Salt Water
MEXICO BEACH/PORT ST JOE OFFSHORE- With water, temperature rising (65 o at the time of this report) is will not be very much longer until we begin to see the Spanish Mackerel arriving. Typically, 68 o water is the temperature that kicks off the Spanish Mackerel run followed by most other sport fishing species. Bottom fishing is reportedly; slow however, there were some nice catches this week at the 150' depth jigging over the hard bottoms. Also those anglers who are trolling for Grouper as in past weeks too have had nice fish boated.
ST JOSEPH BAY- The Flounder are arriving and catches are steadily increasing in the St Joseph Bay. Fish the deepest holes you can find near the head of the bay and around Black's island. They should start heading for the entrances to the bayous and canals soon. The bait of choice right now is bull minnows; however, Calcutta has introduced the 'Flash foil' split-tail soft plastic. I believe it is a super Flounder lure for those anglers who prefer artificial baits. Sheepshead continue to feed near the channel buoys and in the Intracoastal canal and are caught primarily with live shrimp or fiddler crabs.
APALACHICOLA /WHITE CITY-SALTWATER-Check out pilings, seawalls, and riprap for Sheepshead. Use small shrimp or fiddler crabs. Also fish the Apalachicola River for Black and Red drum along with good numbers of Trout.
Redfish caught on Perfect Cast Charters with Capt. Dan Van Treese. 850-227-5149/ Heidi
ST. ANDREWS BAY SYSTEM-Sheepsheads are all over the jetties right now. They will take live shrimp readily, but the bigger fish are hammering Fiddler Crabs. Several fish between 9 and 12 pounds have been caught within this past week. Use a Carolina rig with a #4 hook, 15-20# fluorocarbon leader and light lead for best results. Trout have just started to move back onto the flats. Many will remain in the creeks for the next month or so. Use live Shrimp on the bottom in the creeks and under a popping cork on the flats. Redfish are still working the pass in good numbers. Live Shrimp and Pinfish are the baits of choice. There are several schools of Reds swimming along the shorelines of East and West bays. The water color is still quite stained from the storms a few weeks ago, but fish can be seen by working down the banks slowly. These schooling fish can be very spooky, so a quiet approach with long casts will work the best. Throw a live Shrimp on a light lead head or weightless for best results. A few Pompano are being caught along the beaches. Throw a jig tipped with shrimp, sand fleas, or gulp. They are also being caught using frozen sand fleas and shrimp, rigged on a 2 hook leader and pyramid sinker.
DESTIN-Cobia Season is finally here!!! Team Outcast caught the first one of the season Sunday around 11:30 am, it weighed in at 27.2lbs at Harbor Docks in Destin. On Monday the Full Pull caught the second fish of the year weighing in at 35lbs. Then on Tuesday George caught the first one from the Pensacola Pier. They have seen one from the Okaloosa pier but have not caught one as of this report. Also at the Okaloosa Pier they are getting a few Pompano each day mostly bottom fishing and a few on jigs. There have been a few Spanish caught over the weekend and a few Reds and Sheepsheads. On the jetties the Sheepsheads are still steady, also a few Pompano and some Reds are being caught. If you fish the harbor, you will find plenty of White Trout and Sheepsheads. Boats have started trolling and are getting a few Spanish. The Grouper bite is off the hook in the gulf and the Amberjack are also very good. Weather is the only problem here as rough seas have kept most people from being able to get in the game. Hopefully the weather will be better for the weekend.
NAVARRE-Fisherman are still catching some Trout and Redfish in the rivers using jigs with curly tails, Gulp and live shrimp. Most of the action has been at the river mouths, especially for Redfish. There have been reports of Sheepshead being caught on the bridge pilings using small live shrimp and fiddler crabs. Redfish can be caught in the same places using live shrimp, fresh dead and cut bait. Trout and Redfish have moved up on the grass flats. Trout can be caught using live shrimp, finger mullet, pinfish and a host of artificial baits. Redfish can be caught with the same live baits, but don't be afraid to throw the tried and true gold spoon. The Pompano bite has steadily increased over the last two weeks in the surf. Fresh dead shrimp, frozen shrimp, frozen sand fleas and live sand fleas will catch them. Pompano jigs fished by themselves or tipped with shrimp will take their share as well. Cobia season is coming right around the corner. We have had reports of a few fish being caught already. As the water temperature increases the number of fish spotted will too. Live Eels, Pinfish and Catfish are all worth trying. Jigs tipped with squid or naked jigs work to Spanish Mackerel should be in our area very soon. Small spoons, mackerel trees, Spanish dusters and Gotcha plugs are all good choices. Flounder are being caught over structures from one to five miles off the beach. It won't be long before these fish will move into the passes. Live Pinfish and Bull Minnows are the bait of choice. I haven't heard any reports lately due to the weather, but the Grouper and Amberjack bite should be good in deep water over live bottom or structure. The Shimano Butterfly jigs have been used successfully for sometime on both species. Taylor your jigs weight to your fishing depth.
Fresh Water -Spring is here and Bass are starting their spawning pattern and moving into the shallows to bed. Sight fishing for them will be your best bet. However, with all of the recent rain what was shallow is now deep. Keep in mind that while on bed, they are not generally feeding but rather protecting their bedding area. Pitching your soft plastics in and around the bed will attract a strike. The male of the species will patrol and area outside the bed and usually not very far away it. Take your time and fish the perimeter of a bed before going for the sow.
Half Hitch Tackle
850-234-2621
2206 Thomas Dr
Panama City, Fl 32408
This report is dedicated to the memory of Al Hubbard. Al Hubbard was a field editor for Florida Sportsman magazine, an outdoor writer for the News Herald and a board member of the Florida Outdoor Writer's Association. Mr. Hubbard was also the owner of Al's Outdoors Outfitting Services.
