A Spanish sardine did in Mark Dazevedo’s gag grouper off St. George Island.
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Anglers who want to catch big fish (are there any who don’t?) can now proceed. There are big fish inshore and off. Inshore anglers can set their sights on jack crevalle, cobia, redfish and His Highness of shallow water, the tarpon. The silver kings are as numerous in Northwest Florida as they are in more traditional destinations around the state. The only difference is that clear water is the exception rather than the rule in this part of Florida.
June typically sees the inshore migration of large baitfish schools. Tarpon, along with other gamefish, aren’t far behind. The baitfish come in all sizes but the mainstay of the tarpon are the schools of menhaden. Huge schools of these oily fish migrate along the beaches and congregate in coves and around passes.
Mud Cove is a popular gathering spot for both menhaden and tarpon. This shallow cove is located on the Gulfside of Alligator Point. This indistinct cove is very much like the rest of the shoreline on this peninsula except that it attracts tons of shrimp, baitfish, crabs and large predators. Basically, Mud Cove is defined as the space between two landmarks—Lighthouse Point to the east and the KOA campground to the west. Schools of tarpon begin to congregate in this area sometime this month and typically move along the coast around Turkey Point and Lanark Village and points west. Anglers have good luck using live menhaden for bait, freelining them or fishing them under a float. Artificial lures such as plugs and jigs have mixed results since the water in the cove has limited visibility. Water clarity improves substantially, however, to the west from Turkey Point to Lanark Village.
Flyrod streamers, lures, and live baits are all more effective in the clearer water, but this increased visibility can also have a downside: The tarpon can spot you more easily, and they can also be more discriminating about lures. Big chunky plugs may be ignored in favor of smaller lures. This is where flyrod streamers really shine.
Farther to the west, around Carrabelle and in Apalachicola Bay, the water clarity diminishes but the tarpon numbers don’t. The silver kings frequent the many tidal creeks and bays fed by the Apalachicola River. The schools often move from the creek mouths such as the East River and St. Marks to the open bays that are above the Highway 98 bridge. These fish will hit live bait, lures and flyrod streamers. Many locals have good success with broken-back plugs. Because the water is shallow in these areas, tarpon can be easily spooked by boat traffic so most anglers either pole or use a trolling motor to fish the creeks and bays.
One of the most predictable tarpon spots is also in Apalachicola Bay. West Pass is located between Little St. George Island and St. Vincent Island. This wide, natural cut is the deepest in this area, dropping to nearly 50 feet on the St. Vincent side. Most of the tarpon fishing in this pass requires heavy jigs and plugs. The 65M and 67M sinking MirrOlures are some of the most popular lures. The tarpon seem to feed close to the bottom in water from 15 to 50 feet deep. This is not the place for vigorous jigging. Many tarpon anglers make a long cast and start counting down as the lure sinks. The lure is then reeled slowly and steadily back to the boat. When a tarpon hits, the lure just stops momentarily, and then the fish starts to take out line at an increasing pace. Fighting a large tarpon for a long time in deep water becomes less fun by the minute. A short fight is easier on the fish, and really, there’s no reason to kill a tarpon, unless it is a world record. Tackle up appropriately.
Tarpon are not the only heavyweight gamefish available. Cobia are also players this month. Mexico Beach sees large numbers of fish gathering around the many inshore wrecks and reefs. Three new reefs that are worth trying are the Baxter, Willie Krause and Bainbridge, which are all within seven miles of shore. The buoy line that runs from St. Joe and the many markers in the area are also good for cobia as well as kingfish. The cobia are drawn to the structure while the kings are drawn to the schools of baitfish. Large amberjack can also be caught around many of the same wrecks and reefs that attract cobia. A live baitfish is a great way to locate any of these gamefish.
Grouper should also be included in the mix of possibilities when fishing live bait around natural or man-made structure.
Most of the Alphabet towers offshore of Apalachicola offer several heavyweight gamefish. Amberjack, grouper, kingfish and large barracuda frequent these deepwater electronic bombing practice sites. There are many of these towers in the Gulf but the closest is the “O” tower which is approximately 20 miles from Apalachicola.
Speckled trout fishing will be in full swing most anywhere there are healthy turtlegrass flats. St. Marks is famous for its grassflats and trout fishing. When the water temperature rises and the baitfish are on both the East and West flats, the fishing should be hot. Most of the small and medium-sized trout are caught on the flats while the bigger gators are often caught around the creek mouths, oyster bars or rock formations. Live shrimp fished under a popping cork remains the premier trout bait. Of course, shiner tails, rubber-tailed jigs, plugs, flyrod poppers and streamers will take a large share of the fish. The Aucilla River, Econfina, Spring Creek, Goose Island, Apalachicola Bay and St. Joe Bay all mean speckled trout, redfish, and Spanish mackerel to inshore anglers this month.
Freshwater bass fishing is stellar in June on most any freshwater lake or river in this region. Panfishing is also good this month for anglers looking for bedding bream while casting under overhanging trees on the local rivers.
Best Bet: NORTHWEST
St. Joe Bay has to be one of the best places to fish in all of Florida. The crystal-clear water, miles of shallow grassflats and the huge speckled trout are hard to improve on. June can be a great time to get in the water and wade fish for large trout. Anglers will wade the same flats that attract hordes of scallopers next month. These flats are relatively quiet this time of the year; the water temperature is ideal for wading and the water is clear enough to see the bottom.
Most waders wear tennis shoes or other wading shoes and pull an inner tube or Styrofoam float with an ice chest for fish, drinks and lunch. Polarized glasses are essential for seeing fish. Many of the bigger trout lurk around edges of the white sand patches in the grass. Topwater plugs seem to attract the larger speckled trout. Expect some of the biggest ones to weigh over eight pounds. Some anglers prefer subsurface plugs, jigs or flyrod streamers. Of course live shiners and shrimp a
re always effective although bait fishing is a much slower way to cover a large area. Early morning and late afternoon seem to be the most productive times to fish but trout can be caught throughout the day. There’s access to the bay from the state park at Eagle Harbor or from the shallow end of the bay near fish camps such as Presnell’s.
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