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(No fly zone) Non fly caught fish pictures

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Thankfully red tide never reaches us here in the fresh side. We do get blue-green algae blooms in the late spring and summer, but it is usually only at the surface.

Ortona was running slower than expected and nothing was making any noise on the surface this morning. The first cast with a white, gambler “little ez” came back with a solid  strike and the first freyed 30# leader. Last weekend they wanted it fast and loud, this weekend it was low and slow. From quarter to 8 till 9:30 I brought 3 just under slot to hand, and missed a dozen more. I had to change leaders 5 times for fear of possibly breaking off one that may keep. After that, it was like someone turned off the switch. I never had another strike on anything. It was still fun. Now for some college 🏈 .

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Unfortunately a bad red tide always seems to follow a storm here and it will probably get worse before it gets better again.  I was talking to my neighbor about it and he is pretty grouchy since he likes to smoke mullet.  Right about now is when the best mullet of the year for smoking can be had (nice and fatty). By the time things bounce back, the mullet will have spent all of those resources growing roe and milt and bee too skinny to be worth it.  This too shall pass but it sucks in the mean time. 

I do hope that the storm(s) have flushed the harbor and the sound some.  There isn't an oyster to be found, all of the usual places have been devoid of life for a while.  I have no idea if it's true but I suspect that while water quality is a big factor the silt associated with boat traffic is a bigger problem.  It's conjecture to be certain but I've seen really nasty water with very healthy oyster beds.  The James River in Virginia when I was growing up was a nightmare with the most publicized issue being ketone poisoning (there was plenty else).  According to friends and family The James seems to have recovered well so I still have hope.

Years ago a friend once said to me after I complained about all of the boat traffic that I should enjoy it, it was only going to get worse.  I try to keep that in mind when I look around but it's tough not to complain.

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Made good use of some vacation time I need to use up before the end of the year. Fished Ortona early and had my limit of snook before 7. Then proceeded to release 11 more fish before leaving at 9. It was already a spectacular day. 
 

i came home, and ate a early lunch, then went to fisheating creek/bay on Lake Okeechobee to look for crappie and hide from the wind. Caught 28 on my hand tied jigs, only 4 were over 10 inches, but that thump on a 10’ black widow little jewel never gets old.
 

12 snook and 28 crappie…not a bad day at all!

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Nice! When I read Fisheating Creek I missed the "bay" part and thought that the water was still a little high, about a foot too high for me (I've been watching it).  Those are some nice specks and snook!  Some days are just awesome. Despite the higher than normal winds the weather has been great this "fall", I think the fish like it too.

Swamp

 

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A note about those terrible red tides that plague the Gulf coast of Florida from Tampa south to Naples occasionally  - particularly for folks considering a trip there.  The good news, if there is any about this phenomenon, is that for some years now, red tides that cause so much trouble - never seem to make it to the east of the Naples /  Marco area.  In fact the entire Ten Thousand Islands area from Marco south down to Lostman's River have been red tide free each year,  thank heavens.  As a result when those bad water conditions ruin fishing trips up and down the Gulf coast - you still have Goodland, Port of the Islands, Everglades City and Chokoloskee to fish out of... with accommodations, restaurants, etc.  This is something that no one in the media mentions.

Just nothing like the Everglades - it's my favorite place in this world.

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Good points captain. That’s what is great about our state, “the fishing capital of the world”. There’s always somewhere to go and catch fish. 
 

I trailered the boat back to ortona this morning. I only landed 2 snook but both were close to 30 inches. At 9:00 am I loaded up the boat and headed back to fisheating bay. The crappie bite was slow at times, but still managed a dozen. Then around 1:00 I headed out across the lake to do some exploring while water levels are still up, and the waves were manageable. I was able to cross the monkey box, zigzag through moonshine bay, and make it to cochran’s pass. I bass fished for a little while, then came back to fisheating bay for a few more crappie. 
 

I don’t think I could ever leave South Florida. I like to fish too much to live anywhere else.😁

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On 11/8/2024 at 12:20 AM, Swamp Fly said:

Despite the higher than normal winds the weather has been great this "fall", I think the fish like it too.

 

I agree. It’s been really nice out. Ya, the creek is still high for fishing near Hwy 27, but from State rd. 78 to the mouth in fisheating bay, there is some fish coming into the creek in 5-10 foot of water. The crappie bite will only get better from now till mid January.

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Not doing much fly tying at present - but am using my tying gear to fill lure orders... Here's a pic or two of the one I'm working on now... 

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Each color is done up in half 1/4oz and half 3/8oz sizes... Today it will be bonefish skimmer jigs in four colors.. 

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Here's the pics for those bonefish skimmer jigs, intended for the Bahamas... My customer will trim the weedguards to his preferred length..

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Nice work Capt. I’ve been tying up some crappie jigs. Will post pics later. Got 4 of these this morning. Got to take advantage before season closes. 

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Welp, that’s a wrap on snook season. It was pretty productive fall season. Here’s a pic of dad with one just under slot on the final day.

Now we can focus on Lake Okeechobee speck and bass fishing. This latest cold front is already producing better crappie fishing reports, with bigger females starting to move into the shallows.

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Beautiful day on the Big O today. Found a few nice speck. Then did a lot of scouting. I was able to run my little bass tracker anywhere I wanted to go without fear of beating my hull to death in open water. 

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thanks Mark!


Fished an area of the caloosahatchee right near the boat ramp that I pass all the time . I had a hunch it may hold a few specks. My hunch was right, and in a couple hours I brought home 7 big ones and lost 3 more slabs lifting them in the boat.

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