Day Of The Trout

10.29.13

After getting beat up yesterday, we decided to take the tin boat out in the river and give it a try and not have our teeth rattled from the east wind.

It took a while, but we got it going as the morning progressed.

We started fishing in front of Tradewinds.  I was trying to hook up on reds and I had Nancy throwing a carolina rig out the back into the channel with just a fish bite on her hook.  She repeatedly was bringing in nice sand trout and viewing a manatee that surfaced behind the boat.  The sand trout  look big again this year.

We tried the big white bar with zero results.

With the tide rising, we headed over to Chaires Creek to see if any fish had started their journey into the creek.  All we saw there was another big manatee.  The sea cows are definitely on the move.

After a snack break and a discussion that I may want to become a philatelist, I decided to try the docks in the river.

On our journey back across the river I saw birds diving on bait near an oyster bar I have rarely fished.

As the water has cleared up beautifully, I could see the top of the bar and was able to fish it correctly for the first time.

The first cast yielded a beautiful spec, and then next cast and the next.

The fish ranged in size from 14" up to this 20" fish that were caught mainly on a jig head and a new penny gulp

We probably caught 18 or so trout and a pup red off the bar in 45 minutes or so.  And we left them biting.

Nice to bang the trout again!

I Miss All My Family And Friends!!!

10.28.13

.....because, when they visited, that was the only time I've caught fish this year!

I've been lucky that when we've had guests that the fishing has been excellent.

But, when the aren't here, the fishing has been tough on me and Nancy this year.

We caught flounder, blue runners, grouper, lady fish, black sea bass and probably some other fish yesterday, but nothing of any size.

It was kind of the usual, a plan to go to K tower to fish, waves predicted to be 1 foot or less, waves actually 3 feet, turn back after 10 miles of beating wondering when we can touch the big water again.

The rest of the week calls for 1-3 footers, which means at least 5 foot waves.

But, if you want to catch ladyfish, the mouth of the Ocklockonee River is covered up with them pounding bait as far as you can see!

Fishing Is Picking Up

10.17.13

Water temp: 77 degrees

Got out today for a morning trip.  It actually was flat calm which we haven't seen in a while.

Macon and me caught a few trout out in Ullmore cove.  Two keepers and plenty of shorts on topwater and gulp.

I let Macon off at the dock and went into the harbor and caught a nice 21"red on topwater and missed two others.

 Gotta quick drinking coffee in the morning, I snatched it away from them before they could eat it.

Pretty Day Finally

10.10.13

I took Gordon out for a little inshore fishing.

Gordon said he hasn't been out on the salt for 12 years.  He quickly put a whiting in the boat and tied his record for most fish caught in 12 years.

We didn't get away to far from the hill.

The sand trout Nancy and I had caught were not to be found.

We finally hooked up on a nice trout in front of Piney Island that took a Z Man Swimmer Z.

We managed to donate 3 fish to the Panacea RV park fish fry.

As a side note, some nice red snapper catches came in to the marina later in the day.

Boats are finally able to get out.

Very Wide Variety

10.8.13

After the stormy weather got through, we decided to try our luck.

The fish I had caught out on Whetstone Point were either gone or ran out of water to swim in as we had an extremely low tide yesterday morning.  The dolphin put on a show attacking mullet in very skinny water.

We headed back into the harbor to get our lines stretched by some sand trout and they didn't disappoint us as we boated a dozen and kept a couple for dinner.

We came in on the lowest tide and decided to try the mouth of the river in the evening.  It was surprisingly calm and there were a few fish to be caught.

Jack Crevalle bowed us up a few times, as well as lady fish and blue fish.

They were pulling hard in the incoming tide that was howling up river.

The water was very off, probably due to the strong tide and the tropical system that had just passed.

Finally a Fishing Report

10.3.13

Well the wind has been howling from the east for many, many days.

I watched folks catching sand trout in Panacea harbor last weekend. Nancy and I tried it Monday. But only caught one trout and one whiting.

I braved the east wind Wednesday and finally got on some trout in Ullmore cove. First catch of the day was a sailcat. Next was a nice flounder that spit the bit at boat side. Then I figured out a stretch of the cove that produced 15+ trout before the high tide ebbed.

Had to go and fish the tourist rig with a new penny gulp for the best action and to keep out of the weeds.

We are hunkering down now for an approaching tropical storm. It looks like after this blow the weather will improve substantially and the fall bite will really crank up.

Just to give you an idea this is a picture of what the weather has been like.
It was photographed at St. George Island last week.