BigBendFishing.Net

Put in at Shields at 5am with my new fishing buddy. It was pitch dark and the river was somewhat smooth till we reached the gulf. Tried to anchor down at the bird rack while being whipped by 15mph winds and 2' and 3' waves. Anchor refused to grab. Stubbornly I threw a chugbug against the wind to no avail. Watched a beautiful sunrise as the anchor slowed our drift. The sunrise was a classical, "red sky in the morning sailors warning", that we should have heeded. Kept getting sprayed by the waves. At sunrise we decided to head back in to smoother water and try the western flats. Hitched the boat to an old abandoned channel marker 1 mile west of the lighthouse because the winds and waves were still too much for the anchor to hold. The water temperature was 84.6 degrees. Threw top water and picked up a huge sail cat with the first cast. Caught some pinfish on another rig for bait and set them out under a couple of bobbers behind the boat. "GET THE NET " my buddy shouted. He had hooked a huge huge trout and was bringing him to the boat. The net was out of my reach on the opposite end of the boat. There was an obstacle course between me and the net, the console, oars, push pole, fishing poles, and an ice chest. As I was fumbling around for the net, the trout spit the pinfish out at the side of the boat and was gone. For the next whole hour, all you could hear was the wind whistling in our fishing lines, and the waves slapping against he hull. Caught an undersized trout and a few catfish and experienced 3 cut-offs. At 10am and the wind picked up it really started to blow, whitecaps and streamers formed across the mouth of the river. More wave spray over the bow and us. At 11am we decided to quit and just go home.
The Awesome "red sky in the morning"

WTG MJ. I've been here at work since 11 this morning. I'd trade the day so far with ya Thanks for the report and the great picture. Only advice I could maybe throw in would have been to cut into the East River and see what was in there.

Glad someone give it a shot "I wondered about Trout fishin", I tried the river and after 9 hours and 1 Bass I can safely say that they was not biting today

mjsigns wrote:For the next whole hour, all you could hear was the wind whistling in our fishing lines

I know that sound, try it in the dark sometime

Way to give'm a try......

Carabelle -- went to head out to Dog Island and got pounded -- Chalk was right with his weather predictions --

Headed up the Carabelle River and my buddy landed a nice keeper trout under the Carabelle Bridge -- that was about all the action we had other than some bites --

Question: I had some of those same cut offs the weekend before at St. Marks -- what's hitting that's cutting off and should I switch to a wire leader?

I think the cut off's were sharks. I was using 6" steel leaders. I could see my bait flopping near the sruface pulling the bobber trying to get away from something. One of the cut off's I watched the bobber get pulled straight toward the boat. Reeled like crazy and by the time I was able to set the hook, I had nothing but a bobber and some freyed line....