The Merritt Island National Wildlife

Refuge. This legendary and prestigious area

of the Space Coast of Florida is home to some of the best in-

shore fishing anywhere in the world. The MINWR is a vast ex-

panse of lush grass flats and sheltered backwaters that encom-

passes the North Indian River Lagoon, Mosquito Lagoon, and

also the Banana River No Motor Zone. Monster Redfish and

Seatrout, Tarpon both juvenile and adult, Snook, Black Drum,

and a host of other fish species call the Refuge home year

round. The fishing here throughout the year can be downright

epic. But what if I told you that you didn't have to fish there to

Being that the MINWR is the premiere fishing destination on

the Space Coast, and arguably in the entire state of Florida, it

goes without saying that it receives more than it's fair share of

angler induced pressure. With nearly 100 charter guides who

use the Refuge daily, to the masses of recreational anglers,

these fish seemingly never get a break. And it shows in their de-

meanor. While these are definitely still perfectly catchable fish,

they require a bit more finesse and ease than most other fish

due to the heavy pressure they receive. Not to mention the an-

glers who choose to find these fish on the outboard (bumping,

or burning a flat), these factors combined can at times make for

some very skittish fish. You can see the staggering amount of

prop scarring in the grass both in person, and on Google Earth.

Keep Your Options Open

By: Marc Krsek

Now am I saying that you should not go out and enjoy the ref-

uge? Of course not. It is something everyone in the angling

game should experience. What I am getting at, is to keep your

options open. There is a plethora of exceptional fishing to be

had outside of Refuge waters, most of these areas seeing much

less use than the MINWR. This translates into fish that are less

gun-shy if you will. And if you are fishing the right areas, the

large numbers of fish that are common to find on the Refuge

can also be found in these very waters. The entire Indian River

south of the NASA (405) Causeway boasts a robust population

of large Redfish, Trout, Snook, and Black Drum. As does the

portion of the Banana River located south of the 528 Causeway.

I will briefly break down these sections of the Lagoon System

and give you a short overview of each.

The entire eastern shoreline of the Indian River south of the 405

is very consistent and at times can be absolutely on fire. Pine

Island is always worth a look, both on the flats, and in it's vari-

ous backwaters. The flats usually hold good numbers of Reds,

Drum, and Trout. The backwaters host life to some of the best

Tarpon and Snook fishing Merritt Island has to offer. Further

south you will find a nice run of docks that quality fish consis-

tently occupy. Fish these docks slowly and thoroughly, leaving

no stone unturned. The west side of the river in this area also

has many docks that can all hold fish from time to time. Con-

tinuing south, you will run into Manatee Cove and it's sur-

rounding islands. All of our inshore gamefish can be found in

this area in great numbers. Even farther south, you run into the

Barge Canal. Yes, contrary to popular belief, there are fish in

the Barge Canal! There is great fishing even farther south of the

areas I touched on, but I will let you explore these areas and

find the magic on your own!

The entire eastern shoreline of the Indian River south of the 405

is very consistent and at times can be absolutely on fire. Pine

Island is always worth a look, both on the flats, and in it's vari-

ous backwaters. The flats usually hold good numbers of Reds,

Drum, and Trout. The backwaters host life to some of the best

Tarpon and Snook fishing Merritt Island has to offer. Further

south you will find a nice run of docks that quality fish consis-

tently occupy. Fish these docks slowly and thoroughly, leaving

no stone unturned. The west side of the river in this area also

has many docks that can all hold fish from time to time. Con-

tinuing south, you will run into Manatee Cove and it's sur-

rounding islands. All of our inshore gamefish can be found in

this area in great numbers. Even farther south, you run into the

Barge Canal. Yes, contrary to popular belief, there are fish in

the Barge Canal! There is great fishing even farther south of the

areas I touched on, but I will let you explore these areas and

find the magic on your own!

