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
Unedited version of Capt. Jeff Moore's "Best Bets" Article for Woods 'n Water's January issue:
Happy New Year, 2007. Fishing has been great the past year, and this seasons bull redfish action has been spectacular. The beaches and the bay are loaded with giant schools of bull reds looking for a lure. This year, the fish have pushed further into the bays and estuaries than they usually do, thus creating some really great shallow water action for sight fishermen and fly fishermen alike.
Just the other morning, we launched the boat at the shell pile in Bagdad, florida of course, and ventured into the backwaters of Blackwater bay. With fog sitting thick on the waters surface, it was difficult to make our way past the stumps and logs that line the banks and the shallows throughout the bay. After some careful navigation, we reached our destination, a shallow muddy bottom marsh lined with saw grass and layered with a blanket of fog. Spooked from our intrusion, a flock of wood ducks whistled as they rose from the fog and left the fishing hole to us. Catfish basin might be the name of our fishing spot, but its not catfish that we came for, we were in search of bull reds pushing there way through the shallow waters. The morning air was crisp and the temperature a perfect fifty seven degrees, fog still obscured our vision for sighting any surface action outside of one hundred feet, but sounds of fish smashing the surface range out beyond our sight. I decided to pole our way to the sounds of feeding fish so as to not disturb the utter silence that adorned the marsh, and I was able to spot the movement of fish pushing through the saw grass from my perch. As we approached the origin of the thunderous splashes that were reverberating loudly across the swamp, I could see the backs of the huge bull reds extruding above the water and the trail of mud where they had previously been. Time seems to stop when moments of such magnitude are presented, and the ESPN camera crew is no where to be found. The slightest fumble or irregular peep could totally change the situation at hand and deprive us of one of the most superb fishing instances I have ever experienced, with this in mind, Robert made a beautiful cast placing a Gulp shrimp just in front of a bull red and the fight was on. What a wonderful sight as the mud was flying and the silence was shattered, the bronze back of a twenty pound bull streaking across the marsh and the sound of fishing line slicing the waters surface as the drag screams from the reel. After all of the disruption and ruckus of the battle that just took place, we landed and released a twenty pound red and began are stealthy approach to another pod of feeding fish.
The backwaters are just full of action this time of year and though the scenery is a pleasant change from the beach front, the topwater action in the gulf is just unbeatable. Best bet for a virtually guaranteed fish on in January, the place to be is along the beach just West of Pensacola pass. Birds, Birds, Birds, that’s all you need to know when hunting for bull reds in the gulf, look for the swarm of diving birds, then run and gun to the spot and start casting. January is prime time for run and gun methods of fishing in the gulf, so make sure and have some good binoculars at hand for sighting that frenzy that lies just out of sight of the other anglers.
If you haven’t ever experienced the tried true method of trout trolling, then you need to rush rite over here and join the fun. January and February are the prime months to troll the grass line along the mouth of Escambia river for big winter trout. When trolling for trout you will use a lead head jig with a stingray grub and troll it approximately one hundred feet behind the boat as slow as your motor will go. Some anglers will troll as many as six rods or however many they can spread out on there particular boat. If you have ever trolled for Crappie, then you should be rite at home when trolling for trout, so get your duck gear on and jump on in the boat, the colder the better.
Tight lines to all of you and Happy new year.
Aaron Portwood
Managing Editor
Woods 'N Water Magazine
Well thats good to know I've got a second job interview over in Baldwin County, Al and I was wanderin how the fishing was over there in Mobile and Pensacola Bay. Looks promising.
I know what I'll be dreaming about tonight! Them reds are on a mission!
I was fishing in Charleston last month, and it was the first time I had witnessed trolling for trout. I landed a 16" trout as a product of trolling. Not much to me, but they kept saying it was a good trout for the area. That's how they do it up there.
Can you imagine the amount of fist fights that would occur in these parts if folks adopted the same practice.
Well thats good to know I've got a second job interview over in Baldwin County, Al and I was wanderin how the fishing was over there in Mobile and Pensacola Bay. Looks promising.
Dec (The Woods N' Water man, andI emphasise man) pointed out to me that those are baby porpoises, not sharks..... or so he said
oh yea could be baby flippers, they do look a little shiny whereas sharks are dull and sandpapery, course everythings shiny in the water, I guess were talkin bout the two things in each bottom corner of the top pic
Them reds are on a mission!
