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...

September Fishing In The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

September fishing in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge can be productive if you can adjust to the weather.

This afternoon I didn't plan on going out but I decided to see if Shiloh Marsh Road was open.

When I left the house it was around 5:30 pm and by the time I crossed the bridge at the entrance to Shiloh Marsh Road, it had started to rain.

I drove down the road towards the gate and found that the powers that be still had the barrier up.  No motor vehicle traffic today.

On the way out, I noticed some action in the shallow creek that is the northernmost portion of the Indian River Lagoon.  Several casts with a silver spoon, a gold Johnson's Sprite and a Zara Spook Jr. didn't produce any hits, so I decided to head for Bio Lab road where a fellow angler said he caught a tarpon yesterday afternoon.

I started down the road towards Haulover Canal and had to turn around because the bridge was being worked on.  The sign said it would be closed until Sept.6th or the 9th., I'm not sure which.

Anyway, I had to drive down to Titusville to get to Bio Lab road so I did.  I was interested in playing with a tarpon or two.

When I drove to the shallow water boat launch, I was treated to a beautiful rainbow over the Mosquito Lagoon.  I took a few pics and drove around looking for tarpon.

 

After checking out all possibilities, I was sure there were none in the area today.  I saw some ladyfish chasing baitfish in the shallow pond so I pulled out a Chug Bug and managed to catch two before I decided to move on.

September is supposed to be the cooling down month but today the air temp was still in the low 90s until the rain dropped it into the 80s.  It was hot and balmy.

I decided to hit Peacocks Pocket on the way home and entered the eastern entrance.  As I drove past the kayak launching area, I saw the only other fishermen other than myself in the refuge today. 

The two guys were tossing Chug Bugs into the marsh canal at the first set of culverts and were not catching anything that I could see. 

I started fishing with the gold Johnson's Sprite and after not getting any hits, I changed over to a frog pattern Chug Bug.

It started blowing too hard to make a decent presentation with the top water bait, so I changed rods and fished the gold spoon for the balance of the time I was in the refuge..

I caught a couple of ladyfish and two sea trout that just made the slot, and released them all to grow up and fight another day.

It was tough fishing this afternoon but at least I didn't get skunked.

As the rain started, I decided to head home, get something to eat and watch Breaking Bad.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

The Eagles Have Landed

The eagles have landed today in the Catfish Creek area of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Until this afternoon I had not been able to get out and wet a line.

I spent the day Saturday in Jacksonville at the gun show and really didn't expect to stay the day.

 There were thousands of people out there and like myself, almost everyone I spoke with had concerns about their ability to purchase weapons in the future.

The guns and ammo were going out the door faster than hotcakes and I honestly cannot remember being in the company of a nicer bunch of Americans.

Anyway, this afternoon I packed up three rods and headed for Catfish Creek loop to see if anyone was having any luck with the redfish.

Only two other fishermen were in the area; one didn't get a hit and the other gentleman who I see regularly in the area said he had a hit on cut mullet but the fish dropped the bait before he could set the hook.

I moved on and started pitching a gold spoon, a paddle tail bait and a spinner bait into various areas without any hookups.  I had only one hit during the brief time I was in the area before a Fish and Wildlife officer came by.

We chatted a bit about the fishing and the closure of Peacocks Pocket road before he moved on.

The temperature was in the high 60s and the wind was blowing steadily out of the northeast and since I was getting cold, I decided to head for home.

As I was driving down Catfish Creek Loop road, I caught up with the fish and wildlife officer who was taking pics of something in the road.

As I got closer I realized it was an American Eagle, so I got out my trusty Nikon Coolpix and started taking pics of the shy birds.

There were two eagles in the road along with a couple of vultures arguing over some "road kill" and they weren't a bit afraid of us.

After a while the wildlife officer slowly moved on and I edged closer to the two eagles until they took off.

I started to turn around and noticed that the braver of the two birds circled around to continue with it's meal so I edged as close as I could and took a few more pics and the video below.  Hope you enjoy them.


