Good luck o the water! Here is this weekend's Big Bend fishing report
APALACHEE BAY
Otto Hough (Facebook @myhometownfishing) says, ”Pretty good marine conditions over this past weekend on into midweek allowed anglers many opportunities to chase the reds/trout/tripletail inside as well as the gags outside along with red snapper during the second weekend of the Special State of Florida season in Gulf waters. Many thanks to the Governor for providing these 17 extra days to fish for red snapper; every Friday through Sunday into the long, closing four day Thanksgiving weekend. This bonus season is definitely well liked and appreciated by many anglers, while being a tremendous boost to local Gulf coastal economies.
Looking ahead to the coming new moon weekend, tidal flows will be significant between the midmorning lows into the midafternoon highs, seeing over three and a half feet of water shift after the turns. While those "east is least" winds are in the weekend marine forecast, conditions should be conducive to working drift lines if pursuing the trout by drift fishing over known spotty bottom waters. Water clarity remains a bugaboo east of the Lighthouse, on well beyond Econfina. To the west, clarity is slowly improving, though tannin shades linger all the way west to Turkey Point Spit, south from there on out to Dog Island Reef. When that strong afternoon new moon flood tide pushes in, it ought to afford some good opportunities to work up into the coastal creeks for the reds and big trout.
Outside, in 20' to 30' of water, the gags are beginning to dine going into the new moon. Sadly, elevated September water temps are slowing the true shallow water (12'-16') gag bite over the rock piles. If water temps finally getl down into the mid-70° range, more legal gags will begin moving within the safe, doable, fishing range of small boat anglers on the calmer days.
Sadly, last weekend there was another boating accident near Apalach that resulted in one fatality and a serious injury to another occupant. Nautical safety and alertnessl is paramount anytime the boat is underway or at anchor. Always be alert, be aware of the nautical rules of the waterways and wear an auto-inflatable PFD at all times. While that auto-inflatable won't prevent a boating accident, it will enhance one's0 survivability odds should the unthinkable occur.
Be smart, boat wisely, have fun, just FISH!
INLAND:
Lake Iamonia has been giving up some fine early morning and late afternoon limits of bass. Zoom Speedvibes and Horny Toads in Watermelon and Junebug Red colors have been well liked offerings when worked quickly across the fringes of the pads in 5 to 7 feet of water. Back in the sinkhole, anglers tossing the sliver/black backed Bagley's Bang-o-Lure have been having a blast with early morning catching nice Iamonia bass.
Bream anglers were also finding the classic bohunker Iamonia bream bedding going into the coming new moon period. This new moon weekend should see more bedding activity, much to the delight of anglers targeting the panfish.
ST GEORGE ISLAND
Captain Russ Knapp (850-653-5072) reports, “Seas conditions for the weekend look pretty good on wave height with Saturday have 2' seas and Sunday showing 1 ' or less but a back door cold front is bringing 50% to 60 % chance of rain.
There are a lot of different things at play in the weather world this weekend so as always be sure to recheck the forecast before you head out.
Tides at the Cut are going to be favorable for fishing this weekend with a midmorning low tide of .7 ' followed by a mid to late afternoon 1.7' high tide and Sunset coming at7:43 PM.
In the bay, Capt. Dan Fortunas (850 980 0101) reports the water temperature is slowly coming down a bit and the large over slot Redfish are starting to show up in and around the passes looking for your live bait, frozen finger Mullett or fresh Shrimp hooked to a circle hook.
Capt. Dan is catching good numbers of Speckled Trout on the flats using Sea Shad - Fried Chicken Bass Assassin soft baits fished 18" under a Cajun Thunder popping cork. The one issue at this time is almost all of these fish are male and 14 and ¾ inches long even with the tail pinched as FWC tells you to do when measuring most fin fish. We strongly suggest you look at FWC 's website as to the correct way to measure the various fish as it's a bit confusing to many anglers and FWC will write you a ticket for over and under sized fish.
Capt. Dan also wants to remind everyone, sea cows or manatee’s are showing up in the cut. Be extra careful when navigating through there. If you see car-top size areas where the water looks different it may be a manatee cruising near the surface.
