Happy Fishing! Check out this weekend's Big Bend fishing report
Scallop season has arrived!
Bay scallop season opened July 1 in Franklin-Jefferson, NW Taylor and Levy-Hernando counties
Safety is ALWAYS a number 1 priority when boating or any other on the water activity. The following is direct from the desk of FWC:
Be safe when diving for scallops. Wear a life jacket when underway and do not drink and boat. When scalloping in open water, divers should stay within 300 feet of a properly displayed divers-down flag or device, and within 100 feet of a properly displayed divers-down flag or device if on a river, inlet or navigation channel. Boat operators traveling within 300 feet of a divers-down flag or device in open water or within 100 feet of one on a river, inlet or navigational channel must slow to idle speed.
The 2023 recreational bay scallop season for Franklin, Wakulla, Jefferson, a portion of northwest Taylor, Levy, Citrus and Hernando counties opens July 1 and will remain open through Sept. 24. This includes Carrabelle, Lanark, St. Marks, Cedar Key, Crystal River and Homosassa.
The daily bag limit is 2 gallons of whole bay scallops in the shell or 1 pint of bay scallop meat per person, with a maximum of 10 gallons of whole bay scallops in the shell or 1/2 gallon (4 pints) shucked bay scallop meat per vessel.
Throughout the season and region-wide, vessel limits do not allow an individual to exceed their personal bag limit.
Other 2023 season dates
There are different regional bay scallop seasons but the regulations do allow direct and continuous transit of legally harvested bay scallops through closed areas. When transiting, boaters may not stop their vessels in waters that are closed to harvest and must proceed directly to the dock or ramp to land scallops in a closed area. The other bay scallop season dates are as follows:
St. Joseph Bay/Gulf County: Aug. 16 – Sept. 24. This region includes all state waters from the Mexico Beach Canal in Bay County to the westernmost point of St. Vincent Island in Franklin County.
Other regulations: Scallops may be collected by hand or with a landing or dip net. There is no commercial harvest allowed for bay scallops in Florida.
Stow it, don’t throw it. Please do not discard scallop shells in inshore waters commonly used for recreational activities such as near boat ramps or swimming areas. Piles of discarded scallop shells can create hazards for swimmers and damage seagrass habitat. Scallop shells can be discarded in a trash receptacle or in larger bodies of water where they are more likely to disperse. Also, don’t forget to stow your trash securely on your vessel so that it doesn’t blow overboard.
Until next week, be safe have fun and ALWAYS wear a life jacket while boating.
Cliff (JR) Mundinger
APALACHEE BAY
Otto Hough (Facebook @myhometownfishing) says,” Let's just start by mentioning that the super, albeit hot marine conditions across the waters of the Big Bend provided anglers and scallopers great opportunities for fun catching. It was definitely a fine, long four day Fourth of July holiday on the Big Pond. Lots of quality trout and reds were caught inside, with anglers who ran outside to waters in depths of 60 to 80 feet finding lots hungry red snapper and red grouper. Those anglers targeting tripletail also enjoyed awesome seas that were extremely conducive to some fantastic catches.
Over these next three day days, tides will be going high around sunrise with light winds in the morning hours. That water back in the coastal creeks will offer up the chance for working a favorite topwater plug, like the One Knockers, Super Spooks, Skitterwalks, Moonwalkers and Top Dogs. Experience the thrill of a topwater explosion, take time early on to "walk the dawg".
As that morning sun gets on up in the midmorning sky, slide on out with the falling tide to waters 5 to 6 feet to start targeting the trout down in water column. Those reds will more than likely slam a gold AquaDream spoon in waters between 2 to 4 feet. Start working softbaits like a Texas rigged Zoom or Gulp! five inch jerk shad or fish down a bit more working a Gulp! or Z-man shrimp on an eighth ounce jighead under a popping Cajun Thunder or Equalizer on about a 24 inch leader. The reds have been cruising over hard bottomed waters 2 to 4 feet in depth. AquaDream spoons have been garnering the attention of some upper and overslot bohunkers. As for both species, both will devour a three-four finger size pinfish drifting out there under a popping cork. Don't be surprised should roaming cobia slam the offering. There were a number of legal cobia caught over the holiday stretch.