The last time I had the pleasure of seeing an American eagle in the wild was in the middle of Shiloh Marsh road, and that one was extremely wary of humans.   I never could get as close as I did to these two birds.

Although today turned out to be "fishless", the eagles have landed!

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Skunked During The Super Moon

Although Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River fishing has been hot for gator sea trout and reds this month, yesterday afternoon my wife and I both got skunked.

The hype about the "super moon" being great for fishing didn't really pan out for us yesterday evening.

Since the local fair was in town, I expected everyone to be spending their time there.

Karen and I originally planned to fish Shiloh Marsh Road but the barriers were up on the northern entrance preventing vehicle traffic into the area.

According to the powers that be, they have the road closed for "improvements" and it will remain so until further notice.

So much for getting a chance at really big bull redfish and sow gator sea trout that frequent this area.

Unless you have a kayak or canoe, the only way to fish this area now, is by biking or walking the road.

We backtracked to the main road and drove into the Patillo Creek area but decided to move on when we saw how low the water levels were.

Karen and Elmo finally persuaded me to fish Peacocks Pocket road until dusk.

I planned on fishing top water "Chug Bugs" later on in the evening when the "super moon" was lighting up the river, but the windy conditions made fishing a top water lure unappealing.

The water levels were down about 6" since the last time we fished the marsh area and the fish were concentrated in the deeper channels and small ponds.

This canoeist had to get out and walk his canoe across some really mucky water when he literally ran out of water to paddle.

 

Karen had a couple of hits from small sea trout and crabs while I was throwing gold spoons, soft plastic paddletail baits and a DOA shrimp.

I had several followups on the Johnson's Gold Spoon and one hit on a Creme paddletail bait but I never did land a fish.

Despite the heavy fishing pressure that this area has been getting lately, some fish were actively feeding in a few areas.

Everyone I spoke with who was fishing mullet from the bank said they weren't getting much action.

A few waders were picking up sea trout by casting soft baits and silver spoons, but no one was catching anything really impressive trout or redfish.

I haven't been skunked for quite a while, so I guess I was due.

Anyway, the weather was great and viewing the sunset from the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge was awesome as usual as you can see from the pics below.

We hope to get out again late Sunday afternoon if I get done with all my chores.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Fishing Patillo Creek

Fishing Patillo Creek was the last thing I had in mind today, but it turned out to be a productive afternoon fishing.

After I finished weeding the lawn and taking care of some other chores, I decided to give Shiloh Marsh road a try.

It looked like rain and the wind was blowing up a storm so she decided to stay home and work on my sister's stained glass suncatcher project.

I packed up several rods and a cooler to put the fish in and headed for Shiloh road.

As I got on I-95 heading towards the Scottsmoor exit, it began to rain and continued until I got to the barrier that closed Shiloh Marsh road to vehicle traffic.

I don't know why it was closed but I wasn't all too thrilled about it.

I decided to head to Haulover Canal and try for a big redfish.

As I got close to the geodetic tracking dome, I remembered a promise I made to one of my readers and decided to give Patillo Creek a shot.

I turned into the muddy road and headed for the deep canal.  No one was fishing in the area.

 I drove slowly avoiding the potholes, looking for signs of fish and finally decided to stop at a likely looking culvert.

The tannin colored water was clear so I decided to try a natural colored soft paddletail bait that I picked up from Bass Pro.

The lure looked like a Creme lure but I think it was manufactured by Offshore Anglers.

Anyway, it looked real so I tied it on and started blind casting.

I had a couple of taps but no solid hits until I flipped a cast to a culvert opposite where I was fishing.








The bait didn't travel more than a couple feet before a nice 20" sea trout nailed it.

The fish put up a respectable fight on my 10# outfit but I finally landed the fish and put it on ice in the cooler.

I normally don't keep what I catch, but I promised some friends of mine some fresh sea trout or redfish so today was the exception.

