Oak Hill Shrimping Is Still On Fire

If you hit the tide right, Oak Hill shrimping is on fire right now.

When I hit the two fishing piers in Titusville, Fl the other night, the guys were doing OK but most of the comments were about how the shrimp were running up at Oak Hill.

November through May are the best months to find Pink River Shrimp in Oak Hill's Intracoastal Waterway and almost everyone said that when the tide and temperature is "right", now is the time to go shrimping.

Some of the guys I spoke with said that the shrimping is best around a full moon and others said it didn't matter.  The consensus seemed to be that the best time to go is a few days before a full moon until a few days after.  

What they all seemed to agree on is the fact that at Oak Hill, a North flowing, outgoing tide is when most of the "full pulls" are made.  Everyone I spoke with agreed that an outgoing tide is a must and that a Southeast or South wind helps the shrimp run.

Although Oak Hill shrimp are historically smaller than those caught in the Titusville area, the size of the shrimp being caught right now are medium to jumbos.  Most were medium size (see below).

The biggest complaint from the guys I talked to was that they couldn't drink a beer and shrimp at the same time.  I can dig it even though I don't drink.

When I visited the two fishing piers at Titusville, the shrimping was sporadic.

Some of the guys were dipping medium to jumbo shrimp and others had empty buckets. None of the buckets I looked at were full, although some were close to it.

To sum it up, sport shrimping on the Indian River and in Oak Hill is a hit and miss proposition but if you like the taste of really sweet fresh shrimp, pack up your net, lights and family members and give it a shot.

Till next time, Tight Lines

Good Friday Shrimping On The Indian River

I planned on going fishing when I returned home from work this evening but instead spent Good Friday shrimping on the Indian River with some old timers.

It was too late to fish Peacocks Pocket when I got home from work so I decided to hit the fishing piers to see if there was any action with the shrimping community.

I arrived a little after 8:30 pm and the pavilion was crowded as usual for a Friday evening.

Lower Fishing Pier

There were several shrimpers and a few fishermen on the lower pier and almost nobody shrimping on the upper (higher) fishing pier.

The sport shrimpers on the lower pier were not doing too good while I was there.

The sea trout were murdering the shrimp and very few of them were escaping to the surface where they could be dipped up.

I walked the lower pier and only a few shrimpers had any in their nets or their 5 gallon buckets so I took a few pics and walked to the upper pier to see how they were doing.

There were three guys at the corner of the pier who had their lights set out in deeper water.  When I checked out their buckets, none of them had any shrimp to brag about.

As I stood there for a while, it was quickly evident why.  There were at least a couple of hundred sea trout over the light sets ambushing the shrimp as they were swimming into range of the dip nets.

Most of the sea trout  were under the slot but several were at least 15" plus.  The larger sea trout were hanging just outside of the shrimp lights down deep.

I mused to myself, of all the times to not bring my fishing rod with me!

There was a slight current moving the shrimp around but it slowed down to almost nothing around 9:00 pm.

The shrimp that were being dipped up were medium size tonight and no jumbos were in anybody's bucket as far as I could see.

There was almost no wind on the water this evening and it was shirtsleeve weather.  All in all a gorgeous night.

I took several short videos that I later edited into this YouTube video that shows mostly sea trout, a small tarpon and a ladyfish chasing shrimp around the lights.


Unfortunately while I was visiting the fishing piers this evening, nobody was dipping any jumbo shrimp that this area is noted for.

This Good Friday shrimping expedition on the Indian River would have been great if I only had the foresight to bring along a light spinning rod and a couple of  D.O.A. Shrimp.

Well, Tomorrow's another day.

Tight Lines.

The 2014 Winter Shrimping Season Is Officially ON

From Titusville to Oak Hill, Florida, the 2014 winter shrimping season is in full swing.

The sounds of five gallon buckets echo throughout the night on both of Titusville's  fishing piers as sport shrimpers of all kinds try to load them up with jumbo "crickets" as they are called by the locals .

So far this April, Volusia County has been on fire with reliable harvests and predictable action night after night from the Lopez area of Oak Hill to as far North as the New Smyrna Beach pier.

The Oak Hill area, noted for their small size shrimp, has been providing sport shrimpers of late with some impressively sized shrimp that have  not been seen in years.

