A Missile Launch And A Gator Trout In One Outing!

Went back to the north end of the Indian River Lagoon to try for some juvenile tarpon that I couldn't get to eat yesterday.

On the way in, I netted some large finger mullet, and a small ladyfish, for some insurance against fish that hate artificial lures.

As sure as the sun rises, I didn't see one blessed tarpon!

Instead I got an unplanned video of a satellite launch that was supposed to go yesterday, but was rescheduled due to weather conditions.

My wife and I tried everything to get something to bite and had absolutely no luck until we moved farther south.

We hit a stretch where some large snook were busting up on bait fish. My artificials were not doing me any good, so I tied on a lively 6" finger mullet. After about five minutes, something took my mullet in the small canal, and kept on going, only to spit it out.

That was the last bite I had all afternoon! I guess I just wasn't holding my mouth right.

On the last stop, my wife tied on a dead shrimp under a Cajun Thunder rig, and I kept on chucking my artificials. Well the results are below.

She caught a hefty 24" almost gator trout. I'm holding up the respectable fish because my wife suddenly got camera shy. To make a long story short; I still didn't get another bite all day.

Well I guess that's why they call it fishing and not catching!

I might try again tomorrow after I mow the lawn.

Tight lines to you all!

North Indian Lagoon River Fishing Report

This Friday afternoons fishing expedition proved to be pretty frustrating to say the least.
The water temperature was high and on the river side of the lagoon the water was up due to the rainfall this past week.

My wife and I fished primarily on the marsh side of Shiloh road, with little success. The water was like glass, the fish were spooky but they were feeding.

This is one trip that I tried literally every lure I had with me, with no success.

My primary target were the small tarpon and very large gator trout that I spotted in the northern part of the marsh.



There were 4 or 5 tarpon rolling, and smacking something on the surface, that I could not match with my lure selection. I tried jerk baits, top water skitter walks, jigs with gulp baits, feather jigs, creme swim baits and even my favorite D.O.A. shrimp in several colors.

All I got for my efforts was a severe case of mosquito bites and loss of blood to the little buggers.

My wife tried for several redfish that she spotted down the dirt road from where I was fishing, and had exactly the same luck that I did.

The fish were not eating what we were offering.

It looked like the tarpon were eating newly hatch fish fry of some unknown species, but even the small jigs I used to "match the hatch" didn't do any good.



With a sore arm from casting and blood loss to the mosquitoes, we left just at dusk and on the way out tried one last favorite spot.

My wife scored a trout on a dead shrimp under a popping cork and I still remained fish less.

Oh well, the scenery was great, the roseate spoonbills were in, and the sunset was awesome!

Here are some pics of the evening trip. We plan on trying again with some live bait if possible. I want one of those tarpon.


Until next time, tight lines!

North Indian River And Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

After the past weeks rains, what was previously boggy marsh full of feeding birds, has been transformed into shallow water flats full of bait fish.

Summer is here on the Space Coast and the fishing is great on the Mosquito Lagoon and North Indian River flats. First light, early morning fishing on the flats, has been nothing short of sensational.

Redfish, trout, snook and small tarpon are moving up onto the newly formed shallows to much on the thousands of baitfish that have come into the area.

Fish along the grass flats at the drop offs and ledges at early day light with pigfish or top water plugs for large "sow" trout and an occasional redfish or snook. Later on in the morning; pitch a pigfish, live shrimp, D.O.A. jerk bait or D.O.A. shrimp to edges of the white sandy potholes to pick up trout. This past week, the fish have been getting a bit more aggressive towards the afternoon.

The redfish in both the North Indian River, and Mosquito Lagoon, are feeding in the shallow water areas that though out the drought have previously been dry land. They are hitting all kinds of soft plastic baits as well as live and fresh dead shrimp. There is nothing quite like the feeling you get from pitching a well placed artificial to a large tailing red, watching it suck up the lure, and peel off line from your reel on the first run.

The Picture Below Is Prime Snook And Gator Trout Territory

This time of year, the old standby of fishing a live finger mullet or mud minnow, can net you a huge gator trout or big bull redfish.

