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This
Week's Steinhatchee Fishing Report 4/12/03
by Brian Keil
Bernie Fowler
& I arrived at Steinhatchee at 6 a.m. to fish the Optimist Saltwater
Fishing Tournament. The plan was to try for cobia early then head off
to deeper water for grouper.
Running offshore
it was a solid 4-foot head sea out of the west. It was a rough ride offshore
and after two spinning reels came off two rods stored horizontally off
the T-top we slowed down to a slow 15 mph cruise offshore. At the cobia
spot we drifted through a few times jigging but nobody wanted to play.
Thinking live bait might be the ticket we slipped off the spot to catch
live bait and returned with a couple of sand perch and black seabass.
The black seabass managed a 29-inch AJ and the sand perch a 26-inch gag.
Keeping the gag we released the AJ. We dropped anchor and chummed but
that didnt motivate any cobia so after a while we headed off to
deeper water for grouper.
One mile from
our first destination we came off plane and trolled two Stretch 30s and
a flat line in 53 feet of water. Within ten minutes we picked up a small
7 lb king on an orange Stretch 30 Loud and after 15 more minutes decided
to bottom fish. Throughout the day the bottom fishing bite was a soft
one and only half the baits were hit with any authority. Using bonito,
fresh remora, and frozen sardines we managed some nice grouper but no
contender for the tournament. While the bonito worked well the smaller
nuisance fish would work the meat off the hook within a couple of minutes.
The remora was better received by the grouper and wasnt bothered
by the pecking. It worked excellent as it stayed on the hook and multiple
grouper were caught on the same bait, up to three grouper per bait. We
caught a few short groupers-mostly reds, released three 23-inch+ gags,
and managed 10 nice gag to 13 lbs 6 ozs.
One of the highlights
of the day was Bernie-the-remora king hooking up to something strong,
which turned out to be a juvenile Tiger shark. I had a hard time convincing
Bernie to grab the 4-foot shark for a picture but he finally gave in.
One of the more interesting sights of the day was seeing a flat hulled
~20 foot Carolina Skiff in 53 feet of water (25 miles offshore) with 4
older people dressed in rain gear. On the side of the boat it said West
Wind Rental. Kinda blew our minds. By then it had calmed down some but
up to that point we had thought it was sort of a rough day offshore. It
took us a while to get offshore and it must have taken them quite a while.
We named the new spot we were fishing West Wind.
Low and high
tide was 6:02 a.m (0.0 ft) and 12:37 p.m. (2.6 ft) respectively. It was
4 days pre-full moon. Offshore the morning water temp was 66.9 F warming
to 67.2 F by mid afternoon. Moon set and rise was 4:39 a.m and 3:37 p.m.
respectively. Our best bite was around 11:30 a.m., slacking off prior
to high tide, picking back up around 2:30 p.m. In 60 feet water clarity
was greenish and you could not make out the bottom. From 50 to 65 feet
surface weed wasnt bad in the morning but by the afternoon the water
seemed to have a fair amount of grass. Small bait pods were seen around
the 50-foot area as were small bonito skipping across the surface. Listening
to the radio it seemed everyone was catching kingfish and most everyone
was catching at least some grouper.
We ran 80 miles
for the day keeping 10 gag to 13 lbs 6 ozs and a small kingfish. It was
a nice to be back out on the water.
Brian
Five attached
pictures (click photos to see enlarged):
Bernie with
an 11 lb gag
Bernie not too sure about holding an angry Tiger shark.
Note: Bernie-the remora kings death grip.
Tiger about
to be released
13 lb. 6 oz. gag
Circle hooked
This
Week's Steinhatchee Fishing Report 4/16?/03
Well,
I'm tired, been working on taxes, and just cannot get the effort to update
the page. I do NOT have the results yet from the OPtimist Club tournament
but I have not ventured to see if they have them on their website. I have
lots of great pictures and promise to work on it on Thursday and Friday.