The shrimp are averaging from 4-3/4" to over 5" and most of the boats are making full pulls (30lbs/5 gallons) .  Volusa County shrimpers in general have been harvesting a minimum of 1 to 2 gallons of shrimp on any given night under the lights.  This video shows how easy it is to get a cooler full when you hit the tide right.

Although Oak Hill shrimp occasionally reach impressive sizes during late February through March, usually in April the size of the shrimp harvested gets considerably smaller.

You'll still be able to cull out some large shrimp, but the majority will be 4" or smaller; much less than the preferred size.

If you're shrimping in Volusia County, plan to hit Oak Hill.   Edgewater has not

been as productive as Oak Hill and if you hit the back end of the tide, you can still get a shot at some of the big 8" shrimp in Oak Hill before the "smallies" take over.

From February to date, Brevard County shrimping remains moody.

Titusville shrimpers from Haulover Canal, to the railroad bridge, to the fishing piers on the Indian River are having a more difficult time filling their buckets.

It has been reliably either very hot or totally cold since the first of April.

The shrimp in Brevard County seem to run when they feel like it and some of the die hard shrimpers on the rails dip all night only to harvest a half bucket.

The difference between a good and bad night shrimping during the shrimp run seems to boil down on how well you set up your underwater light field.

The old timers who shrimp on a regular basis know that a badly laid out light field makes for a bad night on the pier.   They also seem to know when to go shrimping and when to stay at home.

Knowing when to go obviously gives you an advantage.   If the winds are blowing in over 10 knots, don't bother loading up your shrimping gear.

Timing is everything, and March and April are magical in Brevard County.

The cold fronts for the most part are a distant memory and the pleasant evenings make the two fishing piers a gathering place for sport shrimpers, night fishermen and party-goers alike.

Although the shrimp in Brevard County are by far much larger than anywhere else in Florida, you have to put in your time on the rails and plug in to local shrimping information to make it worthwhile when you schedule a trip to our area.

Brevard remains King of the slobs (jumbos), and when the stars are lined up perfectly, Titusville pier shrimpers can load up their buckets with mediums and jumbos of over 5".

April is also the best month to load up on blue crab and shrimp at Haulover Canal.

I've been told that as Volusia County shrimping starts to wind down, North Brevard will be the best seat in the house.

It appears it's time to get out and enjoy the 2014 winter shrimping season.

Sport Shrimping Report

February marks the official start of the shrimping season in east central Florida and is the month when the cold fronts are supposed to officially come to an end.

Historically Brevard county shrimping is supposed to turn magical during February and March but so far, February shrimping in Brevard was pretty much a bust, South winds and all, and although March is picking up quite a bit, it is still not up to everyone's expectations.

All the regulars I spoke with said that shrimping is going to improve during March and so far, Oak Hill sport shrimpers have been enjoying their normal harvests of one quart to three gallons or more of shrimp per outing.

During February, Oak Hill shrimp were averaging 4 to 5 inches in length with most over 4.5 inches.

This is the normal size for shrimp around the Oak Hill area.

When a few sport shrimpers reported 5 gallon limits in Central Florida during November and December, "shrimp fever" was on the rampage.

But when the cold fronts forced the water temperatures to quickly drop, the shrimp quickly buried up in the bottom and the catches dwindled.

Many old timers believe that all the dead grass in the Indian River is the reason why the shrimp migrations in recent years have been dwindling.

However, when the shrimp reach abouut a 1/2" in size, they bury up in the bottom so the dead grass really should have no adverse affect on the migrations of giant Brevard shrimp that the Indian River is noted for.

During the earliest development stage of shrimp growth, the eggs cling to the sea grass - not to the shrimp.

The eggs are naturally sticky and will adhere to dead sea grass just as well as the live grasses.

The mullet that eat the sea grass and algae are probably the main threat to shrimp eggs.

Lately sport shrimpers have been reporting catches of Mantis Shrimp in Oak Hill.

You can eat mantis shrimp if you don't mind handling them but they can really mess up your fingers if you're not careful.

This Smithsonian video shows what a mantis shrimp can do to a crab or your fingers.

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If you're sport shrimping in the Oak Hill area, instead of going to the more popular areas, try working the narrower parts of the ICW.

Unless you are using a floating wide mouth net in the current behind your boat, the wider parts of the river reduce opportunities for netting multiple shrimp in your field of vision with a hoop net.

When the run picks up later on this month, you can net shrimp almost anywhere you want with just as much success.

If you're shrimping in Haulover Canal, drop back from the bridge and set up along the rip lines where the slower water converges with faster moving water.

