River mouths and Creek questions

[akasephiroth]

A couple of weekends ago I discovered the bright new world of Reds in the mouth of rivers!!! What was the big surprise was flounder and Hybrid i caught as well...so a few questions for some of the more experienced Brackish stream fishermen.

1. What all can i expect out of a brackish creek near Apalachicola bay?
2. What are the licence requirements? Do i need Freshwater licence to keep hybrids? Would my 7 year old be allowed to keep both salt and fresh fish?

[Swampcreek]

Hey man, whigham here.. Heading to econfina this weekend.
Never been, gonna try and figure it out.

[hambric85]

if you have a saltwater license and you catch them in the appalach in brackish water then you are fine. you might want to check the regulations on stripers, you should not find hybrids in saltwater. I have caught some pretty big stripes in the appalach. around the mouth and creeks there is good red/trout fishing with the occasional flounder/jacks. and for the fellow going to ecofina....... GO SLOW AND WATCH FOR THE ROCKS YOU CANNOT SEE!!!!!!!!

[Capt Ron]

I always cringe when I see this type of question on the internet, because invariably a well meaning poster will give out some bad information. White, striped and sunshine bass are fresh water species and require a fresh water license.http://www.eregulations.com/florida/fis ... ater-fish/ It is not uncommon to catch largemouth, hybrids, white and spotted trout, redfish, flounder, sheepshead, black drum and shell crackers out of the same hole

[hambric85]

Thanks capt! I c&r all inshore except for 1 red per trip. So I really only worry about 1 reg. But if you catch stripes out in deep salt (south of sgi) wouldn't that be saltwater species?

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[Danibeth]

Not trying to be a smartypants here, but if you're going to agonize over is it fresh? Is it salt? Why not just buy a combo fishing license and be done with the agonizing?

According to FWC striped bass are primarily freshwater fishes in Florida. But I've got friends who would catch them in brackish, tending toward salt water creeks here in FL.

http://www.myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/p ... iped-bass/

[Capt Ron]

It doesn't make any difference where you catch them. In the state of Florida , they are recognized as a fresh water species and are regulated by "freshwater" regulations. What if you're fishing the mouth of Owl Creek at Sumatra, and catch a sheepshead? Are you going to try and tell a warden that it's a fresh water species? With a saltwater lic. you can catch hybrids, but can't keep them. Shouldn't be a big deal.

[Salty Gator]

I know stripers are caught in the st marks river in winter around here, but I've never heard d of any in the tidal creeks or way offshore. If it occurs, its rare

[hambric85]

i have caught a few off the cape, and off the ga coast. up north they go off in big schools just like reds. I haven't purposely pursued them offshore, but its a big deal on the Atlantic coast. my original question to capt was a theoretical one.