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The Big Bend Report - 8-20-09
TARPON EARLY MORNING AND LATE EVENINGAT THE MOUTHS OF CRYSTAL RIVER, OL SASSSA AND THE COOCH. BAIT IS EVERYWHERE, MULLET ARE COMING OFF A SPAWM AND FINGER MULLET ARE ON EVERY SHORELINE OF THE BIG BEND. FOR REDFISH IN THE NORTH AREA NET UP SOME FINGER MULLET AND HEAD FOR LOWES BAY. RIGHT NOW THERE ARE OVERSLOT REDS ON EVERY POINT, MANGROVE ISLAND AND OYSTER BAR. THEY ARE EVERYWHERE AND HUNGRY.MOREOVER, MORE SCHOOLS OF DRUM ARE SHOWING ON THE MOON CYCLES. THE BLACK DRUM ARE THICK IN LOWES BAY AS WELL. SCHOOLS EXCEEDIND 500 FISH HAVE SHOWN UP AND ARE EASILY FISHED. TO OUR SOUTH REGION THE OVERSLOT REDS ARE ON THE OUT ISLANDS OF THE SUNCOAST KEYS AND ST MARTINS KEYS. THE KEY HERE IS HAVING THE SHALLOWEST DRAFT BOAT POSSIBLE. APPROACH THESE FISH ON DEAD LOW TIDE. THEY ARE FLUSHED OUT OF THE MANGROVES AND EASY PICKING AT THE BEGINNING OF THE INCOMING TIDE. AS THE TIDE RISES THEY PUSH WAY BACK IN THE GROVES AND CREEKS AND ARE WAY HARDER TO FIND. THE SNOOK ARE BUNCHED UP AS THE SPWAN IS GOING OFF. SAME PLACE YOU FIND TARPON THERE ARE SURE TO BE SOMESNOOK EATING THE SAME BAIT. THE TROUT IN OUR AREA REMAIN IN DEEP WATER TO TO THE TEMPATURES OF THE WATER 8 TO15 FEET GRASS FALTSIS A GOOD STARTING PLACE. DONT BE SCARED TO NET SOME FINGER MULLET AND HEAD TO 1O FEET AND DRIFT WITH A CAJUN THUNDER AND A LIVELY FINGER MULLET. THE TROUT WILL RACE FROM THE BOTTOM FOR A LIVE BAIT THE WANT.
OFFSHORE THE FISH ARE DEEP. MOST STRUCTURES ARE COVERED WITH BAIT AND CUDAS. BIG CUDAS ARE EVERYWHERE EATING EVERY SNAPPER OR MACKREL WE HOOK. MOST GROUPER HERE ARE IN WATER 80 FEET OR DEEPER.
ONE NEAT THING HAPPENED HERE CAPTAIN JIMMY NELSON REPORTS THEY WERE CATCHIN DOLPHIN IN 30 FEET OF WATER OFF CRYSTAL RIVER. AT THE RAMP THEY WERE CLEANING DOLPHIN WITH SOME GUYS IN A PONTOON BOAT.
THIS MAY NOT SEEM STRAGE TO OTHERS IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE STATE. WHEN I SPEND TIME IN THE KEYS SOME TIME ITS A 6 MILE RIDE OUT FOR DOLPHIN. EVEN IN THE DEAD OF THE SUMMER ITS A 15 MILE RUN FOR THE MAHI MAHI. HERE IN THE BIG BEND THE WATER DROPS A FOOT A MILE. 30 FEET OF WATER IS 30 NAUTICAL MILES OFFSHORE. HALF WAY TO THE BAHAMAS IN KEYS LANGUAGE. OUR USUAL DOLPHIN CATCH IS IN 100 FEET PLUS. WHICH MEANS MOST BOATS ARE NOT LARGE ENOUGH TO HAVE GAS TANKS THAT SIZE TO TARGET THESE FISH.
I THINK THE MAINSTAY OF OUR AREA OVER THE NEXT MONTH OR TWO IS REDFISHIN. MORE FISH THAN ANGLERS. THE WAY HOMOSASSA REDFISING SHOULD BE. SCHOOLS OF OVERSLOT BRUISERS WAITING TO BE CAUGHT.
Big Bend Region
Capt. Jimmy Nelson
Extreme Offshore Adventures
telephone: 352-427-6232
email: jimsefa@yahoo.com
website: extremefishingadventures.net
The Big Bend Report Off-Shore 9-27-09
Offshore fishing in the big bend has been very good. The water temps are in the 85-88 range. The sizzling hot water and summer time weather have kept the mackerel and cobia very happy. The cobia have been thick from the flats to 80+ feet. We've been catching most of our cobia in the 25-60 foot range, mainly because that's been where we have targeted them. The cobia have been on large structure. Rock piles and wrecks are always a good place to find cobia. You can also pick them up under weed lines, rays, floating debris, and behind channel markers. Live bait is always a good first choice for cobia but we've pulled several in the boat on frozen threadfins, buck tail jigs, rubber eels, trolling lures, and just about any fast moving bait that you can get in front of them.
The kingfish and spanish mackerel have been easy to find. Just look for bait getting busted and you will find the mackerel. We have also been catching several bonito, jack crevalle and barracuda that have been mixed in with the mackerel. If you want to target the kings, trolling has proven to be very effective. Troll king busters and other fast moving lures on top. Another good option is stretch 25s and 30s. They will surely put the kings in the boat. If you just want a king or two as a by catch, put a flat line in the water while you're fishing for grouper and you will eventually have a kingfish swim by and pick it up.
The grouper fishing is how it usually is in the summer, a little slower than spring and fall but it has still been productive with a steady flow of keepers ending up in the box. The big red grouper are being caught in 50+ feet of water but the gags have been found from 20 feet on out. Red snapper rare deep, not as easy to find as last month, but the mangroves have started showing up everywhere. Good luck!!
Capt. Jimmy
Spear fishing has been hot-to-trot as well with the cool water starting to move in so have the gags. Steve Sawyer (Lakeland, FL) shot two nice gags in about 12' on some reefs off of Homosassa last week. He also commented that the sheephead and mangrove snapper are just as thick on the shallow reefs. So load those guns and take peek in the 12'-15' range. There out there!!
