  It started moving and I thought it was ok so I released the fish back into the marsh canal.

The fish swam about three feet or so and went belly up.  I was going to continue fishing but I decided to stick around and try to help the fish.  It's gills were still moving so I hoped it would eventually upright itself and move on but after 15 minutes or so it was still belly up.

A snake slithered up to the fish and made it stir a bit so I took a short video of the situation.

Finally, the redfish slowly up righted itself and  started swimming in meandering circles until it eventually went into the shallow marsh pond.

I stuck around to ward off any gators that might take an interest but fortunately none were in the area.

After confirming that the redfish made it, my fishing for the evening was just about finished.

The gnats were starting to get to me, so I packed up my rod, took a few pics of the awesome sunset and headed home.

As I drove slowly towards the boat launch, I spotted a couple more redfish cruising down the marsh canal but I didn't bother making any cast towards them.

Catching a 37" Redfish on a Chug Bug was enough for one evening.  To date, this is the largest red I have caught on a topwater bait in this area.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Dog Days Redfish

Got back home just in time for fishing the proverbial Dog Days of August in East Central Florida.

Unlike the Mobile, Al. area where most of the saltwater fishing is timed to tidal changes, most of the areas in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge have no tide movement to speak of.

This has it's pros and cons but generally, I prefer looking for the fish in lieu of having to wait for a tide to bring the fish come to you.

Anyway, I managed to get out yesterday for a bit to try the area around Peacocks Pocket despite the thunderstorm activity in the area.

I drove around East Gator Creek road to check out the water levels and see if there was any topwater action.  I didn't spot any actively feeding fish so I decided to scout the area around the "pocket".

The grass around the side of the unimproved road has not been cut and some of the people not used to pulling off the side of the road to pass another vehicle were obviously having trouble.

The air temperature was in the high 80s and it was raining off and on most of the time I was in the area.

I started fishing with a Yozuri 3DB topwater plug and picked up a couple of small Ladyfish around a shallow pond but nothing of any substance so I switched to a beaten up Chug Bug.

The Chug Bug got a couple of follow ups but no hits,  so I changed out the bait for a new plug and finally nailed a slot size sea trout.  

I don't know if the new lure did the trick, but after I released the fish, I never got another hit on the lure.

Despite the weather, several fishermen were trying their luck in the area, mostly for redfish using live baits and at least one guy with a topwater "walk the dog" bait.

I pulled up to a couple of fishermen who had been kayaking in the marsh canal and asked how they were doing.

One of the guys was in the water at the bank up to his waist with the kayak.  The other guy said they caught a redfish on a gold spoon, but nothing else for the day.   I was going to give him some good advise about the 10 foot gator that calls that area home, but I decided that it wouldn't do any good and moved on.

I spooked several nice redfish that were cruising down the marsh canal on the way out of the refuge and eventually picked up this oversize 30 inch redfish close to dark at the kayak launch on a gold Johnson's Sprite spoon.   

I made a bad cast from the bank and didn't expect the fish to take the lure, but it swirled around and nailed the bait as it hit the water.  The fish put up a nice fight but after a couple of good runs I managed to pull the fish from the water

I measured the fish hoping it would shrink a couple of inches so I could take it home to eat, but I put it back to grow bigger and fight another day.

The fishing in our area is vastly different from where I've been working.  In Mobile Bay, everything is geared to the tides.

Anyway, for being the Dog Days of August, the fishing wasn't half bad.  Hopefully, the rest of the week will be just as good.

Till next time,
Tight Lines.

Dog Days Of May???

I've always been aware of the Dog Days of August, but the Dog Days of May were apparently upon us this evening.

After my Doctor's appointment, I was told not to lift anything heavier than 10 pounds for another couple of weeks. That pretty much kills any serious fishing, not to mention work that I'm accustomed to doing.

Anyway, I asked Karen if she wanted to take a quick spin around Peacocks Pocket road to see what the fishing conditions were like and she agreed to go if we took Odie and Elmo along.

I realized that with the dogs I wasn't going to get much fishing done so I agreed. I loaded up three spinning rods and we proceeded to drive down to the Indian River.

