Barren Beach

I was privy to a barren beach when I got to Playalinda the other day.  The weather was lousy and the waves required a 5 oz. pyramid sinker to hold bottom.

When I got to Playalinda Beach, the tide was almost full.  I had a few river rods with me in the truck that I was going to use for juvenile tarpon in the Vistas, but all the Vistas were cordoned off to vehicles due to the upcoming Space X launch, so I decided to try the surf instead.

I noticed very few vehicles in the lots and decided to fish Lot #8 where I had some decent luck with whiting a couple of weeks ago.

When I got to the end of the walkway, I was the only person on the beach as far as the eye could see.

Undaunted with the heavy surf conditions, I decided to at least give it a try so I tied on a double hook pompano rig baited up with fishbites, and decided on a 4 oz pyramid sinker to hold bottom.

The first cast into the closest trough quickly made me change the sinker to a 5 oz. that I happened to have in my box.

I spent the next hour or so fighting the waves and managed to hook a couple of undersize pompano and one whiting that I released.

I took some pics of the area before I decided to head to Haulover Canal to see if anyone was catching fish over there.

The mullet run was underwhelming this year, and I guess from my experience this afternoon, was just about over.  I didn't spot any fish in the surf and the fish I did catch were by dumb luck.  

You could hardly tell when a fish was on, and I was genuinely surprised when I pulled in my first small pomp.

I left Lot #8 to the pelicans and vultures that were in the parking lot and headed to Haulover before calling it a day.

I had no bait with me and after making several casts with a gold Johnson's Sprite spoon, I packed it in and headed home.

Hope to see the next Space X launch this week.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Playalinda Beach In October

Playalinda Beach in October can be productive for Pompano when the water temperatures drop, but with the weather we have been enjoying so far, the sea has not been cool enough to get the larger schools moving out of the river to the surf.

Regardless, I decided to take a ride down to the beach after my dentist appointment to see if anybody was catching fish.

I didn't expect a lot of people at the beach, but I was dead wrong.  Evidently, Monday was seniors day and most of the lots had at least a few cars parked.  

Lot #1 had a senior tour bus parked in the lot so I didn't bother stopping there.

Click On Pic Below

I stopped at lots #7, #8, and #10 and saw anglers fishing at all three areas.

The guys were catching whiting and juvenile black drum on sand fleas and clam flavored Fishbites.

I took a few pics at each stop and rode around Eddy Creek to check out the shallow boat launch.

Nobody was fishing on the new pier and only one kayak was out on the lagoon.

I didn't bother fishing any of the areas until I started heading out of the seashore. 

I just had to try my luck along the Vistas to see if I could hook into a juvenile tarpon or two but I struck out at every spot.

It was high noon when I started fishing the Vistas which is probably why I couldn't buy a bite.

When I got to the last small pond just before the ticket booth, I spotted a lot of mullet schooling in the shallows and when I pulled alongside the spot, I saw a nice gator size sea trout busting on a mullet.

Click on Pic Below

I started fishing a Chug Bug smeared up with some Pro-Cure and after wearing out my casting arm, I changed over to a mullet size XPS Slim Dog topwater bait.

I fished around the mullet schools for the next half hour or so and had only one hit which I believe was a large sea trout.

There were definitely fish in the area, but they had a case of lockjaw.   I believe that if I could fish them early in the morning, I would have had better luck.

Anyway, I packed up my rods and headed home for a much needed lunch.

Till next time,
Tight Lines.

Playalinda Beach In December

Fishing Playalinda Beach in December can be a lonely experience, especially during the week.

Late this afternoon, I decided to head to the beach to see if anyone was catching fish.  I tool along a mid-sized "river" rod and my Okuma surf rig just in case the Pompano were hitting.

Before hitting the bridge, I stopped at Mosquito Lagoon Bait & Tackle to pick up some sand fleas and a small bag of fresh dead shrimp for bait.  They were busy so I didn't bother asking about the beach fishing but I should have.....

When I got to the guard shack at the beach, they had a sign out stating that only lots 1 through 4 were open.  The other lots were closed to clear off boats and debris that had supposedly washed up onto the beach.

