As we trolled the shoreline, a huge seatrout sprinted out in front and then off to our side. He was a big guy that looked to be at least twenty-four inches long.
And then, out of no where, there they were. Ahead of us, pushing a wake in front of them, was a school of at least a hundred redfish. We were behind them and gaining on them slowly. As we came closer to the back of the pack we could see those beautiful iridescent blue tails and the distinctive spot on the tails. They knew we were there, but they just kept swimming along in front of the boat.
Dave and I began throwing gold spoons, a variety made by a local angler, ahead of and across the nose of the lead fish. We drew no interest in the spoons, and the school broke up into about three pods, all headed a different direction. we continued following pod by pod to no avail.
"This full moon had them feeding all night"' Dave said, "we'll be hard pressed to get them to strike. You can't catch fish that are pushing water." As it turned out, he was right. We spent the day following, cutting off, and ambushing school after school of redfish that were pushing water. The few tails that we did see, indicating feeding fish, were gone before we could get to them.
It was a beautiful day and a beautiful experience to watch all those redfish. And although we didn't catch any on the flat, we did manage one trout and one redfish in a small creek mouth.
And even though we didn't slay the fish, as the saying goes, I did learn something on this trip. It is very apparent to me that the Indian River Lagoon has been well managed. The quality of the flat we fished, the amount of fish, and the behavior of all the anglers on the flat was impressive. This area is one you don't want to miss if you make a trip to Florida.
If you are headed down that way, give a holler to the Indian River Guides Association. They can help you find and see the beautiful and bountiful fishing areas. And, Daddy, you would have been proud. We didn't bother or hit any manatees. It's awfully hard to hit one at idle speed in less than two feet of water!
