Rick Davidson (grassflats2@yahoo.com), Editor
"The RedManiac"
August is usually a tough month for both inshore and offshore fishing, with high water temperatures and lots of floating grass. Luckily, it has been a fantastic month for scallops. The typical areas this summer have been south to Rocky Creek and north to Piney Point and the bird rack. You’ve got until the 10 th of September to get in on the action, so make some reservations and have some fun. As noted in the Scallop Report (click on the scallop on the home page) my hometown fishing club, the Gainesville Offshore Fishing Club, had our annual scallop trip on August 18 th. We had perfect weather, a wonderful group of folks, and cooked up the scallops right on the deck at Sea Hag. We had children’s prizes for the biggest, smallest, prettiest and ugliest scallops. Scalloping is a great event for any club, family or group. If you’ve missed it this year, go ahead and make reservations now for next year; they will fill up very early.
Meanwhile, on the fishing front, there are signs that things are picking up. A friend who fishes out of Keaton Beach found a school of very large redfish in close to shore; almost all fish were over the slot limit size of 27 inches. Trout continue to be in deeper water, especially the larger ones. I have a report that lots of trout have been caught west of Rocky Creek and near 9 Mile Bank in depths of 7 to 9 feet. Offshore fishing has been slow in the usual depths of 35 to 45 feet, but anyone willing to go out to 60 to 90 feet will be able to catch lots of red grouper. Gags continue to be hard to find, but look for that to improve. There are still lots of Florida snapper around the shallower water hard bottom areas.
Most of our guides have been busy with scallop charters or on vacation, but here’s what’s been happening for those who have been fishing recently.
Captain Rick Bouley, www.naturecoastflatsfishing.com
August has been the hottest month I have experienced since moving to this area......I have spent a minimal amount of time on the water this month. There are still a good number of slot and larger sized trout to be had in the creeks on the higher stages of the tide. Tons of bait can be found both north and south of the river and if you happen to be in the right spot at the right time you will find large schools of reds, trout, jacks and other predators crashing them. However, it’s also possible to completely strike out in what will appear to be a perfect scenario of bait, tide, and time of day. Top water "poppers" and "chuggers" have been my most productive early morning baits, depending on the amount of floating grass around. Some times a good alternative might be suspending baits such as a DOA Mullet or a weedless plastic jerk bait later in the morning. I'm looking forward to some slightly cooler weather and a somewhat more aggressive bite as fall approaches.
Captain Walt Carlson, www.captainwalt.com
Hot hot hot--but the fish are still biting! The inshore for trout is still good -you just have to work a little harder to catch them. Gulp baits are still working and I'm still using the new penny and the white colors. Live pinfish are still the best if you want the bigger fish. As far as offshore, the grouper fishing has picked up and lots of nice fish are being brought to the dock-check the picture for my last catch. My offshore baits are my usual—squid, threadfin herring, Spanish sardines…. and of course live bait is always good. Tight lines, good fishing, and don't forget the kids!
Captain Steve Rassell, www.lastcastrass.com
Trout fishing has been red hot over the past two weeks. We’re taking plenty of keeper fish in deeper water, and a lot of smaller fish in the shallows. The Spanish are hitting around the sand bars and redfish action continues to be productive in shallow water. This past scallop season will go down on record as one of the best. Had limits on every trip this year, and that was with 500 other boats in the same area. Catch a bunch, release a few.
Captain Tommy Thompson, www.flanaturecoast.com/capttommy
August got off to a slow start, but ended with some great fishing. I don’t think I’ll forget the early August afternoon Capt. Rick Bouley, his wife, Jo, and I went out to catch a photo-quality redfish I needed for a Florida Sportsman story I was working on. The water temperature in the mouth of one creek was almost 94 degrees! That’s almost too hot for a bathtub this time of year. We got our red, and the photo, but it was almost too much work.
About mid-month, I started to get the feeling that things were picking up. Jon Thomas and his son, Charlie, went scalloping with me one Saturday, and we caught some nice trout near Rock Point, on the way home. D.O.A. Shrimp, free lined, did the job.
The next day I took Rick Davidson and Jim Wilson on a kayak-fishing trip in the creek system south of the river. It was Rick’s first kayak fishing trip, and I think I’ve got him convinced that it’s a great way to fish. My new Native Watercraft Ultimate 12 boats were comfortable and easy to fish. Jim had his Hobie Mirage boat, pedals and all. It’s great because you can pedal and fish at the same time. We didn’t catch lots of fish, as the water was hot. However, the reds and trout had better be on their toes this fall and winter. We’ll be back!
