Pacemaker Fishing Forum

I went to visit my Dad with the family.  We had a great trip and I fished off his dock on the Indian River each day.  I started out with artificials only and caught a nice Gafftopsail Catfish on a topwater the first day.  They are very aggressive and fight hard.


The next morning, I caught a nice Jack and a Mangrove Snapper with a swim bait on a jig head.


The next day, I caught a bigger Jack that hit a Z man shad on a jig head. I caught another the next morning that almost broke me off around a piling.  It was so strong, I could not get it under control before it got under the dock.  I gave it some slack and was able to finesse it to the side of the dock.  It was probably about 4 pounds.


We bought some shrimp the third day and my daughter Caroline caught a Ladyfish that jumped 3 feet out of the water 3 times.  Those things are crazy.  She also caught a nice sized Mangrove Snapper.  I was happy that she caught some fish as she does not fish that much.  The wind kept the no seeums away so she could fish.


Here is another ladyfish.

This next fish is a Gafftopsail catfish I caught in the evening just before it got dark.  I noticed it was bleeding, but I did not hook it badly.  If you look closely, you will see teeth marks on it's side, likely from a shark.  It was thrashing at the surface for a bit when I was fighting it and a shark likely hit it.

You may have noticed I am really covered up.  It is to avoid the no seeums that will eat you alive when the wind is light.  My younger brother saw the pictures and called me the fish bandit.
The day before we left, I bought shrimp again.  I caught this nice Sheepshead that destroyed the circle hook I used.

In the evening, I had a good run of fish on the shrimp.  I caught a good Mangrove Snapper and gave it to one of the healthcare ladies that helps my Dad.  It was getting dark, but I had lots of shrimp and kept fishing.  I caught a Ladyfish, then another fat Mangrove Snapper and then the largest Mangrove Snapper I have ever caught.


I gave that one to the lady as well.  Here are the two in the sink.

I finished the night with my biggest Gafftopsail Catfish of the trip that was at least 5 pounds.

It was a great trip, with temps in the upper 80's to 90 degrees (cooler than VA).  We did an airboat trip on Lake Garcia to see alligators and hit the beach a couple times.  I bought a new Diawa BG 3000 to use for my saltwater trips and was extremely pleased with it.  I have a 6'6" MH Bass Pro Extreme travel rod that I used with 30 pound Power Pro with a 25 pound mono leader.

Last edited by drxfish (Jul-04-18 1:39PM)