Posted on Fri, Jan. 21, 2005 Tallahassee Democrat
Fishing report
St. Marks
Grouper fishing has been very good out of St. Marks, especially for anglers going out to about 50 feet of water. Inshore, trout, redfish, mangrove snapper and sheepshead are being caught in the St.Marks River between the St.Marks Lighthouse and about a mile above the power plant in St. Marks. In general, fishing has been steady but are not being caught in great numbers. Many fish, in particular snapper and sheepshead, are small. The best approach to fishing the river is to use live shrimp with enough weight to hold the bait on the bottom. A second choice would be small, plastic grubs fished very slowly. Few fish this time of year are going to rise off the bottom in pursuit of a lure. If you're not catching in one spot, keep moving until you find fish. When you do, quietly drop an anchor or take repeated drifts over the same area. Anchoring downstream and casting upstream will let your bait or lure sink to the bottom before the line pulls tight and the current takes over.
-Brett Shields, Shields Marina
Lanark Village
Inshore fishing has been slow; few people are fishing and few fish are being caught. Sea trout seem to have left the Carrabelle River during the warm spell and haven't returned. Offshore, there's been a few limits of grouper taken by bottom-bouncers fishing in 40 to 60 feet of water.
-Mike Hopkins, Lanark Village Mart
Apalachicola/Eastpoint
Fishing has been tough because of weather conditions. Some trout have been taken around the Cat Point Dry Bar late in the evening. There have also been a few redfish and black drum showing up around the old causeway. One party landed a pair of 25-inch reds, some black drum about the same size, and a few large sheepshead. Fishing in the rivers above East Bay has produced a few striped bass and sea trout along with equally low numbers of black bass, which tend to move into the estuary this time of year. If the weather holds, this coming week might be a good time to catch some trout before the season closes on Feb.1. Offshore, the grouper bite has been good, but hordes of red snapper continue to make it hard to keep a bait in the water long enough for the grouper to find it.
-Rex Pennycuff, Fisherman's Choice
St. Joe Bay
Sea trout have returned to the deeper water near the Low Docks, which are located behind the St.Joe Marina. Anglers are doing well there fishing live shrimp on the bottom. Redfish and a few sea trout are being caught in the St. Joe Canal between the bridge over U.S. Highway 98 and the "T" where it intersects with the Intracoastal Waterway. Whiting remain plentiful for anglers fishing off the beach along the St. Joseph Peninsula.
-Donna Sander, Presnell's Bayside Marina and RV Resort
Lake Talquin
Changing weather has brought fishing to almost a stop on Lake Talquin. Not many people are fishing, and of those not many are catching. Speckled perch season, when the fish begin spawning, is still six to eight weeks away. A few small catfish are being caught along with a very few black bass.
-Josh Ingram, Ingram's Marina
Lake Seminole
Bass fishing has been holding up well on Lake Seminole. The Fishers of Men Bass Tournament was a big success last weekend. Twenty-seven boats fished, and the team of Arthur and Miller won the overall pot, the Big Fish Pot and the Winning Chance pot with a 21.59-pound stringer and a big fish that weighed 5.9 pounds. One scary moment was reported by a bass angler who was shocked to see a 9-foot alligator rise out of the water next to his boat with a huge white carp in its mouth.
-Jack Wingate, Wingate's Lodge
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Fishing report 1/21 (TDO)
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