Kayak Fishing: Gifford Cut (Vero)

Happy Monday Spacefish!

Today I am going to talk about a new spot; and it was one of the one’s I mentioned last week on my report about top places to go kayak fishing in Central Florida. This report is about one of those spots listed in Vero Beach. Let’s dive in!

Launch Spot

For this trip, I launched from the kayak/canoe launch at the end of 45th street, which according to Google Maps, changes its name to Gifford Dock Road; I can’t hyperlink an address to the launch spot, but here is a link you can copy and paste – https://maps.app.goo.gl/aYYJDqw4rN1HDL7J8 – I will also include a screenshot below.

I launched a few minutes before the sun came up. I went straight across to Gifford point and started working my way down; and I came across some baitfish activity in the open flats just west of the cut between the Lost Tree islands; I was able to catch a few Redfish early in the morning on these flats. There was plenty of bait, and there was healthy seagrass growth, which I have seen in the last year or so, that when there is grass, or Oyster beds present that there will be bait, and there will be predator fish present near the bait. Once the sun started to rise higher in the sky, I went into Gifford Cut, where the taller trees and shorelines provided shade and ambush points as well as deeper, cooler water. That is where I found the Snook on this trip.

Redfish Report

I started throwing topwater early in the day; I had a couple of fish come up and hit; but no full commitments, so I threw a bit I have had in my bag for a while; but don’t use every trip – the Fish or Die Warbird.

I threw the Swampfox color pattern and had it rigged on a 4/0, ⅛ oz twistlock hook. I fished this bait with a “walk the dog” cadence very similar to how I would a topwater; but because it was weedless I could actually move it through the grass and I was getting bit by Redfish that were not committing to the top water plug.

Snook Report

Once I entered the cut, I started focusing my attention on Snook – I lost a good one early in the trip; but ended up catching around 10 total from dinks to medium sized ones. I caught 2 with the Fish or Die Warbird; but ended up switching over to a Saltwater Assassin SW Shad fished on the same twistlock hook I used with the Warbird.They have a colorway that I really like called “Fried Chicken” which is a bone color with silver flake and a chartreuse tail, which always seems to help generate bites when skipping into deep, shady mangrove pockets.

In addition to using the soft plastic jerk baits to skip into, and fish around structure, I was able to pick off a few smaller dinks using the Clarity Chunk on on jighead; I casted this to the edges of schools of fingerling mullet, and bouncing it off the bottom was able to catch a few small Snook, as well as a few small Trout.

Conclusion

I know this spot is a little out of the way; but as the time of sunrise creeps back a little each week, and the weather starts to cool, this is a great time of the year to go check out new spots, you never know what you might find! For me, I had a great 1st trip here – I didn’t get a trophy fish on this trip – but I was able to get an inshore slam, and it was another day of fishing with lots of actions and tight lines – which at the end of the day is all I can really ask for.

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Thanks for taking the time to read this week’s report. Until next time!