I almost turned around but I decided to give it a shot anyway.   As I drove past Lot #4, I decided to hit Eddy Creek so I continued up the road and quickly found that the sign had lied.  Most of the other lots were open.

As I drove up to Lot #9, there were very only a couple of cars in the lot so I decided to give it a try.

As I trudged up the walkway and got to the steps leading to the beach, I knew it would be a bad day for fishing.  The tide had just gone out and there was very little water moving.  Not a great time to catch fish....

Since I was already there, I decided to give it a shot so I skewered a peeled shrimp along with an unpeeled version on one rod, and a couple of sand fleas on the other rig.  With no water movement, a 1oz. pyramid sinker was all that was necessary to hold bottom.

There was a wash in one area that was pulling out shells and sand, so I targeted that area hoping for a bite from a late comer.

To make a short story shorter, I spent the next hour and a half enjoying the fresh air on the beach without a bite and making friends with the seagulls.  I've been skunked before, but never this bad.

The only people on the beach were picking sea shells and sunbathing.  A couple of fishermen who walked up from Lot #10 said they missed a fish but it "wasn't anything great".  Other than that, there was almost no one on the beach for miles.

I took some pics, packed up my gear and headed back via BioLab Road to see if anyone was doing any better in the Mosquito Lagoon.

The water levels were up but it was close to 6:00 pm and no one was fishing the lagoon.  There were a lot of sightseers but no fishermen.

I headed towards the refuge to see if anybody there had caught any fish and although there were a lot of bank fishermen in the area, nobody seemed to be catching any redfish.

About this time, I didn't even bother wetting a line.  I just drove around Catfish Creek Loop and headed home.

The bite, for whatever reason wasn't happening today but at least I got some fresh air.

I've got the rest of the week off, hope I do better later in the week.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Christmas Eve On Playalinda Beach

I didn't expect to spend Christmas Eve on Playalinda Beach but that's exactly where I was this afternoon.

Because of some health problems I've had, I have been spending time at home recuperating instead of going fishing at my usual spots and this afternoon I couldn't spend another hour at home, so I decided to hit Playalinda Beach to see how the surf fishermen were doing.

The tide was out when I hit the entrance and when I asked the attendant if she had any fishing reports, she told me that this past week the surf fishermen were catching Whiting and Pompano.

She suggested fishing lots #3 and #10 so I thanked her for the information and headed to the beach.

I passed an energetic gopher tortoise tripping down the road and a gator at the first curve to the beach but no humans.

When I stopped at lot #3 to see if there were any fishermen on the beach, I only saw a couple of family groups making the best of an overcast day.    The surf was up and I was surprised that no surfers were in the area.

I decided not to fish the spot and headed toward lot # 10.  As I passed Eddy Creek I was surprised to see no cars in the lot so I parked and pulled out my tackle.

I set up a couple of sand spikes along a trough and baited up with fresh dead shrimp on one rod and finger mullet on the second.

 

The waves were strong this afternoon and there was a good rip current just past the first trough that required a 6 oz. sinker to hold bottom.

I started out fishing my Okuma bait runner rod with a finger mullet and a 4 oz. sinker.  That didn't last more than one cast.  Added an ounce per cast until I finally got the bait to hold on the bottom just past the first trough.

I had mono on the other surf rod I brought along so I tied up a two drop leader with a couple of small circle hooks and started fishing with a 4 oz. pyramid sinker.

I baited the second rod with small pieces of peeled shrimp and tossed the rig out just past the breakers.

The fishing was slow but the company was great.  Some gulls, terns, sandpipers and a snipe were all interested in my shrimp.

 

I kept getting hits on the finger mullet but whatever was biting kept chopping off the baits up to the head.  It could have  been bluefish or mackerel but I never landed a fish on that rig today.

I did manage to hook and release a few small whiting on the peeled shrimp.  They were all about the size of the fish below.

 

All the whiting I caught this afternoon were literally by accident.  I never felt a bite on any of the fish I landed but the small circle hooks did their job.

Fishing the surf during windy conditions is tough enough but when a strong rip current is included in the scenario, feeling a bite is next to impossible.

