Carrabelle fishing report by Capt. Bob

[SoleSearcher]

Hi everyone! I've been having a little trouble logging onto this board (problem is on my end) but anyway, here's my report.....

I had a great inshore trip with John and Amy Harper from Amherst, Mass. This was their third trip with me and we always have a good time. Saturday was no exception as we quickly found big Redfish lurking in the surf off Dog Island. All you need to do is find the patches of dark water just outside the surf line and drop either live Pilchards or small Pinfish on a Carolina Rig and you'll pick up Reds right and left. We boated 3 big boys, all around 26 inches in a matter of minutes. In addition, we picked up 4 respectable Flounder around the stumps before hitting the grass flats behind the island.

On the flats, the Trout bite was slow, but Topwater lures picked up several nice Trout along with plenty of Ladyfish, Blues and 2 Mackerel. Near Dog Island Harbor, Amy picked up a near 5 LB Trout on a Storm Chug Bug. John had a big time hookup but lost it. All well, we'll get him next year.

Our final stop was Dog Island Reef where we picked up 9 big Mackerel on jigs. If I can't find Mackerel right away, I'll troll until we get a hookup, then throw out a little chum I make up with Ground LY's, Pilchards, Shrimp, canned Cat food and oatmeal. It's messy, but believe me, it works! Anyway, after the chum slick draws in the Mackerel, I rig up light lines with 50 LB leaders and either small Clark spoons or jigs with bright color grubs. This method takes a little time and preparation, but it's a lot more fun than trolling.

After playing with the Mackerel, I wanted to try for a Cobia around the Buoy off Dog Island Reef. But, a big thunderstorm was building to the NW so we called it a day. John and Amy were pleased with their catch of 11 Mackerel, 4 Flounder, 10 Trout and 3 Redfish. I smell a fish fry in the works!

This week I have a mix of inshore and offshore trips with smaller parties, along with a guide trip with Bob and Peggy Henderson on his boat. With the full moon on the 24th, I'm going to stick my neck out and give you my best guess for peak feeding times this week. Here it goes:

Best feeding times for Carrabelle area:

Monday 7/22 Peak feed 5:30 AM, minor feed 12:00 PM
Tuesday 7/23 Peak feed 6:30 AM, minor feed 1:00 PM
Wednesday 7/24 Peak feed 6:30 AM, minor feed 2:00 PM
Thursday 7/25 peak feed 7:00 AM, minor feed 2:30 PM
Friday 7/26 peak feed 8:00 AM, minor feed 3:00 PM

Until next time,