Topwater Action On The Flats

When I hit the water late yesterday afternoon to get some topwater action on the flats, all I managed to do was wear out my casting arm.

The fish just were not in the mood to eat any of my offterings.

This afternoon was an entirely different scenario.

I left the house at around 6:00 pm and hit East Gator Creek a short time later.

There were tons of people still having social distancing fun at the causeway but along the road I was fishing, only three or four vehicles drove by during the time I was there.

I bought another new Penn Fierce III liveliner from Bass Pro that was delivered Friday afternoon, so I decided to give it a workout.  

I loaded it up with 30# Power Pro, tied on a 20# fluorocarbon leader, and finished it up with an old trout pattern SkitterWalk.

After juicing up the lure with some Pro-Cure Gel, I was ready for some action.

The wind was coming towards the South and there was enough of a chop on the water to make walking the dog a challenge.

At my first spot, my very first cast produced a small ladyfish that I quickly released after snapping this pic.

The release piqued the interest of this gator that decided to stick around the neighborhood.

After several casts without even a followup, I moved to another spot where the water was less choppy.

I hooked a small juvenile tarpon that flipped off the bait after the second jump and after a few more casts, landed a slot sea trout that nailed the SkitterWalk at the bank.

I was going to change baits but the trout pattern seemed to be the ticket today, so after another followup from something real small, I moved to a third spot to try my luck.

This area is one of my favorites and if you can cast to the opposite bank without getting into the bushes, you can usually pick off either a ladyfish, tarpon, or sea trout.

It took me three casts to pick up another trout that I almost didn't bother capturing on my phone.  

But, I took this quick pic before I released the fish and decided to head to Catfish Creek Loop.

I made one stop at the culvert when I saw that the water was flowing into the marsh canal and decided to walk the SkitterWalk around the edges of the mangroves to see if anything was hungry.

The second cast produced a nice sea trout was a little over 22 inches.

The fish nailed the topwater plug half way down the middle of the marsh canal right in front of a Green Heron and a large alligator.

The fish sloshed around a bit before I landed it and decided to try to make a "selfie".

I'm not really into selfies, but this is the best I could do.

Anyway, after several more unfruitful casts into the area, the gator was getting too interested in my plug, so I drove towards Catfish Creek Loop.

As I entered the road, I spotted a fellow angler with a tight line so I decided to video the action.

I thought he was hooked into a big black drum, but after taking almost forever landing the critter, the "fish" turned out to be a large soft shell turtle.

The guy, his wife (I assume) and I were surprised at the catch and I made a stupid crack about how not to land a fish.

Anyway, I took this rather lengthy video of the entire action that you might, or might not, enjoy.

By the time the turtle broke off, it was time to leave the refuge, so I drove around the loop and made my way to the house.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Indian River Flats

The Indian River flats are good during April, May, and June for some excellent sea trout fishing.

This past week, I had several chances to scout for a fishing spot that wasn't already occupied with anglers dunking shrimp or mullet for reds and black drum.

The guys on the fishing pier seemed to be practicing social distancing as I passed them going over the bridge.

I found a spot on the north Indian River that I usually bypass and was surprised to find some great, clear shallow water flats to fish off of a previously closed dyke road.

My original trip was during the afternoon, so I didn't bother wearing out my casting arm trying to catch any fish.  I took a bunch of pics of likely looking spots and came back later on in the evening to toss some lures.

When I waded the flats below, I started tossing a gold, weedless, Johnson's Silver Minnow to cover some ground and see if I could find some fish.

I walked the shallow flats looking for fish and spooked a couple of single redfish before hooking up and releasing a rat red.

After a ton of casting, I finally hooked into a nice sea trout that I also released.

I didn't take my cell phone along to get any pics, but I did pull it out of my truck when I caught the sea trout below at a pond that ran along the other side of the path.

I plan on getting out earlier in the morning to toss a topwater Chug Bug around and see if I can pick up one of those big gator trout that some of the guides have been getting.

