Windy Conditions

Got out this afternoon to see if the bite in the refuge was as good as reported but with the windy conditions, fishing my favorite topwater baits was pretty much an effort in futility. 

After driving over 500 miles from North Carolina, I was tired but had expectations of catching at least a few sea trout.  As it turned out, the bite left a lot to be desired.

The wind was blowing in from the East causing a chop on the water.  I started tossing a Skitterwalk around but quickly switched over to a Chug Bug that was easier to fish.

After tossing the Chug Bug around for a half hour or so in various "fishy looking" spots, I had only one hit from a small sea trout for my efforts.

I switched to rod with a Creme paddletail bait and started getting hits almost immediately.

For the next hour or so, I hooked into three keeper trout on the grass flats which I promptly released.  

Along the shallow ditch leading into the first pond heading towards Peacocks Pocket road, I hooked and released two small "rat" redfish before I decided to head back to the house and scarf up some dinner.

On the way out of the refuge, I snapped a few pics of the sunset that I miss when working up in North Carolina.

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

March Topwater Fishing

Topwater fishing during the month of March is usually pretty good to great in our area so I decided to give it a try this afternoon even though it was almost dusk before I got a chance to get on the water.

I was working with the crew who cleared out some of the nastiest vines and trees I've seen in a long time and after they left, I grabbed Odie, a couple of spinning rods, and headed to east Gator Creek Road.

The first thing I noticed as I drove into the refuge were the gators in the shallows.  They were all over the place which is obviously why the creek got it's name.

I parked at a bend in the unimproved drive and started pitching an XPS Slim Dog around the shallow flats to see if anything was interested in getting caught.

The air temperature was in the high 60s, there was no wind on the water, and the surface in most areas was glassy calm.  Just the right combination for topwater fishing.

At first the only thing trying to eat my lure was a few large ladyfish.  A couple hit the topwater bait and were briefly hooked but after the first or second jump, they flipped free.

As it got darker, the magic half hour for sea trout arrived and I picked up two dinks on the XPS Slim Dog which I promptly released.

Several casts to the other bank yielded follow ups so I decided to make a cast and let the lure just sit on the surface.

The dead stick tactic worked on my second cast and I picked up a sea trout of about 19" or so that I promptly released.

I had one more hit on the same lure before the mosquitoes started sucking too much of my blood to make fishing enjoyable.

I called Odie into the truck, and we headed home for a Pizza at Lil Ceasars.

I'm home all week so I'm planning on hitting Haulover, Playalinda Beach, and the flats at BioLab Road at least once before I head back to work.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Topwater Fishing Before The Storm

Left the house this afternoon ito get in some topwater fishing before the storm that was rolling into the area.

The air temperature dropped significantly, well into the 70s, and the wind,which was blowing relatively strong all day was beginning to pick up yet more.

As I crossed the A. Max Brewer causeway bridge, I could see that even the wind surfers were on the banks of the Indian River.  Apparently the wind was too much even for them.

Since ;I was already close to a fishing spot, I decided to brave the lousy conditions and toss what has become my favorite topwater bait around a bit.

As I drove past the wind surfers, there were whitecaps on the water but I was determined to find a spot sheltered enough to fish without too much difficulty.

I entered East Gator Creek road and pulled over at the first bend past the culverts I was treated to a beautiful rainbow, so I took a few pics before starting to toss my XPS Slim Dog around the area.

Although the wind was making a good presentation impossible, I still managed to hook into a small ladyfish that got off after the second jump.

I moved farther into the refuge and started casting into a relatively sheltered spot that I usually manage to hook into fish.

On the third or forth cast I hooked into an undersized sea trout which I quickly released.

The wind was still dragging the Slim Dog bait around but I managed to hook and release three more small trout in the same area.

It started raining so I put on my Frog Togs that were in the truck before continuing.

The rain didn't let up but the wind did, so I started fishing a bend in the creek where I caught a juvenile tarpon last month.