I had a couple more hits before I switched off to a topwater Zara Spook Jr.

On the first cast as I was "walking the dog" back, a ladyfish about two feet long hit the plug and danced all over the small creek.

I unhooked the fish and decided to move on to the deeper canal and try for a drum or sea trout.

This area produces some nice sea trout, redfish, black drum and occasionally small tarpon; but today, nothing was hitting any of my offerings.

   

I was wet and getting chilly so I decided to head for home.

On the way out, I stopped at the culvert and decided to try the "pond" side of the road to see if a redfish was in the vicinity.

On my second cast into water that was no more that two feet deep, I thought I snagged some weeds.

When I tried to jerk off the "weeds", a redfish that was at least 36 inches long took off leaving a huge wake.

I ripped the gold Johnson spoon right out of it's mouth.

I made several fruitless casts in the same area before moving on.

I got to the last culvert before the main road to the VAB complex and it looked "fishy".

The water was extremely shallow and colored, so I decided on the paddle tail bait again.

My second cast hooked me up to a 26" redfish that put up a nice battle before giving it up.

I stumbled down the bank, lipped the fish and crawled back up the bank to the road.


It started raining again so I put the fish on ice and headed for the house and some dry clothes.

Although fishing Patillo Creek didn't pan out, fishing the culverts into the area made my day.

Until next time,

Tight Lines.

Shiloh Marsh Road Fishing

My neighbor told me that since the water levels in the marsh areas have come up, fishing for sea trout and reds has picked up considerably around Shiloh Marsh road.

This past weekend was pretty much a bust for my wife and I as far as fishing was concerned.

The areas we normally fish were closed because of the wildfires in the area and instead of taking our Maverick flats boat out on Saturday as I had planned, I wound up doing a bunch of yard work instead.

Late Sunday afternoon, despite the windy conditions, Karen and I decided to take the long drive around Shiloh Marsh road and scout out the area.

The wind was blowing in strong from the northeast pushing the water in the Indian River lagoon towards the west bank.

Water levels in the marsh area were up considerably since the last time we drove through the area and fish were chasing finger mullet all over the place.

I spotted several nice size sea trout and a couple of large redfish that were well over the slot limit but the wind made casting to them almost impossible.

Although had I brought a light casting rod loaded with a DOA CAL and a spinning rod with a Chug Bug, I didn't bother casting much. The mosquitoes were vicious.

Because of the direction of the wind, the water levels on the Indian River side of the road was only inches deep throughout most of the drive.

A few areas like the one in the video below were fishable but except for the few places where I tried making a cast to a feeding fish, we never did any serious fishing.

When we drove through the area, almost no one was fishing.

About half way into the drive, two barefoot kids asked us if we could give them a jump and a lift back to their truck where they had a dead battery.

Since I had battery cables, I loaded the kids into the truck bed and drove at least 3 miles along the pot holed road back to the northern entrance of Shiloh Road where they left their ride.

A wrecker they called had gotten there first, so we left them with their friends and headed home.
Let's hear it for Herb Daniels!

Shiloh Marsh road is no place to have car trouble, especially with no one around.

Those kids were badly sun burned and must have lost a pint of blood each to the mosquitoes.

Anyway, with any kind of luck the fishing conditions next weekend should get better.

Till then, tight lines.

Shiloh Marsh Road Water Levels Are Dangerously Low

Because of severe thunderstorm activity in the Central Florida area yesterday, my wife and I never got a chance to get out and wet a line.

This afternoon we decided to see what the water levels looked like around Shiloh Marsh Road in the Indian River.

I was hoping for a chance at a tarpon but would be happy with anything I could catch.

There is a meandering narrow creek at the uppermost part of the Indian River where tarpon occasionally inhabit and where fishermen almost never bother fishing. So, that was the first place we hit.

There was a lot of activity all along the creek but no tarpon. For the most part there were large sea trout chasing finger mullet in the shallows right up onto the bank.