The faster moving water closer to the bridge is usually too turbulent for shrimping with a hoop net.

When Brevard and Volusia County winds blow in from the South and
West, it's a good time to break out the shrimp nets and head for the river.

But when there is a dead east or west wind blowing, the currents around Oak Hill
are affected and the shrimping slows down considerably.

Since Peacocks Pocket road was closed again this past weekend (probably because of the controlled burn in the refuge) I may be spending my lazy Sunday nights sport shrimping over the lights on the piers.

Till next time, Tight Lines

A Lazy Sunday Night Sport Shrimping

It was a lazy night sport shrimping on the Indian River this evening.

I didn't get a chance to wet a line this weekend and by this evening I was eager to get out of the house and hit the river.

I left the house around 7:30 pm armed with a small spinning rod rigged with an imitation shrimp.

Fifteen minutes later I was on the first fishing pier checking out what the sport shrimpers were catching this evening.

It had been raining all day long and it stopped shortly before I got to the fishing piers.  The air temperature was a pleasant 72 degrees and there was no wind on the water as you can see by the video below.

The lower fishing pier had a few shrimpers and no fishermen on it but the upper pier was more crowded at the shallow end.

I talked to a few shrimpers and to a man they all reported a slow evening.  Several had a few shrimp in their buckets but nobody was limiting out this evening.

The guys said they were averaging a couple of shrimp every ten minutes or so.  For this area it was a pitiful evening.

When I got to the piers an entertainer was singing away on the pavilion and despite the slow shrimping activity, everyone seemed to be having a great time.

I pitched my artificial bait at several sea trout that were hovering over the lights and caught two dinky trout before deciding to give it up.

When the small sea trout are schooling like they were tonight, you can be sure there are no big ones in the area.

I took several shots of the "inaction" and when it started to rain again, I decided to head for home rather than taking a chance of getting the flu, or worse.

Anyway, it was good to get out in the fresh air and enjoy the company of some of the locals.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

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Some Shrimping Action On The Indian River

I decided to hit the pier this evening to see if anyone was getting any shrimping action on the Indian River.

As is my habit, I took along a light action spinning rod tipped with a shrimp imitation to see if I could pick up a sea trout or two.

The fishing piers were relatively uninhabited this evening so I took my rod and my trusty Samsung WB150F camera and headed for the lower pier.

The people close to the sea wall were netting shrimp but they were all medium sized, not the jumbos

that are expected in this area.

There were several schools of under slot sized sea trout chasing shrimp, so I took a short video of the action.

The shrimp that made it past the sea trout were being netted by the guys on the pier.  But from what I saw this evening, the sea trout were winning.

I took a few shots and met up with Glen Best, a fellow fisherman friend who also goes sport shrimping on a regular basis.  That's him to the left.

It turned out that a couple of weeks ago, Glen and his friend were the guys who I briefly spoke with in Catfish Creek Loop.

They were sitting in their truck waiting out the rain when I passed them, and had just doubled up on redfish in the marsh area. 

I stopped and shot the breeze with him a bit about the fishing in the area and how the shrimp were running.

While we were talking, I started pitching the shrimp imitation at some of the sea trout to see if I could pick up a legal size fish.

The more we talked, the more fish I caught.  Unfortunately they were all under the slot.

I took these videos of the fish and the picture of Glen that I promised to put on my site.


I continued catching fish and could have gone all night long, but after an hour or so I decided to head for the house.

I was working all day on remodeling my wife's bathroom and I was dog tired.

It was about 10:45 pm when I left the fishing pier and I was home by eleven.

As I was leaving the pier, I took some shots of the evening's catch.

 


If I finish getting the bathroom prepped and painted tomorrow, I might hit the beach and try for some Spanish mackerel or blues.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

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Sport Shrimping Post Thanksgiving Day

Sport shrimping on the Indian River this evening was pretty much only for the hardier types.

Thanksgiving Day is usually when sport shrimping picks up in this area.  At least in previous years that was the trend.

This evening was the first time in quite a while that I bothered visiting the two fishing piers on the river.

It was around 8:30 pm when I drove down to the bridge and it was extremely foggy.  The air temperature was 65 degrees, there was a fine misty rain falling and there was the usual breeze blowing over the Indian River.  Perfect pneumonia weather!

The band that was playing at the Pavilion earlier had already gone home and there were only a few vehicles in the parking areas.

