12-20-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
For freshwater anglers, significant December rainfall is almost always a
very good thing---and the water that fell last Saturday gave avid area
boaters and anglers reason to celebrate.  The extended spell of very low
water we endured not many years back taught many of us to really appreciate
such times of plenty.
The wet weekend came during already-normal water levels in area lakes, and
it practically insures that nice, high levels will remain into the spring
season.
Of course, while the heavy rains were supplementing our liquid savings
account, they were also keeping would-be-fishers off the water.  When they
did return to the spots that had been productive last week, most anglers
found that more had changed than the three extra inches of water depth.
At first, speckled perch fishers on Orange Lake thought that the big rain
had messed their fishing up, altogether.  A few fair catches were made out
in deep, open water---including a 2-pound, 4-ounce slab that Joe Lyons
enticed with a live minnow.  The average catch, however, was way off---until
someone located the fish.  Unexplainably, a large number of crappie had
moved under heavy cover---thick aquatic vegetation in Orange’s South End,
and particularly, near Redbird Island.  When the word got out, limits
started coming in again.  The speck’s vegetation of choice seems to be the
viney growth known best as smartweed—or alligator weed.  Cane-polers
dropping chartreuse or green crappie jigs through openings in the ‘gator
weed have scored very well since the rainy spell.
Another unexpected change greeted Gulf anglers looking to resume their
trout-catching in the Steinhatchee River.  After taking only a handful of
fish, Al Lancaster and Keith Bailey decided to try the flats just south of
the river mouth.  And that’s where, with water temps in the fifties, they
found the fish.  Casting topwater lures and jigs with grub tails, the
Huston, Georgia fishing buddies filled an impressive limit of thick trout.
Nobody knows exactly what combination of conditions winter trout find
acceptable in Gulf Coast rivers.  Following the rains, something---possibly
the reduced salinity in the river---caused many of the fish to apparently
head back out onto the chilly flats.  So far, no good trout stories have
come from other shallow Gulf flats since the weekend---but it could be that
nobody has tried.
And that’s this week’s report.
Good fishin’ and Merry Christmas from The Tackle Box.
 

12-13-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
It seems that the speckled perch ‘go off’ especially well only in one area
lake each season.
With other nearby lakes extremely low, Santa Fe was the place to search for
specks around the turn of the century.  Then Lochloosa had a couple of years
as, clearly, the top area pond for crappie.  There are strong indications
that Newnans could well be the choice of cool-weather cane-polers next year.
This year, though, Orange Lake is producing specks like no other.
The most impressive thing about the ongoing Orange crappie explosion is the
size of the fish it continues to yield.
John Courtney walked into The Tackle Box Monday with a slab the likes of
which we haven’t seen in decades.  The Grove Park angler had just come from
Orange Lake where, slow-trolling a green Hal Fly with a minnow added; he had
caught the crappie of a lifetime.  On our State-certified scales, the
super-slab weighed 3-pounds, 5-ounces.  “They were biting in water 10-feet
deep,” said Courtney, “and I had another one to the top that might have been
bigger.”  Considering that we have only seen and photographed two or three
other specks of this size in 53 years of registering outstanding catches,
it’s almost unimaginable that one man had hooked a pair of fish in this
class in one morning.  We knew that a really outstanding speck bite was
going on in Orange----but now, it seems that this may be one of the best of
the modern era.
Luke Clukey of Cross Creek, Bill and Myrna Jones of Citra, Doris Sellers of
Gainesville, and Sonny Redmon of Gainesville also registered fine Orange
Lake speck catches Monday.
In salt water, Gulf grouper are biting well when fishers can make it
offshore, and smallish redfish are plentiful in tidal creeks.  Creating the
biggest buzz, however, are speckled trout.  Good trout catches have come
from most Gulf ports, but Steinhatchee is the hottest spot of all.  Sizable
fish remain in the river itself, where Chris and Charles Gross limited both
Saturday and Sunday.  The shallower coves just outside the river are also
loaded with fish.  Monday, Cooter Reed cast pink Saltwater Assassin grubs
and 52M28 Mirrolures in Biven’s Cove to fool a load of trout up to 6-pounds.
East Coast trout seem equally inspired by the falling water temps.  Roy
Dillinger and his son and nephew cast grubs and Mirrolures in a creek off
Matanzas River Monday to score a hefty 15-trout limit.
And that’s this week’s report.
Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box.
 

12-06-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
The annual one-two punch of holiday commitments and often-poor weather has
taken its usual toll on anglers.  Even the guides, camps, and marinas that
said fishing was excellent also reported slim fishing activity.
One bit of news that will inspire some anglers is the presence of speckled
trout in a couple of Gulf rivers.  Local fishermen continue to fool
Steinhatchee River trout by slow-trolling red-and-silver Mirrolures just
inside the river mouth.  So far, none of the monstrous 6-to-8 pound examples
for which this river is famous; but several fish measuring 23 and 24 inches
have been seen.
The Suwannee, too, holds winter trout.  Locals aren’t sure whether this
batch of trout comes and goes with the tide—or whether they simply don’t
bite for long stretches of time.  Either way, the river fishing here has
been a hit-or-miss proposition.  Those that have found the fish in the mood
have had success with live shrimp and casting grubtail jigs or Mirrolures. 
Creeks above and below the Suwannee’s mouth (where red and black drum, too,
are abundant) also are good trout bets.  And, the grass flats are not yet
chilly enough to have run trout away altogether.  Some continue to report
fast action in favorite warm-weather spots—although these fish tend to be
smaller.  Out of Crystal River and Homosassa, the shallow flats remain the
best zone to hunt for trout.
Suwannee grouper fishers sit ‘on ready’ for another window of weather nice
enough to troll Stretch 25 or 30 lures.  They know that sizable gags will be
waiting in water at least 30-feet deep.
The freshwater report doesn’t change much this week---speckled perch are
still the best target in nearby waters and those in Orange Lake are biting
best.  Several anglers using minnows and jigs took crappie limits Sunday and
Monday.  Fishers moving closer to shore in search of a wind break have been
surprised to find lots of fish in water just 4-to-5 feet deep.
And that’s this week’s report.
Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box.

11-29-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
They’re not real big on average---and are nowhere near the hardest-fighting
of the native North Florida panfish.  So why do speckled perch claim such a
huge army of angling fans?
Some say that folks get so fired up about crappie because of their physical
beauty—but more attribute their great popularity to the fact that they offer
incredibly fine table fare.  The speck’s willingness to bite a variety of
baits and lures, no doubt, plays a big part as well---they are a relatively
easy fish to catch.  And, too, while a very large bluegill, stumpknocker, or
redbelly might touch the 1-pound mark, the crappie doesn’t attain the
revered “slab” status until it approaches 2-pounds.
Come to think of it, the speckled perch is at the top of the light tackle
anglers’ list for a lot of good reasons.
Prime speck season continues with good all-around results from most nearby
lakes.  Orange Lake, though, clearly holds claim to the fastest crappie
action---and the biggest fish.  Saturday, Orange’s specks fed exceptionally
well, and some unreal fish were taken.  Greg Mott and Mike Lucas were
drifting minnows under floats in Orange’s open water while casting Beetle
Spins when one of the floats went under.  Mott worked the heavy fish in and,
at the boat; the Gainesville men saw that they had a super-slab.  Later, on
The Tackle Box’s State-certified scales, the whopping speck weighed
2-pounds, 15-ounces.  That’s the biggest speck we have seen at the store in
a long, long while.  But it wasn’t the biggest caught that day.
Mike Baker of Ocala slow-trolled a curly tail grub tipped with a minnow.
Making a slow turn in the south end of Orange, the dedicated crappie
specialist hooked another of Orange’s outsize slabs.  Later, on taxidermist
Mike Hutto’s tested scales; this fish would weigh 3-pounds, even.  That’s
two of the largest specks seen in these parts in years---and taken from the
same lake, on the same day.
Tidal creeks from Steinhatchee to Waccasassa are producing the largest
numbers of Gulf trout.  Anglers casting Mirrolures, jigs, and live shrimp
are filling limits of these---and hooking lots of redfish, as well.
Although catches of trout in the west coast rivers has been sporadic, at
least one wave of trout has entered the Steinhatchee, Suwannee, and
Waccasassa.  None have been reported to date in the Crystal and Homosassa
Rivers, to their south.
Saturday, John Williams and son, Heath fished with Robbie Rabell out of
Cedar Key.  Action was slow for redfish and trout, so Williams headed for a
set of pilings off Snake Key.  Here, with live shrimp, the three Gainesville
fishers hauled in 30 good-sized sheepshead.
And that’s this week’s report.
Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box.

11-22-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
It happens every year.  Hunting and holiday seasons arrive, cold fronts get
a bit nastier, and thoughts of fishing go out the window for most sportsmen.
  It’s also a regular occurrence that the holiday season anglers score
wonderful catches with little competition.
Bernie Schultz’s sons, Daniel and Trevor, were anxious to do some
fish-catching Sunday.  So around noon, the four of us headed out from
Marjorie Rawlings Park’s boat ramp on Orange Lake.  The weather forecast had
not been promising, but conditions were not really unpleasant.  As we
clipped across the lake, we noted that very few boats were on the water. 
Casting Beetle Spins with gold spinner blades, the boys started catching
fish right away---and the bite remained steady until, in failing light and
under threatening skies, we ran back in.  The afternoon trip had been fun
and productive.  We released quite a few small crappie and one yearling
bass, and back at the park we counted 35 good-sized specks that had made our
“keeper” standard.
It sounds like inshore Gulf fishers also had lots of weekend fun.  At their
first stop Sunday, Captain Jim Keith’s party of five fishermen found
themselves on a mother lode of trout.  One of the five, Perry G. McDonald,
said “I think we might have set some kind of record.”  McDonald noted that
Capt. Jim shut down his big Honda outboard at 7:51 that morning on a Cedar
Key grass flat.  When the thirtieth speckled trout hit the ice, he glanced
at his watch again, amazed that the six had filled a very nice limit by
8:19.  “It was just chaos,” laughed McDonald.  “We caught over 300 for the
day, and 70-to-90 were of legal size.”  Of course, everything taken after
the early 28-minute flurry was carefully released.  The Gainesville fishers
employed Capt. Jim’s favorite technique, fishing Saltwater Assassin grubs
under Cajun Thunder rattling floats.
The weekend parties of Suwannee Captain Jon Farmer reported similar success.
  Farmer’s clients caught sand trout and whiting until they were tired. 
“All of the deeper cuts and channels out of Suwannee were loaded with fish,”
said Farmer.  “You could just drop a jig over the side and one would grab
it---and they’re as big as I’ve ever seen this year.”  Sounds like a
hard-to-resist combination…..
That’s this week’s report.
Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box.

