's. I then joined him and we enjoyed quite a few more 's well into the next morning. Needless to say, we did not get an early start.Day number one was a learning experience for both of us. We launched at Indian River Park in Volusia County. IRP is at the northern end of the lagoon, a maze of brackish creeks and canals lined with mangroves. We fished for several hours with a few juvenile trout, some sailcats, a croaker, and one little rat red to show for it. Seth did have one big fish hooked for a just a little bit. It made a few nice runs, peeling off quite a bit of drag before cutting him off on a shallow oyster bar. Although the fishing was not as spectacular as we had hoped, the scenery was awesome, and I really enjoyed paddling the mangrove creeks. We even had a close encounter with a couple of dolphins.
Later that afternoon, we decided to go to a local tackle shop that I had found on the internet. http://newsmyrnaoutfitters.com/ It's owned by a fishing guide in Mosquito Lagoon and we were hoping maybe to find someone willing to impart some local wisdom. After looking around for a minute, I began to purchase a new rod and reel combo (Calcutta 100b on a Shimano Teramar 7' Med Action). I figured they might be more willing to share some local knowledge if I were spending a little money, plus I needed a baitcaster to add to my arsenal pretty bad. While I was doing this, Seth was engaging in conversation with a guy I can only assume was a fishing guide (leather skin, bleached hair, spending his free time hanging out in a tackle shop that he doesn't work at). He got a Hotspot map out and started showing us all the flats he thought would be best for kayaking, and which launch sites to use and everything. Score
. We were so excited, we went and enjoyed a few too many 's one more time.Although we got kind of a late start once again, Day number two went a little smoother. We paddled out to a no-motor zone and started our drift towards Tiger Shoals. Almost immediately, I see a snout appear from below the water just 10 or 15 feet from my kayak. It took me a second to realize it was a manatee. I had never seen a manatee in the wild before. Before long we were catching short trout right and left. Then, it finaly happened. Seth hooked up with a very nice 26" redfish. We spotted several more redfish, but no more takers. I even cast to one, only to have him come up to the Gulp and bump it with his nose before snubbing it. I was also throwing a spoon, in which they showed little interest. After a while, we decided it was time to make the hour long paddle back to the ramp against the building wind.
Although we didn't get into any of the bull reds and gator trout that we were hoping for, we did have a great time exploring a new fishery. It pays to get a little local insight before you set out to explore a new place. I can't wait to go back and fish it a little more thoroughly.
