FRESHWATER FISHING

Happy Monday Spacefish!

Picture yourself on a boat on a river. Just like John Lennon famously sang, just try and do it without psychedelics. Well, I guess you can. You’re an adult, and I’m not here to judge. Regardless, picture yourself in a boat on a river. That river is actually a creek, and there are overhanging trees casting large shadows everywhere. You look down and see a smaller male Bass guarding his fry which is the result of recent spawning activities. That Bass has been waging war against a pesky crab that wanted the eggs, now he looks up and sees Tarpon gliding past, Tarpon that would love an easy meal of baby Bass. What a long, strange trip it’s been. He wonders why he couldn’t have been guarding a bed, and his fry in a small farm pond somewhere. Bluegill make for a much more manageable adversary. It’s a surreal environment, but you refocus on the task at hand…

You pick up a 7 foot spinning rod loaded with moss green braided line, with a few feet of 20 pound test monofilament attached to the braid. The mono is tied with a snug knot to a 3/0 EWG Worm Hook and it has a Zoom Horny Toad, soft plastic topwater, in Watermelon Red Pearl. You make a perfect skip cast under a tree and your bait gets smoked before you even have a chance to start the retrieve. You are not sure if it’s a Snook, or a Tarpon, a Bowfin, or a Largemouth Bass. All of these species may be hanging out in the shade, waiting to engulf some poor baitfish that wanders too close. The explosion happens and you weren’t quite ready, but you manage to get a hook set in, and this fish has some weight to it. You know there are downed trees, rocks, and barnacled stumps in the water. Dangers to your fishing line all around. You cup the spool and pull back and the fish comes off, the hook set wasn’t good enough. Damn. You’re disappointed, but you realize that there are hundreds upon hundreds of overhanging shade pockets along this creek and that you have a full day of fishing ahead. Possibilities endless with a plethora of species to target. But one that I tend to overlook deep in the brackish water tributaries of the Indian River Lagoon is America’s favorite gamefish. The Largemouth Bass.

So over the past few weeks I have been concentrating my efforts on the backwater areas of Crane Creek, Turkey Creek, and a few weeks ago I went back a decent way into Horse Creek as well.

The more time I have spent back in these creeks targeting Snook I have come to realize that they hold more Largemouth Bass than I previously realized. I mean I figured there were some. But when I am not targeting Tarpon, I am targeting Snook. Fishing for Snook for me means skipping soft plastics, and that’s a great way to catch Largemouth Bass in creeks and rivers as well.

Before I get into the specifics of Crane and Turkey Creeks I want to talk about tackle and baits.

Backwater Slam Setup – Less is More

One of the reasons I wanted to post that picture above was to show how beautiful some of these areas I have been fishing are. But I also wanted to show how many overhanging trees there were. This is pretty consistent throughout most of the Turkey Creek Sanctuary. Crane Creek isn’t as bad, but there are areas where you don’t want to have rods sticking up out of the back of your kayak.

I typically take 3-4 rods out when I go inshore fishing, and if I were to go Bass fishing at Lake Toho, or Headwaters, I would probably bring 4 or 5 rods with me. For these trips I have been taking 2 rods. One rod rigged for Snook/Largemouth Bass, and one rod rigged for Juvie Tarpon. The other day I went out after school and finally got that Crane Creek Tarpon. I actually pulled off the “backwater slam” a Snook, Tarpon, and Largemouth Bass all in the same day. I did this with the two rods set up. I caught the Tarpon on a Gold DOA Tiny Terror Eyez, and the Bass & Snook on an NLBN K-Tail, in Kalkutta – which I rigged on a 2/0 BKK Screw Lock Hook. I ended up catching several Bass on this trip.