11-15-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
Very nice weather and great Fall fishing---the sweet combination continues.
It seems that, in picking a fishing destination, there really isn’t a bad
choice at present.  Even so, Orange, Lochloosa, Newnans, and the Suwannee
River have to remain at the top of the list for freshwater trips.  Speckled
perch action is very good on both Orange and Lochloosa.  Twenty five-fish
limits of sizable crappie are being pulled from each daily by fishers using
minnows, jigs, Road Runners, and Beetle Spins.
While Newnans is not putting out many limits it, too, is well worth
consideration.  Gilbert Sellers docked at Powers Park Monday morning with 17
Newnans crappie up to 2-pounds, 4-ounces.  He cast Beetle Spins on the
Windsor side of the lake to make his good catch.
In Sunday’s Bass Champions Senior Tour event held out of Marjorie K.
Rawlings Park, Keith Chapman and Don House proved that the bass fishing here
is coming on strong as well.  The Gainesville duo teamed up to easily win
the tourney with a 5-bass limit weighing just over 26-pounds.  Anchoring the
eye-popping bag of fish was a 10.4-pound lunker.
And anglers casting plastic worms, spinnerbaits, and crankbaits on the lower
Suwannee River say that the bass action there is outstanding.
Trout and redfish fans are finding fast action in near-shore hangouts from
Steinhatchee all the way south to Homosassa.  Although most continue to seek
trout on the grass flats, many of the top catches are already coming from
tidal creeks.  Strangely, a few Steinhatchee trout fishers are already
catching lots of trout by trolling slow-sinking Mirrolures in the river---a
technique usually effective only after a hard freeze or two.
Spanish mackerel catches seem to be increasing again.  Capt. Rick Spratt and
his party fished cut mullet near Crystal River’s Number 1A channel marker to
boat limits of Spanish up to a very impressive 29-inches.
Grouper fishing is excellent out of all Gulf ports.  Fishing barely in sight
of the Steinhatchee coastline, Capt. Jim Hooten and friend whipped 8 nice
gags up to 15-pounds Monday while fishing frozen bait on the bottom.  Off
Homosassa, Capt. Bill Musser found good grouper limits for his three-man
party Sunday.  The Musser group’s success came while trolling Mann’s Stretch
lures in water 20-feet deep off Homosassa.
Action is great in the East Coast’s inland waters.  Trout, redfish, and
flounder are all abundant (if on the small side.)  Big sheepshead are
showing up on Matanzas River shell bars, and both pompano and drum are
standard fare in the surf.
And that’s this week’s report.
Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box.

11-08-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
Following a strangely-slow spell, early November fishing action is again
excellent—in both fresh and salt waters.
This should be prime time to catch speckled perch in area lakes---and
starting last weekend, the results finally started supporting that notion. 
Folks drifting the mid-lake depths of Orange and Lochloosa generally caught
crappie very well using live minnows, crappie jigs, Beetle Spins, and Road
Runner spinners.  At Lochloosa Harbor Saturday, lots of anglers came in with
impressive tallies.  One successful pair of anglers, Jerry Cox and Eric
Reynolds, fooled scores of crappie while drifting minnows on
blue-and-chartreuse jigs.  Keeping only the largest, the Keystone Heights
friends still filled a combined 50-fish limit of slabby specks weighing from
about a pound, up to 2 and a half pounds.
Newnans, Santa Fe, and Wauburg Lakes also received honorable mention from
area fishers, but Orange and Loch remain the top nearby destination for
crappie.
Bass anglers in the know all say that the Suwannee River deserves the top
area billing for largemouths.  Plastic worms and crankbaits are attracting
lots of bites along the last twenty miles of the lower Suwannee.
Nice, stable autumn weather also spells great saltwater fishing on the Gulf
Coast.
Steinhatchee, Suwannee, and Cedar Key anglers have had little trouble
finding redfish and trout; but it’s the folks a few miles to their south
that are most excited.  From all reports, the fishing out of Crystal River
and Homosassa is on fire.
Redfish and trout are in good supply in the usual shallows near Crystal
Rivers’ mouth, but inshore fishers seem much more taken with the finny fare
available in King’s Bay—the headwaters of the clear river.  It’s not unusual
for redfish to gang up in the big bay.  Now, though, they’re joined by an
astonishing number of snook.  Now, snook sightings occur pretty often here,
but they have always been notoriously difficult to fool with hook-and-line. 
These snook are willing to bite. Local angler, Matt Beck has released
several recently while casting both live and artificial lures.
It appears that here, more than anywhere else along the Big Bend, offshore
anglers are reveling in their last-minute grouper season reprieve.  Big
limits of grouper are coming in to Crystal River and Homosassa marinas
daily.  Eye-popping catches include some impossibly-huge gags from
incredibly-shallow water.  Homosassa guide, William Toney and his party
pulled up on the right rock Sunday.  After anchoring a fair distance away
from it, the group cast and pulled lures past the sweet spot.  Eight legal
gags ambushed the plugs and wound up on ice.  The largest weighed in at a
whopping twenty-pounds.  The productive rock is in water just nine feet deep.
That’s this week’s report.
Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box.

1-01-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
Without question, the biggest fishing news this week is the huge 11th hour
reprieve granted everyone with any tie to offshore fishing in Florida. 
Federal Judge, John Steele overturned the impending and dreaded
November/December grouper closure, ruling that the two-month closure for all
grouper was too broad and did not comply with rule-making policy.  Only the
red grouper fishery, after all, was in question in the first place.
Now, along with charter captains, boat and tackle dealers and manufacturers,
and countless others with livelihoods at stake, recreational anglers that
typically enjoy good action during this season can feel very relieved.  All
red grouper will still be illegal to possess, but the limit for gags is back
to 5 fish of legal size per person, per day.
In the days ahead of the expected November 1 closure, several anglers ran
offshore for what they thought would be one final dose of grouper-catching. 
Windy conditions kept catches to a minimum, but a few did score nicely. 
Fishing out of Homosassa, Capt. Bill Musser and his party targeted structure
in water 18-to-30-feet deep to whip 9 nice keepers by noon. All nine were
gags.
The breezy conditions also limited catches from inshore waters on the Gulf. 
Soon, trout and redfish will be more abundant in wind-protected tidal creeks
along the coast---but judging from recent reports, water temperatures are
not quite cool enough yet to compel the fish to make that seasonal move.
Freshwater action was also unusually-slow through the weekend. Crappie
fishers complained of having a tough time slowing their drifts sufficiently
to keep jigs and minnows down in the water column.  Typical Lochloosa
speckled perch catches ran in the 10-to-15 fish range, and Orange Lake
results were only a little better.  Peggy Posey of A Family Tradition Fish
Camp on Cross Creek beat the pesky breeze by concentrating close to home. 
She used dead minnows on red-flake crappie jigs to pull 10 specks from the
creek itself, within eyesight of the fish camp.
Other light-tackle anglers found weekend success dunking crickets and
wigglers in the shoreline cover on Orange, Lochloosa, and Newnans Lakes. 
This produced a few bluegill and quite a number of warmouth.
And that’s this week’s report.  Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box.
 

10-25-05                              TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT                                      Fishing is foremost on the minds of few Floridians when a hurricane is
approaching.  Still, dedicated anglers know that action can be excellent
just ahead of a storm’s arrival.  Since Wilma’s projected path was not
particularly threatening here in North Florida, quite a few did plan trips
to the water. And all four days ahead of Wilma’s Monday morning landfall saw
fine fresh and salt water catches.
Capt. Jim Keith and his party would agree that the fishing was great on the
Cedar Key flats last Thursday.  Things actually started a little slow, but
the feed increased as the tide rose.  Casting Salt Water Assassin jigs under
Cajun Thunder rattling floats, the Marshes (visiting from Oklahoma and
Tennessee) boated dozens of speckled and sand trout, several nice Spanish
mackerel, a few small sharks, and redfish up to 28.5-inches.
At the bigbendsportsman.com Fall Splash held out of Steinhatchee over the
weekend, Gainesville Offshore Fishing Club members fared well as usual. 
Rick Davidson’s 6.2-pound red, along with his 2.1 trout won him the
“aggregate catch” prize.  Tommy Thompson boated a 3.1-pound trout to win
that division, and young Cody Blair won the “Kids Kahuna” award.  Despite
the cancellation of the offshore portion of the contest, Jerome and Juanita
Biles ran offshore where their 10-year-old son, Sean wrestled in his largest
grouper ever—a thick 14-pounder.
With the big storm looming, more anglers opted for waters closer to home, so
weekend freshwater catches were more numerous than from the coasts.
Tuffy Wheeler and his ever-present fishing buddy, Booder stopped by the
store Saturday afternoon with a whopping 10.2-pound bass they had just
pulled from a nearby lake.  Floating shiners, Wheeler had also released bass
of 9.1 and 8.2 earlier that day, but decided to show this biggest one around
a bit.  After receiving due admiration, he released the giant largemouth
into Newnans Lake.
When Tuffy invited me to fish his secret spot the next day, I naturally
jumped at the chance.  Surprisingly, the weather was ideal for fishing—dark
and damp.  Given his success the day before, I figured Tuffy and his canine
buddy would show me some really big bass.  I wasn’t wrong.  During a
late-morning flurry of bites, the veteran big-fish specialist hauled in
lunkers that weighed 9.6 and 9.8-pounds on his hand-held digital scales. 
Veeery impressive.
Weekend speckled perch results were also good, with Lochloosa and Orange
Lakes again yielding the top creels.  The specks here are still out in
deeper water and taking crappie jigs and live minnows best.  On Saturday
alone, slab specks weighing 2-pounds 2-ounces, 2-04, and 2-05 were weighed
at A family Tradition Fish Camp on Cross Creek.
And that’s this week’s report…good fishin’ from The Tackle Box.
 

