Mosquito Lagoon & Indian River Fishing

Boynton Inlet Fishing

noreply@blogger.com (John Neila) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 05:31:00 +0000

Boynton Inlet was on the agenda for Saturday, so I tried to get some fishing in on Friday evening after driving home from Vidalia, Ga.

On Friday evening, it was almost dark when I got home from work, so my wife and I didn't get much fishing time in.

We hit two spots about half way through Peacocks Pocket road, but it was really too windy to do any serious fishing.

Karen was using dead shrimp for bait and I spent my time casting a beat up Bagley gold spoon into the wind at both stops.

I missed two sea trout both in the marsh canal and saw one redfish that spooked when I made a bad cast on top of it's head.

Karen missed a couple of sea trout at the same spot, but the wind was so brisk that she really couldn't tell when the fish were biting.

Saturday, we planned to drive down to Ft. Lauderdale and pick up some much needed Koi food from a wholesaler friend of mine so Karen and I decided to get a hot and ready Pizza for dinner and head for home.

After picking up three cases of Koi pellets, we decided to stop by Boynton Inlet to see if anyone was catching snook or snapper off the pier.

The waves and wind made fishing from the long pier a challenge which is probably why there were hardly any fishermen around.

The short pier had a few guys trying for snapper but from what I could see, no one was doing any real catching.

I took some pics and this short video showing why the fishermen were AWOL.

We didn't get home early enough to get to do any fishing this evening but hopefully tomorrow I'll remedy the situation.

Till next time, tight lines.

Another Windy Day Fishing The Marsh

noreply@blogger.com (John Neila) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 04:43:00 +0000

Today turned out to be just another windy day fishing the marsh areas.

Saturday afternoon's short fishing trip was more of a photographic outing than a fishing trip.

I got a late start and only had a couple of hours actual fishing time.

The weather on Saturday was in the mid 60s with mildly windy conditions. It was just windy enough to make casting with light mono a pain in the butt.

The alligators and the tourists were out in force.

I took pics of some of the 14 or so gators I spotted but didn't bother taking any pics of the tourists that turned Peacocks Pocket road into a third world country freeway.

To make a long story short, I got some nice photos and missed some nice redfish and sea trout.

There were some wade fishermen in the Indian River who were catching fish but I couldn't make out what they were catching.

I hooked two oversized redfish which both got off and missed two more hits, all on my favorite Bagley gold spoon.

I tried catching a 33" plus redfish that was busting glass minnows about an inch long, along a stretch of marsh canal that parallels the road just past the entrance to Catfish Creek Loop.

I made at least 30 casts to that fish before it finally bumped the gold spoon and swam up the marsh canal.

Other than those fish, it was just another windy day fishing the marsh.

Today was no different. In fact the weather turned out to be a bit colder with the air temperature at 64 degrees and the wind a bit more brisk.

Today I brought my ultralight Bill Dance Quantum spinning combo loaded with 6# test Cajun Red line and a small Lazer Eye jig that I hoped would "match the hatch" to what the fish were feeding on.

As it turned out, I never spotted any fish busting small minnows along the bank And, even if I did, I wouldn't have been able to make a decent cast because of the wind direction.

The water was much more choppy this afternoon so I fell back to using my gold Bagley spoon.

Today I didn't get out until almost 4:00pm so I hit the exact same spots where I missed fish yesterday.

My strategy worked. At the second spot I stopped at, I briefly hooked a nice oversized redfish that immediately spit the lure.

My next spot just off a grassy point next to the marsh canal yielded a "rat" redfish of about 19".

I took some pics before releasing the fish and moved on to my next spot where I missed another large fish.

I couldn't tell if it was a gator sea trout or a redfish.

It hit and made a brief run before the hook pulled out.

I continued casting the area and had two more half hearted hits before moving to my last spot.

Here is where I missed a large sea trout a couple weeks ago so I continued with my gold spoon and hooked up to a couple more "rat" redfish.

I wasn't really expecting to hook up with the same gator trout but it never hurts to try.

Anyway, the wind was making me chilly and the sun was setting so I took some more pics and headed home.

Maybe next week the wind will settle down enough to catch some decent fish.

Till then, Tight Lines.

The Shrimp Are Running Good In The Indian River

noreply@blogger.com (John Neila) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 04:18:00 +0000

Several sport shrimpers this evening told me that "the shrimp are running good" in the Indian River.

For the past several weeks the shrimp run on the Indian River has been sporadic at best.

Every time I drove down to the fishing piers to see what was being netted, the locals were making excuses for the less than stellar shrimp run.

Tonight was a totally different story.

As I drove into the parking area underneath the new bridge, the absence of parking spaces told me that either a hell of a party was going on or the shrimping was shifting into high gear.

Both the fishing piers were loaded with people. I estimated at least a hundred people were shrimping, fishing or just walking around enjoying the evening on both of the fishing piers.

Even though everyone seemed to be catching shrimp, the shrimpers on the lower pier weren't doing as well as those who were on the higher, longer fishing pier.

I talked to several sport shrimpers on the lower pier who said they were "killing em" on the upper one, so I took some of these pics and moved on to check out the action on the other pier.

As you can see by the pictures most of the shrimp netted this evening were medium to jumbos.

I didn't see any small shrimp in any of the buckets or any blue crabs this evening.

As I walked the pier, I talked to several people who were all having a good time shrimping. I learned that a few people had already limited out and left.

Two of the guys I spoke with had netted half a bucket of medium to large size shrimp and several other shrimpers were quickly getting there.

The shrimp "are running good" in the Indian River right now and from what I was told, it's just the beginning of the run.

I heard that two shrimpers had half buckets of shrimp but went to their trucks to "dump" them into coolers so they could continue shrimping. Not Kosher!

The videos I took and edited below show some of the action and inaction during the time I spent there. I only stayed about an hour and left at about 10:00 pm.

I could have stayed all night, but since I didn't bring my net or any of my fishing gear, I just took some pictures along with these videos.

The weather this evening was superb. The temperature was in the low 70s or high 60s with no wind and the water was clear for this part of the river.

Shirtsleeve weather in January! You gotta love it!

Before leaving, I asked about the shrimping in Haulover Canal and was told by a couple of knowledgeable old salts that the run had not yet reached that far.

As of right now, the shrimping is best around the Titusville bridges up to the south side of the railroad bridge that runs into the Cape.

As far as Oak Hill is concerned, the shrimp that are being caught there are all small. "Bait shrimp" as some of the locals refer to them.

I had planned to go fishing this afternoon and try to catch that big gator sea trout I missed last week, but I had to clean out our Koi pond and do some work around the hacienda instead.

With any kind of luck, I'll get out tomorrow and see how the fish are biting.

Till then, Tight Lines to your all!

Gator Trout In The Marsh Canals

noreply@blogger.com (John Neila) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 07:45:00 +0000

January is one of my favorite months for catching gator trout in the marsh canals of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

I didn't get a chance to get any fishing time in this week end until late this afternoon.

The air temperature hovered just above 60 degrees and there was virtually no wind on the water.

The waters I fished were exceptionally clear and lower than I expected. And, there no apparent fish activity anywhere.

The only thing breaking the calm were the "mud hens" which could be seen all over the marsh.

