# Need some opinions..



## Nerf Warrior (Jun 8, 2016)

We are planning a trip to St George Island the first week of July.  I have never been there, I just hear that there are a lot of bugs and sharks but Im also hearing that their is some good fishing in the bay.  Normally when i go to the beach I just piddle around fishing in the surf and Im fully content catching whatever I might catch. The question I have is " is the fishing at SGI worth pulling my boat for 8-9 hrs"?  Its an 18.5 Fisher cc but it trailers well.  Im kinda 50/50 on it but if the fishing is that much better in the bay I don't care to pull it down there.


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## Town2Small (Jun 8, 2016)

I would. Having a motor down there opens up so many more options.  At the very least i would rent some kayaks


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## Nerf Warrior (Jun 8, 2016)

Lol, we were planning on taking kayaks till my son read something about a bull shark or something. ( guess you can tell we don't spend a lot of time in ocean.)  So pretty much take the boat or fish in surf and see what happens.


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## redneck_billcollector (Jun 8, 2016)

The "Bay" is huge.  Depending on where the wind is coming from you might not want to use a kayak.  I would take the boat, the tarpon should be there strong in July and you will want a boat to get on them.  Plus, you could fish with a boat in the bay every day for a month and only scratch the surface.....


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## jeremyledford (Jun 8, 2016)

Take the boat and learn to (if you can't) throw a cast net. So many more options.


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## Nerf Warrior (Jun 8, 2016)

Thanks for the advice.  This is the kind of stuff I need to hear.  Never been to SGI.


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## jeremyledford (Jun 8, 2016)

I fish in a fisher duck boat smaller than yours. Be smart and make sure bilge and everything else is flawless. Get a good map if you don't have good electronics and be careful of running up on oyster beds. I have fished other areas fairly close for trout, redfish, flounder, and Spanish. Stop in at SGI outfitters. They will point you in the right direction.


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## jeremyledford (Jun 8, 2016)

Btw don't worry at all about the bull sharks in a kayak. I probably wouldn't stringer fish but have never had a problem with them personally. I wade, swim, etc and never worry about them at all.


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## Browning Slayer (Jun 9, 2016)

Take the boat!! You won't regret it!


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## Nerf Warrior (Jun 9, 2016)

Thanks.  Everybody.  Ill be taking my boat and looking forward to it.


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## huntindawg (Jun 10, 2016)

Taking the boat is definitely the right choice. I'll be down the same week, drop me a line if you're not finding any fish and I'll point you to a few spots.


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## Bucky T (Jun 10, 2016)

You better also clean the snot out of it every day and when you get home.  

Flush out your hubs and make sure your axel is greased up well.

Salt will eat a boat up that's not made for salt water.  It eats up boats that are made for saltwater!

Buy some T9 lubricant spray.  Developed by Boeing.  You can find it online.  Spray every hinge, screw, trailer hitch, battery terminals, etc with it. before you get in the water.


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## deers2ward (Jun 10, 2016)

Nerf Warrior said:


> ...The question I have is " is the fishing at SGI worth pulling my boat for 8-9 hrs"? ....



Absolutely not, IMO

Leave your boat at home.
Take one of your larger setups that you might use for bass plugs. 
Get some frozen shrimp and throw carolina rig into the surf.  Maybe you will catch a nice redfish....that is the best case scenario. 
Drink a beer.
Maybe even charter a guide. 
Vacation should be relaxing. Taking your boat will = stress, and the return would not be worth it IMO. 

I love SGI, have great memories going there and staying at the plantation, but the fishing is weak.


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## Dustin Pate (Jun 10, 2016)

deers2ward said:


> I love SGI, have great memories going there and staying at the plantation, but the fishing is weak.



I strongly disagree. I have never heard the fishing at St. George described as "weak". Yes a boat will open up more options. With that said, you are fishing in July. It gets hot quick during that time frame. Your best fishing will be early and then again late. 

As always, I prefer live bait. A inexpensive cast net and mediocre skills will get all you need. Plenty of finger mullet, pinfish, and mud minnows around any bar or boat ramp.


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## deers2ward (Jun 10, 2016)

Dustin Pate said:


> I strongly disagree. I have never heard the fishing at St. George described as "weak".



