# tips for fishing SGI state park east end



## Mike in Al (Aug 19, 2016)

I have recently spent a lot of time reading  ALL the old threads   that  have anything to do with SGI fishing especially those that relate to wading and surf fishing as I am land bound. I have looked at several locations on google earth that have been mentioned by Dustin Pate and several others and think I now know where to fish in those locations. .  Thanks Dustin  for all your generous suggestions and diagrams on fishing locations and tactics. 

  One area I still have some questions on is the end of the state park. I looked at it also on google earth and know what it looks like but am looking for any tips from anyone who has fished there. I am game for catching any species that is decent table fare. I know there are plenty sharks there but not really interested in targeting them. I would think that trout and redfish would hang out in the grassy areas to the left before the parking area. What about pompano and Spanish mackeral?

  I here they only allow 20 cars out there. If someone likes me without an annual pass shows up at 800 AM when they open , have all the spots usually been taken by those with passes or by those camping in the park? how much does it cost to get the pass to get back there.

Thanks for any advice or suggestions .


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## ForsythGlock (Aug 20, 2016)

I caught both Spanish Mackerel and pompano off the beach side last year.  Used a spoon for the Spanish and sand fleas for Pompano.  When are you going?


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## Mike in Al (Aug 20, 2016)

I'm usually there around memorial day weekend each year for a week. But this year I have decided to add some weekend trips . I have been twice since memorial week and hope to go again in a couple  weeks and maybe once more in the fall. After that it will be probably be too cold for wading. When do the pompano start biting ? That would be fun to work in a spring weekend for them.


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## Town2Small (Aug 23, 2016)

I was down there a few weekends ago and went in at 8. I asked had any of the permits been taken and she said no.  I feel like you'll be alright as long as you get there early. I hate that they open so late in the morning. If you get a wild hair the kayaks in the state park rent for $30 a day.


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## lampern (Aug 23, 2016)

Is driving on the state park 4wd only?


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## Mike in Al (Aug 23, 2016)

What does it cost in addition to the usual six dollar entrance fee ?


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## ForsythGlock (Aug 23, 2016)

Mike in Al said:


> What does it cost in addition to the usual six dollar entrance fee ?



$6 to get access past the 2nd gate (East End)


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## lampern (Aug 23, 2016)

one_shot said:


> No, paved roads, improved roads!



Thanks!


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## stick-n-string (Aug 23, 2016)

We went a few weeks ago and caught 15-20 reds, trout, sharks, blues and nasty catfish from the bank. Don't waste your time fishing if the tides are not coming in or going out. Get you a ultra light with a bream hook and split shot. Put you a small pinch of shrimp on it. You'll catch all the pin fish you need. Cut those pin fish up and use as bait (we also used the frozen shrimp with success). Find an area that is 2-4 ft next to deeper water. Throw out and catch them all you want. Get you a pvc pipe to hold your rod, have fun! This was on the bay side.


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## Mike in Al (Aug 24, 2016)

thanks for the reply guys. My two sons and are going Saturday. Think we will start at daybreak at 6 street and go to the park at 800 . Not sure if we will try the boat ramp first or the end. if anyone is there and sees a 50 year old stocky overweight guy(mike) with a short thin 15 year old and big tall 19 year old in a brown tundra, holler at me. I don't know much about the tides and haven't checked them yet , but that is the day I can go so I got to go when I can and hopefully a favorable tide will occur sometime while I'm there. I'm out the door to some landscaping, but if one of you guys is reading this in your office today and got some free time and want to help a rookie out , how about checking the tide for Saturday and telling me what that means for fishing and what hours I should dedicate to fishing and when to lounge around/eat lunch etc. Thanks


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## Dustin Pate (Aug 24, 2016)

You've got a good falling tide starting mid-afternoon. To me, that is the best tide for catching fish down there. It will pull the fish out of certain areas and concentrate them.


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## 4HAND (Aug 24, 2016)

Good luck! Let us know how you do.


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## lampern (Aug 25, 2016)

If you can dig some sandfleas there (not sure?) always a good bait for pompano, whiting and sheepshead.


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## Mike in Al (Aug 25, 2016)

Thanks for the replies ,thoughts and ideas guys.  I think we will be getting there in time to fish an hour or two Friday evening and then most of Saturday. I will try to post some results when we get back.


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## Dustin Pate (Aug 30, 2016)

Mike, you catch any fish?


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## doomtrpr_z71 (Aug 30, 2016)

lampern said:


> Is driving on the state park 4wd only?



Not since they added some grating to the road, its still a dirt road though.


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## Mike in Al (Aug 30, 2016)

Dustin Pate said:


> Mike, you catch any fish?



Dustin , here is the weekend recap and a few more questions for you now that I have a picture in mind of what the areas look like.