I didn't have to worry about social distancing for a change.  Feels great.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Weekend Topwater Action

Got some late afternoon topwater action in yesterday around East Gator Creek road in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

In an hour of fishing, I nailed six ladyfish, mostly all dinks, and one very stupid sea trout on Chug Bugs and and XPS popper I picked up at Bass Pro while I was working in Mobile, Al.

None of the fish were outstanding so I didn't bother taking any pics, but I plan to get out tomorrow or Monday to target tarpon in the ditches.

The vehicle traffic in the refuge was heavy and a lot of anglers were on the water pitching a variety of artificial baits and fishing cut baits for reds.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Topwater Action In The Wildlife Refuge

Went out this afternoon around 4:30 pm for some topwater action in the wildlife refuge.

It was raining lightly and the air temperature was 83 degrees when I left the house.

I started fishing the first culvert at East Gator Creek with a Chug Bug, but moved on after not getting any hits.

There was a slight wind on the shallow grass flats that made casting somewhat difficult but just right for topwater fishing.

Fan casting the area around the first bend proved fruitless, so I decided to hit every stretch where I could make a reasonable cast and have a chance at landing a fish.

At the next spot I stopped to fish, I hooked a large ladyfish that thought it was a tarpon.  The fish jumped all over the flat and put on a great fight.

I landed the fish, took a couple of quick pics, and returned it to the water,

I smeared up my Chug Bug with some Pro-Cure Inshore formula and after a couple more casts hooked up with another ladyfish about the same size as the first one.

It started raining again and the fish started hitting my bait on almost every cast.

I caught a couple more ladyfish about the same size as the first two and another that was slightly larger than my Chug Bug.

Around the next bend, I made a cast to a large fish that I spotted nailing a bait on the surface.    

It took three casts to catch the interest of the fish, but it finally blasted my Chug Bug completely out of the water.   I let the lure sit and the fish came back and hooked itself on the second go around.

The fish turned out to be a big sea trout.  I got the fish close to the bank to where I could see it, but it broke off in the brush along the bank and took my favorite Chug Bug along with it.

Over the years I've learned to come prepared and I carry a small tackle store in the back seat of my truck.  I decided to tie on a topwater XPS series bait that I picked up at Bass Pro in Mobile, Al.  

I smeared up the bait with some Pro-Cure and started casting it to some Pro-Cureooking spots.

It didn't take long to pick up another under slot sea trout that I quickly released after taking a couple of pics.

It started raining again and I decided I had enough action for this afternoon.  I was tired, hungry, and the mosquitoes were beginning to get to me.

I managed to catch five ladyfish and land one spotted sea trout in an hour of topwater fishing.

I plan to get out again tomorrow and try for some tarpon.

Till next time,
Tight Lines

Shiloh Road Is Stil Hot

Shiloh Road is still hot as of this date.

I've been in Mobile, Al for the past week but spent some time in Bainbridge, Ga. after the hurricane trying to clean up the mess and keep everything afloat.

After sleeping in my truck for 4 nights, my back was giving out but after a day resting and just taking it easy, I finally decided to head out and try some topwater fishing in the refuge.

The air temperature today was in the low 70s and it was windy enough to give me reservations about tossing a topwater bait around, but around 5:00 pm, I finally decided to give it a shot.

I was going to try East Gator Creek but after gassing up my truck, I decided to see if the shallow creeks around North Shiloh Road were worth fishing.

When I got there, nobody was in sight and it looked like I had the area to myself.

I pulled up to the culverts and found the water level extremely low on the Indian River side of the road.

There was absolutely no sign of fish in that area, however, the other side of the road looked good enough to me to start tossing a topwater bait around.

I had one rod in my truck.  It was a Penn Fierce II live liner combo I picked up a couple of weeks ago at Bass Pro in Mobile, Al.

It was tipped with an XPS Slim Dog topwater bait that I smeared up with some Pro-Cure super gel.

The wind had created some manageable ripples on the water so I started casting the Slim Dog into the shallows and walking the dog back to the culvert.

