St. Vincent Island to Steinhatchee
Includes Apalachicola, St. George Island, Carabelle, St. Marks and Keaton Beach

Nov. 14-17

NW

Inshore: A cold front forecasted for the beginning of the week, usually during a barometric change fishing patterns can turn fish on or off depending on many different variants of weather. With the northern winds expect cool possibly cold mornings then warming to 60ish mid day this weekend. Cooler mornings create great speckled trout fishing as they are schooling up! Note now that we are having cooler weather it typically puts many inshore species fish in the head of the bay around creek openings. During this time of year the fishing action is hot for inshore species fish; redfish, black drum and speckled trout.

The early morning and late evening bite has been pretty good most days for the inshore species due to the recent water temperature drop! First and foremost would be to locate clearer green water for fishing no matter where you find it. Fish along the oyster bars of Dry Bar, Indian Pass and Pickalean, also try within a few hundred foot around Bob Sikes Cut as several bull reds have been caught there recently. The head of the bay has been paying off well (north of the Apalachicola Bridge) around the openings of East River, Big bay, Little bay and any location where fresh water and saltwater mix to create a brackish water. The bait to use in the head of the bay is live bait such as shrimp or greenies, or fresh dead shrimp "texas rigged" fishing the bottom. Inside the bay (south of the Apalachicola Bridge) we have been using several different baits try using live bait, fresh dead bait (shrimp), hard plastics or soft plastic baits such as Berkley Gulp, Bass Assassin and Calcutta in varying colored plastics according to the water color and clarity targeting 3-5 ft of water with some type structure such as old oysterbeds or shell plants.

We are also using popping corks with good success in stained water to create some noise while fishing. Popping corks if used properly can sound like a striking fish, which has a tendency to entice feeding fish to explore the noise and feed on the sound. We have also been having varying success targeting redfish using live bait or fresh dead shrimp (texas rigged) and plastic grubs under a popping cork such as the old fashioned lead free red and whites and the Cajun thunder type. As always tide and wind patterns are vital information when working shallow inshore waters of the area. Also like to add speckled trout mixed with an occasional redfish have been located under the seagulls that are "working" the bait pods. Locate bait pods by location showering water or nervous water with small baits flipping within a concentrated area of water... Never run fast to a bait pod, ease up and drift through the pod, then when you drift out of the fish go around the bait pod and drift through again...

Offshore:

Please note: Red Snapper season is closed in state and federal waters. Therefore any red snapper caught must be returned to the water unharmed.

This past week very few boats fishing offshore due to the weather. This coming week we expect several boats fishing the area reefs and wrecks as the winds and seas are predicted to calm after the cold front moves through. Offshore fishing in general has been pretty good closer in at the near shore wrecks and reefs in or around the Dog Island reef balls and culverts, the Franklin County Reef and the coral reefs off of St. Vincent Island with many productive catches reported when the winds and wave heights are lower. We have been using live bait such as pinfish or LY's when available or frozen baits such as cigar minnow, squid, goggle-eyes or Spanish sardines as well as leftover frozen LY's and pinfish from previous trips. Expect to catch a mixed bag of keeper offshore dwellers such as grouper, grey and lane snapper, triggerfish, black sea bass and a variety of reef dwellers. We’ve been hearing a variety of reports for the past couple of weeks- the great news is most have been very good!

This time of year expect the fish to be moving around as this is the season that they come closer to shore following the bait. Best advice I could give is to keep a close eye on the bottom machine for little "blips or bump ups" (structure) on the bottom, toss out the anchor and drop a couple of test baits out over the structure to see if anything bites... Usually uncharted bottom structure is the best as its rarely fished. We have found many fishing spots by watching the bottom machine for structure! Good Luck!

If you’re looking for experienced, friendly native guides give us a call 850-653-2622 or drop us an email info@BookMeACharter.com We’d love to take you fishing in our back yard!

By Sandra Allen | www.bookmeacharter.com | Contact Us

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