Well ladies and gentlemen with Tropical Storm Elsa and about 10” of rain behind us in the last month or so, we have plenty of fresh water emptying from the Aucilla and Econfina rivers now. But with all the rain and fresh water the fish are still biting, and some may have even moved back in a little closer. The redfish don’t seem to be bothered much by the fresh water either. Some folks have reported catching trout again out in the 3 to 5 feet of water back to the East. Even though the waters are stained due to the fresh water they aren’t as bad as I’ve seen them. Hopefully we’ve had our allotment of fresh water for the next little while and be able to give ourselves a little drying out time.
The redfish haven’t been bothered a whole lot by all the fresh water since there’s still been a lot of redfish being caught since all the rains. Lots of reds hanging out a little offshore in some of the taller grass where they can lay and wait on the smaller fish to creep by. Believe it or not there are still a lot of over the slot reds hanging around too!!! Fishing a 5” jerk style bait around in the taller grassy area’s off the hill a little way will produce of these larger fish, some are only good for a photo though.
Now the mullet is a different story they may have been spooked off a little more by all the fresh water since they have been a little scarcer since all the rains. I went out after Elsa and it was hard to see any mullet, not even jumping alongside the grass lines? But there’s still plenty of time for those to show up. Their around just not showing themselves.
The best bets for the month of August would be to keep fishing the deeper waters on bottom in say around 6 to 8 foot of water for the trout. Maybe even try on out to the 8 to 10-foot range if needed. If you’re an early bird, you might even try in the 3 foot of water for the early morning trout bite. Fish the earlier morning hours along the grass line for redfish using top water plugs. Fish around the taller grassy areas for the larger redfish using the 5” jerk shad type baits. Also, if you stray over towards the ST. Marks area don’t forget about obeying the rules of the water concerning diver down flags for those that may be scalloping over that way. We ‘re also working on getting our website back online but in the meantime, you can follow us on our face book page. Until next month don’t forget to include the children in all your outdoor activities. TIGHT LINES!!!