I didn't start fishing until about 4:00 pm and didn't waste time trying to find any new "hot spots"/.

I drove into the refuge through Gator Creek road where I took these pics and continued up through Peacocks Pocket road where I started fishing.

In my haste to leave the house, I only brought two rods. One was rigged with a DOA Cal jerkbait with a green head and the other with my favorite beat up Bagley gold spoon.

I "jump fished" several spots using the gold spoon to locate fish and missed two slot redfish.

I was fishing too fast so I slowed down my presentation.

I caught a couple of slot size sea trout in areas where I usually fish before moving to a shallow pond area that usually holds redfish.

I picked up another slot size sea trout that I decided to keep for dinner and around 5:30 pm I hooked up with a huge gator trout that creamed the gold spoon.

At first I thought I had a big red on the line but as the fish started sloshing around in the shallow water, I knew by the way it was fighting that it definitely wasn't a redfish.

After a surprisingly short fight I managed to get the fish to the bank.

That's when I realized it was probably the biggest sea trout I've caught to date.

The fish was at least 33" long and about as fat around as a slot redfish.

I didn't have my Boga grip and in the area where I was fishing there were too many trees at the water line to land the fish.

I started leading the fish around the brush to where I could get down the bank and land it and as I started sliding down the bank to grab it, the damn treble hook fell out of the side of the fish's mouth.

The fight wore a hole in the side of the fish's paper thin mouth and when I slackened up on the line as I was slipping down the bank, it let go.

To say the least, I was aggravated but I would have let the fish go anyway.

I continued fishing in a couple of areas down the road from where I caught the big trout but I didn't have my heart in it.

It was getting colder when my wife called asking me when I was heading home, so I decided to call it a day.

There were only a couple of vehicles in the refuge this afternoon which is common for this time of the year and I was the only person fishing.

Fishing for gator trout in the marsh canals this time of year doesn't seem to be very popular with the local fishermen but it certainly is productive if you know how to do it.

I plan on hitting the same spot tomorrow to see if the gator trout is still in the area.

Till next time, Tight Lines!

Saturday Afternoon At Playalinda Beach

noreply@blogger.com (John Neila) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 23:07:00 +0000

Saturday afternoon at Playalinda Beach didn't turn out as I hoped.

An anonymous angler commented on Dec. 29th. that lot #8 was pretty hot for bluefish, so I decided to give it a try.

I didn't get out until about 1:00 pm Saturday and the weather was great. The surf was calm, the tide was coming in and there were no strong currents to speak of.

When I got to the beach, I first stopped at lots #6 and #7 to see what the water conditions were like..

There were only a few surf fishermen at both lots and after I spoke with them, found that they were catching only a few whiting.

When I got to lot #8, there weren't many cars in the lot so I loaded up my two surf rods with Okuma reels, some fresh dead shrimp, sand fleas, a couple of Luhr Jensen Krocodile Spoons - 5 8 oz - Chrome Silver Prism - Lures and took off to find a spot on the beach to fish.

I settled on a spot near the entrance of the beach where there were a lot of shells. This is normally where you can find black drum, redfish, croaker, whiting, etc.

There was a slough about 25 feet from the beach before a long sandbar, that lead to a second drop off and another shallow bar where I thought there should be some fish.

I baited up with sand fleas on one rod and fresh dead shrimp on the other 60# rig and tossed both out past the farthermost breakers.

I waited about 20 minutes without getting even a nibble and being the impatient guy that I am, started walking around checking on what everybody else was catching..

There were surf rods lined up and down the beach and after talking to several fishermen quickly realized that nobody was catching fish.

One gentleman in the pic to the left caught a couple of whiting well before noon but other than that, no one was catching fish.

The guys next to me said they were catching some nice Pompano yesterday about this time of day at lot #10 on sand fleas.

When I asked them why they were fishing at #8 they told me that the nudists ran them off.

Evidently work was being done at lots #11 and above where the nudists usually sport their goods but they gradually moved south.

I did see a couple of sea manatees swimming north, parallel to the beach. Evidently the cold snap got their migrating instincts going.

At about 3:30 pm I finally had enough and packed up my gear.

On the way out on a whim, I decided to take Bio Lab Road to see if anyone was doing any better in the Mosquito Lagoon.

The water levels were dangerously low in the south end and the places I planned on fishing were now dry mud.

I took a few pictures of the area and decided to drive around Peacocks Pocket before heading home to see if I missed any fishing opportunities.

I talked to a couple of cast netters at Gator Creek who said they saw a bunch of redfish tailing in the marsh canal and that yesterday they saw several small schools of black drum in the same area.

The water was dead calm but I was already in the area, I decided to check it out.

I counted over a dozen alligators sunning on the bank and in the shallows but I didn't see any redfish or black drum anywhere in the marsh canal.

I flipped my gold spoon around a couple of spots and did get a couple of hits from sea trout before I decided to head to the hacienda.

I don't know if was because of the full moon or what but the fishing today was just that; fishing.

Anyway, as usual the sunset was awesome and the Pizza I got us for dinner was delicious.

Till next time, Tight Lines!

Skunked

noreply@blogger.com (John Neila) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 02:58:00 +0000

My wife and I went fishing late Friday afternoon mainly to get out of the house and get some fresh air.

We didn't have any fresh bait so I brought my cast net along in case there were any finger mullet in the shallows...

We fished Peacocks Pocket road and started at the eastern entrance where I know a few holes that are frequented by ladyfish and finger mullet.

On the way in we saw an young otter swimming in the ditch that parallels the road.

I tried to take a pic but by the time I got my Nikkon, the otter was going up the bank and all I got was a short video of it's tail going through the underbrush.

The water on the Indian River was dead flat. The air temperature was 68 degrees and it was a beautiful day in the refuge.

Perfectly flat conditions make fishing this area challenging to say the least and today was a perfect example.

Since there were no finger mullet in the area to cast net for, Karen was using fresh dead shrimp that I picked up at the bait shop and I was using a variety of soft baits and my favorite Bagley gold spoon.

We saw some spoonbills, lots of coot, and about a dozen alligators sunning themselves on the bank but no sign of fish.

I was hoping we wouldn't get skunked but the longer we fished, the more it seemed like we weren't going to do much catching.

There was a lot of vehicle traffic which made the fishing much more difficult. The fish I did spot were spooky and were not interested in biting.

After a while I decided to turn the trip into a photo opportunity and started taking pics of the abundant wildlife.

There were kayakers around the island where several resident schools of black drum always frequent, but none of them were catching any fish.

There were also a few wade fishermen out in the river that didn't seem to be catching anything either.

As it neared dusk and the battery in my camera gave up the ghost, Karen had enough of the mosquitoes and I was ready to go home and make some dinner. Anyway, the sunset was awesome.

It's been a while since we both got skunked, but it happens to the best of us.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

December 29, 2011 Fishing Report

noreply@blogger.com (John Neila) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 02:59:00 +0000

The fishing for Dec 29th could according to the Almanac should have been pretty good, unfortunately the Almanac isn't gospel.

Today the air temperatures were in the low 60s and there was absolutely no wind on the Indian River.

The water in the marsh areas was dead flat which made for challenging conditions.

