BigBendFishing.Net

Had a buddy go to by hickory mound and found this -


According to FWC - The 10-foot-plus tidal surge removed up to 1 foot of material from nearly 3 miles of dike. The storm surge also damaged several of the hatches on the water control structures and eroded the sides of the dike.
Check out the photos here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/myfwcmedi ... 683376511/

The staff person at the check station told him it will not be open till spring.
Even if it is fixed in time for season the salt intrusion will likely have killed most of the food that is in the freshwater impoundment.

That's a bummer. Beautiful spot and the area's best place to kayak fish in salt, IMO.

Will also put a damper on certain duck hunters' plans, I'm sure.

Since the state is doing the clean-up operation, it'll probably be later rather than sooner on the completion.

Bummer...I was thinking about heading down there today to watch the sunset and super-moon rise.
I had been wondering if storm damage closed it down.
Thanks for the info bman.

I fished there on Friday and called FWC before I went down. They have the road gated about 1.5 miles inland from the coast, so it would be a LONG walk dragging a kayak. We used Plan B and launched my boat at Econfina, then fished from Hickory Mound to Rock Isl. The road and ducks may be gone, but the fish are still there... FWC says they are waiting on FEMA funding to repair the road, so that should give you an idea how long it will take to get the repairs done.

I will say that FWC was very responsive to my inquiries about the road. I called the wrong office in Panama City (NW Region). They referred me to the NE Regional office who then called a field office in Perry, and hunted me back down on my cell phone to let me know the status of the impoundment.

- Steve Stinson

How about that dinky road past the even dinkier bridge that crosses the Econfina River just north of the State Park? I have used that road to get to some saltwater ponds and tidal creeks just west of Hickory Mounds. It winds its way to the west side of the impoundment. Satellite maps call the road Leroy Tedder/Charles Martin Grade.

BTW, some semi-drivable tangents off that grade lead to some really interesting fish-holding creeks. I can give more specific info for a Four-pack of La Fin Du Monde ale...

This confirms what I feared would be the case this season. Can't control mother nature, but it's a shame nonetheless.

Well, strike that from my list. Dadgumit!

Yup, I found that when I went down this week to check out the impoundment. Based on the number of redfish tails I saw in the salt, the hurricane certainly didn't hurt the fish I saw an entire 4 grebes in the impoundment.....

And WHAT are the damn blasted flies that look like house flies, are slower than house flies but bite like yellow flies? They were pretty thick out there.....

I have always heard them called dog flies. They are close cousins (or may even actually be) horn flies or face flies. They are aggravating as sin. Love it on the flats when the dog flies are bad, then you get back to the hill and the no see ums attack.

Just looked it up, because I have had this discussion on the flats before.

Stable Fly aka Dog Fly is Stomoxys calcitrans
Face fly is Musca autumnalis
Horn Fly is Haematobia irritans

The are all in the Family Muscidae, as is the house fly.

Can't preach it enough... SUNSECT

it does a dadgum good job at keeping those suckers from biting. Put it on before you get to the ramp to hit the water... and again before you get back to the ramp. Has SPF15 in it and a great bit of DEET to keep those arsehole flies from biting

GaryDroze wrote: ↑November 14th, 2016, 3:39 pm How about that dinky road past the even dinkier bridge that crosses the Econfina River just north of the State Park? I have used that road to get to some saltwater ponds and tidal creeks just west of Hickory Mounds. It winds its way to the west side of the impoundment. Satellite maps call the road Leroy Tedder/Charles Martin Grade.

BTW, some semi-drivable tangents off that grade lead to some really interesting fish-holding creeks. I can give more specific info for a Four-pack of La Fin Du Monde ale...

Are you talking about Dead River Rd or another one? That Dead River sign has only been up a couple years IIRC. I went down it once and hit the marsh but water was a long ways away. I think you’re talking about the turn before it, which isn’t part of the WMA that I can tell. But I’ve been wrong before