10-18-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
There are weeks when it’s not easy to find truly good fishing bets to pass
on, but presently, that’s anything-but the case.  Along with this beautiful
stretch of fall weather have come far more good reports than we can fit into
this space.
Excellent saltwater action has been the rule for a while now, and the good
trout, redfish, and grouper stories from the gulf have not let up. 
Steinhatchee-to-Suwannee and Crystal River-to-Homosassa seem to be the most
productive coastal zones for trout and reds that seem most abundant in
unusually-shallow water.  There are only a few days left to get in some
grouper action before the recently-mandated November and December closure. 
The top spots for this appear to be Steinhatchee and Homosassa, where nice
limits of gags can be found in water just 30-to-35 feet deep.
The freshwater action that sputtered over recent weeks has improved
dramatically.  Redbellies and bass are keeping Suwannee and Santa Fe River
anglers happy, and crappie in nearby lakes appear to have finally realized
that the water is cooling down and it’s time to feed.
Folks drifting minnows and chartreuse, green, and white Hal Fly Jigs in
water from 6-to-9 feet deep are finding Lochloosa specks more than willing
to bite.  Still, the largest seen at Lochloosa Harbor Fish Camp---and from
Newnan’s Lake---have been just a little over a pound.  For ‘slab’ specks,
Orange Lake is, hands down, the place to go.  Outsize specks seen over and
since the weekend at A Family Tradition Fish Camp on Cross Creek include Rae
Guinn’s 2-pounder, Alfred Thomas’ 2-04, and Carl Young’s thick 2-pound,
9-ounce specimen. Young had 19 other big specks to go with his super-slab. 
John Isaac had 18 nice specks up to 2-02.  And seven-year-old Richard Cobb
used his trusty SpongeBob rod and reel to subdue the pound-and-a-quarter
speck that has him on top in the youth division of the fish camp’s monthly
‘big speck’ contest.
While most thoughts here are on the suddenly-active big crappie, Randall
Tate and his fishing buddy proved that warm-weather panfish can still be
pulled from Orange as well.  Monday, they docked with a fine 70-fish mix of
bluegill, warmouth, and shellcracker they tempted with grass shrimp.
And that’s this week’s fishing report.
Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box.
 

10-11-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
An unkind combination of circumstances has made things pretty deserted of
late in offshore Big Bend waters.  The newly-reduced grouper bag limit,
recent outbreak of Red Tide, and the soaring price of gas have
understandably caused most gulf anglers to place grouper fishing on the
‘back burner.’  Only one thing can cause an angler to forget these
obstacles---and that thing is happening.
A few offshore anglers, realizing that they had better get a big dose of
grouper-catching in before the recreational season closes for November and
December, have reported very good action out of several gulf ports.  Take,
for instance, Tommy and Jennifer Bullington.  The Adel, Ga. couple fished
Saturday out of Steinhatchee.  Idling over a patch of live bottom only
12.5-miles off Marker One, their recorder suddenly showed lots of fish. 
They anchored and dropped squid to the bottom, just thirty feet below.  In a
short time, their fish box contained a six-fish grouper limit that included
a pair of 30-inch gags---very impressive for a spot so near shore.
While the Bullingtons were scoring big offshore, many more inshore anglers
were also finding success.  George Hagan and Al Lancaster cast jigs in the
shallows south of the Steinhatchee River to box nine good trout up to
26-inches, and a pair of 25-inch redfish.  The Georgia buddies returned to
the productive flat on Monday to repeat the good catch.
Impressive results from the weekend and early this week came also from
Suwannee, Cedar Key, Waccasassa, Crystal River, and Homosassa.
On the East Coast, big ‘bull’ reds dominate the inshore report.  Folks
soaking live or cut mullet at Matanzas Inlet are hooking reds far too large
to keep with great regularity.  Big speckled trout are also a top bet in the
inland waterway---but only at night.  Savvy locals are busting very large
trout while fishing live shrimp around the lighted boat docks in the wee
hours.  The most important trick is to be stealthy and make the bait look
natural.  These guys use only a number six Kahle hook in the shrimp---no
weight at all.  Bass fishing continues to slowly improve in most area lakes and rivers as
water temps move downward, but it’s the speckled perch that most freshwater
fishers are eyeing with most anticipation.  Orange, Lochloosa, and Newnan’s
Lakes are already producing pretty good numbers of specks from their deeper,
open waters.  Most anglers are releasing the smaller crappie.  Even when
taking only the better-than-hand-size fish, 20-to-30 fish catches are
common.   And that’s this week’s report.
Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box.
 

09-27-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT 
Between storms and Red Tide in the Gulf, and over spraying of herbicide in
local lakes, this has been a particularly challenging late summer season for
anglers.  Through it all, the fall season has arrived to surprisingly good
all-around fishing. With almost no competition from fellow anglers, folks casting grub tail jigs and topwater lures are enjoying excellent trout and redfish action out of most Gulf ports.  Casting Normark Skitter Pops off Rock Point near Steinhatchee, Jason and Janice Oliver limited on trout and redfish both
Friday and Saturday.  Friday was especially good to the Lula, Ga. couple, as
their reds were stout 26-inchers and none of their ten trout measured under
18-inches.
Ten guides took 30 employees of the Caldwell Group to the Crystal
River/Homosassa flats Monday and Tuesday.  The workers represented part of
the company’s top sales people in the Southeast, and were being rewarded
with the trip to Crystal River’s Plantation Inn.  They could choose golf, a
health spa, or guided fishing trips.  The majority picked ‘fishing,’ and
were happy they did.  Several said they had experienced the best
fish-catching of their lives.  Redfish, trout, mangrove snapper, and Spanish
mackerel were the top targets.
Anglers working the inland waters of the Atlantic Coast say that tarpon
suddenly seem to be everywhere.  A few silver kings have been jumped with
artificial plugs, but most have fallen for live mullet.  Aside from the
tackle-busting tarpon, flounder are the best bets in the Intracoastal
Waterway.
While speckled perch action continues to build and bream catches to fade, a
handful of fishers still manage to haul in big catches of bream.  Fishing
grass shrimp in Lochloosa Sunday, Billy Kidd and Randall Tate boxed a nice
bluegill, shellcracker, and warmouth mix of 62 fish.
Plenty of crappie limits are being pulled from Lochloosa’s depths, but on
average, the larger specks are coming from the lake at the other end of
Cross Creek. Roberta Culbreath was drifting a minnow in Orange’s open water
Sunday when a 2-pound, 1-ounce slab pounced on it.
Monday, Donnie Bauknight docked at A Family Tradition Fish Camp with 23
Orange Lake specks—pretty much an average number.  This, though, was far
from an average catch.  The total weight of the stringer was 38-pounds.
Bass anglers enjoyed good weekend action on both lakes, but unlike last
weekend, no lunker fish were reported.
And that’s this week’s report.
Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box.

 09-06-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
Football season is here, and the first slight twinges of fall can be felt.
They might not be aware of the first fact, but speckled perch certainly have
reacted to the second.
In fact, there may not be a better indication that the season is changing
than by gauging the diminishing bream action against the increasing activity
of crappie.  That ‘changing of the panfish’ is clearly at hand.  The
bluegill that reigned through the hot months as the top target of light
tackle and cane pole enthusiasts will soon cease to gather around trees,
pads, and grass.  Specks, on the other hand, will begin to feed like there’s
no tomorrow out in mid-lake depths on North Florida lakes.
Studious anglers that keep track of these things can mark the just-passed
Labor Day weekend on their calendars as the time that the crappie first
celebrated the fall of 2005.
In spite of a pesky wind and intermittent rain, fishers that spent the Labor
Day weekend on Orange and Lochloosa Lakes were on hand for the specks’
initial cool-weather feed.  Dale Schock and Mike Figler fished minnows and
small jigs in water 6-to-8-feet deep on Lochloosa Saturday.  At noon, the
Jacksonville pair already had 25 good fish, so they took a break at
Lochloosa Harbor.  After the siesta, they bounced back through the chop to
the lake’s north end.  Only keeping the larger fish, they boxed 20 more. 
“The windier it got, the better they bit,” said Schock.  Robbie and Rachel
Smith docked with 49 Lochloosa specks, and the Goodwins finished with 22
nice-sized fish.  The crappie bite will only improve as water temperatures
ease downward over the coming months.
The less-than-ideal weekend weather was more damaging to saltwater angling. 
Gulf Coast fishers offered only a handful of trout and redfish reports, and
even Steinhatchee and Homosassa scallopers found the shellfish-gathering
tough.  The last day of scallop season, by the way, is Saturday, September
10th.
The most noteworthy weekend saltwater catch was another of those
out-of-place species—again out of Homosassa.  A trout angler fishing shrimp
within easy sight of land fooled instead a yellowtail snapper.  The fish was
on the small side at 13-inches, but is the second of these taken near
Homosassa in recent weeks.
And that’s this week’s report.
Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box.

08-30-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
Remembering last year’s hurricane season, most North Central Florida
residents feel fortunate these days to have been spared the nightmare that
Florida Panhandle, Louisiana and Mississippi residents are going through. 
After watching storms and battling the worst of the summer heat, many locals
are starting to think about heading back to the water---and they will likely
be pleased at the late-summer action that waits.
Just a few days remain in this year’s scallop season---and these will
probably offer the best shellfishing yet.  The clear flats a few miles north
of Steinhatchee and the long zone of spotty bottom off the St. Martin’s Keys
(just above Homosassa) are the spots to head from now through September
10th.
Shrimping in the St. John’s River seems to be finally improving to the point
of being a worthwhile pursuit.  The shrimp run started late this year, and
the crustaceans are still smaller on average than most folks would prefer. 
Also, a potentially-dangerous blue green algae bloom has some thinking twice
about spending lots of cast-netting time on the big river.
Inshore saltwater action is good on both coasts.  On the gulf side, redfish,
trout, and Spanish mackerel stories have ranged from decent to excellent
lately.  Cedar Key fishers have found plenty of all three; with reds
abundant on shell bars near high tide, trout loaded on the flats south of
Snake Key, and Spanish tearing through baitfish on Seahorse Reef when the
minnow schools are present.
Inland waterway anglers are finding nice numbers of redfish and flounder
near Matanzas Inlet, and unusually-large numbers of gafftopsail catfish are
in the river as well.  While not a widely-sought species, these are a very
edible and hard-fighting fish.  One jumbo 12-pounder was boated over the
weekend.
Fishing in local lakes is also good.  Bluegill limits remain common on
Orange, Lochloosa, and Newnans Lakes—with both crickets and grass shrimp
producing.  Lochloosa and Orange Lake speckled perch are already showing
early signs of the activity that normally commences when the nights begin to
cool noticeably.  Fair numbers of near-slabs can be found by drifting
minnows in the mid-lake depths.And that’s this week’s report.
Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box.
 