The few people that were fishing around Catfish Creek loop were not catching anything, neither were the fishermen around Peacocks Pocket road.

My wife didn't want to go fishing with me this afternoon so I took Elmo our "wonder dog" along to give him some fresh air.

There was very little traffic this afternoon on the unimproved road and the people who were out were taking pictures of the wildlife.

To make a long story short, I fished several areas around Peacocks Pocket road with my favorite Bagley gold spoon, a "gold sardine" colored Heddon Saltwater Super Zara Spook Jr. -Black Shiner top water plug, a Creme Lures Spoiler Shad Swimbaits and even dead shrimp without getting even a half hearted tug.

I spent the most time fishing "Bobcat Bay" where I missed two oversize redfish yesterday, but today they were either not in the area or they just weren't interested.

A FWC came by as I was getting ready to call it a day and we chatted a bit about the fishing.

Cody introduced himself and after a while continued down the road.

I took my time driving very slowly looking for signs of fish but the water was so calm that nothing except finger mullet were moving around.

As I drove up to the kayak launch, I stopped to talk to a fisherman that I occasionally see kayaking the area.

He reported that he caught some sea trout around the shallow flats near the creek to the Space Center and a couple of small reds on live shrimp under a cork.

He mentioned that the resident population of Black Drum were all over the place but that they were hard to target because of their erratic swimming patterns.

He spotted a lot of tailing redfish but they just weren't biting today. It could be the cold front or the lack of wind but whatever the reason, today's fishing report was dismal.

He mentioned that the fishing in the northern Indian River lagoon flats east of Scotsmoor wasn't that great right now and that there were a flock of fishing guides poling the Tiger Shoals area in the Mosquito Lagoon. This is a dead giveaway to where the big schools are located.

Tiger Shoals and the Whale Tail area in the southern Mosquito Lagoon are always good for redfish and sea trout.

I thanked him for the fishing report and headed for the house.

The temperature was 58 degrees as I left Peacocks Pocket road.

Tomorrow's another day, Tight Lines!

Another Great Day Fishing The Cold Fronts In December

noreply@blogger.com (John Neila) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 17:15:00 +0000

My wife and I went out earlier than usual Wednesday to enjoy the beautiful weather and catch a few redfish.

We scouted several areas around the Mosquito Lagoon and decided on fishing the Indian River marsh areas where we usually have some success.

The temperature was in the low 70s and there was almost no wind to speak of. The water was like glass in the shallows and in the middle of the river, only a slight chop.

The alligators were out in force sunning themselves on the banks. This is probably why there were so many visitors in the refuge today. It looked like "Grand Central" with all the traffic.

I rigged a pencil float on Karen's rod with a 4/0 hook. She was using frozen shrimp while I opted for my favorite beat up Bagley gold spoon.

Because the water was so calm, I didn't really expect to catch many fish, so we slowly drove around Peacocks Pocket road from the first entrance to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge looking for signs of fish activity.

All I spotted were some cute little diving ducks that looked like feeding redfish.

We finally stopped at one of our favorite spots and started fishing. I started fan casting in deeper water, working my gold Bagley spoon as slowly as possible and Karen cast her shrimp close to a weedy island.

Since a cold front came through the area yesterday when I was fishing Playalinda Beach, I correctly assumed that the water temperature dropped and the fish would start heading for deeper water.

Redfish and sea trout get sluggish during colder weather and don't like to chase after speeding baits.

My strategy was apparently right on because after a few casts, I hooked up to a nice 17" sea trout that I unceremoniously dragged from the marsh canal, just as a man and his dog were walking by.

Bob and his neat dog "Buck" stopped and we chatted a while about fishing the marsh and a couple of other areas I didn't know about.

He said that fishermen were now catching big Black Drum in Haulover Canal at the entrance to the Mosquito Lagoon.

Bob and Buck had walked all the way from the new bridge past where we were fishing and was on his way back when I picked up another sea trout that was a clone to the first one.

The sea trout were holding in deeper water and were viciously nailing the gold spoon on a slow drop.

I caught a couple more fish before we moved on to try a few other areas.

The trout were cooperating but we couldn't find any redfish until we came to "Bobcat Bay".

Karen parked herself at a culvert and tossed out her shrimp bait, while I walked around the bend to fish the Indian River side of the road.

It was getting late and the temperature was dropping. It was in the high 50s before I finally got a hit from a redfish.

The fish nailed my spoon on a slow drop but I missed the strike. Several casts later in the same general area I again had a tap on the spoon.

This time I jerked too soon and missed the fish, but as I quickly reeled in to re-cast, the fish swirled around and hit the spoon a second time.

This time it hooked itself and took off like a shot but after only a couple of feet, the hook pulled loose.

As the big redfish swam by me only a few feet away in about a foot of water, I could see that it was well over 30" long.

I was going to keep fishing but Karen drove the truck up to where I was and wanted to move.

It was getting really cold and I didn't have my jacket on so we decided to call it a day.

Karen hooked a couple of fish but lost one that swam under a rock and another that made for a stickup and pulled loose.
.
For a change we left the refuge early and saw several more gators on the way out.

The sunset this evening was awesome as you can see by the pics below.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Playalinda Beach Surf Fishing in December

noreply@blogger.com (John Neila) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 02:59:00 +0000

Playalinda Beach surf fishing is picking up as the month of December comes to a close.

The weather today was close to the 80s that was predicted and with a southwest wind blowing across the Indian River, I decided to break out my two surf rods and try a little surf fishing.

I didn't start out until after 1:00 pm and decided that if I didn't get any bites within an hour or so, I was going to call it a day.

I left the house ill prepared. I forgot to get the bait out of the freezer and didn't bring any prepared pompano rigs. I did have some pyramid sinkers in the truck so I wasn't totally doomed.

For the first time in eons, I stopped at a bait shop and bought a cup of live sand fleas and some minute shrimp.

Captain Hooks Bait & Tackle was selling 50 live shrimp for $5.00 and since I also forgot to bring along a bucket, I picked up a dinky little bait bucket to keep them alive until I got to the beach.

The shrimp were obviously not local. They were much too small for that, but for pompano or whiting, they would do just fine.

When I got to the Ranger station, I showed them my lifetime pass and asked about the fishing. As usual, they had no advice to give on fishing conditions.

The lady at the bait shop told me that they were catching blues, whiting, pompano, a few shark and an occasional redfish in the surf from parking lots #7 to #10.

Since the rangers at the shack didn't know anything, I took the lady's advice and started scouting out the areas she suggested.

Lot #7 had a few surfers doing their thing in one area and a few fishermen who didn't seem to be catching anything. I took some pics that I compiled into the video below and moved on to Eddy Creek Lot #8.

This area was a clone to the other area. The only two fishermen I saw there were trying to stay on their feet and didn't seem to be catching much.

Finally, I decided to fish lot #9. That area has two nice spots where lots of shells accumulate on the beach. I've learned from experience that lots of shells means fish.

There were four groups of fishermen in the area when I started fishing but as the cold front moved into the area, everyone left the area except for a party of Spanish
guys and myself.

Both my surf rods are matched Ande Tournament series, with matching
Okuma Coronado Saltwater Spinning Reel CD-65 spinning reels.

