12-5-14

Captain Randy reports that fishing was good, despite the past week being riddled with strong northerly winds and cooler water temperatures. This week's focus was on speckled trout. They were found in 3-5 feet of water, usually on the edge of a drop off from a grass flat or an oyster bar. Shrimp or white bait, which are still plentiful, worked well. Popping corks with a 1/0 circle hook or jig head worked along these edges and produced good numbers of fish in the 14-20 inch range. It is best to use your trolling motor to work the edges. Once you locate them, you may fish through a few smaller ones to get the big ones hooked up! Throwing a few live baits out for chum will keep them around and interested. Trout have a protective slime on them, so it is best to use a de-hooker. If you do need to grab them make sure your hands are wet, so that we are keeping this species alive and well. Still seeing a lot of snook around. Water temperatures came up into the 70 degree range later in the day on the higher stages of the tide, and it seemed to make them hungry. Live chumming helps get them going. The water has been clear, so scaling back your tackle is a must. Using 3 foot of 20 lb. fluorocarbon leader and a 2/0 circle hook while free lining the baits got plenty of hook ups. Paying attention to your drag will help keep these fish and out of the trees and snags that like to hang around.

Thursday, 11/6/14

After the front came through, the water temperate dropped below 70 degrees. Definitely slowed things down a bit. Snook bite really slows down with the cooler water temperatures. Red fish were still biting. Present your baits slowly. Cut bait can be the key on a jig head or 3/O circle hook with a split shot. Be sure to be patient for the bite and fish a little longer. Snappers were still biting and always make a great meal. Trout fishing was good this week. They like the cooler weather and we see bigger fish during the winter months. We caught plenty of keeper fish over grass flats and spotted shell and sand bottoms. Popping corks with 3 feet of leader and split shot or circle hook with a jig head worked well to locate these fish. They were eating shrimp or white bait. Drifting is a good way to locate these fish. Once you hook into a nice one, work that area to pick up a few more.

Snook seemed to be the theme this week. Fish the moving water along mangrove islands; live chumming white bait. Free lining them with a 3/0 circle hook or cork seems to do the trick. No shortage of mangrove snappers mixed in as well. To get these toothy critters, scale down your leader to 15 or 20 pound test and a 1/0 hook. They are great table fare. Red fish were hanging out under the mangroves on the outside islands on the outgoing tide. Jig head with cut bait, and 2/0 circle hook with white bait and a split shot worked well. Still plenty of bait on the beaches and right along the passes. Expect the bite to slow down as the front approaches. Be patient while fishing a spot and give it a little extra time before you move on, especially as the water temperature cools down. See below for picts of the week. 

Red October is in full swing. Red fish bite has been great.  I have been focusing on schools of mullet during low tide around grass flats and oyster bars. There are schools of reds mixed in and following those mullet. Live chumming is key. There are plenty of pilchards and greenies on the beaches and around the passes. When you find the fish, start throwing handfuls of live bait…make sure to squeeze a few to really turn the bite on. 2/0 circle hooks and 30lb leader with a split shot have been working great. Add a popping cork if you need a little more distance on your cast. On higher tides use the same methods, focusing on mangrove shorelines; looking for those mullet and reds. A lot of snook are also around. They are starting to move into the creeks and rivers. You’ll have to fish through the small ones to find that trophy you’re looking for. Live pilchards are also the choice bait for snook right now, preferably free lined or under a popping cork. Great trips this week, with some of the reds over 36 inches. The highlight of the week was a 4 foot saw fish that we caught and released. Sawfish are very rare and still on the endangered species list. Book a trip today!