This past weekend I fished the Turkey Creek Sanctuary. My last NLBN got chewed up by a Gar, so I switched over to a 3/0 Worm Hook. I fished two baits, a Zoom Horny Toad in Watermelon Red Pearl, and a Zoom Fluke in Golden Bream. I ended up catching close to a dozen Bass, 3 Snook, 2 Mayan Cichlids, and a Mangrove Snapper. I had 2 Tarpon eats on the frog, but they spit the hook. I have caught Juvie Tarpon before on Zoom Flukes. It’s not the best Tarpon bait, but they will hit it. That’s the part of the downsizing process, is having confidence in my small arsenal of baits. I may only bring 3 or 4 different bait presentations with me, but they are presentations that I know can catch a wide variety of species.

Not only am I cutting down the number of rods I take, I am only bringing out 2 or 3 packs of soft plastics, and a small tackle trey with the hooks I need and a few extra Terror Eyez, a ring of Ande Mono Leader. I also bring my braid cutting scissors, boga grips, and a hook remover. Trust me, with the amount of Gar swimming in these waters you will want to invest in one of these.

What’s nice about downsizing gear and the amount of baits packed etc is it reduces the clutter on board, but it also forces you as an angler to focus on finding fish, finding little nooks and crannies to cast, it is a great way to hone in and really focus on, and take in/enjoy the environment you are in.

Crane Creek

The area of Crane Creek I have been fishing for Tarpon starts when the creek narrows close to the water treatment plant, and I follow it back to when it starts getting really tight and winding. I have caught more Snook than Largemouth in these areas, but if you are fishing for Snook by skipping soft plastics under overhanging cover then you definitely have a great chance of catching Largemouth as by-catch. Which sounds kind of crazy to say out loud.

A recent survey conducted by the Anglers Journal suggests that roughly 14 million people per year fish for Largemouth Bass in the United States. According to the American Sportfishing Association over $9 Billion was spent on Bass fishing in the US in 2023. I also went and analyzed data/results from the highest tier of professional Bass fishing – Major League Fishing and Bassmaster, I looked at recent tournaments in prolific Bass fishing spots in Florida and averaged the bottom 10 results. Men that have devoted their lives, money, time and resources to catching Bass. The bottom 10 of these high level professional anglers average 5.2 pounds caught per day on a 5 fish limit.

I say all that to say this. Accidentally catching a 2-3 pound Bass is objectively cool. But if you throw the right baits in the right colors I think you have a great chance of enticing both Largemouth and Snook, and possibly Tarpon to bite.

But once you hit the area where Crane Creek tightens down, you have a chance to catch a Largemouth, the further you go back, the higher your chances get. Look for laydowns and overhanging cover. There is no grass, hydrilla, or lily pads – so looking for downed timber or overhanging cover is the key.

Turkey Creek

The cool thing about Turkey Creek is I know guys that have caught Largemouth near the railroad tracks. If my memory serves me correctly, I believe John Page once told me a story about catching a Turkey Creek Largemouth, releasing it, then having a Dolphin chase it down. What a long, strange trip it’s been.

But I went back this weekend and fished the Turkey Creek Sanctuary, I used the kayak/canoe launch in the sanctuary. There’s pro’s and con’s to this launch. The pro is that your’re in the sanctuary as soon as you launch. The con is it’s a logistical challenge to get your kayak and gear from the parking area to the water. It’s a long trek, but also you have to go downhill on a rudimentary set of stairs that have been inserted in the side of a river bluff. But once you’re in you can start immediately catching Largemouth.

It’s pretty similar to Crane Creek, it’s all about timer. Downed logs and overhanging trees that create shade pockets. You can go out in the middle of the day and find shady pockets. I was catching Bass on a top water frog at 2 pm on a warm sunny afternoon yesterday. That’s pretty awesome.

There is a plentiful number of Bass in the sanctuary, but there is also Snook, Tarpon, Mangrove Snapper, Sheepshead, Mayan Cichlids and Gar. I have caught all of these species in Turkey Creek at one point or another. This weekend I caught roughly a dozen Bass but also mixed in small Snook, a Mangrove Snapper, some Mayan Cichlids, and a Gar.

I had my last NLBN K-Tail shredded by the Gar early on so I fished primarily with the Zoom Horny Toad, and the Zoom Fluke.

