BigBendFishing.Net

Now that we’re in April, the 20 fathom rule is no longer in effect. That means it could be worthwhile to fish out of Apalachicola because we can keep some species of grouper caught in waters deeper than 120.’ Also, a friend gifted me an old GoPro Hero 3+ camera that I was eager to try in deep water because I found an aftermarket 200’ waterproof case for it on Amazon.

Due to the recent heavy rains, water off of Apalachicola was murkier than normal. Finding bait was a trial and failure process. Eventually, the circling dolphins showed us where to find bait, and we filled the live well with cigar minnows and sandperch.


At the first spot, which was beyond the 20 fathom line, we caught a lot of red snapper. Photos from the bottom showed that red snapper made up nearly all of the fish there.





After moving a little further out to a spot where vermilion had been plentiful in July, we caught a variety of fish—gag grouper, trigger fish, a lane snapper, a mangrove snapper, lots and lots of red snapper, and a 3 keeper red grouper and a number of small ones. We caught fish, mostly red snapper, on every type of live bait sent down and with squid strips and slow pitch jigs. Let me know if any of you have any tips on where to focus on vermilion this time of year.




Pictures from the bottom at the second spot revealed a rocky bottom with a LOBSTER!, a mako shark, gag grouper, and lots of red snapper.





On retrieving the camera from spot 2, I learned that the 200’ waterproof case was not waterproof to anywhere near 200.’ The camera is now a paperweight, but I was able to salvage the memory card. If anyone would like to sell me an old GoPro camera that has a GoPro factory 200’ waterproof housing please let me know.

I know there is an old adage “never leave fish to find fish.” But at the second spot, I wasn’t catching the legal fish I wanted to put in the cooler. So I went exploring 5 miles in a direction I had never gone and didn’t see any sign of life on the sonar the whole time. Then the clock began telling me that it was time to race in the direction of the boat ramp. Of course, I found enough time to make one last drop well within the 20 fathom line. Within 15 minutes there, I caught two 31” snapper and one 33” snapper. All three snapper were caught on a different kind of live bait--a cigar minnow, a sandperch, and a hardtail. Hungry snapper aren’t picky eaters.




It’s nerve wracking when you are about to load your boat onto the trailer and a big bird lands right behind you on the boat.


There are other things you should know if you are going to fish out of Apalachicola any time soon. The Marathon gas station, which sells nonethanol gas, just east of the Fisherman’s Choice Bait Shop is closed for renovations. I don’t know the area well, but we ended up buying non ethanol gas at the Marathon on the west side of Apalachicola for $5 a gallon. Are there any other options for nonethanol gas?

Additionally, the channel south of Apalachicola is being dredged. This seems like it is making the water dirtier than normal and I would think this would impact fishing for tripletail in the bay.

I am looking forward to hearing fishing reports from others. Good luck, everyone.

Awesome report and one stud of a gag! Also nice snapper. Sucks the camera is done for. Those are some killer shots; you have motivated me to order a case and send it down.

How are you securing the camera to get balanced shots. Are you placing the camera on videos mode and just letting it do its thing?

Thanks for sharing.

Red Beard wrote: April 17th, 2024, 10:01 pm Awesome report and one stud of a gag! Also nice snapper. Sucks the camera is done for. Those are some killer shots; you have motivated me to order a case and send it down.

How are you securing the camera to get balanced shots. Are you placing the camera on videos mode and just letting it do its thing?

Thanks for sharing.

Red Beard, thanks for commenting on my post.

I wrote a lot about my underwater photography last July in my post "What Does a Good Red Grouper/Red Snapper Hole Look Like?," available here: viewtopic.php?t=45522. Anyway, through trial and error, I've found that I need to keep the camera still to get good videos. If the camera is not still, the current and the rocking of the boat will make the camera point all over the place and you will nearly get seasick trying to view your videos. To keep the camera still, I made a fairly heavy underwater tripod that I need to manage with a heavy rod and reel. You can see a picture of the heavy tripod at the July post.

My usual practice is to take videos and then I often use screen shots from the videos for my posts here. On this trip to Apalachicola, however, I wanted to keep my gear to a minimum so I replaced my concrete sprinkler donut weight on the tripod with 22 ounces of bank weights. This would allow me to manage the camera with a lighter rod. I also set the camera to take time lapse photos, one picture every half second, instead of videos. I was thinking that taking photos instead of videos would result in good images despite having a less steady tripod. Well, the camera took a ton of 10 megapixel pictures, but all were blurry and only about one picture out of 50 were clear enough for this fishing report. So whether you want to take videos or still shots, you need to keep your camera steady or perhaps use a newer or more advanced camera than I've been using. The cameras I have been using do not have image stabilization function. One other thing, you might consider using some kind of O-ring lubricant/sealant on the seal to your camera's underwater housing. Maybe if I had tried this my aftermarket camera case would have not leaked.

I can't wait to see your underwater pictures and videos. Good luck.

Enjoy seeing your post. Thats a great day on the water!

Awesome Trip, I need to get my go pro's out and see if I can try it myself in my shallower haunts.....unless my wife relents and I get a new Bulls bay 255

@John21:6 thanks for sharing. I forgot you covered this topic on the other post, so thanks again.


I’ll be sure to show what I capture.

Awesome report!