I spotted a couple of slot size redfish, but never could get a lure close enough to attract a bite.

It was late in the afternoon and the temperature hovered in the high 80s. There was a brisk wind that was blowing water in the lagoon northward.

As we moved south on Shiloh Marsh Road, the water levels on the marsh side of the road were dangerously low.

Areas where we previously caught redfish, sea trout and sometimes small tarpon are now completely dried up.

One area I particularly liked to fish was dotted with dead horseshoe crabs and the odor reminded me of a Savannah crab shack.

I took some pics and we continued to scout the road looking for some fish activity.

At one stop I netted a few juvenile lady fish and a couple of mullet for bait. There were schools of bait fish moving close to shore but very few fish were chasing them.

One of the spots that we planned to fish was already taken by several wade fishermen who were casting live finger mullet.

Another good spot where we sometimes fish for bull reds was also taken by a couple of wade fishermen who even had their cooler on the water.

Our last stop turned out to be around a culvert where Karen usually catches some fish.

I tried several lures and managed to miss a couple of sea trout with a white Terror Eye D.O.A. Everything else I tossed at the fish was a waste of time.

Karen missed a couple of fish using dead shrimp but finally changed over to a 6 " live finger mullet.

Fishing today was slow and difficult due to the windy conditions but just as we were preparing to leave the area, Karen picked up a slot size sea trout shown here.

I was planning to release the fish but it was gill hooked so I decided to put it on the dinner table instead.

Hopefully, I'll get my Maverick out of the shop tomorrow so we can get into deeper water at the edges of the flats.

One of my guide friends tell me that the trout are still hitting well in the early mornings and just at dusk.

During the full moon nights, fishing is also very productive using top water plugs like Mirror Lures, Chug Bugs or Skitter Walks.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Scrubbed Endeavor Shuttle Launch

Well as you all know by now, the scrubbed Endeavor Shuttle Launch on Friday disappointed not only tons of visitors including the President who drove in from all over the country to see it but also a lot of fishermen who planned to go fishing after liftoff.

The scrubbed launch pretty much killed the bank fishing in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Preserve as well as the surf fishing at Playalinda Beach.

All the entrances to fishing areas in the Preserve will remain blocked until the powers that be find out when the problems with the shuttle can be resolved.

After my doctors appointment Friday, I hoped to video the last Endeavor liftoff and do a little "jump fishing" for redfish in the Indian River.

Instead my wife and I decided to try Shiloh Marsh Road to see if the water levels were up from a couple weeks ago.

The pictures I took speak for themselves.

The water levels in the north Indian River lagoon are extremely low. That, in addition to the brisk east wind which pushed much of the remaining water to the West shores of the river made fishing this area nearly impossible and basically a total waste of time.

There were some open culverts that were draining into the Indian River from the mosquito control canal, but the water was so shallow that no fish could take advantage of the water movement.

My wife had a couple of hits on shrimp which were probably small trout, but other than that the fish just weren't biting.

We drove over to Bairs Cove boat launch at Haulover Canal to see if anybody was having any luck only to find the Coast Guard camped out there.

There were a lot of kayaks in the canal today but it didn't appear that anybody was fishing.

The kayakers were probably there to see the Shuttle Launch.

In any event, I managed to record the afternoon's events.

I hope they take down the barriers for this weekend. The bluefish are supposed to be hitting in the surf and I know that the trout are wacking top water baits early in the morning and just at dusk.

Hope's eternal!

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Skunked

It's been some time since I've been Skunked, but today was just one of those days.

My wife, Elmo and I went to try the northern Indian River Lagoon shallows around Shiloh Marsh road.

We left the house around 3:00 p.m. and didn't get on to the potholed road until about 3:30 or so.

There was a mild breeze blowing and the temperature was in the high 70s.

I fished mostly D.O.A. C.A.L. Series Shad Tails and jerk baits with a couple of gold spoons scattered in just for grins. Karen fished dead shrimp under a Cajun Thunder.

