Where Did The Flats Go?

Me and my wife decided to take Odie for a ride this afternoon to check out the fishing spots in our area.

It was mid afternoon when we loaded up a couple of rods and headed into Gator Creek Road.

There was a slight breeze on the water and the air temp was in the mid to low 80s.  Not great for topwater fishing but acceptable for swimming a few paddletail baits.

When we drove into Gator Creek, I was surprised to see a lot of dried up mud flats.

  The areas where I had been catching redfish and sea trout a few weeks ago were now drawn down to unfishable trickles.

Undaunted, we drove out of the area and decided to hit Bio Lab Road to see if the flats in that area were fishable.

The water levels in the lagoon were way down and the water was almost crystal clear making sight fishing the thing to do for the rest of the week.

I stopped to fish a couple of spots where I spotted a single fish and picked up an under slot sea trout on the Creme paddletail bait I had on the rod.    I took a a quick pic and released the fish.

The water on the other side of the road where there is normally a few ladyfish, snook, and juvenile tarpon was virtually dried up and fishable only to the waterfowl that were wading the shallows.

A few brown pelicans, roseatte spoonbills, and cormorants were in the area along with the usual shore birds dining on small crustaceans.  We took a few pics of the birds and decided to head to the house for dinner.

I was not thrilled catching only one small sea trout but compared to the other anglers dunking baits along the bank, I seemed to be out fishing them.  

All in all it was a pleasant afternoon in the refuge.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Trout In The Culverts

Haven't had time to fish much these days but I decided to head down to Gator Creek to wet a line while waiting for the Space X launch this evening. 

As I rolled into Gator Creek Road, I took a couple of pics of some nice artwork on the concrete barriers that stop people from pulling up close to the water.

I had what I thought was an hour or so to wait so I pulled up to an open culvert where I had luck catching rat reds in the past. 

There were what looked like trout in the culverts feeding in the shallows on small newly hatched baitfish, so I tied on a 3" Cream Spoiler Shad bait that I had with me and started tossing it around the weeds.

I had a bump on the first cast and missed the fish so I continued fan casting the area.

In about 15 minutes of fishing, I had three more hits and missed every single fish.

I cut off the bait and started rooting around my truck to find a smaller lure that would hopefully get a solid hookup.  

After tearing apart my center console, I found a small white Cream Spoiler Shad about an inch or so long that I tied on.

After the first cast, I hooked into a nice slot size sea trout that put up a decent fight for its size.

I took a pic, released the fish, and continued tossing the small bait around the area.

A couple of casts later, I caught another sea trout that was a clone to the first one.

In the next half hour, I managed to land two more fish and missed about the same before I packed up the rod in expectation of the Space X launch.

It took a few minutes and a search on my cell phone for me to realize the launch was going to be delayed again till around 8:00 pm.

I didn't feel like waiting around for another possible letdown, so I headed to the house.

As it turned out, the launch did go off around 8:30 pm but I videoed it from my back yard.

Not the best vantage point, but it was still cool.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Reds On The Mud Flats

I finally got a chance to take Odie for a ride around Gator Creek Road and was surprised to find reds on the mud flats along the west side of the unimproved road. We left the house around 4:00 pm and found several people setting up their cameras with telescopic lenses on the bridge apparently waiting for the Space X launch that was later scrubbed.  

A large plane that was apparently affiliated with the launch was circling the space center several times before leaving the area.

I have not been in the area for about a month so I stopped to talk to a couple of anglers to see if they were fishing or actually catching.

The first guy I had a conversation with had three rods out of the back of his pickup and was sitting on the tailgate waiting for a bite.

He was fishing the shallow mud flats which were now flooded using shrimp for bait.

He said he hadn't caught anything yet but did catch three slot redfish the prior day.

We shot the bull awhile and I left when Odie started to get anxious about getting out.

We drove along the road and spotted three other parties with lines out on both sides of the road but nobody seemed to be catching anything.

The air temp was in the low 60s and a good breeze was making it seem colder.  I had on shorts like a fool and only stopped a couple of times to toss a Chug Bug and a Cream Spoiler Shad around.  Nothing was interested and neither was I.  