The one reel was spooled with 60# Power Pro and the other with 30#.

I was using a pompano double hook rig on the light rod with a 4 oz. pyramid sinker and larger hooks on a pompano rig with a 6 oz. pyramid sinker on the other rod.

The wind was at our back and you could easily cast a country mile to the second set of breakers where the pompano were.

I baited the heavy rig with shrimp and the 30# rig with live sand fleas.

I didn't do as well as the other guys but I managed a couple of whiting, a blue and a sailors choice that I foul hooked and used for bait. Most of the fish were caught on sand fleas.

The tide was going out and I missed several bites that I should have hooked. I don't surf fish as often as I should, but today I learned a valuable lesson. Keep your hooks sharp!

The Spanish guys had 7 rods staked out and were hopping back and forth trying to keep bait on them and bringing in fish at the same time.

I stayed in the surf for about two hours until it started getting too cold for me handle.

There was a lot of bird feeding activity just off shore and this was one day that I wished I had brought my surf tackle box. A silver spoon would have killed the blues.

As I packed up to leave, I went back to the beach with my camera to get a video of the little kid of the group landing a nice eating sized bluefish.

They had quite a day. I saw them catch and release at least six undersize pompano in addition to what they kept.

Playalinda Beach surf fishing usually picks up from late November through the spring mullet run.

I'm taking a much deserved two week vacation and hope to get more surf fishing under my belt.

Till next time, Tight Lines!

Merry Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (John Neila) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 03:01:00 +0000

Wishing all of our followers a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

My wife and I didn't get a chance to do any fishing this weekend until late this afternoon.

Since time was a factor, we fished Peacocks Pocket road coming in from the easternmost entrance.

The temperature was in the high 70s and there was virtually no wind to speak of today. The marsh areas were dead calm and the river had only a slight ripple that totally dissipated as sunset approached.

Karen fished frozen jumbo shrimp under a pencil Cajun Thunder float and I started out fishing with my beat up Bagley gold hammered spoon.

We spent more time than we should have at the area in the video below, trying to get some tailing redfish to bite our baits.

I counted at least five oversize redfish tailing in an area where a flock of mud hens were feeding and causing a general commotion.

I've learned from experience that the ducks stir up the sediment in the shallow water causing the reds to start feeding on the crustaceans that are churned up.

But today, the fish were not cooperating at all.

Except for one small sea trout, nothing was hitting.

I had several followups with my gold spoon but at the last minute the fish veered away from my bait.

I switched to a root beer colored D.O.A. Shrimp, then to a D.O.A. CAL Jerkbait and finally to another heavier Johnson gold spoon, with absolutely no hits.

Karen wasn't having any better luck than I was.

I spoke briefly with a professional bass fisherman and his wife about how to fish the area we were in, but today all we did was fish. Not catch!

Frustrated, I suggested moving to another spot in the marsh area where we caught several 30 inch plus redfish in the past, but again we failed to score.

The alligators were out in force today. We counted over a dozen gators that were taking advantage of the beautiful weather either on the bank sunning themselves or cruising for a fresh duck dinner.

At our last spot, we spotted several fish moving up the marsh canal near just at dusk but the water was dead calm and nothing was hitting our baits.

When the mosquitoes began their blood thirsty activity, we decided to give up the fight for today and try it again tomorrow.

In any event, it was nice to get out and enjoy God's work.

Till next time, Tight Lines and a Merry Christmas!

Waiting For The Shrimp To Run

noreply@blogger.com (John Neila) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 17:29:00 +0000

Last night everyone was waiting for the shrimp to run on the two fishing piers underneath the Max Brewer causeway bridge except for the party goers at the pavilion.

The temperature was in the low 70s and there was almost no wind blowing as I walked down to the lower fishing pier.

There were fewer people on the pier than I expected and most were shrimping.

As you can see by the video I compiled below, everyone was waiting for the shrimp to run and only a few regulars were netting anything of consequence.

I walked past the restaurant, where everyone was having a great time dancing and partaking of adult alcoholic beverages and moved to the longer fishing pier to see how the sport shrimpers were doing over there.

For some unknown reason, these guys were doing much better. The guys I chatted with were catching a few blue crabs and everyone had at least a few jumbo shrimp in their buckets.

Although no one expected to limit out with a 5 gallon bucket this evening, everyone was having a good time enjoying the atmosphere.

I asked about why some of the shrimp lights the guys were using were on batteries and found out that there was a "lottery" system that the County operators were using on the electrical outlets.

There is a name drawing every evening from a hat, to make things fair for everyone.

Some of the regulars bring their own 12 volt batteries (see pic below) to save on the $ 6.00 nightly electrical usage fee and to grab the place they want on the pier railing.

Generators are no longer allowed on either of the piers, although I don't believe there is any law in writing saying you can't operate one on the sea walls, so everyone either plugs in or brings their own battery power.

I didn't see many sea trout this evening,. The guys said they were down there but they were deep and since I didn't bother bringing my fishing rod, I decided to head for the comfort of the hacienda.

Waiting for the shrimp to run just isn't for me, I seriously lack the patience!

Hope to get out and do some fishing tomorrow and later check out the shrimping.

Till then, Tight Lines!

Fishing The Marsh Canals

noreply@blogger.com (John Neila) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 01:32:00 +0000

Fishing the marsh canals in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in December is one of my favorite pastimes.

Yesterday's outing was not much fun despite the fact that I picked up a nice 34" redfish. Fortunately, this afternoon's trip was much more pleasant.

I didn't start fishing until about 3:30 pm and the weather was great for this time of year. The temperature was 73 degrees and the wind was negligible.

Since time was not on my side, I made only one stop before going to the area where I caught my fish yesterday.

On the way into the refuge, I noticed some activity in the grass next to the bank so I pulled out my favorite Bagley gold spoon and started casting into the area. I missed a fish on the third cast and after several more into the same area, I moved on to the spot below.

There were tons of noisy "mud hens" doing their thing (above) but no redfish were interested in my lure.

I saw a swirl on the river side that I thought was a red but my first cast into the area hooked me up with a slot size sea trout.

I released the fish and moved up the road.

A fellow fisherman stopped and asked me if I wanted some finger mullet but since I didn't have a container to keep them alive, I took only one small mullet from him and hooked it up for my next spot.

He said the only thing he was catching was "hard head" catfish.

As I sped up to the last area I planned to fish this evening, I flipped out the finger mullet on my Okuma bait runner outfit and propped up the rod on free spool.

I saw some reeds moving in the grass along the opposite shore so I pitched out a second rod with a frozen shrimp.

After a few minutes I hooked up with a nice redfish on the Okuma rig. The fish took off down the marsh canal, promptly wound around the only tree limb in the damn canal and broke off.

I was snelling another 4/0 hook on the leader when the rod with the shrimp took off.

I was in too much of a hurry and pulled the circle hook from the fishes mouth.

Being totally pissed off at myself for missing two nice reds, I pitched out both rods with baited shrimp and started flipping a D.O.A.Â® C.A.L. Series Shad Tail - Lures to see if I could pick up a trout or two.

The third cast hooked me up with another nice redfish, below.

I had just spooled some new Cajun Line Cajun Advantage Monofilament - 10 lb. - Terminal tackle on this rod, so I decided to take a little extra care landing this fish.