On the first cast to the opposite bank, the Slim Dog was blown out of the water by a sea trout of at least 6 or 7 pounds.    The fish was as long as most of the oversize redfish I catch in the refuge.

In any event, I was so startled by the hit that I literally pulled the bait out of the fish's mouth.

I reeled the topwater bait back and made several more casts into and around the area, but the big trout was not stupid enough to get stung twice.

I caught one more small sea trout before the rain started really coming down, so I released the fish and headed back home for dinner.

I plan on hitting the spot again tomorrow evening.  Maybe the fish will still be hanging around, who knows?

Tight Lines.

Its Hard To Beat A Chug Bug

Over the years I've learned that its hard to beat a Chug Bug for topwater fishing under almost all conditions and this afternoon's trip to Gator Creek again proved my point.

I got back to town late Friday, but didn't get a chance to wet a line until late Sunday afternoon.

The weather was typical for late August.  Hot, slightly breezy, with late afternoon thunderstorms being the norm.

I brought my usual array of spinning rods, all tipped with Chug Bugs and XPS Slim Dog topwater baits to fish the grassy flats in Gator Creek.

The slight breeze on the shallows made the Slim Dog a bit difficult to present properly, so I spent most of my time tossing a couple of Chug Bugs around the deeper drops.

I was hoping for some tarpon, but I never saw one roll all the time I was on the water.  I did manage to do quite well on ladyfish and sea trout.

The first couple of spots I stopped at produced some followups and a couple of medium sized ladyfish which I took some pics of and quickly released.   

I spent some time fishing an area in the shallows where I nailed a tarpon a few weeks ago when I was last home and was rewarded with several spotted sea trout ranging in size from 14" to 25", all on the Chug Bug

I was fishing two sizes and found that the smaller size was getting more fish.  The larger size Chug Bug got less hits but in every case, larger fish.

I spent a total of about two hours on in the area before the wind picked up and I got tired of casting to fish.

The huge horse flies that made a meal of my shins also had a lot to do with me giving it up early.

Although there were plenty of gators in the area, I think they really need to rename Gator Creek, Horse Fly Creek.

Anyway, I fished all the way up to the entrance of Catfish Creek Loop which for some unknown reason is still closed to vehicle traffic.

I managed to catch and release 7 ladyfish, 6 spotted sea trout and I missed a small redfish and several more sea trout in a small pond all in a couple of hours.

I plan on getting out this week with my fly rod and see if I can still jump some juvenile tarpon and snook in the Mosquito Lagoon.

Till next time,
Tight Lines.

Topwater Fishing In The Refuge

Around 5:30 pm this afternoon, my wife asked if we could take the "boys" out to the swamp for some topwater fishing in the refuge.

Since it had just rained and the temperature was tolerable, I quickly agreed and started loading up the truck.

Today I brought two spinning rods with Chug Bugs, one rod with an XPS Slim Dog, and one rod with a sliding sinker rig for redfish.

The dogs were in the truck almost before I opened the door, and when my wife finished loading the cooler with some drinks and a single frozen ladyfish for bait that I caught the other day, we were off to the "swamp".

My wife was in charge of watching Elmo and Odie so she opted for fishing a chunk of ladyfish on the redfish rig.  Meanwhile, I walked the banks of East Gator Creek with my topwater rods looking for signs of fish.

I started casting with the Slim Dog bait but "walking the dog" was difficult with the slight wind and chop on the water.

I switched to a new Chug Bug I bought to replace my favorite Baby Bass pattern and started fan casting in several areas.

After getting a couple of half hearted hits, we decided to move to another less windy spot.

There were a lot of gators on the bank croaking away and only a few in the water which made topwater fishing a pleasant experience.  I hate when the gators follow the bait.

The last stop we made was at a small pond where I missed a nice spotted sea trout the other day.

Karen set up her chunk bait at the bend of a small island and I again started walking the bank, fan casting, to cover as much water as possible.

I missed a large ladyfish on the XPS Slim Dog and because it was so hard to fish, I switched to the Chug Bug.