Next time I take a ride with Odie, I'll dress for the weather.

After circling Catfish Creek Loop and exiting via East Gator Creek, I decided that the fishing would have been much better using live baits on the mud flats.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Another Space X Flight

Got out to wet a line late this afternoon and saw another Space X Flight from the culvert I was fishing.

Although I only got one small kink sea trout from the culvert on a small Creme paddle tail bait, the launch was much more entertaining.

The launch was delayed due to windy conditions but lifted off at 8:26 pm.  Love these night launches...

Check it out from my view from Gator Creek below.

Till I get a chance to fish again, Tight Lines.

Working On The Culverts

Took Elmo and Odie for a ride around Gator Creek road only to find that the powers that be were still working on the culverts.

Hopefully the area will be open by the 4th. but regardless, they needed to do some work on the road.

At the entrance to East Gator Creek, I stopped to cast a Chug Bug around the first culverts to see if anything was interested. 

Elmo stayed in the truck looking out the window helping me spot fish.

I made three casts with the Chug Bug and got a hit by a large ladyfish that blew the topwater bait out of the water. 

I made several more casts into the shallow trench but the fish never returned, so I moved up the road to continue scouting the area.

I made two more stops to toss the Chug Bug but some fish but I never got another hit.

The dogs were getting hot and the air temperature was in the low 90s.  Not a good scenario for man's best friend or for  topwater fishing.

I headed out of the wildlife refuge and planned on taking the long route around Gator Creek road but it was cabled off. 

The work crews had a load of culverts along side of the road that they were apparently going to install under the roadway.

I drove home to drop off Elmo and Odie and since it was late, I decided to make a quick run over to Shiloh Road to check out the creeks.

When I got to the first set of culverts,  the water levels in the creeks had risen considerably since last month.

I watched the water for signs of fish but nothing except some mullet were in the area. 

I pulled up the road a bit and walked across the marsh to fish an area where I caught several snook last year.

I had two rods with me. One with a small size Chug Bug and the second with a gold Johnson silver minnow.

I fished both baits until the mosquitoes and horse flies became intolerable. 

I had one nice hit on the Silver Minnow but missed a hookup.  The Chug Bug, which is my all time favorite bait never even got a follow.

I had enough for one day so I walked back to the car and headed home to get a Pizza for dinner.

Till next time,
Tight Lines.

A Windy Evening In The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

It was a windy evening in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge but I decided to wet a line anyway.

By the time I got home from work this evening it was after 5:30 pm so I didn't waste any time deciding if I should bother going fishing or not.  I just picked up three rods and headed to the refuge.

As I crossed the causeway bridge, the wind was blowing the truck around so I knew fishing would be difficult.  There were two guys in wet suits wind boarding and nobody fishing the shorelines.

The drive through Gator Creek road was uneventful.  A dude was trying to cast net some baitfish at the second set of culverts and I admired the fact that he could get the net to open against the wind.

I only spotted two other fishermen this evening and both had several rods set out with live finger mullet.  I don't know if they were having any luck but they didn't look very happy as I drove by.

The air temperature according to the truck sensor was 58 degrees and the wind was blowing in at around 14 knots.  There were white caps on the Indian River and I knew casting would be a problem.

As I drove past the barrier to Peacocks Pocket road, I slowed down at the culverts and spotted a swirl in the shallow water.  I couldn't tell if it was a sea trout, a black drum, or a red but from the amount of water that was pushed around, I could tell it was a size-able fish. 

I pulled the truck over to the side of the road as far as I could and pulled out the spinning combo that was rigged with a gold Johnson's Sprite.

I picked up the "Tight Line" rod and reel combo that I bought on sale at Bass Pro, spooled it up with Cajun Red 15# line and a 20# fluorocarbon leader.  Perfect for casting a relatively heavy lure in windy conditions.

The first cast I made landed a foot or so away from the fish and spooked it.  As I reeled the spoon back I was cussing my luck. 