The first cast had a couple of missed hits, but the second cast hooked me up with a ladyfish of almost 2 feet in length.  I took a pic, released the fish, and continued casting around the area.

The next fish was a small spotted sea trout that acted like a miniature Gator trout.  I released the fish and on the next cast caught it's big brother.

That sea trout was about 18" and put up a decent fight before giving it up.  I released the fish and on the next cast picked up another ladyfish much smaller than the previous one.

To make a long story short, I spent the next couple of hours catching and releasing at least a dozen ladyfish and 7 spotted sea trout of various size.

When it started getting dark, the bite mysteriously stopped and on que, the mosquitoes started sucking my blood.

I took a couple of pics of the area, called Lil Ceasers to order a couple of hot and ready pizzas, and headed for the house.

I'll be home this week and hope to get a few more shots at this area and several others that I love to fish.  

I'm definitely planning a trip to Bio Lab road to check out the flats for reds and bigger sea trout.

Till next time,

Tight Lines. 

Playalinda Beach surf fishing report for Sept 22, 2018

Just got back to town and decided to make a Playalinda Beach surf fishing report for Sept 22, 2018.

I hit the beach around 4:00 pm with my lifetime beach pass at the ready and discovered that today was a FREE day for beach goers at Playalinda.

I asked the attendant about the fishing but he was oblivious and had no idea what was biting or not biting.

I drove to several parking areas to check out the action (or lack thereof) and talk to a few fishermen to see what was going on.

The first lot I stopped at was #8 just past Eddy Creek where I spotted a guy in the parking lot taking down his surf fishing rod.

He said it was a beautiful day for the beach, but a crappy day for fishing.  He went on to tell me that the rough surf, windy conditions, and seaweed in the ocean made it tough to feel a bite.  He was using live sand fleas for bait and said the only fish he saw caught while he was fishing was a large ladyfish.

I asked him if the mullet were running, and was told that he saw a few small pods moving south, but no bird diving activity.

After thanking him for his input, I walked up the ramp to the beach and took a few pics of some folks enjoying the day and dunking some baits.  I talked to a few more guys on the beach who had caught a few whiting, but nothing of any consequence.

They gave me the same reason as the fellow in the parking lot.  Windy, weedy, and rough.

The story was basically the same at lots #9 and #10.

The water was clean and the tide was going out but for some reason the fish just weren't cooperating today.  Maybe because it was a FREE day.  Who knows.

Anyway, I decided not to bother breaking out my surf rod, instead I drove into Eddy Creek and came up on another surf fisherman who was in the process of leaving.  He told me the same thing.

He had been fishing sand fleas and shrimp for pompano and whiting but he had problems with the weeds and being able to detect a bite.  He had a couple of small whiting that he said he released.

I thanked him for the info and took this vid of a huge tortoise making his way across the parking lot.

The water at Eddy Creek was low and after watching the area for a few minutes for any signs of fish, I decided to head to Peacocks Pocket on the way back to the house.

The Peacocks Pocket  boat launch was occupied by a couple who were dunking baits for redfish.  They said nothing was biting and they were just enjoying the day.

I drove past them and tossed a topwater plug around a couple of areas with only a follow up from a ladyfish, so I decided to head over to East Gator Creek and check out the shallows.

East Gator Creek was covered with floating vegetation in most of the shallows.  The water was crystal clear, and although the floating vegetation made fishing a topwater bait a problem,k I managed to pick up a ladyfish and a couple of small sea trout on an XPS topwater lure.

I moved up the road to check out Catfish Creek Loop, but the road was still closed to vehicle traffic.  I parked and started fishing the XPS Slim Dog around the marsh canal and the shallows on the other side of the road.

After several casts I hooked a nice sea trout and just as I was pulling it out of the canal, a large gator decided he wanted the trout more than I did and came out of the water after it.

I got the sea trout, and the gator slid back into the water and just stayed at the bank looking at me as if I took it's last meal.

I took this quick video of the gator and decided to head home and partake of the ham I had cooking in the oven.