The lower fishing pier was somewhat crowded, but the upper pier had only three people shrimping this evening.

Lower Fishing Pier

Upper Fishing Pier

 I talked to several people who were shrimping on the lower pier and most of the shrimpers had only a few medium size shrimp in their nets.  Nobody had a 5 gallon bucket limit.

I took a few pics of the area and proceeded to the upper fishing pier to see if they were doing any better.

The first guy I spoke with (below) was a "snow bird" who told me the shrimp were not running this evening.  Despite his report, I noted that he and his buddy had at least a couple dozen shrimp in their nets.

The folks shrimping next to him had done better.  They had at least two dozen shrimp each and were still netting them up as I was preparing to head for the comfort of the hacienda.

 




I took a few more pics before leaving and on the way home noted that the air temperature had dropped a couple of degrees.  Definitely a front moving in.

Perhaps that's why the sport shrimping this evening wasn't up to par.

In any event, I'll try to hit the area again in a few days for another report.

Till then,

Tight Lines and Heavy Nets.

Sport Shrimping

Sport shrimping along the space coast is catching on and with the newly built fishing piers on the Indian River, has become increasingly popular with visitors and local area residents.

Here in central Florida sport shrimping is almost exclusively done using circular, long handled dip nets from boats, docks, fishing piers and bridges over underwater lighting arrays such as the ones below.



I had planned on fishing Saturday but the wind was blowing beyond my limits and my truck developed a transmission problem so I opted to stay home.

By 8:00 p.m. I had cabin fever so I took the other truck down to the fishing pier to see if any shrimpers were crazy enough to venture out in the cold.

When I got to the pavilion, I was genuinely surprised to see a band playing Jamaican music and find the lower fishing pier crowed with shrimpers and fishermen.

I took my camera, zipped up my hoodie and started walking the fishing piers to see who was catching anything.

No one seemed to be catching any fish and the shrimpers weren't doing much better.

One guy I talked with caught just a few shrimp in an hour and thought he was doing good.  I didn't have the heart to tell him he needed to go home.

I walked up to the upper pier where the shrimpers weren't doing much better.

The wind was blowing like crazy making the shrimp hard to detect and the temperature was dropping quickly.  The weather report was for 40 degrees tonight with the potential for freezing.

I saw some fish fry on the surface being chased by some decent sized sea trout but not many shrimp.   No one seemed interested in catching the slot sized trout.

I took some pics and a short video of basically nothing and decided that cabin fever in the house was preferable to pneumonia.


Hopefully, I'll be able to get out and do some fishing while I still have some vacation left.

My wife and I planned to hit the keys and do some fishing for a few days in Islamorada  but the damn truck transmission problem put the kibosh on those plans.

Till next time, hope your sport shrimping nets get filled with jumbos!

Tight Lines.

Shrimping Report For 11-21-2012

Here is the most current shrimping report for 11-21-2012.

The "die hard" shrimpers were out on both fishing piers this evening and some of them were doing quite well, especially from the upper fishing pier.

I was sick with the flu for the past few days and finally couldn't stand being in the house anymore so I put on my "hoodie" and headed for the fishing piers under the new Max Brewer Causeway Bridge in Titusville.

When I got to the area a guitarist was playing solo for a small crowd of party goers who all seemed to be enjoying the evening and their adult beverages.

There was a brisk wind blowing across the Indian River and it was quite chilly.  The shrimpers who were on the piers were all wearing heavy clothing while hanging over the rails looking for their quarry.

I spoke with a couple of guys on the lower pier who didn't seem to be doing much however, it didn't seem to dampen their spirits a bit.

One shrimper had about a dozen shrimp on the bottom of his 5 gallon bucket and another guy I talked to had a few less.  Nothing outstanding for this time of year to say the least.

I took a few pics of the crew and moved on to the upper fishing pier to see how they were doing this evening.

The upper pier was entirely different from what I saw on the lower pier.

These guys were netting more shrimp, although not in the quantities one comes to expect from this area of Florida.

I talked to a couple of guys who were just setting up who were so busy netting shrimp, they looked like they didn't have time to set out all their shrimp lights.

During the brief time I was on the upper fishing pier, the guy I was talking to netted at least a dozen shrimp.  A few were in the "jumbo" category.

The shrimper I spent most of my time with said that this was only the second time he tried shrimping.  His net was obviously brand new, but he knew how to spot and net shrimp.