 

08-22-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
As one ‘special season’ on the Gulf Coast winds down, another on the
opposite side of Florida is gathering steam.
With lots of early-season rainfall and unusually-dark grass flats, the
Steinhatchee scalloping season has been little better than a bust. 
Fortunately, the flats north of the river have cleared over recent weeks,
and scalloping off Dallas Creek and Grassy Island will be excellent for
shell fishers able to take late-season trips there before the season’s
September 10 closure.  The best Big Bend scallop area this season has been
the large, sandy flat off the St. Martin’s Keys between the Crystal and
Homosassa Rivers.  In this area, the final two weeks of the season will also
offer scallop fans plenty of jumbo bivalves.
Lots of folks were beginning to worry that saltwater shrimp had skipped this
year’s spawning run up the St. John’s River.  Happily, they have finally
started to show up.  They’re small and nearly a month late, but at least
present.  Cast-netters as far upriver as Palatka are gathering fair numbers
of shrimp, but so far, they’re a bit small for eating.
Redfish continue to bite well on shell bars and grassy points all along the
west coast---- good reports came in this week from Suwannee, Cedar Keys,
Waccasassa, Crystal River, and Homosassa.  Considering the heat, speckled
trout are being unusually cooperative this season.  Surface lures are
calling up nice-sized fish in water 5-to-8 feet deep off Cedar Key and
Waccasassa during early morning hours; and grubtail jigs fished under Cajun
Thunder rattling floats are working through the day.  Often, August trout
fishers have to move out into more than 15-feet of water to find sizable
fish, but the deepest anyone has mentioned for trout catches this summer has
been 12-feet.
Spanish mackerel catches have been consistently good on sandy humps off
Crystal River, Seahorse Reef off Cedar Key, and Spotty Bottom off Suwannee. 
If they’re this plentiful in August, the upcoming fall run is likely to be a
barn-burner.
Bass are generally tough to locate in nearby fresh waters these days, but
bluegill action remains dependable for cane-pole fishers using grass shrimp
and crickets---especially on Orange, Lochloosa, and Newnan’s Lakes. 
And that’s this week’s report.
Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box.

08-16-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
On most local fresh waters that haven’t been wrecked by the DEP’s
overwhelming application of herbicide, the bluegill bite is again gathering
steam as the August full moon approaches.  Newnans and Orange seem to have
produced the top results this week—to cane pole fishers using grass shrimp
and crickets for bait.  In a month or two, the best panfishing bet will
shift to speckled perch---but for now, bream remain this areas’ top fresh
water target.  Four Newnans Lake cane pole specialists popped in the store
Tuesday to report filling bream limits, and Sonny Redmon maxed out on Orange
Lake panfish both Monday and Tuesday..
Still, by far, the best fishing stories from the last several days have come
from coastal waters.
Decades ago, when even seasoned redfishers believed that their favorite fish
couldn’t be caught until fall, a couple of young anglers found that they
could find large summertime spot tails by casting bass lures around certain
Waccasassa Bay grassy points around high tide.  Through the years, they
would come to target the full moons during the hottest months as the best
time to find bull reds with spoons and surface baits.
These days, none of this is any longer secret. But although lots of fishers
chase hot-weather reds along the Gulf Coast, this year’s anything-but-banner
redfishing has inspired less than the usual enthusiasm.
Sometimes things change quickly on the Gulf fishing scene, and redfish are
suddenly in all the right spots from Homosassa to Horseshoe.  Cedar Key and
Waccasassa Bay anglers caught and released loads of reds over the weekend. 
The abrupt arrival of unusually-chunky reds prompted Spec Hayward of the
Waccasassa Fishing Club to say, “I don’t know where they’ve been, but they
sure had plenty to eat wherever it was.”
Dog Days speckled trout action is clearly above average; and shrimp and jigs
fished under Cajun Thunder floats produced nice weekend limits out of
Suwannee, Cedar Key, Waccasassa, and Crystal River.  Spanish mackerel remain
active and under-pursued on Seahorse Reef.
The Steinhatchee grass flats are finally clearing, and producing better
scalloping results with only a couple of weeks left in the season.  Still,
the large flat area off the St. Martin’s Keys near Homosassa remains the top
Big Bend shellfishing choice.  If a scallop-finding score had been kept
between the Steinhatchee and Homosassa/Crystal River areas, the southern
zone would have won this season in a rout.
And that’s this week’s report.
Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box.

08-09-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
Overall catches in salt water and some freshwaters continue to run well
above average for mid-summer.  However, a long-lasting and overwhelming DEP
contract to eradicate water weeds has greatly reduced angling effort in most
nearby lakes.  If you were on hand to enjoy the excellent springtime fishing
on Orange and Lochloosa Lakes, but haven’t seen them since, then you would
likely be appalled at the change that the chemicals have brought over the
last two months.  One fisher said he couldn’t believe he was on the same
lake.
Hopefully, allotments for the weed-killing compounds will run out before
there’s nothing left on the lakes vegetation-wise at all.
Newnans Lake has, so far, escaped the full brunt of the chemical blanket,
and bluegill fishing here is great.  Dozens of bank fishers and boaters
using crickets, grass shrimp, and worms have pulled in fine bluegill limits
every day for a week.
Not as many anglers are planning trips to the gulf these days, and that’s
fine with those that are.  They have some top-notch fishing and scalloping
all to themselves.  Trout limits remain common---and it’s not necessary to
seek them on the deepest flats like it often is during the summer heat. 
Surface lures, grubtail jigs, and live and cut baits are all accounting for
lots of good trout out of every port from Horseshoe Beach to Homosassa.
Redfish action has only improved as the shallows have heated up.  Capt. John
Leibach and friends hauled in around a hundred sizable reds Saturday near
Pepperfish Keys.  They also boated several nice trout and released three
huge black drum.
Suwannee and Cedar Key anglers are finding large Spanish mackerel on
Seahorse Reef and Spotty Bottom, and in water at least 40 feet deep, grouper
limits are not hard to find.  Of course, grouper limits are easier to fill
starting today---with the new, stricter regulations in place.
While scalloping remains best between Homosassa and Crystal River,
Steinhatchee shellfishers enjoyed their best weekend of the entire season. 
A rare combination of clearer water and bright sunshine enabled many to
collect limits of the prized bivalves north of the river near Grassy Island
and Piney Point.
And that’s this week’s report.
Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box

08-02-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
With the arrival of the Dog Days of summer, angling activity on local waters
has diminished.  This, of course, is a normal and expected happening.  Since
water levels are in such nice shape this year, we had hoped that this might
be an above-average season.  At present, though, it appears that very hot
weather has brought with it pretty standard fare.
In fresh waters, bass are largely inactive during the heat of the day, and
not many bassers seem to fish at night any more. Following an outstanding
mid-July flurry, hot-weather-loving bluegill and warmouth have lately been
less than eager to jump on the crickets, grass shrimp, and wigglers offered
by cane pole fishers.
Even the two special opportunities that are normally going on at this time
of year, scalloping and shrimping, are not firing on all cylinders.  The
usually-clear flats between Steinhatchee and Pepperfish Keys are dark this
season, and have yielded few of the popular shellfish. Steinhatchee scallop
seekers have managed to locate one productive zone–a few miles north of the
river near Grassy Island. This is, however, a relatively small area and said
to be mighty crowded on weekends. Fortunately, there is one excellent
stretch of gulf, where scallopers are picking up limits with great
regularity. That’s the expanse of sand and grass off the St. Martin’s Keys,
near the Homosassa Rivers’ mouth. Although there is a lot of competition
here from other shellfishers, this area is large enough to accommodate
everyone. Some folks are using ramps at Crystal River–then making the longer
run south to the scalloping hotspot in an effort to avoid
crowded-boat-ramp-headaches.
The second seasonal opportunity, and highly anticipated by many, has simply
not happened at all as yet. The run of saltwater shrimp up the St. John’s
River is usually going strong by August—but locals that religiously keep
track of their progress say that the river shrimp have not arrived in any
kind of numbers.
That leaves only one fishing category to cover—and, thankfully, saltwater
fishing has remained good this far into the summer heat. The best reports
have come from south of Cedar Keys. Speckled trout are taking cut bait and
grubs on deeper grass flats, and redfish can be found on grassy points near
high tide. Spoons, shrimp, and cut bait are all accounting for reds near the
upper end of the 18-to-27-inch legal range. Spanish mackerel are often
mentioned by gulf fishers these days, and big cobia are still around to test
tackle.  Inland waters on the East Coast are also a good angling bet, producing nice
catches of flounder, redfish, and increasing numbers of mangrove snapper.
And that’s this week’s report. Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box.

07-26-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
Just ahead of last week’s full moon, every North Florida angling zone we
cover was sporting at least one exceptional bite.  Several area lakes
produced consistent 50-bream stringers, hot-weather trout were unusually
active on gulf flats, and anglers casting the East Coast inland waters were
enjoying the fastest flounder bite in years.  While things have settled into
more standard mid-summer fare since the moon began to wane, action remains
at least a little above par.
Anglers casting the strangely-deserted grass flats just south of
Steinhatchee are finding good numbers of Spanish mackerel and bluefish
chasing baitfish schools.  Their primary targets, however have been scarce
here.  Some believe the trout, like the scallops, have slipped away into
more saline haunts.  Finally, a few Steinhatchee scallop-seekers have
located a concentration of bivalves and filled limits this week.  The
productive area is the large sandy stretch off Grassy Island, about six
miles north of the river.
Redfish and trout catches remain good on the flats off Suwannee and Cedar
Key, but camps and marinas are hearing fewer Spanish and cobia stories.
The clear flats between Crystal River and Homosassa hold this season’s
motherlode of scallops.  Last weekend, several scallopers returned to
McRae’s at Homosassa complaining.  Not that they hadn’t found plenty of
shellfish---that they had filled their limits too quickly.
Last week’s bluegill outbreak was most unusual for mid-July, and it was
surprising to see hundreds of area cane-polers ready to fall out in wilting
heat to reap their share of the sudden bounty.  Newnans and Orange Lakes
continue to produce nice bunches of bluegill and warmouth—but for now, the
all-out bite appears to be finished. Bream enthusiasts will, no doubt, again
pay close attention to Newnans’ shady shallows as the August moon nears its
‘full’ stage. 
And that’s this week’s report.
Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box.