I followed up with a second cast about ten feet away from where I thought the fish was headed and brought the spoon back in a slow, jerky retrieve.

The spoon didn't travel more than ten feet before a nice oversize redfish inhaled the lure.

I fought the fish carefully and after one long run and a few short bursts gradually steered the red into the shallows where I could get a Boga Grip on it's lip.

The fish was definitely over the slot, it measured in at 30" so I took a few pics and released it in the very shallow water.  There wasn't enough water to revive the red so I pushed it out a bit into deeper water until, with a little prod from my rod tip, it took off.

After several more casts into the area without any luck, I moved on up the road to see if I could stir up some more action.

I had one other hit from a large fish, but it wasn't hooked well and got off.   From the wake it left behind it was probably a red, but I couldn't be sure.

Anyway, it was a little after 6:15 pm when I decided to head for home.  The weather was not conducive to fishing this evening and I was getting chilly.

Tomorrow is tax time for me so if I survive the sticker shock, I may just want to wet a line.

Till next time,
Tight Lines.

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge Report

The weather in east central Florida was awesome today but the bank fishing in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge left a lot to be desired.

I was working on making an aquarium stand most of the day and as the afternoon progressed I decided to take Elmo and Odie out for a drive around Gator Creek Road.

I took along a couple of rods and headed into the refuge to see if Peacocks Pocket Road was open.  Unfortunately, it is still closed for repairs.

There were a lot of bird watchers, sightseers and bank fishermen out this afternoon but except for one regular, Chuck, no one was catching anything.

I passed several fishermen around Gator Creek and Catfish Creek who were fishing with live or dead shrimp and cut baits, but everyone I spoke with said the water was too cold and the fish weren't hitting. 

When I pulled up to see if Chuck was catching anything, he had just unhooked a nice 20" sea trout that he caught on a cut finger mullet bait.

As I took these pics, Chuck told me that he caught two reds yesterday on cut mullet in the same area.

The redfish were 30" and 33" respectively but today, other than the sea trout pictured above, he had not yet caught any redfish.

The sea trout was nice and fat and was going to make a fine dinner.

Another vehicle was trying to get past me so I pulled up the road and continued looking for fishermen who were "catching".

I talked to two more fishermen before heading out of the refuge and both were just setting up.

The one lady I spoke with said she and her husband fished Playalinda Beach and caught several nice whiting yesterday.  I commented that they are great eating but she told me they gave them away. 

Too bad I wasn't around.  Anyway, after talking with her I decided to head for the house. 

The air temperature on the way out of the refuge was a mild 74 degrees and there was almost no breeze.  It was a perfect afternoon for fishing, bird watching or just getting out to enjoy nature; which is exactly what I did.

I plan on finishing up my tank stand next weekend and also to wet a line.  Late February and March is noted for big sea trout in our area and I plan on picking up a few on top water baits.

Till next time,
Tight Lines.

Chilly Afternoon On The Indian River

It was a chilly afternoon on the Indian River but when I got home from work today, I had to make a quick run around Catfish Creek Loop to see if anyone was having any luck.

It was almost 6:00 pm when I finally drove into Gator Creek Road and the air temperature was a chilly 48 degrees.    The wind was blowing just enough to make a steady ripple on the water and not many people were in the area.

As I entered the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge the fist thing I noticed was a huge concentration of gulls and other sea birds in the shallows.  

They were obviously chowing down on something in the shallows but I didn't see any finger mullet or signs of fish in the area so I moved up the road to see if Peacocks Pocket Road was open yet.

As I approached the turnoff, the barrier and the sign was still up.  

When I walked the road last week I noticed that they were working on the road but the area was supposed to be open on the 15th. of the month.

Anyway, I parked the truck and made several casts into a flowing culvert with a Johnsons Sprite gold spoon to see if I could stir up a hit.  
All I got for my efforts was a small finger mullet I snagged in the shallows.

It was too cold for me to continue fishing without a coat on so I drove into Catfish Creek Loop to see who was fishing the river.

