Fishing The Creeks

Fishing the creeks in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge was always productive during February, but since they have been closed indefinitely, the creeks at Shiloh Road provide a good second choice.

Around 3:30 pm this afternoon, Karen asked me if I wanted to take the "boys" fishing for a while.

It took a microsecond to agree and start packing up my rods for the trip.

We stopped at Mosquito Lagoon Bait and Tackle and picked up some live shrimp and a few mud minnows and headed back to Shiloh Road to fish either the river or the creeks.

The air temperature today was in the low 70s and there was no wind over the water.  The glassy conditions made topwater bait fishing a poor choice and since we had Elmo and Odie along, we parked at a suitable location, pulled out a couple of portable chairs and set out our baits.

I had two Okuma Avenger baitrunner reels set out with mud minnows that were the size of large finger mullet, and Karen was using a Penn Fierce II bait runner spin fishing outfit with light line, a float, and a live shrimp for bait.

There wasn't a lot of activity in the water but Karen and I managed to catch a few large hard head catfish on the shrimp.  The mud minnows were lively, and Odie enjoyed watching them swim around, but evidently the fish just weren't in the mood for them today.

I impatiently sat for over an hour without another bite on the mud minnows, while Karen pulled in two more large catfish and just at dusk hooked into a nice slot redfish.

I took a short video of the action below, click the pic:

I unhooked the red and released it to fight another day.

After catching the redfish, Karen was ready to go home and since the mosquitoes were getting nasty towards dusk, I readily agreed with her.

We packed up our rods, released the rest of the mud minnows and headed home for a crock pot meal I finished yesterday.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Shiloh Road Creek Redfish

Karen and I left the house around 3:30 pm this afternoon to get in a little fishing together before I head back to work.

Even though they were misbehaving, we decided to take  Elmo and Odie along at the last minute.

They always appreciate going on an outing. 

I wanted to catch something today so we decided to hit the bait shop and pick up a dozen select shrimp and a couple of Styrofoam floats.

Since we had the dogs along, I decided to head for Shiloh road and do some bait fishing in the northern Indian River flats, or the creeks feeding into it for creek redfish.

The first set of culverts looked barren.  The water was flat and calm, and there was no sign of fish in the area, so we headed up the dirt road to another spot I often fish in the spring for Snook.

We walked down to the shallow creek and both pitched out our shrimp.  I was using a Penn baitrunner reel with 10 pound line so I set the it on free spool and propped it up to wait for a bite.

Karen was taking care of Odie while I walked up the bank of the creek  tossing a Creme paddle tail bait around on my other rod hoping for a hit.

Karen had the first hookup on her shrimp, but missed the fish.  She was trying to set the hook too quickly and pulled the shrimp out of the fish's mouth.   She put on a fresh bait, and missed two more fish the same way and was starting to get irritated about not being able to hook into one.

Meanwhile, I also missed two fish on the Creme bait for the same reason before getting a bite on the live shrimp .  I was jerking the bait out of the mouth of the fish instead of giving the fish some time before setting the hook.

This time as the float started  moving up the creek, I waited for it to go under.   I reeled in the slack and set the hook.

The redfish put up a nice fight for it's size and acted like an over slot fish until I got it close enough to the bank to see that it was in the slot.

I did my usual trick of taking a video of the action with my cell phone while fighting the fish.  Click the pic below.

I unhooked the red and released it to fight another day and put on another shrimp.

Meanwhile, Karen finally hooked into a fish.  I thought it was a redfish at first but as it got close to the bank it was a nice size catfish.  

I unhooked the fish and returned it to the water.  

Karen was happy she didn't get skunked and we both continued fishing until the mosquitoes became unbearable and we decided to head for home.

We still have some live shrimp in the cooler so we plan to try again tomorrow.

The owner of the bait shop said Bio Lab road was getting hot for reds and sea trout along the shallow flats.

Till next time

Tight Lines.

Scouting Trip In The Refuge

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

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

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

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

The weather was beautiful but the fish apparently had lockjaw.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Till next time,

Tight Lines

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. 

Shiloh Road Tarpon Fishing

This afternoon I decided to get out and do some Shiloh Road tarpon fishing in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Last year around this time of the year there were loads of juvenile tarpon in the northernmost feeder creeks to the Indian River, so I brought along an 8 Wt fly rod with some Deceivers and a couple of poppers, and three spinning rods with topwater and plastic swim baits.

The air temperature was 91 degrees F. when I crossed the bridge to make my way into north Shiloh Road and there was a breeze on the water which made fly fishing somewhat difficult.

It was around 4:00 pm  when I got to the culverts and although there was some activity, I didn't spot any tarpon rolling on the surface.

