This Week's Steinhatchee Fishing Report 4/11/02

Trout! The weather has been a little too rough offshore making the focus inshore on trout. The current hot spot is to the north. I've been told to take a 300 degree heading from Marker #1 and travel for 5 miles. This should put you at Bird Platform # 2 (29 41.68'N/083 32.482'W). Then travel west until you are in 6 or 6.5 feet of water. According to my chart drawer, this should put you approximately at (29 41.671' N/083 33.273' W) I've been having great success with these directions. The hot baits have been a 1/4 oz red jig head with any grub with a green shine, the best being the Electric Chicken. Other colors that are hot are Sweet Pea, Space Guppy, and Candy Corn.

Right after the weather front came through on on Tuesday, offshore grouper fishing took off with a bang..

 Neva-Miss Charters 352-498-9242 brought in a couple boat loads of Grouper. Above is Garrett and Cody Davis with James Stevens showing off 3 of their limit catch of grouper caught with Captain Shearin. Below is the Eaton party with their catch of grouper. Remember Captain Shearin aboard the Neva-Miss is one of the only captains in Steinhatchee holding a license that will allow 6 anglers to fish upon the boat.

Don't forget the Optimist Club Fishing Tournament is next Saturday, April 20th. We will keep Sea Hag Marina's tackle and bait shop open Friday night until 9:00pm. Stop by to get all your fishing needs.  To find out more information about the tournament, click here.

Also, our Tiki Bar will be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday 12:00 to 9:00pm. And one more thing, the Sea Hag Marina has had some room cancellations for this weekend and for the tournament weekend. To check out our accommodations click here. Be sure to call 352-498-3008 to make a reservation.

This Week's Steinhatchee Fishing Report 3/27/02
The Spanish Mackerel are chasing bait fish near the Steinhatchee Reef (see below for Reef coordinates and relief heights). I've also had reports that the Nine Mile Bank (29 41.10'N 083 34.60'W) and the Little Bank (29 39.95'N 083 34.25'W) are also housing the Spanish. I've heard that taking a 230 degree heading for 4 mile from Marker 1 will put you on them as well. Calculating that on my chart software returns a spot at 29 36.507'N 083 31.147'W which actually shows some bottom relief on the map. Located very close to that area is the Steinhatchee Short Reef (29 36.632'N 083 28.482'W) which for those of you in small boats can fish rather comfortably since it is only 4 miles from the river mouth. You can catch Spanish Mackerel trolling or anchored. When traveling in these areas, keep an eye out for bait pods jumping. Most likely this bait is being chased by the Spanish Mackerel. If trolling, travel around, NOT through the bait pod, and troll silver Clark spoons, Fairwater Spanish rigs with the tinsel tails, Gotcha plugs with white hair tails, or Floreo lures (with white ir natural hair tails) just beyond the white water edge that the movement of the boat produces. If you anchor up, I suggest chumming the bait and fish to the boat. You can then fish with live shrimp or cast the artficials through the chum slick. Shown in the pictures are Noah Smiley, Ed Oehmig, Harry Whitener, Wes Oehmig (click photos to see enlarged). Their catch was caught on artificial lures in the colors of yellow and green (sorry I did not get a better report on the lures).
This Week's Steinhatchee Fishing Report 3/30/02
Ben, Nick and Jake Anderson from Annandale,MN enjoyed the fine fishing off Steinhatchee during their spring break. The trio landed 21 redfish, 11 sheepshead and dozens of Spanish Mackerel in a single trip out of the Sea Hag
Marina fishing with captain Dennis Voyles using a variety of fresh and
artificial baits. The mackerel were caught on chrome colored rattle traps, the sheepshead fell to fresh Sea Hag live shrimp and the reds were fooled using gold spoons and an assortment of salt water assassin jigs. To catch Redfish, try casting a gold Johnson Silver Minnow Spoon (1/4oz or 1/2oz) in and around cuts near oyster bars. May of these fish can be caught on the backside of the bars that mark the Steinhatchee River channel and the mouth of Rocky Creek.

FINALLY Sheepshead! The Steinhatchee Reef is producing large sized and large quantities of Sheepshead. The Reef located approximately 9 miles from the Steinhatchee River mouth is made up of four basic bottom areas. The first, located at 29 39.480’N 083 37.49’W, is made up of scrap metal and concrete rubble, has a depth of 20 feet and a relief of 6 feet. The second, located at 29 40.018’N 083 37.564’W, is made up of steel scrap and steel boiler parts, has a depth of 22 feet and a relief of 6 feet. The third, located at 29 40.005’N 083 37.602’W, is made up of concrete culverts, mixed metal, and boiler parts, has a depth of 22 feet and a
relief of 5 feet. The forth, located at 29 40.017’N 083 37.426’W, is made up of concrete culverts and mixed metals, has a depth of 22 feet and a relief of 5 feet. The Sheepshead is notorious for its bait-stealing ability. It has frequently been said that in order to catch one, "You have to set the hook just before it bites." Often the little thief takes a bait with the dexterity of a pickpocket lifting a wallet, leaving an angler "sport fishing" with a bare hook. Routinely, an experienced Sheepshead buff will fish for them by sight rather than feel. When his line twitches or begins to move, he'll set the hook forcefully. Sheepshead’s favorite baits are live shrimp, sand fleas, and fiddler crabs. It's best to fish for these sneaks with a tight line. The farther you cast from a boat, the more difficult it will be to feel or see the nibble. So when possible, try lowering your line straight down until the bait hits bottom, then tighten up immediately and very slowly raise and lower your bait or jig. This assures that your offering is down where it belongs and the system keeps a line tight for easier detection of the faint tap of a Sheepshead’s bite.

