One More Cast's Fishing Report
Keaton Beach Fishing Report-Aug. 15th
I haven't been fishing this past week, however here are a couple of reports from some folks who have been who were good enough to e-mail me their reports.
David Bosch and Emory Smith fished and scalloped on Saturday 8/09/08 & Wound up with a limit of trout and a limit of Scallops. We found the fish in 4-5’ and the scallops in 2.5' of water. We caught our fish on live menhaden and pinfish under Cajun Thunders. At times it was difficult to fish with all the boat traffic. I wonder if you could also remind the boaters out there to try to show a bit of courtesy to the drift fishermen out there.(Trip Report From David Bosch of Cordele, Ga. 8/09/08)
Peng Chee, also from Cordele who works with David Bosch, fished the same day and even netted David's bait for him.( that's a great friend) with him from his boat with his family, Calvin, Carmen and his wife( sorry I do not have her name) The Chee family used live menhaden under Cajun Thunders to land 16 trout with two over 20 inches long and a gar. Peng also said they got their limit of scallops as well.
Peng also commented on the rude boaters ruining his drifts as he tried to trout fish.
This is the "time of the year" for dunces, as these folks include first timers on the gulf and others who borrow or rent boats and have no idea what the "rules of the road" on the water are and some of them don't care. But they certainly don't care about the few anglers out there during scallop season and mostly have no idea what drift fishing is all about. It is best to move away from the traffic and get as far north as you must to keep these unruly folks off of you.
There really is no reason for being in a hurry as there are still plenty of scallops out there and I have heard of no one who didn't get their limit?
As for asking or expecting any
kind of etiquette from the scallopers? I think not,
in about 4 weeks that will be all over and things
will go back to "normal" at Keaton and elsewhere
along our coast; as the scallop season ends
September 10...Yikes though, there is that little
matter of the Labor Day weekend to contend with yet?
Oh well....that is before the season ends.
Remember to FLY YOUR DIVE FLAGS! It's the LAW! Try to slow down and observe a slower speed when approaching boats with folks in the water observe a NO WAKE rule within 100 yds. and keep a sharp lookout for young'uns.
Last Thursday, I took Joyce out scalloping and after we got an easy limit and cleaned them up, we decided to go fishing for an hour or two.
It was 4:00 p.m. with a hi tide around 7:04 p.m. the first drift Joyce caught an 18 inch trout on a live menhaden under a Cajun Thunder in 6 ft. of water. After a few minutes and three baits later I decided to move on to another spot. The first bait, she put on and cast, a huge trout missed the hook got the menhaden and left her empty-handed. The next bait she put out there was struck immediately and after a few seconds she set the hook on a good fish. I netted it for her and then was taking her picture with her largest trout yet, a 5 pound trout which was just over 25 inches long! Then, I heard a sound and looked up and while I was setting up to take another photo her sow trout, my rod, which had been in the holder since she set the hook was sounding off. I then unceremoniously reeled in a 25.5" trout which weighed 4.5 pounds; longer, yet skinnier! My fish took a live pinfish while hers ate a menhaden. The next bait Joyce put in the water brought a respectable 17+ inch trout to the boat...However when I got almost to the front of the boat she was yelling oh my God, oh My God, Oh My God! and when I netted the trout for her I saw the HUGE 34+" trout (I would estimate somewhere around 8-9 pounds) swinging at the menhaden, which had slid up on the line in front of the 17 incher! We didn't get that on to hit again...But....When the smoke had cleared we had seven trout with five weighing a total of 16.5 pounds! We caught them all in 4 - 6 feet of water with live pinfish or menhaden under Cajun Thunders! We fished a grand total of an hour and ten minutes
Here is a report e-mailed to me from David Bosch of Cordele, Ga. " I took a few friends down for some scalloping and fishing on the 26th. Scallops were plentiful but the fish were uncooperative. Wound up with a few keeper trout. Also caught several shorts, including a short red out where he didn’t belong. Didn’t even pick up many ‘other’ fish, blues, lady’s, sharks, etc."
I have no other reports except to reply again that the scallops are thick and it is very easy to get your limit. FLY YOUR DIVE FLAGS Its the Law!
If anyone wants to go fishing, Call me, Pat McGriff, of One More Cast guide service and we will set you up a trip to get after some of these BIG summer TROUT! (850) 584-9145 or email me onemorecast@gtcom.net