The following week, I had Dennis Smith and Rodney Lay from St. Augustine in for the week. Dennis always brings his Young 20 and he follows my lead during the day. Our typical ‘drill’ is to fish the shallows from daybreak until about 10AM with topwaters and then pick up the families to scallop. Scalloping was unbelievable that week, and we limited out easily each day up near Sponge Point. Dennis and Rodney are always fun to fish with, as they’re experienced—and Dennis’ wife, Julie, makes wonderful lunches! (Speaking of lunches, take a look at the September 2007 issue of Florida Sportsman. I’ve got a story about a ‘sizzling shore lunch’ that we photographed at Lazy Island, just south of the river.)
Rick Bouley and I had a two-boat charter later in the month with some great anglers from Orlando. The style of backwater fishing we do requires that there only be one or two anglers on the boat, so we do lots of two-boat trips. We were both concerned that the tides wouldn’t cooperate and would be ‘flat’, or slow-moving during the trip. They were flat, but the baitfish were as plentiful as we’d seen all summer. We got a number of nice keeper trout and reds, including some on fly tackle.
Something finally happened the lat week of August as the water cooled down just a degree or two. Rick Davidson, my fishing partner on non-charter days, and I were bored and decided to throw plugs one evening for an hour or so. We always laugh about trying to catch fish on hot afternoons (See my first paragraph, above!) and coming home skunked. This evening, we found reds and trout in a creek mouth and had a blast using topwater plugs. Heddon Super Spook, Jr. lures were the ticket. The next morning, on a quick falling tide, we found lots of nice trout (including a 5-pounder), a red, some big 3# bluefish, and lots of ladyfish on the 3-foot flats to the south of the river. A great, and unexpected, day!
I’m still only booking half days for the balance of September, but the fishing should be great. And…October should be even better!
SEPTEMBER 2007 FISHING FORECAST
The fall is always an exciting time to fish Steinhatchee as the water temperatures drop. On the inshore scene, things have already been improving considerably. Trout are moving from the deeper waters onto the flats, just within the last week in August, and will continue to be more accessible throughout the month. When the grass allows, fish topwaters such as the Rapala Skitterwalk, MirrOlure Top Dog or Storm Chug Bug early mornings, and even into the midday in waters from 2 to 6 feet in depth. As the sun rises, if the topwater bite slows, switch to live shrimp, Gulp shrimp, or Salt Water Assassin grubs fished on jig heads fished under Cajun Thunder rigs. Fish slowly by waiting for the cork to come completely upright before you jerk the rig. Look for clear water, with mixed grass and sandy bottom. While you will catch fish over pure grass flats, there are larger fish around sandy areas in the middle of the flats, such as the areas outside of Rocky Creek. The redfish bite will still be excellent, with topwaters, spinner baits such as the Redfish Magic brand, gold Johnson spoons, DOA TerrorEyz, or suspending MirrOlures, such as the Catch series or the MirrOMinnow. To find redfish, find inshore structure like rock or oyster bars, and look for baitfish schools, especially mullet that are traveling. Fish plugs early, then the suspending baits. Try to aim for times of rapid tidal movement. And, most important, watch for a dramatic improvement in inshore fishing by mid-September.
The Spanish mackerel bite will be vigorous, costing you some terminal rigs if you’re not prepared. To target them, spend some time trolling in deeper 7-10 foot water with Clark spoons or bucktail jigs. . Make sure you use at least 6 inches of wire leader. Bluefish and ladyfish will be easily available when you find moving baitfish. They can be taken on anything you throw at them as long as it’s moving fast.
Offshore, the grouper bite will still be slow unless you can get to forty feet of water or so, if the temperatures remain high. Find hard bottom, and fish either live pinfish or cut bait such as squid or Spanish sardines (all are available at the Ship’s Store) . To explore larger areas, troll Stretch plugs. Be on the lookout for the kingfish to show up near the end of the month as they migrate toward the south. Fast trolling with spoons or plugs can provide some fierce kingfish action when they show up. By October the gag grouper bite will be on in shallower waters.
September is one of my favorite months for fishing Steinhatchee. The scalloping crowds are gone, and the fish are always obliging. Make your plans to take advantage of our wonderful fall fishing.
