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Fished Keaton today from 9 to almost 4. One of the roughest days I've spent there, wind was terrible. Waves had to be 3 ft. and made for a wet ride.Fished in a 16 ft. Lowe rig that really wasn't made for the rough seas, I didn't get to fish out as far as I wanted to and had trouble finding stained water. Water is clear everywhere. Got a keeper on first cast(never good), then caught many shorts and 2 more good keepers. There are a lot of funny-looking puffers there that I've never seen, black and silver and pull like crazy when hooked. Lots of people fishing, only 4 trailers in the lot when we left.

Nobody (including FWC) wants to talk about the "explosion"/influx of puffers in this area - that historically have been far less common. Last year about this time many anglers were scratching their heads about, "where'd these puffers come from?"

The ecosystem is shifting, in response to too many (negative) man-made influences - and it doesn't bode well for inshore saltwater fishing in the Big Bend.

2Salty wrote:Nobody (including FWC) wants to talk about the "explosion"/influx of puffers in this area - that historically have been far less common. Last year about this time many anglers were scratching their heads about, "where'd these puffers come from?"

The ecosystem is shifting, in response to too many (negative) man-made influences - and it doesn't bode well for inshore saltwater fishing in the Big Bend.

Please elaborate 2Salty.... I have been fishing the Steinhatchee area since 2003 and have noticed too things are not the same as they once were. Especially with regards to the seagrass health.

DixieReb wrote:Fished Keaton today from 9 to almost 4. One of the roughest days I've spent there, wind was terrible. Waves had to be 3 ft. and made for a wet ride.Fished in a 16 ft. Lowe rig that really wasn't made for the rough seas, I didn't get to fish out as far as I wanted to and had trouble finding stained water. Water is clear everywhere. Got a keeper on first cast(never good), then caught many shorts and 2 more good keepers. There are a lot of funny-looking puffers there that I've never seen, black and silver and pull like crazy when hooked. Lots of people fishing, only 4 trailers in the lot when we left.

Thanks for the report. Glad you got out. Sounds like you prefer dirty water to clear water, is that correct? I thought the trout guys liked clear water. Isn't Keaton normally very clear? Thanks again

Salty Gator, I wasn't looking for dirty water, just some stained water next to clear water. To me, where the water mixes is always the best place for trout. I don't like real clear water because it doesn't seem to hold fish as well and they can't hide in it as well. But if anybody has an idea why there are so many puffers out there, I'd like to know.

http://www.saltwateranglersguide.com/?p=5808 apparently the FWC says they are haunt string recruitment but aren't invasive so who knows. I've only been fishing the big bend for 2 years but this has been the best year I've seen but then again my expertise is agriculture.

DixieReb wrote:Salty Gator, I wasn't looking for dirty water, just some stained water next to clear water. To me, where the water mixes is always the best place for trout. I don't like real clear water because it doesn't seem to hold fish as well and they can't hide in it as well. But if anybody has an idea why there are so many puffers out there, I'd like to know.

Thanks Dixie, I'm not sure about it the smooth puffers/ rabbit fish( did you take a look at those front teeth? That do look just lik huge rabbit teeth). I was catching them a lot more often last fall, kinda forgot about them. They pull a string. I'd bet their presence is cyclical.