Outside, if the morning seas and winds are as angler friendly as predicted, even though likely not as slick as the seas enjoyed over the Fourth, still expect easy runs outside to find both the red snapper and red grouper. Both species are showing an appetite for pinfish and LYs in 60 to 80 feet of water.
Scallopers found the bivalves to east of the Lighthouse to the south and east-southeast of the Rock Garden eastward, but south of the Grey Mare Rock area. Most boats came back to the hill with full limits, though it took a few hours to fill up the buckets. Sadly, waters further east are likely to be tannin stained for a week or so longer with the dark waters flowing out from the Aucilla river.
Marine weather conditions the next week or so will be of the summertime variety, with pop-up showers and boomers likely. Keep an eye to the sky and check the radar app occasionally when skies appear to be darkening. Be it fishing skinny, scalloping or running outside, boat safely. Don't have anyone on board sitting on the bow dangling their legs overboard when the motor is running. No one needs to become a boating statistic. Observe all the nautical rules of the road, especially in the river channels as those waterways are almost always jam packed on the summer weekends. Wear an auto-inflatable PFD, at least while running, but know that if not being worn, regular PFDs are required for each person on board to meet FWC live saving requirements. Have fun, enjoy all that the waters of the Big Bend have to offer! Just FISH!!
ST GEORGE ISLAND
Captain Russ Knapp (850-653-5072) reports, “Starting with the weather forecast/best guess, at this time (Wednesday afternoon) you can expect West winds at 10 to 15 knots both Saturday and Sunday with seas running 2 feet and an 80% chance of rain. I'm not at all convinced that winds at 15 knots will only produce 2-foot seas, especially out in the "big water" 20 miles plus and the rain will be in the form of fast-moving squalls so do pay attention.
Tides at Cut will feature an 8AMish high at 1.4 feet, followed by a .8 low around 2:30 PM and closing out with 1.3 high in the 8PM time frame. We have mentioned in the past that low pressure will result in higher than predicted tides while high pressure will give lower than predicted tides and last week proved the point with strong high pressure giving us tides .5 and more below prediction.
In the bay, things are in full summer mode with the water temperature running 87 to 89 degrees but the fish are still out there looking for that free meal you're presenting too them. Capt. Randy Peart (850 320 4214) says if you want to fish the flats, target the edge of the drop-off close to the cooler water and use the normal Cajun Thunder popping cork with a 1/8 oz jig head under it baited with a DOA or Gulp soft bait. If you find yourself out early Capt. Randy suggests throwing a top water lure until the sun gets up high.
If you have young anglers on the boat, bring some cut bait and put it out on a flat line as there are good numbers of Black Tip sharks around and there is nothing a young angler likes more than fighting a shark.
Offshore, Red Snapper season is in full swing with most every boat coming in limited out on the Red Snapper and good number of Mangrove Snapper and Red Grouper in the box as well.
Also the pelagic are here and Capt. Clint Taylor (850 370 6631) strongly suggests trolling between your numbers both to hopefully get a pelagic strike but also to get people cooled off for a while.
Tip of the week --- one of the biggest issues you are going to face on the water at this time of year is keeping your party hydrated. I keep all manor of drinks in my cooler for guests and while they aren't all the best for hydration my idea is it's better to get them to drink something than nothing at all. One issue that comes up all the time is quests don't want to drink enough because they are afraid to have to use the bathroom. I make it a point to tell them BEFORE we leave the dock there is a swim ladder in the stern of the boat and if that's not good for them, we can always pull into an island and find a nice tree. It's your responsibility as Captain for the safety of our party and hydration falls 100 % in that duty so DON"T BE SHY ABOUT ADDRESSING IT.