By 7:15 pm I was back home eating a ham sandwich and drinking a glass of moo juice.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Bio Lab Flats Fishing

After my dentist appoint this morning, I decided to make a scouting trip around the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge to see if Bio Lab flats fishing could be on the agenda this week.

It was raining slightly at the house so I decided to hit Shiloh Marsh road to see if any juvenile tarpon were in the area.

I brought along my 8 wt fly rod, three spinning rods, and a 10 wt. fly rod just for the hell of it.

When I got to Shiloh Road, I didn't see any sign of fish but I stopped anyway to toss a couple of Chug Bugs around the area.

There was a slight breeze over the water on one side of the road but the water on the other side was completely calm.

After several casts to the calm side, I never got a hit or a follow up so I changed over to the smaller size Chug Bug and started casting to likely looking areas on the windy side.

The third cast was a charm and an under size sea trout hit the bait.  I took a pic, released the fish and continued casting.

I caught and released three more sea trout about the same size and two medium sized ladyfish before the bite stopped.

I moved up the unimproved road and stopped to cast into several areas along the way to the barrier and managed a couple of boils, but no fish.

When I got to the barrier, I parked and started fan casting the area with a small size SkitterWalk that I picked up at Bass Pro.

The change in baits produced two small sea trout and a miss from a garfish about two feet long.

I wanted to hit BioLab road before Snook season to scout the area so I left Shiloh and headed to the refuge entrance off of A1A.

Haulover Canal looked desolate.  There were no boats in the canal and I didn't notice anyone fishing from the banks from the bridge so I moved on to Bio Lab.

The road was open and there was a guy parked at the culverts with a fly rod trying to catch snook.

It was around 5:45 pm when I entered the road and there was a lot of fish activity along the weedy shoreline.  The wind was blowing towards the road and the weeds were piling up along the shore where baitfish were apparently hiding.

I spotted three redfish that I tried casting a Chug Bug to but the weeds made a good presentation pretty impossible.

Farther down Bio Lab towards the Whale Tail flats, the water was clean and there were a lot of baitfish schools in the area.  Several times I noticed fish busting on the mullet causing the entire school to scatter.

I stopped twice to cast another Chug Bug towards the schools and caught a couple more sea trout that I quickly released before moving on down the road towards Playalinda Beach road.

I was going to wade another flat farther south but there were two large gators on the flat around the mullet pods that I didn't feel like messing with.

The refuge manager made a wise decision when they made Bio Lab road one way.  The grass alongside the road in several areas was shoulder high and would definitely cause problems with traffic coming in from the beach road.

I found several spots that looked like prime snook water and mentally filed them in my worn memory banks for the opening of Snook season Saturday.

As I exited Bio Lab, I was tired and hungry, so I headed to the house for something to eat.

Hope to get out again before Saturday to firm up a couple more snooky looking spots

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Topwater Fishing In The Refuge

Around 5:30 pm this afternoon, my wife asked if we could take the "boys" out to the swamp for some topwater fishing in the refuge.

Since it had just rained and the temperature was tolerable, I quickly agreed and started loading up the truck.

Today I brought two spinning rods with Chug Bugs, one rod with an XPS Slim Dog, and one rod with a sliding sinker rig for redfish.

The dogs were in the truck almost before I opened the door, and when my wife finished loading the cooler with some drinks and a single frozen ladyfish for bait that I caught the other day, we were off to the "swamp".

My wife was in charge of watching Elmo and Odie so she opted for fishing a chunk of ladyfish on the redfish rig.  Meanwhile, I walked the banks of East Gator Creek with my topwater rods looking for signs of fish.

I started casting with the Slim Dog bait but "walking the dog" was difficult with the slight wind and chop on the water.

I switched to a new Chug Bug I bought to replace my favorite Baby Bass pattern and started fan casting in several areas.

After getting a couple of half hearted hits, we decided to move to another less windy spot.

There were a lot of gators on the bank croaking away and only a few in the water which made topwater fishing a pleasant experience.  I hate when the gators follow the bait.