07-19-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
The area fishing scene quickly returned to normal following another
hurricane scare a little more than a week ago.  Fresh water action actually
never did really diminish—just the number of fishers.
Newnans has been the hottest of all local lakes in the bream department. 
Pat LeBlanc and William Bradshaw fished the cypress trees on Newnans’ north
end late last week.  With crickets set 18-to-24 inches under tiny floats,
they pulled in a good mess of huge, two-hand bluegill.  LeBlanc offered this
advice to anyone looking to duplicate their success—“just keep a constant
look out for wasp nests.”
Friday, Jimmy Johnson and Chris Allen came into the store with a 6-foot
stringer nearly filled with bluegill, shellcracker, and catfish.  The
stringer was so heavy that Johnson had to tie a big stick on the end to pick
it up.  Amazingly, the fishermen had pulled all these in while fishing from
shore at Palm Point.  Word got out quickly, and Saturday morning, 18
vehicles were parked along Lakeshore Drive at the Palm Point Park entrance. 
Since then, the vehicle count at the city-owned park has numbered in the
twenties each day, and countless fish have fallen to shorebound fishers
using live worms and crickets for bait. 
Orange Lake is another top panfishing bet.  Fishing grass shrimp Thursday
with Billy Evans, Rhesa Bostick hauled in a giant Orange Lake bluegill that
would weigh 1-pound, 6-ounces on our certified scales.
Doris Sellers and Alberta Taylor rented a boat from Family Tradition Fish
Camp on Cross Creek, and eased out into Orange.  They decided to try one of
the first beds of lily pads they came to.  In this spot, the ladies pulled
in 45 bream, 25 specks, and 6 catfish.  They used grass shrimp for bait.
The scalloping scene is very different this season.  Instead of crowding the
now-dark Steinhatchee grass flats, the masses of shellfish seekers are
snorkeling the clear flats off the St. Martins Keys, near the Homosassa
Rivers’ mouth.  One report had 700+ boats in this zone last Saturday---and
almost all of these boats filled scallop limits.
Saltwater fishing has held up well in the summer heat.  Trout and Spanish
mackerel catches have been great out of Cedar Key and Suwannee, and redfish
and flounder are biting well at Matanzas Inlet, despite Matanzas River’s
dark, tannin-stained water.  And that’s this week’s report.
Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box.

07-12-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
Every Tuesday, we call fish camps and marinas for the stories and reports
later relayed to area anglers in this report.  I really didn’t expect there
to have been much fishing activity while checking with marinas along the Big
Bend coast today, and sure enough, there wasn’t.  I did learn, however, that
gulf coast businesses received more damage from the effects of Hurricane
Dennis that I had expected.
At Homosassa, Nancy Bushey of McRae’s said that the storm-pushed tide rose
Sunday at the alarming rate of 4-inches per hour.  After all, though, the
biggest problem here in the aftermath was about three inches of river sludge
standing in the bait house.
With the buffer of King’s Bay working in their favor, the Crystal River
folks at Pete’s Pier watched water rise to within 6-inches of the store. 
Fortunately, that was as far as it got. Even with 2 ½ feet of water over the
docks, the big vessels moored there caused and received only minor damage.
The water, 3-feet above normal high tide, also failed to reach the store at
the Waccasassa Fishing Club.  Speck Hayward said there was one brief, fierce
storm cell that took a number of limbs down, and minor damage from them was
the worst that Dennis could send to the Gulf Hammock resort.
From Cedar Key northward, things got worse.  Battering waves took out the
Island Hopper boat docks.  The sandwich shop at Fishbonz was flooded, but
fortunately, the adjacent tackle store was built a little higher, and was
spared inundation from the impressive storm surge.  Cedar Key Marina also
came out well.  They had a few docks washed out—but these have already been
repaired.
Steinhatchee marinas took the hardest hit in our coverage area.  The storm
surge at high tide Sunday pushed four extra feet of water up the river,
flooding every one.  At the Sea Hag, water was 22-inches up the tackle store
wall, but the owners expected to be up and running again by Thursday.  Ideal
Marina’s Jody Peters said that their goal was to have the store and boat
lift back in operation by the weekend.  The motel rooms, though, will take a
little longer.  Henry Garcia of West Wind Fish Camp had 25-inches of water
in his tackle shop—and rampant flooding in his hotel rooms.  Garcia said
this is the seventh time in his 20-years here that this kind of flooding has
occurred.   “Afraid I’ve got no fishing report this week,” he said, “I did
see a mullet jump a few minutes ago.”
Glad these folks can keep a sense of humor in a tough time.
That’s this week’s report.
Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box.

07-05-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORTHeat and rain are companions of the summertime fisher in Florida.  To be
dependably successful, one must become pretty comfortable with both.
Saturday had plenty of each element---but Dwayne Cole knew that the fish
would bite between rain storms.  Drifting minnows in Lochloosa, Cole managed
20 nice speckled perch before noon and had his boat back on the trailer
before the most serious rain arrived.
Other holiday weekend fishers found lots of warmouth willing to bite
crickets and wigglers around south-end trees and pads on Lochloosa.
Orange and Newnans Lakes produced good messes of big bluegill, and folks
casting small lures and spinners with ultra-light tackle pulled in
cooler-full catches of Santa Fe River redbellies.
Saltwater fishing is holding up well despite high—and rising--water
temperatures in the shallows.
The brutes that some gulf anglers love to chase during the warmest months
were hooked pretty often over the weekend.  At Cedar Key alone, several big
cobia and black drum were boated, a couple of folks jumped tarpon, and
sharks were seemingly everywhere.
While speckled trout can still be found on relatively shallow grass flats,
many of the more serious trout fishers are now searching considerably deeper
haunts.  Steinhatchee guides are concentrating in water 8-to-15 feet deep
and they’re finding sizable fish.  Several of them have, however, reported
an unsettling problem.  Opportunistic sharks are taking their hooked trout
completely or in part, while clients are pulling them in.  This is happening
often enough that a number of captains have lamented the situation.
And this news, of course, will likely be quite disconcerting to the throngs
of scallopers snorkeling about the nearby shallows.
Opening-week scallop reports, by the way, were pretty good---certainly
better than last year---at Steinhatchee, Horseshoe Beach, Crystal River, and
Homosassa.  Out of Steinhatchee, the water is generally clearer north of the
river, and many scallopers are heading in that direction.  Those that do
head south say they must make it past Rocky Creek before the water clears
sufficiently to see the shellfish.  Arguably, the best scalloping spot of
all so far this season has been the “Birdrack” area off Homosassa and
Crystal River.
And that’s this week’s report.
Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box

 06-28-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
Few season openings in the realm of outdoor sports draw as much enthusiasm
as the one at hand.  Most likely, scalloping season is attractive to so many
folks because anyone can succeed at gathering the tasty shellfish.  It’s not
uncommon to see a family houseboat carrying three generations on the clear
Steinhatchee or Crystal River grass flats.  And all aboard will hit the
water in search of the blue-eyed prizes.
As usual, preseason scouting trips indicate good numbers of scallops present
near Steinhatchee, and Homosassa---but again as usual, their average
early-season size leaves something to be desired.  The big shark scare
that’s presently in the minds of Floridians is another potential minus
heading into the season.  But don’t look for these drawbacks to discourage
many in the army of hardcore scallop-seekers that views July first as the
top on-the-water tradition of the year.
The mass of boats that will converge on the zones known to hold lots of
scallops will create at least one big ‘minus’ for folks trying to catch
hook-and-line fare.  Most Steinhatchee inshore fishing guides dread the big
shellfish-gathering season.  Some shift their business waters to gulf
stretches that are not good for scalloping, while others take a month or two
break from guiding.
Earlier this year, anglers found far more trout and redfish near
Steinhatchee, Horseshoe Beach, Crystal River, and Homosassa than on the
darker flats off Suwannee, Cedar Key, and Waccasassa.  Fortunately for
hook-and-line fishers, the in-between stretch of coast has really come
around over the last month, and fishers should have plenty of productive
water free from the shellfishing masses.
Although many are short of the 15-inch minimum length, speckled trout are
abundant on Cedar Key flats.  Many successful anglers are casting jigs with
grub tails--some under Cajun Thunder rattling floats.  Waccasassa Bay is
likewise producing lots of trout—and Waccasassa anglers have come home with
some of the top redfish tales from anywhere along the coast.  Live shrimp,
cut bait, and gold spoons are all redfish catchers when cast around grassy
points and creek mouths near Waccasassa.  Just make sure your shallow
redfishing is done near high tide.  The Bay is a well-known propeller
destroyer for anglers unfamiliar with it.
Flounder are the top targets of East Coast anglers working inland waters. 
Most reports are similar, and include good numbers of flatfish taken in
Matanzas River by anglers working jigheads with live mud minnows down sandy,
sloping dropoffs.  Most of the flounder are 13-to-17-inches long.
Bluegill remain the stars of the freshwater scene.  Most are congregated
around shallow cover in Orange, Lochloosa, and Newnans Lakes.  Crickets,
grass shrimp, and wigglers are the favorite baits.
And that’s this week’s report.
Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box.

06-21-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
Ah, summer…..long days, wicked heat, ‘skeeters, and those afternoon and
evening thunderstorms.  Along with these trials, local anglers know that
this is a great season for fish-catching---especially during years like
this, when our lakes and rivers have plenty of water.
Close to home, folks fishing ahead of the full moon that just passed pulled
in plenty of Wauburg, Orange, Lochloosa, and Newnans Lake bluegill and
warmouth.  And Lochloosa and Newnans continue to produce a handful of
nice-sized specks for crappie diehards that drift out deep with minnows. 
David Hood and Steve Murray split their fishing day Sunday between
Lochloosa’s deep open water and its shallower vegetation.  The result was a
mixed bag of 50 sizable specks, bluegill, shellcracker, and warmouth.  The
local anglers fooled the specks with live minnows, and the rest bit
crickets.
The Suwannee River rose a few feet following heavy rains to our north,
slowing its output of bass and panfish.  Savvy river fishers simply took
their crickets, earthworms, and small spinners around the corner to the
much-clearer Santa Fe River for some fine Fathers Day Weekend redbelly
tallies.
The hottest spot for gulf coast speckled trout fishing seems to have shifted
southward from the Steinhatchee and Homosassa flats to the Cedar Key area. 
Live shrimp, cut bait, and grub tail jigs are all helping anglers fill
limits around Snake, Seahorse, and North Keys.  The cobia migration is at
full speed, and lots of big fish are being spotted and hooked here, as well.
  Like cobia, tarpon are on hand.  Many more are spotted than are
hooked---and many more are hooked than landed.  Add Spanish mackerel to the
great fishing choices off Suwannee and Cedar Keys.  Spotty Bottom and
Seahorse Reef have held big numbers of the sharp-toothed predators of late.
East Coast action is excellent.  Impressive catches of flounder, whiting,
and black drum are coming from inland waters near Matanzas Inlet, and
offshore anglers are scoring with a wide variety of striking and bottom
fish.  Fred Miles, Frank Segui, and Jason Hadjis found an amazing array of
sought-after species about 30 miles off Matanzas Sunday.  The trio fished
for a while on the bottom to box a bunch of grouper and snapper.  Then, they
were equally successful fishing for upper-water-column feeders---adding
cobia, dolphin, and kingfish to their eye-popping catch.
And that’s this week’s report.
Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box.
 