- Danielle
(Still
under construction - I will finish update 4/9/03 at 9:00PM)
Okay so Chaeli, my 4 year old, won out on the computer with Barbie Rapunzel,
which, by the way, I highly recommend for 3 to 7 year old girls - this
computer game is great! I will be updating last week's pictures, this
am (Thursday) as soon as I get to work (okay, so I'm still working on
it and it's almost lunch)....here is the report though... OKAY-
finally the pictures are below!
This
Week's Steinhatchee Fishing Report 4/9/03
InshoreFlats Newest
hot lure is the
made by Rapala.
These lure when casted have a ball bearing inside that gives a very nice
"walkin' the dog" motion. It is working both on the north and
south flats. It is landing the larger Spotted Seatrout. The hottest color
is the SMU which is the Silver Mullet color. The other hot selling colors
are Redfish (RF) and Spotted Trout (ST) and the Hot Chartruese. Following
the instruction below for trout worked well this last week. I suggest
trying it again. Don't forget the Optimist Club Fishing Tournament will
be paying out $1500 for the largest trout. Tickets can be purchase as
late as saturday morning if you are still undecided whether to participate.
It is just $45 for a ticket and we will be opening the marina extra early
at 5:00am. If you will not be fishing the
tournament (boo hoo) I expect the crowd only to be thick between 6:30am
and 7:00am. Just avoid that time and fishing should be fantastic!
The Saltwater Assassin grub tails are still hot too. Candy Corn andElectric Chicken are still the hot colors. I suggest fishing them under a Cajun Thunder float. Other colors are still working are: Saltwater Assassin Limetreuse and Space Guppy.
.
Inshore Reef The Steinhatchee Reef is still producing large quantities of Sheepshead. The Reef located approximately 9 miles from the Steinhatchee River mouth is made up of four basic bottom areas. The first, located at 29 39.480N 083 37.49W, is made up of scrap metal and concrete rubble, has a depth of 20 feet and a relief of 6 feet. The second, located at 29 40.018N 083 37.564W, is made up of steel scrap and steel boiler parts, has a depth of 22 feet and a relief of 6 feet. The third, located at 29 40.005N 083 37.602W, is made up of concrete culverts, mixed metal, and boiler parts, has a depth of 22 feet and a relief of 5 feet. The forth, located at 29 40.017N 083 37.426W, is made up of concrete culverts and mixed metals, has a depth of 22 feet and a relief of 5 feet. Use live shrimp on a sliding sinking rig. Mustad makes a nice thick hook for Sheepshead so these strong mouthed fish do not straighten the hook.
Offhshore Grouper continue to be phenomenal! Trolling is realllllllllly HOT! The Holographic Sand Perch, Splatterback Dolphin, and Rainbow and the top selling Stretch 30+ right now. The chartreuse seem to be hot in just about any style. One not shown below, but very hot is the Loud'N'Noisy Stretch 30+ which is Chartruese and Orange (my favorite color) and loaded with small bee bees. In the regular style Stretch 30+'s the Red Tiger is still selling top. Also the Redhead and Fire Tiger are working well. There has been reports of the two purple ones working well, but we have been unable to stock them. One customer bought all 8 I had on the shelf and I believe Mann's did not have a high demand on those colors until now so I expect them to be a little difficult to purchase until production is stepped up. See all the colors displayed below. Sea Hag Marina tries to stock all the colors in large quantities. You may reserve them over the phone with a credit card. Our prices is $13.49 for the regular and mylar plugs and $14.99 for the holographic ones. For those unfamiliar with trolling for Grouper, let me give you a bit of the basics. It is rather easy and does not require any special fishing gear although I will list the top selling rod, reel, and line.