KEATON BEACH
Captain Pat McGriff of one more cast charters, (onemorecast@gtcom.net) says, “Well, the smoke has cleared (literally) from the Fourth of July Extravaganza and yes the trout are still biting in spite of the crush of boats etc. which were here.
This week’s full moon tides, I guess, are the key to success as several folks have limited out this week.
Bubba Revels of Tifton, Ga. had a nice mess of trout and a limit of 5 reds for his folks Monday. Bubba fishes live pinfish under Back Bays.
Kenny Mullins of Epic Charters had two on board Tuesday and caught a limit of trout in under an hour-and–a-half ....once he found them .... right after hooking and landing three Tarpon to 80 pounds !
Kenny was also throwing live pinfish at this catch Tuesday.
Billy Pillow of Woods ’N Water Fishing Team fame fished with me Tuesday and we caught a limit of ten trout to 23 inches, with three over 18 inches, on live pinfish under Back Bay Thunders in 3.2 – 4.1 feet of water. We started fishing at 10:30 a.m. and were done at 12:45 p.m. I expect the bite to last through the week, with some breeze an important component to success.
MEXICO BEACH
Captain Kevin Lanier of (KC Sportfishing Charters 850-933-8804) says, “The weather has finally let us back out on the water and we have not been disappointed. The Red Snapper bite is not wide open and it has taken the better part of a full trip to get our limit. Both live bait and frozen bait are working. Some days it is one or the other so, make sure you take some of each. Red Grouper closed as of July first so in typical FWC style we are now putting more pressure on other species. We are in a full moon period now so it does push the bite until later in the day.
The Vermillion Snapper (bee Liners) bite has gotten better as well. Squid pieces are the key. Keep those pieces to the size of a dime and hooks small. A big Bee Liner will eat your bigger Red snapper bait.
Kings are showing up in bigger numbers. We are getting about one fish per trip and a few break offs as well. Float that dead bait down current from the boat and set your drag really light and put it in the rod holder. When the fish hits. Let it run for a few seconds the increase the drag. When fighting the fish make sure you keep a bend in your rod to keep the tension on the fish.
Fishing should stay good for the rest of July. Watch the heat and make sure you hydrate. If not you will have issues you do not want. Take breaks and stand in the shade when you can,
BIG BEND KAYAK REPORT
Salt strong coach Matt Lanier (Matt@saltstrong.com) tells us, “This heat has been brutal this past week, but its looking like we may be having some rains coming to cool things off a bit this coming week.
With the warmer weather and higher temperatures, the fish have been holding a little further from the shore in search of cooler waters, but they may be making their way back towards those shorelines after these rains cool things off a bit, but for now it’s probably best to stay focused on those outside edges of the flats.
Pay attention to the weather and 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!
The trout are on the flats and potholes in the 3-5 foot range, about a half mile or more off the shore in more comfortable waters. They were found in their natural summertime haunts, on the ledges of the flats where the waters were 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 for a 3-5 foot depth, but a favorite to call in the fish on tough days will always be a popping cork.
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.
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, as of lately, have been 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 to keep moving if you aren’t finding feeding fish. With the warmer temperatures, the fish will be 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. One important thing, with these warmer temperatures, if planning to fish in the morning… the earlier the better. Your best bite will typically come before it gets too hot outside.
We will be at ICast next week to go see what the coming year has in store for the fishing community and what innovations we will need to be looking for. This is always an exciting time, so be sure to keep your eye out on social media channels for all of the sneak peaks inside of the event!
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
The Bass fishing on Lake Seminole has been very good this month as we enter June the topwater bite will be EXPLOSIVE!
The Bream and Shellcracker have been bedding and the May flies have started hatching!
For a Lake Seminole Fishing Adventure this June give me a call at 850-264-7534 or follow us on Instagram @Capt.paultyrefishing and Facebook@capt.paultyrefishing
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Here is this weekend's Big Bend fishing report.
