Onshore
12-11-2007, 11:46 AM
There's a little creek in Melbourne that runs into the IRL and I cross it at least once just about every day. I've often thought of putting the kayak in and checking it out but just never got around to it. Last Sunday evening as I drove along it there were some kind of fish bashing baitfish all over it.
So, last evening I investigated. Launched my kayak at the public landing and headed through the marina upriver. As I approached a restaurant on a pier, the water erupted about 100' ahead. I dropped the paddle and picked up the flyrod. By the time I was able to strip about 40' of line and ready to cast I was in the middle of some seriously big feeding fish but couldn't tell what they were. And they paid no attention to me and the yak.
I sat motionless and let the yak glide out of the pod of breaking fish and made a cast like half over my shoulder behind me and hooked up at once. They were big Jack Crevelle and there must have been 15 or twenty of them. I drifted away from the action and played the fish into the kayak to release it. On my rod it measured 37" and I'd say it was between 8 and 10 lbs.
Went back and got two more and broke off three over the next hour. At one point I had an audience on the restaurant pier cheering every time I hooked up or one jumped. By the time I released the last one it was getting dark and I didn't go upriver as I planned. That's for another time -maybe tonight.
The fish all took a 4" white Polar Bear Deceiver.
I just came from the near by Sport shop and one of the owners told me there are Snook, Trout, Tarpon and Redfish in there most of the year and even Florida Gar which are prehistoric and can go 300 lbs. or more. Dick lives on that little creek so I really don't blame him for not telling me about this fishery until I asked. He says hardly anyone seriously fishes it other than he, his dad and uncle Harry.
I've been driving over that creek for six months, nearly every day and never thought seriously to fish it until last night. Sometimes we don't see the forest for the trees.
So, last evening I investigated. Launched my kayak at the public landing and headed through the marina upriver. As I approached a restaurant on a pier, the water erupted about 100' ahead. I dropped the paddle and picked up the flyrod. By the time I was able to strip about 40' of line and ready to cast I was in the middle of some seriously big feeding fish but couldn't tell what they were. And they paid no attention to me and the yak.
I sat motionless and let the yak glide out of the pod of breaking fish and made a cast like half over my shoulder behind me and hooked up at once. They were big Jack Crevelle and there must have been 15 or twenty of them. I drifted away from the action and played the fish into the kayak to release it. On my rod it measured 37" and I'd say it was between 8 and 10 lbs.
Went back and got two more and broke off three over the next hour. At one point I had an audience on the restaurant pier cheering every time I hooked up or one jumped. By the time I released the last one it was getting dark and I didn't go upriver as I planned. That's for another time -maybe tonight.
The fish all took a 4" white Polar Bear Deceiver.
I just came from the near by Sport shop and one of the owners told me there are Snook, Trout, Tarpon and Redfish in there most of the year and even Florida Gar which are prehistoric and can go 300 lbs. or more. Dick lives on that little creek so I really don't blame him for not telling me about this fishery until I asked. He says hardly anyone seriously fishes it other than he, his dad and uncle Harry.
I've been driving over that creek for six months, nearly every day and never thought seriously to fish it until last night. Sometimes we don't see the forest for the trees.