The air temperature this evening was in the lower 60s and dropping, and the water temperature, according to one of the "die hard" shrimpers was a "perfect" 66 degrees.

He evidently thought that this was the optimum water temperature for the shrimping to pick up and I didn't know enough about it to argue the point.

I walked both piers and saw a couple of guys fishing but they were only picking up small undersize sea trout.

I was still feeling crappy so I decided to head for home before I picked up a case of pneumonia on top of the flu.

I compiled this video of the action, or lack of it, during the time I was there.


Everyone I spoke with said the shrimping should get better as the month progresses and the temperature drops.  We shall see!

Till next time, Tight Lines!

Night Shrimping On The Indian River Is Still Going Strong

Night shrimping on the Indian River is still going strong in August.

Normally in August the sport shrimping run on the Indian River is over and done with.  However, this year the norms have been redefined by this past winter's severe cold fronts.

It seems like everything has been pushed back a month or so.

Sunday evening I got bored watching the doom and gloom on the boob tube, so I decided to drive down to our new fishing piers and check out the action, if any.

I didn't expect to see many people doing anything but partying at the pavilion but was pleasantly surprised by how many people were on both piers shrimping, catching blue crabs and fishing.

I took these pics of the activity and composed this short video to show the "goings on".

I arrived about 10:00 pm armed with my trusty Nikon and a 7' spinning rod baited with a Rootbeer/Gold D.O.A. Shrimp just in case the trout were biting.

It was windy and there was a little chop on the water.  The shrimpers had their shrimp lights out and the fishermen were doing their thing using mostly live or dead shrimp for bait.

This gentleman in his motorized wheelchair was catching a good number of shrimp and had the bottom of his bucket covered when I got there.

He had only been shrimping since it got dark and expected to net up quite a few more before heading for home.

He told me that he comes to the pier about once a week to shrimp and that this is the first time the shrimp were still running in good numbers through the month of August.

I moved on down the length of the pier taking pictures of all the people enjoying the evenings activities.

One couple even had a crib out there with their kids while shrimping and several others were lounging around on the chairs they brought with them.

I flipped the
D.O.A. Shrimp out a few times around the lights, caught a couple of under size sea trout and missed several more before calling it a night and going home.

On the way out, I took a snippet of this guy's cooler that he was filling up with blue crabs which were drifting by on the surface along with the shrimp.



He told me that he planned to fill it up before leaving.

I wished him well but personally I hate messing with cleaning them.  Especially the smaller ones.

I much prefer soft shelled blue crabs in sandwich form!

I'm happy to be able to report that the night shrimping is still going strong on the Indian River.

Till my next report, Tight Lines.

Sport Shrimping On The Indian River

Sport shrimping on the Indian River tonight was slow to say the least.

Coming home from my fishing excursion this afternoon, I noticed a ton of people congregating on the causeway bridge and new fishing pier preparing for an evening of sport shrimping. So, I decided to check out what was happening.

When I got to the fishing pier this evening at about 8:30 p.m., there was quite a crowd despite the fact that the shrimp weren't running.

The guys I talked to on the bridge were catching shrimp, but they weren't the historic numbers that the locals here are used to catching.

No one had even close to the 5 gallon bucket limit and most of the shrimpers I saw had only a few shrimp in their buckets.

I decided to walk over to the newly constructed fishing pier and see if anyone over there was doing any better.

I struck up a conversation with a gentleman from Tenn. who is wintering down here. He told me the water temperature was still too cold for the shrimp to be running in good numbers.

The water temp was in the 60s, and according to him, the water temperature should be a bit warmer before the shrimp head to the surface. I was always under the impression that the shrimp didn't run well until the water cooled down.

We talked about the many reasons why shrimp run or don't run and agreed that they run when they feel like it. It's hard to predict mother nature.

Anyway, he told me about some fishermen that recently caught some nice slot size sea trout just prior to the last cold front. One of them was a "gator" trout that was caught around the pilings of the new restaurant.

He also told me about the bull redfish that he saw a couple of weeks ago over the lights. He said he tried everything but they wouldn't bite.

I didn't mention to him that I already knew about the bull redfish. They come in to feed on the small trout and baitfish that are attracted to the lights and the shrimp. They can be caught but they're usually well over the slot limit.

Anyway, I halfheartedly cast a jig a few times without any luck and after taking a few pics of the inaction, decided to head for home.

Here are the picture results of the night's shrimping.

I hope the fishing is better tomorrow.