We went into the easternmost entrance and headed towards Peacocks Pocket kayak launch.  When we drove up to the area, the water was totally flat and there were sporadic ripples of finger mullet on the surface but no sign of sea trout or redfish activity.

I let the dogs out to do their duty while a made several casts with a Chug Bug to no avail.  If there were any fish in the vicinity, they were not hitting top water baits.

We moved along the road and as we passed several bank fishermen, I asked each if they were catching or fishing.  To a man (and woman) they said nothing was hitting.

I drove slowly down the road watching for signs of fish activity and spotted several large redfish tailing in the deeper ponds but they were all too far away to get a cast to them.

We saw three large fish swirling in the marsh canal that were probably gator sea trout but they were spooky and would not hit my Chug Bug.

The air temperature was 90 degrees and there was no wind blowing at all.  The water on both sides of the road was flat and extremely shallow for this time of year.

The Indian River water levels are low and the water was dotted with sea grass out to about 100 yards from the shore.  The pics below depicts the average conditions.

 

The marsh water levels were also extremely low as you can see from these pics.

  

Areas that held fish a couple of months ago are now either high and dry or close to it.  Weeds abound and make casting an artificial bait a chore.  The fish seem to be concentrated in the marsh canals and the deeper ponds.  They are also extremely spooky and savvy to what most fishermen are throwing at them.  

As we continued to slowly drive through Peacocks Pocket road, Karen and I spotted several small sea trout chasing baitfish and a couple of potential Gator Sea Trout that pushed a ton of water and disappeared down the canal.

The areas I caught sea trout and redfish at last week were apparently void of fish today.  The culverts were closed and there was no water running into or out of the marsh areas.

Hopefully over the Memorial Day weekend, I'll be able to spend some quality time trying to fool one of the big ones I spotted Thursday evening.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Easter Weekend Fishing In the Refuge

Easter weekend fishing in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge was pretty dismal.

Friday's scouting trip set me up for some potentially great fishing possibilities, so when Karen asked about taking the "boys" (Elmo and Odie) to the "swamp" for a fishing trip, I readily agreed.

We stopped by the bait shop and picked up a dozen finger mullet and headed to Peacocks Pocket Road to try a few spots.

We decided to fish two small ponds where I spotted some oversize redfish yesterday, so I bypassed several likely looking spots in favor of one area.

When we got to the area I set up four rods along the bank all rigged with sliding sinker rigs and live finger mullet.

The ponds we fished were relatively shallow but the redfish were there.  They were busting on baitfish but they were out of casting range.

I started tossing a Chug Bug around until a 9 foot gator got interested in it and started following the bait.

Like the Pied Piper of Hamelin, I lured the gator down the marsh canal out of range of our beloved canines.

Although I am not usually a bait fishermen, I decided to give it a shot this afternoon.  We waited till almost dusk for a bite that never materialized on any of our rods.

It was the most frustrating afternoon fishing that I've had in a long while.  Big redfish and a couple of huge sea trout were hitting baits all over the place but they would not come in to hit our baits.

When the mosquitoes started to do their thing, both Karen and myself were ready to call it a day.

We fished Saturday afternoon for three hours and never had a bite.  Totally skunked!

I let the finger mullet that were still alive out to fend for themselves and took a few pics of the area and sunset before heading home.

Despite the fact that we didn't catch anything, we still had a good time in the refuge; especially Elmo and Odie.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Topwater Sea Trout Action

My wife and I didn't get a chance to get out this weekend until late this afternoon.

I was hoping for some topwater sea trout action but the windy conditions this afternoon made it look like a lost cause.

We left the house around 4:00 pm and headed for Karen's favorite "tree" in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. She likes this popular area because there are almost always black drum and reds in the shallows.

Odie Looking Cute!

We took Elmo and Odie with us to give them some play time and as we approached the area, both dogs were eager to get out and sniff around.

Karen was fishing with jumbo fresh dead pink shrimp and I took along a live bait rod for myself, just in case the topwater baits didn't pan out.