Let me start with the rod and reel. My top selling rods are made by Star and are in the Delux series. Some of those are the Delux 40/7 (which have medium play tough eyes if you expect a little rough handling of the rod) and the Delux ?X (I'm having trouble remembering the number by heart but it is a medium action with ceramic eyes). Also great for trolling is the Sheakspeare Ugly Stick Boat Stick #7. We pair these up with a Penn 113H or a Penn 320 GT2. Okuma also makes a line counter reel that works nicely to determine just how deep you are trolling. Two of those sizes are the Convector 45D and the 30D. Shakespeare make a combo rod reel package with a Bill Fisher roller rod combined with a 330 GTI which is nice for trolling also. Line this year is hot! Trolling the large plugs like Mann's Stretch 30+ and Mega Bait's 30+ Diver cannot be trolled with heavy line. The thickness of 60 lb. or 80 lb. monofilament will keep the lure from diving. Before they came out with the new braided lines, I strictly trolled my lures with 20 lb. test mono. With the new braids, you can use 60 lb. to 80lb. because the diameter of the line is very thick. However, the new braids are very expensive (spolling a whole reel can range from $50 - $80) so I recommend leaving monofilament as a base on the reel. The hottest braid we sell is the Power Pro Line. I believe we carry it from 20 lb. to 120 lb. test but please do not hold me to that. If you are looking for a specific weight, call the marina at 352-498-3008 to check first. We have a spooling machine and can put you line on for you. We carry the Power Pro in the green, gray and the dayglo yellow. The dayglo is super high vis line and really helps the driver to keep from crossing up lines well trolling multiple lures. We also carry Tuff Enuff line which we are using on our charter boat. It is less expensive than Power Pro and is performing just as well. Some other braids we carry are: some Spiderwire, Triplefish Bully Braid, and Tiger braid. If you don't want spend the extra dollars on the braids, mono can work just as well but I do recommend the 20 lb. to 30 lb. range. New and hot is the High-Vis line by Triplefish. It is truly awesome for sighting and has multicolors so that you get a feel for the length of line out. You can also stop each line at a particular color so the driver may see yellow, pink, and green lines out the back at the same time. Really helps if you are trying to troll a tight area and are turning a lot. Most trolling is done about 20 to 25 miles out from Steinhatchee in about 40 to 60 foot of water. Some places I suggest is the Crack and the Super Ledge (the GPS coordinates are listed below in last week's report). You want to let out about 100 yards of line. If you are using the braids, I suggest using a swivel in front of your lure as the braids are somewhat more difficult to tie. I recommend using the knots recommended by the braid companies. Ask an employee at Sea Hag to give you a list of knots to tie (with instruction while they last) and we also have them posted over the spooling machine in the store. I have captains that insist on a swivel and others that insist that it not be there. You can try both ways and switch to the best plug and rig once you start catching fish! Remember, the Optimist Club Fish Tournament is giving away $1500 for the top Grouper.
(Still under construction - I will finish update 4/9/03 at 9:00PM) OOPS! 4/10 in the am.......Yikes!
The Optimist
Club Tournament is April 12th and includes a $10,000 Tagged Redfish prize.
Click Optimist
Club Tournament is April 12, 2003 for
more information on this tournament. We are selling tickets for the tournament
in the ships' store. Call 352-498-3008 for more information or to purchase
tickets over the phone. We will open extra hours for the tournaments -
Friday night prior, we will be open until 9:00pm and open the morning
of the tournament at 5:00am. Our motel rooms (Oops!
We just had a cancellation - our RIVER FRONT IS AVAILABLE-352-498-3008)
are filled but there are still some openings at Pelican
Point Inn - call them at 352-498-7427
and be sure to tell them you found them on the Sea Hag Marina website
(I need a free beer every once in awhile - thanks!)
Email
me at askcaptain@seahag.com or visit
the Charter website at https://seahag.com/marina2/guides/sea_hag_charters.htm
Here are
last week's pictures (finally):
Sea Hag Charters - Grouper, Black Seabass, and Kingfish.
Note the nice Kingfish!
Two Nice Sheepshead from the Steinhatchee Reef
A fine catch aboard the Neva-Miss Charter boat captained by Bill Shearin
Trout and nice Spanish Mackerel caught by these young men!
