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