Hurricane Irma Fishing

Evidently Hurricane Irma didn't stop some die hard fishermen from taking advantage of the low pressure associated with the storm.

An exceptional redfish bite in our area often occurs just before a front, especially before a hurricane.

Although I do not recommend anyone picking up a rod to fish this particular storm, it is well known that fish bite like crazy when the barometer drops.

At 2:00 pm this afternoon, I took a quick spin around the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge to see if anybody was dedicated enough to break out their fishing tackle, and as I suspected, the north side of SR 402 was dotted with guys putting out live mullet to fish for redfish.

I also spotted two really dedicated guys putting away their wind surfing gear.

Parrish Park was empty except for a couple of fishermen under the A. Max Brewer Bridge and the fishing piers were also for the most part uninhabited.

 I spoke to one fishermen as he was leaving the lower fishing pier and asked him if he was doing any good.  He said he caught several small spotted sea trout and a small redfish and was moving to the next bridge to see if he could catch anything larger.

I briefly thought about going back home and picking up a fishing rod, but as I started back to the house, the rain started again.

Hurricane Irma is one storm I take very seriously, so I'm home behind boarded up windows waiting for the hit tomorrow morning.  

The latest track shows the category 3 storm moving through the Florida Keys and Miami tomorrow morning and then turning to Naples and Tampa, but with almost a 70 mile wide swath, we are going to get nailed regardless of the path.

Hope you all took this one seriously and prepared for it.

Till next time I can go fishing again, 
Tight Lines and God bless.

Peacocks Pocket Road Closure

There was an unexpected Peacocks Pocket Road closure this afternoon that kind of bummed me out.

When I got home from work late this afternoon, I immediately packed some rods into the truck and headed to the river to get in some fishing. 

Unfortunately, Peacocks Pocket Road was closed for repairs.

I know those of you who fish the area are well aware of the deep potholes that pock mark the road and evidently the powers that be have decided to do some repairs. 

Personally, I like the potholes.  They serve as "speed bumps" that slow down some of the idiots that run through the area. 

In any event, the Peacocks Pocket Road closure along with the severe thunderstorm activity put a monkey wrench in my fishing plans.

Although it was raining "cats and dogs" I decided to try some other spots before it got too dark. 

I briefly stopped by the Boy Scouts camping grounds but I didn't get a chance to fish the area.  A large gator was in a puddle in the middle of the unimproved road and it would not move. 

I decided to let the gator have the puddle.  I turned around and headed for Patillo Creek Road.
 
As I headed out of the camping grounds, I spotted a couple of wild turkeys in the field that started coming towards my truck but then turned and headed the other direction.

The rain again started to come down in buckets, this time much harder than when I first left the house. 

By the time I slowly drove to the dead end of Patillo Creek, the storm caused the air temperature to drop into the low 70s.  Despite the bad weather, I decided to stop and wet a line.  

This area has always been relatively unproductive for me but since it was raining, I decided to toss a Chug Bug around the mangrove shoreline to see if I could stir up a sea trout or a Snook.

As I was casting the Chug Bug, I spotted several small Tarpon rolling on the surface at the junction of the creek and the shallow pond adjacent to it.  The fish were all about 3 to 4 feet in length and would have been a  lot of fun if I could have gotten a hookup.

I made numerous casts to the fish but none of the Tarpon showed any interest in the lure, so I moved down to fish another area where I sometimes see some nice sea trout.

The rain continued to come down harder and the lightning forced me to stay in the truck until it slowed down enough to fish.

My Frog Toggs saved the day with the rain, but was no defense to a lightning strike.

When it slowed down again I started casting across the canal to the opposite bank and after the fourth or fifth cast, a nice sea trout busted on the Chug Bug but didn't get hooked.

Several casts in the same area didn't get me another hit so when the rain started up again, I decided to head for the house.

I like fishing the fronts during rainstorms, but today I just wasn't in the mood to get hit by lightning.

Hopefully, I'll get another chance to fish tomorrow.

Till then, Tight Lines.