We stopped in several likely looking places and both of us fished hard without even a bite until just before we decided to pack up and leave.

There were a lot of people in the area today and the ones I spoke with weren't having any better luck than we were.

One gentleman and his wife said he fished for several hours in several places where fish were roiling the surface, but never got a bite.

I could relate. In a couple of spots we stopped at, there were tons of finger mullet milling around and every once in a while a large fish would roil just below the surface. If the water was warmer, I would have bet that the fish were small tarpon but I just couldn't tell.

I'm not sure what or if they were feeding, but it sure wasn't anything resembling any of my offerings.

Top water baits, jerk baits, spoons, live bait, and even a tried and true Creme paddle tail bait never got a tap, until about 7:00 p.m.

I was casting into an open culvert with a D.O.A. Jerkbait where finger mullet were milling around and after the third cast or so I missed a hard strike that I was totally unprepared for. It was probably a large sea trout but I can't be sure.

Anyway, so much for catching!

Karen and I still had a nice time just enjoying the area, wearing out Elmo with his Mr. Gear toy and taking pictures of the scenery. Here is a short compilation of the area.

Man, I have got to get my boat out.

Till next time,

Tight Lines!

Rainy Shiloh Marsh Road Trip

This afternoon's rainy Shiloh Marsh Road trip was more of a scouting adventure than a fishing trip.

When I got home late this afternoon the weather was nothing short of miserable.

The wind was blowing, the temperature was about 64 degrees and dropping and it was raining or misty most of the time.

Despite the lousy weather my wife and I packed up a few rods, rounded up Elmo our wonder dog and headed towards the northern entrance to Shiloh Marsh road.

Last week when we scouted the area, the water levels were at an all time low. Areas where we normally caught redfish and sea trout were high and dry leaving only the deeper troughs.

Since it had been raining this past week, I wanted to know if the water levels had significantly increased across the mud flats.

As we entered the area the first thing I noted was that the water levels in the meandering creek on the Indian River side of the road had risen at least a couple of feet.

The first culvert that was almost high and dry last week, now had a nice current of water running through it into the marsh canal on the left side of the road.

It was raining a heavy mist but I just had to try a few casts to see if I could dredge up a trout or red.

I made several casts with a light green jig, a DOA jerkbait and a Chug Bug top water lure without getting even a tap.

As we moved on up the road we were happy to see several roseate spoonbills, various shore birds and a pair of sandhill cranes foraging in another area that last week was totally dry.

I took a few pics of the cranes and the video below, just because the sandhill cranes aren't usually roaming around this area.

Karen and I were looking for signs of fish in the newly flooded shallows, but didn't see anything until almost the other end of the road.

Karen spotted a nice redfish tailing about 30 feet out from the bank in shallow water, so I stopped the car and shot a couple of casts to the fish. It was a wasted effort on my part. The fish just wasn't interested.

Normally, I would have stayed around the spot and continued fishing; but because of the lousy weather, I made a mental footnote in my brain to come back tomorrow.

It started pouring like crazy, so we decided to head for home to dry out and watch a movie.

As we crossed over Haulover Canal, there was only one boat in the canal with two fishermen shooting casts to the bank. They were probably after sea trout.

Normally this time of the day, you would expect to find quite a few boats anchored throughout the canal and at either mouth fishing for big bull redfish and black drum that are found there.

Hopefully the weather tomorrow will be more conducive to "catching" than today's weather was.

Till then,

Tight Lines.

P.S. This is the first time I've been skunked in a very long time. I guess that's why it's called fishing!

Sundays Fishing Excursion

Sunday's fishing excursion started with our intention of fishing N. Shiloh Marsh road and exiting near the deep water canal near the "gumball" as my wife calls it.

Unfortunately, Shiloh Marsh Rd. is still closed until Feb. 15th. so after driving up to the barrier we decided to backtrack and see if we could fish the deep water canal at the southern most part of the road.