It made several strong runs up and down the marsh canal and finally gave up the fight.

Karen wasn't fishing with me today so I took these pics before releasing the fish. It measured a clean 27" on my tape. A perfect tournament red.

It was around 5:30 pm so I decided to head for home and call it another perfect trip.

Fishing the marsh canals in this area is a lot like fishing for rainbow trout in the streams of Pennsylvania where I grew up. You have to sight fish them, stalk them and get a little bit lucky.

Till next time, Tight Lines!

Catching Another 34" Redfish

noreply@blogger.com (John Neila) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 01:38:00 +0000

Well catching another 34" redfish in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge wasn't exactly what I had planned for this afternoon but I'll take it!

My wife and I got "cabin fever" and decided to take Elmo our wonder dog fishing despite the windy overcast conditions.

We left the house a about 3:30 pm and went straight to a spot where we had been catching reds the last few weeks.

The first spot was too windy to fish but we gave it a shot anyway. It was so windy that the Bagley gold spoon I was using was being pulled over the surface on most of my casts.

After realizing that it was useless fishing this area, we moved on to a more sheltered spot up Peacocks Pocket road.

That spot was occupied by another fisherman and his family who had about 6 rods in the water.

I asked him if he had any luck and he said he caught a ladyfish, a 21" redfish, a trout and a turtle all on dead shrimp and cut ladyfish.

Not wanting to infringe on his area, we moved to the next spot where we spent another fruitless 20 minutes there with absolutely no bites.

Karen wasn't used to casting directly into the wind and I would up unsnarling her spinning reel a couple of times.

The rig she was using was her usual Cajun Thunder pencil float with a dead shrimp underneath but the wind kept dragging the shrimp around creating a lousy presentation.

I finally gave up on artificial lures and switched two spinning rods over to frozen dead shrimp on a 4/0 hook.

We moved to an area we call "snook point" and started fishing a shallow water stretch where the wind wasn't killing us.

I was untangling another birds nest for Karen when she yelled that a redfish was taking my line down the canal.

I ran for the pole and briefly fought the fish but it got off the hook.

After pitching two more shrimp just off the bank in the same area, I hooked up with the 34" redfish in the short video below.

The fish took off like a shot down the canal and I yelled to Karen to get the camera and take a video of the fight.

She refuses to learn how to operate the video on the Nikon, so I took the camera and tried to change the settings while fighting the big redfish at the same time.

As you can see by the unprofessional video, it didn't turn out that well. I couldn't get the fish into frame and missed most of the fight.

Anyway, it is what it is.

As I was landing the red, the hook snapped off at the snell and I got a "wet foot" sliding down the bank trying not to lose the fish.

I finally got Karen to take a picture before releasing the oversize fish.

We could have probably caught a couple more fish in the same area but Karen was aggravated with me giving her orders about not being able to use the camera and I was getting wind chill.

We decided to head for home and call it a day.

Maybe tomorrow I'll be catching another 34" redfish!
Till then, Tight Lines.

Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River Fishing In December

noreply@blogger.com (John Neila) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 01:09:00 +0000

Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River fishing in December is as good as it gets anywhere in Florida.

The cold fronts have started to clear up the algae blooms in both the lagoons which should improve the sight fishing on the flats as the month progresses.

I got in about an hours worth of "jump" fishing late this afternoon around the Indian River and noticed that the water has gotten much clearer.

I picked up a new spinning reel for Karen today and loaded it with 10# red Cajun line, a 4foot piece of 20# fluorocarbon and a Strike King gold hammered spoon to "break it in" for her.

I quickly noticed that I was getting more strikes on Karen's new outfit than I was on my own well worn gold Bagley spoon.

The tannin colored water at first glance looked dirty but as I fished my Bagley gold spoon this afternoon, I noticed that I could easily see my well worn fluorocarbon leader in the water.

I replaced the worn 20# flurocarbon and after a few casts picked up my first small sea trout in the marsh canal.

If I hadn't noticed the difference, I probably would have continued using my outfit wondering why the fish weren't hitting.

Little things like this make a difference, especially during winter fishing conditions.

Fishing extra slow with long casts, light lines and stealth approaches will catch you more fish from now on into the spring.

I fished as many "new" locations as possible this afternoon to see if I was passing up any "good" spots.

I had several hits on both outfits using gold spoons and managed to catch and release two slot redfish, one oversized redfish and one stupid out of season sea trout in just over an hour of fishing.

The oversize red was about 30" long. I hooked it in the grass shown in the picture below but didn't actually land it.

After I hooked the fish, it made a couple of nice short runs and I thought I had the fish "in the bag". I had the fish right at the bank and decided to take a short video of what was left of the fight.

I held the rod with the fish on in one hand and started to the truck to get my Nikon to take the shot when the redfish decided he didn't want his picture taken.

The red got it's second wind, broke off and left for parts unknown.

Undaunted I kept fishing and as I got close to "bobcat bay" I shot a cast in slightly in front of where I noticed a small ripple next to the bank.

The spoon must have hit the redfish in the head because it literally exploded on the lure, knocking it completely out of the water and then swam downstream.

The sunset was gorgeous but it was getting dark, the mosquitoes were starting to get vicious and the bite stopped dead, so I decided to head home.

On the way home, I decided to stop at the fishing piers to see if the shrimpers were getting set up for the evening.

The restaurant had a huge outdoor TV screen set up with a football game being televised. The lights on the lower shrimping pier were not turned on, so I didn't even bother getting out of the truck.

Next week I'll spend some time on the pier and get a shrimping report.

Till then, Tight Lines!

Catching December Redfish In The Marsh

noreply@blogger.com (John Neila) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 02:11:00 +0000

In addition to Christmas, catching December redfish in the marsh canals of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is one the things I look forward to when I'm not working.

This afternoon after mowing the lawn and fixing some screens in our pool area, Karen and I decided to take Elmo fishing with us in the "swamp".

We didn't get out until about 2:30 pm; this left us only a couple hours of fishing.

We were going to try out Shiloh Road, but remembered that it was closed for waterfowl hunting so we headed for our favorite spots off of Peacocks Pocket road.

Karen was using s small weighted Precision Tackle Cajun Thunder Float above a 4/0 hook and a jumbo frozen shrimp.

I decided to fish with my favorite well worn gold Bagley spoon.

The powers that be at the Space Center finally mowed the tall grass that lined Peacocks Pocket road, so we stopped at a couple of areas I haven't fished before to toss around the spoon and see if anything was interested.

After briefly stopping at a couple of new spots without getting any hits, we moved to one of our tried and true locations where Karen caught a nice redfish last week.

My first cast hooked me up with a two foot long ladyfish that jumped all over the place before I landed and released it.

After a while I wanted to move on and as Karen was reeling in her bait, she hooked a nice sea trout that we released after taking this short video. I thought the camera was on auto.

Those two turned out to be the the only fish we caught at that spot, so after a short time we moved past several anglers to another "secret" spot to try our luck.

Again on the first cast I picked up a small sea trout on the spoon which I promptly released.

The fish wasn't much bigger than the spoon I was fishing with.