Conclusion

A trip down way back in these creeks truly is a trip full of magical mystery and beautiful strangeness. Like many places, the fishing can be hit or miss. But I promise if you fish in these places you won’t regret the time spent in such a beautiful waterway.

Thank you for taking the time to read this report. If you are looking to upgrade your kayaking, canoeing, or paddleboarding game so that you can go way up a creek and target brackish water Bass, then make sure to stop in at Kayaks By Bo! Whatever you are looking for, I am confident in saying they probably have it!

Stay safe, be happy, and catch lots of fish! Until next time!

Happy Monday Spacefish!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, and finds themself in good health and full of happiness. Today, I am going to write about a trip last weekend in which I fished, but put more of my focus in exploration. There are several reasons that I chose to spend a day doing more exploration. Honestly, it is something that I need to do more often. Number one, it is fun. I can’t speak for all kayak anglers when I say this, but personally, I actually got into kayaking first. I really enjoy the aspect of paddling to explore and see things. I enjoy nature, I enjoy the trees, the animals, the peace & quiet, the time to think. Especially the time to think. That is something I don’t get very often these days. At home I am a father/husband, at work I am a teacher/coach. As much as I love those roles, I don’t get much quiet reflection time. Most of the time I spend alone is fishing. But sometimes I fall into a trap of being so focused on the results of fishing I forget to slow down and enjoy the things that drew me to it in the first place. We are in the season of Lent as we approach Easter Sunday. Besides abstaining from meat on Fridays, and abstaining from tobacco, the other part of my Lenten reflection is to slow down and enjoy the scenery more. I think not dipping has also led me to crave more peace and quiet (lol).

When I was out on this trip, I encountered quite a few people on rented kayaks and paddle boards that rented these solely for the purpose of paddling the sanctuary. I think anytime you can combine kayak fishing with the sightseeing opportunities people pay for it truly is a win-win.

I also have two other reasons that are less holistic. Last year I made a goal to catch Tarpon from every major “creek” that empties into the Indian River Lagoon in Brevard County. I got close, but did not achieve my goal. Partly, I started it too late. So this year I vowed to start earlier, but I also made a goal of exploring more of these tributaries to find more “spots” so that when I am really getting after it, I have more bullets in the gun (metaphorically speaking – I promise I am not going to shoot a Tarpon).

The other reason is because I wanted to run the whole length of Turkey Creek. From Castaway Park all the way back to the spillway. I didn’t quite achieve this goal. I got off to a late start due to the chilly morning temps last Saturday, I also ended up stopping and talking with different people. I really slowed the pace down once I got into the sanctuary due to pulling my kick fins out of the water and going with a paddle over pedal approach. There are so many downed trees in the sanctuary, it’s easier to navigate by paddling than pedal drives and motors.

But I do plan on making trips to Turkey Creek here in the future that will be more focused on fishing, but I also want to do more exploring starting from the kayak launch in the sanctuary and I’ll go back to the spillway from there.

Launch Spot

So let me start by saying there are two boat ramps that are open to the public on Turkey Creek. But I have been avoiding boat ramps since I got the Hobie since I don’t want to get the bottom scratched up. I decided to hit up my favorite Turkey Creek launch area, which is Castaway Park. They renovated the park this past fall, and while it is aesthetically pleasing, and they did a good job, it now sucks as a place to launch kayaks. They put rocks up everywhere and it’s a total pain in the you-know-what to get a kayak down to the sand. On the next trips I will be using Paddling Paradise and the Kayak Launch in the sanctuary. I have never launched from either one, but I have parked and walked down to the sanctuary launch. It will be challenging logistically to get all my stuff down to the water, but the big perk there is starting way back.

Fishing Report/Tarpon Scouting

I did not catch many fish on this trip. I spent large stretches of the day pedaling and paddling. But I would stop in areas where I saw Tarpon swimming by, or the occasional roll. They seemed to be pretty inactive on this trip, I reckon the day starting with upper 40’s probably had them sluggish. But I did see a pair cruising by and made a cast in front of them. This was about a mile east of the Port Malabar bridge. That was one of the first casts I had made for the day. I casted a few feet in front of them and as soon as the DOA Tiny Terror Eyez hit the water it was immediately eaten by a small Snook. I don’t think I have ever been disappointed to get a Snook eat, no matter how small the Snook is. I can’t say I was disappointed, but it scared those two Tarpon away.

