Saint George Island Fishing Report and Photo Essay
Gulf sunrise, St. George Island
Thank you for reading this week’s Saint George Island Fishing Report. I left home at 0645 Sunday morning with a kayak on the van, got home 1500 or so Thursday, three and a half glorious days of little other than fishing. It was everything a fishing trip should be.
Fish around the oyster reefs.
I realized about two hours from home that I’d left all the food that needed some refrigeration in the refrigerator. I mostly lived on oranges, boiled eggs, and nuts and berries. It was good- no weight gain.
Home, sweet home.
The photos are a mix of new and file photos. Was more interested in fishing than photography this trip.
The island is losing to St. George Sound, and the saltwater is killing the pine trees.
Upon reaching the put-in, I found Mike Conneen and River Dog ready and waiting for me. Sorry, it takes time to get here- like six hours or so!
After sunrise on a windy morning.
We paddled to the campsite and set up. Let’s fish! In my exuberance I paddled quite a distance, wanting to visit last time’s hot spot. That spot was so eight or so months ago. I got some trout there, but not like it was then. What a surprise.
The water was almost crisp.
I had to call Mike on my way back. I didn’t know where camp was (big ERROR on my part), and it was nearly dark. He was kind enough to brave the bugs and shine a flashlight to give me an approximate location. In the meantime, redfish started tailing. I got two on a white slider, the second almost by starlight. It was so cool! And I managed to find camp.
You can wade and sight fish with fly tackle here.
Shunning the known spots, we explored new territory the next day. We caught a few reds and trout, but had to work for every one. We had clouds a good part of the day, and the water was not as clear as on previous trips. It was hard to see all day.
Mike and River combined to get this redfish.
The seagrass there is still healthy. That in itself was enough reason to make the trip.
River failed to opine about the release.
Those clouds caused a stunning sunset. The redfish did not tail, though.
Stunning? Methinks so.
Mike had to leave on Tuesday. We slowly paddled together, fishing our way back to the put-in. Mike got a redfish and a nice trout, too.
Fishing around the oysters. Photo courtesy Mike Conneen.
After he left, I went wading around oyster bars. Fish, mostly reds, came through in little clumps. I was able to sight-fish them with a variety of flies. The best of a dozen or so was about ten pounds, again on the white slider.
Flounder will hit flies! Kind of hard to sight fish them, though.
Being able to wade, with a fly rod, in water that was clean enough for me to be able to see the fish take, was thrilling! I remember when where I used to fish all the time (Indian River and Mosquito Lagoons) was like that.
More dead pines…
Went looking for tailers after sunset. Did not see any. The water was still too deep, and low tide was now a couple hours after dark.
Looking for trailers at sunset.
Went wading near camp the next morning, somewhat sheltered from a stiff breeze. The water was startlingly clear (almost crisp), but I only threw to a single fish. He said no.
Sunrise over the Gulf. Different morning.
After breaking camp, I went back to the previous day’s spot, hoping for a repeat. The wind had caused waves, which stirred up the bottom. I could not see my feet. I cast a jig into the now-muddy water with the spin rod, hitting three fish in about that many hours.
Then the tide changed, the wind changed direction, and the water cleared. I fished through again. this time with a white Clouser minnow, blind-casting as I went. I only saw two fish, getting a shot at neither. But I got two reds and seven or eight nice trout on that fly, which was in tatters at the end of the day.
I did not look for tailers that evening, opting for a shower and some beach time.
My last morning, with an overcast sky.
Thursday morning, I again visited the beach under an overcast sky, where I watched someone else catch a nice bluefish. Almost as good as getting it myself! Then I hopped in the van and drove home, well satisfied!
In other news, the Braves won the World Series!
Not wanting to let the mushroom thing go, you can watch a fantastic program on them on netflix here…
That is this week’s Saint George Island Fishing Report. Thank you again for reading! Life is great and I love all my readers!
Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Take a walk! Stay active!
John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide
Purchase a signed copy of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/
All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2021. All rights are reserved.
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