Happy Monday Spacefish!

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! My family had a wonderful Christmas, it is such a magical time to experience Christmas with two young children, you can see the magic through their eyes, and it is truly special. In addition to great family time, I smoked two butts, and 3 racks of ribs, and it was fantastic!

I had a very Merry Snookmas on my last trip before Christmas day at Goat Creek. I have to give a huge shoutout to Luke Foster, a fantastic young angler, who attends Melbourne Central Catholic, he gave me a great run down on Goat Creek one day during finals week, and I have to say all of his advice was on point as I had a dynamite day fishing back there.

Launch Spot

So the launch spot is a bit tricky here, as there really isn’t a public park close by, I just backed my truck up and unloaded the kayak right from a grassy area off of US Highway 1 just south of the mouth of Goat Creek. https://maps.app.goo.gl/3T7FSNwApds1RtuT8 I put a link to a dropped pin, but there are several places like this, I also saw someone back their truck down the hill just by the bridge on Goat Creek to fish and then head on. If you get out early you shouldn’t have any issue parking by the side of the road like I did.

Break Down of Goat Creek

The best way I could describe Goat Creek is that it is like Brevard County’s version of the Loxahatchee River, it is a beautiful little waterway where freshwater and saltwater mix. There is a big sandbar at the mouth of the creek that cuts this main creek bed during the parts of the year when the water level drops, so there are residential Snook & Tarpon that get landlocked in there. At the mouth of the creek there are mangroves but as you get further back you see the vegetation change to more of the freshwater look.

This a great place to fish in the winter because this water is much warmer due to the stagnation and muddy bottom, and it offers wind protection and because it is a hard place to get a boat into, you are also able to target fish that are much less pressured.

Speaking of pressure, it was really nice not having to deal with dolphins and manatees, though it is a bit gatory back in there, I did see one Gator on this trip, but they don’t seem to spook the fish like Dolphins do, and unlike manatees that will just sit there and let you hit them with your kayak then freak out, they do a phenomenal job of getting out of the way.

The photo just below was taken just east of the railroad tracks, as I was one my way back up the creek before calling it a day.

Elephants, Peanuts, and KISS

There are three phrases all anglers would do well to remember…

1. “Elephants do, in fact, eat peanuts.”
2. “Match the Hatch.”
3. “Keep it simple, stupid.”

Snook were the primary target on this trip. My MCC angler, Luke has been catching sub-species like Fat Snook, and he has also caught some decent size Common Snook as well as Tarpon, and Largemouth Bass in Goat Creek this year.

Coming off the recent cold snap, I knew Tarpon would be iffy at best, but I had a rod rigged with micro tackle, and my go to small bait presentation to try and see if I could catch a Fat or Swordspine Snook. The Ugly Stik Lite Pro with 8 pound braid, to 15 pound fluorocarbon and the 2 inch Tsunami Salt X Swim Shad is my go to set up. I had caught several smaller and fun sized Snook moving down the creek both on the ultra light tackle, as well as a regular mangrove skipping set up, a 7 foot Ugly Stik Inshore Rod, with a Penn 3000 Reel, 10 pound braid to 25 pound fluorocarbon leader with a 3/0, ⅛ oz screw lock hook to a weedless paddle tail.

But as I made my way past the railroad bridge I came around a curve of the creek where out in the open, Snook were blasting pods of minnow sized fry. My eyes opened as wide as my 5 year old’s on Christmas morning! I grabbed the ultra lite, and cast my minnow profile bait slathered in procure into the frey and after a few turns of the reel felt a thump.

Luckily for me this happened in open water and with the pedal drive kayak I could play the fish with loose drag and use the pedals to my advantage. After the biggest Snook was landed I did have to change to a new swimbait as the hook was nearly bent out. Pictured above are two of the bigger Snook that were caught on the little bait, it’s crazy to see such a little bait in such a big, bucket mouth. Pictured below is the swimbait and frayed leader after the Snook from the cover at the top of the report was landed. When targeting Snook 30 pound leader is a safe bet, I have gotten away with some quality ones on 20. But it’s all relative. Remember you can’t catch anything unless you get the bits first, so I always go out with 15, 20, 25, and 30 and will adjust throughout the day, to the conditions and brightness etc. During the winter I will typically gamble more with light leaders as the fish are more sluggish, and finicky. But with Snook I have caught more away from the structure in the winter and it is not uncommon to see them outside of the mangroves taking advantage of the sun for warmth. Also in a place like Goat Creek which may not have nearly as many predators like Dolphins and bigger Bull Sharks these fish may feel more emboldened to hunt away from the structure.

An Ode to the Backcountry Snook

Snook are my favorite fish. They are all beautiful in their own way, from the big ones down to the baby Snooklets. But by far, my favorite ones are the ones that have that bronzed, died easter egg appearance they get from hanging out in the tannic acid stained backwaters. I think these fish have a beautiful coloration, but they are also the most fun to catch back in these creeks. Especially when you have a chance to catch a big one on ultralight tackle after quietly stalking the winding creeks to get the bite. I thought this was an appropriate time to pay homage to the black backed, backwater bandit, the creek Snook.

