Indian River Fishing 29 Jul

For those suffering from withdrawal due to the dearth of Mikey D Fishing blog entries, I share your pain. The past few weeks were a reminder that despite being a faithful fishing machine, the Mikey D Fishing started to show the expected signs of her 9 years on the water.  A series of minor maintenance issues over the past month hampered fishing opportunities.  Repaired and refitted, I could not wait to get her back on the water where she belongs.

So it was with great anticipation that I launched her at the Indian River marina this past Sunday to learn the water and see what I could bring over the rail.  The weather was almost perfect.  Water temps were in the upper 70s which though high were a few degrees cooler following the passage of severe storms the night before.  Winds were manageable out of the North at 10 knots.  An almost full moon meant weaker tides, but by launching late morning, I would be able to take advantage of the full incoming tide.  As avid readers know, most of our time has been spent on the Chesapeake, where tides are more subtle and often fickle.  The Indian River Inlet is a natural cut between Delaware back bays and the Atlantic Ocean.  The inlet was a natural feature that was enhanced by the Army Corps of Engineers almost 80 years ago.  The massive amount of water that flows in and out of the inlet each day has scoured the bottom to form a 100 ft + canyon with all kinds of weird hydraulics in and around the main channel.  

I decided to start on the south jetty to target flounder.  The key was to find a spot on the edge of a channel where wind and tide did not conspire to prevent a drift that was too slow or too fast.  It had been a while since I felt the tug of a flounder, so I decided to try a little of everything to see what worked best.  I began with two top and bottom rigs.  The first had white hackle from Aqua clear and the other was the deadly double in orange by Fish in OC.  For each rig, I tipped one hook with a white gulp and the other with a live minnow.  For kicks, I also tossed a standard bottom rig with a 1/2 oz sinker and a live minnow.  

Action was minimal at first with a couple of light hits.  So, I decided to move further inside of Indian River Bay and drift along the main channel.   Almost immediately I was rewarded with a keeper sea trout.  Soon after, I found myself in a school of croakers.  After landing 3 or 4, I decided to keep moving to avoid expending all of my live bait on these fun fish from the drum family.  While they were hitting the gulp occasionally, they were tearing up the minnows.  And yes, for those who haven't caught a croaker, they really do make a croaking sound when they are out of the water.  

Heading a little further southeast, I found a spot that looked very promising next to Burton's island and green buoy #25.  The incoming tide allowed me to slowly drift west starting in about 6' of water to a maximum of 25'.  On my first drift, I picked up a nice flatty just under the limit at 15.5" (the limit is 16").  A second drift produced another flounder at 14" and a third soon followed.   Great fun!  Flounder are amazing predators, provide a fun but brief fight and are excellent table fare.  A great day on the water and typical of Indian River inlet, a day that produced multiple species.  

So happy to once again say to all, Tight Lines!

Mikey D Fishing