Captain Jody Campbell Fishing Report   May 11, 2007

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Fishing continues to be good all over our area and should continue.  Somebody asked if I thought the cool spell we just had would affect the fish and I said I didn’t believe so.  I went out with a friend on Tuesday and we fished in 20 mile an hour winds and caught about 60 trout using the white Berkley Gulp under the Cajun Thunder.  I don’t think it affected them.

Right now fish are being caught everywhere.  Trout are still in both shallow and deeper water.  We caught a bunch last week in 15 feet of water and a bunch in 3 feet of water.  Plenty of nice trout are being caught around Gray Mare and Cobb Rocks and some big reds are also being caught by folk’s trout fishing.

Big Pass and Little Pass are holding reds and plenty of trout are being caught in front of both spots using topwater baits and grubs.  Live shrimp, spoons or live pinfish for the reds though topwater is working early.  There are plenty of reds in the Wakulla Beach area and both Goose Creek and Graves Creek should be good.

The area between Shell Point and Piney Island is holding plenty of trout.  The water is so clear that you need a cloudy day or some wind to stir up the water to make fishing real good.  The Clam Bar off the mouth of the Ochlockonee is holding lots of trout and plenty of reds are being caught around the oyster bars at the mouth.  Look for reds along the docks in the river.  Candy corn colored Saltwater Assassin and a lime green lead head worked well last week.

Turkey Point shoals continues to be good for trout and tarpon are also being caught out there by folks fly-fishing.  The area out in front of the Old Lorenzo's is producing fish, and the coves behind Dog Island are also good.  The new penny Gulp and live shrimp are catching most of the trout.  Some pompano were caught on the West End of Dog Island and East End of St. George use Nylures and sandfleas.  Quite a few real big cobia have been seen cruising the beach at Dog Island and quite a few have been hooked but not landed.  Goose Island behind St. George in the Bay is holding plenty of trout and reds.  Fish topwater baits around the oyster bars for some sure enough fun.

If you want to take your kids out and let them have a good time catching fish, go to about 8 to 10 feet of water, chum the water good with cut up fish, frozen chum or dead shrimp, and wait for the Spanish to show up.  Fish live shrimp or Spanish Sardines under a Cajun Thunder with about 60-pound mono leader and hang on.  If I use Spanish Sardines I will tie a stinger hook to the main hook.  These fish fight so hard on light tackle and there are plenty of 5 pound fish out there right now that will really give you a tussle.  Don’t set the drag too tight or some of these fish will jerk the rod out of the kid’s hands.  If they don’t get excited when a big Spanish grabs their line and runs out about 50 feet of line, you might want to get them interested in golf.

Offshore fishing is very good now and the 65 to 95 foot mark seems to be where most grouper and red snapper are being caught.  Live or dead bait is working and trolling is also producing some good catches.  Look for amberjack around the towers and wrecks and a few kings are being caught trolling.

Remember that the limit for red grouper is now 1 per person and the limit for red snapper is 2 per person in Federal Waters.

Quite a few tripletail are being seen around so when you pass a crab trap ball slow down and look for a fish that looks like a big bream with three tail laying on it’s side.  They will hit real small jigs but love live shrimp and won’t pass one of them up.

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

- Captain Jody Campbell 

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(Capt. Jody Campbell guides out of Shell Point in Wakulla County and can be reached at 850 926 1173 for a charter)

This article originally published on May 11, 2007.

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