A Cutie Pie with a Mangrove Snapper! Caught aboard the Neva-Miss.
Sea Hag Charters took out Trina Coggins and her friends and land some
nice size Grouper!
Neva-Miss Charters... 4/2/03
Steve Bradford and family with Grouper and nice Kingfish!
This
Week's Steinhatchee Fishing Report 4/2/03
Trout
The current hot spot is to the north. I've been told to take a 300 degree
heading from Marker #1 and travel for 5 miles. This should put you at
Bird Platform # 2 (29 41.68'N/083 32.482'W). Then travel west until you
are in 6 or 6.5 feet of water. According to my chart drawer, this should
put you approximately at (29 41.671' N/083 33.273' W) I've been having
great success with these directions. The hot baits have been a 1/4 oz
red jig head with any grub with a green shine, the best being the Saltwater
Assassin Electric Chicken. Other colors that are hot are Limetruese, Space
Guppy, and Candy Corn. I recommend putting this rig under a Cajun Thunder
float to attract the fish with the sound as well. Topwater plugs are also
working well. The best seller is the Rapala Skittle Walk in the Silver
Mullet, Speckled Trout, and Hot Chartreuse colors. Mirrorlure's 52Ms (sinking),
Bomber Long "A" Minnow in the B15XBS color (mullet), and Bomber
Mullet in the BM7GSCH (gold chartreuse) color are hot as well.
Spanish Mackerel The Spanish Mackerel
are chasing bait fish near the Steinhatchee Reef (see below for Reef coordinates
and relief heights). I've also had stupendous reports that the Nine Mile
Bank (29 41.10'N 083 34.60'W) and the Little Bank (29 39.95'N 083 34.25'W)
are also housing the Spanish. I've heard that taking a 230 degree heading
for 4 mile from Marker 1 will put you on them as well. Calculating that
on my chart software returns a spot at 29 36.507'N 083 31.147'W which
actually shows some bottom relief on the map. Located very close to that
area is the Steinhatchee Short Reef (29 36.632'N 083 28.482'W) which for
those of you in small boats, can fish rather comfortably since it is only
4 miles from the river mouth. You can catch Spanish Mackerel trolling
or anchored. When traveling in these areas, keep an eye out for bait pods
jumping. Most likely this bait is being chased by the Spanish Mackerel.
If trolling, travel around, NOT through the bait pod, and troll silver
Clark spoons, Fairwater Spanish rigs with the tinsel tails, Got-cha plugs
with white hair tails, or Floreo lures (with white or natural hair tails)
just beyond the white water edge that the movement of the boat produces.
If you anchor up, I suggest chumming the bait and fish to the boat. You
can then fish with live shrimp or cast the artificials through the chum
slick. Another tip: add a long thin strip of a Spanish Mackerel belly
to your hook of your rig.
Sheepshead The Steinhatchee Reef
is producing large sized and large quantities of Sheepshead. The Reef
located approximately 9 miles from the Steinhatchee River mouth is made
up of four basic bottom areas. The first, located at 29 39.480N
083 37.49W, is made up of scrap metal and concrete rubble, has a
depth of 20 feet and a relief of 6 feet. The second, located at 29 40.018N
083 37.564W, is made up of steel scrap and steel boiler parts, has
a depth of 22 feet and a relief of 6 feet. The third, located at 29 40.005N
083 37.602W, is made up of concrete culverts, mixed metal, and boiler
parts, has a depth of 22 feet and a relief of 5 feet. The forth, located
at 29 40.017N 083 37.426W, is made up of concrete culverts
and mixed metals, has a depth of 22 feet and a relief of 5 feet. The Sheepshead
is notorious for its bait-stealing ability. It has frequently been said
that in order to catch one, "You have to set the hook just before
it bites." Often the little thief takes a bait with the dexterity
of a pickpocket lifting a wallet, leaving an angler "sport fishing"
with a bare hook. Routinely, an experienced Sheepshead buff will fish
for them by sight rather than feel. When his line twitches or begins to
move, he'll set the hook forcefully. Sheepsheads favorite baits
are live shrimp, sand fleas, & fiddler crabs. It's best to fish for
these sneaks with a tight line. The farther you cast from a boat, the
more difficult it will be to feel or see the nibble. So when possible,
try lowering your line straight down until the bait hits bottom, then
tighten up immediately and very slowly raise & lower your bait or
jig. This assures that your offering is down where it belongs & the
system keeps a line tight for easier detection of the faint tap of a Sheepsheads
bite.
