BigBendFishing.Net

I had some family in town for the holiday weekend, so a few of us guys decided to head down to Econfina for a day of fishing. Put the boat in the water around 8:00am just before low tide. Got out past the river marker and headed west towards Aucilla. Stopped at the first spot about 10 minutes later in 3 feet. There was NO water movement and NO wind....not even a breeze. I threw topwater for about 20 minutes, my dad threw his favorite (cajun thunder and a gulp), and Todd threw and a new penny gulp on a jighead. Nothing. Not even a trash fish. Even in the clear, still water, we didn't even see a fish. Decided to try deeper water.

We moved out to 5-6 ft. with lots of grass on the bottom with mixed sandy areas. My dad immediately hangs a nice trout. We get the fish right to the boat and I realize we forgot the net ....it has been 3 months since we've been fishing, so we had to forget something right??? I reach down in the water to grab the trout that was all of 20"...I missed it and whoosh.....gone Oh well, at least we found some fish. We start picking up a few shorts and a few nice rock bass. I had zero luck on the topwater, so I switch over to a BA Arkansas Shad. Nothing. So, I try a few other various SWA's. Managed 1 rock bass on a Greedy Gut pink/yellow. So, in my despiration, I break out the molting gulp I fish it along the bottom and the first cast yields a 18" trout I fished with these the next hour and managed 5 nice trout from 15.5"- 18" with numerous rock bass mixed in. The bite slows and we move out further....mostly to get some air flow going....did I mention it was HOT and no breeze to speak of

We fish in 12 ft. for about an hour and manage 1 rock bass. No trout.....not even a bite. It was a bit entertaining though to just drop down right under the boat and watch the rockies swarm to the bait. The water was that clear and that still. We decide to move back towards Econfina and run a little east towards Hickory Mound. We run back to about 3 ft. and try again. I tied on a new red/white Popa-Dogg and figured I would give topwater another try, even though it was 12:30pm with full sun and still no water movement......on the first cast BAMMMM......a nice 23" trout slammed the plug about 20 feet from the boat. I got this one in the boat without the net due to all the hooks being sunk in...the fish hit the plug that hard. Beautiful to watch and that one hook-up made the entire day worth while There's nothing like a big trout hitting topwater. We didn't get too many other bites, so we moved one more time back towards Econfina and stop in 5 ft. The wind actually started picking up a little and we even started getting some decent water movement. About 2 minutes after we stopped, the bite was on!!!! We started catching trout one after another all around the boat. I even lost a few fish trying to get them to the cooler....didn't matter because they were biting and quickly replaced. This went on for about 30 minutes and then they just quit. We decided to call it a day with our limit and head on back in.

Got back to the ramp and waited our turn to load. Saw Tom Keels and crew waiting their turn also. He informed us of the great day they had offshore. We loaded up and followed Tom back to the campground to inspect the catch and look at a boat scheduled for detailing this week. They did good to say the least. I should have taken them up on the offer to go offshore, but we had our share of fun inshore too....other than the oppresive heat Great day on the water all in all. No pics due to the fact that the camera malfunctioned

TOTAL FOR THE DAY: 15 TROUT (16"-23")
A BUNCH OF ROCK BASS
1 NICE SHARK (ABOUT 4 FT.)

nice trip. i dont even remember the last time i limited out on trout.. much less 3 limits. must be going with the wrong people................

Good trip. Wish I could bring myself to do holiday weekend fishing.

kikstand454 wrote:nice trip. i dont even remember the last time i limited out on trout.. much less 3 limits. must be going with the wrong people................

You should join NFGFC and learn all our secrets of producing limits, especially on difficult days.

You did the right thing fishing inshore. We had a total of 1 keeper 'caught' offshore. The fish did not bite after the tide turned. Good report. That's a sharp looking boat you have.

Is that because it has been accessorized with 2 BBF.net stickers???

Thanks.....

No, but it helps. I told Frank you must know what you are doing since you don't see boats that old with that much of a shine left on the hull.

Nice Catch Tom

Great trout day!

Nice catch on a slow day D!

Alot of care has been given to the boat over the years. However, I have done alot to it over the past 2 1/2 years since I got it from my uncle. It's a Glastron V-156 Aqua-Lift with a 85 hp Merc. He bought it new in '75 and it's been garage-kept since day one so that has helped alot. Actually, it sat in his garage from 1993-2006 without being moved That's how I ended up with it. He wanted the space and didn't ever plan on using it again. It's a great boat to take on the water for either fun or fishing. Yesterday, it was great for fishing It will run too. The other day, I out-ran a friend in the river in his new 18' Key Largo with a 90 hp Yamaha. It goes to show you that a boat can last a long time given the proper care and maintenance.

Y'all had a good day. And, the boat looks great.

Cool boat

Nice trip, Dolphinatic.

Thanks on the boat.......I didn't get the pictures to come out from when we caught the fish Saturday, but I took one this evening of what they look like before they get fried

It's hard to beat a fresh piece of fried trout and a cold beverage