You have now

Trout, redfish, flounder, whiting, shark? 

Compare to any other area of Florida and this is about as meager as it gets. The whole area from there on down to crystal river is all in the same bucket. Great places to scallop, to have fun family vacations, catch drum/trout, and in larger vessels you can go offshore.  

He has a 18 ft boat so he is not going offshore.
He is driving 8-9 hrs. 

Now, if you want to talk about the Fl Keys, or most other areas of FL (anywhere south of crystal river down, around and back up to Jacksonville) where either the species list inshore are more robust OR an 18 ft boat gets you into deeper water (panhandle, east coast, keys) on nice weather days, that is a different story. 

He asked for opinions, and in my opinion, that selection of fish is not worth a 8-9 hour tow.


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## Dustin Pate (Jun 10, 2016)

deers2ward said:


> You have now
> 
> Trout, redfish, flounder, whiting, shark?
> 
> He asked for opinions, and in my opinion, that selection of fish is not worth a 8-9 hour tow.



I'm cool with that. 

But there are many other species. Spanish, pomps, jacks, tarpon, all are readily available. Get the right conditions and he can shoot just off the beach for kings. 

The only species you might find further South in Florida are snook, permit, and bones if you go way south. 

Times other than July I would say you are just as good fishing from the shore and leaving the boat at home. A boat in the summer will allow you to jump out to the grass beds and take advantage of the trout bite, troll around the east end for spanish, slide over to the channels for tarpon, etc.


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## jeremyledford (Jun 10, 2016)

Dustin Pate said:


> Times other than July I would say you are just as good fishing from the shore and leaving the boat at home. A boat in the summer will allow you to jump out to the grass beds and take advantage of the trout bite, troll around the east end for spanish, slide over to the channels for tarpon, etc.



Totally agree. July is when you need the boat the most! Good luck wading when the fish are in the deep holes during the middle of the day. Not to mention having the ability to chase spanish and tarpon.


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## thedudeabides (Jun 10, 2016)

Nerf Warrior said:


> Lol, we were planning on taking kayaks till my son read something about a bull shark or something. ( guess you can tell we don't spend a lot of time in ocean.)  So pretty much take the boat or fish in surf and see what happens.



There has only been 1 death in history from a shark attacking a kayak, and that was in Hawaii.


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## CDN (Jun 11, 2016)

Dustin Pate said:


> I'm cool with that.
> 
> But there are many other species. Spanish, pomps, jacks, tarpon, all are readily available. Get the right conditions and he can shoot just off the beach for kings.
> 
> ...



This is spot on. Anyone that says SGI fishing is weak must have fished some great spots is all I can say. It's no "private pond", but it's good. Just got home from there with a cooler full of fish, fishing from an electric boat in the bay and from the surf. I will agree that the surf bite will slow next month.


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## FishingAddict (Jun 12, 2016)

Hey man,

Just went down there with my son and a friend and his son. 

We both brought our boats. (I came down a little earlier than him, his is bigger.)

Between the four of us, we caught 20 species.  Most of what we caught were trout.  We were using soft plastics or gulps bounced off the bottom or under a popping cork under grass. (easiest type of fishing with kids IMO, keeps them busy).  

Sometimes you'll see birds working and area and you can really get into fish in the bay-like one fish every cast with a spoon or gotcha. Given, in that situation what you catch are generally lady fish and other non tasty fish, but it's a lot of fun and we only want 2 to keep, anyhow.

Bring your boat. As long as the trailer is galvanized.


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## deers2ward (Jun 13, 2016)

If you guys think SGI fishing is worth dragging your boat 8-9 hrs, knock yourselves out. My advice to the OP who stated he has limited ocean experience is to charter a guide one day and/or fish in the surf and enjoy himself. Not only due to the fishing opportunities, but because there is probably a large knowledge gap, and also for safety.  Maybe next yr after he learns a thing or two it will be more worthwhile?