I strung up my fly rod and started blind casting on both sides of the culvert.  After about a half hour with only one take (which I missed) I decided to see what was going on behind the barrier at the next set of culverts.

A couple trucks passed me while I was dunking my Deceiver, and I was interested in what, if anything they were catching.

I parked at the barrier and made a few half hearted castes with my spinning rod to see if I could entice a sea trout, but nothing was taking my bait.

I started walking up the road to where two guys were fishing and stopped to chat.

I introduced myself to Rick Mellott and his friend who were dunking ladyfish and live mullet for redfish.

We talked a bit about the redfish fishing in the area and about several other spots that we knew some catches were being made.

While we were talking, Rick and his friend caught a couple catfish but no reds.

Rick said that the best time for reds in this area was in the early mornings.  Usually things go south around 9:00 or 10:00 am during the summer months.

We swapped phone numbers and after a while I decided to fish the creek down the road.

I pulled up to the area and the water was like glass.  I watched for fish and saw one large wake but I decided to give it a shot anyway.

I spent the next hour or so tossing a Chug Bug, an XPS Slim Dog, a small SkitterWalk, and finally a paddletail bait that I had along with me, all smeared up with some Pro-Cure Inshore Formula..

I had two followups on the Chug Bug, and a nice hit that I missed on the paddletail bait.

The gnats were getting to me, so I moved on down the road to fish the culverts as dusk was approaching.

That magic half hour or so just before dark paid off.  I managed to hook and release 4 spotted sea trout on the small size SkitterWalk; and I briefly hooked into a tarpon about 3 feet long.  

I hooked the tarpon on a large paddletail bait but after the second jump, it tossed the bait back at me.

When dusk hit, the fish stopped biting.  But the bugs didn't.

I packed up my rods and headed home for dinner (which turned out to be a Pizza).

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Snook and Ladyfish

After making my Dentist appointment and finishing up the lawn, I finally decided to hit a few areas in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge this afternoon for snook and ladyfish.

I brought along a couple fly rods, an assortment of flies, and two spinning rods tipped with a Chug Bug and Super Spook Jr.

It was around 6:00 pm when I left the house and the air temperature was still almost 90 degrees. There was a slight wind over the Indian River that created problems for fly fishing but made for excellent topwater fishing.

I hit Catfish Creek Loop first and tried several spots with my fly rod and a Deceiver with no luck.

On the backside of Catfish Creek, I switched over to a Super Spook Jr. and started "walking the dog" to see if I could wake up some fish.

At the third spot I stopped to fish, I picked up a nice ladyfish of about 16" around some mangrove roots.  The fish jumped a couple of times and made a nice long run before I landed and released it to fight another day.

A couple of casts later I landed another really really small ladyfish that was slightly larger than the bait I was using.

I managed to miss a large sea trout that jumped completely out of the water after the topwater bait that was at least 24" long and landed a couple more ladyfish before I decided to move on the Shiloh Road and try for some snook.

On the way out of Catfish Creek, I stopped and talked to a couple of guys who were fishing for reds.  

The first guy said he missed a fish and the second fellow said he caught a "rat" red of around 14".   

I wished both of them good luck and headed out to the "creek".

When I got there, the culvert was closed and no water was flowing.  Not a good sign to say the least.

I watched for some wakes but only saw a few small fish in the area, so I pulled out my fly outfit and started casting around some fish.

The wind was at my back and casting was not a problem, but the fish weren't taking my fly; assuming something was even there.

I wasted 20 minutes practicing my casting skills before deciding to move on to the next spot.

I picked up both spinning rods in lieu of the fly rod and walked through the marsh grass to a good spot along the creek.

The wind had died down and the water was like glass.   I watched the water for several minutes before casting to see if there was any movement, but there was none.

I started casting the Super Spook Jr with a super slow retrieve and after ten minutes or so didn't get even a follow up.  As I was reeling in to change rods, a snook hit the bait on a fast retrieve midway in the creek.

The little snook made a couple of strong runs before I landed it, took a pic, and released.it.

Evidently the snook wanted a faster retrieve today, so I sped thins up a bit.

It was getting late and the wind was picking up ever so slightly enough to put a ripple on the water in a couple of areas so I switched to new Chug Bug I bought at Bass Pro.

I fished the exact same areas that I had been fishing with the Super Spook Jr. but faster with some good results.

After about 7 or 8 casts, I picked up another snook off a point.  The fish blasted the Chug Bug and after a short fight was on the bank.

I took a pic, released the fish, and continued casting the area.

A few more casts produced another snook about the same size as the one above.  I took this selfie with the fish and decided to call it a day.

It was getting on towards dusk and the bugs were starting to get to me to the point that fishing was no longer fun.   