I got a few “Tarpon taps” after making casts in the sanctuary. That was the closest I got to catching a Tarpon on this trip. I saw a bunch back in the sanctuary, and definitely saw Tarpon with nice size back there too. I ended up skip casting under lay downs and overhanging cover hoping to catch more Snook, I caught several Bass instead, but it was fun. When I go back I am going to bring a few more soft plastics in darker profiles since I know there a good number of Bass there. I am thinking Black/Gold, and Purplish colors since this is an area where you are likely to catch Snook, Bass, and Tarpon in tea colored, tannic water. I caught all 3 of my Bass on the Savage Gear Loose Body Pulse Tail Mullet on a 5/0 Owner Twistlock hook with a ⅛ oz weight.

Over the past few weeks, I have been trying to land my first Tarpon of the season. I have been throwing a variety of downsized baits, but the Gold DOA Tiny Terror Eyez has gotten the most taps/bites so far.

I can’t really say with any confidence at this time that there are specific spots to go to for Tarpon. I was pleased to see them pretty regularly once I got far back in there. Turkey Creek has a healthy population of Tarpon, they will be out towards the mouth in the summer, right now there seems to be a population in the back, which is why I want to go back and target them while they are in the backwater sections before summer.

Wildlife of Turkey Creek

So I know I touched on the fact that Turkey Creek is a top-tier sightseeing, nature observing paddle destination. I did want to touch on some of the wildlife that you are likely to see when paddling this beautiful creek.

Dolphins, Manatees, Osprey, Pelicans, Wading Birds, Alligators, Turtles, Snakes, Raccoons have all been animals I have seen at one point or another while kayaking and fishing on Turkey Creek. One of the cool things about taking the trip at the mouth around Castaway Point going all the way back through the sanctuary is that within a few miles you can see how the environment changes from the salty Indian River Lagoon through brackish water, until you are in a predominantly freshwater river/creek system.

If you have never spent the day kayaking or paddling down Turkey Creek, I highly recommend it!

Kayak Fishing Hack

Once you get beyond the Port Malabar Road bridge and enter the sanctuary you will start to get into areas that you really don’t want to have 7 foot rods sticking straight up in the air. On this trip, I already packed light since I was doing more scouting anyway. But only bringing two rods I was able to hold one and have the other secured using the retractable bungees that connect to gear tracks on the side of the Hobie Outback. I went back and forth between my rod with a DOA Tiny Terror Eyez for Tarpon, and the other rod which I had a Savage Gear Pulse Tail (Purple) Mullet on a 5/0, ⅛ oz hook.

If you have a Hobie, I am sure you have the built in capabilities to do this, but if you don’t have built in bungees like this, I have done something similar in the past using the gear tracks that almost all fishing kayaks come equipped with and macgyver it using small cheap bungees from wal-mart. I usually only have to worry about this when I am fishing in certain river/creek systems, but these are the places that can be really cool to fish, but my advice is to not overpack. Less is definitely more when going through these types of creeks.

Conclusion

I am really looking forward to fishing this area more and focusing on areas. I hope to start scratching Tarpon caught in different tributaries off my bucket list soon! The last couple of weeks I have been fishing way back into Crane Creek, Turkey Creek, and Horse Creek. I can’t say enough about how valuable it has been to have a do-it-all kayak like the Hobie Outback. The ability to cover miles of water with the pedals, but then become an easy to paddle kayak in tight areas is really nice, coupled with the storage features and all that it comes with, it makes for a very nice set up. If you are interested in the Hobie line up, go check them out, and test drive one for yourself at Kayaks By Bo!

I hope everyone has a fantastic week ahead! Stay safe, be happy, and go catch some fish!