Happy Fishing! See where the fish are biting in Big Bend waters the 2nd weekend of April
Could it be? No way. Right now the forecast for this weekend actually looks better than any day during the week. Are you kidding me?
Taking a trip East to Stienhatchee this past weekend took us out of our comfort zone. That’s ok. As an angler, I like to explore new water even if it is during a tournament.
If you’ve never been to the biggest little town in the East you really need to go. My goodness has it grown. With plenty of restaurants, a marina and places to stay it’s a must for any fisherman or fisherwoman.
Stienhatchee sports the newest addition to the marina and it looks as if they spared no expense. With a great little “bar” menu, a fantastic view and almost anything you could think of before heading for a day on the water, Stienhatchee Marina is Da bomb.
Seagrass is already covering much of the bottom along the shallow flats. Quite a contrast from Mandalay/St Mark’s.
Elevation, shoreline features and creeks look similar to much of the coast to its East. Water temps were already in the low 70’s. East wind doesn’t seem to affect this area like ours.
Fish are the same. Trout, redfish, Spanish, Flounder and others can be found in the same depths as here. Same baits, although variations are a must to try. Can’t go wrong with live bait either.
Mark your calendars for April 29th. Rock The dock is back! Such a great tournament out of Rock Landing in Panacea. Well run by some very good people. The tournament boasts captains meeting on Friday with food, vendors with all kinds of trinkets, side pots and yes adult beverages. Saturday will feature live music on stage at Wooley Park. For more information go to visitpanacea.org.
APALACHEE BAY
Otto Hough (Facebook @myhometownfishing) says,” First off, hats off to Matt Lanier for his "repeat" win in the Kayak Division at the 4th stop in Florida Redfish Series, held in Crystal River this past weekend. Matt's been putting in his time diligently pre-fishing these events. It's paying big dividends for him. Again, congratulations Matt for representing Yak anglers well.
Now, speaking of weekend anglers, it's shaping up to be a weekend anglers' delight. Weekend anglers shall enjoy a bit of a weather reversal over those anglers who normally get to fish the weekdays. Ma Nature elevated the winds across the waters of the Big Bend to NWS Small Craft Advisory levels all week long, pretty much nixing most, if not all fishing. With greatly improved fishing conditions finally arriving Friday, much to the delight of all anglers, look for lots of boats to be plying the waters of the Big Bend.
The current NWS Marine Forecast is looking very nice these next three days or so. Seas should be light with only a slight southwest breeze for the most part. Tidal flows on the front side of the coming new moon will be increasing throughout the weekend on into next week. Expect to find a strong incoming tide pushed by that southwest wind along the coastline throughout the morning hours till just about lunchtime. Another big plus spinning out of the crappy weather over this past week since last Saturday afternoon has been the cooling of skinny water temps back down into the upper 60s. Coupled together, with the increasing water movement with cool, comfortable skinny water temps for the trout, there ought to be some quality fish, both trout and reds caught this weekend. Also, the go-fast fish, aka Spanish mackerel are all over Apalachee Bay, slamming anything bright and shiny. Use light wire leaders to preserve the lures.
When targeting those trout and reds, provide them an offering of topwater plugs like the One Knockers, Skitterwalks, Moonwalkers and/or Super Spooks early on, around sunrise, if not before. As the sun gets up a little above the horizon, start mixing the stick baits like the gold/orange-bellied Redfin or Bomber Long A into the lure selection being chunked. By midmorning, on into full high tide, offer up a soft bait like the five-inch jerk shad, either straight line nose hooked or on a 1/8th ounce jighead under a Cajun Thunder or Equalizer on an 18 to a 24-inch fluorocarbon leader.
Given the awesome weather in the forecast, if not starting the fishing day way early, do not be surprised to encounter a crowd at most all the Big Bend ramps by midmorning. By all means, practice ramp etiquette, then once on the water, boating safety too! Plus, have all on board wear an auto-inflatable PFD. Don't become a boating statistic. Go enjoy the Big Pond with all it has to offer. Just FISH!
