Kayak Fishing: C-54 Canal (Sebastian River)

Happy Monday Spacefish!

After making my last two reports compilations of best places to fish in the winter (early winter inshore fishing spots and the best winter kayak bassin’ spots , I am going to go back to a specific spot report. This past weekend I felt some of the time constraint of a December weekend. Christmas Shopping, putting up outside lights (yes, I know I am a slacker and should have done that already – my kids have been giving me a lot of flack over the past week) and workplace Christmas party. So with all of that going on I had to make a tactically strategic choice of where to go fishing. I knew the barometric pressure was up, and it was chilly in the morning, I wanted to find protection from the wind, and I wanted to do some Bass fishing.

So with all of these factors in play I ended up fishing the C-54 Canal. Compared to Stick Marsh/Headwaters it’s more convenient to get to, located much closer to Babcock than the latter places, and it provides a much easier loading and unloading scenario than Headwaters. The C-54 Canal is the channelized north fork of the St. Sebastian River, west of the spillway. It connects the spillway to the Stick Marsh, which is located 6-7 miles down the Fellsmere Grade Road. Speaking of the Fellsmere Grade Road, it is MUCH improved with the hard packed gravel.

There are some pro’s and con’s to fishing the C-54. The pro’s are that it offers wind protection nestled down inside of the Sebastian River bluffs, and compared to some of the nearby fisheries, it is relatively unpressured. The con’s are that it is kind of boring to fish from a kayak compared to Headwaters and doesn’t offer nearly as many options of vegetation and cover to fish. That being said I have found the bite here to be a little more consistent because there isn’t as much mental cat & mouse to play – but that being said, most of us that engage in the dark arts of kayak bassin’ like to play the cat & mouse game.

Launch Spot

So there is a public boat ramp, located right next door, and west of the Indian River Rowing Club – C-54 Canal. There is also a nice spot to launch a kayak or canoe just north of the actual boat ramp, so depending on your preference and set up – both options are in play.

As far as where to fish, there are not nearly as many variables in play here. You either go east, or go west. For me I usually try and figure out whether the fish are pushed up in the shallows along the reeds and lily pads on the shorelines of the canal, or if they are holding out in the middle laid up in the deeper holes. This canal offers depth contour and deeper water than almost any Florida lake you can fish, especially the natural lakes. But there is not nearly as much vegetation & cover, so this can offer an advantage when fishing in the Winter, or Summer, when those fish may opt for deeper water that regulates the water temps.

Pictured below is a screen shot from US Fisher Maps showing where some of the holes are. I have always had success fishing under the Babcock Bridge here as well, as the picture above is a nice one I caught under the bridge using a Chatterbait.

What Worked for Me

So let me start off by saying on this past trip, I did not catch a ton of fish. I fished from 730ish to 1130ish, and I only caught 6 fish this trip. That being said, 5 out of the 6 were in the last hour or so, once the weather warmed. Most of the fish were dinks. I had success dragging and bouncing Speed & Trick Worms along the bottom of depth contours. For this trip I used the Fish, or Die Musket on a Mission Fishin’ Swivel Jig Head, and the Zoom Speed Worm in Junebug Red. I landed 3 fishing worms on the bottom. I used heavier than normal weights – ⅜ oz to get the baits down to depths I don’t usually fish.

I also landed 3 fish working the shallows in the last hour I was on the water. I landed 2 on the Fish, or Die Warbird in Shellshock (Bluegill) colorway, and caught my last fish of the day, the dinkiest of the dinks, using a Bitters Okee Magic Salty Sling on a wacky rig presentation. I am not a big wacky rig guy normally, but it is something that I want to add to my arsenal on slow days.

I had been here on two previous trips, the picture at the top of the report was my best C-54 Bass caught in June on a Z-Man Bluegill Chatterbait with a Fish, or Die Minutemen in “Bugle” (Green Pumpkin/Purple Flake). I used this heavier jig to get lower in the water column and retrieved it just fast enough for the blade to vibrate.I caught two fish on the Chatterbait, a dozen or so on Zoom Speed Worms, and one on a Plopper style topwater, made by Hendrix Fishing.

Kayaks By Bo

Holiday shopping is in full swing! Don’t forget to make sure to give yourself, or the lucky kayak angler in your life something from Kayaks By Bo – with awesome sales being run on items across the board, make sure to stop by and check them out!

Thank you for taking the time to read, I hope everyone has a fantastic week! Stay safe, be happy, and go catch some fish! Until next time!