Winds calm, grouper fishing will begin again April 1

It was another beautiful weekend except for the high winds on Sunday. I wasn’t here Saturday, but understand the wind quit and it was very nice. Most people fished inshore and fishing was pretty good.

Tom Riddle from Tifton, Ga. took some of his employees out on Thursday and they caught some nice amberjack around K Tower. They also caught and released a bunch of red snapper and oversized redfish. They used cut bait on the bottom and jigs for the amberjack. Mike Pearson of Tifton fished Saturday and caught a 4 ½ pound trout using a white Gulp and they also caught some smaller trout. They fished in the creeks around Oyster Bay and Shell Point. Wendell Burton fished the East Flats out of Shell Point using a white Gulp and jig head and caught his limit of trout.

Mike Hopkins said nobody went offshore last weekend, but lots of folks fished inshore and lots of fish were caught. Pompano have showed up in fairly good numbers at the Bob Sikes Cut and some pompano were also caught off the West End of Dog Island. Sand fleas are the best if you can get them, but a Nylure tipped with a small piece of shrimp will also work. Mike said one of the guides out of Apalachicola said that Bob Sikes Cut was also full of flounder right now. Spanish Mackerel also showed up on the West End of Dog Island and should also be on Dog Island Reef shortly if they aren’t already there. Plenty of trout are being caught around the Lanark Reef and Turkey Point Shoals. Capt. Mike Caruthers caught a lot of trout using the Gulp and live shrimp over the weekend. He said most fish were caught in four to eight feet of water and he couldn’t find any fish in shallow. Plenty of reds are still being caught and the docks on the bayside of Dog Island are hot spots as well as the docks along Highway 98. Gold spoons, live shrimp and the Gulp will all produce. None have been caught yet, but Mike said several people saw cobia over the weekend.

Tammy at Jerry’s Bait and Tackle said they were busy over the weekend and heard about a lot of fish being caught. Jeff Pettis fished around the Aucilla River and caught a 6 pound, 8 ounce trout using a top water bait. Brandon Stubbs fished east of the lighthouse with top water baits and a 7-inch Gulp Jerk Shad and caught a limit of trout. On Sunday, Jerry’s held their first trout fishing tournament of the year and had 19 boats entered. Brandon Stubbs and Steven Stubbs came in with five trout weighing 13 pounds, 6 ½ ounces to take first place. Jeff Pettis and Bo Raker finished second with five trout weighing 12 pounds, 4 ounces and Gary Droze and Tom Perkins came in third with four trout weighing in at 12 pounds. Jeff Pettis caught big trout and it weighed 43 pounds, 9 oz and was 23 inches long. There was also a pot for biggest red fish and it was won by Gary Droze with a 25 inch, 5 pound, 6 ounce red.

With weather in the 80s this week, fishing this weekend should be outstanding. Remember grouper season opens on April 1 and hopefully the winds will calm down a little so folks will be able to get out.

Remember to leave that float plan with someone and be careful out there. Good luck and good fishing!