St. George Island Redfish??

[chasmo]

I am currently on St. George island and the weather has been perfect in the mornings for fishing with completely flat water with lots of topwater action for trout (3 days with limits including a 26" all on top), limit of pompano today along with plenty of blues, **** ladyfish and hook ups with tarpon (not using tarpon tackle so it is just fun to get a jump or two before they break off) but have not found any redfish. Looking in all the usual places and no luck yet. Have boat, just can't locate the schools and no one here is saying they are catching any.

[Col Forbin]

I was down there last week, actually down on cape san blas. But the bay there (port st. joe) was loaded with redfish late in the afternoon. We went out of the state park there, went towards the back in the bay toward the begining of the pennisula. We didn't have much luck getting them to bite, but you could see them finning up shallow just before the sun went down (last hour or two of light) - I lost count of how many we saw. I had a couple blow-ups on a spook, but no takers. Threw gulp shrimp at them with no luck - but they were there thick. I had a couple other people with me, that were more into catching fish - so they wanted to stick with the trout - so I didn't spend as much time on them I would have liked. We were catching some good trout though.

Has there been any oil there? I am checking the reports every day, and hope it somehow manages to stay away. I have been coming down there the last 30 years (since I was a little one). I love that area - I am actually wearing my Indian pass raw bar shirt now.

[chasmo]

No oil at all here. They are placing booms everywhere to get ready though.

I too have been coming down here for 30 years. This is the best weather I have ever had as there are smooth conditions every morning before it gets too hot. I have hunted 3 days for reds and seen only a few. Still catching pompano in a foot or less of water on the beach at the end of the island-saw a school of over 100 fish! Trout fishing has been incredible as well-mostly on top water too. We are heading to St. Joe Bay tomorrow and maybe wednesday-will try the end inside the peninsula and then the crater holes around Blacks Island for some reds and scallops.

Thanks!

[artcarney_agr]

I fished off an oyster bar there in the state park, and I would think it would hold a couple of reds if you happen to be there at the right time.

As you come into the park, you'll come through the main gate. There is a campground not far that you turn left to go to. In the campground, it loops around to a boat ramp. You can walk from the boat ramp out onto the oyster bar. When the current was going out, we caught several speckled trout along the edges of the current breaks. I enjoyed fishing it, since it was a little different than fishing from the beach. It was pretty much this same exact time a year ago that we fished it. Didn't catch any reds, but we only fished it for an hour or two with the current going out. Once it was out, several oyster beds were exposed. Also plenty of crab running around on the bars, which I would think would draw the reds in.

Be sure to wear some sort of fully enclosed water shoe or sandal. Oysters are sharp!

How did you catch the Pompano? I fished all week last year without a single one. All I could muster up were a ton of whiting, some small sharks, and sand trout.

[chasmo]

I have fished around those oyster bars and found some trout and a few flounder as well. Have seen a few reds, but not like the schools I have seen before. The wind finally laid back down today and there were plenty of mackerel feeding off the beach about 500 yards or more out slashing bait. Had my kayak in the middle of them and they were still biting right through a 50lb flouro leader! There were some larger fish, too-maybe kings or big blues-that were no match for my shimano 4000 with 55lb braid and a 60 lb. leader. Tarpon were not to be seen today.

I caught the pompano on a nylure jig. Silver head with yellow tail-they are sold around here. The fish were very actively feeding almost at the end where a sand bar came into the beach. I could see them coming over the bar about 10 yards from the beach and they would readily slam the jig. There was a school of over 100 of them in it! Mostly small 1-2 lb. each but I did manage one around 4 pounds. The tide was key though-it had to be about 2 hours before the high tide then they would completely shut down about half an hour before high tide. All the ones I kept had sand fleas in them so if you prefer live bait, that is the way to go. I was fishing from a boat though so I could follow the school. There were a few bluefish and ladyfish mixed in, but almost only pompano within 10 yards of the beach.

[JD7.62]

Dang, I wish the Pompano were that thick here in Navarre.

I have been doing good on the reds in the sounds Carolina rigging live baits in the deeper holes on the outgoing tide in the heat of the day.