06-14-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
This season’s first named storm churned up the Gulf of Mexico last weekend,
pretty much nixing angling efforts throughout the state.
Although weekend reports were very scarce from most of the gulf coast, the
21st Annual Cobia Tournament held by the Homosassa Fish & Game Association
went on as planned---and catches were surprisingly good.  The 48.08-pound
ling boated by Louis Bredice topped the 150-boat field, winning the happy
angler a fat $5500.00 paycheck.  In the grouper category, David Bozeman
braved the sloppy seas to find the winning 15-pound gag; and Greg Accola’s
3.60-pound ‘speck’ topped the trout division.
Things should calm down and clear up along the coast this week—and good
trout, redfish, grouper, and mackerel results should resume.

We enter storm season this year with area lakes and rivers in near-ideal
shape.  Another big dose of tropical storm rainfall could give us
too-much-water fits---but for now, the freshwater situation is just right.
Good bass catches are much harder to come by since the early-summer heat
started bearing down, but anglers casting plastic worms in the Ocklawaha
River just below Rodman Dam have been hooking lots of good-sized fish. 
Fishers in boats and casting from shore are reporting success here.
Panfish, of course, are the freshwater kings during hot weather, and they
are biting well.  Newnans, Orange, and Lochloosa Lakes are good bets for
bluegill and warmouth—with crickets, grass shrimp, and red worms all good
baits.  Fans of redbreasted sunfish (more commonly called ‘redbellies’) are
even more excited than usual now that the prime time for their favorite fish
is here.  Some longtime redbelly fishers say that the colorful, tasty, and
scrappy bream are bigger and more abundant than ever on the Suwannee River
above Fanning Springs.  Popping bugs, Beetle Spins, and tiny crawfish or
grasshopper-imitating lures are all accounting for great catches of our most
beautiful panfish.
And that’s this week’s report.
Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box.

05-31-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
Following an unusual spell of extended spring weather, fish are finally
settling into their standard summertime patterns.  Bass anglers are finding
the midday bite to be increasingly tough to find, and are concentrating
their efforts more during early morning and late evening hours.  A few big
bites can be found during the heat of the day, though.  Saturday afternoon,
big bass specialist, Tuffy Wheeler stopped by the store with a huge lunker
he had just pulled from a smaller, nearby lake.  On our tested scales, the
beauty weighed 12-pounds, 2-ounces.  We were all delighted when Wheeler then
released the giant female into Newnan’s Lake.
Bluegill and warmouth are the most often-caught fish in area lakes, and will
be for a few more months.  The bream are congregated in grass and pads for a
season-long spawning session that will increase around ‘new’ and ‘full’ moon
phases.  Lochloosa, Orange, and Newnans Lakes are the most popular bream
lakes in this area, and crickets, grass shrimp, and worms are the top baits.
  Over the Memorial Day weekend, all three lakes produced panfish very well.
They probably won’t be there for much longer, but gulf coast speckled trout
can still be found on the shallowest flats.  In fact, casters of grubs and
shallow-running artificials are still locating most of the biggest fish in
water less than 3-feet deep near Steinhatchee and Horseshoe Beach. 
Suwannee, Cedar Key, and Waccasassa Bay flats are also loaded with fish. 
One of the top trout-catching tricks is to cast a jighead adorned with a
Saltwater Assassin grub and a Fishbites strip---set under Cajun Thunder
rattling float.
Everyone likes to battle big fish, and this is a top time to expect one to
find your bait.  Early-season cobia are all over the deeper flats.  Dozens
were hooked by holiday weekend anglers—but the 54-inch behemoth taken off
Cedar Key by Capt. Danny Allen’s party was the best fish we know of that was
actually boated.  It is said that the battle lasted for two full hours.
East coast anglers, too, are reporting lots of ling.  Fishing only a couple
hundred yards off the beach just outside Matanzas Inlet Sunday, Fred Miles
whipped two cobia that weighed 25 and 45 pounds.
Spanish mackerel are hard to figure this year---seemingly everywhere one
day, then scarce the next.  Grouper action is excellent in water anywhere
from 30-to 80-feet deep, and bottom fishers are trollers are both scoring
great catches with pleasing consistency.
And that’s this week’s report.
Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box.

 05-24-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
With the building summer heat, things are changing on the North Florida
fishing front.  Most of these changes are positive for saltwater anglers,
but a few are not if you prefer fishing lakes and rivers.
In fresh water, count bass on the ‘not’ side of that ledger.  Just in the
last few days, action in the shallowest cover on most area lakes has
diminished.  Santa Fe and Lochloosa are the best largemouth-producing lakes
right now, and soft plastics remain the most effective lures.  Remember,
Lochloosa and Orange bass from 15-to-24-inches long must be released
immediately.  Last week, I mistakenly reported that range as 14-to-24
inches.  Good anglers will, of course, continue to find fish around deeper
structure---but the ‘easy’ bite along the banks likely is finished for a few
months.  Speckled perch, too, have scattered into the open water depths. 
Occasional crappie will be pulled from the deeper haunts, but twenty
five-fish limits will likely be scarce until fall.
Bluegill and warmouth are the hot weather-loving freshwater species that are
biting best, and they’ll continue to through the summer.  Lochloosa, Orange,
and Newnans Lakes are all producing big numbers of bream, but at present,
Newnans is the hottest panfishing spot of all.  Crickets are the top bait
for Newnans bream.
Salt water fishers are finding increasing numbers of their favorite
targets---fish like trout, redfish, and grouper.  And now, the migrating
species are showing up wholeheartedly.  Spanish and king mackerel are
tearing through baitfish schools off the entire gulf coast, and cobia
stories can be heard after each weekend.  Most of these battles with the
powerful ling end with the fish still swimming, but cobes measuring 43 ½ and
44 ½ inches did hit ice chests last Sunday.  Tarpon, too, are arriving.  On
the clear flats off Homosassa, the arrival of the ‘Silver Kings’ is as
heralded among hard-core fly fishers as is the start of football season to
rabid pigskin fans.  Already, a few Homosassa tarpon in the 100-pound class
have been jumped by fly fishers.
East Coast action is heating up as well.  Cobia are on hand a short distance
off the beaches.  Some are following huge manta rays, and others hanging
with bait pods.  Inland waters are producing reds, trout, mangrove snapper,
and flounder.  Two boats had big flounder catches last weekend at Devils
Elbow Fish Camp.  One group of fishers docked with 17 flatfish, and the
other tallied fourteen.
And that’s this week’s report.
Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box.
 

05-17-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
With stable and nice May weather finally here, fishers in almost all North
Florida waters are scoring excellent catches.
Although the traditional time to seek out speckled perch passed months ago,
it seems that the hatchery-strain crappie in Lochloosa refuse to scatter and
quit biting.  Out of habit, cane pole fishers have mostly moved on to the
shellcracker and bluegill that are beginning to spawn right on schedule. 
But a few trollers of colorful crappie jigs out in open water say that they
can still pull in fifty or more specks a day….
Grass shrimp are the favorite bait here for bream, but they’re very hard to
find this year.  Fortunately, crickets have proved to be a good substitute,
producing plenty of limit catches.  And crickets are actually preferred by
Newnans Lake bluegill fishers that are also finding 50-fish limits daily.
Freshwater anglers are also pleased with the fast bass action in several
area lakes.  Santa Fe, Alto, Crosby, and Hampton are all producing
bragging-size largemouths.  The restrictive largemouth limit in place on
Orange and Lochloosa makes bass fishing there all-but a catch-and-release
affair.  Only three fish may be kept per angler, per day---and none of these
can be between 15"-24" in length.
Very good fishing is now the rule all along the gulf coast stretch we call
the “Big Bend.”  Speckled trout are abundant on the grass flats, and Spanish
mackerel are chasing baitfish on deeper flats and reefs.  In water a little
deeper, king mackerel are likewise following schools of baitfish; and deeper
yet, anglers are finding plenty of grouper.
Just a few miles off Cedar Key lies Seahorse Reef—one of the Big Bend’s
best-known Spanish producing spots.  Only a couple of miles north of the
reef, a zone that locals call ‘The Kingfish Hole” is a very hot spot.  Here,
in water from 22-to-26-feet deep, anglers trolling Stretch 25 lures are
regularly hooking smallish kings and legal grouper.  To the list of popular
game fish present in this zone, add cobia.  Some brutes have been hooked
over the last few days, but few have been captured.
Among favorite angling targets, only redfish are curiously difficult to
locate in the Suwannee/Cedar Key area.  Redfish seekers would likely fare
better in the shallows between Horseshoe Beach and Steinhatchee; and from
Crystal River to Ozello.
East coast fishers are finally spotting some huge cobia following the Manta
rays migrating along the beaches.  Folks casting the inland waters say that
ladyfish, jack crevalle, and bluefish up to 32-inches are tearing through
baitfish schools near Matanzas Inlet.  Any minnow-imitating lures will
produce lots of bites.
And that’s this week’s report.
Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box.

05-10-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
For two months, anglers had said, “If we could only get nice weather over a
weekend, we’d kill the fish.”  Last weekend brought ideal fishing weather,
and hundreds of area fishers made good on their promise.
Bass, warmouth, and speckled perch all were caught in good numbers---but
bluegill were the weekend’s freshwater stars.  Cane polers dipping grass
shrimp, wigglers, and crickets in shallower vegetation on Orange and
Lochloosa iced loads of fat panfish.
And many hundreds of thick Newnans Lake bluegill fell for the top bait
there----crickets.  Again, the parking lot at the Powers Park boat ramp was
filled to near capacity for most of the weekend.   As one customer said,
“This is the perfect time to take kids fishing---when the cork is going
under a lot.”
Gulf anglers also took advantage of the great weather, and fine trout,
mackerel, and grouper catches were seen all along the coast.  The big
“gator” trout that had been seen only in the Steinhatchee and Horseshoe
Beach areas showed that they were also present on the Cedar Key flats, and
in Waccasassa Bay.  Suspending Mirrolures, Saltwater Assassin grubs, and the
usual live and natural baits all accounted for top-notch trout tallies. 
Spanish mackerel are in good supply---and their numbers continue to grow on
deep flats off Crystal River, Seahorse Reef off Cedar Key, and Spotty Bottom
off Suwannee.  King mackerel seem more abundant this year than in a very
long time---and some giants are among them.  The 41st Annual Saltwater
Fishing Tournament of the Builder’s Association of North Central Florida was
held at Crystal River Saturday.  Of the hundreds of anglers and spectators
at the tournament weigh-in, every one knew the kingfish division was sewn up
when two big men struggled to lift and lug a large garbage can into the
weigh line.  Sticking out of the top of the can was nearly two feet of king
mackerel tail.  That fish would end up weighing better than 40-pounds, and
the teams’ three-king aggregate weight would hit the 78-pound mark.
Other impressive winners at this decades-old event included a 5-grouper
catch that weighed 63-pounds, and a ten-trout limit that hit the 20-pound
mark.
That’s this week’s report.
Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box.

