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

Oct. 10-12

NW

Inshore: Cooler mornings create great speckled trout fishing as they are schooling up! Our bays are full of bait shrimp, finger mullet, greenies and small pogeys. During this time of year the fishing action is hot for inshore species fish; redfish and speckled trout as its only the beginning of what's shaping up to be an excellent fall fishing season. The fishing report this past week has been awesome for all the inshore species as the water temperatures are cooling.

The early morning and late evening bite has been fantastic most days for speckled trout, redfish, black drum or whatever your aiming for 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. Try fishing along the grass flats of east St. George Island, Little St. George and Yents Bayou for speckled and silver trout. Fish along the oyster bars of Indian Pass and Pickalean, 13 mile oysterbar also try within a few hundred foot around Bob Sikes cut, as well as the grass flats around FSU lab and east of Lanark Village. The head of the bay has been paying off well (north of the Apalachicola Bridge) around the openings of East Bay, 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. Inside the bay (south of the Apalachicola Bridge) have been using several different baits with varying success that changes daily. 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 using ¼ - ½ oz lead heads (depending on water depth but targeting 3-4 ft of water).

We are also using popping corks with great 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. Try working your jigs around the outside edges of potholes as many silver and speckled trout and redfish lie just on the edge of the pothole or a drop off of a sand bar to camouflage themselves, while waiting to ambush baitfish that swim by. We have also been having varying success targeting redfish using live bait, and plastic grubs under a popping cork such as the old fashioned lead free red and whites and the Cajun thunder type. Work presentations with the tide using live bait, fresh dead bait or soft and hard plastics.

Offshore: Bruiser grouper and snapper in near shore wrecks and debris sites.

Please note: Red Snapper season is closed in federal waters so any red snapper caught in waters beyond nine miles offshore must be returned to the water unharmed.

Use live pinfish or blue runners, frozen cigar minnow, squid, goggle-eyes or Spanish sardines and frozen LY's. Expect to catch a mixed bag of grouper, snapper, triggerfish, black sea bass and a variety of reef dwellers. King mackerel, cobia and a few sharks are holding in mid water depths as they are making their fall appearance in the area. We’ve been hearing a variety of reports daily from the Dog Island reef balls and culverts, SGI debris site and the Franklin County Reef with many productive catches reported. This time of year expect the fish to be moving around as this is the season that they come closer to shore, no need to go 30-40 miles offshore when good keepers are closer at only 5-10 miles offshore.

Please help us preserve our natural resources by being a responsible angler. Be safe; keep an eye on the weather and tight lines! During this time of year, our tourist season has slowed down, if you find yourselves in our area and wanting to get out on the water for some excellent fishing. We are only a phone call away...

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!

Sandra Allen Book Me A Charter Guide Service Apalachicola, FL 32329 850-653-2622 www.BookMeACharter.com info@BookMeACharter.com

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

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