04-07-2010, 11:19 AM
Nothing like a good snow year to ignite enthusiasm for escapes to locations where engine heaters are unknown and four-wheel-drive is unnecessary for driveway access.
Such thinking recently forced Bruun to tap frequent flier mileage for a brief visit to Florida's Indian River. As usual, even before I boarded the jet, abusive remarks from Sunshine Staters began flying: "When is the "˜Typhoid Mary' of bad weather arriving?" and "Bruun must be coming: The Weather Channel is predicting a cold front with accompanying rain and tornado warnings."
Regardless of the abuse about being a bad-weather talisman, I'm glad to contribute, because Florida regularly needs extra moisture to keep golf courses green and soften the ground landings for failed developers and subprime condo victims parading off vacant roofs.
Normally under Bruun-induced severe weather (okay, so one evening's temperatures around Ft. Pierce dove into the mid-40s; so what?), the rugged redfish or channel bass can be counted upon to rescue shallow-water fishing efforts. Chasing redfish especially in the winter months is boomingly popular with light tacklers and fly rodders who can't regularly indulge in Keys, Bahamian, Central American or Pacific atoll bonefish/permit expeditions.
From Texas all the way around the Gulf Coast and up the southeastern seaboard, redfish usually refuse to quit eating even when early a.m. ice coats the bows of inshore skiffs. No worthwhile angling magazines publish winter issues without endless lists of redfish hotspots and techniques.
Spotted sea trout is wily
Ironically, many publications all but ignore another gamefish that in some places is more popular than redfish. In trophy sizes (6 pounds and up) the spotted sea trout is harder to fool than most redfish, and especially tough with a fly rod, because they are super spooky. Like redfish, spotted sea trout habitat begins in Texas and travels east around Florida and up the Atlantic. In summer, sea trout may range as far as Long Island in New York.
The coast of Texas and its many fertile grassy bays, as well as Louisiana's numerous inshore passes, lakes and bayous, produce some bragging-size sea trout. But Florida's Indian River is world headquarters for what are fondly called "gator trout." In May 1995, the IGFA all-tackle-record spotted seatrout of 17-pounds, 7 ounces, was landed at Ft. Pierce.
With a new 17-foot Momentum skiff in tow, Cary Kresge whisked me from Orlando International Jetport 125 miles south to Ft. Pierce. Together we've been chasing Florida fish for over 50 years, and Cary holds a particular fondness for the Indian River, a complex lagoon system that stretches from about Stuart all the way north along Florida's east coast, almost to Daytona Beach. Plans included two days with Ed Zyak (772-485-3474; localcolorgs@comcast.net), a 36-year-old Jensen Beach native who is a well-respected veteran light tackle and shallow water expert on Indian River sportfishing.
Because the Indian River is anywhere from one to two hours east of his current Winter Park residence outside of Orlando, Cary regularly targets various portions of the river to cast topwater lures, soft plastics, bucktail jigs and fly tackle. Although the spotted sea trout is still fished commercially with rod and reel, after the state of Florida passed a ban on commercial netting inshore, the health of sea trout as well as snook and redfish greatly improved. Although not abundant, trout in the 13-to15-pound range are usually found in portions of the Indian River between Stuart and Ft. Pierce.
Normally, the Indian River averages approximately 3 feet in depth and provides a rich and diverse aquatic community that is unique to America. Much of this water course serves as a segment of the Intracoastal Waterway with a mildly deeper channel dredged several hundred yards offshore. For many years Florida's major north-south highway access, U. S. 1, as well as the Florida East Coast Railroad, paralleled much of the coastline of the Indian River.
During family vacations as a youngster, I remember peering from the car window at the rows of rickety wooden docks that stabbed into the tranquil river and seeing occasional fishermen wading and baitcasting for the giant sea trout that I'd read about. I savored the pungent aroma of smoked shrimp and mullet at tiny roadside seafood stands.
Biologists, researchers and fishermen all hypothesize as to why the Indian River grows such big spotted sea trout. Obviously there is a good forage base and the sea grass community has maintained throughout much of the lagoon system. The Stuart to Ft. Pierce area also features ocean inlets that allow water exchanges that maintain a high salinity.
Ed is frequently quoted in many fishing publications on light tackle/inshore gamefishing topics. He maintains that milder water temperatures and a year-round growing season are major contributors to the big trout phenomenon. Captain Ed reasons that the Gulf Stream is very near the coast in the Stuart-Ft. Pierce area which bolsters warmer water temperatures (despite thermometer shock from Bruun visits). This encourages a year-round forage banquet such as mullet, pigfish and substantial shrimp populations that simply are not available along the Florida, Texas and Louisiana Gulf coast, where water temperatures are constantly chilled by winter storms. Gator trout, it seems, respond to the same warm conditions that make Indian River brand citrus such a delightful treat.
