BigBendFishing.Net

Well my 9th wedding anniversary is coming on Thursday and I talked my wife into going to the Moorings of Carrabelle for the weekend, it sounds great and every camp ground from here to Louisiana is currently booked. So I figured we would take my 16' G3 and spend a chilly, windy weekend on the water... better then working. I am not familiar with that area at all and would appreciate any suggestions. I live in Monticello and always head between St Marks and Aucilla. Obviously with my boat I'm looking for Red's and Trout... no need to try and get blown out to Sea, although I may try to peak around the edge of Dog Island. Hoping for the best in tough conditions

JUST FLOAT AROUND IN THE BAY, LET THE TIDE AND WIND CARRY YOU. THIS TIME OF THE YEAR I MOSTLY USE GRUBS ON A JIG HEAD. CHARTRUSE, NATURAL, ELECTRIC CHICKEN AND SILVER WORKED VERY SLOWLY IN AND AROUND ANY GRASS YOU CAN FIND. THE RIVER AT CARABELLE RUNS RIGHT BY WHERE YOU ARE STAYING AND THEY HAVE A RAMP THAT YOU CAN USE TO LAUNCH. I USE A 1/8TH OZ. RED JIG HEAD. JUST REMEMBER SLOW-SLOW-SLOW.
PA
SEMPER FI

Thanks' Pa,
That's what I was looking for. The area look's amazing and we get to use a boat slip for staying there. Thanks.

Hoo Ya Marine Corp.

I was Navy EOD a million years ago.

Be careful with that size boat out in St. George Sound. It can become a real washboard real quick, especially with a hard east or west wind. If you have a trolling motor, the bay just west of the mouth of the Carrabelle River is loaded with oyster bars and can produce nice trout and reds. If the water is calm, watch for any signs of birds diving just beyond Lanark Reef. They may tip off a school of early Spanish mackerel.

The inside edges of the reef (actually a long, sandy shoal) will hold trout and reds, especially at the cuts or pressure points on moving water. The shoreline from the river all the way east to the FSU Marine Lab can also be good this time of year. Go slow and watch for wakes or sunning fish over the mud flats/dark bottom.

Aqua Dream 1/4-ounce weedless gold spoons for reds, DOA 5.5 CAL jerk baits in glow or Arkansas glow would be my first choice for trout. For Spanish, try Kastmaster 3/8-ounce spoons on a trace of wire or heavy mono.

Good luck.

Silverking
USN aircrewman, also in another lifetime

Hoo-Ya Silverking. Appreciate it. My Initial track was AW, so I left Great Lakes and went to Pensacola for Aircrew then SAR. Was almost done in Jax with HS-1 when orders for PC Dive school and EOD pipeline came through... talk about change in direction. Ha. Seems like the way things are going, some of that Sonar training my come in handy... may need to dust off those flight boots and Sono bouys if Putin keeps making waves I do really appreciate the info.

Depending on the time frame, you may have been one of my students. I was a big bad drill instructor at Aircrew Candidate School for four years. Finished my tour as the chief training officer there. Brings back fond memories of dogging students and watching them excel, class photos at the Naval Air Museum, riding the helo dunker and fishing off the seaplane ramps. The pre-PC Navy was fun times.

Hope you find some fish this weekend and enjoy the time away with your bride.

AIRCREW/SAR was 02/90- 5/90. I don't remember my exact departure date for Millington, but I do remember hating to leave Pensacola. My 1st beer. First real feeling of conquering the world. Showed up to boot camp an out of shape pudgy kid from NJ and left SAR school feeling like I could do anything... Trust me, the confidence came in handy at Dive school. I know Lee Mirecki was approx. 1 year prior to me. Have you been there lately... I couldn't find SAR school, they bulldozed the buildings at the sea wall. Shame... a lot of memories in that awesome WW2 type building and the acoustics were great for you instructors to strike fear in the weak minded. And of course the O course... I was at Dive school when the order came down for "No more Mermaids on the Tee shirts"... sad day in the dive community. I introduced a local kid to EOD about 4 years ago after he told me he was going into the Navy. I am proud to say he is an EOD tech at MU10 in Little creek Va, as we speak. Todays military is a very different animal... Again, Thanks for the info and for your service.