St. George Island bridge 4/9/16 report

[DEADLYMNM7]

I am heading to St. George Island old bridge this afternoon. Will give a report when I return tonight.

[leonreno]

Love to hear it.

[countrycorners]

?

[DEADLYMNM7]

Sorry about the delay.
I was there from 2:30pm until about 8pm.
When I arrived there was many people there.
Water was murky red, wind was pretty strong, had to add a stronger pyramid weight to cast out.
I was using a gulf rig and I used frozen shrimp, squid, mullet, and Fish bites.
I had a few bait stealers but all the time I was there I caught nothing.
Other people on the bridge caught only large catfish and stingrays starting at 4pm.
My friend caught four large catfish, one stingray, and almost caught a large Black Drum.
We managed to pull the Black Drum close to the bridge but while I went to get the net he went under the bridge and scraped the braid under the bridge pillar until it snapped. So for my first day back saltwater fishing there really was nothing there to catch. Next time. Also, I wish that if people catch something they don't want, catfish, stingrays, throw them back in the water, don't let them die on the bridge. There is no reason for that. I am sometimes to late to get to some to throw back.

[DixieReb]

I guess it hasn't picked up over there yet. All the wind probably didn't help, it's hard to see a bite in it. Thanks for reporting.

[leonreno]

Tough conditions, right after the front that came through Thursday. Should get better by next weekend. Thanks for the report.

[chickory]

I’m unconvinced that the abundance of cats is not harmful to the Gulf fishery- anecdotally, over the past >20yrs, I believe that their population throughout the Fl panhandle has exploded. Besides plant and other organic detritus, they do consume bony fish, even the juveniles. Could this be just another explanation for the progressive decline in our inshore game fish( reds and trout)?
Is there any hard evidence that my observation is correct/incorrect- would appreciate hearing from some experts on this matter? Until my theory is refuted, I’ll toss everything back, except the cats.

[countrycorners]

I'm headed to St George tomorrow. Suspect I'll throw jighead&shrimp from the beach for a couple days.
Will see what happens!

[Red Dawg]

If the catfish theory is confirmed, I'll gladly do my part to help thin them out! I usually have to cut my leader after they swallow it so deep I can't see the hook. I do release them but I will stop if they are causing problems.

[DixieReb]

The big sailcats like you catch on the bridge are good eating if you fillet them and remove the red strip of meat on each side. If we keep the bigger ones, it might help decrease their population in some areas. I don't mess with the hardheads, usually slam them on the bridge and throw them in for crab bait.

[BldHnd86]

We ate some sail cats Saturday night. Soaked them in a lil brine water for a couple of hours and fried them up. Didn't remove the red strip and they were great tasting.

[timeout]

A friend used to eat them all the time. Soaked the fillets in milk overnight. They said they tasted great.

[FUTCHCAIRO]

I HAVE EATEN SAILCATFISH MANY TIMES , ONLY PROBLEM IS THAT IT WILL MESS UP A COOLER BOX SO BAD YA CAN NOT USE IT ANYMORE, THIS IS THE REASON I DO NOT KEEP THEM ANYMORE.
PA
SEMPER FI

[castnetaholic]

A friend used to eat them all the time. Soaked the fillets in milk overnight. They said they tasted great.

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