My kicker has been down for nearly 2 weeks waiting on a part. Finally I'm picking it up today. 

Headed down to Black Creek on Friday. Will start out looking for crappie, which I haven't found yet, and if no go there in a couple of hours will load up and move on to Cowford. There are some lakes below the bridge a ways that should be accessible with the higher water in the river.

Well, the kicker is running great. The starter button was bad. Costs too much to repair bur tech had to remove the carb to do the replacement. Labor isn'g cheap.

Anyway, have been fishing the lower Chocawhachee for bream, crappie, speckled trout and reds. Bream and crappie fishing has not changed, for me anyway, it's still poor. Water temps are 58 plus and several days 60 to 64.  This is spring water temps. 

 A few crappie are being caught but not in numbers. Anglers are looking for them and also fishing for shellcrackers. Some are being caught, but not in great numbers.

A pro that I correspond with frequently is doing well with bass using spinner baits in the lower Choctaw. Not much on crappie.

I heard a report this morning on Panhandle Outdoors that 3 to 5 pound specks are being caught in the Jolly Bay area.  I fish the lower Mitchell River area which is right at Jolly Bay, so guess I need to start working the flats in the Jolly area. The warm water should have them on the flats.

My anticipated crappie trip over to Talquin so far has not panned out. Still might happen. But next week we are going to try the Cypress Cattle ponds near Ponce De Leon for crappie.

I'm ready to get back on the river and find some bream. Don't have any in the freezer and I'm bream hungry. 

Switching from saltwater back to bream. Went down to Smokehouse today. Water 64 degrees.  Fished a little ways up into Inside Lake, Gardners Canal,and Big Sister. Finally got a little bream action in Big Sister. 3 decent bream in the box, that was it.

Was was draining out of the swamps into the main streams. This is very good fish are back in the woods feeding and getting fat. Big storm coming in tonight and tomorrow. This will raise river back up. Should improve fishing conditions for April/May. We needed this water in the woods. Hope it will stay long enought to make a difference.

I'm back in the bream business after a few months working specks and reds. Went over to Bryant Bridge on the Blackwater River yesterday. This is northwest of Holt, FL on the fish hatchery road. Got there to find not enough water for my boat.  So decided to go down to Guest Lake Landing on the Yellow River. This is south of Holt a few miles. Since Blackwater was an primarily a look-sea trip we got a later start.  Fished the Yellow from but 10 to 2:30.  Beautiful day and since it was Saturday there were a good number of boats on the river. We ended up with 7 small bream. No one we saw was doing much of anything. Maybe the early or late in the day anglers did better.

Anyway, it's good to be back looking for bream. 

Hope you guys are out there as well.  Let's hear from reports.

Hey J.B. , me and Joey are starting to get geared up for some better fishin this year we hope. I havent had a chance to go yet but im going on vacation next week hope to do a little fishin on the river then

Hi Clint,  Great...maybe between all of use we can find a gill larger than 3 fingers.  I hope to get out tomorrow or Friday.

The new landing at Dead River (7 Runs) is open but they didn't do anything to the ramp. Put in a dock that is unuseable in normal water conditions....it's way too high.  Blacktop parking and new tables, campt sites, etc.

I have been going out but not finding any real numbers or size yet. However, others are starting to hit.

I hope to get out tomorrow or Friday

Yesterday Went down to Alligator Lake near Grayton Beach. Six little bream and one little bass. Friend has a house on the lake. Hunted ducks there when I was a teen-ager. It's a very hard lake to fish.

Hi guys,  went down to Dead River (7 Runs) on the Choctawhatchee River yesterday afternoon. The bite was apparently slow all day from talking to a few boats. I fished from about 3 to 6:30.......1 bass about  2 1/2 lb on white spinner bait and one small bream on fly rod. Didn't catch a fish with crickets.

Met some folks I had previously met last week at Smokehouse. They had been there all day and had only 7 bream and 4 small channels. This was about 5PM when we met. They were bottom fishing with worm and reel/rod combos. I did see a guy catch 3 bream on fly rod.

From reading the Pensacola Fishing Forum some folks are starting to do well on bass and bream "catching" is improving. Maybe in next couple of weeks it will be better for bream.

Went down to Black Creek Lodge yesterday with a friend. Looked for bream but not too seriously. I believe they could have been found but was distracted by bass. I did catch two decent bream on fly rod and maybe 3 non-keepers on crickets. We ended up with 4 keeper bass, released 4 or 5 others and missed 4 or 5 that got off before we could get them to the boat.

 The river was in pretty good shape in spite of the previous rains. I know bass fishing has really picked up down there in past couple of weeks.  I will probably go back afternoon or out to Juniper Lake. . Need to work on boat seats first.

