Ladyfish Outing

After dealing with doctors all week, I finally got a chance to get out and wet a line in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. 

Because of thunderstorms in the area, my wife Karen didn't want me to leave the house, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to catch a tarpon or ladyfish in the "swamp".

I had planned to run Bio Lab road but the rains were upon me, so I headed for the closest body of water in the area which just happened to be East Gator Creek in the refuge.

They have been working on repairing Peacocks Pocket Road so the entrance of it and Catfish Creek Loop are blocked by heavy road grading equipment and literally tons of road gravel.

I entered the work entrance as the rain started and began casting a topwater bait around the area.  

I had several light hits before finally hooking up with a small ladyfish that was not much larger than the Chug Bug that I was using.

I hooked and lost two more fish on the same bait before the lightning started.

I like fishing before and after a thunderstorm but common sense prevailed and I decided to hit the car and head for home when the lighting got closer.

I was the only angler in the area during the time I was fishing in the refuge.

I took a few pics of the area before heading home to get some dinner.

Might get out tomorrow if I get a chance

Till next time, Tight Lines.
 

Christmas Week Fishing

Christmas week fishing is better than not fishing at all and since I've been out of town for a month or so in the mountains of North Carolina, I was more than ready to wet a line in some salt water when I got home this weekend.

The weather this evening was rainy and slightly windy.  The air temps were in the low 70's and the water in the area where I was wetting a line was crystal clear; usual winter time conditions for east central Florida.

I bank fished several areas in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge with mostly topwater Chug Bugs and Bass Assassin soft baits with mixed results.

In the shallow flats around Gator Creek and East Gator Creek, I was using a Chug Bug around the mangrove roots and dropoffs.  I missed a couple of small trout, or at least I think they were trout, and managed to hook and release three ladyfish.  

The ladyfish were all hooked on a slow retrieve when the lure stopped moving in the water.  I was using a very slow stop and go type retrieve.

I spotted a nice gator sea trout swimming along the bank in one area that was in the 25 inch category, but I couldn't get a lure to the fish.

I briefly tossed a white 4" Bass Assassin on a jig head in a couple of areas and after getting a sore wrist with only one hit decided to continue fishing with the Chug Bug.

I parked at Pump House road and walked around the area a bit to see if anything was going on.  The water here was clean and clear but other than one small sea trout that I hooked and released on a Creme soft bait, I didn't score any respectable fish.

When it started raining more than just a light mist and the wind picked up, I got cold and decided to head back to the house for some dinner.

I was only out for a couple of hours but considering I had not fished the area for a little over a month, I can't complain about the fishing.

At least I was catching today.

Hope to get out to the beach before Christmas to check out the surf fishing.  The Pomps should be out there by now.

Till next time,

Tight Lines. 

  

Fishing East Gator Creek

Finally got a chance to wet a line this afternoon at East Gator Creek.

This was my first chance since I got home from North Carolina to go fishing so I picked the closest area available to hopefully catch some fish.

When I got to East Gator Creek, there was a decent breeze on the water which made topwater casting a bit of a challenge.  

I brought three rods along each tipped with a Badonk A Donk, a Bass Pro XTS popper, and a XPS Slim Dog topwater bait.

I had a box of Chug Bugs in the back with a few DOA lures just in case, but on this trip, I never got a chance to use them.

I already completed my walk for the day and it was around 6:00 pm when I tossed my first lure on the flats.  

The  XTS topwater popper I was using was black on top with a silver/white belly below.  I smeared it up with some Pro-Cure Inshore formula gel to spice up the bait and started blind casting the area.

After many casts around the grassy flats I finally hooked and landed a ladyfish of around 15" that jumped all over the place before giving it up.

In the next hour or so, I managed to hook and land two more smaller ladyfish around the same area.

I moved up the road and started casting to the far side of the flat where a deep dropoff paralleled the weedy shallow flat where I saw a fin break the surface.

