Redfish In The Creeks

This afternoon when Karen asked if we could take the "boys" for a ride, I thought about the redfish in the creeks near Shiloh Road and immediately agreed.

We left in such a hurry that I had to stop at a bait shop to buy some frozen shrimp for bait.

It was in the mid 70s and drizzling when we pulled into Shiloh Marsh Road but by the time we were half way to where Karen wanted to fish, the rain had stopped.

The water level was up on both sides of the road and we both got wet feet walking to our fishing spot.

Karen was using an Okuma bait runner reel loaded with Cajun Red line and I had a Penn Fierce III outfit loaded with 8 pound mono and only a #4/0 Owner hook.

We put out both rods with shrimp and I pulled out another Penn outfit with a Johnson Sprite spoon and started blind casting the area.   I'm not patient enough to sit and watch a rod for a bite.

I wasn't doing anything with the spoon but Karen had caught and released two hard head catfish in a matter of a half an hour.

I finally gave up on the gold spoon about the time Karen hooked into a nice fish.

I pulled out my cell phone and took this video of the action.

The fish was just inside the slot and would have made a great dinner but Karen wanted to release it. 

The red inhaled the hook so I cut the leader as close to the hook as possible and released the fish to fight another day.

During the fight, I hooked into another catfish that I quickly landed and released.

We were going to stay and fish a little bit longer but it started to rain again so we called it a day.

This area of the Indian River produces some nice redfish, snook, tarpon, and occasionally black drum.  I seldom catch sea trout in the creeks but I'm sure they are here.

I took another pick or two of the area before packing it in and plan to fish the area next week during my vacation.

Till next time,
Tight Lines...

Redfish In The Creeks

The redfish in the creeks in the northernmost part of the Indian River have been a hit or miss proposition lately, so I decided to use up the last few live shrimp that Karen and I didn't get to use the other day.

I normally prefer fishing topwater baits but the conditions this afternoon were more appropriate for live bait fishing.

The air temperature was 86 degrees and there was only a slight breeze over the water in the area where I planned to fish.

Regardless, I just had to toss a Chug Bug and even a Creme spoiler shad around a bit before settling down to fishing with the shrimp.

The creek I stopped to fish had no sign of activity.  The water was shallow and the dark bottom was mostly muddy.

I tossed one bait out on the bottom just short of the opposite bank and the second up the creek under a float with a single split shot to keep the shrimp on the bottom.

I popped the float several times to ring the dinner bell to any fish in the vicinity and set the reel on bait runner on the ground.

It only took a few minutes for a small redfish to pull the bobber up the creek.  I set the hook and after a brief fight landed and released the fish.

At least I didn't get the skunk like I did the other day.  Anyway, I took a quick pick and repeated the process.

This time it took a little longer before another small redfish inhaled the shrimp.

This time I brought my cell phone and took a couple of pics of the action.

After the second fish, I spent almost an hour waiting for another bite but nothing was happening.  I was hot, sweaty, and the insects were getting annoying so I decided to pack it in and head to the house for an early dinner.

As I got close to the main road, I spotted this lone duck enjoying the day.  Just had to get a clip of it.

On the way back I stopped at Haulover to check out the action.  There were several fishermen on both sides of the canal and a few boats targeting the two holes at the entrances, presumably after the big bull reds that they have been catching there.

I took a couple of pics before getting my dinner.

Till next time,
Tight Lines.