When I hit the curve I met up with a regular who always fishes with cut baits.  He had four rods set out and didn't seem to be catching anything.  When I asked if he had caught any fish, he told me he caught two reds in the slot yesterday along with another 33 in fish,  but nothing today.

He blamed it on the cold front.

I wished him luck and drove on where I met up with another reader of this site.  He and his friend were fishing the river with cut baits and shrimp and they too hadn't had a bite.  Again, the cold front was believed to be the reason for the lockjaw.

I wished them luck and drove out of the area.  I never saw another fisherman in the areas that Karen and I usually fish until close to the exit where a couple had several rods out with cut baits and shrimp.

When I asked him about the fishing, he told me the same story.  The cold front put down the fish.

These three were the only ones braving the chilly afternoon on the Indian River and as I headed towards the bridge, I was glad I forgot to bring along the rest of my rods.

When I got home and read my emails, I got a fishing report from Craig and Mary Bates. 

They were out last Sunday afternoon and picked up some fish.   Mary was using a shrimp under a popping cork and picked up two middle of the slot Reds and a very nice 23” Trout.

            

Mary out fished Craig who landed a pair of nice trout up to 22” on a Naked Swimmer.

He sent me this pic of Mary with  a couple of slot reds they caught between Christmas and New Years that would up on the grill with some Redfish Magic.  Yum!

Maybe I'll wet a line this weekend if the weather warms up a bit, but tonight it's supposed to be another chiller.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

The Redfish Were Biting This Weekend In Catfish Creek

The Redfish were biting this weekend in the Indian River on live shrimp and cut baits.

Saturday afternoon I took Elmo and Odie out to the river and ran around Catfish Creek Loop to see

Odie

what people were catching.

I wasn't exactly on a fishing trip with the two dogs along, but I brought along a couple of rods just for the heck of it.

Saturday the weather was perfect for bait fishing along the shoreline.  The air temperature was in the mid 70s and there was very little wind on the water.

As I drove past the gate into Catfish Creek Loop I saw several fishermen with rods set out fishing finger mullet, cut baits and shrimp.  

There were schools of mullet milling around in the shallows and every once in a while something would bust up the school sending baitfish off in a flash.

The two spots I planned to fish were occupied so I drove past them and met up with Beatrice, an avid fisherwoman, who had a couple of rods set out in the shallows. 

She said she caught four small redfish on shrimp and a few black drum the day before in another area of Catfish Creek.

Elmo kept barking so I didn't spend much time swapping fish stories with her.  Instead, I moved on to check on some other anglers.  

Evidently Saturday was a "hot" day for reds because everyone seemed to be catching them, mostly on cut baits.

I tried fishing a couple of spots with artificial lures but gave it up after a short time.  The dogs, especially Odie were uncontrollable.  I took some pics of the area and talked to a couple other fishermen before leaving for the house.

Sunday turned out to be a bummer.  I left the house late and decided to pick up some live shrimp to fish with.  I'm not usually a bait fisherman but when everyone is catching and I'm just fishing, it's time to get it on.

I picked up some live shrimp at the local bait shop and was told that the fishing hadn't been that great today.  The owner told me that "yesterday they were tearing them up" in Catfish Creek.  

I didn't bother telling him I already knew that and was wondering why he didn't tell me that the fish were not hitting until after I paid for the bait.  Oh well, you can always freeze the shrimp.

When I drove into Gator Creek Road I immediately noticed the lack of fishermen in the area.  The air temperature was 65 degrees and the wind was blowing constantly.  It was tough fishing for anyone using artificial baits so I decided to try shrimp and cut ladyfish.

I only saw three other fishermen while I was in the area and only one said that he had caught any fish.

I fished for an hour in a small cove without a strike before pulling in my baits and moving on up the road.

A couple of guys in a kayak were fishing the cove but they weren't getting any hits either.

I was going to fish a spot on the river where I caught fish in the past, but another fisherman had five rods out at the spot.  

When I pulled up to him and asked him how he was doing, he showed me a 22" redfish he was taking home for dinner that he caught on a cut bait.