I made several casts across to the deeper water and finally got a follow up from a juvenile tarpon.  The fish looked like it was interested in my bait but even with the Pro-Cure, it had lockjaw.

Several unproductive casts later, I finally decided to give it up and run around Catfish Creek loop to see if anybody was catching fish.

I saw several groups of fishermen dunking live mullet and cut baits but nobody admitted to having caught anything.

I took a few pics of the sunset as I was going around Catfish Creek 

By the time I finished circling the road, the full moon was coming up and I decided to head for home.

Hopefully, I'll get out to wet a line in the next couple of days.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Late Afternoon Topwater Action

Finally got a chance to get out of the house to wet a line and get in some topwater action with some ladyfish this afternoon.

I didn't get out until quite late and it had just stopped raining when I got to the grassy flats I usually fish.

The wind put a nice ripple on the water and was blowing right into my face, making casting and working a topwater bait a challenge.

I started fishing with a gold and black back BadonkADonk topwater lure smeared up with some Pro-Cure.

I'd like to say that I nailed the hell out of the fish but I had to work for every bite I managed to eke out.

After several unfruitful casts and a couple of birds nests in the Power Pro I was using, I finally picked up a ladyfish that hit the topwater and danced all over the flats before giving it up.

I took a quick pic before releasing the fish and continued casting into the wind.

I caught two more ladys about the same size as the first fish and released them both before moving on to an area that was less windy.

At this spot I changed baits and started tossing a Bass Pro topwater bait I picked up on sale when I was working in Mobile, Al.

After several casts and a couple of follow ups, I hooked into a small tarpon that made two jumps right at the bank before pulling off.

I spent the next half hour casting, hooking and releasing all sizes of ladyfish that just couldn't leave the smaller topwater plug alone.

Finally, after a 7' gator started getting too interested in my topwater baits, I decided to head for home and call it a day.

In total I managed to hook, land, and release seven ladyfish in all sizes.  

I just had to take a pic of the smallest one I hooked who had an appetite of a gator trout and the mouth of a guppy.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

 

Ladyfish On The Flats

After walking across the A. Max Brewer Bridge twice, I decided to try catching some ladyfish on the flats in East Gator Creek. 

 As I drove across the bridge, I took a pic of the crowd on the north side of the causeway.  Despite the windy conditions, there were tons of people out today wind boarding, fishing, cooking out and generally having a good time. 

It was around 5:30 pm when I drove into the entrance of East Gator Creek.  I drove slowly watching for fish busting on baitfish in the grass.

About a hundred yards down the road, I spotted some action on the eastern side of the flats along a drop off, so I parked and pulled out my rods.

I had some luck on a Bass Pro Special Tourney Popper a couple of days ago so I decided to try it first.

I smeared the bait with some Pro-Cure and on my first cast across the flats hooked and landed a small ladyfish that danced across the water several times on it's tail.

I released the fish and continued casting around the area and hooked into a second fish about the same size as the first.

After several more casts closer in on the grass, I hooked and lost a medium sized sea trout that nailed the popper at the edge of the grass.

I spent about an hour at the spot and managed to hook and release five ladyfish before calling it a day.  

I missed or lost at least seven fish in the same area.

There was a lot of vehicle traffic on the road but for some reason nobody was fishing the area.

On the way out just past the culverts, there was a group fishing on the mud bank at the entrance to Catfish Creek Loop with on idiot swimming with his fishing rod chest deep in the middle of the area.  

I was going to stop to take his picture and tell him about the 10 foot gator that calls this area home, but I decided that it probably wouldn't do any good.

Hope I don't read about him in the news tomorrow.....

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Gar On A Slim Dog

Fishing the thunderstorms this afternoon gave me another chance to toss topwater baits and even catch a gar on a Slim Dog.

Left the house around 4:30 pm during a thunderstorm and headed to Gator Creek road.  

It was raining on and off, mostly on, and there was a slight wind over the water when I got to my fishing area.

