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Ecofina 3/13
Posted: March 14th, 2004, 11:19 pm
by rocket
Went out right after low tide. Produced three keeper trout, but had to throw everything in the tackle box to get them. There was no consistency to them. One of the guys on the boat had never caught a trout, so my main goal was to get him his first one. After he broke one rod (luckily it wasn't mine), and lost three lures, he landed his fish right as the sun went down. That made it worth the trip. We made it back to the hill well after dark.
I was surprised we couldn't find the reds, but after reading the other posts, it seems no one else did either. I guess the weren't hungary this weekend

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Posted: March 15th, 2004, 9:10 am
by Chalk
At least you were on the water, Rocket....

Posted: March 15th, 2004, 9:12 am
by wevans
Sounds like a rough day for shure

and yer right, Saturday was tough fishin much less catchin

Posted: March 15th, 2004, 9:35 am
by dstockwell
Saturday was tough period, but at least you got a few..

Posted: March 15th, 2004, 4:50 pm
by mattfsu7
Saturday was tough. I fished between the Aucilla and Econfina in 3 ft. or less with a Cajun Thunder and a green grub. In 5 hours we caught 10 trout, all about 14 inches. Very windy with dark water and very little water movement. Tough day.
Posted: March 15th, 2004, 9:19 pm
by rocket
After talking to a few folks today, it seems it was a hit or miss kind of day. A fellow told me he and his partner caught 50 or so trout out of Ecofina, while others say they did terrible. Same went for Keaton, one guy told me they had to beat the trout off the boat, and another said he could not find one. Must be a location thing!!!

Posted: March 16th, 2004, 5:05 pm
by Jumptrout51
Must be a location thing!!!
Posted: March 16th, 2004, 5:15 pm
by Jumptrout51
My granddaughter and I fished Econfina Sunday. We got our limit of nice trout from 18 to 21 inches and a 18" flounder. The best part was when Christina caught her first trout on topwater. The 18" fish exploded clear of the water about 4 feet from the boat. I thought for a moment she was going out the other side of the boat. The Chugbug held fast and so did she.
Location,location,location.

Posted: March 16th, 2004, 5:15 pm
by CSMarine
Yeah, that location thing bit me Saturday at Keaton. Since Saturday I've talked with a number of folks who wore em out at Keaton.
Posted: March 16th, 2004, 5:36 pm
by Sir reel
OK JT51, here come the loaded questions. Feel free to claim proprietary information.
You said you and your granddaughter fished Econfina.... did you catch your fish in the river or did you go out of the Econ and fish outside?
Did you have most of your sucess on topwater or did you get bit on other offerings?
What was the time of Day?
What was the depth?
Did you see any Reds?
If I promise to keep it a secret ...will you take me to the SPOT!
Regardless of your response.... Good Job, and keep tak'n that girl fish'n!

Posted: March 16th, 2004, 5:43 pm
by mattfsu7
SirReel - saw your post and aside from agreeing that I would love to have more details, (Econfina is my favorite place) you asked one question that I have always wondered about - can you catch reds on the flats? I have caught trout, bluefish, jacks, ladyfish, sharks, flounder, pinfish, black seabass, cobia and even small grouper on the flats, but never a redfish.
Posted: March 16th, 2004, 6:09 pm
by Jumptrout51
Half came on topwater,half on cj with candy corn and glow doa. We caught fish from 8am til 2pm. We started at Rock Island and fished back to the river. Most fish came from 2' or less. Three of my buddies fished near us and got 2 reds 23&24" on jerk baits.
Show me your spots first and I'll show you mine.
Location,location,location.
Posted: March 16th, 2004, 6:13 pm
by Sir reel
JT51 Thanks for your reply! Your a prince among men
You followed almost the same path that I did with my Son about 3 weeks ago when we got initiated into the Skunk Brigade. Water has warmed a bit since then.
As far as trad'n spots I think that is something we could definately work on! Look'n forward to strik'n up a deal. Thanks again.

Posted: March 16th, 2004, 7:58 pm
by Chalk
mattfsu7 wrote:SirReel - saw your post and aside from agreeing that I would love to have more details, (Econfina is my favorite place) you asked one question that I have always wondered about - can you catch reds on the flats? I have caught trout, bluefish, jacks, ladyfish, sharks, flounder, pinfish, black seabass, cobia and even small grouper on the flats, but never a redfish.
I have only experienced this twice, but Reds will for some reason school up in the turtle grass in the summer. We caught so many reds on a pink topwater mirrolure we had to replace the hooks.
I believe like Jewfish, reds reach an age of maturity and start migrating to deeper waters. This would be my only explanation of them being on the flats. So the answer is yes, certain times of the year
Posted: March 16th, 2004, 9:50 pm
by Jumptrout51
Dear Sir,
Actually the water temp was 61 to 64 most of the places we caught fish. The main difference in the locations we fished was the clarity of the water. It was either stained or dark or light I'm trying to remember which. lol.
Location,location,location.