backwater

Flats Fishing For Sheepshead

On Monday my son and I headed out on the water in our flats boat. First we went south to Oak Hill to get fiddler crab bait, but the bait shop was out. They said they had been out since Saturday. Not a good sign. Our local shop was also out, so we got live shrimp instead. The crabs are a favorite of Sheepshead fish and that was what we were after…. like everyone else it seems! They are very good eating because they mostly live off shellfish and have the teeth to chomp them too! How nice it would be to have a nice fresh fish dinner of sheepshead… yum.

Many boaters decided that Monday was an excellent day to go out on the water because the boat ramp was nearly full at 11:00 AM when we arrived. We usually get a late start. My son is not an early riser.

Fishing the backwater canals — Fishing the flats

Pylons and bridges is where the Sheepshead tend to congregate. My son was bummed about the lack of fiddler crabs, so we went into the backwater area to see what we could catch with our shrimp. Immediately I pulled in a foot long trout and threw him back. After that we hooked some small mangrove snapper, as usual, and a few other things that we didn’t keep.

We saw Redfish swimming past the boat as we traveled down shallow canals near the mosquito cuts, but never hooked any. My pole fell off the boat, which was annoying, and I had to get into the water to get it. Now the pole has to be taken apart and cleaned… Grrrrr…..

BUT… I did catch one sheepshead! Yay… but it was a couple inches too small. (Here’s a link to the regulations on sheepshead fishing in Florida.) We were in the backwater area and it gave us hope that maybe there were more larger fish around, but no luck. It’s tough to get photos of the fish we catch because I can’t hold the pole and the camera and my son also had a fish on the line. It usually never works out that we can photograph our catches, unless we keep them – which happens rarely…haha!

Usually we see very few boaters when we go out on weekdays. We wondered if it was a holiday or something because boats were everywhere!

We stopped at an island and boats were flying past. That never happens! I took a walk down the shore searching for something interesting, like a big, beautiful, empty seashell, but only found hermit crabs.

boats on Indian River — For some reason Monday was a busy boating day

High tide is never a good time to go beach-combing and it was high tide, or close to it. My son relaxed on the boat while I took a stroll. I was surprised no other boats were stopped at this island. I guess everyone was up by the bridge fishing for Sheepshead!

Flats boat at island beach — Our boat beached at an island

Hermit crab inside a big Tulip shell. — Hermit crab in big tulip shell near shore

I saw two large Tulip shells with big hermit crabs inside. They hide quickly when they hear me approach, but if I have the patience to stand still, they will come out of the shell and continue on their way.

waves on beach — High tide with waves from a passing boat

This is the river area which has islands all along the ICW. We are behind the main channel here, and there are no waves unless a boat passes. The water was very calm until later in the day when the wind picked up and it got choppy.

Eventually we headed down to the bridge at the South Causeway in New Smyrna. By then the tide was really moving and the wind had picked up. It was difficult to fish by the bridge so we moved down near the Marina and fished behind Pelican Island. I’m not sure if that is the island’s real name, but it is full of pelicans!

ICW Indian River in New Smyrna — Fishing behind Pelican Island near South Causeway

The water here was around 7-9 feet deep at the time, so we decided to see what we could get. Right off I pulled up a huge catfish and then snagged a Ladyfish. That one was fun… it kept jumping out of the water as I reeled it in. I didn’t know what it was, but my son did. They are not good to eat, but it was big and shiny.

It was getting late and we were about done for the day so we dumped the rest of our bait shrimp into the water and headed to the ramp. We have tried cooking and eating our leftover bait shrimp, but it is gross! So it’s better to just let them go. We’ll be out shrimping soon to refill our freezer with lovely fresh shrimp.

The water was nice with a temp around 68-71 depending on where we went. Nearly warm enough for the manatee to return. The sun hid behind clouds a lot so it wasn’t too hot. It was a very nice day out on the water, even if we went home without supper.

The video here shows how to catch sheepshead when you find them. It was filmed down by the space coast in Titusville, just south of us.

Little Island Beaches, Get There Only By Boat

The beaches of Florida are talked about a lot. They attract tourists year round, but those are ocean beaches. Waves and sand and even drive-on beaches make Florida a unique beach vacation destination.

My favorite beaches are not on the ocean. They are far from the crowds and tourists and often have no people present. We find these beaches while boating along the Intracoastal Waterway and the backwaters of the Indian River.

boat docked at the beach — Docked at a little beach in Mosquito Lagoon

A recent trip to Mosquito Lagoon took us to an out of the way beach which turned out to be a bit scary. I didn’t really think about it at the time, but later I realized the chances I had taken by strolling through water that could have had alligators!

Photo Below: Disappearing Island is a place well known to boaters. It’s a big wide sand bar that disappears at high tide, but is usually full of people at low tide when the island is visible. Boaters can pull up at the Inlet side, or go around to the shallower back side of the island (where I took my photo). Only boats with a shallow draft, or kayakers, can easily navigate the little canal that runs along the back. And we all have to watch the tide, as it’s easy to get stranded! I think that every time I’ve been, at least one boat had people pushing on it to get it off the sand where the tide had left it high and dry.

floating in the ocean disappearing island — Feet up and floating in the beautiful, warm water behind Disappearing Island.