On the fishing quality, I live in FL so prob have higher standards. Most FL residents (myself included) tow to the keys, to destin/pcola, or to the east coast, with some crossing over to the bahamas. Out of the whole coast of FL, SGI is in the area of FL with the least to offer.  When I used to live in GA, I might have thought SGI was worth it too. Heck, I used to tow a 23' from Cumming to Sarasota ( I was going 60 miles offshore in addition to inshore)......it was fun, but the trip to and fro is exponentially more stressful. To me it was worth it most of the time, but sometimes on I-75 I wasn't sure...  Worth is something we all have to gauge and mileage may vary (Yeti/Igloo).  Like I said, I grew up going to SGI and have great memories there, fishing bob sikes cut and in the surf....I won the Survivors bait and tackle youth tournament one summer. I know SGI. Great place.....

This is my opinion which the OP asked for. My opinions frequently are not the most popular on this forum, and this is no exception.

Hope you have a good time OP


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## redneck_billcollector (Jun 13, 2016)

Dustin Pate said:


> I'm cool with that.
> 
> But there are many other species. Spanish, pomps, jacks, tarpon, all are readily available. Get the right conditions and he can shoot just off the beach for kings.
> 
> ...



Good advice, I fished St. George this weekend with the fly rod, the fish are already pretty much on the summer pattern.  First light and late afternoon except for the trout on the grass flats.  An interesting aside, I saw a kid catch a permit at the State Park in the surf this weekend.  He thought it was a big pompano but it had the black faded spot on its side.  I know that more and more permit are being caught in the panhandle every year, nothing you would target specifically but they are showing up in the bag of pompano fishermen.  Sure you don't need a boat, but in July it opens up so many more options...in my opinion the tarpon alone make it worth while.  As for comparing the region to the keys....as the other poster did, well, Harry Spears a famous Keys guide moved to east of St. George in Panacea because he felt it had a better fishery....a virtual untapped inshore fly fishing fishery.  One other interesting point, in July you will find more "Keys guides" in this part of Florida than you will find in the Keys, it is ate up with carpetbagger south Florida guides because of the huge Tarpon run. With an 18ft boat he can be mobile and fish the bouy line in Mexico Beach for Kings, fish anywhere from Panacea to PCB for tarpon and basically catch a smorgasbord of inshore fish anywhere in that area. This weekend I drank a couple of Hooter Browns at Oyster City Brewery with two south Fla guides, one from Ft. Myers and another from Islamorada who were there for the Tarpon fishery. I trailer to the keys if not every year, at least every other year and I would put the redfish fishery up against the Everglades fishery any day of the week..especially with a fly rod...they are "easier" to catch and many times are more abundant than the South Florida variety. The snook are missing though...I fished a tournament in Ruskin last fall and I was surprised at how few redfish were caught and they were worth the most points...snook seemed to dominate the board and they did so for a reason, if you can find them they are one of the easier fish to get to bite.


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## Stonewall 2 (Jun 20, 2016)

It is worth it if the weather cooperates and I'm not just talking about storms I'm talking about the wind. A steady 15 to 20 mph wind can turn that bay into a washing machine and it is no fun in a 18' boat. I would start checking the winds as soon as your dates are close enough. 

We just got back yesterday and we had 2 boats my 18' G3 CC and my cousins 22' Sea Hunt, the G3 never left the trailer because of the wind. Didn't matter though I would have still had to pull the boat just to get all my stuff down there.

Just FYI we kept my cousins boat in the water at a slip through Journeys for $20 a day which made it nice not having to trailer the boat everyday.

You can see how we did on my SGI reports for last week.
Have Fun!


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## redneck_billcollector (Jun 21, 2016)

Stonewall 2 said:


> It is worth it if the weather cooperates and I'm not just talking about storms I'm talking about the wind. A steady 15 to 20 mph wind can turn that bay into a washing machine and it is no fun in a 18' boat. I would start checking the winds as soon as your dates are close enough.
> 
> We just got back yesterday and we had 2 boats my 18' G3 CC and my cousins 22' Sea Hunt, the G3 never left the trailer because of the wind. Didn't matter though I would have still had to pull the boat just to get all my stuff down there.
> 
> ...



No kidding about the winds, it was horrible this past weekend, but with a couple of charts of the area you can always find somewhere you can put in and stay out of most of the winds....you might have to drive 30 or 40 miles, but it can be done. Where I normally fish around the PCB area I can always find a ramp and a place that is leeward .....


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