1eyefishing
...just joking, seriously.
I wish some more pompano would jump in my boat.
Welcome Guest!
Speckled Trout are Disappearing
- Thread starter KLBTJTALLY1
- Start date
That`s strange, I`ve got a couple of good friends that live down there and they don`t have any trouble catching all the bream (hand painted as well), bass, and specks that they want. But, those old men know what they are doing. Fresh and saltwater.
crackerdave
Senior Member
Commercial giggers have nearly caught all the flounder out of my favorite spots in St. Augustine.
You can still catch some around the jetties,though.
crackerdave
Senior Member
Good spot!Try Short Beach. South side of the Matanzas Inlet. Fingerling mullet for bait.
doomtrpr_z71
Senior Member
Nitrogen not phosphate induces that growth and it's directly related to septic tanks in Tallahassee. Droughts will bring the clarity back but that will hinder the bream and bass not help.
Funny you mention the COVID lockdowns, that put more pressure on the fishery than anything, lots of people that didn't have boats bought 60k ones and they are going to show them off until the economy crashes. I spent more time at st Mark's during the lockdowns than I did at home
I'm looking at Facebook now at a friend of mine with a 4 person limit of trout caught off a pontoon boat out of ecofina this week so it ain't just airboats catching them.
A drought would be beneficial to seatrout to increase the salinity to make them happier, the increases in the 90s correlate well to the drought periods but it's hard to blame people for the fact that the size limit is too high on something with a high mortality rate, catching a 100 14in trout to get 10 15+ in fish isn't helping, reduce the size to 12 and you eliminate some of the mortality but that won't happen I'm sure.
Its also hard to blame pollution on this as nitrogen/phosphate would be helpful to the seagrass but the rainfall plus storms of late have not helped the seagrass improve nor has all of the sea urchins eating it. The fenholloway area has increased its seagrass cover, most of the area is the same and areas that get a lot of fresh water have declined. I'm sure manatee feeding isn't helping either.
Regardless to say that they are disappearing is a gross overstatement, it ain't ever the way it used to be.
buckpasser
Senior Member
Nitrogen not phosphate induces that growth and it's directly related to septic tanks in Tallahassee. Droughts will bring the clarity back but that will hinder the bream and bass not help.
Funny you mention the COVID lockdowns, that put more pressure on the fishery than anything, lots of people that didn't have boats bought 60k ones and they are going to show them off until the economy crashes. I spent more time at st Mark's during the lockdowns than I did at home
I'm looking at Facebook now at a friend of mine with a 4 person limit of trout caught off a pontoon boat out of ecofina this week so it ain't just airboats catching them.
A drought would be beneficial to seatrout to increase the salinity to make them happier, the increases in the 90s correlate well to the drought periods but it's hard to blame people for the fact that the size limit is too high on something with a high mortality rate, catching a 100 14in trout to get 10 15+ in fish isn't helping, reduce the size to 12 and you eliminate some of the mortality but that won't happen I'm sure.
Its also hard to blame pollution on this as nitrogen/phosphate would be helpful to the seagrass but the rainfall plus storms of late have not helped the seagrass improve nor has all of the sea urchins eating it. The fenholloway area has increased its seagrass cover, most of the area is the same and areas that get a lot of fresh water have declined. I'm sure manatee feeding isn't helping either.
Regardless to say that they are disappearing is a gross overstatement, it ain't ever the way it used to be.
A common dummy like me would be in favor of a smaller keeper size for the reason you mentioned. Is it coincidence or does is seem like there are a pile that always seem to be 1/4” too short?
doomtrpr_z71
Senior Member
Exactly, we keep selecting for smaller fish and wonder why they are all shorts.
I'm fine with a winter closure too, that makes a lot of sense as well as they used to have.
Browning Slayer
Official Voice Of The Dawgs !
Not in my boat…
buckpasser
Senior Member
Not in my boat…
Are you that good, or just own a fish stretcher?
slow motion
Senior Member
The Nurse has next week off. Said im welcome to tag along but she will be in Sopchoppy. I'm hoping to get down a few days. I might, as a public service, do a fish count. Also I just may in addition to quantity do some quality checks. Won't go into all the technical stuff but it involves either hot grease and corn meal or butter and a grill. Or both.
notnksnemor
The Great and Powerful Oz
I'm gonna take up crocheting.
This fishing has gotten too complicated for this old man.
This fishing has gotten too complicated for this old man.
notnksnemor
The Great and Powerful Oz
There's a funny story about that day you met 1eye and I on the east flats.
We were running across the flats at warp speed. Too fast to take a sip of beer. I tapped him on the shoulder and said stop right here, this is where they were yesterday. He stopped and looked at me like I had 2 heads.
I think I went 10 trout on 10 casts in a row and got to drink my beer.
you pulled up about 20 minutes later.
slow motion
Senior Member
Here's another story. We were texting as I pulled out of the lighthouse channel.
I called and said I don't know which direction that is. Had a depthfinder with GPS chart on and running at the time.
notnksnemor
The Great and Powerful Oz
I wasn't going to mention that.Here's another story. We were texting as I pulled out of the lighthouse channel.
View attachment 1288540
I called and said I don't know which direction that is. Had a depthfinder with GPS chart on and running at the time.
slow motion
Senior Member
Some might wonder how I make it through life. Let's just say my Guardian Angel stays busy.
1eyefishing
...just joking, seriously.
Sorry bout that beer sprayin on yer neck...
notnksnemor
The Great and Powerful Oz
When you're going so fast it sucks the beer out of the top of the can, it's time to throttle back a little.
When yer out running your sonar ping, it's time to throttle back a little.
Hit-n-Miss
Senior Member
I personally think that all the covid money idiots(people that bought boats with their free covid money) are the problem. People that have never owned a boat and are completely clueless, are running willy nilly all over the place on the flats. The quadrupled amount of boats make it almost impossible to catch anything. No etiquette at the ramp or on the flats. The weekends are an absolute zoo out there. And people like me that have to work for a living, only have so many vacation days that we can go fishing during the week.
grouper throat
Senior Member
It seems to me the pressure on the fishery is the main culprit. In the late 80-early 90s, a typical Saturday at the boat ramp was 4-5 trucks at each econfina, aucilla, fenholloway, or spring warrior. Now it is like 3-4x that if not more.
It all started to turn around the gill net ban in the 90s if I remember correctly. The trout were very plentiful back then, and we rarely ran through shorts for a 10-15 per person limit. I fished with some old natives back then who knew how good it was in the 50 limit days. They always said it was constantly going downhill.
On a positive note, there seems to be more redfish that ever today.
It all started to turn around the gill net ban in the 90s if I remember correctly. The trout were very plentiful back then, and we rarely ran through shorts for a 10-15 per person limit. I fished with some old natives back then who knew how good it was in the 50 limit days. They always said it was constantly going downhill.
On a positive note, there seems to be more redfish that ever today.
Similar threads