Tight Lines

Max Brewer Memorial Parkway Bridge Construction

The Max Brewer Memorial Parkway bridge on the Indian River at Parrish Park in Titusville, Florida, will be replaced by a single span bridge sometime in 2011.
                                        

Construction on the bridge piers, has been proceeding at a rapid pace by Lane Construction Co. and the way progress is being made, they just might complete the bridge on schedule

The fishing pier that was partially destroyed by the hurricane a couple of years ago, has been torn down and is also in the process of being rebuilt.  See pictures of new construction.

                                                                     
    
I'm happy to report that the boat launch at Parrish Park, that was also rendered unusable by the last hurricane, has been rebuilt and is currently available for launches.


It remains to be seen just how the bridge construction will affect the upcoming sport shrimping season.  Only time will tell.

I do know one thing for a fact; the huge redfish that accompany the shrimp run and hover in the shadows of the shrimp lights, are here to stay regardless of what goes on topside!

Tight Lines!

Night Time Trout Fishing

Well it was a beautiful day in central Florida today. The wind was gusting to 20 mph and both the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoons were choppy.

I had intentions of taking out my Maverick and hitting the flats for some of those April gator sea trout everyone has been catching, but mowing the lawn, cutting down some dead trees and working around the house seemed like a better idea, according to my wife.

Not content to giving up a beautiful day without going fishing, I grabbed a spare rod I just respooled with 10 lb. Cajun Red Lightnin' line, put on a black and silver D.O.A. Terror Eye and scooted down to the bridge near dusk.

When I got to the causeway, it was sparsely populated with shrimpers and a few bridge fishermen.

The shrimping this past week was "so, so" according to Hank, one of the regulars. He said the shrimp were running sporadic and were "Oak Hill" sized. (Meaning mediums to small)

The week before, as I have already posted in this blog, they were "loading up on 9 to 12 inch shrimp" but this week the shrimping has not been consistent. Five gallon limits were were being scooped up, but "they weren't Titusville shrimp", as on gentleman told me.

Knowing that night time trout fishing is pretty much overlooked in this area, I decided to see if I could pick up a gator sow sea trout.

When it got dark I started pitching the D.O.A. outside the shrimp lights and caught and missed several small trout.



Moving out to deeper water just outside the shrimp lights, a good sub-gator sized trout grabbed the D.O.A. lure and tried her best to run under the bridge. After a couple of very nice runs, I finally landed the respectable 21 inch trout.

Fish for dinner tomorrow evening! I usually don't keep them but it's been a dry spell for nice sized keepers.

Last week end, my wife and I hit the preserve area of the northern Indian River and didn't do as well as we hoped.

I caught 13 or 14 small trout and missed a nice over sized redfish, and Karen missed one red and only caught several catfish. That is the main reason I almost exclusively use lures and not bait.

I took a few fish pics and am posting the collage here for your viewing.

Maybe the fishing will be better tomorrow. The weather should be great.

Tight lines to all!

First Annual Fishin For Spot Tournament

The weather conditions for Titusville's first annual Fishin For Spot redfish tournament this weekend were excellent, and Saturday in particular, was a perfect day to get out and have some fun on the Indian River.

My wife and I checked out the area on Friday evening. We noticed that the parking spaces at the boat ramp in Parrish Park were quickly getting filled up.

This could have been attributed to either the Spot redfish tournament or the sport shrimping that was going on.

Friday evening had a greater than usual amount of shrimpers out on the bridge dipping up the tasty crustaceans. I am on the mend from foot surgery, so I didn't walk around and ask the sport shrimpers about their catches. From what I could see, they seemed to be doing quite well.

On Saturday, we drove around Merrit Island Wildlife Preserve from Peacock Pocket to where it finally comes out on SR 402.

The drive was unusually crowded with fishermen staking out their favorite spots on the river hoping to catch a winning redfish. The beautiful weather conditions, and the tournament, definitely
brought out the fishermen.

Here is a short movie presentation covering the weekend's festivities.

There was also a large gathering of people around the Max Brewer Causeway; jet skiing, fishing, picnicking, parasailing, and just enjoying the day.

My wife and I missed the weigh in but called to find out who won what.

Camille Moore was kind enough to provide us the results for the First Annual Fishin For Spot tournament held this weekend, April 4th, 2009.