Merry Snookmas everyone, best gifts are found under trees!

Conclusion

What an awesome day trip this was on Goat Creek, if you are looking for new spot to have some fun kayak fishing this winter, make sure to give this place a go! Also, make sure to swing in to Kayaks By Bo to check out their post-Christmas sales! Whatever you need for your paddle sports adventures, I can assure you, they have it!

Thanks for taking the time to read. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! Until next time!

Happy Monday Spacefish!

My last day of work before Christmas break began was Friday, so naturally a cold front pushed in with strong north winds. I was a little bummed to say the least, especially considering how fishy the weather was earlier in the week when I couldn’t get out, but hey it be that way sometimes. A few weeks ago I broke down a couple of my top winter kayak fishing spots, so I wanted to try a somewhat familiar place that I have reported on twice before, but wanted to test a hypothesis that it would be a place to go to grind it out during a cold front. The results were mixed, the highlight of my trip was some awesome bird watching, hence the cover picture.

That being said, I wasn’t shut out, I caught more fish than expected, but they were all small Trout, and 2 Ladyfish.

Sam’s Creek

So the place I fished was Sam’s Creek in Northern Merritt Island. The location for the kayak/canoe launch at Pine Island is listed as 1655 Pine Island Rd, Merritt Island, FL 32953. When you get there you will see signs for the kayak launch area and where to drive. This time of year the launch is pretty easy with the water levels being relatively low.

So this is a place that in my previous two trips was on fire, this time it was not as exciting, but to be fair it was in the onset of a cold snap with strong north winds. So I focused on the bottom stretch that runs east to west to find protection from the north wind.

A quick run down of this trip…I started fishing a Vudu Shrimp Black & Gold. I caught several small Trout stacked up on that elbow where the creek turns west. After 7 or 8 Trout the Shrimp got pretty chewed up so I started peppering the mangroves with a Fish, or Die Minutemen Swimbait on a screw lock hook. Hoping I could get a Snook or two out of it. I ended up catching 2 more Trout. So I backed up and started working the Vudu Shrimp again, this time in Cajun Pepper/Chartreuse. More small Trout. After 3 ish hours I went back to the Minutemen and worked the south side of the channel mangroves, which was getting a little bit of wind blown water. Again I hoped for a Snook or two, and again I caught 2 more Small Trout. At this point I started to realize I could stay out all day and catch more small Trout, or I could call it a day and come home and take a warm shower. The warm shower sounded good so I called it a day.

I Promise This Spot is Worth It

Ok so I know catching 15-20 dinky Trout is probably not the ideal pitch for Sam’s Creek, the fishing here on my last two trips was red hot, but these trips were in early spring, and early fall respectively. Which are times of year when the fishing seems to be a lot more productive for Snook and Tarpon. Both of these species can definitely be found here, and on previous trips I have found much bigger Trout than I did on this outing, though to be fair, I caught a bunch of dinky Trout on those trips too.

Tarpon fishing here is probably ideal from May-October; and the Snook are probably always there to some degree, but tend to be much more active in the warmer temps. In addition to Snook, Tarpon, and boatloads of Trout, I have also caught Red & Black Drum in Sam’s Creek as well as Ladyfish and of course a few Catfish as well.

Merry Christmas to All!

So without too much fishing to report on this week, I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I am looking forward to fishing over the holiday break once our family that is visiting leaves town, I hope all of you get time to get out & fish as well. May Saint Nicholas bring us all good fishing weather, and low barometric pressure for Christmas!

Stay safe, enjoy time with loved ones, and have a great and blessed season of Christmas. Until next time!

Happy Monday Spacefish!

I hope everyone is having a great Holiday season so far. What an interesting weekend we just had, the weather warmed up, we had some humidity and cloud cover, but some very strong ENE winds rolled through. This made conditions in the IRL pretty choppy. I ended up getting out both days this weekend, for the first time in a while, which felt really nice. I fished two spots that served as great places to hunker down in the wind, and both spots were productive for me. I am going to break down my Saturday trip in this report, and will go into detail on Sunday’s trip for another time.

Launch Spot

My original intention was to fish Goat Creek in Grant-Valkaria. I have been getting some nice reports by members of our school anglers club about Goat Creek, however with the strong east winds on Saturday I made a late audible and went to one of my favorite haunts, the Eau Gallie River. My game plan was to launch out of Ballard Park and head south along the eastern shoreline of Elbow Creek to catch some wind protection. I was going to go down to the bridge and back, but I ended up catching so many fish in a handful of spots, I did not make it all the way down. I spent my last hour or so playing hide & seek with some Juvie Tarpon, which I could not have been more thrilled about. I have never caught Tarpon in December, and to come across some was awesome.