I took one last pic of the beautiful sunset and as usual was the only person in the area as I left the refuge.

Till next time,

Tight Lines and have a happy Independence Day

Rat Reds In The Creeks

This afternoon I found out that there were a lot of rat reds in the creeks around Shiloh Road.

I packed up a couple of rods and around 4:00 pm headed out to Shiloh Road to see if I could get in some topwater fishing.

The culverts were still flowing and the water levels are still up.  The water in the creeks were dead calm and absolutely nothing was happening when I pulled up to the first set of culverts.

I was beginning to think I should have stayed at home, but I decided to toss around my favorite Chug Bug for awhile to see if I could rattle up something.

After a few casts I quickly realized that the first set of culverts were not going to be productive with topwater baits.  A small gator kept following my lure trying to eat it at every cast.

Since it was getting late and I didn't want to waste any more time trying to keep my plug away from the gator, I moved up the road to a bend in the creek to give it a try.

Yesterday I briefly got into a juvenile tarpon, but today when I pulled up and parked there wasn't a wake in sight.

I walked down to the water and started casting my Chug Bug as parallel to the banks as I could without getting hung up.

After several casts, I had a hit from a fish but missed the hookup.

I started fan casting around the area and varied my retrieves to mimic an injured fingerling mullet and after several (many) casts, I finally hooked into a redfish of about 22" that I landed and released.

The fish put up a nice fight for it's size and  I didn't feel like cleaning any fish tonight.

After letting the area calm down a bit, I started casting the Chug Bug again using the same "injured mullet" retrieve and after letting the bait pause on one of my casts, another rat red nailed the plug.

This time I pulled out my cell phone and tried to take a video of the action as I was trying to land the fish.  I thought it was a big sea trout at first, but as it got closer I saw the familiar reddish bronze tint of a redfish.

The video was shaky but I managed to get at least part of the fight below.

I unhooked the fish and released it to grow up and fight another day.

The mosquitoes were getting to me so I decided to head for home.

As I was walking to the car, I was telling myself to put my Go Pro Hero 5 in the truck as soon as I got home.

Maybe next time!

Tight Lines.

A Windy Sunday Afternoon Fishing Trip

It was a windy Sunday afternoon fishing trip for Karen and our two wonder dogs, but the dogs were begging to get out of the house and take a ride.

We decided to hit areas we hadn't been to for a while so we headed for the Jones Street boat ramp in Mims for our first stop.   

The bait shop that once stood here was long closed and an old hull that once was inhabited looked like it was being restored.

I was going to fan cast the area but decided to move on to our next area instead.  This particular area is noted for gator sea trout that can be found in the adjacent flats.

We decided to drive up to Scottsmoor and see what the water level at the boat ramp looked like.

I'm still hoping to get my Maverick out for a spin when the weather gets a bit cooler.

When we got to the boat ramp, there was only one other vehicle parked and they were in a pontoon boat.

We let Elmo and Odie out to do their duty and walked around to see if it was worth casting a topwater bait around the area.

The wind was blowing into the shore and there was a layer of sea grass bunched up at the bank which made  fishing a waste of time.

I took a few pics and we decided to ride over to Shiloh Marsh Road and see if there were any Tarpon in the canals.

When we got to Shiloh Marsh Road, they still had the refuge signs up despite the fact that the area will remain closed for the foreseeable future.

A Wildlife Officer I spoke to a couple of months ago told me that until the road gets a makeover, it will remain closed.  As of now it is only open to bike and foot traffic.


In any event, we drove down to the barrier and stopped to fish an area I knew held juvenile Tarpon.

I pulled out a rod with a Chug Bug and started casting into the shallow creek.  I had a couple of followups but no hits.

As I came up to a small pond I spotted a couple of Tarpon cruising in the shallows.

I cut up a chunk of ladyfish and dropped it into the pool but the fish showed no interest.

Normally when they can see you, they will not bite and this was no exception.

I went back to the truck, got my camera and took a short video of one of the fish.

After a half hour or so, we decided to drive over to Patillo Creek and see if any Tarpon were in that area.

Elmo and Odie were in their cruising mode and were having a great time hanging out of the windows on the way over.

 

We drove around the area, took a few pics and fished awhile but didn't catch any fish or spot any Tarpon.  After a half hour without a follow up or a bite on Karen's cut bait we packed up the dogs and our rods and headed for Peacocks Pocket Road.  

I told Karen about the partial road improvements and wanted to show her where I missed a nice sea trout yesterday.

We drove into Peacocks Pocket road and spotted a couple fishermen dunking cut baits with no success so we moved up to the area where I lost the fish.  

I cut up a couple of ladyfish "steaks" for her to fish with and I put on my new sports camera and started casting a Chug Bug smeared up with Pro-Cure offshore formula.