I started fan casting and catching fish almost immediately.  The trick today was to let the bait sit perfectly still for a minute or so after a couple of quick jerks, and repeat the process to the bank.

I managed to catch and release seven decent sized sea trout in the next hour, and missed at least that same amount.

I took a few pics and a short video of the action before releasing the fish.

About 6:45 pm the bite abruptly stopped.

I started walking back to the truck when I heard Karen ask for help with a large fish she had just caught.

When I got closer I saw that she had caught a large garfish.

I got my pliers but the gar had swallowed the chunk of ladyfish, so I cut the line to let the fish digest the hook instead of my fingers.

After a few pics, I released the gar, packed up our gear and headed to the house for dinner.  There were a couple of pork chops with my name on them and I hadn't eaten all day.

Till next time,
Tight Lines.

Gator Creek Topwater Action

When I drove home late Friday night, I planned on getting in some Gator Creek topwater action Saturday morning, but like many well laid plans, I didn't get to wet a line until this afternoon.
Well, better late than never.

Anyway, after making a water change in our tropical fish tanks, it started to rain so I quickly decided to head to East Gator Creek for some topwater action.

I was going to bring Elmo and Odie along, but I knew it was going to be muddy out and I didn't feel like mucking up my truck so I left them home for another trip.

As I crossed the bridge, I saw a lot of activity on the north side of the causeway. People were fishing, swimming, wading, eating, and in general having a good time despite the afternoon storms.

I brought along two spinning rods today. One with 60 pound Power Pro, a 3 foot length of fluorocarbon leader, and a Bass Pro Shop XPS Slim Dog topwater bait. The other with 20 pound Cajun Red mono and a two foot length of 30 pound fluorocarbon leader and a Chug Bug tied on by a loop knot.

It was sprinkling when I pulled over to park at the first culvert on East Gator Creek road but by the time I pulled out a rod, it stopped.

My first cast into the culvert with the Chug Bug produced an aerial strike from a two foot long ladyfish.  I had my SJCAM SJ4000 version of a Go Pro on my hat, but my batteries weren't charged up so I lost most of the interesting portion of the video that I hoped to get.

After the strike, the fish jumped several times and as I brought it close to the bank at the culvert, an 8 foot alligator tried to make a meal of it.

The gator missed the fish and I jerked it out of the water onto the bank.

The fish was hooked well and as I was trying to remove the sharp trebles, the fish tried to escape and the rear treble sank into my right hand.

I went to the truck, got a pair of fisherman's pliers from my toolbox, and tried to get the hook out of my hand.  I was holding the fish, the Chug Bug, and the pliers in my left hand, all the while trying to get the damn hook out of my right hand.

It took way too long, but I finally yanked the barb out and unhooked the ladyfish.  I decided to keep the lady for cut bait and put it in the cooler.  It was one hell of a start for a fishing trip to say the least.

I put some Iodine on the puncture wound and went up the road to continue fishing the shallow flats along the road.

I caught a couple more small sea trout on the Chug Bug and decided to pull out the other rod and fish the XPS Slim Dog.

I picked up two more small sea trout on the Chug Bug and missed a much larger sea trout on the Slim Dog as I fished my way along the unimproved roadway.

I headed towards Catfish Creek Loop and stopped to fish a small pond where I usually manage to catch a few sea trout.

I picked up two more speckled sea trout and what looked like a sand trout before changing rods again to fish the Slim Dog.

After about ten casts walking the dog, an absolutely gorgeous oversize red redfish nailed the Slim Dog at a dropoff near a small island.

The fish put up a nice fight and as I finally managed to land it, I couldn't believe it's color.   The photo really doesn't do it justice.

I took some pics and a selfie before releasing it to fight another day.

As I moved up the road to Catfish Creek Loop, there were three other guys fishing the open culvert, and the road was barricaded.

I didn't want to mess up their fishing, so I turned around and headed back towards East Gator Creek road and continued fishing likely looking spots.

