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Went out canoe fishing in Ochlockonee Bay a few days ago with an old friend of mine. We paddled from the boat ramp near the bridge all the way to Bald Point and back. We fished gulps on jigs and under corks at creek mouths with a few small reds, a lot of catfish, and a few small flounder, but nothing to take back for dinner.

Around 7:00PM we began crossing over from Bald Point to Mashes Sands pier when we paddled right into the middle of a huge bait ball with birds diving on it and a bunch of commotion on the surface. We began tossing gulps into the action when a few HUGE tarpon started breaching the surface of the water, slamming the bait. They caused HUGE splashes about 10-15 yds from the 14' canoe that got us soaked and worried about flipping the canoe a few times. We were able to convince a few to grab the bait and run for a few brief seconds before jumping and spitting the hooks. Is it normal for tarpon to be feeding in the middle of the bay this time of the year? It was definiely a sight to see from a small canoe...

Here's a few pics of the day; however, no pictures of the bait ball as I was too darn excited about the idea of hooking a silver king

Yes. They are the kings. They can do whatever they want to, whenever they want to.

Sounds like a fun trip on many levels.

WOW, what a fun time with a paddle. Good for you to see the excitement, and short hook-up on a tarpon.

Sounds like a fun day. Unless you just want to paddle a lot, you can launch from Mashes Sands ramp and it's a lot closer to where you were fishing.

DixieReb wrote: Sounds like a fun day. Unless you just want to paddle a lot, you can launch from Mashes Sands ramp and it's a lot closer to where you were fishing.

Considered putting in at Bald Point too, but we got real lazy with wanting to tie the canoe up to the Civic and drive