I didn't get to the beach until around 4:00 pm this afternoon and even though the tide was coming in, I decided to head for home at around 5:30 pm.  I probably could have caught some more whiting but I got tired of fighting the current.

I took the long drive home via Bio Lab Road and saw several people wade fishing the flats.

Next time I'll bring along a "river rod", just in case I decide to fish the lagoon.

Till next time, Tight Lines to your all and have a Merry Christmas.

Playalinda Beach Whiting

After my doctor's appointment this afternoon, I decided to head over to Playalinda Beach to see if I could catch a few whiting for dinner.

 

I picked up some shrimp at the local tackle shop and headed east to the beach.

Parking Lot #11

The air temperature was hovering in the mid 90s and there was very little wind on the water.

The tide was coming in and there were thunderclouds in the area.

There was almost no one at the beach today and those who were, parked at the closest parking lots.

I stopped briefly at lots # 2, 4, 8, 9, and 10 to see if anyone was fishing, and finally decided to fish lot #11 where I was the only one on the beach.

Shark Fishing

There was one surf fisherman who had a kayak and a shark outfit in a sand spike who was obviously fishing for shark at lot #8.

A couple of other guys who looked like they were fishing for whiting were with their families but other than that, there were no other fishermen on the beach today.

I took along a 12' Tournament surf rod mated to an Okuma bait runner reel and a 7' spinning rod that I use for sea trout along Peacocks Pocket road.

Since the surf was calm, I decided to try the short "river rod" for whiting.

I tied a small number 4 hook  on a short  piece of fluorocarbon leader above a small swivel and 1/4 oz. egg sinker and baited up with a "pinkie" size piece of peeled shrimp.

To save walking back to my cooler, I loaded up a baggie with fresh dead shrimp, stashed it in my pocket and waded out to a small rip.

There were a lot of glass minnows in the surf and some pogies here and there so I started out by flipping my bait only a few feet ahead of the dirty water in the surf.

My strategy paid off immediately.  A small whiting nailed the shrimp and was quickly landed and released.

I was hoping for some "bull" whiting but unfortunately all the fish caught today were 12" and under.

I used the same strategy to catch about two dozen whiting, some of which were placed in the cooler for dinner.

Just for the hell of it I decided to try casting out past the breakers but after wasting a half an hour without getting a single bite, I continued flipping peeled shrimp just past the dirty water in the surf.

After a thunderstorm passed by I caught and released a small black tip shark that ate a piece of shrimp right at my feet.  The pretty fish was only about two feet long but it put up a nice fight on light tackle before giving it up.

I was getting tired of fighting the waves in the rip so I packed up my two rods and headed for the truck.

On the way home I decided to see what Peacocks Pocket road had to offer in the way of fish.

The air temperature was 90 degrees when I drove up to the first set of culverts past the kayak launch and there was absolutely no air movement.  The water was like glass in both the Indian River side of the road and in the marsh.

I tried a gold spoon and a topwater "Bass" Chug Bug on the river side but the only thing it attracted was a large gator that finally caused me to leave the area.

Alligators were grunting and croaking all over the place this afternoon making topwater fishing a challenge.

They followed my Chug Bug at almost every stop I made.

A little way down Peacocks Pocket road I started pitching the Chug Bug around the deeper pools in the marsh canal and was rewarded with a nice slot size sea trout that blasted the lure right out of the water.

I took this pic and released the fish to grow up into a "gator trout".

 

At the next spot my Chug Bug stirred up some action but the fish would not eat the bait , so I switched to a gold spoon and after a couple of casts picked up this slot size trout.

Several casts later into the same area produced another sea trout on the same gold Johnson's Sprite spoon.

The fishing continued like this until I finally decided to give it up for the day.  In the course of an hour and a half, I managed to hook and release six sea trout on Chug Bugs and gold spoons.

The rains we had this past week has caused the water in the marsh areas to rise substantially.  This is causing the sea trout to spread out from their normal feeding areas.  

The redfish are still in the deeper pools of the salt marsh, the Indian River and the Mosquito Lagoon.

With any kind of luck I'll be able to take the boat out this weekend, weather permitting.

Till next time, Tight Lines.