To make a long story short, I hooked and released three more sea trout, two of which were keepers, and I missed a juvenile tarpon that spit my XPS topwater bait.

At my last stop, I stepped on a red ant hill and got attached by the biggest damn red ants I've seen in the State of Florida.  I quickly removed my sneakers and started shaking them off my shoes.

These things were over a half an inch long, were extremely aggressive, and had a really painful bite.

About this time, I realized that I was having too much fun and hurting way too much for any further fishing, so I took one last pic of the sun going down over the shallow mudflats and headed for home.

Till next time,
Tight Lines.

Dog Days Topwater Fishing

Dog days topwater fishing can be productive when conditions are favorable and apparently this evening they were.

Fishing Peacocks Pocket Road is one of my favorite pastimes when I get off work in time to enjoy the evening bite.

East Gator Creek Flats

This evening when I drove into East Gator Creek Road the air temperature was 93 degrees and there was almost no wind to speak of.  Not exactly great conditions for topwater fishing, but I decided to focus on tossing Chug Bugs and SkitterWalks until either I caught something or the bugs bled me dry.

Fortunately, I didn't have to endure the latter until I was ready to head home.

When I drove past the first set of culverts at the junction of Peacocks Pocket Road, I decided to test out a Chug Bug to see if anything was interested.   It took five casts before I hooked, landed and released a nice ladyfish that jumped all over the place before giving up the fight.

It was a great start and I had high hopes of duplicating the result so I headed to one of my favorite deep water ponds where I knew some nice sea trout were prowling around the drop offs.

The pond was flat in some areas and had a slight ripple in others.  I started casting close to the bank and gradually extended my casts outward towards the choppier water.

I spent a lot of time fan casting the area and finally got a hit from a nice sea trout.  The fish nailed the plug right out of the water but didn't get hooked.

I continued casting the area and was about to move on up the road when a nice 17" sea trout nailed the Chartreuse/Metallic Silver Chug Bug. 

The fish put up a respectable fight before I shimmied down the bank to land it.

I took a couple of pics and released the fish to grow into a "gator".

Several more casts into the same area produced another smaller sea trout that I also returned to the marsh canal.

It was getting late so I moved up to another pond that I occasionally fish and started fan casting to likely looking areas.

The bugs were getting to me and after making several casts I was about to give up and head for home but a Snook nailed the Chug Bug close to a submerged grassy island.

The fish caught me by surprise and hooked itself before I had a chance to set the hooks.  At first I thought I had hooked a ladyfish but after the second jump when I saw the telltale lateral line along it's side, I had no doubt that it was definitely a nice Snook.

The fish jumped two more times and started to head towards deeper water in the marsh canal when the hooks pulled out.

Some guys on the other side of the pond were watching the battle and were more upset that I lost the fish than I was.

I made several more casts before moving on up the road.

As I passed an area called the "duck blind" I noticed a couple sight casting the Indian River shallows for reds or sea trout.

Indian River Sight Casting

Their boat was in a foot of water and they were fishing the exact spot where I picked up a redfish a couple of weeks ago.

I took a couple of pics before moving on, but the bugs were becoming particularly viscous as it got closer to dusk and I wasn't equipped with bug spray.  Dog days topwater fishing can be a blast but not when you're covered with mosquitoes.

As I headed for home I took a couple of pics of the beautiful sunset.  Enjoy.

 

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Windy Afternoon Topwater Fishing

I didn't plan on spending a windy afternoon topwater fishing today, but as things turned out today, that's exactly what I wound up doing.

My wife and I drove down to Ft. Lauderdale this morning to pick up a couple of cases of Koi food for our pond fish.

The trip proved uneventful even with our two "wonder dogs" Elmo and Odie.  They were perfect companions and were relatively well behaved for a change.

When we got back, I mowed the lawn and around 7:00 pm decided to drive down to Peacocks Pocket road and toss around a topwater plug or two.

I drove through East Gator Creek Road to avoid some of the killer potholes that dot the other entrance and headed to the first salt marsh pond.