There are reports of small tarpon being caught in moving water, in both the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River north of Mims, Fl. Moving water and pods of baitfish seem to be the winning combination to find these fish. Tarpon

Pinfish, large live shrimp and soft plastic lures work well for both tarpon and snook. Although some snook are being caught, the fishing gets much better as the summer progresses and the water temperatures warm up.

There is no place on earth, that has great year round fishing like the Mosquito Lagoon, and Indian River, and I'm glad to be fortunate enough to be able to live here and enjoy it.

Great fishing and tight lines to all!

Early May Culvert Fishing On The Indian River

Late Friday evening, May 1st., my wife and I decided to try for a late April snook or gator trout in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Preserve.

The wind was up and the weather was great. Unfortunately, the fishing could have been a bit better.

My wife lost a nice sized redfish in the canal alongside the drive. Her drag was set to tight and the line broke off in the brush at roadside. I missed several trout and caught three that were under limit on a silver and black D.O.A. Terror Eye lure.

Saturday was also a nice day but the wind was gusting to at least 20 knots. I caught several nice trout, no gator trout, and missed a redfish. My wife caught a couple of catfish and again missed a nice redfish.

Trying to fish without getting a birds nest in the line every other cast or getting hung on the brush along side the road became a drain on my emotional stability. We started late and fished till dusk without any real success.

Sunday was a clone of Saturday's weather except the wind was gusting higher.

My wife and I decided to wait until late afternoon for the wind to die down before trying our luck.

Unfortunately, the wind never died down. I took pictures of a gang of wind sailing enthusiasts and some jet skiers that took advantage of the windy conditions.

The culverts were open and water was flowing throughout the north Indian River system so we decided to fish the open culverts. I caught several trout before stopping at a favorite hole. A swirl caught my eye and I suggested to my wife to tie on a dead shrimp and give it a shot despite the wind.

Almost immediately, she hung into a nice slot redfish that just about yanked the rod out of her hands. After a relatively long struggle, she landed and released a fat 26 inch redfish.

After stopping at another open culvert near dusk, she tried to duplicate her success without luck. I gave up on the dark colored D.O.A. and tied on a white Creme swim bait to see if my luck would change.

On the third cast, I hooked into an over sized redfish that bumped 30 inches. I was using 10# Cajun Red fishing line and had to run alongside the canal to keep up with the fishes run.


After about 15 minutes I finally managed to land the plump female.

After taking pictures of her, which I included here, I released her to continue her breeding.

May is an excellent month for both gator trout, and redfish, throughout East Central Florida.

Hope you enjoy the pics and till next time; tight lines!

North Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report

The North Indian River Lagoon area north of Mims, Fl., is definitely the place to catch a heavyweight redfish this time of year.

The unusually shallow water levels of this past fall and winter are slowly disappearing and giving way to freshly covered grass and mud flats.

The dried mudflat areas are now covered with water deep enough for the large bull redfish in the area, to charge into for an easy meal of crabs, mud minnows and anything else they can get their maws around. The most active feeding time seems to be in the late afternoon and evenings.

Although the reds in the Mosquito Lagoon are longer, and are more within the slot limits, the bruisers in the north Indian River Lagoon are bulkier and weigh well over 40 pounds.

The Scottsmoor landing area is producing bull redfish as well as the 5 to 10 pound redfish that are seen tailing in medium to large sized schools, and an occasional single.

The start of the spring mullet run has made the redfish aggressive towards top water lures. My favorites are a silver and black "chug bug" and black and gold "skitter walk" plugs. A D.O.A. jerk bait rigged weedless, without a keel sinker on the hook, is also an all time favorite of mine.

My wife usually uses dead shrimp or mullet and does quite well, especially later on in the season.

The lush grass flats between Titusville, Fl. and the north end of the Indian River are famous for sight fishing for the tailing redfish as well as the gator trout that stake out their ambush spots around the sandy potholes.

I have gotten reports of sow gator trout that were caught on top water lures that weighed in at over 13 pounds this past week. Ten pounders are routinely caught in these waters and I believe the world record was also caught in the Indian River Lagoon.

For those of you not in the know, these fish can exceed 30 inches in length. It's no wonder that the Indian River Lagoon is noted as an exceptional area for these early spring tackle busters.

All this talk makes me want to go fishing. It is late Sunday afternoon; So, I think I will!

Tight lines.