As youthful bicycle-mounted anglers, Cary Kresge and I nabbed a few sea trout from local seawalls near our Biscayne Bay homes because major turtle grass flats were nearby. Once we graduated to outboard skiffs, the flats, as well as Miami's top sea trout zone - South Bay off Mercy Hospital - were accessible. The most productive grass beds of South Bay surrounded the takeoff and landing area for the Coast Guard seaplane base at Dinner Key.
A taste for chewy bait tails<br />
The South Florida, Keys and Everglades sea trout we knew averaged a pound or two with a South Bay giant perhaps edging 5 pounds. Sea trout were eager to smack bucktail jigs, swimming MirrOlures and occasionally a topwater plug as well as live shrimp. When soft plastic bait tails finally made their appearance in the Southeast, sea trout definitely showed a preference for these chewy frauds.
It wasn't until years later after I exchanged Florida for Wyoming, that I returned to fish with Cary and his friends on the Indian River and meet the gator trout in person. I recall we were wading some grass flats near Florida Power and Light's St. Lucie Nuclear Plant near Ft. Pierce. I was casting a bright floating MirrOlure plug when an enormous mouth exploded after my lure, not more than four rod lengths away. It took a few minutes for me to realize that had been a trout blast. ... a real one from a sea trout the size of which I'd never before encountered. It was startling.
The thermometer plunge, as well as several massive rainstorms and tornado warnings, did not help Cary's and my fishing time with Ed. The normally cooperative redfish had left the area. So we worked swimming plugs and soft plastic lures on spinning and baitcasting rods for Mr. Sea Trout. And we saw several pods of jumbo trout, but the Bruun chill-job cooled their interest.
Ed likes to fish slowly, covering grass flats dotted with white sand holes as an incoming tide floods. Several days before he had been wading in shorts. But even this hardcore flats hunter conceded that wading this day might not enjoyable. The big sea trout that Ed hunts are wary and difficult to make out. From a quietly polled skiff, chances are, if angler or guide does spot one, it's antenna is already up and you're too late. To thwart this, Ed's Shimano spinning outfits feature 7-plus foot rods and 10-pound Spectra braid line with which he makes tape measure home run-like casts. "The trout don't know there's an angler anywhere around when my lure lands," he chuckles. His retrieves vary from short hops to stop and go twitches. His technique for big trout is a combination of scouting, patience and determination.
All the time that we were exploring the Indian River grass flats I pondered how to fool a really big sea trout by using a fly. Perhaps after it warms up and I learn how to hook a few gator trout on conventional tackle, I'll pose a fly rod plan to Ed.
Such thinking recently forced Bruun to tap frequent flier mileage for a brief visit to Florida's Indian River. As usual, even before I boarded the jet, abusive remarks from Sunshine Staters began flying: "When is the "˜Typhoid Mary' of bad weather arriving?" and "Bruun must be coming: The Weather Channel is predicting a cold front with accompanying rain and tornado warnings."
Regardless of the abuse about being a bad-weather talisman, I'm glad to contribute, because Florida regularly needs extra moisture to keep golf courses green and soften the ground landings for failed developers and subprime condo victims parading off vacant roofs.
Normally under Bruun-induced severe weather (okay, so one evening's temperatures around Ft. Pierce dove into the mid-40s; so what?), the rugged redfish or channel bass can be counted upon to rescue shallow-water fishing efforts. Chasing redfish especially in the winter months is boomingly popular with light tacklers and fly rodders who can't regularly indulge in Keys, Bahamian, Central American or Pacific atoll bonefish/permit expeditions.
From Texas all the way around the Gulf Coast and up the southeastern seaboard, redfish usually refuse to quit eating even when early a.m. ice coats the bows of inshore skiffs. No worthwhile angling magazines publish winter issues without endless lists of redfish hotspots and techniques.
Spotted sea trout is wily
Ironically, many publications all but ignore another gamefish that in some places is more popular than redfish. In trophy sizes (6 pounds and up) the spotted sea trout is harder to fool than most redfish, and especially tough with a fly rod, because they are super spooky. Like redfish, spotted sea trout habitat begins in Texas and travels east around Florida and up the Atlantic. In summer, sea trout may range as far as Long Island in New York.
The coast of Texas and its many fertile grassy bays, as well as Louisiana's numerous inshore passes, lakes and bayous, produce some bragging-size sea trout. But Florida's Indian River is world headquarters for what are fondly called "gator trout." In May 1995, the IGFA all-tackle-record spotted seatrout of 17-pounds, 7 ounces, was landed at Ft. Pierce.
With a new 17-foot Momentum skiff in tow, Cary Kresge whisked me from Orlando International Jetport 125 miles south to Ft. Pierce. Together we've been chasing Florida fish for over 50 years, and Cary holds a particular fondness for the Indian River, a complex lagoon system that stretches from about Stuart all the way north along Florida's east coast, almost to Daytona Beach. Plans included two days with Ed Zyak (772-485-3474; localcolorgs@comcast.net), a 36-year-old Jensen Beach native who is a well-respected veteran light tackle and shallow water expert on Indian River sportfishing.