ST GEORGE ISLAND
Captain Russ Knapp (850-653-5072) reports, “After having Small Craft Advisory warnings almost all week, the weekend looks pretty good for a change with the weekly cold front not arriving until Sunday night.
The forecast as of Wednesday night has winds SW 5 to 10 knots and seas running 2 feet both Saturday and Sunday but, watch out on Sunday as there is a 60% chance of rain. As always recheck the forecast before you head out as things change fast in our neighborhood and you can get a surprise of the not-good kind if you're not careful.
Tide-wise, at the Cut you can expect an early morning low of 0.0 feet around 6:30 am, followed by a 1.3’ high tide in the early afternoon and closed out with a late afternoon low tide of around a foot.
The days are getting longer and Sunset right now is just after 8 PM and if you have an overcast sky things get dark fast so plan accordingly.
In the bay, fishing was doing pretty well until the winds blew everybody off the water so we don't have any super current reports for you this week. However, before the winds came Capt. Dan Fortunas (850 980 0101) was catching nice Speckled Trout fishing the flats in 3 feet of water using a cream/silver Bass Assassin Grub on a 1/8 oz. jig-head, 2 feet under a Cajun Thunder popping cork.
Captain Dan reminds you to look for the diving birds for Spanish Mackerel action and fast retrieve a Silver Spoon on a wire leader for best results. If you are not set up with Silver Spoons, Capt. Dan says to throw whatever you have set up as Spanish aren't picky eaters and the noise of a popping cork will bring them to your hook.
The fish are here as last weekend Capt. Mike King brought home some nice Triple-tail but, with the weird winds this week you may have to look around a bit to find where they are so fill up the gas tank and be ready to scout around a bit.
Offshore, Capt. Clint Taylor (850 370 6631) reports the Red Grouper bite has been strong fishing on live bottom in 100 feet of water or more. Capt. Clint says the best bait is a big live bait but a whole Squid isn't often turned down. If you want to stay closer, Capt. Clint suggests fishing for Lane and Vermilion Snapper on the wrecks and reefs using a small bit of squid on a 5.0 circle hook but is ready to release a bunch of Red Snapper.
Tip of the week -- unless you want to become good friends with your dermatologist be sure to use a good quality sunblock and be sure to read the label as to when to reapply it during the day. After reading many labels I have come to realize that once a day isn't going to do the job and the cheap stuff is just that.
KEATON BEACH
Captain Pat McGriff (onemorecast@gtcom.net) reports, ”We had limits on trout both last Friday and Saturday. Most of these trout were caught on live bait; but we had four of ten keepers, Friday on Assassin 5” in the Watermelon Slice pattern. Man some really nice trout are being caught and biting like the six over 20” we threw back Saturday with three Brock Coogler of Rome, Ga. caught back to back on live pinfish under Back Bay Thunders. We also caught three reds throwing back the largest a 24” red which ate a live shrimp.
When the w-i-n-d blows we can catch some fish then when it doesn’t ...well not so much. Today, we went over three hours without a keeper, then in less than an hour put 7 in the boat coming in with 11 trout and a nice 16 “ flounder for the Stewarts of Waycross, Ga.
3.5 ft. seems to be the Magic depth for me with no fish in less than 3 and only one or two in 4.X etc. The moon tides this week have the fish scattered a bit but be ready when they do start as these flurries of late can make a bunch of fish in a hurry. Jonathon Sisson and his wife are down from Gainesville, Ga. way and they had a limit of trout, Saturday as well as a 26” red all-on-lipped jerk baits and MirrOdines.
BIG BEND KAYAK REPORT
Salt strong coach Matt Lanier (Matt@saltstrong.com) tells us, “This past week has been a bit tough on us anglers as the winds have yet to let up long enough to wet a line, but this weekend looks like there could be hope yet! There are some chances at some rainfall but that could actually help us!
