North Florida’s Wilderness Coast, and specifically Wakulla County, is making a conscious effort at bringing in orderly, managed growth to the area, growth that benefits the local economy while protecting an almost pristine environment.
Long a major stronghold for the commercial fishing trade, Wakulla County has already been discovered by a small number of discriminating tourists who were looking for an area to visit that could take them back in time to a more peaceful setting. The Wakulla County Tourist Development Council in collaboration with VISIT FLORIDA, is working hard to bring folks into the area to see just how peaceful a step back in time can be.
Under the auspices of these two organizations, Diane Delaney and Don Lesh recently hosted a media tour, and invited the participation of several writers and editors. Three days and two nights of non-stop guided events convinced me that Wakulla County might just be the best hidden treasure that Florida has to offer!
The tour covered everything from acclaimed author, Jack Rudloe’s Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory to a country music jam session in Sopchoppy’s “From the Heart”, a 1920’s vintage general store building. Sandwiched between sightseeing at St. Marks Wildlife Refuge and fabulous seafood dinners were two great fishing excursions, one offshore to the Gulf of Mexico, and one inshore on one of the numerous oyster and grass flats.
Captain Mike Register provided the offshore fishing on board his 43 foot Hatteras Sportfisherman, TA-RA. The trip was only a half-day affair, but it provided some great action and a chance for everyone to sample a hard fighting gag grouper. Aided by Mate Norm Johnson, we were able to boat four keeper groupers, the largest weighing in at eighteen pounds. We did catch a number of smaller ones, which we released. The release was good and the fish survived because we were only in about forty feet of water, a depth shallow enough to avoid air bladder problems.
Day two of fishing found us with flats guide Jody Campbell from Florida Light Tackle Sport Fishing. We fished out of Shell Point, running no further than two miles from the marina there. On a day that most anglers would have stayed home because of the high winds, Jody managed to put us on several nice seatrout. Winds gusting to twenty-five knots made working the pink and white or root beer colored curl tail grubs almost impossible. As we drifted across the grass flat in front of the marina, we cast with the wind and tried to work the jigs back to the boat. The fish were there, and if you could get a decent action on the jig, something that Jody did very well, the trout would hit.
The grouper are in the Gulf all year, but in March and April, the large males migrate in closer to shore for breeding. They are sometimes caught this time of year as close in as six or seven miles, in water as shallow as twenty feet. Later in the summer they can be found between twenty-five and thirty miles offshore in water up to eighty to 100 feet deep.
Lots of anglers here troll for grouper, using deep diving magnum lures made by Mann or Rapala. Originally designed for stripers or billfish, some of these lures troll as deep as fifty feet with no assistance. Adding a trolling weight ahead of the plug makes deeper presentations possible.
Anglers regularly troll over rocky bottom or parallel to numerous ledges. If the fish won’t hit a trolled lure, as was the case on our trip, anchor over a ledge or over a good rocky bottom and drop a bait straight down. Your cigar minnow or live bait will be smashed almost immediately if a big gag is there.
Offshore, the fishing possibilities in the spring and summer include grouper, both red and gag, cobia, a local favorite on the Nature Coast, kingfish, Spanish mackerel, and redfish.
Inshore on the flats and around the oyster bars, look for sea trout, redfish, flounder, sheepshead, and black drum. Trout prefer the grass beds. The others are usually found around the rocky bottoms and oyster bars.
I’ll be going into some detail over the next couple of weeks on some of the Nature Coast sights and specifically on the fishing methods used in this part of the world. In the mean time, take time to plan a really great vacation, whether it’s for a day or a week. A half-day of fishing combined with the local sights and attractions can keep the whole family happy. I’ll be showing you why you can’t go wrong!
