02-24-2007, 04:06 PM
St. Andrews Bay
Captain Todd Jones of Back Bay Adventures in Panama City said anglers are catching silver trout, whiting, black drum, sheepshead and redfish. Everybody is waiting for the water to warm. St. Joe Bay
Fred Erickson at Presnell's Bayside Marina and RV Resort said the bay is full of redfish. They are moving in schools and you'll need to sight-fish for them. Indian Pass has a lot of redfish too, along with some decent trout.
There are plenty of trout around the oil docks, in the Intracoastal Waterway, and Wetapo Creek. Whiting, drum and sheepshead are along the beaches, and that action is improving as the water warms. The mouth of St. Joe Bay is good for sheepshead, drum and catfish. Shrimp on the bottom is the secret to catching them.
Offshore, anglers fishing out of Franklin County are catching red and black grouper. Live bait, dead cigar minnows and squid (on the same hook) and cut mullet are the baits of choice for them. Apalachicola Bay
The report from Rex Pennycuff at Fisherman's Choice in East Point is that anglers fishing just out in the bay from the East River are doing well on sheepshead. Most of the fish are in the deeper washouts from creeks emptying into the bay. Live and fresh dead shrimp are resulting in some very good catches.
At Cat Point and the piers sheepshead action continues around pilings and rocks. Mixed in with them are black drum. Again, shrimp is the bait of choice.
Fishermen in the St. George Island surf are still catching a few redfish on live shrimp. As for the whiting, they are around and biting one minute, and gone the next. The best advice that Pennycuff has is to put your bait out, sit back in a lawn chair and enjoy the beauty of a day at the beach. When the fish bite, catch them. When not, just relax and wait. They will be back. (That's the way fishing is supposed to be.)
Redfish are biting in the Carrabelle River and at the marine lab when the weather is consistent. They're taking both jigs and live shrimp. Apalachee Bay
Scott Paterna at Jerry's Bait and Tackle in Crawfordville said plenty of redfish are still up the St. Marks and Wakulla rivers. Some of the best action is just below the U.S> Highway 98 Bridge over the Wakulla and around the power plant on the St. Marks. As long as it stays cold the fish will be up the rivers and creeks. That's where they are east of the St. Marks Lighthouse. Deep Creek and Stony Bayou are excellent spots to fish now.
He recommends bouncing Slurp and Gulp! jigs or live shrimp off the bottom for the reds. But bring plenty of spare jig heads. Lots of snags are down there. (Sounds like a tackle shop owner to me. Ha!)
Grouper action is very good, but the weather is a problem. These late-winter fronts that are pushing through kick the Gulf up pretty quick. Recently the seas have hit 15 feet. East Coast anglers can fish such conditions, but the shallow Gulf of Mexico seas are different. 'Taint much fun. But when weather permits, anglers are catching them in 30-40 feet of water and near Marker 24. The most effective technique is to troll deep running lures such as the Stretch series.
Jon Barnes and Doug Andrews caught several nice grouper up to 13 pounds trolling blue/silver Stretch 25 lures over coral bottom in 40 feet of water. Steinhatchee
Libbi Patterson at the Sea Hag Marina in Steinhatchee said there are a lot of trout being taken in the mouth of the Steinhatchee River, but all have been released. That will change on March 1 when the season opens.
Redfish action is good in the river too, as well as nearby creeks. When the water on the flats begins to warm most of the river and creek fish will move onto them and become easy targets for anglers.
Near shore, anglers fishing the 9-Mile Reef are catching sheepshead and black sea bass. It's been too rough for most fishermen to head offshore for grouper.
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Captain Todd Jones of Back Bay Adventures in Panama City said anglers are catching silver trout, whiting, black drum, sheepshead and redfish. Everybody is waiting for the water to warm. St. Joe Bay
Fred Erickson at Presnell's Bayside Marina and RV Resort said the bay is full of redfish. They are moving in schools and you'll need to sight-fish for them. Indian Pass has a lot of redfish too, along with some decent trout.
There are plenty of trout around the oil docks, in the Intracoastal Waterway, and Wetapo Creek. Whiting, drum and sheepshead are along the beaches, and that action is improving as the water warms. The mouth of St. Joe Bay is good for sheepshead, drum and catfish. Shrimp on the bottom is the secret to catching them.
Offshore, anglers fishing out of Franklin County are catching red and black grouper. Live bait, dead cigar minnows and squid (on the same hook) and cut mullet are the baits of choice for them. Apalachicola Bay
The report from Rex Pennycuff at Fisherman's Choice in East Point is that anglers fishing just out in the bay from the East River are doing well on sheepshead. Most of the fish are in the deeper washouts from creeks emptying into the bay. Live and fresh dead shrimp are resulting in some very good catches.
At Cat Point and the piers sheepshead action continues around pilings and rocks. Mixed in with them are black drum. Again, shrimp is the bait of choice.
Fishermen in the St. George Island surf are still catching a few redfish on live shrimp. As for the whiting, they are around and biting one minute, and gone the next. The best advice that Pennycuff has is to put your bait out, sit back in a lawn chair and enjoy the beauty of a day at the beach. When the fish bite, catch them. When not, just relax and wait. They will be back. (That's the way fishing is supposed to be.)
Redfish are biting in the Carrabelle River and at the marine lab when the weather is consistent. They're taking both jigs and live shrimp. Apalachee Bay
Scott Paterna at Jerry's Bait and Tackle in Crawfordville said plenty of redfish are still up the St. Marks and Wakulla rivers. Some of the best action is just below the U.S> Highway 98 Bridge over the Wakulla and around the power plant on the St. Marks. As long as it stays cold the fish will be up the rivers and creeks. That's where they are east of the St. Marks Lighthouse. Deep Creek and Stony Bayou are excellent spots to fish now.
He recommends bouncing Slurp and Gulp! jigs or live shrimp off the bottom for the reds. But bring plenty of spare jig heads. Lots of snags are down there. (Sounds like a tackle shop owner to me. Ha!)
Grouper action is very good, but the weather is a problem. These late-winter fronts that are pushing through kick the Gulf up pretty quick. Recently the seas have hit 15 feet. East Coast anglers can fish such conditions, but the shallow Gulf of Mexico seas are different. 'Taint much fun. But when weather permits, anglers are catching them in 30-40 feet of water and near Marker 24. The most effective technique is to troll deep running lures such as the Stretch series.
Jon Barnes and Doug Andrews caught several nice grouper up to 13 pounds trolling blue/silver Stretch 25 lures over coral bottom in 40 feet of water. Steinhatchee
Libbi Patterson at the Sea Hag Marina in Steinhatchee said there are a lot of trout being taken in the mouth of the Steinhatchee River, but all have been released. That will change on March 1 when the season opens.
Redfish action is good in the river too, as well as nearby creeks. When the water on the flats begins to warm most of the river and creek fish will move onto them and become easy targets for anglers.
Near shore, anglers fishing the 9-Mile Reef are catching sheepshead and black sea bass. It's been too rough for most fishermen to head offshore for grouper.
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