Which brings us to our next area (and my personal favorite),

The Banana River Lagoon. In my opinion, the No Motor Zone

is the premier area of the Banana, but points south of there can

be just as hot. Just south of the 528 causeway on the eastern

side of the lagoon is the Bombing Range, named so for the steel

girders that were used back in the 40's to drop non live ordi-

nance in target practice operations. While it lacks the seagrass

that is abundant in areas north, the fish do not seem to mind at

all. Concentrate your efforts on the long sandbar that runs north

and south. Continuing our journey southbound, you run into the

Cape Canaveral Hospital which has a very prominent flat and

drop-off on the west side of the building. Trout, Redfish, and

Black Drum frequent this flat, more so during the cooler

months of the year. If you continue south under the 520 cause-

way, you run into the 1000 islands. It is broken into two sec-

tions by Minutemen Causeway. Both the north and south sec-

tions hold strong numbers of all of our inshore gamefish. End-

less shorelines, creeks, cuts, pockets, and flats await you in this

area and when it is on, the fishing can be extraordinary. Even

further south, on the west shore of the Banana River bordering

South Tropical Trail is a wonderful flat that has produced

countless quality Reds and Trout for me over the years. There is

much more, but again, I will let you explore on your own from

this point.

While the actual spots are very important in fishing, it is how

you go about fishing these spots that will determine whether

you have a great day or possibly strike out. Geography is para-

mount. By that, I mean you need to know the underwater to-

pography of each area, and not only that, how the fish relate to

it and use it. For example, if you are after trophy Reds over 40",

you would not generally look in the skinny foot deep flats. On

occasion these fish do work up nearly that shallow, but the rule

of thumb is that they like to have some water over their backs

to be comfortable. That being said, check flats that are 2.5 - 5

feet deep for the big boys. They also frequent edges of flats,

drop-offs, and shoal edges. These are great places to start your

hunt and dial in an area from there. There are many things that

may affect this, such as water temperature, fishing pressure,

presence of forage, and more.

To summarize, of course the fishing in the MINWR is excep-

tional, but it is certainly not the only place that holds our resi-

dent gamefish. Getting yourself out there and exploring these

new areas can tap you into untold numbers of less pressured

fish. It also allows you to add more spots into your rotation,

which gives you many more "Plan B's", and also allows the fish

in a certain area you may be frequently working to rest and re-

juvenate. It never hurts to have a wide variety of spots in your

arsenal, and by getting out and exploring these areas you will

do just that. In the meantime, get out there and catch yourself a

fish on the Space Coast!

By: Marc Krsek/Owner-Operator

Space Coast Fishing Class

http://spacecoastfishingclass.weebly.com/

Visit our Facebook Page @

https://www.facebook.com/shallowwatersecretsmagazine

Post your recent catch and you could be featured Here!

Include Your Name, Species , Where it was Caught and Date

Titusville Area Flats Fishing Part I

What every new angler needs to know!

By: Captain Mark Wright

When asked to speak about flats fishing in the

Titusville area I often start my seminars with

this disclaimer: There are no hard and fast rules governing fish-

ing the waters surrounding Titusville. The words EVERY, AL-

WAYS and NEVER do not belong in my vocabulary as pertain-

ing to fishing techniques or patterns. Nothing I teach is carved

in stone or to be considered the definitive answer to common

questions about fishing this area. My fishing styles work for

me. Furthermore, they work for others, many others and lend

credence to the techniques. As you read through this article it

may benefit you to remember this first paragraph!

Fishing near Titusville differs from the lower regions of the In-

dian River Lagoon (IRL) system because of one major factor.

This area is by and large non-tidal. On any given day this lack

of tide can make fishing our area either extremely easy or espe-

cially difficult. I will tell you without reservation; if you mas-

ter fishing here first you will acclimate quickly to the tidal

zones of the IRL. If, like many, you learn to fish in the tidal

zones first your personal learning curve to success in Titusville

may prove frustrating!

This missive is intended to be an introduction to the non-tidal

region of the Indian River Lagoon and its extensions. If you

come from the tidal zones of “anywhere” America the text

within may help you sort out the oddities of our locale. Fishing

here is not necessarily difficult, though the fish themselves can

be! Fish holding patterns here sometimes mirror holding pat-

terns in tidal zones. Points, channels, obstructions like sandbars

and islands, coves, creek mouths and obviously, flats are uni-

versal fish holding features.