We moved about 30 yards up the road to a bend in the marsh canal that opened up into a small pond.

I thought the area looked "fishy" so we stopped and started fishing.

About 30 casts later, I hooked a nice 24" slot redfish that hit my spoon just off the point that opened up into the pond.

The fish put up a nice fight and after landing it I took this picture.

I almost always release the fish I catch and I was planning to release this one but it's gills were injured so I decided to eat it for dinner.

Karen never got a hit so we moved on to our last spot, to fish until dusk.

The wind died down as dusk approached and so did the bite.

Karen missed a sea trout that ate the head off her shrimp and I never got another strike.

Elmo was looking plain miserable and the mosquitoes were starting to attack en mass, so we decided to call it a day.

The sunset was beautiful as usual as you can see from the pics below.

The heron in the one pic scored a nice ladyfish for dinner.

I managed to get it's picture before heading out.

On the was home, we drove by the fishing piers to see if anyone was shrimping this evening.

It was about 6:30 pm when we circled the parking area and it look like about fifteen people had their shrimp lights out or were in the process of setting them up.

I might drive down to the pier later on this evening to see how the shrimp are running.

Till next time, Tight Lines!

Another 33" Redfish

noreply@blogger.com (John Neila) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 03:39:00 +0000

Well my wife did it again with another 33" redfish.

Yesterday my wife stayed home while I got skunked fishing the Mosquito Lagoon. So today, she wanted to get in some quality fishing and hopefully break her "dry spell".

We headed for Peacocks Pocket road which was closest.

The first stop we made was just past Catfish Creek loop.

A medium sized gator was sunning itself on the bank where I wanted to fish so we drove past and parked a few yards up the road from the sunning reptile.

Because the water was relatively calm, I decided to use a white Creme Spoiler Shad swimming bait instead of my favorite gold Bagley spoon.

Several casts netted me a small trout and a couple of misses which were probably sea trout.

I was walking towards the car, ready to move on up the road when the water near the gator exploded.

At first I thought the gator left the bank but it was a huge redfish that was busting bait in the grass.

I started working the shoreline with the swim bait hoping for a hit but didn't get a rise.

A couple of sight seers from Wisconsin stopped to see how I was doing just as the big redfish again exploded next to the bank.

The two guys in the van couldn't believe a fish that big was in water this shallow.

Although I continued trying to get the fish to bite, it wanted nothing to do with my lures.

We moved on down the road to another spot where I picked up two more small trout before moving to our final stop near "bobcat bay".

Karen was using jumbo frozen shrimp under a Cajun Thunder bobber but the water in the marsh was so shallow, I changed out her bobber to a smaller thinner version that was less likely to spook any fish.

I walked about a hundred yards down the road and started fan casting back to the truck.

Meanwhile, Karen chucked out her rig next to a grassy point, sat down and enjoyed the beautiful afternoon.

I caught and released another small sea trout and missed a large redfish when I heard my wife yelling for help.

I walked back to where she was fishing and saw she was fighting a really nice redfish.

I grabbed the camera and the boca grip and got the last end of the battle on the video below.

The fish was as long as her leg and measured in at a bit over 33".

My wife finally broke her "dry spell" in a big way!

She released the fish and almost lost my boca grip that was still in the redfish's mouth as she was releasing it. She managed to grab the big red by the tail and retrieve my "tool" before it swam away.

After the fight, we decided to head for home and scout out the rest of the refuge.

As we got to "bobcat bay" we saw a porpoise surrounding a school of redfish and running through the school to get his dinner.

I was fishing and went back to the truck to get the camera but before I could get the best video of the redfish actually jumping out of the water to escape the porpoise, he had eaten his fill and was leaving the area.

The mosquitoes were starting to get nasty so we decided to call it a day and head for home.

This was at least the third 33 " redfish Karen caught in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

I have got to get a smaller movie camera I can carry with me as I fish. I keep missing some great actions shots.

Maybe for Christmas!

Till next time, Tight Lines!

Mars Curiosity Atlas Launch

noreply@blogger.com (John Neila) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 00:44:00 +0000

This morning's Mars Curiosity Atlas launch caused NASA to temporarily close part of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge to fishing.

I had originally planned to hit the beach at Playalinda, catch some bluefish for supper and then drive around Peacocks Pocket road to see if I could pick up a redfish.

The Atlas launch screwed up my plans, so I decided to run up to Bio Lab road to fish the lower flats of the Mosquito Lagoon instead.

The weather was perfect with only a light breeze pushing the water towards Bio Lab road.

I noticed that Bio Lab boat ramp is now requesting a fee for launching your boat.

Don't know how many locals will pay it but it seems like every time you turn around, some government agency is trying to pick your pocket.

Anyway, the road was crowded with people enjoying the scenery, mostly the alligators and only a few fishermen.

Before I decided on an area to fish, I talked to three fishermen. None of them were catching much except for catfish and a stingray.

No one was catching redfish.

I took a ton of pics and drove close to the Pelican Island flats where I saw some fish chasing bait on the surface.

The area is good for wading but very weedy. Despite the weeds, I started fishing with my favorite gold Bagley spoon hoping for a cruising redfish.

Although a lot of fish were being chased, I evidently couldn't "match the hatch" because I never got a hit.

I carefully waded around the area methodically fan casting to cover as much water as possible but nothing seemed to be interested in my spoon.

Finally after an hour or so, I decided to run up to Bairs Cove boat ramp on Haulover Canal.

There were several fishermen on both sides of the canal fishing with shrimp and live bait but again, no one seemed to be catching anything.

I took the pictures you see below but didn't even bother wetting a line. It was getting late in the afternoon so I decided to head home and rest out for tomorrow's outing.

On the way, I passed the western entrance to Peacocks Pocket road and noticed that the NASA personnel reopened the refuge.

Perhaps tomorrow will be a better day for catching.

Till then, tight lines!

Post Thanksgiving Day Shrimping

noreply@blogger.com (John Neila) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 04:20:00 +0000

Shrimping on the new fishing pier this evening reflects the fact that it's the day after Thanksgiving.

Post Thanksgiving Day shrimping was as I expected.

There were only a few shrimpers out this evening and from what everyone was telling me the shrimping wasn't all that great.

I got to the fishing pier on the Indian River Lagoon at about 10:00 p.m. and only stayed long enough to get a shrimping report.

On the day after Thanksgiving, everyone stays home with their family and this evening was no exception.

The shrimp that were caught were medium to jumbo in size and everyone I spoke with had some in their buckets.

No one this evening had underwater lighting arrays set up and the people shrimping this evening were evidently "newbies" to sport shrimping.

I personally believe that the underwater lighting they were using could have been the reason for the poor results.

Everybody I talked to had above water incandescent lights taped to the rails, which really didn't light up the water column enough to spot or attract the shrimp.

There were large shrimp jumping out of the water on a regular basis, evidently being chased by sea trout and as I was leaving for home the activity seemed to be picking up.

There were at least a dozen shrimp caught while I was taking these pictures.

I suspect that a lot more shrimp would have been caught if the shrimpers would have been using the underwater 1000 to 3000 lumens colored shrimp lights that the regulars use.

In any event, it was a nice evening on the pier.

Many of my subscribers have asked about where they can purchase underwater lighting for fishing or shrimping.