05-03-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
Somehow, weekends have managed to offer less-than-inviting fishing weather
through most of this spring season.  If not for the fortunate anglers able
to hit the water on the ideal weekdays, we wouldn’t know just how good the
fishing really is.
Freshwater action is excellent in pretty much all of the nearby, North
Central Florida lakes.  Right here behind the store, bluegill, warmouth, and
catfish are all keeping cane pole fishers happy in Newnans Lake.  Fishers
dipping crickets around various kinds of near-shore cover are pulling
cooler-full catches in daily, and it’s really good to see the parking lot
full every day at the Newnans Lake boat ramp.  That hasn’t happened in
several years.
Orange and Lochloosa also rank highly with panfish lovers.  Bluegill and
shellcracker are now the most-sought fish here—and they are being caught
very well.  But it’s a panfish heard about less often that may be the
fastest-biting of all.  In both lakes, folks fishing grass shrimp, crickets,
and red worms are really loading up on warmouth.  This is drawing no
complaints, as many consider warmouth to be the thickest and tastiest of the
summer panfish.
Bass anglers are reporting good action in Orange and Lochloosa, Rodman, and
Santa Fe Lakes; and bassers pitching soft plastics in smaller area lakes
like Little Orange, Alto, Hampton, and Crosby are bragging with the best of
‘em.
The gulf grass flats are slowly warming and clearing—and every day the
fishing seems to improve.  Limits of big, roe-filled speckled trout are
being taken out of every gulf port, but especially-fine catches have come
from the Steinhatchee, Horseshoe Beach, Cedar Key, and Crystal
River/Homosassa flats.  Live shrimp and cut bait are staple trout-catching
baits, and anglers casting artificial lures are doing their best damage with
grubtail jigs in bright colors and suspending Mirrolures.
Spanish mackerel have arrived in force on their spring run, and almost
everyone casting for trout has hooked at least one.  Folks targeting Spanish
are doing best on the deep flats off Crystal River and on Seahorse Reef, off
Cedar Key.  King mackerel seem to be everywhere in water a bit deeper. 
Anglers trolling Mann’s Stretch 25 and 30 lures for grouper are complaining
that the abundant kings are not giving the grouper a chance to run down the
big plugs.  And so far this week, we have heard of more gulf kings than
grouper.
That’s this week’s report.
Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box.
 

04-26-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
Another rough weekend again made things tough on anglers that have only
weekends to fish----but May is here, and the weather is sure to settle down
for at least a couple of months.
The folks that have been thwarted can take heart in the fact that, during
pretty weekdays, fishers have scored very well in fresh and saltwaters. 
Good fish-catching times are coming for all you peeved 9-to-5 working
fishers.
It is a fairly common occurrence that the Suwannee River floods in the
spring.  This is almost always bad for saltwater fishing on the shallower
flats for several miles above and below the river mouth.  So far, while the
Suwannee present flood has reduced clarity and salinity as expected, the
fishing near the river has held up surprisingly well.  Just yesterday,
Suwannee guide, Jon Farmer and his party easily found trout and reds near
the river mouth, and then caught several big Spanish mackerel and bluefish
on Spotty Bottom.  Farmer reports that although the water is dark on the
well-known mackerel zone, it’s “not as bad as usual during a Suwannee
flood.”
Anglers working the top Spanish spot off Cedar Key, just north of Spotty
Bottom are also finding mackerel.  Fishers trolling and casting spoons and
Floreo Jigs on Seahorse Reef have enjoyed fast action on the better days,
wind and weather-wise.
Speckled trout are the most often-mentioned angling target from Cedar Key,
south.  Waccasassa Bay, Crystal River, and Homosassa grass flats are all
loaded with trout—and jigs adorned with colorful grub tails and tipped with
Fishbites strips are producing on the flats out of all these ports.
Freshwater action has been excellent for a few weeks---and just continues to
improve.
Lakes Santa Fe and Rodman are giving up the top bass catches, with George,
Little Orange, and Lochloosa not far behind.  Live shiners and soft plastic
baits are the top largemouth-producing baits.
Bluegill are biting crickets and European nightcrawlers fast on Newnans
Lake---with speckled perch and warmouth common by-catches.  Lochloosa and
Orange also have yielded lots of good mixed panfish catches.  The water
levels of all nearby lakes are great, and any reasonable fishing boat can
take you to the hot fish-catching spots.  For fishers without boats, Rodman
Dam is the top fishing spot.  Bream, catfish, and striped bass are keeping
folks on the bank and pier busy.
And that’s this week’s report.
Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box—the folks you fish with since 1953.

04-19-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
Wind-weary saltwater anglers sang the same sad song following another
blustery (but otherwise beautiful) weekend.  Most offshore fishers were kept
at port by the too-choppy seas, and the few that ventured out despite the
rough conditions reported having little fun.
Even near-shore anglers struggled to fish effectively, as the roiled flats
that had recently cleared a bit again turned dingy.
The inshore water temperatures finally hit the 70-degree mark just ahead of
the latest stretch of chilly nights and wind; but now in most places it has
again dropped below that key mark.  A few weekend trout and Spanish mackerel
catches were registered at Steinhatchee, Suwannee, Cedar Keys, and Crystal
River---but for late April, the results were very sub par, thanks to the
lingering chill and wind.
In the wind-protected inland waters of the east coast, sheepshead remain
plentiful on shell bars and around pilings; and redfish numbers are good on
the flats.  Surf fishers are as pleased as any anglers, catching dependable
whiting along the beaches.  Near Marineland, red and black drum and pompano
are also in good supply.
Freshwater fishers are, on the whole, a satisfied group.  The wind has hurt
catches here, too, but lake casters always have the wind-protected shore to
fall back on.  Bass action remains good on Lake Santa Fe and Alto Lakes. 
Rodman, Lochloosa, Orange, Little Orange, and George Lakes are also
mentioned often these days in the ‘bassing buzz.’   Generally, the
largemouths are being taken in shallower cover, with spinnerbaits and soft
plastics.
Unlike saltwater enthusiasts, area panfishers are not unhappy that water
temps are taking a long time to rise this season.  Water in most lakes
continues to hang in the ‘ideal’ range for speckled perch, and that’s fine
with most cane-polers.  Last Thursday, Robert Miller fished minnows in
Lochloosa’s north end pads to fool 21 sizable specks.  Amazingly, the female
fish in that catch still held large roe.  Warmouth are also biting well in
Lochloosa’s shoreline cover for fishers using live worms, crickets, and
hard-to-find grass shrimp.
Orange Lake has been mentioned less often by panfish specialists, but the
catch we saw at noon today would make anybody want to head straight for the
Marjorie Rawlings boat ramp.  John Courtney of Hawthorne fished minnow/Hal
Fly combinations in water 8-feet deep to take an amazing array of big
panfish.  His cooler contained bluegill, shellcracker, warmouths, and
specks---all taken in only an hour and a half.  We weighed the largest
speck----just one ounce under two pounds.  It’s unusual to find such an
array in relatively deep water, so Mr. Courtney must have located a very
special spot.
Newnans Lake might just be the area’s top bluegill producer right now. 
Cane-pole fishers dipping crickets around north-end brush are pulling out
good catches daily.  And some big specks are still mixed in here as well. 
Late last week, we weighed a fine 1-pound, 9-ounce Newnans speck that took a
cricket intended for a fat bluegill.
And that’s this week’s report.
Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box.

