Headed south again

Started by Wolfram M, December 24, 2022, 05:25:59 AM

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Wolfram M

Well lucky me! I get to make another trip to the Gulf coast this year. I leave Tuesday and will be on the water Wendsday thru Monday, weather permitting.

Hopefully this time is better than last time...but it is December, and I am shorebound this time.

Benni3

What will you be fishing for,,,, ;D

Wolfram M

Plan is to hunt down some sheepshead, I got to recon a few spots I think I can get to from shore that looked like they may hold fish.

From the beach? Who knows. I don't know what kind of fish I'll find on the shore in december. Maybe some spanish from the jetty?

I hear there are some big black snapper coming into the bay and harbor area in december, and some black/red drum are supposed to be around.

It's supposed to be seventy degrees out during the day so that's gonna be nice compared to the -6 it was here yesterday.

JasonGotaProblem

#3
Find a natural spring if you want reds n snook in the winter. Can't keep the snook this time of year but that's where to find them.

Also I find lots of flounder in the winter in places with moving water.
Any machine is a smoke machine if you use it wrong enough.

Wolfram M

I've just never had luck with flounder, other than gigging the one time. Found a BUNCH of them in the shallow flats on the inshore side of Okaloosa island. I'd love to find a few of them around somewhere.

Equipment I'm taking this time:

10ft medium/light surf rod, 20lb setup (whatever I find on the beach)
6ft 6 inch spinning rod, 20lb medium action (sheeps, mackerel, flounder if I'm lucky)
6ft 6 inch spinning rod, 10lbs light action (sabiki/baitfishing)

I got a new Engel 13qt bait cooler for christmas, and a nice Plano fishing backpack to carry gear in.

I have a few sheepshead jigs, 3/8oz football leads with a #6 J-hook free-swinging below them

2 1/2oz hex head jigs with silicone skirts, we'll see how fast I hang these in a rock

a dozen of my hand-carved, spray-bombed wooden lures, some are poppers, some are spook-ish, some are 8ft slow-floating divers, all are between 4-7 inches long

A handful of soft plastics, mostly whites, some green and gold flake, curly-tails and some shrimp simulants.

A sand flea rake, fillet knife, and my cut-resistant gloves. (I like the gloves for both fish spines and braided line cut prevention-they work pretty dang good for braid!)

Wolfram M

Finally made it to the gulf. I can hear the surf crashing-hopefully it will calm down by morning. We will see.

Brewcrafter

Good Luck!  Looking forward to hearing about the adventure! - john

JasonGotaProblem

you'll just have to throw past it. That's half the fun.
Any machine is a smoke machine if you use it wrong enough.

Wolfram M

Can't get a 3oz sinker more than 40ft off the beach, the wind is so bad. Threw so hard I snapped the pompano rig in half 3 times, tied with 25lb fluoro. Seeing as the bar is almost 50 yards away, this just isn't my game today.

And of course, all the docks are posted "NO FISHING" or are private now. Gonna have to find a less gentrified city to fish in the future or find a boat I can afford to rent.

JasonGotaProblem

Ouch. Ive been known to choose between competing beaches based on which one puts the wind at my back. Or at least not in my face. I've also been known to wade out as deep as I can stand and cast from there when conditions call for it. Cold water be damned.
Any machine is a smoke machine if you use it wrong enough.

Shellbelly

Quote from: JasonGotaProblem on December 29, 2022, 01:37:34 PMCold water be damned.
That's the spirit!  Sounds like you've had your waders flooded before.
"Little boy,  you can get glad in the same pants you just got mad in."  (My Momma)
"You shot it boy, you're gonna clean it and eat it".  (My Dad)

JasonGotaProblem

Quote from: Shellbelly on December 29, 2022, 06:09:57 PM
Quote from: JasonGotaProblem on December 29, 2022, 01:37:34 PMCold water be damned.
That's the spirit!  Sounds like you've had your waders flooded before.
I don't have waders! I just bring a towel. But this thread isn't about me.
Any machine is a smoke machine if you use it wrong enough.

Wolfram M

The water is 65 degrees, and I don't mind getting wet, but 65* water + 30mph winds in 65* air is asking for a problem.

Spent the afternoon trying to find some sheepshead, but since all the harbor docks are posted no fishing (idiotic, advertise your city as a "fishing village" but then prohibit fishing the best shore areas!) and I don't have a boat, I didn't find any fish. The steady wind didn't help, either. To top it all, the local bait shops left all their live bait outside during the freeze over Christmas and now no one has live bait-it's all frozen. Had to drive 45 minutes to find a bait shop who doesn't store their live bait outside.

I still have a dozen fiddler crabs to drown in the morning, hopefully I can find a beach where the tourists don't feel like 6AM beach runs INTO MY LINES!

Yeah, today was a frustrating day trying to fish. It'll rain tomorrow, but that won't stop me. I'll be out there, trying again.

Wolfram M

Got out early, on Beasley beach. (Okaloosa island) Great beach conditions, except for the side-on wind from the east. Very few beachgoers and no runners.

I tied on a second 3oz pyramid sinker, so a 2 hook pompano rig with two 3oz sinkers and was able to get out much better, although it wasn't enough weight to keep the line from slowly sweeping to shore over about 10 minutes. Well more than double the distance out into the surf but still well inside the sand bar-I was afraid of snapping the 25lb fluoro rig again.

Fished with my leftover fiddler crabs til they were gone and switched to fresh dead shrimp, cut and peeled to just fit on the hook. Had one good hit and got it in close enough to see it was a real fish but he got off in the heavy surf.

Photo was taken about 10AM, the salt was so heavy in the air it was crystalizing out on the rod and on the plastic of the bait cooler!IMG_20221230_102755.jpg

handi2

That's terrible fishing conditions.

Up here in he Florida panhandle we get blessed with bridges to fish off of. The sheepshead are all on the pilings
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Gulf Breeze, FL