Because the Indian River is anywhere from one to two hours east of his current Winter Park residence outside of Orlando, Cary regularly targets various portions of the river to cast topwater lures, soft plastics, bucktail jigs and fly tackle. Although the spotted sea trout is still fished commercially with rod and reel, after the state of Florida passed a ban on commercial netting inshore, the health of sea trout as well as snook and redfish greatly improved. Although not abundant, trout in the 13-to15-pound range are usually found in portions of the Indian River between Stuart and Ft. Pierce.
Normally, the Indian River averages approximately 3 feet in depth and provides a rich and diverse aquatic community that is unique to America. Much of this water course serves as a segment of the Intracoastal Waterway with a mildly deeper channel dredged several hundred yards offshore. For many years Florida's major north-south highway access, U. S. 1, as well as the Florida East Coast Railroad, paralleled much of the coastline of the Indian River.
During family vacations as a youngster, I remember peering from the car window at the rows of rickety wooden docks that stabbed into the tranquil river and seeing occasional fishermen wading and baitcasting for the giant sea trout that I'd read about. I savored the pungent aroma of smoked shrimp and mullet at tiny roadside seafood stands.
Biologists, researchers and fishermen all hypothesize as to why the Indian River grows such big spotted sea trout. Obviously there is a good forage base and the sea grass community has maintained throughout much of the lagoon system. The Stuart to Ft. Pierce area also features ocean inlets that allow water exchanges that maintain a high salinity.
Ed is frequently quoted in many fishing publications on light tackle/inshore gamefishing topics. He maintains that milder water temperatures and a year-round growing season are major contributors to the big trout phenomenon. Captain Ed reasons that the Gulf Stream is very near the coast in the Stuart-Ft. Pierce area which bolsters warmer water temperatures (despite thermometer shock from Bruun visits). This encourages a year-round forage banquet such as mullet, pigfish and substantial shrimp populations that simply are not available along the Florida, Texas and Louisiana Gulf coast, where water temperatures are constantly chilled by winter storms. Gator trout, it seems, respond to the same warm conditions that make Indian River brand citrus such a delightful treat.
As youthful bicycle-mounted anglers, Cary Kresge and I nabbed a few sea trout from local seawalls near our Biscayne Bay homes because major turtle grass flats were nearby. Once we graduated to outboard skiffs, the flats, as well as Miami's top sea trout zone - South Bay off Mercy Hospital - were accessible. The most productive grass beds of South Bay surrounded the takeoff and landing area for the Coast Guard seaplane base at Dinner Key.
A taste for chewy bait tails<br />
The South Florida, Keys and Everglades sea trout we knew averaged a pound or two with a South Bay giant perhaps edging 5 pounds. Sea trout were eager to smack bucktail jigs, swimming MirrOlures and occasionally a topwater plug as well as live shrimp. When soft plastic bait tails finally made their appearance in the Southeast, sea trout definitely showed a preference for these chewy frauds.
It wasn't until years later after I exchanged Florida for Wyoming, that I returned to fish with Cary and his friends on the Indian River and meet the gator trout in person. I recall we were wading some grass flats near Florida Power and Light's St. Lucie Nuclear Plant near Ft. Pierce. I was casting a bright floating MirrOlure plug when an enormous mouth exploded after my lure, not more than four rod lengths away. It took a few minutes for me to realize that had been a trout blast. ... a real one from a sea trout the size of which I'd never before encountered. It was startling.
The thermometer plunge, as well as several massive rainstorms and tornado warnings, did not help Cary's and my fishing time with Ed. The normally cooperative redfish had left the area. So we worked swimming plugs and soft plastic lures on spinning and baitcasting rods for Mr. Sea Trout. And we saw several pods of jumbo trout, but the Bruun chill-job cooled their interest.
Ed likes to fish slowly, covering grass flats dotted with white sand holes as an incoming tide floods. Several days before he had been wading in shorts. But even this hardcore flats hunter conceded that wading this day might not enjoyable. The big sea trout that Ed hunts are wary and difficult to make out. From a quietly polled skiff, chances are, if angler or guide does spot one, it's antenna is already up and you're too late. To thwart this, Ed's Shimano spinning outfits feature 7-plus foot rods and 10-pound Spectra braid line with which he makes tape measure home run-like casts. "The trout don't know there's an angler anywhere around when my lure lands," he chuckles. His retrieves vary from short hops to stop and go twitches. His technique for big trout is a combination of scouting, patience and determination.
All the time that we were exploring the Indian River grass flats I pondered how to fool a really big sea trout by using a fly. Perhaps after it warms up and I learn how to hook a few gator trout on conventional tackle, I'll pose a fly rod plan to Ed.