BigBendFishing.Net

Ok so this is another long one, but I was out scouting, and figured I'd report on what I found. If you read this after a break at work, it may be time for another break when you're done - sweet!

Headed out right after work again to squeeze in an hour or two of fishing before the sun went down. After the experience we had in Keaton Saturday, I was sure the spring pop is looming ahead any day now. Curiosity got the best of me and I decided I needed to head tot he light house to see what the east flat was doing, and it just couldn't wait for the weekend. I was curious what our little two day cold snap would do to the fish that were just starting to wake up out there.

Got in the water around 6:15, the water conditions were 'sporty' to borrow a phrase from a recent report. It was windy, bouncy and wet again, and I had to take it way slower than I wanted to again. I didn't really run to any particular spot. I was more curious what was going on in the general flat and wanted to see what the action would be like, if any. As such, I turned 45 degrees left two nuns before the S&M Birdrack, drove I guess a couple miles so I was a little north and maybe a little east of the first stake, cut the motor and let it float. Wind was strong enough to move me pretty swift from the SSW to NNE.

I wasn't expecting much if any action, and I still had the pole used in the tournament Saturday rigged up with CT and leader for the Gulp!, so I put on a smelly gulp 3" shrimp and chucked that one out behind my drift so it wasn't in my way. Wanted to see if pinfish were going to eat it up or not when I couldn't find anything on the softbaits and lures etc. I threw a sorta brown and silver redfish magic zulu, also still rigged up from Saturday and to my surprise got hits almost immediately. Felt like pinfish. Within 3 or 4 casts, I got my first trout. Figured it must be a fluke. Water temperature was down a few degrees to 64 (last time I was out there I got 66-67 in the general flats) Swapped CT out with longer leader. No pinfish hitting it at all, but I was drifting 4-6 feet of water with the moderate SSW wind and +3.4 high tide just an hour and a half earlier.

Threw out the zulu a couple more times, got more bites, thought I noticed the Gulp pole tweaking a little. Set down the Zulu long enough to grab a drink and hooked up on the Gulp, trout number 2 wihtin 10 minutes from cutting the motor. Tiny little bugger. Threw the Gulp back out, moved the pole a little so I had a better view of it. Seems like every time I threw the Zulu out as far as I could, the Gulp pole started yankin immediately. I don't know how many I missed because I couldn't get one rod down and pick up the other fast enough for a hook set. That also tells me the fish I missed weren't studs though, so no biggie.

After another 2 trout each on the Gulp and the Zulu, I figured maybe the action wasn't so dead after all, and wondered if it was close enough to the spring pop for topwater. I was really moving fast now as the wind picked up some and I can tell you I was nowhere near any significant structure of any sort. Drift was running 3-4mph on the GPS. I picked up pole #3 with a Zara Super Spook and cast it about 100 miles with the wind at my back. Took me a few seconds to reel down the slack, twitched it exactly once and the surface exploded. Pulled in another short. It was really too choppy for a spook, front hook kept catching the leader, so I put that down after 3 or 4 more casts, happy to quit while ahead.

So what did we learn so far...I intentionally started nowhere in particular and drifted which ever way the wind was blowing at the time, and had caught fish in all 3 levels of the water column. Spring pop must be near...it's like summer patterns but the fish are all small. Went back to throwing the Zulu and missing fish on the Gulp wile not paying attention. Next thing you know I got the signature BANG *pole bends over almost to water*...nothing....BANG *pole almost breaks in half*....nothing....BA- *reels in broken line* of a large spanish. Starting to get dark, a few more casts. In comes a blue. Time to go home wihle I can still find my way.

In all, the water was a few degrees cooler than I expected, kinda murky, wind was noticable but not horrible, action was way better than I would have thought on what should have been a 'poor' day on the solunar tables and after a short cold snap. Caught random short trout all over the place, a blue, and I'm pretty sure that was a spanish that tore through my 20# leader like it was nothin. Ended with 3 trout each on Gulp and Redfish MAgic Zulu, and one on the super spook. Maybe 1 keeper each on the Zulu and Gulp but didn't measure. Both close one way or the other. In conclusion, I'll need to go fishing again before the weekend. Oh, and I think the 'spring flats explosion' is upon us any day now.

One fish, two fish, didn't see no redfish but I caught this blue fish:


Big bait, big fish, right?

Thanks for the report, I dont blame you , if I was down there, I'd be fishing too. One little hint, put a circle hook on that free lined CT and it will do the hooking for you. No jerk, no hook set, just reel em in. Then you can focus on your plug fishin without getting all rushed. Again, thanks for the detail and info!

Good report Mook, things are looking up

Great report. Thanks for the information.

Nice scouting trip. Lots of info there.

Good trip on a school day.

Hello Mook I will be coming down to Shell Point the third week of July. I have never fished Shell Point. I have fished the Clearwater area and some of Tampa bay. Not sure how to fish this area. In Clearwater pitched alot of docks for reds, trout and sheephead. Also worked some of the flats. Do you know what areas close to shell point are best? Also where can I get a good map of the Shell Point waters? Thanks.

kygofish wrote:Hello Mook I will be coming down to Shell Point the third week of July. I have never fished Shell Point. I have fished the Clearwater area and some of Tampa bay. Not sure how to fish this area. In Clearwater pitched alot of docks for reds, trout and sheephead. Also worked some of the flats. Do you know what areas close to shell point are best? Also where can I get a good map of the Shell Point waters? Thanks.

Shell point is nestled between Oyster Bay and Goose Bay. Oyster Bay is aptly named, oyster bars everywhere. They are good for all of the above. I recommend not driving a boat through there faster than 1mph with a spotter on the bow if you don't have a chartplotter with very detailed maps. If you have the fancy chartplotter, it's safe to go 3 or 4 mph around there. People sometimes do well in Goose bay drifting for trout; it's been hit or miss in my experience - awesome or lame and not a lot of in between. The creeks are usually full of reds and some good trout but you're not getting a large boat up in them. Also be aware there are some oyster bars in Goose Bay as well; it's not a mine field like Oyster Bay, but not some place you want to run wide open either. There are some rocks around the southern side of Patty's Island (kind of in the middle of the south edge of Goose Bay) that sometimes hold good fish. It all depends on the weather. If I had to pick a place that I think would be best overall in any conditions and you don't want to go far, I'd say *Slowly* explore the oyster bars in oyster bay and find yourself a spot or two.

Area Chart can be found on this web site here: http://www.bigbendfishing.net/images/maps/apb.gif

Shell Point is slightly to the southeast of the compass rose dealie on the chart.

Good read Mook, Big bait small trout

Thanks for the report Mook

Thanks Mook, I have a 17 ft. bass tracker with a 60 on it. It fishes skinny water pretty good. Are there any mangrove snapper on the oyster bars? Also do any sharks or jacks venture into the flats? I like to catch all kinds of fish. Every now and then I like to hear the drag scream. Thanks for the info.

kygofish wrote:Thanks Mook, I have a 17 ft. bass tracker with a 60 on it. It fishes skinny water pretty good. Are there any mangrove snapper on the oyster bars? Also do any sharks or jacks venture into the flats? I like to catch all kinds of fish. Every now and then I like to hear the drag scream. Thanks for the info.

Very unlikely on the mangrove snapper, absolutely on the sharks (not something you see every day but some days you might see several) and jack cervalle is pretty common on the bars in the hotter months.

Thanks Mook, I will be keeping up with your fishing reports till I come down in July. I am land locked in Kentucky. The closes thing to saltwater fishing up her is muskie. Thanks again for the info.