If we do get some rain, the fish will likely go into a good feeding pattern as the water temps are cooled a bit from the rain. They will be hungry as they have been burning up calories in the warmer water, so you can start to go with some more aggressive tactics, like your favorite topwater or swimming paddle tails as the sun comes up.And with the warmer temps, one of the best rules of thumb is to “Follow the Flow.” Always try to follow the water flow. If the tide is coming in, come in with it. If the tide is going out, go further out with it. Following the current, finding good water flow, and finding the bait will be the most important factors moving forward in the warmer months.
The trout, loving their natural haunts, will be will likely be in the deeper holes on the flats, on the ledges of the flats, or even the opening of the river or creek channels. Be sure to use jig heads heavy enough to get you down in the deeper part of the water column, where those fish are at.
Most mornings, redfish are cruising the shallows for an easy meal, but also return to the shorelines with the incoming tide. As the sun gets higher in the sky they will generally move and sit in the potholes on the flats, just as they do when the tide falls out.
If the winds allow, you can start the mornings with a topwater plug of choice to entice those massive blowups just after sunrise. With these warmer waters we can start with a faster speed to your retrieval, but be sure to start slow and work your way up to something faster to see what the fish want.
Productive lures have been ranging from paddle tails and jerk baits to shrimp imitations, as well as top waters & hard baits, but the biggest factor moving forward will be finding the bait. If you can find the bait, and find the current, you will find the fish.
One important thing is to keep moving if you aren’t finding feeding fish. With the warmer temperatures, the fish will be on the move and we need to be doing the same to find their preferred feeding zones. Try not to spend too much time in one area if you aren’t getting the bites you are looking for.The Florida Redfish Series Stop 4 was this past weekend in Crystal River, and we again had a record-breaking turnout in both the kayak and boat divisions! There were some solid fish brought into the weigh in from both sides, in one of the coolest fisheries!
Once again, I was able to bring back to Tallahassee a 1st Place win in the Kayak Division, winning the West Coast Division of the Series. Truly honored to be at the top again, and I’m looking forward to the next event in St. Augustine. It’s only a few weeks away but will be here before we know it! Come join us for some fine fishing on the East Coast! For more information on this event or others, be sure to go to flredfishseries.com for more information.
If you find yourself on the water and fishing in a spot where you haven’t gotten a bite for the last 15 minutes… it’s time to move. Keep looking for the 90/10 zone where those fish are holding. Don’t waste time in unproductive areas. The fish are moving and so should you!
To get the kids on some fish quickly, a live shrimp or GULP! under a popping cork around creeks, creek mouths, and even grass lines is a solid producer of fish. And the best part is you never know what you’ll catch because everything eats shrimp… EVEN ME!
If you plan on getting out this weekend, be sure to wear sunscreen! Even though we may be feeling some comfortable temperatures, the sun can take its toll very quickly! Stay covered up and always make sure you check (and double-check) your gear and the weather. But most importantly… STAY SAFE & HAVE FUN!
LAKE SEMINOLE
The Bass fishing has been very good in the first quarter of 2023!
The water temperature is in the low to mid 60’s to low 70’s. The Flint River arm of the lake is muddy due to recent heavy rains above us.
The Chattahoochee River arm is stained while Spring Creek and Fish Pond Drain remain clear.
Despite the muddy water, the Bass fishing has been excellent this week! The Shad have been and will continue to spawn along the grass lines on the main lake. A variety of lures are productive, like lipless crankbaits, Spinnerbaits and even plastic worms, fished along the grass lines.
The Shellcracker and Bream are bedding and can be found around the sandbars in three to five feet of water.
For an exciting Lake Seminole Fishing Adventure for Bass and or Crappie, email us @lakeseminolefishingadventures@gmail.com or follow us on Instagram @capt.paultyrefishing and Facebook @capt.paultyrefishing
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Here is this weekend's Big Bend fishing report.