The results are listed below:

1st Place - Casey Uyttewaal - New Smyrna Bch, Fl - 14 spots

2nd Place - Steve Hastings - Edgewater, Fl - 9 spots

3rd Place - Mark Latoree - Edgewater, FL - 8 spots

4th Place - Alan Holt - Cocoa, FL - 6 spots

5th Place - Mike Miller - Cocoa, FL 5 spots

Sr. Division Winner -- Steve Hastings - Edgewater, FL 9 spots

No ladies or jr's brought any fish in.

It is my understanding that although the fishing conditions were excellent, and the turnout was substantial, very few fish were brought to the weigh in.

If I could have known that in advance, I would have registered myself. The winner won a new boat!

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!

Indian River Shrimping Report

Well the Indian River shrimpers were at it again this evening with mixed results.

It was a beautiful clear evening with a half moon that provided great visibility on the river.

My wife, my wonder dog Elmo, and I drove through the preserve area to check out the water level before going to where the shrimpers were doing their thing. The water is still very low on the Indian River, so we decided on taking a boat ride tomorrow to catch fish, if the weather holds.

When we got to the bridge, we saw about 30 people hanging over the railings trying to dip out their limits of shrimp.

I questioned several "regulars" about their success. The general theme was that the shrimp were not running like they were in previous years, however, the shrimp that were being caught were medium to jumbos in size. One gentleman I spoke with, as he was packing up to leave, said that the shrimpers in the boats were doing better than people on the bridge.

I did notice when we drove past the Marine Patrol station, that about twenty boat trailers were parked under the lights. Based on the number of boats out this evening, I can only assume the guy on the bridge knew what he was talking about.

Another shrimper said that the shrimping up north in Oak Hill ICW was a lot better than in Titusville, but that the shrimp were much smaller. He told me that he and his neighbor dipped four gallons last Friday during the tide change but they were small.

There were the usual schools of trout chasing shrimp and small bait fish over and around the shrimp lights.

Not being one to pass up an opportunity, I decided to catch a few.

I pulled out my fishing rod and caught several medium sized trout on a D.O.A. Terror Eye before I decided to call it a night. It was like being in a fish hatchery! Fish were everywhere.

Here are some pictures you might enjoy. I tried to get some shots of the trout swimming over the lights. Unfortunately only a couple were viewable. You can make out several good sized trout in one of the shots.

With any kind of luck I'll have a fishing report for tomorrow. Tight lines!

What Do You Need To Go Sport Shrimping?

Sport shrimping takes a lot of gumption during the winter months. If you don't believe me, try standing on a bridge half the night, looking over the railing with the wind blowing, and the temperature in the low 40's trying to dip a bunch of shrimp into a 5 gal. bucket.

Did you get the picture? Not quite.

The flip side of sport shrimping is that from October to late April, when the shrimp are supposed to be "really running", between the new and full moon phases, you will have a lot of camaraderie. Hundreds of shrimpers visit Central Florida's ICW bridges annually to take advantage of our unique shrimping sport fishery.

Like any other activity, when you try it, shrimping gets into your blood and tends to become as addictive as sport fishing, or sky diving. (Both sports native to the Titusville, Fl. area.)

When you DO become a dedicated sport shrimper, you will need some basic equipment to get your 5 gallon bucket limit.

A long handled circular dip net is a must for bridge shrimping. The regulars have learned to add extra handle lengths and reinforce the nets with tape to keep them from separating at the seams.

An array of home made or commercially purchased shrimp lights will be needed along with a power source to light up the water column. Lanterns are used in some areas, however underwater lights are preferred by the Indian River Lagoon shrimpers.

Most seasoned shrimpers use the small Honda type portable generators to power up to six underwater lights. When only one or two lights are placed out, a 12 volt battery can be used as a power source. The battery doesn't last very long when more than a couple of low voltage lights are used plus it's a pain to transport.

Shrimp traps are also used by some shrimpers. The rules and regulations for using them can be found HERE.

Finally, a 5 gallon bucket is needed to transport your shrimp. Florida allows one 5 gallon bucket per person per day as a "bag" limit. That's a bunch of shrimp!

When you become an addict to sport shrimping, you will want to customize your nets, traps, lighting arrays and start paying more attention to the Farmer's Almanac and tide charts.

Yes folks, it is addictive. I was out Friday and Saturday night to check it out, and despite the complaints from the "old timers" that "the run wasn't neer as good as last years" there were still a ton of sport shrimpers on both sides of the bridge having a great time.

Tight lines to all.