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Has anyone ever trolled out of ocklocknee bay toward the rotary reef and caught anything. I have a 15 4 boat with a 17 horse outbourd, nothing special but i've put rod holders in and have been dreaming of trolling for kings. Call me ambitious but I went fishing with a buddy of mine and we caught kings this way. Of course he had a bigger boat and we went out of St. Joe but it has me stoked to try it myself. Any suggestions on how fair out i need to go or type of lures.

far.. atleast 60ft. be careful.

derf wrote:Has anyone ever trolled out of ocklocknee bay toward the rotary reef and caught anything. I have a 15 4 boat with a 17 horse outbourd, nothing special but i've put rod holders in and have been dreaming of trolling for kings. Call me ambitious but I went fishing with a buddy of mine and we caught kings this way. Of course he had a bigger boat and we went out of St. Joe but it has me stoked to try it myself. Any suggestions on how fair out i need to go or type of lures.

http://www.bigbendfishing.net/phpBB3/vi ... 15&t=28959

You won't "generally" find much of anything between the Bay and the Rotary Reef. That being said I have been out there and fishing the shoals "about half way inbetween" and seen a Sword fish doing acrobatics just off the shoals so I can't say that you wouldn't catch something, it's just unlikely

PS: I go out there in a 17.5 aluminum bass boat with a 40hp on it, and I don't go out during the summer months, things can turn ugly FAST

wevans wrote:PS: I go out there in a 17.5 aluminum bass boat with a 40hp on it, and I don't go out during the summer months, things can turn ugly LIGHTNING FAST

Fixed it for you Wevans!

Joking aside he speaks the truth... late summer always adds a pucker factor when I go offshore regardless how dreamy the morning conditions might seem. Often you can stay offshore while inshore storms build and go over land but couple of years back I tried that strategy and had the inshore build while an offshore one ALSO built and the two married together. It wasn't pretty. Also have gotten caught on days when it looked crystal clear and storms blew in from the west at 35 mph and conditions went from flat and clear to black and 4' waves in just a very few minutes. This time of year I take people out fishing on Marine's Dream I often don't do much fishing, instead helping them while constantly monitoring the skies. Seems it's usually when I've been fishing and let the hot bite grab my attention that I've gotten sucker-punched!

Thanx alot for the replys. I have been fishing for a while but boating and fishing has been interesting to say the least, but i am getting the hang of it. So the winter months are better for small craft to go to the rotary reef than the summer months? Is there another location that is more conducive for smaller boats to catch bigger fish like kings? Is the rotary reef even a good place to fish, i mean on my nautical chart it says you can catch cobia, sea bass, grouper, kings, blue fish, and macks, but i am not sure. Does anyone have experience out there and at what time of year. Again thanx for the replys.

I've caught kings within sight of the channel markers off St. Marks and once guided a buddy to a 40-pounder on Dog Island Reef (on trout tackle), but those are unusual. Any of the artificial reefs can hold big pelagics for short durations, but they call them pelagics for a reason. They don't stick around long.

The weather advice you've already received is good. It can get nasty in a matter of minutes, with lightning, water spouts and winds gusting up to 50+ mph. So prudent navigation is a given and you're probably better to stay closer to shore in your craft. There won't be any kings around the reefs in the winter--too cold.

As an alternative this time of year, you could launch at the SM lighthouse ramp and venture out past the stakeline looking for schools of bait on the surface. Troll small plugs or diving spoons around the outer edges of the bait and you're likely to pick up Spanish mackerel, jacks, bluefish and yes, maybe a king or two. Another option is motor within casting distance, cut the engine and drift/cast. That or hook up with a buddy who owns a bigger boat.

In your opinion is st. marks a better place to put in. I have been out to the st. marks reef in my boat but that was in feb. Is it safe to go out in the summer?

If you go real early, come in early and keep an eyeball peeled on the horizon. And install some HD bilge pumps. Even then, morning storms can pop up.

I had a charter a few weeks ago and we had bluebird skies all around us. Within minutes a thunderhead inshore spun off a water spout heading our way. I tucked tail and ran. I have a 20-foot tank of a boat with a 200-hp and we still got caught in some hellacious rain and wind.

Your scaring me. I mean if I drown the world might be better ha ha but more than often i have my son or guest w/me. It makes me think that it is not safe for anyone on the water.

Just be careful. And make sure your life insurance premiums are paid up.

Thanx for the advice. If you see a 64 Mitchal tipped over can you come and save my tackle?

We aint trying ta scare ya, just give "experianced" advise I thought I was bullet proof and my boat could outrun any ole storm, I found out different, and that SCARED the foolishness right outta me "well, most of it anyhow"

wevans wrote:We aint trying ta scare ya, just give "experianced" advise I thought I was bullet proof and my boat could outrun any ole storm, I found out different, and that SCARED the foolishness right outta me "well, most of it anyhow"

X 2 AND WHAT S/K SAID

Yeah i understand, me and my boy went out of panacea last sat. I knew it was an ifffffy day to go out but i was iching to go and well i took the window of opp. At least from my familys standpoint. Anyway about 2 oclock a black cloud came out of the direction of the landing so we thought it to be best that if we got hit by lightening it would be better to have it happen closer to shore. We decided to go through it. It was rough and wet but kind of fun. We could barely see the markers. I have a deep hull so she takes the chop well. I am not a risk taker by any means but sometimes things happen and you have to make the best of it. I was wondering if there are good spots to fish as you go out to the rotary reef. I dont have a depth finder so i am just guessing as to where to go.