Approaching this fishery as one might approach fishing a shal-

low lake will help. By dissecting an area you plan to fish into

the features mentioned above and then exploring each feature

available in that area will usually result in “found” fish. An-

other issue at hand in this area is these fish wander more than is

typical in most areas of the IRL. I believe wind is the most criti-

cal factor governing fish movement here, at least on the short

term basis. Also, the stronger the wind blows the faster and far-

ther they tend to move and they tend to travel into the wind.

This is most noticeable on winds coming hard out of the north or

south where the full effect of water movement is realized!

For those who are not familiar with “tide” it is a vertical rise

and fall in ocean levels. These fluctuations are predictable

though wind direction and velocity will often affect a given tide

cycle on a local level. Lunar phases and seasonal scenarios are

far more influential. Tide also manifests itself with horizontal

water movement known as “current” and current flow is

equally as important a factor to understand when fishing within

a tidal zone.

Current direction on an incoming tide flows away from the inlet

as the tide rises or “floods” and flows back towards the inlet in

the opposite direction as the tides falls or “ebbs”.

To be clear, I’m not saying the ocean does not rise and fall lo-

cally in its very predictable fashion. I’m saying these lagoon

waters do not vary in any noticeable way on an hourly or daily

basis. While the “why” in fishing is not always obvious or im-

portant this “why” is easily explained and understood. Titus-

ville is too far from an inlet. An inlet, or pass if you prefer, is

an opening in a land mass which allows ocean water to enter

and exit another body of water.

Typically throughout the tidal zones of the Indian River Lagoon

tide flows for several miles both north and south of any inlet.

At the town of Sebastian lies Titusville’s closet inlet on the IRL

and is located about 60 miles to our south. The tidal flow of

Sebastian Inlet loses its effect near Grant to the inlet’s north and

again near Vero to the south. Similar boundaries of tidal reach

exist near Ft Pierce’s inlet as well as St Lucie inlet in Stuart.

Between each of these inlets we find areas with minimal tidal

effect as compared to waters within a few miles of each inlet.

However, even in these places where tide is minimal they still

exhibit some rise and fall as well as some predictable current

flow. In the non-tidal areas of the north IRL, Titusville for ex-

ample, these factors are non-existent. Our water movement,

however minimal, on an hourly or daily basis is predicated on

the wind’s direction and velocity.

We do see fluctuations in our water levels based on rain, lunar

phases and seasonal shifts. These fluctuations take place over a

span of many hours or days rather than minutes or a few hours

as is typical in true tidal zones.

Titusville is frequently called the “Redfish Capital of the

World”. I dispute this so called fact, but I will agree these wa-

ters offer some of the very best “sight-fishing” opportunities for

redfish, spotted seatrout and black drum in America. Why?

Because the lagoons of Titusville and its surrounding area are

comprised of shallow, clear (most of the time) water possessing

the perfect bottom structure and food sources our shallow water

oriented fish prefer.

To be successful on a regular basis here it helps to break up our

fishing strategies according to basic conditions and factors.

First and foremost water levels will dictate where we fish. Not

specific areas exactly, but how near to structure we fish. For

this article’s purpose we will restrict the topic to shallow water

flats fishing techniques. Shallow water for our purposes will be

defined as less than three feet deep and usually between one

and two feet in depth. The “structure” I refer to is usually a

shoreline and may also include shallow flats located in the mid-

dle of otherwise wide-open deep water or possibly islands

along the Intracoastal channel or near shorelines. Other struc-

tures of great importance are the long sandbars which parallel

the shorelines in some locations. These bars orient north to

south as do the shorelines. In some locations we have two de-

fined bars one farther off-shore with a slight “trough” between.

These bars are fairly noticeable in some areas and nearly uni-

dentifiable in others, but rest assured they are significant to

both cruising fish and feeding fish.

Any contour differing from the basic bottom features of a given

area have the ability to steer fish movement. Both baitfish and

predatory fish use these features at some time or another. Con-

tours can be above the bottom in the form of a “sandbar” or be-

low the bottom’s basic floor and described as a “ridge” or

“contour ridge”. Often the difference is measured in only a

few inches with a foot or more being a major variance that

bears noting and logging on the GPS or fisherman’s log book!