I tossed out my shrimp around some mullet activity and started casting a gold Johnson's Sprite spoon around the shallows in the Indian River side of the road.

Karen opted to fish the marsh canal where she saw a fish tailing as we pulled up to our spot.

After numerous casts and a lot of dead grass on the spoon I was just about ready to change lures when I spotted a nice redfish tail around a startled school of mullet.

I shot a cast just ahead of the red and almost immediately the fish swirled around and hit the lure.  Unfortunately, it didn't eat it.

As the fish swam off, I continued casting the spoon but never got another strike.

About the time I decided to change lures, another angler pulled up in a big black pickup truck and put in next to where I was fishing. 

It was then when I got a hit on the jumbo shrimp.  I thought I had a red or a drum but instead hooked up with a large puffer fish.  The 13" long puffer was the culprit that was robbing my baits so I put up the rod, went back to the truck and changed lures.

I got the rod with a black and chartreuse Zara Spook Jr. and smeared on some Pro-Cure just for good luck.

Numerous casts around the mullet pods got me a couple of half hearted hits so I decided to fish the "ditches" on the other side of the road to see what was biting.

Several casts later I missed a nice sea trout that struck the topwater bait three times before giving up.

A few casts later I hooked up with another sea trout that hit the bait at the bank.

After Karen took a quick pick I returned the fish and continued fishing the plug up the road.

It was close to 7:00 pm when the trout started biting and in the next hour I hooked and released three more fish all around the same size before Karen wanted to call it a day.

My back was killing me from painting our bedroom so I quickly agreed with her to call it a day.

The dogs had fun and although Karen didn't hook up with a red she had a nice afternoon in the "swamp".

On the way out of the refuge we spotted a huge flock of white pelicans and several alligators.

I took these pics near Peacocks Pocket before leaving the refuge.

Next weekend I promised Karen to take the boat out for a run around the islands near the boat launch.

Till then,

Tight Lines.

A Great Day For Ducks

Today was a great day for ducks, not so great for fishing.

It was around 1:30 pm when I finally decided to go fishing this afternoon.

It was raining sporadically all morning at the house and when it finally slowed down I packed up some rods and headed for Peacocks Pocket to make a quick run around the area.

As I entered Gator Creek road, the water was calm and there were rafts of ducks all around the area.

The air temperature was 71 degrees and as I pulled up to the first set of culverts at Catfish Creek Loop, the heavens opened.

I briefly thought about turning around and going home but I decided to give it a try despite the downpour.

Unfortunately, all I got for my efforts was a soaking wet hoodie.  I did not get a single bite all the time I fished the area, but I did get soaking wet.

I met up with several fishermen on the way into the refuge and stopped briefly to talk to Ron who despite the torrent, had a nifty setup to watch his rods.

He had a sheet over his truck to block some of the rain but was still pretty soaking wet when I pulled up.

When I asked him if he had caught any reds, he told me he missed a couple on mud minnows.

As we were chatting, he had a bite and again missed the red.

I was fishing artificial baits and didn't have the luxury of sitting in the truck waiting for a bite.  Instead, I was casting an array of spoons, soft baits and topwater lures trying my best to get some kind of interest going.

When we parted ways, it really started coming down.  I took a few short vids of the nasty weather but today was truly a great day for ducks in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

After an hour or so of heavy rain and I was on my way out of the refuge, the rain slowed down enough for me to try fishing again.

I tried tossing a gold Nemiere Red Ripper and a Bagley paddle tail swimbait for a while with no success.

As I neared the end of Peacocks Pocket road and came to the shallow water launch, I discovered where all the fishermen were.  The area was pretty crowded and apparently people were catching fish.

I talked to a couple of guys who had already loaded their Gheenoes onto their trailer and  another guy who was coming in with his kayak and both reported good catches of redfish, black drum and sea trout in the area directly adjacent to the Space Center barriers.

One pair had two slot reds, two black drum and two nice over slot sea trout.  The other guy had a black drum and a redfish.  He said he caught several others but only harvested the two fish.

The guys in the Gheenoe were using artificial soft baits with an "assist".  They were rubbing the baits in a bag of clams they had brought with them.  I much prefer using Pro-Cure.

