# Gulf Coast Reports



## Kozlow (Oct 25, 2002)

DESTIN AREA FISHING REPORT / Feb. 12th, 2004

DESTIN-OKALOOSA ISLAND 
T Look For: Blackfin tuna, hardhead catfish, redfish and sheepshead. NOTE: It’s illegal to harvest spotted (speckled) seatrout this month. Every speck caught has to be released. 
T Comments: The night is darkest before dawn. The fishing is crummiest before March. Cold weather, rain, etc. have kept many anglers at home. There are some fish out there, but the more spectacular action is happening near creek or river mouths or eastern Choctawhatchee Bay. See below. The East Pass jetties continue to produce big reds and a few sheepshead. Saltwater bream – spottail pinfish – are hitting, too. There’s a rumor that someone caught a 26-inch amberjack at the Destin Bridge, where you’re far more likely to bump into a red or sheepshead. In the surf, here and there, a pompano shows up. Much, much, much more likely, especially when the water is murky, are hardhead cats. Offshore reports are sketchy, details few, but I’ve been told a Destin charter boat captain and crew found a weedline a week or two ago somewhere out there in the Gulf of Mexico and came up big with dolphin. Had to have been mahi bulls because many of the fish were in the 40-pound range. Blackfin tuna also have been hitting, apparently, within site of the beach. 


NAVARRE BEACH AND VICINITY 
T Look For: Hardhead catfish, redfish, sheepshead and southern stingray 
T Comments: Murky surf and cold, rainy weather don’t add up to much fishing activity on the Navarre Beach State Park fishing pier. Salt cats are hitting baits – fish, shrimp. Squid – intended for reds. Reds remain the principal gamefish catch from the pier. A vast majority fall into the bull category, though a 26-inch keeper was caught Monday. Also making appearances are stingrays. Considered a trash catch by many, the fish’s "wings" are actually very tasty. East Bay continues to produce sheepshead around structure. A few of the oversized porgies even hang around the East Bay River State Road 87 bridge on an incoming tide. Fish near the pilings. 


CHOCTAWHATCHEE BAY T Look For: Redfish, sand (white) seatrout, sheepshead and striped bass T Comments: The big news is that stripers of formidable size are being caught around creek and river mouths flowing into eastern Choctawhatchee Bay. David Price of Beach Island Bait and Tackle south of Freeport said he weighed a 16.4-pound striper at his shop a couple of weeks ago. There’s also a report of a 44-pounder being caught and one over 50 pounds that swallowed a two-pound mullet. The 50-pounder-plus was caught from the U.S. Highway 331 bridge causeway. If you’re interested in chasing stripers, try fishing around, or slightly up, the mouths of the Choctawhatchee River or Alaqua Creek. Stripers take lures such as jigs, spoons and even fish-imitation crankbaits or rattletraps. Price added sheepshead and an occasional bull red are hovering around the bridge’s pilings. Roy Ledbetter of Salty Bass bait and tackle in Fort Walton Beach and company hit the bayous Tuesday. Fishing southsides over dark, muddy bottom, they caught some nice specks – harvesting them this month is illegal – and six reds. The reds were around docks and hit grubs. 


SANTA ROSA SOUND T Look For: Redfish and sheepshead T Comments: Joe Patrelle of Brooks Bridge Bait and Tackle and Pontoon Rental on Okaloosa Island had a succinct report: reds and sheepshead under bridges. 


GULF BREEZE AND VICINITY 
T Look For: Black drum, redfish, sand (white) seatrout, sheepshead and whiting T Comments: Reds remain active from bayous to bridge pilings to the surf. There are even reports of big ole red schools in the gulf. Bait such as live mullet or shrimp works best in cold weather, though frozen critters such as mullet, cigs or shrimp also draw attention. If you prefer lures, this time of year try casting grubs and bounce them along the bottom. Along with reds at Three-Mile Bridge look for nice white trout and sheepshead. Sikes Bridge pilings are drawing sheepshead and some black drum. At Fort Pickens sheepshead are hovering around the jetty, while the pass remains home to reds. The murky surf earlier in the week was concealing plenty of hardheads and a red here and there. Clearer water yields some whiting. 