The last stop we made was at a small pond where I missed a nice spotted sea trout the other day.

Karen set up her chunk bait at the bend of a small island and I again started walking the bank, fan casting, to cover as much water as possible.

I missed a large ladyfish on the XPS Slim Dog and because it was so hard to fish, I switched to the Chug Bug.

I started fan casting and catching fish almost immediately.  The trick today was to let the bait sit perfectly still for a minute or so after a couple of quick jerks, and repeat the process to the bank.

I managed to catch and release seven decent sized sea trout in the next hour, and missed at least that same amount.

I took a few pics and a short video of the action before releasing the fish.

About 6:45 pm the bite abruptly stopped.

I started walking back to the truck when I heard Karen ask for help with a large fish she had just caught.

When I got closer I saw that she had caught a large garfish.

I got my pliers but the gar had swallowed the chunk of ladyfish, so I cut the line to let the fish digest the hook instead of my fingers.

After a few pics, I released the gar, packed up our gear and headed to the house for dinner.  There were a couple of pork chops with my name on them and I hadn't eaten all day.

Till next time,
Tight Lines.

Walking Peacocks Pocket Road

After trying several times to contact someone in authority at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, I decided to try walking Peacocks Pocket road to see if it was really as messed up as I had been told.

I put on my shorts and brought along two spinning rods tipped with a DOA Baitbuster and my top water bait of choice, a Chug Bug.

Since I planned on walking at least half way through Peacocks Pocket road, I didn't burden myself with a lot of excess gear.  I put a couple more Baitbusters in my pocket along with another Chug Bug and a weedless Johnsons silver spoon to cover the water column.

I parked at the barrier at the entrance to Catfish Creek Loop and started walking the unimproved road.

I was immediately surprised how low the water levels were in the marsh.

The small ponds I love to fish in the fall and early spring were now dark mud dotted with bird and gator tracks.

The water in the marsh canal along the road was at least two or more feet lower than what is expected for this time of the year.  Either the management people were draining the "swamp", or there was a hell of a lot of evaporation going on.

As I walked along the first stretch, I spotted a couple of sea trout chasing bait fish in the canal and came up on a huge gator sunning itself on the bank. 

 As I was taking it's pic, the gator slithered into the water looking right at me.

I took a short video and moved on up the road looking for signs of fish.

About a mile up the road, past areas where there used to be good ponds to fish, I finally spotted an oversize redfish busting baitfish along the bank.

I fired the DOA Baitbuster to it but the fish spooked and continued up the canal.

All along the walk, I took pics of the areas where I used to catch some very nice fish but today, things had changed.

The fish were all concentrated in the deeper areas of the canal, but they were super spooky.

I managed to catch a couple of sea trout that were right on the slot and I spooked a couple more oversize redfish before deciding to turn around.  It was getting late and I didn't want to kill myself walking back to the truck before dusk.

Although I had walked at least half way up Peacocks Pocket Road, I still didn't come across any areas that would have prevented the normal flow of vehicle traffic.

I spotted a ton of wildlife that included gators, pelicans, roseatte spoonbills, a variety of herons and even a couple of wood storks but the best part of the journey was the complete absence of vehicle traffic.

I was literally the only human being walking the area and it was wonderful.

On the way back to the truck, I jumped a small group of drum that were pushing water down the canal and as I got to the truck, I was treated to a nice sunset.

I plan to be walking Peacocks Pocket road again this week from the other entrance to see exactly where all the damage to the road is.

Till my next report, Tight Lines.

Bio Lab Road Boat Ramp

Sunday afternoon was the first chance I got to get out of the house and check out the fishing in our area.

My wife wanted to take Elmo and Odie for a ride, so we decided to see if Peacocks Pocket Road was open for vehicle traffic.  It was supposed to reopen on the 15th, but I had my doubts.

Karen didn't want to fish but I packed a rod with a DOA Baitbuster along anyway, just in case.

