The Merritt Island Boat Parade will take place on December 19th, 2015 starting at 6:00pm. The basic route is below, and boats start lining up at the start area before dark on the day of the parade. The parade will last until 9:00 or later depending on how many boats join in the fun.

The captains meeting for the Merritt Island Christmas Boat Parade will be held December 14th, at the Kiwanis Island Karen Rood Community Building at 6:00pm. (Near the boat ramp)

There will maps for the route and all information will be available at the meeting. There are prizes for different categories of decorations and you must be registered to be entered in the judging. You do not have to register to join the fun, just to be entered for judging.

2015 Merritt Island Boat Parade

Went out with Dave & Debby on 11/22 for some fishing and to check the crab traps. We fished a few spots in the Banana River and ended up with 3 keeper Trout in between checking the traps. We also caught 20+ smaller trout on shrimp, mullet, and jigs. The traps had 2 blue crab and a total of 12 stone crab claws.

Not a bad lunch after 4 hours on the water.

The morning after Halloween is always a little slower than usual. We left the dock at the crack of noon and headed out through the locks and caught a live well full of mullet pretty quickly near the drawbridge. First spot we caught a 18″ flounder (on a mullet) and a short mangrove snapper (on a shrimp) then moved around a few more times. The last spot before it started getting dark at 5:30 and this beast picks up a mullet. It was an exciting battle with an ultralight and 6 pound test!

We also checked the crab traps on Saturday before the parties started and and caught this molting stone crab. We gave it the opportunity to grow up and be caught another day, but his buddies weren’t so lucky.

Strong day on stone crabs, only caught two blue crabs though. Great weekend to be on the water.

After my first topwater snook last week, Allison was anxious to go catch her first snook. Saturday morning we head back to the new “top secret spot 001″ and start with the same topwater plug. After a while she was ready to switch to live bait, so we left and got some shrimp and mud minnows and came back. Within 5 minutes she had her first snook! At 20” he posed for a few pictures and was sent on his way.

Before too long I get a hit and a juvenile tarpon starts getting air. Luckily for me she was on land and had her phone nearby so she got some video (coming soon) and some pictures for me.

After a few minutes I (finally!) land my first Merritt Island tarpon.

He also posed for a few pictures before he was sent back home.

We didn’t catch anything for a while after that and had a stone crab “harvest party” to go to that afternoon so we headed back home.

Not bad for a Saturday afternoon!

Finally caught my first Snook on topwater, and right here in Merritt Island! When he blasted the lure 4′ from where I was standing I thought I was about to get attacked by a gator, but was surprised by this guy instead.

I was exploring some spots that are biking distance from my house and had a run in with this little guy.  I didn’t bring any of my gear with me so I couldn’t measure him, so I snapped a few quick pictures and quickly released him, making note of where he lives. I’ll be back on the boat to explore the area more and see what else it produces. I saw some small tarpon rolling, and heard more snook hitting bait all around.