There was absolutely nobody in the area when I started blind casting a white XPS Slim Dog topwater bait over the weedy flats.

I had a couple of followups without any hits and one small ladyfish that danced all over the flats before jumping off,  so I smeared up the new Slim Dog with some Pro-Cure and continued casting the area.

The Pro-Cure did the trick.   On the first cast in the new area, I hooked a gar that put up a decent fight for it's size.  I took a couple of pics before releasing the fish and continued casting in the rain.

A gator that was watching me cast my topwater bait really got interested in what I was doing when I threw the gar back.  It began to follow the next couple of casts.

Evidently it was my day for gar because after a few more casts, I hooked another gar that was a bit smaller.  I released the fish and decided to move out of the area when the gator got way too inquisitive.

The rain was slacking up when I moved to the last spot I wanted to fish.  I missed a couple of juvenile tarpon here almost every day I went fishing so I decided to try it again today.

After several unproductive casts, I tied on a baby bass pattern Chug Bug and smeared it up with Pro-Cure.   This area was a lot calmer and walking the dog didn't seem to be putting down the fish.

I waited five minutes or so till things calmed down and tossed the Chug Bug to the opposite bank.  The lure briefly hit the grass as I flipped it into the water and slowly started chugging it back.  

The plug was about 8 feet from the bank when a juvenile tarpon nailed the plug and started jumping all over the area.

The fish put up a great fight and I almost lost it into the mangrove roots twice but I finally landed it and took a couple of pics before putting it back where it belonged.

I fished the area hard for about 20 more minutes before giving it up for the day.

I'll be going back there again this week for sure.

Till next time, Tight Lines

Ladyfish In The Shallows

Although I've only been fishing a couple of days since my return from Mobile, Alabama, the ladyfish in the shallows have been killing topwater baits and spoons.

Although my target species has been gator sea trout, the ladyfish bite has been phenomenal.   In most areas the fish have been picking off my baits before the trout can get to my lures.

Yesterday I hooked, landed, and released at least a dozen ladyfish in the 18" to 25" category around the Gator Creek flats and Catfish Creek Loop.   

Large schools of ladyfish were cruising just off the shallows along the dropoffs and busting on glass minnows and small fingerling mullet.

The wind made long casts difficult, but when I could get a bait close to the action, I was getting a hookup or multiple hits on almost every cast.

The culvert into Gator Creek was out of the wind and was relatively flat.  I managed two ladyfish on a Chug Bug before the fish were put down.

Because of the windy conditions, most of the fish were caught on a gold Johnson's silver minnow.    I had been initially using a Chug Bug but I kept missing fish with short strikes.

Towards dusk, I switched over to a D.O.A. silver and black bait buster smeared up with some Pro-Cure and briefly hooked into a big sea trout that hit the bait right at the bank.

The fish was in the 30" category and was so big that it just sloshed around when it got hooked. 

I lost the fish because I acted like a novice and set the hook when I had no reason to.  The fish was already solidly hooked up and all I did was pull it loose.

Anyway, that was the only sea trout I had any luck with yesterday.

I caught a couple more ladyfish after losing the sea trout before calling it a day and heading home.

Thinking about targeting tarpon tomorrow.

Till next time,

Tight lines.

Fishing Catfish Creek Loop

When my wife didn't feel like going out to the refuge with me, I decided to try my luck at fishing Catfish Creek Loop.

The wind was blowing, but not as hard as it was the other day when Karen and I checked out the area.

I was fishing mostly with a small frog pattern Chug Bug that I keep smeared up with Pro-Cure offshore formula and a Slim Dog topwater bait.

As I usually do, I drove into East Gator Creek first to check out the shallow grass flats.   The wind allowed me to make several casts with both baits but I never got a followup on either lure.

As I drove into a calm area, I spotted a nice fish busting the surface so I stopped and quickly tossed out my Chug Bug.

I twitched the bait twice and almost immediately it got blasted out of the water by a large ladyfish.

The fish tailwalked around the area for a few minutes until I could bring him to shore between the mangrove roots.