04-12-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
Whether you’re after big fish or small in salt or fresh waters, this is
prime time to do some serious fish-catching.
Although bluegill have finally replaced speckled perch as the fastest-biting
panfish in area lakes, pretty fair numbers of the never-say-die specks in
Orange, Lochloosa, and Newnan’s Lakes continue to show up in cane-polers’
ice chests.  Those fishing grass shrimp are taking the majority of the mixed
bags---and that makes perfect sense, since both panfish seem to relish the
tiny crustaceans equally.  It’s the Newnan’s fishers that have us scratching
our heads.  This has long been considered a ‘cricket lake’ when it comes to
bream fishing, but the bugs are also accounting for continuing---and very
decent---catches of specks.
Bass in this part of Florida are currently involved in some phase of the
spawn.  Most are in the post-spawn phase, some are in the act, and a smaller
percentage is still pre-spawn.  Nearly any lure designed to be fished
shallow can be effective now, but as usual, the artificial bait that is
producing the best catches we know about is the weedless soft plastic.
Whether it’s a craw, a lizard, a tube, or a plain ol’ worm, the soft
plastics are tough to beat in early spring.
Greg Cole was in the store last week to buy a baitcasting reel.  Saturday
morning, along with his Uncle Clay, he was able to use it for the first
time.  Casting a Texas-rigged worm in Lake Geneva’s clear water, the young
angler hooked and landed a whopping 27-inch, ten-pound lunker---the first
fish ever with his new reel.
Shallow grass flats along much of the ‘Big Bend’ coast remain tannin-stained
from the generous rainfall of late.  The suspended sand that further clouded
the shallows following a very windy spell has cleared out, however, and
anglers are reporting no fish-catching problems with the present clarity. 
Nice speckled trout limits are common daily out of all gulf ports, most
taken with the standard favorite baits.
Spanish mackerel are scattered throughout the deeper flats, but not really
‘thick’ anywhere.  The sheepshead bite is still good, with stout limits
reported on natural and artificial reefs off Cedar Key, Suwannee, and
Steinhatchee.  Grouper action is excellent in water at least 35-feet deep. 
And out in 65-feet plus, red snapper are as abundant as anytime in recent
memory.  The season has been closed for them, and that’s forced a lot of
heartbreaking releases---but the new red snapper season will reopen Friday. 
You can bet there are plenty of offshore enthusiasts ‘chomping at the bit’
to hit their top snapper spots next weekend.
And that’s this week’s report.
Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box.
04-05-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORTThe ideal springtime conditions on the heels of ample March rainfall has led to excellent fishing almost everywhere. The season has clearly changed, but we still can’t say that speckled perch have fully yielded to bluegill as the number one panfishing target. Folks fishing with the grass shrimp that each species seems to love equally now report taking mixed bags, with about equal numbers of bream and specks. Lochloosa, Orange, Newnans, Little Orange, Alto, and Hampton Lakes all are producing plenty of panfish; and shore bound anglers armed with earthworms are arriving early at Rodman Dam to claim a good spot for fast shellcracker, bluegill, and speck fishing.  Every week nowadays, we see or hear about big bass catches. Lake Santa Fe and Rodman Reservoir lead the pack of good bass-producing lakes, but Lochloosa and several smaller ponds have yielded some eye-poppers as well. One homeowner on Lochloosa cast a shiner from his boat dock last Friday, and was rightly proud of the result---a 10-pound, 8-ounce beauty. Only the Suwannee and Santa Fe Rivers are not good freshwater fishing bets presently. At flood stage, nobody would expect them to be. If you must   access either river now, both are under a “No Wake/Idle Only” order from the FWC.   Early last week, we couldn’t find a single gulf angler to testify that Spanish mackerel were present in our closest gulf waters. This week, things are very different. Friday morning, six anglers called to say that the Spanish had arrived. In fact, we can pinpoint their arrival on Seahorse Reef to Wednesday, March 30th. The warm-water-loving Spanish might not be exactly ‘thick’ at this point, they’re apparently sizable. Capt. Bill Roberts’ party boated a pair of 6-pounders Thursday while trout fishing near Snake Key. By the weekend, even Steinhatchee trout fishers were catching a few---and experiencing occasional cutoffs.It’s finally safe to say that trout fishing is good all along the gulf coast. Recent windy conditions did stir up the grass flats—and that put the bite off for a few days—but fine trout catches have been the rule so far this week almost everywhere.  Sheepshead action is also great on all of the usual west coast spawning spots. Steinhatchee Reef, Hedemon Reef off Suwannee, and the Steel Tower area off Cedar Key all hold loads of sheepies, and Matanzas River is giving up sheepshead just as well to anglers on the east coast. Capt. Jon Farmers’ party caught all they wanted to clean; then released another “hundred or so pounds” Monday on an artificial reef off Suwannee. Surprisingly, Farmer also hooked and landed a big, 40-pound cobia while fishing the reef---another testament to the fact that the prime gulf water temperature has arrived.And that’s this week’s report.  Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box

3-29-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORTMarch did bring the strong winds it’s famous for, and like always, they messed up lots of fishing trips. Happily, the windy month did bring a good dose of much-needed rain as well, setting up nearby fresh waters to produce great catches through the remainder of spring. And anglers can be hopeful that things will now begin to calm down.  Almost amazingly, many speckled perch in area lakes have not spawned YET.  Not sure we’ve ever seen them wait this long---but it’s probably a good thing they didn’t move shallow on one of those weeks that was rendered unfishable by the wind. Chances are, the crappie will complete their final spawn unmolested anyway, since most anglers are conditioned to move on to other angling targets by April. Early this week, a handful of dedicated perch jerkers reported catching big female specks still full of roe on Lochloosa, Orange, and Santa Fe Lakes.  Bass fishing is very good, with the best action coming from around grass, pads, or brush in shallow water. A few large fish have been hooked by anglers drifting shiners out deep in Rodman and Little Orange Lakes, but shallow is the all-around best bet. Texas-rigged soft plastics are the number one choice in this situation, but it’s a great time to run spinnerbaits through the cover, as well.Water temperatures finally seem to be creeping upwards on the coastal flats.  I’ve heard some veteran Spanish mackerel fishers proclaim that by Easter Sunday, anglers may count on Spanish to be present on Seahorse Reef. Others use the safer standard of “tax day,” April 15th. Looks like the safer group will get it right this year. Not a single Spanish has been reported to us as of today. Out deeper in grouper country, however, anglers have taken a couple of king mackerel—so the mackerel invasion can’t be too far off. Speckled trout action is now pretty good on flats throughout the Big Bend Coast, and redfish are easier to find (but still mostly small.) Every year around this time, some magical point arrives at which the freshwater shallows and gulf flats “come alive” and the fish “go off.” It looks to us like that point is only days away---and maybe just hours.  Don’t miss it!  That’s this week’s report.  Good fishin’ from The Tackle Box.

03-22-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
Although water temperatures remain a few degrees lower than usual for late
March, action for some favorite springtime targets is heating up nicely.
In nearby fresh waters, speckled perch remain the most often-caught panfish.
  Some of the bigger crappie we photographed this week were female fish
still full of roe.  The thick, 2-pound, 6-ounce speck that John Courtney
pulled Monday from Big Orange Lake was one of these.  Cool water temps are
likely the reason for the extended crappie spawn---but, surely, Friday's
Full Moon will finish out the season for spawning specks.  Already, some
fair bluegill results have come from Lochloosa and Newnan's Lakes.
Bedding season for bass seems near its peak, and will probably last for a
few more weeks.  Good bass-catching stories have come from all around. 
Hampton Lake, the Suwannee River, Rodman Pool, and Lake Santa Fe have been
mentioned most often this week by anglers in the store to restock their
bass-catching supplies.  The 13-pound, 8-ounce largemouth caught Saturday
certainly owns big-bass honors for the season so far. A visiting northern
fisherman boated the lunker while fishing live shiners with local guide, Sam
Aversa on Rodman Reservoir.
Saltwater fishers took advantage of a rare, calm weekend to load up on Gulf
Coast trout and grouper.
Cedar Key trout anglers again found plenty of fish willing to take their
jigs and shrimp-but not so many of legal size.  The best trout fishing
waters are still the clearer flats out of Homosassa, Horseshoe Beach, and
Steinhatchee.  One father-and-son teamed up to boat a Steinhatchee double
trout limit anchored by a pair of 5-pound fish last Friday.  The happy
anglers had to release six fish that day-------all too big to keep.  They
used suspending Catch 2000 Mirrolures to fool the big trout in shallow
water.
Offshore anglers finally had the ideal grouper-fishing weekend.  Able to run
out to deep water and back at full speed, there was plenty of time for
fishing.  Both at anchor with natural bait and trolling with "Stretch"
lures, the grouper seekers enjoyed very good success.  Catches were
impressive out of most ports, but the top limits were reported from water
60-to-70-feet deep off Cedar Key and Suwannee.
And that's this week's report.
Good fishin' from The Tackle Box.

03-08-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
Nice weather last weekend led to good catches in salt and fresh waters more
typical of early spring.
The speckled trout whose season just reopened March first might not be easy
to locate out of every West and East Coast port, but attention-getting
catches were made in several areas.  Trout anglers working shallow water
between Steinhatchee and Pepperfish Keys came in with stories impressive in
both size and numbers.  Fishing alone in preparation for a charter, Capt.
Sam LeNeave released eight big 'specks' ranging in length from 22 to nearly
28-inches.  He made the good catch casting a very old favorite---the Johnson
Silver Minnow.  The trout reports from Suwannee, Cedar Keys, and Waccasassa,
where the flats are far less clear, were much slimmer.  Then again southward
to Crystal River and Homosassa, good results resume.  The folks at McRae's
Marina say that most weekend anglers fishing out of Homosassa scored trout
limits.
The weekend trout action was good, too, over in the inland waters of the
East Coast.  Live bait fishers, as well as folks casting and trolling
minnow-imitating artificials, brought in good trout tallies.  Roy and John
Dillinger of North Carolina were among the anglers that docked each day at
Devil's Elbow with good trout limits.
The friendly weather allowed anglers that fish out a bit deeper a scarce
shot at their quarries---grouper and sheepshead.  The grouper bit pretty
well, and reports of 7-to-12-legal-fish catches were pretty much average. 
Sheepshead were present, but a little more finicky.  Almost everyone boated
at least a few fish, but the 15-fish limits that are common when the bite is
"on," were absent.
Speckled perch remain the stars of the local freshwater fishing scene, but
bass are just about to overtake the popular panfish.  The largemouths are
spawning in most area waters, and some great catches are being made.  Just
yesterday, we photographed a 9-pound, 7-ounce beauty taken in a nearby pond
with a Tackle Box shiner.
Specks seem to be spawning here and there.  We've seen no big commitment to
the shallow cover, though, and action remains just about as dependable out
in deeper water.  Still, overall speck action is good.  Along with the
outstanding speck bite on Orange and Lochloosa Lakes, Wauburg, Little
Orange, and Crescent Lakes have produced well.  Rodman Pool is still
filling, and access is difficult.  Maybe by next week we can report boats
ramping in at Kenwood with no problems.
That's the report for this week.
Good fishin' from The Tackle Box.

03-01-05 TACKLE BOX FISHING REPORT
Orange and Lochloosa Lakes have unquestionably offered up the best action
for fans of speckled perch over the last few months.  There was great
anticipation as the late-February full moon approached.  Through the years
this event has triggered the speck's largest movement into shallow cover to
spawn.  With these lakes holding such healthy populations of the popular
panfish, surely this would be a bite not to miss.  Well, a few fine full
moon catches were registered, but to the surprise of most experts, the
shallow action was not that great.
The general consensus among experienced speckled perch fishers that have
closely followed this year's crappie bite on Lochloosa is that most fish
have not spawned as yet--and the chilly winds of the last few days will
further extend the delay.  One thing is certain, however.  Some lucky
fishers will be on the scene with cane poles and minnows ready when the big
migration to skinny water does occur---and the stories they tell will make
us all wish we had been there, too.
Crappie catches in the nasty weather over the weekend were understandably
unimpressive, although several fair results-including Richard Hitchcock's
1-pound, 13-ounce male fish-were seen at Lochloosa Harbor.
Bass and shellcracker on Lake Santa Fe also deserve a mention as good
freshwater fishing bets, and some very nice shellcracker catches have been
pulled in by bank fishers at Rodman Dam.
The big winds messed weekend saltwater fishing up even worse.  Then Monday,
the wind squelched the usually-well-attended reopening of speckled trout
season in North Florida waters.  Just before the season's reopening, the
best Gulf Coast bets were probably Steinhatchee and Homosassa.  Out of these
ports, anglers reported good catch-and-release action just ahead of the very
windy spell.
A group from Ashburn, Georgia scored very well in the Steinhatchee River
last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  The four men fished shrimp in deeper
holes in the river to entice nice catches of sheepshead and croaker.  Their