Fear & Loathing on Crane Creek

Happy Monday Spacefish!

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! Friday was the first day of spring, but I wouldn’t have known it when I woke up to temps in the 40s. I mean, what the hell was that??? Anyway, fishing conditions can be challenging this time of year when the temps swing 25ish degrees from the morning to mid-afternoon. With the high winds, bluebird skies, and weird temperature fluctuations – my confidence has not been super high when gearing up to fish – so I decided to make a trip to Crane Creek, and explore some areas that I haven’t been to before and do my best to catch a Tarpon. And well, I made it back to Babcock Road for the first time, and enjoyed some breathtaking scenery. As for the Tarpon, there’s a reason I called this report “fear & loathing.” Sidenote, I also am a big fan of Hunter S. Thompson… IYKYK.

Going Down the Creek: Jack Crevalle

With morning temps really low, I got off to a later start and fished throughout the afternoon. I launched directly from the shoreline across Melbourne Ave from Riggs Outpost. I unloaded right there in front of Rigg’s and parked in the public parking back up Melbourne Ave close to the promenade.

I said I was going to run down until I got to Babcock, or had a chance to cast to rolling Tarpon. I ended up seeing bait being harassed close to the shoreline and cast an NLBN K-Tail in Kalutta into the fracas and immediately hooked up with a nice little Jack Crevalle. I ended up spending an hour or so between the railroad tracks and the water plant, just running and gunning chasing the Jacks that were feeding. I was able to catch quite a few on the day, none super big but knowing conditions may not suit me well for Tarpon, I wanted to make sure I got tight on something.

Local intel has been that Jacks are pretty heavy in Crane Creek right now, I don’t think it matters a ton what you throw if they’re feeding, topwater for sure, but I just threw the NLBN on a 2/0 BKK screw lock hook because that was the heavier of the two baits I had rigged at the time, and I could make the casts to where they were busting bait.

Moving on Back: Largemouth Bass

So as I moved on back through Crane Creek I ended up getting to the part where it gets skinny and the trees are big. There were so many juicy-looking shady pockets, on the off chance some Snook were sitting in there, I was hoping I could catch one or two while I continued to make my way back and look for Tarpon. Anticipating the overhanging oak trees I decided to only bring two rods on this trip. One with a DOA Tiny Terror Eyez for Tarpon, and the other with the NLBN for Snook. I caught a small dink of a Snook, and a few casts later I made a nice skip cast under a log jutting out from the shore and got smacked while the bait was still skipping. I just knew it was a nice Snook from the explosion, but low and behold a Bass! I ended up catching two Largie’s way back in Crane Creek. I just knew after catching a Snook and Largemouth Bass, my Tarpon was somewhere and I’d be able to complete the “backwater slam.”

Fear

As I rounded the corner from where I caught the Bass, I froze as a Gator, roughly 5-6 feet in length was spooked by my appearance coming around the corner and exploded out from the sandbar into the water. When this happens I usually just stop and let the metaphorical dust settle and let the spooked Gator find refuge in deeper water before I continue my rambling. Well as I sat there I happened to look up to the next point and say this large lizard lying on the bank.

I froze in fear for several moments, until I saw what I had been looking for all day. Rolling Tarpon. Right. Next. To. The. Gator.

What would you do? I stood up in the kayak and started gently pushing forward, ready to back out if it entered the water. It wasn’t moving a lick. Also, he looks a little stony. Wait is that a statue? I got closer…it was a statue.

I ended up talking to the owners of the statue and they got it to keep the other (real, live) Gators in the area from laying on the bank. Apparently, it works. Also, I ended up seeing 4 total Gators in Crane Creek on this trip, 3 were small, and one was not. So if you decide to head on up the Creek, in a kayak or paddle board, just keep an eye out and be careful.

Loathing (Tarpon)

If there is one fish that can leave me stranded in the doldrums of self-loathing, it is the Megalops Atlanticus. I love the poon, but I also hate it. God I hope not, but God I hope so. I can’t live with it, and now that I have tasted the misunderstood glory of backwater Tarpon fishing, I can’t live without it.

My recent Tarpon trends have not been good. I haven’t caught one since December. Yes winter is a tough time, usually, I don’t try and target them till the summer. But still. I have been trying the past two weeks. I am 0/8. As in 8 Tarpon hooked, 0 landed. This report is about my fishing last weekend, this past weekend I was 0/5 in different areas. Now part of that is because finding them far back in these creeks presents quite a few challenges. They don’t have the room the run so they jump high, and they jump into things, and having a Tarpon jump under an oak tree with Spanish Moss is really fun and exhilarating until one jumps and your line gets tangled up. When that happens more than once per trip… “Serenity Now” (Any Seinfeld fans in the house?)

So since I don’t have any silver to show you, how about this nice picture I took of a Turtle? Serenity Now….

So I went at the Tarpon in an area they were concentrated in not once, but twice. In between I made a run back to Babcock. There is a spot in the creek where a big sand bar rises up blocking the water from coming over. All I saw on the other side of that were Gar, and Gators. I’m sure once the water levels rise again with the rains, the creek will open back up, and when the summer rains come, there will be Tarpon everywhere.

Serenity Now, Insanity Later.

Heading Back: Snook

So after the Tarpon frustrations, my mood was improved partly from the Turtle, but partly because I was cruising along standing up paddling with my extra long Bending Branches paddle. Still looking for Tarpon, because like any sane person, I like getting my ass repeatedly kicked. I gave enough respect to the fallen timber in the water to have my rudder up, and my pedal drive up and out of the water. But not enough respect to look down and see if I was about to hit a piece of it. Eyes up, scanning for Tarpon, I hit a log and immediately lost my balance. I was able to pull off a miraculous recovery and keep myself out of the water. That put things into perspective. I may suck at catching Tarpon in Crane Creek, but at least I’m not soaking wet on top of it.

As my mood started to rebound, I decided to start skipping the NLBN again. In the last hour or so of daylight, I caught 7 more Snook and a Jack. None of the Snook were very big, but at least I left with a shred of dignity.

Also, the weather towards sun down started to get chilly and I had to put my sweatshirt back on. Where is the heat and humidity? I know we complain about it in August, but man, I want it back!

Conclusion

To summarize…Cold weather sucks, Crane Creek is a good place to catch Snook & Jack Crevalle. Tarpon suck, but I also love them. Serenity Now. Gators are present, statues aren’t scary, and turtles are dope. That’s all folks.

But seriously, Crane Creek is beautiful. It has that jungle river vibe once you get far enough back, and can make for some really fun fishing in tight quarters. I highly recommend to all kayak anglers of the Space Coast!

If you are looking for a vessel to pedal down to the backwater areas of places like Crane Creek, but also can go rudder up, and pedal drive up without being uncomfortable, I cannot say enough how well the Hobie Outback can fit those needs. It’s also really stable when standing, and is a good kayak to navigate with a paddle when necessary. If you are interested in one, go test drive and shop for one at Kayaks By Bo in Cocoa!

Thank you for taking the time to read this report. Stay safe, be happy, and catch lots of fish! Until next time!