Mid October Fishing On The Space Coast

Well, didn't get much fishing in this weekend, however did get some great sunsets.

The chill has officially hit the Space Coast as of lat Saturday evening, effectively putting down the cruising redfish we normally see in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge area..

 My wife and I (and of course our wonder dog Elmo) spent part of Saturday afternoon braving the windy conditions on the Indian River, only to get a couple trout, puffers, catfish and rays.

My wife missed a nice redfish  and I had similar luck with a red that
wrapped itself around some brush.

The weather change apparently put a halt to the bite that we enjoyed for the past several months.
Things should pick up when the temperature levels off again.

The fall mullet run has started and the Mosquito Lagoon system is filled with them.

The redfish and large trout are chasing bait into very shallow water, less than 16" deep on most days, and travel to deeper water off the flats on others.  This is probably due to the shifting winds,  and temperature drop we are presently encountering.

The large schools of redfish that we see in the summer months, have dwindled to small roving pods and a lot of singles. 

I'm sure there are still large schools around that the professional guides follow, but I haven't located them.  I don't get the boat out often enough.

If you can find clear water with mullet swirling, you can probably pick up some redfish, and a good trout or two..

My usual baits of choice, DOA shrimp, Chug Bugs, SkitterWalks and light colored jerk baits, all still work well.  I usually shuffle the offering around until I come up with a winning lure for the day.

OOOH,  The chill is in the air...Shrimping is just around the corner!

Enjoy the scenery, and until next time.....Tight Lines To All!

Shuttle Launch Sport Shrimping

The space shuttle Discovery launched this evening on the Space Coast without a hitch and as usual for evening missions, lit up the Indian River as the shrimpers were assembling their long handled shrimp nets.

I didn't bring my camera for any new pics, however I took the opportunity to ask several shrimpers about their activities.

The gent's I spoke with all said about the same thing. The shrimp were definately running and they were huge. One gent said he dipped 250 shrimp "the other night" and they were all from 6" to 10" long.

The other guys said about the same thing but with differing quantities. Everyone else I spoke with also said the shrimp they caught were over 6 inches long.

If there wasn't so much traffic right now down by the river, I'd consider bring my old net and a couple of lights and give it a try. Seven or eight shrimp would just about do me for a good dinner.

Well maybe next week.

Tight lines and heavy shrimp buckets to all!