BigBendFishing.Net

Well I finally got my vacation time approved. I will be going to Crystal River, staying two nights at Mary's Fish Camp, November 7 &8. If anyone has experience in the area and can offer a couple of suggestions of specific areas to try, I would be forever grateful. I have never fished that area and I chose it because it is the closest place I could think of that I might be able to catch a Snook, Red and Trout, all in the same day.

From the latest issue of Salt Water Sportsman...

http://www.saltwatersportsman.com/gulf- ... -northward

Thanks for the link

Jim,
Here's the link to a previous article I wrote on the same guide and his buddy about trout and reds on the Nature Coast. Both are natives and have the local scene dialed in.

http://www.saltwatersportsman.com/techn ... tal-waters

That will be fun... More than a little jealous of the possibility of a snook!!!!!

Mary's Fish Camp like off S.R. 50 near Bayport? If water gets cold enough, the mangrove snapper start schooling in the spring at the end of the Mud River that Mary's sits on. Caught my personal best redfish there last year at Mudd river spring. I see snook and reds in the creeks between Mudd and Weeki Wachee rivers all the time. The confluence of Weeki and Mudd is known as "Gator Hole" ad always worth dropping a line in there, bit further down past the fishing pier at Bayport is a large oyster bar to the left of the channel on way out, the flats are very rocky with sopradic oyster bars and not all that deep, be careful.

A buddy fishes under the Anclotte fishing pier area and has been pulling in nice snook as well.

good luck!

amen on the rocks

silverking wrote:From the latest issue of Salt Water Sportsman...

http://www.saltwatersportsman.com/gulf- ... -northward

Funny you mention the needlefish.

Last year I had a high school classmate tell me he breaks the toothy needle section off of a needlefish, hooks a 5/0 or 6/0 circle hook through the boney part in their face, and pitches it as a jig on a flat line. "It's how you catch snook," he tells me.

I haven't landed a snook down there yet, but I know what I'm trying the next time a needlefish hits my Spook.

My favorite place to go. Hope you're staying at the plantation. Tie your boat up in the canal and dont worry bout it. Eat breakfast in the restaurant in the morning (really good coffee) ease your way out the river pay attention to the speed limits. I tend to go out the channel and turn north. Go to end of power plant output channel then start working your way to the right through the bars. Then cover as much ground as you can back east then in the creeks. Eventually you will end up back at the channel. Typically this pattern takes me till 1:00. Then unless I've found a big school I'll head south to the mangroves. Pitch mirrodines, skip paddletails into them. I'll stay in there working as much of that area as I can. Then when the sun starts to get low, I'll go back to kings bay and flip/pitch docks till dark(it's best right at dark) also poppers and buzzbaits work well in the last 1/2 hour of light. While you're doing that all day, look for pinchpoints and anyplace the water speeds up. Good place for snook. Lastly and most importantly, I hope you have really good maps, there is a lot of stuff to remove the lower unit. If in doubt, go slow and have someone on the bow to look for rocks. I have the platinum+ card, it's worth every penny down there. Have fun!!!

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my family went last april for spring break. What a great place to stay. The couple that is over the camp are really nice folks. My 4 year old caught snapper under the docks using mullet guts from some ladies at the cleaning station. You have to watch your tide to get to the spring just up river. Like mentioned up above, the gator hole produced me with some nice reds. If you have a smaller boat, head up to the hospital hole on the weeki wachee. You can see sheephead swimming all over the place. I went on an incoming tide, out past the pier at the landing and headed out 1/2 mile in the channel, took a right and fished around one grassy oysterbar, limited out on 18" trout in 15-20 minutes. 4' water or less. That was the best place for me and the family to go. The girls enjoyed cruising around the creeks, and the fishing was effortless. I'd imagine the fishing will be better in the cooler months. Seen snook at the dock too but coulnd't get it.