He introduced himself as Charles Actice and he reported that the redfishing had been hot for the past few days in this area.  He said he caught his limit every day on cut baits and that he fishes the area on a daily basis.

Since he was packing up to leave the area, I pulled in past where he was fishing and tossed out a chunk of ladyfish on one rod and another rod with a large shrimp.

I'd like to tell you that I nailed a couple of nice redfish, but I only had one bite and that turned out to be this catfish who picked up a chunk of  Ladyfish.  

At least I didn't get skunked!

Anyway, I fished until it was almost dark and it finally got to chilly for me to hang around, so I packed it in and headed for home.

I took a couple pics of the sunset before heading out and you can see from the pic that it was a chilly afternoon on the Indian River.

I bought the 50 shrimp special today and could have gotten away with only a half dozen but when I got home and finished rinsing off my rods, I tossed them in the freezer for another day.

Till next time,

Tight Lines..... 

New Years Day Black Drum

Catching a New Years day black drum wasn't what I had planned for this afternoon's fishing excursion, but that's exactly what was biting this afternoon.

My wife and I decided to take Odie and Elmo fishing with us this afternoon, so we packed up the truck and headed for where we spotted some tailing fish a few days ago.

We drove into Gator Creek road and headed for Catfish Creek loop road to start fishing.

When we eased up to where we wanted to fish, a friend of mine was packing up getting ready to call it a day.

When I asked him if he had any luck,  he told me he missed a redfish on a gold spoon and didn't get any other hits since.  He had been fishing with finger mullet and dead shrimp on the bottom.

After he left the spot, Karen and I tossed out several baits on four rods.

 We decided to fish the area for a half an hour and to move on if we didn't get any bites.

The temperature this afternoon was in the mid 70s with virtually no wind on the water.

Karen was playing with Odie and I started taking pictures of the area.

After a few minutes we started seeing tails in the water.  The calmer the water became, the more tails we saw.

There was a large school of redfish and black drum in the shallow water and they were feeding with gusto.

This particular spot is primarily a mud bottom with some scattered spots of sea grass.  The fish were feeding on crustaceans and I was pretty sure that shrimp would catch us some fish if we stayed there long enough.

After missing one fish that dropped the bait, I heard the click of one of the bait casting reels take off.

I picked up the rod, set the hook and gave the rod to Karen while I went to the truck to pick up my camera to take some shots.

I gave Karen the camera so she could film some of the action and as you can see by the video below, she did a jam up job.


I fought what I thought was a redfish for about five minutes and as it got closer to the bank, I saw it was a stocky black drum around 28" long.

When I finally landed the fish, I took some more pics and released it to fight another day.

My first New Years day black drum was in the record book.

I re-baited with another shrimp and cast out to where the fish were tailing.

After a few minutes I missed another fish that was either a drum or a redfish.  The fish started to run but dropped the bait before I could set the hook.

It was getting late, Odie was getting restless and Karen and I were both hungry, so we decided to call it a day and come back and fish the spot again tomorrow.

I took a few pics of some spoonbills that were in the area and the always awesome sunset before cranking up the truck and heading home.

 

Hope you enjoy them.

Till next time,

Tight Lines!

Sunday Labor Day Fishing Report

The Sunday Labor Day Fishing Report for redfish turned out to be as dismal as yesterdays report.

After I finished mowing the lawn, I chilled until about 6:00 pm when I decided to hit the water and try for a redfish.

Karen didn't want to go along because of the condition of Peacocks Pocket road. 

The grass alongside the road makes for tough fishing and the insects are bloodthirsty.

Since I only had a couple hours of fishing available, I again headed for East Gator Creek road to fish the shallows.

Yesterday evening I saw a school of black drum and a couple of reds in the area so I decided to target the reds.

I spotted a couple of reds aggressively busting on baitfish alongside the shallow canal that parallels the roadway.

They were coming in from the canal just to the edge of where mats of sea grass cover the area to feed on either small mud minnows or finger mullet.

Since my Chug Bug was a little oversized for what I believed the fish were targeting, I switched to a small black backed silver plug that I picked up at Bass Pro on sale a couple of weeks ago.