I took a few pics before releasing the lady and started to blind cast the area after it settled down a bit.

I caught three more smaller ladyfish and missed what looked like a slot size sea trout before moving up the road to fish Catfish Creek Loop.

As I drove into the loop, I stopped to blind cast an XPS Series topwater popper around the Indian River.   I had one followup by a large fish that was probably a red, but at the last minute the fish didn't take the bait.

As I drove around the road, I stopped at several places to toss the Chug Bug and several other lures around the area.   I picked up a small sea trout that I quickly released and at the bend of the road where the water was dead calm, I hooked into a small Garfish on the Chug Bug that wouldn't release the bait.

The Gar had the bait sideways in it's mouth and didn't release the lure until I lifted it onto the bank.

I took a couple of brief pics before releasing it.

On the way out of Catfish Creek Loop, I took a few more pics and made mental notes of where Karen and I could dunk some live baits for redfish or drum.

There are plenty of black drum in the 15 to 25 pound class cruising the banks, so Karen and I will definitely be trying for a couple of them this week before I have to get back to work.

Till next time,
Tight Lines

Weekend Topwater Action

Got some late afternoon topwater action in yesterday around East Gator Creek road in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

In an hour of fishing, I nailed six ladyfish, mostly all dinks, and one very stupid sea trout on Chug Bugs and and XPS popper I picked up at Bass Pro while I was working in Mobile, Al.

None of the fish were outstanding so I didn't bother taking any pics, but I plan to get out tomorrow or Monday to target tarpon in the ditches.

The vehicle traffic in the refuge was heavy and a lot of anglers were on the water pitching a variety of artificial baits and fishing cut baits for reds.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Topwater Action In The Wildlife Refuge

Went out this afternoon around 4:30 pm for some topwater action in the wildlife refuge.

It was raining lightly and the air temperature was 83 degrees when I left the house.

I started fishing the first culvert at East Gator Creek with a Chug Bug, but moved on after not getting any hits.

There was a slight wind on the shallow grass flats that made casting somewhat difficult but just right for topwater fishing.

Fan casting the area around the first bend proved fruitless, so I decided to hit every stretch where I could make a reasonable cast and have a chance at landing a fish.

At the next spot I stopped to fish, I hooked a large ladyfish that thought it was a tarpon.  The fish jumped all over the flat and put on a great fight.

I landed the fish, took a couple of quick pics, and returned it to the water,

I smeared up my Chug Bug with some Pro-Cure Inshore formula and after a couple more casts hooked up with another ladyfish about the same size as the first one.

It started raining again and the fish started hitting my bait on almost every cast.

I caught a couple more ladyfish about the same size as the first two and another that was slightly larger than my Chug Bug.

Around the next bend, I made a cast to a large fish that I spotted nailing a bait on the surface.    

It took three casts to catch the interest of the fish, but it finally blasted my Chug Bug completely out of the water.   I let the lure sit and the fish came back and hooked itself on the second go around.

The fish turned out to be a big sea trout.  I got the fish close to the bank to where I could see it, but it broke off in the brush along the bank and took my favorite Chug Bug along with it.

Over the years I've learned to come prepared and I carry a small tackle store in the back seat of my truck.  I decided to tie on a topwater XPS series bait that I picked up at Bass Pro in Mobile, Al.  

I smeared up the bait with some Pro-Cure and started casting it to some Pro-Cureooking spots.

It didn't take long to pick up another under slot sea trout that I quickly released after taking a couple of pics.

It started raining again and I decided I had enough action for this afternoon.  I was tired, hungry, and the mosquitoes were beginning to get to me.

I managed to catch five ladyfish and land one spotted sea trout in an hour of topwater fishing.

I plan to get out again tomorrow and try for some tarpon.

Till next time,
Tight Lines

Lady On The Flats

After I finished with the chores and some light bush hogging in the back area, I packed a few rods and headed out to sample the evening bite and get in some topwater fishing at East Gator Creek.

