Nedak --
Those were my stomping grounds when I was a kid, growing up in Orlando. The No Motor Zone at KARS is actually the north end of the Banana River. Be sure to check out the map and ***free permit card*** for the Merritt Island NWR:
http://www.fws.gov/merrittisland/FishRegs2013.pdf You can also put in behind the cruise ship terminals on the east side of the river, which is technically 'no fishing' water, but you can paddle through it on your way to fishing. You used to be able to fish almost the whole NMZ, but since 2001 they blocked out the east side, which is most of the flats. The fishing area starts more or less at the spoil islands and goes west.
I haven't flyfished the Banana River NMZ as much as I would like; it is often a bit too windy out there. That said, I would add a few patterns to your arsenal:
- a Deerceiver in chartreuse (a deceiver with a spun deer hair head and bead chain eyes) or some sort of a suspending minnow
- a yellow popper (can be very plain)
- a spoon fly (if it's not cheating), like Dupree's or my own SiliSpoon (
http://flyfishingconsultant.blogspot.com/2011/06/miless-silispoon-fly.html)
- a Copper Liz
The deerceiver is a killer seatrout fly; fish it just under the surface, above the grass, especially anywhere there are sandy potholes. The yellow popper will take seatrout and reds, but also jacks and ladyfish. The spoon fly and the copper liz are both for redfish -- the spoon for searching, the liz for sightfishing. The Liz is named after one of the co-owners of the Fly Fisherman, which used to be the main fly shop on the space coast; they closed a few years ago, which was sad, but their staff always had a major case of flyshop spectrum disorder so it wasn't surprising. I don't know if there is another fly shop in the area.
If you have a spinning outfit, it might be worth bringing, along with some gold Johnson spoons and some soft plastic baits, just in case the wind makes flyfishing too difficult. If the wind is cranking, usually there will be some fish stacked up behind the spoil islands and sand bars, waiting for whatever gets pushed off the shallows -- you can fish from behind the islands and do reasonably well.
There is also an NMZ on the Mosquito Lagoon, which is a bit of a drive north of Cocoa. I fished that for the first time in April with my dad: we put in and started paddling out, and almost immediately began seeing medium-sized reds shooting out from in front of the boat. I hooked and played a large sea trout on a spoon fly, but he managed to unhook himself just as we got him to the boat. Very frustrating -- I have no idea what I was thinking debarbing that hook in the first place.
Wading in the Merritt Island fisheries can be a decent way to get around, although a lot of the bottom is soft. Some places are firmer than others. Often there is a pretty thick shore muck to get through, from all the decaying sea grass piled up. I've sunk up to my waist in the stinkiest mud you've ever smelled, so be careful if you're out there alone. I wouldn't worry at all about sharks while wading, but there usually is a large crocodilian in the Banana River NMZ, who sometimes shadows anglers. He has never attacked a human, to the best of my knowledge, but if he wants your fish don't bother arguing. I've seen him there since I was a teenager, so he could be a pair of boots or a purse by now, but he might still be kicking it.
If the wind is killing you and you still want to flyfish, try the dyke roads along the Indian River, across from Titusville. You can fish in the marsh behind the dykes, which they keep full to control the mosquito population, and there will be juvenile seatrout, snook, and ladyfish back there, up to a pound or so. You can't put a boat in, so just park and walk the roads, looking for holes in the mangroves big enough to launch a fly. This is about the only place you would want to use the 5 wt, probably with a small, flashy Clouser, or a small crease fly style popper. If the culverts are open, fish in the outflows (just like Gravelly) and you can catch bigger fish.
If you want snook, Cocoa is a bit too far north, in my experience. A solid choice would be the Sebastian River, an hour or so south. You can put in at Donald MacDonald park, and paddle around in relative protection from the wind. I've gotten some snook back there -- look for overhanging brush or docks, like you would fish for largemouth. There are also supposed to be good numbers of juvenile tarpon in there, though it might already be too cold by October; I struck (but did not set) a ~20 lb. tarpon a year or so ago, but it was too cold when I went back in April. Note there will be motor boats, which can be a hassle. For snook I would recommend the Deerceiver or a razorback (sort of a saltwater zonker pattern) -- anything you can get up under the trees that has good action and won't sink right away -- in dark colors (purple, black) since the water has a lot of tannin.
good luck,
Miles