This Redfish and Trout and the largest of Capt. Sam LeNeave's (352-498-6063) fly fishing charter on March 24, 2002!

These Trout and the largest of Capt. Paul Cronk's charter on March 23, 2002! (352-498-7317)

Offshore, Grouper have been phenomenal! Doesn't seem to matter whether
you are trolling or bottom fishing but on a given day one method or the other seem to produce more. For trolling, Sea Hag Marina recommends the Mann’s Stretch 30+ in the colors of Perch and anything with the word "tiger" on it. I have folks trying the new Sea Snakes to which Mann’s has added a snake like grub tail to the head of Stretch 30+. I have not gotten any reports back on the new lure. As for bottom fishing, Spanish Sardines are selling well, along with Cigar Minnows, Squid, Thread Herring, and Mackerel. Folks are fishing in about 50 foot of water. Some hot spots are
the Super Ledge (29 22.817’N 83 45.675’W) and the Crack (29 23.819’N 083 42.722’W). Since the bottom at these points is part of a shelf, trolling
between and around these two numbers will allow you to find other hot
spots yet undiscovered and housing some really nice grouper.

The Bryan's bring home a few dinners - caught very late on March 24th, 2002.

The rest of the Bryan's catch March 24th, 2002. Remember - click any photo to see enlarged!

Wiley Horton's "Wahoo" caught some fine grouper and a Hog Snapper on March 23th, 2002. Click photo to see enlarged.

Wiley Horton group aboard the "Wahoo" caught some nice grouper again and a nice Redfish on Sunday, March 24th, 2002. (If you would like me to include names, please email them to me and I will update)

Chad White caught this super sized grouper very late on March 24th, 2002.

This Week's Steinhatchee Fishing Report 3/20/02

Captain Paul Cronk (352 498-7317) displays an unofficial Florida record Sheepshead. This fish weighed over 16 lbs. It was caught off the Steinhatchee Artificial Reef.
Click here for the GPS Coordinates.

This Week's Steinhatchee Fishing Report 3/19/02

This group says, "WE DO!"

This Week's Steinhatchee Fishing Report 3/17/02

These little guys sure know how to catch grouper! I had to put lead weights in their shoes to keep them off of cloud nine long enough for the picture!

This Week's Steinhatchee Fishing Report 3/17/02

Captain Paul Cronk (352 498-7317) shows the best of the catch on St. Patrick's Day! Someone must have had a four leaf clover in their pocket!

This Week's Steinhatchee Fishing Report 3/17/02

For all you inshore fishermen, here's proof that the trout are out there!

This Week's Steinhatchee Fishing Report 3/16/02

Although this young boy did not win the Steinhatchee Community Projects Board Fishing Tournament, I'd still say this fish is a winner! To see the complete list of winners click here.

This Week's Steinhatchee Fishing Report 3/14/02

Captain Paul Cronk (352-498-7317) has some rather nice grouper. Fishing aboard his charter is (left to right) David England, Mark Tidwell, Joel Padgett, and Reni Renyolds.

This Week's Steinhatchee Fishing Report 3/11/02

Captain Cronk (352-498-7317) brings in another load of Grouper.

This Week's Steinhatchee Fishing Report 3/10/02

Mickey Ray and his guests caught these nice trout near Pepperfish. I've heard that using an Electric Chicken colored grub tail on a 1/4 oz red jighead under a Cajun Thunder float is a sure fire way to get your limit of trout right now. Other colors working well are Limetruese, Space Guppy, and Candy Corn.

This Week's Steinhatchee Fishing Report

Not sure when these fish were caught upon the Neva-Miss but they both look like some awesome charter fishing to me!

This Week's Steinhatchee Fishing Report 3/9/02

These fish were caught bottom fishing. Fishermen are Mark Taylor, Dameon Carver, and Johnnie Wilson. Please note that the grouper on the left is large enough to be sampling the 'A' in "Sea Hag". Click Photo to See Enlarged!

I did finally see quite a few trout. Most folks are catching them to the north. The south area near Pepperfish has been rather unproductive. One fisherman told me he caught all his trout on Mirrorlure top water lures. The 5M and Top Dog, Top Dog Jr. and Top Pup all seemed to work well for him. He said nothing would hit the shrimp, but then every day is different.

This Week's Steinhatchee Fishing Report 3/7/02


Click Photo of Josh Wisham who caught this fishing weighing over 25 lbs. on the bottom with cut bait to see enlarged
I'm sorry to all of you who are trout and inshore fisherman... today I saw only 6 trout and the folks had them cleaned before I could even take a picture!!! However I do have good news for those who like to fish inshore when it comes to the 11th annual Optimist Club Fish Tournament. They have decided to award a $10,000 prize for a tagged Redfish. Here is how this works: The commission will tag ten redfish before the tournament. Those ten numbers will be sent to the company who holds the insurance. They will select one number to be the winning number and place it in a sealed envelope. The envelope will be opened at weigh-in if someone catches a tagged redfish. If your fishes number matches the one in the envelope - you will $10,000.
For detail about the tournament click here.

Fishing Reports 3/7/02 thru 1/19/02
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