Sea Hag Charters
land this awesome catch on 3/29/03!
Grouper
Offshore, Grouper have been phenomenal! Doesn't seem to matter whether
you are trolling or bottom fishing but on a given day one method or the
other seem to produce more. For trolling, Sea Hag Marina recommends the
Manns Stretch 30+ in the colors of Perch and anything with the word
"tiger" on it. Red& White Tiger is selling best. Also the
Purple Mackerel and Purple with Black Back are hot. Sea Hag Marina carries
every color made by Mann's with the cost of the 30+ being $13.49. I
have folks trying the new Sea Snakes to which Manns has added a
snake like grub tail to the head of Stretch 30+. These lures were
release last year before the design was complete which at that time, made
them float, but I have been informed that the new redesign keeps the lures
down under while trolling. I have not gotten any reports back on the new
lure so far. As for bottom fishing, Spanish Sardines are selling well,
along with Cigar Minnows, Squid, Thread Herring, and Mackerel. Squid has
been very hard to acquire these days, so be prepared to find them out
of stock and costing much more. Folks are fishing in about 45 to 50 foot
of water approximately 25 miles out. Some hot spots are the Super Ledge
(29 22.817N 83 45.675W) and the Crack (29 23.819N 083
42.722W). Since the bottom at these points is part of a shelf, trolling
between & around these two numbers will allow you to find other hot
spots yet undiscovered & housing some really nice grouper.
Bluefish and Amberjack While fishing
the flats and especially the reefs, expect to catch some really nice Bluefish
and an occasional Amberjack. Offshore larger Amberjack are being landed
while grouper trolling. I will try to research the best techniques for
catching this species and get back to you on the rigs and lines that best
target these fun fighting fish.
Kingfish
It is the season for the Kingfish to be in. I've been told when you see
the pretty purple and pink wild flowers lining the county roads, it's
Kingfish season. So far we have seen a few smaller fish and I suspect
this weekend will prove that the bigger ones are finally starting to appear.
Troll a chrome colored Stretch 30+ with less line out so that it will
stay closer to the surface. New in the store is terminal tackle to easily
rig a ballyhoo called Head Start Rigging System. These rigs include a
weight and chained hook that pops over the eye of the bait. No wiring
of the bait for trolling is needed.
The Optimist
Club Tournament is April 12th and includes a $10,000 Tagged Redfish prize.
Click Optimist
Club Tournament is April 12, 2003 for
more information on this tournament. We are selling tickets for the tournament
in the ships' store. Call 352-498-3008 for more information or to purchase
tickets over the phone. We will open extra hours for the tournaments -
Friday night prior, we will be open until 9:00pm and open the morning
of the tournament at 5:00am.
Email
me at askcaptain@seahag.com or
visit the Charter website at https://seahag.com/marina2/guides/sea_hag_charters.htm
This
Week's Steinhatchee Fishing Report 3/26/03
TROLLING IS
HOT!!!! Stretch 30+ Red Tiger and Red Head working best. All the Chartreuse
combos are also working well. Selling the Mylar Gold and Black very well
but do not have a report back on them. Also reports of the darker colors
but no specifics...
.