Week report 2/9 - 2/16



Inshore Report Pensacola, FL: 

The weather has still been cold and the seas have been rough. 

It has been hard to get out and fish. 

Not much to report this week.

Here is what they were catching the past couple of weeks.



Big Redfish are in the pass and along Ft. Pickens. In Big Lagoon and in the intercoastal water way between Navarre and Pensacola, fishing has been very good for Specks, legal size Redfish. Specks fishing has been very good up in the rivers near Jim's fish camp. 

Pensacola Bay, near quite water beach they are catching some legal Redfish. Sheepshead are being caught at Bob Sikes Bridge, and along Three Mile Bridge. They are catching a few Grouper in the bay with stretches while trolling for Redfish.

Pensacola, FL. Fishing Pier:

1/10 Tuesday: Nothing to report , Rain all day.

1/11 Wednesday: Nothing to report , Rain all day.

1/12 Thursday: Nothing to report , Rain all day.

1/13 Friday: Rain all day.

1/14 Saturday: A few Redfish, and then it rained most of the day.

Navarre, FL. Fishing Pier: 

1/10 Tuesday: Nothing to report , Rain all day.

1/11 Wednesday: Nothing to report , Rain all day.

1/12 Thursday: Nothing to report , Rain all day.

1/13 Friday: Rain all day.

1/14 Saturday: A few Redfish and Ground Mullet, and then it rained most of the day.

Okaloosa, FL. Fishing Pier: 

1/11 Wednesday: Nothing to report , Rain all day.

1/12 Thursday: Nothing to report , Rain all day.

1/12 Thursday: Nothing to report , Rain all day.

1/13 Friday: Rain all day.

1/14 Saturday: A few Redfish, and then it rained most of the day.

Fort Pickens Pier: 

Week report 2/9 - 2/16



The weather has still been cold and the seas have been rough. 

It has been hard to get out and fish. 

Not much to report this week.

Here is what they were catching the past couple of weeks.



A few Sheepshead, some Redfish, and an occasional Bluefish. 

Skyway Report

By "Billy T." 

Posted 2.13.04

North Pier

Pinfish city-the pinfish rule this pier

Bait fish reported small white bait not in great proportions (school) but there nevertheless.

Night fishing for silver trout said to be fair, fish are small with average sizes running around eight to ten inches, but then again they do not get large so maybe this is above average.

Grouper- a few caught and let go due to size.

Mangrove snapper-report of less then a dozen caught and small at that.

Pompano- report of one caught and it was legal size. Perhaps the start of something good.

Seabass- 2-6 inches are the norm for this species being caught was well short of being legal

Speckled trout-several caught at night but near shore.

Sheepshead-some being caught, yet not like last month.

South pier-
Not much different then reports coming from north pier with some exceptions.

Pompano- for some lucky to tangle there have been several caught and seen, not no great size but legal enough for a fish dinner

Sheepshead-many anglers walking away with a few --- hard work makes for just rewards.

Speckled trout- a few said to be caught on pier -all legal no throw backs but caught near shore. More speckled trout being caught on flats on southeast side on road heading towards booths.

Silver trout-several being caught at night and again nothing to write home about
Sharks- reports of several seen. yet none caught

Grouper-several keepers caught in last week-keepers just making the limit but there were keepers nevertheless.

Mango-snappers-several caught with a few large enough to be keepers.

Flounder- one report on one small flounder caught and released

Jacks- report of small schools of jacks near shore running around ten inches.

Rays- several caught and released

Bait-many sightings of small pods of white bait

Pinfish- abundant in several areas and none found in others.

No redfish-no snook heard of.

These reports were from those that seen or caught them.

As always some reports leave something to be desired as those reports say it was dead and no fish caught except pinfish.

It will need a few weeks before the mackerel arrive and things will be hopping again and bust wide open.

Water temps are on way up so those schools of bait and predators will be heading this way.

I can only hope that the red tide down around Venice is gone by then.

My best advice to all right now would be go fish the piers because reports are just that -- reports. There are fish on both piers and plenty of them. although I have not a clue to why some will bite and others have lockjaw. But in any case the water temps are a sign of good things to come. The weather has been 
good and temps are reaching for high seventies and low eighties, so just making time to head out could be worth your while.


----------