I hooked and lost a nice sea trout in the marsh canal before I even turned on the camera. 

Undaunted, I turned on the camera and started wearing out my arm casting the topwater bait.

Karen missed a huge redfish because she forgot to set the hook and we spotted several other nice reds in the area. 

The weather was getting foul and the fish were beginning to get active.

We spotted three small pods of redfish and two more bull redfish before the bite went down.

Karen missed a second redfish that took the bait and ran towards her.  She didn't know the fish was even on until it turned in the middle of the marsh canal and headed back onto the shallow grass flats.

Meanwhile I nailed a nice sea trout on the Chug Bug just before Karen hooked and lost her fish.

The video from the sport cam is below.

Maybe next weekend the Tarpon will be more willing.

Till next time, Tight Lines,.

Another Windy Afternoon On The Indian River

It was another windy day on the Indian River, but the wind coming out of the West made casting a bit easier than yesterday.

My wife, our wonder dog Elmo, and yours truly hit Shiloh Road on the northern Indian River directly across from the Scottsmoor boat launch.

The water was crystal clear and the fish were spooky on the river side. On the marsh side of the road, the water was cloudy and very shallow. All the fish today were difficult to catch.

Few people took advantage of the beautiful weather today in the drive and for the most part, except for the water birds, we had the place to ourselves.



My wife couldn't break her luck of the past couple of days and today caught ziltch. She missed several fish but wasn't holding her mouth right, or whatever.

I didn't do much better today. The first hour and a half produced only one trout slightly larger than the lure I was casting.

I was using a 2" gold Gator spoon and then switched to a Chug Bug with not hits at all. I then downsized my lures to mimic the 1 1/2 " small baitfish that were all around the culverts and started getting hits.

I changed to a Creme natural shad colored paddle tail lure and began catching more trout.

The day ended with 5 trout for myself and a goose egg for my wife.

On the way out of the drive, we stopped and talked with the only other fisherman who was still in the preserve.

Joseph was still fishing and reported catching a slot redfish and several slot sized trout. He said he caught the redfish on a dead shrimp and the trout on finger mullet he netted in the vicinity.

He was fishing the marsh side of the river and was trying to catch a shark he said he saw busting on schools of finger mullet.

Karen asked him how big the shark was and he replied "at least 4 feet from the dorsal to his tail".

From the description, it sounded like a very hungry bull shark.

I've seen several of them in the Indian River, but this is the first one I've ever heard about on the marsh side.

In any event, Joseph said he wouldn't be wading in that area again trying to net any finger mullet.



The sunset was again beautiful, and the day was perfect even if we didn't catch any huge fish.

Till next time, Tight Lines!

2010 Redfish Tournament Tour At Titusville, Fl.

Mayday was a beautiful day for the Redfish Tour Tournament held on the Indian River at Titusville.

My wife and I had planned on taking our Maverick flats boat out for a ride on the Mosquito Lagoon, but when I drove by the river, there wasn't a parking space to be found. I had totally forgotten about the Redfish Tour being held today.

Instead I did some work around the house and decided to take a few pics of the happenings on the river.

My video camera was on the blink, so I just compiled a little video of the weigh in and the winning entrant ceremony that was conducted by the Indian River. Hope you enjoy it.

The first place and grand prize winners of a new $30,000 Ranger flats boat rig was Chris Huston and Mike Tucker who won the tournament with two fish totaling 15.27 pounds. I hope they pardon me if I butchered the spelling of their names!

Anyway, after taking all the pictures I needed; my wife and I headed for the north shallows of the Indian River to do some late afternoon fishing.

We found a spot midway down unimproved Shiloh Road and started fishing in earnest. My wife was motivated by seeing all the redfish that were caught and released at the weigh in; and she wanted one for herself.

As luck would have it, she got her wish. Fifteen minutes after we parked the truck, she caught a nice slot sized redfish on her standby Cajun Thunder rig, with a shrimp bait.




I took some pics and we released the fish to fight another day.

The wind was really picking up and the water was getting rougher. I was throwing Creme paddle tail lures, a white jig head with a 4" gulp and a D.O.A. CAL bait with little success.

I picked up two slot sized trout walking the shoreline and the action simply stopped dead.

I tried several lures in my tackle box and finally settled on a small Bagly hammered gold spoon.

That did the trick! In an hour and a half, I picked up five trout between 15 and 20 inches, and missed at least 3 more.

The fishing slowed down as the the wind continued to pick up and both Elmo (our wonder dog), and I were tired. Karen had finally also had enough for one day, so we packed up and left the preserve before dusk.

All in all it was another great day on the Indian River, even if we didn't get to run the Maverick.

Till next time, Tight Lines!