Fishing help

You could try the 331 bridge. It's been pretty good there. As you found out, the water temps are still a little cool for the surf fishing.

Do you have a kayak or boat? If so, there are some other good spots...

John,
Thanks, no boat is the area by the bridge easy to get to? Public parking?

Thanks, tidalfish

Easy. Just drive north and pull off to the right, onto the old bridge section. Plenty of parking. If you've got a net, try to catch some bait fish; the trout love them. If not, fish the pilings for sheepshead with some shrimp. You may also find some reds cruising through.

anybody been trout fishin the last few day?...

John,
You mentioned kayaking earlier. Would this be in calm Gulf surf or inland or bay? Just wonderin'. Been thinking about trying my luck with a kayak vs. my typical surfishing. Any suggestions or tips say for late May?

SouthBound,

Yes, a kayak will give you many more options. Choctawhatchie Bay, West Bay, Powell Lake offer great fishing in May and are easier paddling than the surf. However, fishing the Gulf in a kayak can be very rewarding. You don't have to paddle very far. Past the second sandbar you can slow-troll for king mackerel. It's really awesome to catch such a fighter on a lightweight boat. Closer in you may find spanish mackerel, pompano, ladyfish, bluefish, etc. I usually have one rod trolling while a smaller rod is used for sight fishing.

we go to Weston Lake about an hour or 2 before sunset at the weekends, nothing much this weekend but i have caught some great reds there in the past.

John,
You mentioned kayaking earlier. Would this be in calm Gulf surf or inland or bay? Just wonderin'. Been thinking about trying my luck with a kayak vs. my typical surfishing. Any suggestions or tips say for late May?

I have some tips for kayak fishing:
Don't tip over with a shark on the line. :shock:
Don't real a shark in to your boat, nor onto your boat.
If a really big fish starts to pull you out to sea, cut the line.
Keep a knife handy to cut the line if the need arises.
Don't keep stinky bait trailing in the water behind you or in your kayak if you don't plug the holes.

Southbound, i'm not sure a yak for the surf would do you much good at this point...I don't think access to new fish/areas is the issue...w/the water temps below 68/69, i'm not sure the fish have moved into the surf yet...it seems a little early...there's been talk about pomps and spanish in pensacola, but the waters warmer there...all the trolling options listed earlier presume the fish have moved in and i'm not sure they have...you can try 331 to test the Choc bay...Red

To clarify; the tips were for late May.

This was tuesday the 28th, not the surf, but we had fun! (only caught 2 whiting in the surf)

This was tuesday the 28th, not the surf, but we had fun! (only caught 2 whiting in the surf)

can you enlarge the photo a bit? Maybe to a 600 x 450 pixel? I want to be jealous.

I cannot believe the title of your thread, esp. after looking at this photo.

Hey Tidalfish, did you charter w/Larry Pentel...was he a good guide...did you see any cobia...how long were you out?...Red

i don't know if you like black drum (or even if you're still down there),

but anyway, if you want to fish inland, and you like sitting around all day waiting for the fish to come by

http://maps.google.com/?ll=30.383242,-86.121912&spn=0.035096,0.057163&t=h

at the bottlenecks in the snake (bottom right)

at the outflow boundary (moves around, but in the photo looks like a hair at middle left)

deep holes here and there in the bay (dark gray surrounded by brown), especially upper right

nobody has a marine map online but there is a thread somewhere of chotowatchee bay marine map in pdf form for download

enjoy

Red,
Yes we went out with Capt' Larry, have fished with him before and it is always great! Our original plan was a cobia trip but they were not running yet.
We obviously made the best of it! Not shown in the picture were the 2 approx. 12# Red Snappers and a 3+ foot Blacktip Shark we caught and released. What a great day!

Tidalfish, AWESOME...

Aquatic,
Thanks for the link I will use it the next time I'm down.
tidlefish

Just posted more pics in the photo gallery area if anyone is intrested.
tidlefish