Offshore, we are being blessed with another Red Snapper -Gag Grouper weekend for recreational anglers in both State and Federal waters . Capt. Clint Taylor ( 850 370 6631 ) reminds you that Red Snapper season for Federal Reef Permit commercial boats ( fishing past nine miles ) is closed however, "for hire" state permitted boats ( out to nine miles ) can put Red Snappers in the box when fishing in state waters. Capt. Clint says not to worry if you charter a "federal reef permit boat" as there are good number of large Gag Grouper, non-Red Snappers and pelagic's that are hungry and waiting for you to bring them dinner. My neighbor, Capt. Mike fished live bottom out around the towers last weekend and brought back some really nice Red Snapper so it is well worth the trip out there for recreational angers.
Tip of the week -- the hot waters of Summer have brought in the jellyfish in HUGE numbers and they would love for you to get careless and get caught up in their tentacles. There is a lot of misinformation and "old wife's tales" about how to treat a sting so my best advice is look up jellyfish stings and read the information you find carefully. The "readers digest" version is rinse the area off with a lot sea water or vinegar and then carefully scrape across the sting with the edge of a credit card to remove the remining stingers. " Do nots" include rinsing the area with fresh water or urine as both will only set off more stings and make things worse. My rule of thumb for any jellyfish type animal is if it has tentacles it can hurt you however, some jellyfish such as Cannonball Jellys are really pretty cool "jelly people" and not looking to ruin your day. One last comment, if you have a "bad event" of any kind happen-- jellyfish sting, Catfish stick-- make sure you are hydrated as your body will be stressed and dehydration will make things much worse.
MEXICO BEACH
Captain Kevin Lanier of (KC Sportfishing Charters 850-933-8804) says, “Fishing continues to be good in our area. With weekend openings for Red Snapper combined with a 2 month Gag Grouper season it can make for a really good time. Live bait is the best for Grouper. Plan to run out at least 30 miles and search for ledges and hard bottom.
I run a 3 way swivel with 6 to 8 feet of 100 pound leader, a 8/0 circle hook. I like to hook the live bait in the back just forward of the dorsal fin. I feel like this eliminates short strikes.
Drop your bait to the bottom and reel up 1 turn on the reel handle, then pay very close attention because a Grouper will grab the bait and run into a hole faster than you can set the hook.
Do not forget to catch some Bee Liners and Black Snapper while you are out.
Good luck and Good Fishing
KAYAK REPORT
Salt Strong Coach Matt Lanier, (matt@saltstrong.com 850 408 2910) is in recovery mode after shoulder surgery. His past post tells us, “This weekend is looking like rain! But that doesn’t mean we can’t get out there and catch fish! No electricity and a good rain can help the bite this time of year.
Just be sure to pay attention to the local radar to stay on top of the impending weather to determine the best shot at getting on the water. We can often get a good bite after the rain showers but be sure to keep safety in mind first! Lightning is a HARD PASS!
The trout are pushed out on the flats in the deeper potholes in the 4-6 foot range, in more comfortable waters with good salinity. They tend to sit further from shore in the summertime, on the ledges of the flats where the waters are a bit cooler. The larger number of trout are harder to find with the rain runoff and warmer temps, but covering flats at proper depth will produce a limit. When targeting the trout, be sure to use jig heads heavy enough to get you down in the deeper part of the water column, where those fish are at. Typically, a 3/16th or 1/4th oz will do fine in most areas, but a favorite to call in the fish on tough days will always be a popping cork with a paddletail or shrimp imitation about 24 inches or so underneath.
Redfish are moving further off the shoreline onto the flats, cruising in cooler waters with broken bottom. As it may be best to look in the 2-3 foot range in most cases, the redfish will also often return to the shorelines with the incoming tide. On those hot days, as the sun gets higher in the sky, they will generally move back out a bit deeper and sit in the potholes on the flats, in search of comfortable waters and favorable conditions. On those hot and calm days, a soft jerk shad has been producing for those finicky and hot fish, but when the water is moving good a paddletail is a solid producer.
