What is more fun than a roller coaster in summer? Well, that is easy. Saltwater fly fishing for game fish in the Gulf of Mexico along the coastal ocean or in estuaries of Florida or Louisiana. Fishing in the Florida Panhandle from the Destin / Fort Walton Beach area southeast to Port St Joe is widely considered the best overall fishing the Panhandle has to offer. The area is known for big schools of redfish, triple digit sized tarpon, and speckle trout galore.
Fishing in St. Andrews Bay or has enough species large and small to satisfy all types of anglers, from the amateur who is happy to catch a trout to the seasoned veteran on the hunt for a trophy tarpon.
There are dozens — maybe even hundreds — of spots where anglers consistently catch redfish at various times of the year. No doubt some areas are better than others, but the bottom line is, if you want redfish, the Panhandle is the place to be. Many people believe that redfish action shuts off during the colder winter months, but that’s not true. It just gets a little harder to find them. In the winter, the fish move (sometimes in a matter of days) from inshore flats to river and creek mouths, then on up the rivers. At times, they may go miles up those waterways seeking the right temperatures.
Preston Sutter…Guide Shallow Water Expeditions
Growing up in Atlanta, Preston began fly fishing early at age eight with his father. Most of his fishing was fly fishing in the Northeast Georgia in the mountains around Helen Georgia. As he grew older, he began fishing further away from home on the Nantahala and Toccoa Rivers in Georgia. In high school while other kids in his class were playing sports, Preston would grab his jeep and head out for a weekend of camping and fishing venturing as far as the South Holston River in Tennessee. At the University of Alabama, Preston majored in political science and history. After graduation, he worked for Stryker Medical Device Corporation. With many 60 hours weeks, there was little time left for his passion, fly fishing. He took the plunge and began working for Shallow Water Expeditions fly fishing service based in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. He had found not only an exciting job, but began immediately working to attain his guide license in Florida. He has never looked back and now is part of the team at Shallow Water Expeditions www.shallowwaterexpeditions.com. Most of their fishing is within four minutes of their offices in Santa Rosa Beach in the Choctawhatchee Bay area extending eastwards towards St. Andrews Bay near Panama City, Florida (See Map).
Ecology of the Choctawhatchee Bay
Like any bay of the southeastern U.S., Choctawhatchee Bay and Santa Rosa Sound are sandy, shallow, greenish-brown expanses of brackish water surrounded by marsh grasses and oyster beds. At the east end of the bay, the Choctawhatchee River winds its way through a swamp to dump its tannic stained water into the bay. At the west end of the bay, Santa Rosa Sound connects the bay to Pensacola Bay, as a 40 mile long saltwater river that daily reverses course on the tide change. At the south end of the bay is the Destin Pass into the Gulf of Mexico. The arrangement of these passes and saltwater channels forces large shifts in the salt concentrations of the bay on each tide, making the growth of some type of sea grasses impossible.
Energy or Food Chain of Choctawhatchee Bay Florida
All ecosystems are linked by how food energy is passed from smaller organisms, to larger organisms that eat the smaller organisms. Each layer of organisms are called Tiers. Each tier can consume all tiers below it. The higher the tier number, the farther up the food chain you are, terminating here with Tier 6. People are by far, the highest predator on the list, but since we are concerned with the aquatic system, we will start below the ‘People’ level. Like all ecosystems, the energy that drives all life in the bay starts with the sun (Tier 0). The solar energy is used by microscopic plants or Phytoplankton (Tier 1) to build them and drive their lives. Slightly larger animals, such as immature crabs, oysters, fishes, along with rotifers and microscopic shrimp eat these phytoplankton and are lumped together as ‘zooplankton’ on Tier 2. Another addition to the second tier is the mullet, which though much larger than other members of Tier 2, eats only phytoplankton and algae. Yet another filter feeder on Tier 2 are oysters and clams. Larger than all but the mullet, are other animals that eat the zooplankton, such as shrimp, baitfish (glass minnows, sailfin mollies, shad, herring, menhaden, etc.), small blue crabs and sand crabs, form Tier 3. Tier 4 is formed by large blue crabs (over 3″ in width), squid (which eat minnows and shrimp), and smaller predators such as pinfish, grunts, Atlantic croakers, sheepheads, sand perch, lizardfish, blue runners, and smaller grey and lane snappers. Tier 5 hold the bulk of inshore saltwater gamefish: Striped Bass, Drums (Redfish, Speckled Trout, Black Drum), Largemouth bass (which venture into the fresher northern parts of the bay), Bluefish (summer), Spanish Mackerel (summer) Jack Crevalle (summer migrants), tarpons (including Ladyfish-summer), flounder, and grouper. The top of the aquatic end of the web, Tier 6, includes the top aquatic predators: Porpoises and Dolphins (the mammal), Alligator Gar, and Sharks.
What does all this mean and how can anglers use this information? 1) Timing-the fish you are pursuing will move to the salinity level that suits them best, or suits their prey best. 2) Choosing flies: The food gamefish pursue will likely be in 1 to 2 tiers below them-make the flies look like baitfish and lure match accordingly.
Bay Fishing …99% of the time
Sight Fishing Most of the bay fishing is for redfish in estuaries and along the edges of the bay is totally by sight. Preston will discuss methods, techniques and flies to make this a “How to…” presentation using DVD’s and real action videos to demonstrate his points. The water is clear enough water to sight fishing 99% of the time. If you’re interested in tarpon and cobia, then the salt water gulf coast beach is only a few minutes away fishing about 100 yards or less from shore.
When is the test time to fish along the Gulf Coast? Anytime you are ready for a family vacation and ready to mix in a little saltwater fly fishing is the best time to travel to the Gulf Coast. Peak times are Spring/Summer months, i.e., January to September in the Choctawatchee Bay and June/July in St. Andrews bay when the summer migration of fish occurs from the ocean to the estuaries. If fishing for redfish in the fall is your choice, then Shallowwater Expeditions moves their base of operations to Biloxi, Mississippi or along the SE tip of Louisiana from October to December.
Make a new years resolution which will be fun and easy to keep. Come to more Trout Unlimited meetings in 2008! Please come and welcome Preston Sutter at Caney Fork Restaurant (directions in NR) for a wonderful evening of fly tying saltwater flies and presentation on sight fishing for redfish. Social hour will begin at 6 pm, presentation begins at 7 pm.
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