BigBendFishing.Net

thinking about trying out the catwalk this saturday, havent seen any input
about this area. has anyone had any luck recently?

cweade,
I don't think it's right that nobody replied to your question, so I will. A buddy and me fished behind the dam Saturday. We got there early and caught shad; my buddy also brought along some small bream he caught from his pond. Just as daylight was appearing we boated the first fish--a huge speckeled perch about 18 inches and 2 to 2 1/2 pounds cought on a 4 inch live shad. Huge I tell you! We fished out the shad catching one small flathead (2 pounds) and LOTS of gar. After that we started fishing the bream. and we caught 2 more flatheads (one about 5 pounds and one about 12 pounds). We also caught more gar. Anyway, the wind kicked up around 11, so we called it a day. There was little water flowing, and that may be the reason the fish weren't biting very well. At least 4 alligators appeared; one was BIIIIIGGG!
Great day, but we were in a boat. There were people fishing the catwalk, but I saw nothing caught by them.

Good luck.

Didn't see this earlier but then I don't fish up there nohow I should point out to Algae that fishing with bream is NOT legal unless you catch them in the body of water that you are using them for bait in "they can't be transported from one place to another for bait" of course, it's hard for the man to prove that you did such unless you tell him "or post it on a public forum"

Wevans,
I do appreciate the advice, and I actually did a little research regarding the use of bream as bait before I went.

• Whole pickerel or bream (e.g., bluegill, redear sunfish, redbreast sunfish, spotted sunfish, flier, warmouth) or parts thereof may be used as bait for sportfishing by he angler who caught them. Whole pickerel or bream or parts thereof may not be used as bait for trotlines or bush hooks or any method other than by rod and reel or pole and line.

The above paragraph is an excerpt from a FWC website. I'm quite sure there are a gazillion regulations that I'm not aware of, and if you can guide me to the more specific reference you were referring to I would greatly appreciate it. If I broke the law I assure you it was an honest mistake, but as you say the burden of proof is on the accuser. By the way, did I mention that my buddy's pond is also known as the headwaters of the Apalachicola River?

Thanks again.

Danged if I can find it Maybe I was lookin at Ga. regulations

Danged if I can find it too Wevans. But now you got me nervous. I'm a nervous fella, so you're gonna have to do somethin to alleviate my anxiety. Maybe we need input from the rest of the fellas. I'm quite sure cweade has abandoned this thread, so unless he pipes in we can call it our own. Anyway, keep lookin and let me know what you find out.

Thanks

I just searched the entire Law HandBook "806 pages" and it says nothing about not transporting them so I must have read it about something else
http://myfwc.com/codebook/2003/Codebook.pdf

oh, go fish.. the man is all down at the lighthouse anyhow.

Isn't there a lock or something like it to get a boat from Seminole to the river? I heard you could catch a bass or two below the dam.

This would seem to address your question regarding bait ...

USE OF FISH FOR BAIT

• Black bass, peacock bass or any part thereof may not be used as bait.
• Live goldfish or carp may not be used as bait.
• Whole pickerel or bream (e.g., bluegill, redear sunfish, redbreast sunfish, spotted sunfish, flier, warmouth) or parts thereof may be used as bait for sportfishing by he angler who caught them. Whole pickerel or bream or parts thereof may not be used as bait for trotlines or bush hooks or any method other than by rod and reel or pole and line.

If you want to check the source... here is the link.
http://floridafisheries.com/rules.html

Chugbug, yes there is a lock connecting lake Seminole to the river, and yes I have seen some very nice largemouth bass caught there. In addition, the tailrace behind the dam is the premier location to catch Florida hybrids (sunshine bass) and stripers or so I've been told. My problem is that I have no reliable contacts or reports from the area, so I go when I can and hope for the best

Sir Reel, thanks for your feedback. The link you referenced is the same one I found, so I think I'm legal.

I appreciate you guys.

Later

cwede, I've never fished the catwalk. Wish I could offer some help or information.

Chug, the entire Apalachicola river system, from the dam, all the way to Apalachicola, is great bass fishing. However, it is river fishing, and the Apalach is always swift. You need a strong trolling motor, and good batteries. And you'll still have to slip the bank.

Thanks for the info...Is there a schedule for the lock somewhere?

The lock operates from either 7 or 8 in the morning, until 4 in the afternoon. If you lock through in the morning and don't make it back through by 4, you're there for the night. As far as a schedule, it's operated on demand. Pull up to the lock. There's a rope you pull to notify the attendant you want to lock through.

Transporting bream to another body of water is illegal, that is what I was told by the man. I went a few years back Flathead fishing there and was checked and ask if I caught the bream there, which I did but did not know it mattered was told then about transporting bream. I'm like you I would like to see where it says you can't do it just so I would know for sure.