I got a report yesterday from a local guy who went to Juniper Lake 2 weeks ago and found the bream on bed. Said he caught the most and the largest he had ever caught in his life.  Looks like I need to quit talking about it and get myself out there and start learning the lake. It's only about 4 miles from the house.

Went to Cowford PM 4/9/12. Fished Crews Lake from about 3:0 to 7PM.  8 bream with two big bluegills. Caught on crickets and fly rod/bug.  Plugged a little for bass but no luck.  When it gets a little warmer and more bugs come out I think the fly rod will produce better.

River is up and somewht dirty but not muddy.

went to lake seminole last week . Joey and i found a shellcracker bed and loaded the boat on 2 trips each time. Most fish was around 1.5 lbs. We havent tried the river this year yet. will try to get pics posted

Who in the heck would want to go to the river when you hit like you did at Seminole. LOL   Great report.   I haven't seen a 1.5 lb shellcracker in years.

I'm going down to the the river with a friend tomorrow who is ill but wants to get out for a few hours. Hope we have a good day he can enjoy.

Well guys, I went to the river....... should have go after specks and reds.  Down to Cowford Landing on the Choctawhatchee. Did poorly for 4 hours of fishing. Boats were everywhere. That's one rason I usually don't fish on Saturday.  I did talk to one guy who had 4 big shellcrackers, a half dozen smaller bream and a 5 pound striper. Everyone was fishing for gills and catfish.  Hope to get back out there Monday and hope the catch is better.

I heard a update on seminole, shellcrackers are on bed again in the reeds. Heard of a 1.5 acre bed. Might have to go find one of these beds if i can get away from work

Full moon, I bet the report is correct. That's one heck of a bed. I know the area on Juniper where one was last month that produced really so I heard. Will try to get out there Monday afternoon if it's not too late.

I haven't been out in a couple of weeks. In a big fight over here over an added sales tax to pay for a new bridge across the bay. Referendum next Tuesday so will see if it passes or not.   I have been up to my ears in the fight to say no more taxes.

i have had some good fishin on seminole this spring ,headed south tomorrow though checkin out the dead lakes for some fly action .

Joey, better be ready for the yellow flies at Dead Lake. They are reported to be  bad at SmokeHouse.

we went to dead lakes in wewa it was a bust, not a fish on flies. There was a good fly hatch but no fish

Hi Clint, that's amazing for Wewa, especially with a good fly hatch. That's what anglers wait for down there, the hatch.  I have been in Tallahassee since middle of last week, but was not able to bring my boat and tackle this trip. Other pressing family business on this trip.  Lake Jackson has gone back down big time.  At Rhoden Cove the botton is dry and green brush is growing was out into the lake. I guess it will keep dropping unless there are some big rains.  I haven't been out in over two weeks so anxious to get back home and hit the river. Some decent catches of bream and bass are being reported in the lower river but it's spotty.

had a full day yesterday started out at cedartree fished down river some decent action then up river for ok action then it went south got hung and broke the tip of my fly rod so after a trip to c&g sporting goods in pc . decided to run to wewa to finish out the day. fly hatch awesome, action still slow, oh well great day all round tho.

Hi Joey, I plan to be at Black Creek at daylight tomorrow. Crossed the river at Caryville today. It's up a little but the bar under the us 90 bridge is not completely covered. Water is real muddy.

Black Creek was a bust today. 4 bream, no bass, speck, etc. Fished Bishop and Big Sister, then down to the Crossroads prospecting for specks.  No dice.

Beautiful cool morning. Started getting hot abou 10 o'clock. We quit at 12 noon.

Water temp 79 and a bit stained but OK.

Hey J.B. havent been fishin in a few weeks. Nobody seems to be doing any good. If you hear of em starting to bite let me know

Hi Clint,  same over here........nothing much happening except heard about a bass tournament about 3 weeks ago out of Black Creek Lodge where they did good on keepers. Of course they only keep 5 for the weigh-in and I suppose release those. Two guys I know caught 19 and 15 keepers but they were all small.

Bream/shellcrackers have decided to move to the moon I think. I have given up on them for a while. My last two trips out were to the bay bridge and did absolutely nothing except sails and hard heads. That was about 3 weeks ago.  I haven't fished bream in maybe 5 or 6 weeks.  Have a trip planned next Tuesday down to Poquito Bayou area at Shalimar. This is good salt water and maybe 5 or 6 miles across the bay to East Pass. Have been hearing about good specks and reds being caught in 6 to 8 ft water on grass beds. It's a big area but I have a map that shows grass and partner has a good sonar so maybe we can get into something.  We plan to be there at day light and fish to 9 or 10 and quit. Just too hot for old codgers.
The river is in \poor shape north of hwy 20 with such low water. Last week I just took a drive to check ramps one monring. Not a rig at Comanders, only 1 at 7 Runs (Dead River) and 1 at Cowford.  There were 2 at the Black Creek Bridge by the Outpost on 3280, But the water always looks good at Black CReek. That tells a story in inself, nothing going on...........