The link below will take you to some videos of different types of lighting that the shrimpers in this area use on the fishing piers.

You could also use these lights from your boat to really light up the water column. They would be great in Haulover Canal.

Didn't get to go fishing today, but I hope to wet a line tomorrow.

Till then, Tight Lines!

Thanksgiving Day Fishing

noreply@blogger.com (John Neila) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 04:48:00 +0000

Thanksgiving Day turned out to be a bummer for fishing the Indian River marsh areas.

I didn't get a chance to wet a line until very late in the afternoon when the air temperature was down to the high 60s and the wind was whipping up white caps on the river.

Despite these conditions, I decided to try my luck fishing the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge marsh areas to catch a redfish or two.

Although I met several vehicles on the unimproved roads, nobody was fishing except for myself.

Since I left the house in a rush, I only took two rods with me. One with a top water Zara Spook Jr. plug and the other with my favorite beat up gold Bagley spoon.

Because of the windy conditions, I never even bothered with the top water lure.

I "jump fished" several areas and only had four strikes on my gold spoon from redfish.

All of these were just at the bank at the end of my retrieves.

I could have had other hits on the spoon but with the wind blowing as hard as it was, it was next to impossible detecting a strike.

The only way I am positive that the hits I had were redfish was because of their proximity to the bank.

Anyway, it was getting dark and after only an hour and a half of fishing with the temperature dropping, I decided to give up and call it a day.

Fishing on Thanksgiving Day for the past several years has been productive (see the archives) but this year the weather did me in.

Hopefully I'll have a better report for everyone in the upcoming days.

Till then, Tight Lines!

Indian River Fishing Report For Week of Nov 19, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (John Neila) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 16:07:00 +0000

The water levels in the marsh areas in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge are still above normal.

Redfish, sea trout and ladyfish are feeding on small baitfish and crustacean that are finding cover in the submerged grass.

This past week the fish have been most active later on in the day and as temperature get colder, expect them to be most active in the shallows as the sun warms the water later on in the afternoons.

Live finger mullet freelined in or close to the weeds, weedless rigged jerk baits fished in the weeds or weedless spoons all work well.

My wife and I fished the marsh areas later yesterday afternoon until dusk with mixed results.

The water was dead calm and the fish were spooky. The ones we spotted in the weeds were skittish but we still managed to hook some fish.

Karen used jumbo dead shrimp under a Cajun Thunder popper and I was using a gold Bagley spoon, DOA CAL jerk baits rigged weedless on a weighted hook and close to dusk, a top water Zara Spook Jr.

Karen never got a strike but I managed to hook and release two redfish, an out of season sea trout and three ladyfish in about two hours of fishing.

The trick to fishing the marsh areas is to be methodical and cover anywhere you see or think fish will hide out.

Moving grass was a dead giveaway yesterday but most of the fish I hooked were just off the edges of the submerged grass. The fish were ambushing small bait fish that made the fatal mistake of leaving their cover.

On the Indian River side of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge drives and on both sides of the Max Brewer Causeway, fishermen were for the most part using live finger mullet or dead shrimp with mixed results.

I for one don't care to wait for fish to bite.

I much rather prefer "stalking" the fish and sight casting to them from land or boat.

Regardless of how you like to fish, they are biting in the Indian River if you know how to catch them.

Till next time, Tight Lines and good fishing.

Night Shrimping On The Indian River Is Picking Up

noreply@blogger.com (John Neila) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 02:18:00 +0000

Evidently night shrimping on the Indian River is picking up a bit.

Yesterday evening just after the full moon, the new fishing piers were populated with a variety of shrimpers and night fishermen who were thoroughly enjoying the evening.

The temperatures are getting cooler and this month should see an increase in the amount and size of shrimp that are being dipped from both piers.

I was told by a couple of old timers that Haulover Canal shrimpers are getting more than their share of shrimp by boat.

The dirty little secret is that Haulover Canal is pretty decent for shrimping almost all year around.

A few shrimpers I talked to were using 12 volt batteries with the lights below hooked up in tandem with good results.

The days of gas powered generators powering underwater lighting arrays are pretty much over with.

These days the shrimpers are plugging into the outlets on the pier or bringing their own batteries.

The underwater lights in the pic are relatively cheap and put out enough light to do the job. When a few are hooked up together, they light up the water column enough for easy snagging.

Most of the shrimp caught were large to jumbos which is common for this area.

Around Oak Hill farther north in the ICW, the shrimpers are catching more shrimp but they are almost always smaller in size.

I plan on picking up some more underwater lights and giving it a try again.

The last time I went shrimping was in Haulover Canal in my old boat a few years ago.

I loaded up on shrimp, but had to spend the night out on the water until I could get a tow into the boat launch the next morning.

My old Mercury outboard wouldn't start and even though I enjoyed the night's activities, I learned why Mosquito Lagoon got it's name.

Till next time, Tight Lines!

Getting A Late Start

noreply@blogger.com (John Neila) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 02:48:00 +0000

Today was a perfect fall day for fishing and after getting a late start this afternoon, my wife, Elmo and I had to get out of the house to enjoy the day.

I got a Thanksgiving Day turkey from my boss that I put into the oven and we had to wait until 4:30 until it was done before we could leave the hacienda.

We only had an hour or so fishing before dark so Karen wanted to hit a submerged grassy cove where she and I had caught redfish the last few weeks.

The water in the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge was dead calm. There were leftover fishermen from a redfish tournament that is being held today and tomorrow in the refuge but for the most part, everyone was leaving the area as we were coming in.

We enjoyed another beautiful sunset which is typical for this time of year and as we rolled off the side of the unimproved road, I spotted a couple of fish swirling in the area.

Elmo had his specs on and was enjoying the afternoon as Karen and I geared up.

I was casting my gold Bagley spoon and Karen was using her usual shrimp and clacker bobber rig.

On my very first cast, I missed a small redfish. It bumped my spoon about half way back from my cast and took off down the marsh canal.

Karen cast her bait close to a grassy island and I moved down the road blind casting the area.

I missed another redfish and after several more casts landed a ladyfish that was about 30" long.

The fish jumped several times before I landed and released it. I didn't bother taking a pic.

Meanwhile, Karen had a hit but missed the fish.

It was getting dark and as just as if someone turned on a switch, the mosquitoes started attacking in droves.

I'll probably never know why they do it but they managed to drive us out of the area.

Hopefully, tomorrow we'll get an earlier start.

Till then, Tight Lines!

Balmy Sunday Afternoon Fishing In The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

noreply@blogger.com (John Neila) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 01:21:00 +0000

It was a balmy Sunday afternoon fishing in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge but it was also a productive one for both me and my wife.

Because of the windy conditions this weekend, I really didn't expect to get out and do any fishing.

Karen and I went down to Coco Beach yesterday and happened to come upon the air show.

The blue angels and some local stunt pilots were performing around and just off the beach. They put on quite a show but unfortunately I didn't bring along my camera.

We parked on the causeway close to the boat ramp on the Banana River to watch the wind surfers and what we could see of the air show. I tried casting a spoon but the wind was gusting so hard it was impossible to fish.