Friday evening my two sons and I arrive, check into sportsman lodge and have only an hour and a half of daylight to fish so we head to one of our  spots on the eastpoint side. Tide was the lowest I had ever seen it. Caught several large sailcats and 10 short trout.

Saturday morning arrived at 6th street east before daylight. Hit the water when it was light enough to see the trail. Threw my little cast net a few times. got a few pin fish and much to my surprise I caught 6 eleven inch mullet in one throw. They went in the cooler. Unfortunately, that's all we caught there in an hour and a half. We fished to the left all the way to the first pier , crossing a shallow oyster before getting there. Also casted to the grass island out there for awhile. We all threw big bite jerk baits with red or white 1/4 ounce heads. Also drug a pinfish under a cork 50 yards behind the raft we drug to carried our stuff. Only had one bite but it got off after a few seconds. 

Arrived at park at 8;30 and the  man at gate talked us out of going to the end and save our 18 bucks as he said nobody had been catching anything other than catfish out there. So we headed to the boat ramp and got some pinfish mullet and mud minnows and set up about 60 yards to the left of the ramp at the first grass point . We fished there til 2:30.  I know that wasn't the preferred tide but we had nothing else to do so we fished anyway. We watched the tide come up and then watched the oyster island in front of us and to the right a little appear and stick out about ten inches . Only landed two cats , one stingray and a lady fish. But we did have some excitement about !:00 when my 15 year old hooked a large fish on the bottom with a pin fish. Using #15 braid and #30 flouro leader, he nearly got spooled several times . After 15 minutes he crossed the oyster bar out in front us where it looked to be only 10-12 inches deep and the braid got cut. We were guessing maybe a really big red fish because we think we would have seen a fin when it crossed the bar had it been a shark, but cant be sure. At 2:30 we made the decision the to go back to other side of the bay.

Started fishing at 3:00 . Our first bite was at 4:00 . It was a 25 inch red fish that my son caught and made us all very happy. We continued to fish up until about 8:00 . Ended up with 5 keeper trout with the largest being a 19 incher. We probably had 40 short trout and a few lady fish. Lost a couple big fish and about a 20 inch blue fish while trying to net it. Close to dark , I hear my son's drag being stripped at a very fast rate. A second or two later a 
Five -Six foot tarpon sails out of the water twenty yards in front of us and spits out his jerk bait. That sent chills down our spine. After that we headed north and arrived back in AL about 11:00. 

Dustin, I know being at the  right place at the right time and right tide means everything in salt water fishing. I am not going to give up on those locations as I was probably there at the wrong time. Based on the info I gave you, do you think the tides played a big role in my lack of success on the island and my success at eastpoint. You mentioned fishing in front of the first grass patch to the left at the sixth street spot . Did you mean the first patch on shore 50 -75 yards from the start or the first grass island 200-300 yards out before getting to the pier? We tried both since I wasn't sure. And at the boat ramp we stayed at the one spot the whole time . But started out bottom fishing about 40 yards out and eventually waded out and casted farther out some with live baits and jerk baits pretty much covering the whole channel at some point. Anything I should have done diferent  ?

Also had two pleasant and informative visits with fish and game officers while there and got some of my fish possession question answered. See my thread from a week or two ago Titled something like "florida saltwater fish possession limits".


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## Dustin Pate (Aug 31, 2016)

The tide definitely has a lot to do with it. I've done like you and fished an area just because I didn't have anything better to do, and not caught a single fish. I would swear there wasn't a fish within 10 miles. Then the tide would turn and you couldn't keep a bait in the water.

The 6th street area has been hit or miss the last few times I have fished it. I believe it fishes better on a higher tide. The area I circled on the map has been a good spot for trout over the years. 

At the Youth Ramp, the red circles are good spots to fish on a high or slack tide. When the tides start falling hard the blue areas have been perennially good spots. They offer a break in the current where fish will sit and ambush bait. 

I can't guarantee results at either area, but they have been very good to me over the years. 

Those short trout didn't happen to be white trout did they? It's about time for them to start showing up.


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## Mike in Al (Aug 31, 2016)

Those short trout were spotted trout , just not long enough to keep. Most were 12-14 inches but a few were 14 and 63/64 inches. Too close for me to put in cooler. Tell me about the white trout. Will you catch them in same areas where spotted trout are. Are they good eating? size limits and bag limits? I remember catching a few fish off the bridge one night years ago that were a little bigger than the whiting we caught and had no markings or spots but looked like trout. Maybe what your talking about. seems like most were 10-12 inches. That would have been early june though.


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## Dustin Pate (Sep 1, 2016)

White trout are very good to eat. There is no size limit. They fall under the aggregate style bag limit.... 100lbs or less. Anymore and you need a commercial license. They are more known as a fall and early winter fish that really fill the bay as the shrimp move in with the cooler water.


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