The water around Disappearing Island is fairly clear as is it located at the inlet that goes out to sea. There will also be waves on the front side of the island. However, I have not found many shells here.

Like the beautiful Disappearing Island, some beaches in the backwater are underwater when the tide is in. But backwater beaches can be mucky and suck you in like quicksand. Others are encrusted with oysters, and boaters have to be careful of that. Oyster shells can tear up a boat hull, and your bare feet! It’s one reason I always wear water shoes.

These backwater areas are wonderful for view nature. We always see interesting birds, and have found live horse conchs on shallow sandy areas like this. Other shells that are regularly seen are the Shark’s Eye and Crown Conch.

oyster bed — Oysters and mud and lots of shells with hermit crabs inside!

I found a lot of pear whelks in this area, and watched hermit crabs scurry along in the shallow water.

The beach below is also on an island near Ponce Inlet. It is across from Disappearing Island. I found some unique little seashells here and saw a lot of shore birds.

Royal Terns on island beach near Ponce Inlet

An island we always pass backs up to the main waterway. Sometimes boats are docked here, but if they aren’t, we stop. I love to walk along the entire beach and have found some awesome shells here. Some I kept, but most had to go back due to the fact that they were homes to hermit crabs.

island beach — One of my favorite backwater beaches to explore

beach sand on an island — Tide is halfway out – good time to search for seashells

Below is a little beach where we stop sometimes to take a swim. The water is deep in that cut through, but boats can fly past, so it’s best to keep an eye out. Also the current is strong in the pass.

beach on ICW river — This is a good place to stop for a swim

blog about seashells — Low tide with clouds building, which means thunderstorms soon

Summer months in Florida bring afternoon thunderstorms. The heat of the day causes clouds to form over land and those clouds will build and build. They can suddenly turn dark and pour rain, but the dangerous thing is the lightning. Boaters have to be vigilant so we won’t get stranded out on the water in a bad storm. Even a storm far off in the distance can be dangerous. It doesn’t have to be raining either!

Some backwater “beaches” only appear at low tide and they can be mucky.

I do love the ocean beaches, such as New Smyrna Beach, but island beaches also have a lot to offer. Locals with a boat have the ability to enjoy the real, wild Florida. Except for the high rise condos in the distance, it would be easy to believe I was truly in the wilderness.

Our Little Boat Fishing Trip Looking For Keepers

Went out on the little boat yesterday and three of us tried our best to catch a keeper. If we wanted to eat a meal of catfish, we could easily have done so. I caught a couple of large cats when we stopped one of the backwater canals for a swim and then fished from the water. We had more room than when we all tried to cast a line from the Gheenoe.

Other than the catfish, I did get a small snook. He was a silver shimmering beauty! It’s snook season right now, and my older son was hoping to reel one in. All he got was a few catfish himself. My younger son got a small redfish, and we certainly saw more than a few “tailing redfish” along the shore.

Yes, I am beginning to learn fisherman talk. When redfish are eating they circle and show their tail. The ones we watched each seemed to be alone, but they can swim in big groups with their tails above the water, and that’s what the fishermen look for. The ones we watched would swim in a circle and make a large ripple in the calm water. These fish are really beautiful and they are delicious to eat. But size is important when you catch one you want to keep.

Because the little “Yea Mon” Gheenoe has a shallow draft, we can get into the backwater channels where most other boats can’t go. We always find shallow water to swim around in and sand islands when the tide is low.

And we have the place all to ourselves! The water was flowing, and we could drift along in the very warm water. Yes, it’s brown, but it usually is in this area.

florida backwater swimming — Floating in Backwater Chanel

Other than fishing and enjoying the sunny Florida weather, I also did some shell hunting. Because the tide was just coming in, there were a number of sandy beach areas exposed. I found a large shark’s eye shell with a piece missing. Also picked up a crown conch and pear whelk. Picked them up and then had to put them back down. Every shell was inhabited by a hermit crab.

sharks eye and crown conch — Shark’s Eye & Crown Conch

seashell — Slime covered Pear Whelk Shell

I really would have liked to keep those shells as they are all favorites of mine. In fact I don’t think I have ever found a pear whelk. I really wanted that one for my seashell collection! The place to go and get great shells is the Gulf Coast. A vacation may be in order – one day.

I took photos with my iPhone, but because of the extremely sunny conditions, it was difficult. Also, I worry about dropping the darn thing. I really need a waterproof case. Shuffling along the uneven sandy bottom of the canal is tricky. I could step into a hole at any time and drop my phone! My nice camera is still packed away, waiting for me to move into a permanent home.

Once we have our newer, bigger boat, it will be so much easier to grab the phone and get video and photos while the boys fish. Not to mention that fishing will be much more fun! So it’s all a waiting game, which is par for the course in my life. But we still had a very nice day out on the water.