With water temperatures moving into the low 70s, trout fishing continues to improve. Limits of sea trout have been caught on the West flats, Shell Point and Wakulla Beach. Numbers of trout are also increasing at the St. Marks Lighthouse and the East River. Live shrimp, chartreuse jigs and jigs fished with Cajun Thunders have been responsible for many of the better trout stringers. Large redfish are running the shoreline from Stony Bayou to points east. Offshore fishing is wide open with schools of amberjack and cobia patrolling the surface around the nearshore reefs and "K" tower. One party caught a 70- and a 35-pound cobia at "K" tower by offering live pinfish to cruising fish.
Carrabelle/Lanark Village
Offshore grouper fishing has been fantastic the last couple of weeks. The best catches have come from 50- and 60-foot depths. A few offshore anglers have been trolling but most are using live and frozen baits. Kingfish are still hitting, and cobia can be caught around structures such as bouys and the Air Force Towers. Big sea trout and some redfish have been caught along the shoreline. Live shrimp have generally produced the best results. There are also plenty of Spanish mackerel and bluefish off the east end of Dog Island and over Dog Island Reef. A few pompano are being caught at the west end of Dog Island and the east end of St. George Island.
Apalachicola Bay/St. George Sound
Fishing is good all over the bay. Beach anglers are catching a lot of whiting in the surf of St. George Island. Pompano are starting to come back after the recent cool weather lowered the water temperature and pushed them away. Spanish mackerel are everywhere, including East End on St. George. Although there are a few sea trout up on the grassflats, the best action is still around St. Vincent and Cat Point dry bars. A few big redfish and pompano have been caught at Bob Sikes Cut.
St. Joe Bay
A number of nice trout between 3 and 5 pounds have been caught in the bay. Trout are starting to hit top-water plugs and some are using live menhaden. Cajun Thunders fished with a 4-inch grub or curly-tailed grub is another good lure choice. The trout are in the shallow flats and it may be necessary to cover a lot of ground. Flounder have shown up in the Intracoastal Canal. There's also been a good run of pompano along the beach in the St. Joe State Park and at St. Joe Point at the end of the peninsula.
East Pass.....
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