Carrabelle fishing report by Capt. Bob

[SoleSearcher]

I had some great trips the last couple of days in spite of rapidly changing weather. There's a lot to talk about so let me begin with a late afternoon trip on the 12th with Hal Ansbar and son.

We departed Lanark around 4:30 PM and headed to Dog Island in search for hungry Trout. Just before reaching the channel leading out of Lanark, we spotted a Tarpon tearing through a school of LY's. I positioned the boat upwind and handed Hal a Penn Powergraph rigged with a Bomber Long-A. He made his cast and began a somewhat fast retrieve when BAM...it was hit! 5 jumps later and nearly 3 hrs of fighting, the fish was wore out and brought boatside. It was Hal's first Tarpon, estimated at near 100 lbs. Nice job Hal!

After the Tarpon, I ran to the East end of Dog Island and set Kile (Hals' son) up with a Baby Torpedo rigged on a spinner. Kile had a blast catching everything from Ladyfish to Mackerel. Hal enjoyed watching his son work a topwater lure and hook up on nearly every cast. They are returning in mid August to try some offshore action with me.

On the 13th, I had the pleasure to take a few kids fishing in the Timber Island Youth Fishing Tournament. Sponsored by the Timber Island Yacht Club, The tournament is open to kids under 14 yrs old and is limited to inshore fish. It s a fun day for me and I offer my services to get those kids out fishing.

We started the day sitting in the car, waiting for an isolated thunderstorm to clear out. We finally got underway around 9:00 AM under mostly cloudy skies and scattered showers. However, the bay was slick calm and perfect conditions for flats fishing.

My first stop was deep inside Poston Bayou where I rigged the kids up with a jig under a Cajun Thunder, tipped with a piece of shrimp. I had the kids cast the rig out and pop it as they make a slow retrieve. This method works well and gives anglers practice in casting, retrieving and "rhythm" that is required for topwater fishing. It worked like a charm and everyone was hooking up on Trout, Ladyfish, and a few blues. The kids wanted to see a real topwater lure in action so I tied on a Storm Chug Bug and worked the edge of an Oyster bar. A huge wake followed by lure and suddenly, the water exploded! Line was peeling off my Shimano Corsair like crazy when all of a sudden, the fish turned, jerked, and slowed down. It revealed itself in the clear water as a big Jack Crevalle of roughly 15 lbs.

I worked the fish near the boat for a landing, but the fish had other idea's. It ran under the boat and turned, fouling the line around the motor leg. SNAP! The line parted and it was gone. All well, the day is still young.

Our next stop was on the East side of Dog Island Harbor. We picked up a few small Trout and Blues, but nothing to get exited about. I worked the area extensively because it always holds a big Trout or two. My Niece, Chelsea, wanted to try a topwater lure so I rigged her up with a Chug Bug on a spinner. Chug Bugs are big and easy to work for beginners. Anyway, Chelsea worked the lure for several casts when she got a big hookup. She sort of horsed the fish a little but still managed to boat a nice Trout of 20 inches. It was her first ever Trout caught on a topwater lure, and it would turn out to be the biggest of the day.

We continued to work the east end of Dog Island but had to call it an early day when a thunderstorm raced in from the west. The wind kicked up a bit and rain fell, but we managed to beat the storm to the river.

At weigh in, I got a big surprise. Chelsea's Trout was good enough to win her 3rd place! She was proud of her Trophy, and more so of the nice rod and tackle box that went with it. Nice job Chelsea!

On the 14th, I had a late afternoon trip with Mike Dean and his party of 3 for a little flats action. We departed the dock at Island View Motel around 5:00 PM and faced brisk SW winds 10 to 15 kts and muddy water. A heavy chop filled the bay so our only hope of finding fish was to head east and find clean water. As we dew near to the FSU marine lab, we found some clear water in the 5 foot range and tossed out some live Pinfish under Cajun Thunders. Mike was first to hook up on a 4.5 pounder...his first ever big Trout. His son Jason was next with a 3 pounder. A medium sized Black Tip Shark joined in on the action. It wasn't a very productive evening, but I still had 3 happy anglers who will be returning in the fall.

For you Scallop lovers, they are thick in Lanark.

Tomorrow, I have a 12 hr offshore trip with Capt. Jimmy on the big boat with our party of 6. I'm looking forward to a trip into big Grouper country.

Until next time,

Capt. Bob Soderholm
Sole Searcher Charters
Carrabelle, FL
(850) 899-0455