Monday afternoon St Marks river

[geofish]

Just had a few hours to get out Monday afternoon, but I wanted to get out and run the Wahoo after some fuel line issues.
Launched at the fort and giddyupped down river. Found clumps of fish on the old fishfinder that looked like schools of trout beginning to clump up with the cold weather, but couldn't get a bite in the hour or two I had to fish (before and after high tide at 3 something pm).
Here's where I saw some good schools, mostly close to the bottom
-- up the deep channel that takes off at marker #14 half-way to the mouth of the East River (where the channel seems surrounded by oyster bars)
-- Mouth of Four Mile Creek by Marker #33 and on the opposite side of the river near the rocks around Marker 35
-- Just opposite the point at the Fort where the two rivers join, fish seemed more scattered in the center of the water column.
But I got just one bite, using live shrimp on a jig head on the bottom, and trying also a slow retrieve with a soft fluke.
So I know where to find 'em -- anybody have better ideas on how to catch 'em? Different bait, or different tide/time of day?

[Apalachee Inshore]

How do you know you are not seeing mullet?

[geofish]

Good question!
I can see clumps of individual fish on the structure scan as well as some clusters and upside down vees on the fishfinder. Usually in the winter if I see this I can catch some trout.
Do you have a way to be sure they're not just mullet?

[rockyg]

Good question!
I can see clumps of individual fish on the structure scan as well as some clusters and upside down vees on the fishfinder. Usually in the winter if I see this I can catch some trout.
Do you have a way to be sure they're not just mullet?

Mask and fins? lol

[Apalachee Inshore]

Good question!
I can see clumps of individual fish on the structure scan as well as some clusters and upside down vees on the fishfinder. Usually in the winter if I see this I can catch some trout.
Do you have a way to be sure they're not just mullet?

Don’t know, I barely turn on my depth finder and that’s mostly to check water temp. I would just be surprised if trout were stacked that far up river.

[geofish]

Good point. I just look at mine to see their little smiling fish faces, laughing when they skunk me.

[GaryDroze]

Best way to test fishfinder readings for mullet is to throw a big cast net over the hole. You will have one of two results...

1. If net comes up empty, the fishfinder was giving you false readings.

2. If it gets snagged on the bottom and you lose the net, you were onto a big school of mullet.

[geofish]