It was almost 7:00 pm when I drove past the culverts and the air temperature was still in the low 80s. 

There was a light breeze over the water and except for one guy who insisted on telling me where the fish were, I had the area entirely to myself.

I started fishing the shallow flats with a Chug Bug smeared up with some Pro-Cure gel and almost immediately started getting followups and eventually some solid hits.

I was blind casting over the grass and experimenting with several retrieves before finding the right one.

After about 10 casts and a couple of followups, I finally hooked into a small ladyfish which I quickly released.

Another 3 or 4 casts into another area produced a small undersize sea trout which I also released.

I was going to move up the road to a calm area that I knew always holds fish but there was a gator in the area that always gives me grief when I use topwater baits, so I opted on blind casting over the shallow grass beds instead.

I made several well placed casts before hooking into a very large ladyfish.  I was using a fast chugging retrieve and stopping for a few seconds before continuing the pattern.

The fish hit the Chug Bug when it was at rest and immediately jumped about 4 feet into the air and peeled off about 50 yards of line and again jumping.

I had my drag set light for a change and just followed the fish as it continued jumping all over the flat.

Finally, the fish tired and I managed to lead it to a spot where I could land it between the mangrove roots.

As I was fighting the fish, I thought it was a juvenile tarpon until I got it close to the bank.

I landed the fish and took a few quick pics along with this selfie before returning it to the water.

I continued fishing and caught one more fish before I decided to head back home.  I figured that 3 ladyfish and one small sea trout in a little over an hour was enough fishing for one evening.

On the way out of the refuge, I took this pic of the beautiful sunset.

Hope to get out tomorrow after my Doctors appointment.

Till next time,
Tight Lines.

Shiloh Road Is Stil Hot

Shiloh Road is still hot as of this date.

I've been in Mobile, Al for the past week but spent some time in Bainbridge, Ga. after the hurricane trying to clean up the mess and keep everything afloat.

After sleeping in my truck for 4 nights, my back was giving out but after a day resting and just taking it easy, I finally decided to head out and try some topwater fishing in the refuge.

The air temperature today was in the low 70s and it was windy enough to give me reservations about tossing a topwater bait around, but around 5:00 pm, I finally decided to give it a shot.

I was going to try East Gator Creek but after gassing up my truck, I decided to see if the shallow creeks around North Shiloh Road were worth fishing.

When I got there, nobody was in sight and it looked like I had the area to myself.

I pulled up to the culverts and found the water level extremely low on the Indian River side of the road.

There was absolutely no sign of fish in that area, however, the other side of the road looked good enough to me to start tossing a topwater bait around.

I had one rod in my truck.  It was a Penn Fierce II live liner combo I picked up a couple of weeks ago at Bass Pro in Mobile, Al.

It was tipped with an XPS Slim Dog topwater bait that I smeared up with some Pro-Cure super gel.

The wind had created some manageable ripples on the water so I started casting the Slim Dog into the shallows and walking the dog back to the culvert.

The first cast had a couple of missed hits, but the second cast hooked me up with a ladyfish of almost 2 feet in length.  I took a pic, released the fish, and continued casting around the area.

The next fish was a small spotted sea trout that acted like a miniature Gator trout.  I released the fish and on the next cast caught it's big brother.

That sea trout was about 18" and put up a decent fight before giving it up.  I released the fish and on the next cast picked up another ladyfish much smaller than the previous one.

To make a long story short, I spent the next couple of hours catching and releasing at least a dozen ladyfish and 7 spotted sea trout of various size.

When it started getting dark, the bite mysteriously stopped and on que, the mosquitoes started sucking my blood.

I took a couple of pics of the area, called Lil Ceasers to order a couple of hot and ready pizzas, and headed for the house.

I'll be home this week and hope to get a few more shots at this area and several others that I love to fish.  

I'm definitely planning a trip to Bio Lab road to check out the flats for reds and bigger sea trout.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.