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!

Happy Monday Spacefish!

I am back this week after not having a report for last week. The week before, I was unable to get out and fish due to having to go coach in a 7v7 for my football team and taking my family to the Grant Seafood Festival. I planned to hit it hard last weekend, but life threw me a curveball, and I was out of commission with the flu. I dipped and dodged it all fall AND winter, and just when I thought I was in the clear, it hit me! I started feeling better on Monday, and after two weeks of no fishing, I was itching to get back in the saddle.

With the whole time springing forward thing happening last weekend, I can now squeeze in an afternoon trip on days I don’t have any after school stuff (doesn’t happen as much as I’d like), but I was able to squeeze in two after school trips this past week.

I would imagine that quite a few people reading this are like me. You have a full-time job that doesn’t involve fishing, you have a spouse, children, and other life things that can come in between you and time on the water. One of the best things about having a kayak is that you can load it in the back of a truck or on top of a bigger car/SUV, and you can hit the water pretty quickly. So, I am going to talk today about my recent after-school trips and hopefully provide you with ideas for after-work mini-trips.

Last week the wind machine was turned on full blast, so I decided to hit the Creeks, and look for areas that blocked the wind. One of the trips was on my beloved Eau Gallie River. Ballard Park is a very slight detour on my way home from work, and after I load back up is 5ish minutes from my house, and the other place I went, was Horse Creek, which is about 10 minutes or so away from my house.

Horse Creek offers a great wind protection option when the wind is blowing from the north or south, and Elbow Creek on the Eau Gallie River offers a good alternative for when the wind is blowing from the east or west.

When fishing Elbow Creek, I launched from Ballard Park – located at 924 Thomas Barbour Dr, Melbourne, FL 32935. When fishing Horse Creek I launched from The Horse Creek Kayak/Canoe Launch – located at 1555 Riverside Drive, Melbourne, FL 32935.

Elbow Creek Trip

On this mini-trip, I was trying to escape a strong west wind, so I immediately went to fish the backside of the docks of the Waterline Marina. All I caught there were Ladyfish, and since I was pressed for time, I decided to keep it moving. I was able to catch 2 small Snook under docks on the west side of Elbow Creek, from under docks. I kept moving south. Once I got past the last house, the shoreline opened up, and the wind started hitting me and moving me around,so I kept it moving down close to the bridge. I fished the areas around and under the bridge for the bulk of my trip. I could’t find any rolling Tarpon. I’m sure they were there, but it’s tough to spot them when the water is choppy. Even when they do roll, it is much harder to spot unless you’re looking at the exact spot. My peripheral vision has its limitations.

Anyway, I did some blind casting with a small swimbait, to no avail. I went back to targeting structure for Snook with a fish-or-die paddletail and ended up with a nice one under the bridge. I was seeing smallish mullet around, so I thought the 3-inch bait was a good option. The Swampfox color from FoD has always been a staple. Silver with gold flakes works pretty well no matter the water clarity.

I spent my last 45 minutes or so in this area throwing topwater but didn’t get any bites. All in all I fished for roughly 3 hours with 3 Snook and 2 Ladyfish. Not the best outing ever, but not bad for a 3 hour after-work trip.

Horse Creek Trip

For my next trip, I did an afternoon session on Horse Creek. I had a much more productive outing here. Nothing too large, but I was able to catch roughly 15 or so Snook in a 4 hour trip. I only caught one in the first hour and a half I was there. I spent too much time near the mouth of Horse Creek, but once I started pushing back, I started to catch them in good numbers. Right now, this creek is super-duper shallow. So it’s inaccessible to a boat, which is probably why I caught so many fish. Also, if you have two kayaks, and one of them doesn’t have a pedal drive, I’d bring that one. This would also be a great place for a Stand Up Paddleboard angler. It was very tight and winding, and you push back, but I felt like every shade pocket and laydown I cast to might result in a bite. I didn’t catch anything but Snook, but I wouldn’t be surprised to catch Largemouth Bass, Mayan Cichlids, and Bluegill in here, too. There aren’t any mangroves west of the launch, it’s purely freshwater vegetation. So, even though I was targeting Snook, I was making casts like I was Bass fishing.

My secret weapon on this trip was my Pflueger 6-foot combo I use for Panfish, Shad, and Smaller Bass. I was using my sons’ tackle bag and all of their Crappie Jigs. But this downsized presentation on ultra-lite tackle was the ticket. I have this rod rigged up with 6 6-pound braid and a 14-pound fluorocrabon leader. I would have gotten smoked by anything slot-sized or above, but for these creek Snook, it was a perfect combo that made for sporty fun.

On this super lite tackle and 2-inch curly tail bait, I was able to hook a small (really small) Juvie Tarpon that spit the hook on one of the biggest aerial explosions I have ever seen. Those teeny-tiny Tarpon can get air time!

I did throw some bigger baits around just to see, but after several minutes of not getting bit, I went back to the micro stuff.

If you live or work close enough to Horse Creek to squeeze it in, I would definitely recommend fishing there one afternoon. It may not hold bigger Snook right now due to low water levels and small fry bait, but it was definitely a lot of fun, and the challenge of fishing in a small body of water added to it. The positive side of the small body of water is that you don’t have to cover as much water here, which makes it a fun after-work option.

Conclusion

It felt great to get back out on the water this week! Even though the wind was howling, the warmer air temps felt nice. I know temperatures are supposed to dip back down again after today’s rains, but I can feel spring just around the corner! It’s time to start dreaming of morning topwater and Tarpon fishing again!

If you noticed at the top of this report, I was using the kayak paddle to hold the Snook up to not put too much pressure on its jaws. When you catch Snook beyond 15 or so inches, it’s a great idea to hold them sideways so that they have a better chance of surviving after the release. Snook, much like Bass, feed by inhaling their prey, which is why they have that distinctive “thump.” When you stretch out their jaws by lip gripping them, you hurt their chances of feeding, which in turn, hurts their chances of survival upon release.

But the other thing I wanted to mention about that picture is that I am using a paddle. I mentioned above about how shallow Horse Creek is right now, so I had to use my paddle pretty extensively on this trip. I am using a Bending Branches paddle, which you can get at Kayaks By Bo. It is extra long and is a great tool for standing up in the kayak and continuing to paddle. It is also long enough to serve as a de facto push pole. Which helps when trying to silently maneuver around in the backwater creeks. This paddle is super tough and durable and serves me well in a variety of ways. If you need a paddle or any other accessory for your kayak fishing experience, make sure to check out Kayaks By Bo in Cocoa!

Thanks for taking the time to read this report. Stay safe, be happy, and may the luck of the Irish be with you! Until next time!