A unique website dedicated to fishing information from Florida's Northern Big Bend. This includes the area from the Econfina River west to the Apalachicola River
Use this area to post inshore fishing reports from the area. Please try to include relevant information such as:
Location, date, time, water conditions, weather conditions, baits, techniques, species caught, etc.
After reading the Dog ISland reef post below, you Old-timers are worrying me Would you consider it safe for a 17' c.c. with a 90 h.p. to go out to the artificial reefs around Keaton ? I've only done it once, on a beatiful cluodless day, and it was nothing. The boat will make about 33 m.p.h. on flat seas, but it drops off big time in 1-2 seas (unless you want to get soaked and beat to death). Safe trip or not ?
Some may disagree.....But, I contend that it's more a factor of boating skills and knowing what to do than the size of the boat.
I got caught in a storm about 45 min (WOT...about 35 knots) east south east of the Light house. Storm came from the west..maybe a little out of the south and we launched out of shell island. Seas went from completely calm to solid 5 footers is what seemed like just a matter of minutes. We were in a 19' ski barge...has fairly shallow sides!!
Kept my cool (= scared to death) pointed the bow so that we rode up and over the waves....not head on (would've stuffed the bow), but not parallel (would've rolled) and slowly made our way back.
I'm not saying I'm the king of all boaters, but an inexperienced boater would've had big problems with that situation even in a 20+ foot vessel!!
I'm not saying you can take a jon boat 20 miles offshore if you know what you're doing.....but an experienced captain in a jon boat.......is sometimes better than a rookie in a 20 foot bay boat!
What GC said I take my 17.5 Bass boat out 10 and 15 miles I have had to ride 2 to 3's back in "not fun at all", You have to keep your eye's on the conditions and listen to your senses when they start saying "IT'S TIME TO GO STUPID"
“Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them and you have their shoes.”
A little common sense and preparation go a loooong way to keeping you safe. Check the weather BEFORE you go out and make sure your VHF radio and GPS are in good working order, along with any other safety equipment. And if you can, ask somebody with more know-how and experience for some advice. Pride will kill you if you let it.
Allways air on the side of caution. If the forecast is getting bad in the afternoon, I like a tail wind for the ride home. If its out of the north I might not go.
Yep. Caution! Commom sense! I have seen boats swamped in 5ft. of water no more than a mile offshore. Saw it last year as a matter of fact. Dang near had it happen to me. It's like everything else: Don't get cocky.....
I've learned you need to pick your days very carefully. 1" or less and you can go a long ways off shore. Best practice is to buddy up with another boater and go offshore together.
MJ's .02
Time is the most precious commodity we have in life, stay focused.
I have not been offshore without being under the watchful eye of FreddyP, who has been doing it since the 70's. We have made at least a dozen trips, maybe more, in the past 3 years.
Being retired, we can pick our days, and generally only go, if the prediction is 2-3 or less, and then make a pretty good evaluation of the wx/seas, before going to the ramp. It's 5 minutes away from home, so no reason to go anyway, if the conditions are different than published..
The previous owner of my J16 had it out 13 miles, according to a close associate. I don't even put it in the bay in anything more than a light chop, and then don't go outside the islands.
To use an example- It's like riding a motorcycle. Just when you think you have it mastered, it will bite you in the a**.
Two thing will kill you in any vehicle/boat/airplane- Complacency and Panic..
Before you even go , never figure the oceans glass, if you get it , be happy, usually not the best fishing anyway, # 2 always figure on the safe side if Noaa says 2-4 best figure 4, 3-5 best figure 5, don't be fooled by the low # but be thankful if you get it. Don't be greedy, leave at the 1st sign of changing conditons because once they start changing it can make for a long ride in real quick.. frank
Would you consider it safe for a 17' c.c. with a 90 h.p. to go out to the artificial reefs around Keaton ? I've only done it once, on a beatiful cluodless day, and it was nothing. The boat will make about 33 m.p.h. on flat seas, but it drops off big time in 1-2 seas (unless you want to get soaked and beat to death). Safe trip or not ?
We were in a 19' ski barge...has fairly shallow sides!! 
I take my 17.5 Bass boat out 10 and 15 miles 