Anyway, as it was starting to clear up, I made up my mind to head for home.

I was soaked and getting chilled even though the air temperature was a pleasant 69 degrees.

If the weather is decent tomorrow, I may take out my Gheenoe out for a spin.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

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Peacocks Pocket Road Has Opened

Saturday afternoon I was surprised to learn that Peacocks Pocket Road has opened up again to vehicle traffic.  In fact I learned from Ron, a fellow angler, that it has been open since last weekend.

I have been having back problems so I didn't bother getting out to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge until late Saturday afternoon.

Since I thought that Peacocks Pocket road was still closed, I entered the refuge through East Gator Creek road where the water is extremely weedy and shallow.

Saturday's trip was intended to be mostly a scouting expedition.  The weather was great.  The air temperature was 79 degrees with a very little wind blowing and there were no rain clouds in the sky.

I packed six spinning rods in the back of the truck with various lures but due to the shallow water, I decided on fishing topwater baits.

I picked a Zara Spook Jr. in a gold/black back color to start and started "walking the dog" in several deeper water areas.

I was about to give up on the bait when I got a hit from a nice redfish right off the bank.

The fish wasn't hooked very well and at the beginning of the first run, the hook pulled out.

The water was clear enough to see the deep bronze color of the redfish as it swam down the canal.

I decided to keep up fishing the plug so I moved up the road casting at every stop.

It took many more casts before hooking up with my second fish of the day.  The fish surprised me by blasting the Zara Spook Jr. almost as soon as it hit the water next to a mangrove root.

The fish was a large sea trout of about 26 inches or so.  It made several short "sloshy" runs and as I was trying to find an area where I could land the fish, the hook pulled out.

Second fish of the day and none landed.

It was getting late, so I decided to see if Peacocks Pocket was open.

I was surprised to see the barrier down and traffic coming out of the area.

As I drove into the road, the first truck I spotted was Ron's.  He had a couple of poles out and when I asked him how he was doing, he told me that the fish were not hitting anything.  He said he was fishing "everything" with no luck.

Ron is primarily a live bait fisherman.  Today he was fishing with shrimp, live mullet and cut baits with no luck.

I didn't bother to chat but moved on to see if I could spot any fish next to the road.

Peacocks Pocket road on Saturday was like I-95.  There was a lot of vehicle traffic looking at the gators, waterfowl, etc.and I couldn't blame them.  The area was loaded with wildlife.

The boaters were also out in force today.  There were kayakers, pontoon boats, flats boats, and waders in the Indian River all trying to catch some fish.

 

 
Although I made several stops at some of my favorite spots, I never coaxed another bite from anything the rest of the afternoon.  So, I decided to take some pics and head for home.

Now that Peacocks Pocket has opened up for vehicle traffic, I will try to get out more than I have been.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

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The Redfish Bite Was Hot Just Before The Shutdown

I finally got caught up reading my emails today and learned from Jason Cooper that the redfish bite was hot just before the shutdown in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

He sent me these pics of the fish he landed while fishing off of Peacocks Pocket road in the refuge the last weekend, just before the area shutdown.

He told me that he caught all the redfish on the river side of Peacocks Pocket road on large 8" to 10" mullet and lost a few more.

He said that if he could have landed all the fish he hooked, he would have caught over a dozen reds over the course of the weekend.

The fish on the left hit an 8 inch mullet and measured in 

at 26 1/2".

The redfish below measured in at 28 " and hit the same size mullet.

This fish measured in at 40" and was the largest landed over the weekend.

 This red was in the slot at 24" and also hit a large mullet.

His smallest redfish measured in at 21" but the bite was so hot that he didn't get a chance to take a picture of that fish. 

He had to perform a quick release on the smaller red as was getting another "knockdown" on another rod.

Jason caught the sea trout to the left on the other side of the road where I usually pick up most of my fish.

The sea trout measured in at 27" and I don't know whether or not Jason released the fish to fight another day.

Hopefully, the closures will be short lived.

I'm already jonesing to get out to the river.

Tight Lines to you all!