Hello, friends and neighbors — Tight Line Jr. back with a few reports from around the region.  

We sure have been having some nice weather lately, just right for getting out on the salt water and wetting a hook. This activity also is very good for lowering the stress level. Even if you don’t catch a fish, just being out there on our beautiful coastal waters is enough to take your mind off your worries for a little while.  

My good friend, Neal Patterson, recently had some luck fishing on the bottom with shrimp in Warsaw Creek. Neal said he landed about eight nice whiting, two red drum (spottail bass) and two small sharks. He was happy with the trip.

The crew recently made its annual trip down to Steinhatchee, Florida. Mike Flatt (also known as Capitan Flatt-Light) Travis Mobley, Robbie Flatt, Steve Stevens and the wrecking crew did not have much luck this trip because they caught a red tide. Fish leave for deeper water on the red tide, even though Capitan Flatt-Light persevered and held up well considering the circumstance.

Some anglers down at Shellman’s Bluff caught the limit on trout using a new, artificial-shrimp bait that is available at Bass Pro. I cannot recall the name, but I do know they are $6 apiece.  So make sure you don’t get hung up on shell rakes unless you have a large amount of fives and ones, you know what I mean.  

Finally, friends, the dock tour is back in full swing. Fishing with Boo Hall and Capitan Hippie, we had some luck recently. When Old Capitan Hippie hollered for the net, he did not realize he was hung on a rock. But the next time he went down, we landed a 20 in spottail bass. As the afternoon lingered on, we caught two more nice spottails. I caught a toad fish large enough to feed a small family in the mountains. I would have to say we all had a good time. By the way, we were using dead bait that were fresh shrimp.

And Sunday, Capitan Hippie and I hit the docks. It was very windy and the water was muddy, but we landed two black sea bass, which is a really good sign of what’s to come. We also caught one black drum and two sheepshead using dead shrimp.

That wraps it up for this week, folks. I will be back soon with some fishing tales.  Remember what Old Tight Line always said: “Get out there and go fishing, and if you do, remember to always keep a tight line.”  So long until next time.

Living the tight-line life on the coast,
Tight Line Jr.