Sea Hag Marina Fishing Report by Captain Dennis Voyles
The Sheepshead run is in full swing. Steinhatchee Reef looks like a Wal-Mart parking lot with boats, especially on the weekend. Live shrimp fished on a Carolina rig is by far the most common presentation. When spawning the anchor placement is much more important than your bait presentation. Let's face it, Sheepshead with live bait are a total no-brainer during their spawning season. I don't mean to sound like a broken record, but please use restraint when harvesting these fish, as this is their chance at reproducing.
In close on the flats, Spotted Sea Trout fishing has slowed a bit due to the excessive flow of fresh water. Much of the flats water is discolored making fishing a challenge for even the most skilled anglers. My inshore charters last week did best with bright colors such as Saltwater Assassin limetruese, chartreuse silver glitter, chartreuse diamond and good ole white with red head. March and April commonly yield some of the largest trout of the year. A live pinfish fished under a Cajun Thunder float can produce huge gator trout this month.
Mark Chappell and crew land these fine Grouper and notice the large, large Grouper and Kingfish to the right!
Spanish Mackerel are very active around the near shore sand bars both north and south of the river. Trolling jigs or Clark spoons will do well in these areas. Redfish returned to the scene this weekend after a long unexcused absence. Gold spoons and topwater Mirrolures worked around rocky outcropping and oyster bars will produce fast action, especially on the rising tide. Redfish are not hard to catch, but they can be hard to find. Check in and around oyster bars.
Steve Bradford and son with Grouper and Amber Jacks (Saturday).
Offshore, trolling large deep diving plugs is putting a lot of Grouper on the Sea Hag Marina cleaning table. This past weekend Mann's Stretch 30+ Redhead worked best for me but many trolling fishermen reported doing well on the darker colors. Bottom fishing is also doing well in as close as thirty-five feet. Cigar minnows rule the bait world for bottom fishing. It seems that on the windy days, the shallow water areas do well for bottom fishing and reduce the amount of time being tossed around the vessel while running out to fish. Large King Mackerel have returned to our area along with huge bait pods of threadfin herring and cigar minnows. These toothy rascals cannot resist bright colored Rapala Magnums and Mann's Stretch 30+'s trolled just behind your vessel. The screaming run of a thirty or forty pound king is second only to the jump of a huge tarpon in my book. If the weather allows, the fishing in our area can be some of the best of the year right now.
The Optimist
Club Tournament is April 12th and includes a $10,000 Tagged Redfish prize.
Click Optimist
Club Tournament is April 12, 2003 for
more information on this tournament. We are selling tickets for the tournament
in the ships' store. Call 352-498-3008 for more information or to purchase
tickets over the phone. We will open extra hours for the tournaments -
Friday night prior, we will be open until 9:00pm and open the morning
of the tournament at 5:00am.
Email
me at askcaptain@seahag.com or
visit the Charter website at https://seahag.com/marina2/guides/sea_hag_charters.htm
Fishing Reports 3/17/03 thru 2/1/03
(worth looking at)
Fishing Reports 1/31/03 thru 10/31/02
(worth looking at)
Fishing Reports 10/30/02 thru 8/23/02
Fishing Reports 8/22/02 thru 5/16/02
Fishing Reports 5/15/02 thru 4/12/02
Fishing Reports
4/11/02 thru 3/7/02
Fishing Reports 3/7/02 thru 1/19/02
Fishing Reports 6/27/01 thru 1/7/02
Fishing Reports 6/26/01 thru 3/11/01
Fishing Reports 3/11/01 thru 4/2/01
Fishing Reports 2/3/01 to 3/10/01
Fishing Reports 11/00 thru 1/30/01
Fishing Reports 6/1/00 thru 9/25/00
Fishing Reports 5/6/00 thru 5/22/00
Fishing Reports 4/26/00 thru 4/29/00
Fishing Reports 3/27/00
Fishing Reports 3/3/00 thru 3/10/00
Fishing Reports 1/21/00 thru 3/3/00
Fishing Reports 1/10/00 thru 1/1/00
Fishing Reports 12/31/99 thru 9/18/99
Fishing Reports 8/25/99 thru 4/3/99