By the time I got on the water the air temperature was 79 degrees and there was a brisk wind blowing enough to make topwater fishing a real challenge.

I spotted a nice redfish at the first pond and made several casts to the fish before a large gator decided to move in on my fishing grounds.  I took a short video of the gator and decided to give him the area.

The next two spots I stopped to fish also had inquisitive gators homing in on my topwater Chug Bug, so I moved to a large pond where I knew there were no gators and some nice sea trout.

When I pulled up to the spot, I spotted several fish busting on baitfish but nothing extraordinary.

I started fan casting a freshwater Metallic Silver Black Chug Bug that I coated with Pro-Cure baitfish formula around the grassy islands hoping for a redfish.  The third or fourth cast produced a small sea trout that I quickly released.


Several more casts got me another small sea trout that just couldn't leave the Chug Bug alone.

After releasing the fish, I moved to my final spot where I hooked a nice sea trout on my second cast to a mangrove.

The fish hit the Chug Bug just as I stopped the bait midway in the marsh canal and took off like a small redfish. 

At first I thought I had hooked a red but when the fish turned I saw it was a large trout.

The fish headed for the brush at the bank and after a brief tug of war, the hooks pulled loose and the fish got off.

Although I was disappointed, I continued pitching the Chug Bug into the wind.

It was getting close to dusk and I missed two more sea trout.  One was briefly hooked but again the hook pulled out after the first run. 

One day I'll learn to set the drag light on these guys.

Anyway, it was a windy afternoon topwater fishing as you can see by the clip below.

When my wife called me to tell me it was "getting dark", I was ready to head for home.

Sunset On The Indian River

Fishing topwater baits against the wind wears you out and after the long drive we made this morning, I was ready to head home, get something to eat and hit the sack.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Topwater Fishing In The Salt Marsh

Got home from work late this afternoon and headed for the wildlife refuge to get in some late topwater fishing in the salt marsh for sea trout.

Although my wife thinks the area is "fished out", I still catch a lot of decent size trout and reds from the ponds and shallows of the Indian River.

Peacocks Pocket road was almost free of vehicle traffic when I got there and except for two other cars, I was the only person fishing the refuge.

The air temperature was in the low 80s and there was little to no wind blowing to cool things off.

Since time was a factor, I headed for a couple of ponds that I like to fish instead of fan casting the "ditches" like I usually do.

I started fishing a frog pattern Chug Bug at the first stop and promptly hooked and released three
nice sized ladyfish.

I love catching these "miniature Tarpon" on light tackle and topwater baits. 

They usually smash the hell out of the lures and then jump all over the place before giving up the fight.  

Like their bigger Tarpon cousins, you miss more than you catch.

Anyway, after the third ladyfish I was about to move on when I a nice fat 23" sea trout nailed the Chug Bug.

After a brief fight I hauled the fish up the bank and took this quick pic before releasing it.

I moved up the road and made a couple of casts to a redfish I spotted swimming up the marsh canal but the fish apparently had jockjaw.

My next spot was at a larger pond where several nice fish were hitting bait on the surface.

I spotted a couple of nice redfish and several sea trout in this spot so I started pitching the Chug Bug around the bait pods to see if I could stir up some action.

I was about to give it up and move on to another spot when I hooked up with another sea trout

about the same size as the one I caught earlier.

The fish put up a nice fight and almost broke off in the brush but I finally landed it, took it's pic and released it to grow up into a "gator".

Unfortunately that was to be the last fish of the evening.  It was getting dark and the bugs were getting nasty so I decided to head for home.

As I got into my truck the oriental gentleman I saw last week drove up and asked me about the fishing.

He said he was on vacation, fished all day and only caught one oversize redfish on a plastic jerk bait which he had to put back.

I told him what I caught and we parted ways.

Karen and I plan on driving down to Pompano Beach tomorrow to pick up some Koi food for our fish so I probably won't get out until Sunday, if then.

Till next time,  Tight Lines.