The weather was beautiful but chilly. The air temperature remained in the high 50s for most of the afternoon.

We fished several locations in the area but neither Karen or I could buy a bite. I didn't feel too bad because everyone I talked to was in the same boat.

Today the fish just weren't biting well.

I was using a variety of artificial lures from top water Chug Bugs, Bagley gold hammered spoons, Johnson Sprite spoons and DOA CAL jerkbaits. My wife was tossing her favorite dead shrimp and bobber combo also without any luck.

After an hour or so fishing various locations around South Shiloh Marsh Rd. we decided to move on to Peacocks Pocket to fish the marsh side of the road.

Water levels on the Indian River are extremely low and casting from shore to deep water, fish holding areas is challenging to say the least.

As we were driving to the Pocket Road, we saw a large bobcat cross the road directly in front of my truck. This one looked to be about three feet long and had to be the largest one I have ever seen in the wild.

We fished several areas on both sides of the Pocket road and didn't get a bite until just at dusk.

Karen had a nice bite on her shrimp that she thought was a sea trout and I caught a sea trout about 17" long on the gold hammered spoon.

The temperature was cold and getting colder and the wind died down to nothing as we finally decided to leave the preserve.

Although we didn't get skunked, it could have been a better day fishing. Lord knows we both tried hard enough.

Anyway, the temperature is expected to be in the high 30s tomorrow morning and much warmer for the rest of next week which should pump up the bite.

Here is a short video of our Sundays fishing excursion:



Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Shiloh Marsh Road Fishing Trip And Road Closure

This afternoon's Shiloh Marsh Road fishing trip was somewhat disappointing but also fun.

My wife and I decided to take Elmo out to the "swamp" to get some air and run around a bit. It was relatively late in the afternoon and the weather was balmy with a hint of rain in the air.

Since we hadn't been fishing in the Shiloh Marsh area of the northern Indian River Lagoon; we decided to try that area first.

As we entered the unimproved road from US1 and just as you make the right turn after crossing the bridge, we noticed that the waterfowl hunting signs were posted for the upcoming duck hunting season.

As we traveled up the road to the first culvert crossing, Karen and I decided to stop and try out the spot. This area is seldom fished and since the culvert was open and a good flow of water was moving into the marsh, it looked promising.

I took out one of my rods rigged with a natural colored Creme paddle tail lure and started casting into the current on the marsh side.

After a few casts to some swirls, I hooked into and missed a nice sized sea trout.

The fish looked to be about 20" and would have gone on the dinner table if I could have got it on the bank.



Two casts later and I landed a smaller version in the same area.

After catching a couple more about the size of the two in the pictures, I noticed a swirl on the river side and started casting to it.

Two casts later I hooked and missed a slot sized redfish that almost immediately tossed the lure back to me.

Karen used her usual shrimp and Cajun Thunder bobber rig and hooked two catfish on the river side before moving to the marsh side of the creek.

Since the action was slowing down, I started casting a well used Chug Bug that usually produces larger redfish and sea trout when everything else fails.

After a few casts on the river side and I missed two small trout that tried to engulf the plug and finally hooked a ladyfish that jumped all over the small creek before it finally flipped itself off.

Meanwhile, Karen missed a sea trout and then hooked on to what she thought was a nice fish.

When she got the "fish" closer to the bank it turned out to be a feisty blue crab.



Because it was getting late, we decided to head into main river area but as we got closer the dreaded "closed for the season" sign was out and the road was closed for vehicular traffic.



We decided to backtrack and head into Peacock's Pocket to finish off the day, but when we got to the canoe launch area that road was also closed for the waterfowl season.

I parked the truck at the barrier and Karen and I walked back to the first bend to see if there was any possibility of catching a redfish for dinner.

It briefly started drizzling and after an hour of non productive fishing we decided to call it a day.

I guess I'll have to start taking out the Maverick more often this winter!

Till next time. Tight Lines to your all!