This afternoon the wind was still brisk but we were able to hit some of our favorite spots and still make reasonably decent casts.

Karen was using jumbo frozen shrimp under a Bett's Billy Bay Brass Weighted Click Clackers - Oval - 2-1/2" - Orange - Terminal.

I started out using my favorite beat up Bagley gold spoon with a worn out red tag.

The first stops we made didn't produce even though we saw fish chasing finger mullet close to shore.

At the next stop which was about a quarter of the way up Peacocks Pocket road, I nailed a nice 22" redfish on my first cast.

I usually spot some fish activity before I bother casting but today the windy conditions made spotting fish almost impossible.

This fish followed the lure in from a shallow weedy island that was almost covered by water.

It hit right at the bank and I didn't give it a chance to put up much of a fight.

\It started raining so we decided to move on up the road and try another place I caught some fish last week.

Karen parked at her favorite spot while I made my way down the unimproved road casting to various locations.

The wind was picking up as the afternoon wore on and casting became work.

I must have made at least a hundred casts and I think I had one hit. I couldn't even be sure of that.

Anyway, Karen yelled to me that she had a fish on so I moved up to where she was fishing and picked up my camera to take a couple of pics.

The fish was a clone to the one I caught earlier and was a beautiful bronze color. The tannin water in the marsh brings out the colors in the redfish and sea trout.

She held up the fish while I took these pictures.

The fish gulped down the shrimp and was hooked deep. Since I didn't have my disgorger with me, I just cut the leader at the hook and let Karen release the fish.

The wind was whipping up and it started to rain so we decided to call Lil Ceaser's to order a pizza and call it a day.

The moon was out and the sunset would have been much more beautiful if it had not been for the wind.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Another Great Day Fishing The Cold Fronts

noreply@blogger.com (John Neila) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 03:43:00 +0000

My wife and I had another great day fishing the cold fronts in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

I coaxed my wife to go with me today to fish the marsh around the Indian River for redfish.

She saw how well I did yesterday, so I didn't have to coax her much. Anyway, we hit some of the same areas I fished yesterday.

The air temperature was again in the low 70s and the wind was blowing just like yesterday. The only difference was the fact that today the sun was out.

The first stop was again in an area most people drive by without ever bothering to fish.

Karen was using a jumbo fresh dead shrimp with a green clicker bobber and I again chose a gold Bagley diamond spoon with a red tag.

My first cast landed on the head of a medium sized redfish.

The fish spooked and went towards a small pond, so I walked several yards up the road and started casting the spoon towards the flooded grassy areas where the reds were actively feeding.

It took about 20 casts before I hooked up to a sassy 23" redfish. The fish put up a surprisingly strong battle before I lipped it, took it's picture and released it.

Karen had a bite but missed the fish. She was hoping to break her losing streak today but so far, no luck.

We moved to a couple more spots where I caught another fat redfish that could have been a clone to the first one I caught.

This fish headed for a brush stickup at the bank almost immediately after being hooked.

I took off my sneakers and waded out to quickly lip the redfish in the picture below.

There was a gator on the bank but I didn't want to lose my favorite spoon so I took the chance.

I figured the air temperature would make the gator slow enough for me to beat him to the bank and I was right. He only eyeballed me.

I released the fish and after a few minutes we moved again to another location.

Here, Karen broke her "dry spell" with a 24" redfish that hit her dead shrimp in the grass.

I took her picture with the fish (below) and we released it to fight another day.

Another move yielded another beautifully colored redfish on the gold spoon, pictured below.

We decided to hit an area just around the corner from "bobcat bay" were I caught some sea trout yesterday.

It was to be our last stop before heading home and as luck would have it, I caught this trout on the second cast into the area.

Karen, missed another fish in that was literally feeding in the grass and I missed another trout before we decided to pack it in.

Like yesterday, we saw a few people driving around the area but only two other people were actively fishing.

For some reason, fishermen in the area don't take advantage of the great fishing that accompanies cold fronts.

Anyway, Karen broke her dry spell and it turned out to be another great day fishing the cold fronts on the Indian River.

Till next trip, Tight Lines.

Fish The Cold Fronts

noreply@blogger.com (John Neila) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 02:03:00 +0000

Every time I fish the cold fronts I usually wind up catching some decent fish and this afternoon was no exception.

I didn't get a chance to go fishing Friday evening, so I decided to take advantage of the cold front that was forecast for our area this afternoon.

I couldn't coax my wife away from the stained glass project she was working on so I packed up four rods, my cast net and a few lures and took off for the river.

Because it was late in the afternoon, I headed for where I knew there would be fish.

The fishing conditions this afternoon were less than ideal.

The air temperature was in the low 70s and the wind was blowing across the marsh so hard that there were whitecaps in many areas. Casting was a challenge to say the least!

The north Indian River east of Titusville, Fl. in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is a great fishery if you know how to fish the area. I like to fish the "swamps" instead of the river where most everyone else goes.

Fishing the "swamp" is a lot like trout fishing in the limestone streams of northeast Pennsylvania where I was born and raised. You have to "stalk" the fish.

Since you couldn't easily spot fish with the wind blowing like it was, I decided to "jump fish" and blind cast several areas where I had caught fish in the past several weeks.

The first area I stopped at was just before Catfish Creek Loop road in an area which is almost never fished.

This stop produced a small slot sized sea trout and about a three foot ladyfish that made 4 or 5 jumps before shaking off the spoon I was using.

At first, I thought I had a small tarpon on!

About the only lure that I could easily cast this afternoon was a Bagley gold diamond spoon with a beaten up red tag.

It's weight proved to be just the ticket for casting into the wind and still being able to work the bait effectively. The short video below will give you an idea of just how strong the wind was blowing.

I continued to jump fish and blind cast several other areas where I picked up a couple of nice slot redfish and two more slot size sea trout.

Some of the pics below are slightly out of focus but you can get the gist. Anyway, all the fish caught this afternoon were on the same Bagley gold spoon.

I tried using jerk baits, but they were impossible to control and today top water lures were definitely out of the question.

When you fish the cold fronts you can expect to catch fish, but you shouldn't expect to enjoy perfect fishing conditions. The is evidenced by the fact that only two other fishermen were fishing the area this afternoon.

Several people were driving around apparently looking at the scenery, but the only two people I spoke with who were fishing, weren't catching.

I could have caught more fish but I was getting chilled and it was getting towards dusk.

I took these pics of the sunset and headed down towards the fishing pier to see if anybody was crazy enough to be shrimping this evening.

By the time I got down to the fishing pier, it was dark and the lights on the lower pier were not on for some reason.

I was surprised at how many people were fishing and setting up their shrimping gear.

The water was pretty choppy to see any shrimp but when I asked a couple of guys about it, they said it would calm down later on in the evening.

When I inquired about recent catches, almost everyone I talked with said they were catching good numbers of medium to jumbo shrimp.

The guy next to the trash can in the picture to the left, said he caught 98 shrimp last night in the jumbo category.

Another guy said he dipped over 450 medium to large shrimp in the past couple of days off the pier.

Evidently, the shrimping season has begun!

When the weather gets nicer, I'll get an in depth shrimping report to post for all of you who are interested.

Till next time, fish the cold fronts if you want to catch fish and Tight Lines!