Another important factor is the availability of schooling baitfish,

specifically silver mullet, though black mullet can be important,

especially in their fingerling stage. The presence of pinfish, pig-

fish, mud minnows, fry-fish and “glass minnows” are also im-

portant pieces of the puzzle during the months they are prolific

in the shallows. When mullet are schooling, feeding and wan-

dering about the shallows pay attention to their movements. The

astute angler may notice the mullet are moving in “lanes” with

group after group following a particular path. To me these lanes

are akin to the buffet line at your local restaurant. The predators

come here to feed easily with their prey doing most of the work

as they mindlessly swim into an ambush.

Look for Part II of this article in the January Addition!

Feel Free to contact Capt. Mark Wright Owner/Operator of

Florida East Coast Fishing Adventures

www.captmarkwright.com or call/text 321-302-FISH

Fall To Winter Transitions

By: Captain Ricky Banks

This is one of my favorite times of the year.

Being an avid Snook angler and Premier In-

structional Guide, the migrations to the ultra-back waters and to

the back water is a blast to learn and follow. There are a lot of

skinny water areas that the Snook go to survive winter. Most

anglers do not know how shallow and skinny these fish will go

to get to hidden spring feeds and Ponds with muck bottoms that

hold solar heat through the dark hours of the night when the

temperature’s drop dramatically. I have spent better than 40

years chasing these fish, designing lures to catch them and

learning this migration. The results of finding these spots can be

the most rewarding and I use a Gheenoe or Kayak for a lot of

this type of fishing as well as hiking in.

This Snook fell for a Sea

Drifter and was caught in an 8

foot wide ditch at the mouth

of a small pond. I made the

Sea Drifter to fish from Sub-

Surface Top water to the Bot-

tom. It is a Deadly Twitch

Bait. Other Lure selections

include Top water Walkers and Soft Plastics like the Flats

Creeper or Dock Boss.

This Snook is one of 9

caught in an hour and half

of fishing during a prime

condition situation. I

timed the evening bite

with a front that came

through and the Snook

Went Off! Timing, Presen-

tation and the willingness

to work for them paid off. Yes I am a Scientific Angler and fol-

low the rules when I can, to make for the best fishing possible. I

caught 5 of the 9 on this Fender Walker and the Trick was, the

Snook went into test mode!!!!! This is when they will hit Mouth

closed or tail slap the lure to test it. Here’s the Trick, when they

knock it into the air, the second it hits the water, get it back on

cadence and the strike will be heart stopping. They hit so hard

they set the hook.

This guy struck at the bank as

I lifted the Plug out of the wa-

ter. I caught it on my Go Pro

and think it’s a neat Pic. It

came out from a rock edge at

my feet. I figure eight pat-

terned the sea drifter immedi-

ately after this strike and here

is the result.

A mouth full of Sea Drifter. The name of the game is Thinking,

Stay calm and turn a miss into a hit. Learn the backwaters, be

respectful of property owners and enjoy the nature around you.

After the fish leave the back waters they hang out at the mouths

of canals and then some start the migration to go spawn at the

Inlets. Not all leave, But that’s another story.

Anytime you can find flow pipes or intersections, it’s time to

dissect the area. If Flow is present Fish are nearby. Work the

area thoroughly and try to be in a stealth mode. Solid steps or

thumps on the ground spook wary fish. My number one thing I

see folks do on the boat on charters is stepping hard on the deck

from the Platform and thumping the rod but on the deck. Some

days you get away with it, others you don’t. Some days I see

presentations where I think we are trying to cut the air and that

sound alone blows weary fish out. Stealth is the word! I have

crawled down a bank stayed on my knees to present the perfect

cast to get Monster Brown Trout to eat. Results are what we

are after www.shallowatersecrets.com .

Tom Altif The man behind Kayaks by Bo with a Ditch Flow Snook!

Remember a little homework pays off! Areal Maps Help, Mos-

quito control ditch photos are also useful. Learn to use Google

Earth. But the journey is the fun part Right? Be safe I do carry a

Snake Kit with me even in our winter time. Don’t forget in the

ditches look for Gators Sunning. I offer Shore Charters for teach-

ing this deadly method of fishing in the Fall through Spring.

Stay Hooked!

Master Captain Rick Banks

For Instructional Charters and Fishing Fun!

www.shallowwatersecrets.com

www.bankslures.com Just Add Water©

Until Next Issue TIGHT LINES!