As we drove around East Gator Creek road, we were surprised at how low the water levels were in the marsh.  The water was down at least a couple of feet since the last time I made the circle, which was about three weeks ago.

There was a rocket launch early Sunday morning, which was probably why the area was full of people.  The fair was also closing down on Sunday, which also brought in a lot of people; plus the weather was beautiful.

We drove to the entrance to Peacocks Pocket and saw that the barrier was still in place.  The reason given for the closure was unsafe road conditions caused by the last hurricane.

You would think they could have repaired the road by now, but after calling the Refuge people, I discovered they apparently did not have the funds to repair the road.  At least that's what I was told.

We drove around Catfish Creek Loop and watched a bank fisherman land an under slot redfish before moving on.   I was going to take a pic of the fish, but there was traffic behind us so we moved on.

We saw several more bank fishermen dunking shrimp, but didn't notice anybody else catching anything.

As we left the refuge, we decided to check out Bio Lab road to see if they had finished the shallow water boat launch.

There were signs up warning that the Haulover Canal bridge was closed, so as we headed to Bio Lab road, we decided to check out Haulover afterwards.

The boat ramp at Bio Lab road was finished and there was a brand new dock to boot.

I took several pics of the ramp and the general area before heading out to Haulover.  The results are in the short video above.

We drove into Bairs Cove boat ramp where several people were fishing and a bunch of people in kayaks were having  great time.

I talked with one couple who was fishing with shrimp along the sea wall who said he caught a few sea trout on live shrimp under a DOA float.   He showed me a pic of the fish that he took on his cell phone which looked to be well over the slot.

He said there were a ton of Manatees in the Cove which they had been watching all afternoon.

While Karen and I were there, we didn't see any but they are almost always in the area.

On the way out of the boat launch I stopped to take a pic of the bridge.  I couldn't tell what they were working on but they had scaffolds all over the place, which means that the road was probably going to be closed for a while.

It was getting late, so we decided to head for the house and get something for dinner.

Now that they have the boat ramp in at Bio Lab road, I'll probably start taking out my Maverick flats boat.

It seems that every fishing area in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge has been closed, or is being closed to vehicle traffic for some reason or another.

Since I have been living in the Titusville, Fl. area, they closed Shiloh Road, Long Pond Road,  the access roads to Granny's Cove, Pumphouse Road, the Southeast road along Haulover Canal, the dirt road along Pelican Island, and now possibly Peacocks Pocket Road.

All I want to know is what are they doing with the money.

They obviously are not "fixing" the roads and year after year, the bank fishing opportunities we once enjoyed have disappeared.

Tight Lines, if you can find a place to wet them!

Fishing Catfish Creek

It looks like fishing Catfish Creek will be on the agenda for the near future for bank fishermen in our area.

I tried to find out why Peacocks Pocket road is closed to vehicle traffic, but as of this date I never received a satisfactory explanation.

The Indian River around Parrish Park in Titusville, Fl. today was spattered with bank fishermen who were mostly after Redfish.

The North side of the road seemed to have the most fishermen but as I drove through the first drive, several guys were in the Catfish Creek area catching sea trout and reds.

This guy was fly fishing for "anything that bites" with a baitfish pattern.   When I asked him how he was doing, he said he caught several spotted sea trout in the 15" to 20" range.  I could see the wide tail of a nice sea trout on his stringer that looked like it was over the 24" slot, but I didn't belabor the point.

Some productive baitfish patterns I use listed from top to bottom are Kraimer's Tan, Nice Mullet, Kraimer's Gray/White, and Clouser's Olive White.

As I drove around the unimproved road, I noted that the water levels in the refuge were way up and that the culverts were open and flowing, undoubtedly due to the hurricane.

Several of the bank fishermen I talked to were catching sea trout, and one fellow had a slot redfish that he nailed on a cut bait.

Although I didn't bring along a rod or have time to fish, I might just get out tomorrow to wet a line.

Might even break out my fly rod again if the wind cooperates..

Till next time, Tight Lines.  

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.