Oyster Bay 8/11/12

[fishfalcon]

Had some friends down who wanted to go scalloping. We had a great dinner at Spring Creek Friday and then decided to launch the boat Saturday. We got a pretty early start, but by the time I had the boat at the dock and fully loaded the skies didn't look so good and the wind had picked up. I pulled up the radar and decided we weren't going anywhere. I threw the castnet and caught a dozen mullet so I put two lines out while we waited for clearer skies. The water was dark again from all the fresh water run-off. We saw a big alligator in the bay( probably 10+ feet) and a lot of dolphins. I caught a huge ray, several big sailcats, 2 gar over 4 feet, and an Atlantic sharpnose. Entertaining, but nothing like Memorial Day weekend. Between showers, we tried the nearby flats catching a few ladyfish and snot cats. I managed to catch one pinfish in my trap and just after lunch coverted him into a 12 inch trout. My next cast with a gulp got smashed in the same spot. I set the hook and the fish came to the surface and began shaking his head. Big trout! It tried to get down into the grass, but I managed to get him boatside and my buddy netted him on the first pass. 25" on the law stick. We did not catch another trout. I saw some birds working and we went to investigate finding ladyfish and one 21" spanish that my buddy landed. We eased up close to some oyster bars looking for a red and on my second cast I stuck a good fish that was taking drag. I was convinced it was an oversized red and I was pumped. 10 minutes in I still had not seen the fish, but I was winning. I had my buddy grab the net as I worked the fish alongside. Huge disappointment when instead of seeing gold, I saw silver. It was a great big jack. We missed him with net several times and we were about to drift onto some oysters, so I went all in and grabbed the leader below the cork and he promptly snapped the fluorocarbon. Dumb move, but I did keep my boat off the bar. We ran in and the four of us had trout for dinner. Sure would have been tasty with some scallops over the top. Hopefully the rain will let up and the water clarity will improve again.

[tallykenj]

Let's hope for better weather next weekend.

[fishinfool]

Thanks for the report.

[oreocwby]

where is oyeter bay located...Is it near panecea?? Just looking for some new areas to try...

[slowroller]

Just east of Panacea. I leave outta Spring Creek. Dangerous place and there are no fish there, dont waste your time.