If the winds allow, you can start the mornings with a topwater plug of choice to entice those massive blowups just after sunrise. Productive lures we have been using are the Skitter Walk, Moonwalker, One-Knocker or any other walk-the-dog style topwater. With the floating grass we have been getting, it can often be helpful to go with a single inline hook choice to keep that pesky grass off those treble hooks.
Once the sun is up, your lure choice should generally move to something subsurface. As the higher the sun gets, the fish are less likely to feed on a topwater, so switching to a paddletail or a jerk shad, spoon, or even a hard, suspending twitch bait has been productive, but the most important thing will be to find the bait and current.
One important thing is with these warmer temperatures… the earlier the better. Your best bite will typically come before it gets too hot outside. Be sure to keep moving if you aren’t finding feeding fish. With the warmer temperatures, the fish will be spread out, on the move and we need to be doing the same to find their preferred feeding zones. Try not to spend too much time in one area if you aren’t getting the bites you are looking for. The next Florida Redfish Series Pro Go Live event will be this Saturday August 19th, and will be a three redfish combined slot length, and a bonus big red, and trout jackpot! Boaters and kayakers alike are welcome to participate in this event so be sure to mark your calendar for some fun ripping lips! For more info about this event or others, be sure to check out flredfishseries.com
If you find yourself on the water and fishing in a spot where you haven’t gotten a bite for the last 15 minutes… it’s time to move. Keep looking for the 90/10 zone where those fish are holding. Don’t waste time in unproductive areas. The fish are moving and so should you!
To get the kids on some fish quickly, a live shrimp, or GULP!, under a popping cork around creek mouths, and even grass lines is a solid producer of fish. And the best part is you never know what you’ll catch because everything eats shrimp… EVEN ME!
If you plan on the water, please be sure to check the weather! The storms we get this time of year can roll in quickly, so stay aware, and always make sure you check (and double check) your gear and the weather. Most importantly… STAY SAFE & HAVE FUN!
LAKE SEMINOLE
Captain Paul Tyre of Lake Seminole Fishing Adventure’s, (850 264 7534) reports, Bass have started to start feeding up for the Fall. October forecast looks promising! If coming to Lake Seminole in October make sure to bring top water. Crank baits and Jerk-baits can also be very productive, especially if the Shad are running.
Spinnerbaits are very productive when the Bass start chasing Shad in the fall. One of my favorite Spinnerbaits is a 1/2oz War Eagle double willow leaf in chartreuse and white fished over the grass flats on the main lake.
The Striper and Hybrid fishing is very good in October! Lake Seminole has a great Striper/ Hybrid fishing in Fall! When fishing for Hybrid and Stripers, the correct rod paired with a 6:2-1 reel is critical. For the reel, I prefer the Lew’s LFS series. It has an awesome drag and can hold up to the demands of these hard fighting fish! For the rod, I prefer a Temple Fork Outfitter's Rod in the Professional Series. TFO's 7'6" heavy action rod with its fast tip and moderate action, paired with an Alabama rig, is my go-to for battling these tough fighting pelagics! On the business end of the A-rig, you can't beat the Bass Assassin 4” or 5" Sea Shad rigged on a Bass Assassin jig head that features a needle sharp Mustad wide gap hook. The hollow belly frog is also a must in the Fall on Lake Seminole!
Crappie fishing on Lake Seminole is good all year long, but the Fall through the winter months are exceptional! My favorite lures for catching Crappie are the wicked shad and baby shad baits made by ATX lures. They have an extensive line of panfish lures. These baits are offered in a variety of colors, but a couple of my favorite colors are Alewife and Chartreuse/white. I rig these on a 1/32 to 1/8oz jig head, depending on depth and wind conditions. I combine these with a size 10 open-face spinning reel and 4 to 6 pound monofilament line. When fishing a light bait, the rod, reel and line are important to have the best results. I prefer a Temple Fork Outfitters 6' to 7’ light action rod from their Trout and Panfish line.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Happy Fishing! Check out this weekend's Big Bend fishing report
