A unique website dedicated to fishing information from Florida's Northern Big Bend. This includes the area from the Econfina River west to the Apalachicola River
We’re to the point that I have to go and do something different, even if it won’t amount to anything. I’ve read here about Hagens Cove over the years about the shallow water, the scallops, etc but I’ve never been there. So with all of this rain, I was thinking it would be deeper AND saltier compared to many other places in the area. Would this be a rare time where you could surf fish and get lucky on a Redfish?
I have been catching reds up along the sawgrass lines all year this year. I would tell you 2 things - The reds I have caught are mostly 23 - 24 inches (Not the size we've seen in the past). Also, clean water seems to be key. We've had so much rain and wind that everything from Steinhatchee to St. George Island is either brown or stirred up. If you can find clean water, normally it's holding fish.
I’ll plead temporary insanity on this one, but not because it wasn’t the most efficient idea to go and catch fish. I explained why I wanted to go try anyway. The insane idea was going there this weekend. THIS weekend lol! That wouldn’t have been a good idea at all for my style of fishing and trouncing around.
So here’s what I did do and I’m going to be vague until this Tuesday when I go serious fishing in the boat. A friend of mine got me to go for a little ride without a fishing pole last Wednesday, after 1 of the WORST DAYS OF MY LIFE until the point that I’ll get to. We rode up on a rebuilt bridge/pipe setup that wasn’t there last summer. In it were beds of Redbreasts as far as we could see. This was not a part of a river. This ran into the river way way wayyyyy down. So even though it ran into the river it wasn’t some basic slough. I went back yesterday with a fishing pole and it had dropped drastically since Wednesday. The Redbreasts were still there hanging on and you could count the scales on them they were so clearly seen. I left them alone and fished around off the bank and caught a Redbreast and a Bass but before I did that, somewhere in the middle I stepped on a bees nest.
I didn’t hear or see anything, I just felt something get me on the ankle and I just knew I’d been snake bit. Then when I ran it kept on getting me lol! I figured out what happened and got them off. A bunch of them got me on the ankle, then 4 more 1 at the time in other places. Other than the temporary sting pain they never bothered me before so I figured ok no blood no foul let’s just go to another spot. I did that, caught the 2 fish, then went to the next spot and by then I was hurting and my ankle looked like death. I had to drive home with the flashers on and was close to calling somebody to come get me lol! I guess my body was freaking out a little since I’d never been got by that many in 1 spot. It’s the day after now and I’m fine. I’m going back tomorrow to do a little more homework off the bank then Tuesday I have a serious appointment in the boat with them fish.
My boat trip was a success. I brought 10 bream home and caught a bunch more. A big bass came after my bream lure but I purposely snatch it away and into the boat because he just would have broke off. I hung another big bass and he didn’t break off but he slung the lure with a half a head turn so even that was lucky IMO.
I think my next day of fishing is going to be looking for another place to put in on that river though. I cleaned the middle out of logs 2 years ago and there are even more now, and that’s not even counting that 1 log jam that I’ve cleaned out before and can’t do again ever since I got on a snake in it if anybody remembers that story lol! And then there was the worst part...mosquitoes. Mosquitoes at their worst make me pray for yellowflies.
So it’s been 5 years since I rode through and around the whole forest I think. Maybe something is open now that wasn’t.
