Florida Bonus - End of 2015

NumenOn the Water

Date:  December 23-25, 2015

Body of Water:  Atlantic Ocean, Cocoa Beach and Port Canaveral, Florida

Boat:  None

With:  Alone

Target:  Any piscivorous fish

Time:  Various

Conditions:  Generally warm and windy, especially for the season

We met in Cocoa Beach, Florida for a few days of relaxation prior to departing on a cruise, so of course I brought some fishing tackle.  In fact, I brought the tackle I could, which included a couple of travel rods and matching reels as well as a couple of small boxes of spoons, jigs and miscellaneous accessories.  I fished simply, where I could and when I could.  Any fish were welcome at any time, but secretly I hoped to run into some bluefish, Spanish Mackerel, or perhaps a snook, flounder or redfish.

After a few sessions of surf fishing in my new back yard, I realized the ESE winds had simply churned the water up too much for effective fishing.  There were mullet right behind the first breakers (I could see them jumping and I snagged a couple), but all the obvious life (porpoises and birds) were out beyond the last breakers and well out of range.  I relocated to Jetty Park at Port Canaveral's mouth for a couple of sessions on the afternoon of Christmas Eve and on Christmas morning, prior to breakfast.  The fishing here was a bit less intimate (I was on a pier some 6 to 12 feet or so above the water, depending on tide), but I felt like I had a better chance here.  At least there was more obvious life here; turtles, schools of mullet, pelicans and rainbait all paraded by, and very occasionally another fisherman would hook up.  (Almost inevitably this would turn out to be a ray.)

The surf was heavy and provided much whitewater cover for predators.  But after days of pounding, the water was too sandy to expect much success.

The morning's orange quickly transitioned to yellow each day.

My Diawa Pro Minnow seemed like a reasonable mullet imitation.  Mullet were running just behind the first breaker from the beach, and their presences buoyed my enthusiastic efforts.  Dolphins were visibly feeding on mullet in clearer water well off the beach.  Note the blue undertones; blue is a notably hot color for stripers when mullet are present.

 I tried various presentations from the pier, but settled in on covering water with a castable spoon.  My time was limited, and probing around with a jig or grub wasn't working, and the bait fishermen were hardly doing well, so why not focus on any available pelagics that might wander in or out of the port mouth with the tides?  I was lucky to catch a small Spanish on my first trip, but he seemed to be alone.  When a fishing neighbor indicated that the fishing had been better that morning (higher tide and lower light levels), I decided to come back the next morning.  

The only fair-hooked fish of this trip was a small Spanish Mackerel; my first ever from shore.  I swung and missed on another, too.

Just before 7 AM and well before sunrise, my third cast or so was briefly intercepted.  I swung and missed; but that was okay, because my line was 90% shredded just above the lure.  Had I connected, I surely would have broken off.  I gladly retied and cast again; but there were no more strikes to be had; and no more mackerel to be caught within my zone of awareness until I left to join the family for breakfast.

Port Canaveral Christmas Full Moonset.

Another beautiful sunrise unfolds, but only to reveal another slow bite.

What do I have to say about this?

This was all bonus fishing; the trip was really about being together with family and convening prior to a celebratory cruise.  I was simply pleased to have had a couple of bites, to have caught a fish, and to have done so in warmth and comfort.