Gulf Coast Closeup
(Continued from page 14.)
at 23 pounds before I revived and
released it, all the while being almost
certain it was bigger than that. And I must
confess that a couple of months would
pass before I realized that I had weighed
the fish on a 15-pound scale! Anyway,
no matter how big it was, it was both a
prize and a surprise. And I have a scale
with much more capacity in my tackle
bag now!
That item brings up some important
points, since bull reds can appear in a lot
of places along the coast where you aren’t
expecting them. You can catch them in
these waters on the same gear that you
normally use for specks and reds in
interior areas during winter, but that gear
will require some refining unless you are
partial to long-distance releases.
Beginning with lures, jigs either
straight-up or sweetened with a small
dead shrimp should contain a stout shortshank hook in size 2/0 or 3/0. There is
much less of a chance of straightening
one of those during the tussle. And don’t
worry about the shank being too short to
extend far enough into the grub to prevent
short strikes. You might miss some small
specks or rat reds, but a bull will find that
hook.
You might think big reds want big
baits. Perhaps, but baits that are too big
will be a hindrance to amassing a mess
of skillet material. Grubs in the 3-1/2 to
4 inch range should be just fine on both
counts, as are the same types and color
combinations that you normally use. On
that note, the bulls in Weeks Bay seemed
to like “electric chicken”.
If you choose to fly fish, a 9-weight
outfit with a slow-sinking-tip line is fine.
Flies like size 3/0 Deceivers and Clouser
Minnows (and the “Golden Rule”, which
accounted for the fly-caught bull at
Rockefeller last March) are established
patterns.
No matter whether you fly fish or use
conventional gear, a short length of 30
or 40-pound fluorocarbon for a “shocker”
will help prevent fray-offs. Bulls will take
a lure much deeper into their mouths than
a regular red or speck will, and their teeth
are abrasive. Also, back your drag all the
way off when you are through fishing for
the day, and re-set it when you begin the
next time. You may not have had much
need for your reel’s drag before, but the
odds of that changing seem to be
increasing each winter!
You should buy either an
outrageously-large landing net or a small
N O R T H
G U L F
S t. J o s e p h P o i n t, FL to S h i p S h o a l L i g h t,
LA
Wells Fishing Forecast Adjustment Times
St. Joseph Point
Panama City
Destin/East Pass
Pensacola Bay Entrance
Alabama Point
Mobile Point
Horn Island Pass
Pascagoula Pass
Chandeleur Light
-:60
-1.20
-:40
-:30
-:20
-:15
Same
-:10
-:15
Long Point/Lake Borgne
Bay St. Louis
Rigolets
South Pass/Delta
Empire Jetty
Barataria Pass
Cat Island Pass
Pointe Au Fer Isle
+:20
+:20
+:35
+:20
+:45
+:55
.+1:10
To adjust for your fishing area, add (+) or subtract (-) hours and minutes
shown above for the area you plan to fish from the Forecast time. No attempt
should be made to compare the time of high or low tide, shown below, to the
times of current presented in theWells Fishing Forecast.
Tide Table Adjustment Times
HIGH LOW
Port St. Joe
-0:24 -0:51
St. Andrew Bay
Channel
-1:31 -2:02
Panama City
-0:43 -0:44
Parker
-0:05 -0:22
Laird Bayou, E. Bay +0:26 +0:40
Farmdale, E. Bay
+0:35 +0:55
Wetappo Crk, E. Bay +1:01 +1:40
Lynn Haven, N. Bay
-0:06 +0:20
West Bay Crk, W. Bay +0:18 +1:23
Choctawhatchee Bay
East Pass (Destin)
-0:27 +1:20
Harris, The Narrows
+1:37 +2:51
Fishing Bend,SantaRosa+0:41 +0:51
Pensacola Bay
Entrance
-1:23 -0:34
Warrington, 2 mi. S. of -0:27 -0:30
PENSACOLA
Times Shown
Lora Pt., Escambia Bay +0:36 +1:03
East Bay
+0:44 +1:17
Bay Point, Blackwater .+1:23 +1:27
Milton, Blackwater R. +1:40 +1:47
Mobile Point
+0:26 +0:12
Bayou La Batre
-1:17 -1:04
Horn Island Pass
-0:31 -0:53
Pascagoula, MS Sound -0:40 -0:46
Pascagoula River entr. 0:00 -0:42
Biloxi, Biloxi Bay
-0:32 -0:20
Ship Island Pass
-0:42 -0:30
Cat Island (West Pt.)
-0:44 +0:07
HIGH LOW
Bay St. Louis
+0:53
Long Pt, Lake Borgne +1:29
Shell Beach, L. Borgne +3:22
Chandeleur Light
-0:39
Gardner I., Breton Sd -0:19
Breton Islands
-0:21
Jack Bay
+0:12
Lonesome Bayou
-2:35
Mississippi River
Pass a Loutre ent.
-1:48
Southeast Pass
-2:32
Port Eads, South Pass -2:13
Joseph Bayou
-2:32
Southwest Pass
-2:34
Head of Passes
-1:47
Paris Road Bridge
+4:09
Empire Jetty
-2:47
Bastian Island
-1:03
Quatre Bayous Pass
+0:34
Barataria Pass
-0:44
Barataria Bay
Bayou Rigaud, Grand I -0:12
Independence Island
+0:45
Manilla
+0:48
Caminada Pass (bridge) +0:30
Timbalier Island
-1:25
Pelican I., Timbalier
+0:42
Caillou Boca
-1:04
Racoon Point, Caillou B -1:47
Ship