Will keep in touch.

looks like all my fishin holes around home are going dry. Not sure where to fish anymore, cant launch my boat at most of the landings. Caryville river reading is less then a foot, ebro around 4 and falling. i think im going to try to go scalloping in the next few days at st. joe. I believe this year has been worse than last . Deer point it still a option i just dont know anything about it , but i might have to start tryin to fish it

Still the same where I usually fish.  Went to salt water in Shalamar yesterday. Only lady fish caught.  We did find a spot at the Shalamar bridge that looks promising for future trips. Going to try mullet fishing on Friday. Never done it before but guess I need to learn if I want any meat on the table.  The mullet guys have been loading up for weeks and the holes are crowded.

I'm a little East of you guys(Tallahassee).  I haven't been having much luck flyfishing in this heat. So, I decided to go a little deeper. Switched to a roadrunner with a curly tail and caught about 30 of these on Saturday. 

Hi Tom, welcome and thanks for the input.  You technique is probably about the only thing that might work over here on the Choctawhatchee River.  Where do you fish over your way?

I was across the river today on hwy 90 at Caryville and the sandbars are really starting to show up again way out in the river.  On the way home from Dothan I came through Geneva and both th Pea and Choctaw were in bad shape. The Pea looked so shallow you could wade it or maybe use only a yak or canoe.  A motor boat would have to be light and small just to navigate.

Friday a friend and I are going for mullet, my first time. Friend is very new but  at least he's been a couple of times. Maybe we will have beginners luck.  We will be using the pole and line/treble hook rig.

Hi, J.B. I fish out of kayak.  So we have many of the Tallahassee lakes to ourselves.   No boats on Jackson or Carr, and few on Miccosukee.  The lakes are just to low.  If you go mullet fishing on the Choctawhatchee, you've probably know many of my relatives. My Grandpa, Louie Rushing, fished there for years, and my uncle, Jerry Stafford is still a regular.  Tight lines.

Small world, yes, I know Jerry. Actually he's the reason I'm going with my friend Freddy tomorrow. Freddy ran into Jerry on Monday at Black Creek just as Jerry came in with a limit of 50 mullet. Freddy got all fired up and Jerry gave him some pointers. So we got out dog food, will rig our poles tomorrow, and be there before daylight Friday.

I dont recall you Grandpa but there are a lot of Rushing's around here.

Have been reading about the low water lakes over there. Jackson has about gone again except the very middle .

First mullet trip was a bust. 14 boats lined up at the hole. Nearly all were catching. Young guy next to us must have caught 30 and some were at least 2 pounds +.   He gave us some good tips and showed us how he rigged up his pole.  We didn't have the right hook setup but we did catch a numer of LY's. Got spot to load up on LY's for specks and reds.  It will take some practice to develope the skill needed to snag these critters.  I have to be out of state 2 or 3 weeks but will get back to the hold and start figuring it all out.

Stopped at Copeland's for the right hooks and check fishing reports. Bream catches are way down but they are still selling worms and crickets.  Specks and reds are still being caught here and there, especially at daylight and dusk.

went to wewa staurday afternoon, found a landing with enough water to put in at. fished the florida river with not much luck. think we had 6 fish hand size, the weather was perfect for fly fishing just couldnt catch anything. im about to run out of places to fish this year. i have not heard of a good report from anywhere in a while

Thanks for the report Clint. I have been in Texas for a while and just back a few days ago. Reports I'm getting from the Choctawhatchee are still poor for bream....a little better for bass. Reds are still in the east end of the bay and good ones being caught. The mullet guys are killing them in the usual mullet holes. My buddy has been learing how to fish mullet and has started catching. Now I'm ready to go so he can start teaching me the ropes. Was not able to fish any in texas. Went out to be with ill daughter.

Went Sat to one of our local lakes.  Caught 30 in about 2 hours on a road runner, curly tail combo.  Finding the right color seems to be the trick.  I also saw lots of fish caught on crickets Friday night.  Like you, I haven't been having much luck on the fly rod lately. 

Thanks for the info Tim, i will have to give that a try next time i go.

  Hey  J.B. hope your daughter is better now. let me know how your next mullet trip goes

Hi guys,

With the fair amount of high water we have had on and off for past several week I'm hoping bream fishing will start to pick up with the cooler weather. However, recent reports have been rather spotty and poor.  In the next couple of weeks I plan to be after them on the Choctawhatchee.

