Crystal River

[rob4auburn]

Any of you guys familiar with inshore fishing out the mouth of Crystal River? Are there some good, easy to access grass flats?

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[FUTCHCAIRO]

SOME GREAT FISHING THERE, HAVE TO WATCH OUT FOR OYSTER BARS, THEY ARE EVERYWHERE. THE LAST TIME WE WERE DOWN THERE WE LIMITED OUT IN ABOUT AN HOUR, WENT BACK TO THE MOTEL AND CLEANED THE TROUT AND REDS, PUT THEM ON ICE , WENT BACK OUT AND CAUGHT ANOTHER LIMIT AND DID THE SAME. WE HAD PLANNED TO SPEND 2 DAY DOWN THERE BUT WE HAD A 2 DAY LIMIT SO WE CAME ON BACK HOME'. WE USED TOP WATER PLUGS, MOSTLY BLUE SILVER COLOR AS I RECALL THE MIRROR-LURE 52M24 CAUGHT THE MOST FISH. WE DID NOT CATCH ANY FISH UNDER 15 INCHES.
PA
SEMPERFI

[SS-342]

My brother fishes there a lot. Like anywhere else there are good days and bad. He prefers to fish out of Horseshoe. Last week he fish out of CR and caught one keeper trout. Go, you might like it!

[Salty Gator]

SOME GREAT FISHING THERE, HAVE TO WATCH OUT FOR OYSTER BARS, THEY ARE EVERYWHERE. THE LAST TIME WE WERE DOWN THERE WE LIMITED OUT IN ABOUT AN HOUR, WENT BACK TO THE MOTEL AND CLEANED THE TROUT AND REDS, PUT THEM ON ICE , WENT BACK OUT AND CAUGHT ANOTHER LIMIT AND DID THE SAME. WE HAD PLANNED TO SPEND 2 DAY DOWN THERE BUT WE HAD A 2 DAY LIMIT SO WE CAME ON BACK HOME'. WE USED TOP WATER PLUGS, MOSTLY BLUE SILVER COLOR AS I RECALL THE MIRROR-LURE 52M24 CAUGHT THE MOST FISH. WE DID NOT CATCH ANY FISH UNDER 15 INCHES.
PA
SEMPERFI

That's very illegal. Your daily bag limit is just that, the amount you can bag in a day., not a trip. You can't do that with fish or any wild game.

[JIm Smith]

try ozela while you are there if you have a shallow draft boat or a yak great red fishing

[FUTCHCAIRO]

HEY SALTY GATOR, BACK THEN WE DID NOT HAVE ALL THE RULES AND REGULATION THAT WE HAVE NOW, BACK THEN THE LIMIT WAS HOW MANY FISH YOU COULD CLEAN IN ABOUT 4 HOURS. YOU KNOW THE OLD MAN WOULD NOT BREAK ANY OF THE LAWS WE HAVE CONCERNING THE FISHING OR WHILE ON THE ROAD. BACK THEN WE DID NOT EVEN HAVE TO HAVE A FISHING LICENSE TO FISH IN SALT WATER.
I WISH OLD TED WILLIAMS WAS STILL AROUND AND TELL YOU YOUNG FOLKS HOW MANY REDS WE CAUGHT AT THE MOUTH OF THE SUWANEE RIVER ONE WINTER DAY. THAT RASCAL ALMOST SUNK THE BOAT WITH REDS WE CAUGHT IN ONE MORNING OF ABOUT 3 HOURS FISHING, SOME OF THOSE BIG MOMMA'S WEIGHED IN AROUND 40-45 POUNDS. OF COURSE YOU PROBABLY WASN'T EVEN A GLEAMER IN YO DADDY'S EYE BACK THEN.
PA
SEMPER FI

[Pirate]

Damn Salty Gator, Show some respect!

[SS-342]

Pa's right - I remember those days. It was a different mind set and people didn't see any harm in it. No telling how many river mullet my family ate that was dynamited in the Withlachoochee River. A generation before me could buy dynamite to use in blowing stumps for clearing fields plus fishing every once in awhile. "Catch and Release" would have been the laughing stock of the community, if you could believer such a thing. Limits were like Pa said.

……but, we didn't have deer or turkeys in my community. They had been killed off before my generation. I remember when the first deer and turkeys were released back into the wild. The turkeys got fat and were killed that fall because they were not wild enough. The deer disappeared and were rarely seen until some fifteen or so years later. Now they eat my garden, yard flowers and make a mess and reseeding of turkeys also made it and are seen regularly in my pastures.

The attitude was kill, catch and conquer. That's what made the WW2 generation the "Greatest Generation" and probably why we as a nation still exist.

Thank you Pa for all you and your generation did! Was it all right? No, probably not but it got the job done! It took care of business!

[Salty Gator]

Certainly meant no disrespect , but pa said last time he was down. That could have been last week. People learn from this forum. Someone could read that and think, " that's what I'm supposed to do when the fishing/ hunting is good". Whether the law was different ( not sure that it was, daily bag limit seems pretty straightforward to me) or if it was an "attitude" that it was ok. If that post had been made by anyone but Pa, they would have been crucified on here. We make jokes about people doing that all of the time, but I've seen it first hand , with redfish, ducks and turkeys. It's illegal and maybe unethical, depending on your stance. I'm sure Pa would feel bad if he got some youngster written up cause he was telling a fish story that ended with him keeping 2 limits in a day. And when you do illegal acts, don't post it on a public forum

[FishWithChris]

I just assume all of Pa's stories are from pre civil-war era before there were rules and laws, and only hunters and gatherers...

I think he has his own exhibit in the Florida History Museum in downtown Tallahassee!


*Kidding, obviously, there's nothing I cherish more than the stories of forgotten Florida's outdoors

[Pirate]

Pa, Did you really fish with Ted Williams? Never knew a Cobbie Rainey , (basketball Coach from Pelham) did you? How about Billy Nicholson, also in the school business in Cairo, I believe.

[FUTCHCAIRO]

YEA , THE OLD MAN FISHED WITH TED SEVERAL TIMES, MOSTLY DOWN AROUND THE SEWANEE RIVER AND CRYSTAL RIVER. TED PUT IN A NEW SUB-DIVISION DOWN CLOSE TO INVERNESS AND HE WOULD TAKE SEVERAL DAYS A WEEK TO GO FISHING AND I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO RESCUE HIM OUT FROM CEDAR KEY WHEN HIS SEARS OUTBOARD BLEW A PLUG, PULLED HIM IN AND WE DID A LOT OF FISHING AFTER THAT POINT. TED SPONSORED THE SEARS ENGINES AND BOATS BACK THEN, AS WELL AS SOME OF THIER FISHING TACKLE. TED WAS QUITE A SPORT, REALLY NICE GUY. HE WAS THE FIRST PERSON TO JUST OUT AND OUT GAVE ME A BRAND NEW SEARS BOAT AND ENGINE IF I WOOULD SEND HIM A REPORT ON WHAT I CAUGHT EVERYTIME I WENT OUT INTO THE GULF FISHING.
PA
SEMPER FI