Trout Stacked Up

One of my favorite times to fish the Eau Gallie River is in the winter because if you have strong North winds you can head west and have wind protection, if you have East or ENE winds you can head South along Elbow Creek. But in addition to wind protection, you also have a lot more Trout in the river-spring time which can make a day of fishing a lot more enjoyable. Trout in the area can easily add 10-15 more catches per outing, especially when the Juvie’s school and stack up. Catching a bunch of little Trout is not going to land one on any brag board, but in the bleak mid-winter I really enjoy just being able to catch a higher number of fish, it just makes every outing feel worthwhile. I found two areas where the Trout were stacked up, one area was just behind Ballard, and the other area was between docks about halfway down Elbpw Creek between Ballard and the US1 bridge. The key is to find a good depth contour and be on the lookout for feeding fish. With it being more windy, and overcast and a little drizzly at times, I took the rod/reel set up I have been using to fish the Vudu Shrimp and switched it out for a hard bait, which is something I don’t fish a lot. Because I am not a hard bait guy per se, I don’t spend much on them, I have 2 Bomber Bait Bonanza that I got from Walmart for like 3 bucks. I have a Holographic/Chartreuse one, and a RedHead/Holographic White body one. I exchanged the weak terminal tackles on these cheap baits with VMC 1/0 Single Inline hooks, and Owner brand stainless steel split rings. I was able to catch roughly 15 small trout fishing this bait around the docks and depth contours, I also caught a Jack Crevalle and a Ladyfish while trolling this bait as well.

Baby Snooklets in the Mangroves

So I ended up catching 2 babies and one “fun sized” 20ish inch Snook. I got absolutely smoked in my 1st 20 minutes or so by a large mangrove mama right behind Ballard. I was using pretty beefed up tackle for winter, I had 15 pound braid, and 30 pound fluorocarbon with a 40 pound bite tippet tied on the end. With the lower water levels in the winter, sometimes these Snook will be way back in the mangroves and it’s accessible to reach them with good skip casting, but harder to get them out and even with the heavier than usual tackle I couldn’t get her out, I got wrapped up and broken off.

But down closer to the Buddha dock I caught 2 smaller ones, and under the next dock south I caught one around 20-22 inches. I included a picture of one of the babies below because it had some really cool markings, something had tried to get it, either a Bull Shark or a Dolphin and it had lived to tell its tale.

*Buddha Dock = Long Dock with a Buddha Statue, across from the Boathouse.

All of the Snook bites came on a Saltwater Assassin SW Shad in Magic Grass. This is a cool colorway, with deep purple and green and a chartreuse tail. I just rigged it on a 3/0 EWG Worm hook. I just picked up a pack of 50 H2O Express brand hooks from Academy Sports last weekend for like 8 bucks. Great value and these hooks are pretty strong too. This bait rigged weightless and weedless may be one of the best skipping presentations I have ever assembled, and it has great action. I love going weightless in the winter time because these baits have a slow and enticing fall rate.

Tarpon is December?!? Merry Christmas!

The pleasant surprise of the trip was finding some Juvenile Tarpon that wanted to play. The first one I caught was a complete surprise. I saw something blow up on the corner of the mangroves just north of the Buddha dock. I skipped the Magic Grass Jerkbait under those mangrove, felt an immediate thump and set the hook. After losing that previous Snook I had the drag tightened up to the max, and was ready for battle. I immediately started back-pedaling towards open water, and with a medium heavy rod, 15 braid to 40 fluorocarbon with a tight drag set on a 4000 Penn Reel I whooped this poor little baby Tarpon in seconds. I actually felt kind of bummed I didn’t even get a jump out of him.

So after that, I went with my Light action rod and threw around a Tsunami 2 inch SaltX Swim Shad with 8 pound braid tied to 15 Fluorocarbon. Within minutes I hooked up with another Juvie between the Buddha dock and the mangroves who displayed some spectacular aerial jumps and moves before spitting the bait, and then in that stretch of mangroves north of the dock with all of the jetskis that sprays you with water if you get too close I hooked up with another baby Tarpon and after a few exciting jumps I got him into the net. I thought this was a really cool picture of the little Tarpon set against the backdrop of fall foliage in the trees.

So one thing I do want to say about these Tarpon is that I never saw any rolling like I would see in the summertime. I hooked them all blind casting. The best advice I can give is be on the lookout for things blasting smaller fry baitfish, as well as be mindful when you are retrieving lures for “Tarpon taps” if you feel like your bait is being tapped then slow down, but also be ready to switch to smaller profile baits.

Conclusion

While this trip lacked brag worthy quality fish, it made up for with quantity and variety. Winter fishing can be slow and tedious especially for those that like to power fish artificial lures. So I will gladly take a trip like this where I caught lots of fish, and caught 5 different species. I think the recent warming trend, cloudy skies and rise of humidity was a welcome change that really fired up the bite. Fingers crossed we get good conditions as we approach Christmas!

Thank you for taking the time to read this report, and make sure to stop in at Kayaks By Bo in Cocoa to do any last minute Christmas shopping. They have good deals running on everything in store. Go check them out!

Stay safe, be happy, may you and your family enjoy a very Merry Christmas. Take care and God bless. Until next time!