I smeared on a liberal dose of "Pro-Cure Inshore Salt Water super gel" and tossed the little bait just to the edge of the mat of sea grass.

The water here looks tannic but is crystal clear.  This makes the fish super spooky and tight lipped most of the time.

A couple of light jerks to the bait resulted in a follow up by an over size redfish but for some reason it would not hit.  Several casts later I got the same result.

I switched to my favorite baby bass pattern Chug Bug and got the same result from another red in the same general area.  The fish followed the bait but would not hit.

Several casts later and I picked up a ladyfish that wasn't so fussy.

I fished the entire canal next to the road until just before dusk with the same results before moving to another area. 

Evidently the fish were spotting something that gave them lockjaw.  It could have been my fluorocarbon leader, the loop knot or whatever, but regardless of the reason I could not get them to hit any bait.  The fish would follow the lure and then shy away at the last moment.

Frustrated, I moved to an area off Peacocks Pocket road to give it a shot before dusk.

I hooked about a 20" sea trout but as I tried to land it, it shook itself loose as I was trying to get down the bank to land it.

The bugs were getting to me so I decided to give up and head for home.

As the sun was setting on the river, I spotted a big school of redfish swimming about a hundred yards out from the Indian River into Catfish Creek.   There was no mistaking what they were as they pushed a wide wake in the glassy calm water.

Since they were so far out in the river I didn't even try to make a cast to them, I just took out my Nikon and took a pic of the beautifull sunset.

 

 

The only two fishermen I talked to in the area reported that they caught two sea trout about 20" long on "bullhead minnows" out in the river.  No one reported catching any redfish from the bank in the area today.

On the way home I stopped to talk to people fishing the Indian River and got the same report.  People were catching some sea trout, catfish and ladyfish but no one I spoke with caught reds today.

Although I was hoping for a more substantial Sunday Labor Day fishing report, it is what it is.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Labor Day Weekend Fishing Report For The Refuge

I hoped that the Labor Day fishing report for the refuge would be more promising than it is but that's why everyone calls it fishing and not catching.

Friday evening and Saturday afternoon fishing in and around Peacocks Pocket road in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge produced nothing but ladyfish and sea trout.

I saw several redfish but they were extremely spooky and refused every artificial bait I threw at them.

Friday evening in the refuge was nothing more than a scouting trip for the Labor Day weekend.

On Friday evening, my wife and I (along with Elmo our wonder dog) drove through Peacocks Pocket road from the easternmost entrance.

The air temperature was in the high 80s and there was almost no wind over the water.

There were very few vehicles on the unimproved road, which was probably due to the fact that it had not been mowed for at least a month.  The grass remains high alongside both edges of the road which makes for difficult casting.

When you do catch a fish, landing it becomes a major challenge in most areas.

My wife fished with jumbo fresh dead shrimp on Friday evening in several locations with no result.

I tried casting top water Chug Bugs and paddletail baits to a couple redfish but only picked up a couple small sea trout and a ladyfish in an hour and a half fishing.

Saturday afternoon, Karen didn't fee well so I went solo.  I decided to try the super shallows around Gator Creek road and play with the ladyfish until close to dusk when I planned to target reds.

 

 

The air temperature was again in the low 80s and there was almost no breeze.

I used a baby bass pattern Chug Bug for most of the time I fished the area and picked up a couple slot sea trout (below) along with at least a half dozen ladyfish.

A fast retrieve seemed to excite the ladyfish into striking even though they miss the plug half the time, but they are great fun to catch.

As the sun set on Saturday evening, I spotted a school of black drum in the area but they refused my paddle tail bait offering.

I saw only one redfish that was busting baitfish in a small pond near the second turn off to Catfish Creek Loop road and wound up concentrating too much time trying to get it to bite instead of moving on to fish some other areas.

As dusk closed in, the mosquitoes and green headed horse flies became unbearable even with bug spray, so I gave it up and headed for home.

So far this Labor Day weekend was turning out to be a bust for redfish.

At least I didn't get skunked!

Till next time, Tight Lines!