To pick up the slack I have been after mullet. Finally got the hang of it and have bee making some good cacthes. Neighbors and friends have been well supplied for past couple of months.

Roe season is upon us so the mullet limit has been reduced to 50 per boat , 9/1 - 12/31.  That's still a lot of fish to dispose of.  Most I've caught is 44 for 2 anglers, and that's a lot of fish. Many of the bigger ones are 2 pounds plus but mos run about 3/4 to 1 1/2 lb.

One of my fishing partners caught a carp acouple of weeks ago while mullet fishing. Didn't have my camera or scale but he was a big one, about 20 pounds. He was released although I have read they are good to eat.

I notice the water temp was 74/75 on Monday when I was down at Alaqua Creek mullet fishing. Weather was beautiful. Water still warm enough for some possible bream fly fishing. I'll give ti a try next week.

If any of you are out there let us knwo how the conditions are and about any catches.

Take care.

Specs(Crappie) have turned on in our shallow lakes.   I've had several 2 hour trips after work where I have caught 20-30.

It won't be long before it turns on in the deeper ones.

Hi Tim, thanks for the report. That's the first decent report I have seen in weeks realted to crappie and gills.  I went out yesterday afternoon for bream. First time in months. It simply has not been worth the time or expense fishing the river.  Fished about 3 1/2 hours and caught 6, only 4 keepers. The river has been high and still is and lot of stained water and trash. However, we got back in a clear water lake but the water was not moving.

My buddy and I prefer bream fishing most of the time but I think yesterday cured us for a while or at least until we start getting some good reports from others.

Speckled trout and reds are starting up a bit in the Choctawhatchee River Delta area, so going back to that for the time being.

I will be in Tallahassee on Oct 22 for a meeting ont the RESTORE Act and will bring my boat and stay for a few days with my sister. Have been wanting to do some fishing over there for a long time.

hunting season is about here im getting geared up for that. Would like to get in on some good crappie fishin. if anybody hears of any post it. Thanks again clint

Hi Clint, gave up hunting years ago. year.  Here is a report I posted yesterday

over to Ocheesee..........

i have never fished ocheesee but have heard of some good fishin there. have also heard of people getting lost there too.sounds like the drought has hit it also

Hi Clint.  Believe it or not I went squirrel hunting this morning. It was a spur of the moment thing so the area was not scouted out. Went down to the river swamp where I hunted as a teen ager.  Didn't see a critter but there was a war all around me since today was opening the season.  At least the trip got me a little excited again about hunting.

After the war stopped about 0730 and the woods became silent we decided to look for some bream. Had a few cricket and worm.  Got a couple, one small shellcracker and one bream. Both are faded out in color as is usual this time of year. The water temp was 60.3.

Here is an interesting blog on bream.

http://www.texassunfish.blogspot.com/

Wishing you all well, and signing off from up dates. Life has landed me in AZ... PLENTY monster red ears... but not in Aguila AZ. Nothing but cactus, but I have my rods and boxes!!!! Wouldn't  DREAM of hitting the road without them. Haven't been on site in MANY MOONS, but I know what AZ can offer. Headed to collect as soon as possible. All I require is enough gold on my mining claim to pay for a fishing license, and time off from working on a HOG FARM. Honest work, and my soul smiles at baby pigs, but GODDAM it stinks! Sumbich. Sheet. Enough flies to feed a BIG TANK full of fish, and I'm seeking a federal grant to pay for it. WHY T.F. not? 

havent been squirrel hunting in a while,did it alot too as a teenager. I think i might float down the river and give it a try

fishin season around the corner. hope the rivers get some water in them this year

Hi Clint,  Good for you to post. I'm ready for a little bream fishing. The river is on the rampage and expected to rise to about 15 feet I think. This is 3 feet over flood stage so this is good for the backwater. Anything helps but I don't think it will stay high very long.

I have been doing well in the mullet department.  Last 3 trips boated 172 total. All of my neighbors has been sell fed.

Spring gill fishing just around the corner?  It may be already here. I met up with a couple today at a muller hole and they reported 15 bull bream caught this week in about 12 ft water on the bottom...using worms and rod/reel with slip bobber. I'm going to the area on Monday and give it a try.

Got a report of bull bream being caught down in
Black Creek with worms on the bottom in 12 ft water.  I know the area so headed down Monday to give it a shot, but taking the mullet gear just in case.

good luck, let us hear how you do. i have fished black creek some, havent never done real good on it. Didnt do good nowhere last year come to think about it. Hope you fill the boat up

Trip today after gills did not work out very well. The river had risen considerably from last Friday. The was was muddy and racing through the gill target area.  Fished for only about 30 minutes and pulled out.