Keaton Beach Fishing Report December 5 -6 2014

Keaton Beach Fishing Report December 3, 2014

The water temps have been on a roller coaster over the last few weeks with temperatures coming back up around 60 by the weekend.

Reports of trout going up into the creeks only to be back out of them two days later; tell me that you should fish near the mouths of the larger creeks and in bays facing the Southwest to take advantage of the Sun's warming affect on the water temperature in those areas.

This week's five days straight of 70+ degree Highs should turn the trout and reds on like crazy! Fish 1 - 3 feet deep and watch that temperature gauge. Cordell Redfins, Bite-A-Bait fighters, MirrOdines, Catch 2000's and Paul Brown Specials should all take trout and reds this weekend.

Dave Malone and I fished this past Friday and finally found some 58 degree water 2 - 2.5 feet deep about 3:30 p.m. which yielded four keepers to 18.5" and 8 shorts and was over in one hour. We caught them on Gold Bite-A-Bait fighters, Paul Brown Soft Dines, Catch 2000's and #17 MirrOdines. We had four shorts on live shrimp under Back Bays. We tried inside of this water, closer to the hill and the water was two degrees cooler and found no fish nor bites.

Jonathon Sisson sent me this report last week, just a bit late to make that report.
"We were down for our annual fall fishing trip to beautiful Keaton Beach. Sorry we didn't get to talk this trip. Hope you and yours are all doing great. We arrived on Sat 11/ 21. Water temp was 55 (degrees) we caught 1 - 23 in. red & 1 keeper trout. Sun thru Tuesday the water warmed up to 62 in the afternoons. And the fish turned on each day right on top of high tide. We caught 75 trout with 13 over 20 in. Top trout was 25 inches. We also had 6 reds, top one 26 in. Will be back in spring hope to see you then. Jonathan, Willard, JW & Lee. Sisson PS Roll Tide" ((Jonathon later shared that they caught their fish on MirrOdines and Pearl Gulp)

Hey, if you are looking for that Special Christmas Gift ? How about a One More Cast guide service gift certificate. Give a $100, $200 certificate towards a trip or pay for the entire trip. E-mail or call me! onemorecast@gtcom.net 850.838.7541
 

Keaton Beach Fishing Report November 28-29

Keaton Beach Fishing Report November 28-29

The trout were biting early Sunday for the few boats which ventured out before the w-i-n-d-s and Fog moved in. Water temps were back up to lo 50's after crashing to 45 - 46 degrees last week.

Look for this rainy weather to raise the Gulf's temperature a bit but still expect to fish s-l-o-w-l-y for trout trying to warm up from their coldest "shock" of the year. Fish 1 - 3 feet of water with suspending plugs or Redfins allowed to sit still on the surface for best results this weekend.

Donald and Donnie Stinchcomb of Concord, Ga, with Jim Edwards of Milner, Ga. had 11 trout to 18" while fishing with Cotton Cordell Redfins in 2 - 3 feet of water.

Barry Young and his friend, both of Tifton, Ga. had their limit of trout, also on Sunday morning, using live shrimp under Cajun Thunders in 3 feet of water.
 

Keaton Beach Fishing Report November 21-22 2014

Keaton Beach Fishing report November 21-22, 2014

Well, I took Don Defoe and Chris Smith of Atlanta, Ga. out Saturday, November 15 and it was Cold. The water temperature had crashed to 55 - 56 degrees and only warmed up to 58 by the afternoon. We managed 16 -18 trout with 3 keepers, an 18" flounder and two BSB. Most of the fish ate live shrimp under Back Bay Thunders in 3' - 3.5'; although I did catch one nice 18" trout on a Catch 2000 when we first got out there around 10:00 a.m.

This pair fished Sunday and Monday from Don's boat and caught 2 - 3 dozen trout with 6 keepers Sunday; again on live shrimp under Cajun Thunders in 3' - 3.5'. BUT, then Monday, with 20-25 knot South W-I-N-D-s they slayed the trout in the fog and never left sight of Keaton Beach! Don said they caught over 60 trout with only 8 shorts; first from 7:00 a.m. 'til the rain hit around 11:00 a.m. then they ran back out at 2:00 pm. 'til 5:00 p.m. and killed them again. Don and Chris didn't keep a single fish, but said they measured eight over 20" with 22" their largest trout. Chris caught a 25" redfish for top honors! This was their first-ever trip to Keaton as they had fished from Cedar Key in the past. Don told me they had a blast and are already planning a return trip to Keaton. Wouldn't YOU?

Here's a report from Sea Hag Marina at Keaton:

Mark Hampson and Kyle Hampson of Leesburg, Ga. had their limit of trout all over 18" to 23" with a 27" redfish while fishing with live shrimp under Cajun Thunders and had a few on Cordell Redfins from 2.5' - 4.5' of water. The landed over 30 trout! 11/8/14
 

Rebecca Land and Terry McHone of Worth County, Ga.

Keaton Beach Fishing Report November 14-15 2014

Keaton Beach Fishing report November 14-15 2014

The trout have acclimated to the cooler water temperatures as evidenced by the bite we had yesterday. I had Terry McHone and Rebecca Land of Worth County, Ga. out and they caught over 50 trout with 15 nice keepers including 3 over 20" with a 24.5" fish for Terry and an 23.5 " trout for Rebecca! We fished with live pinfish under Back Bay Thunders in 3.5 - 4 feet of water to land this fine box of trout.

We caught trout for over 4.5 hours which was greatly contrasting the abbreviated bite of last week during the full moon tides. I fished with Capt. Dave Malone and we managed our limit both Friday and Sunday; however we couldn't beg a trout bite until the last two hours of the flood tide. We caught trout, reds and flounder on Paul Brown Devils, C-Eye MirrOdines, and on live shrimp under Back Bays. David had a 19" flounder Sunday on a P.B Devil from 2.5 ft.
Jack Minchey was down with a pal from Eatonton, Ga. and had his limit of trout Monday with 7 trout and a nice 26" red Sunday in five hours fishing time.  Jack's crew was throwing live pinfish and shrimp in 3 - 4 feet under Cajun Thunders.

The water temperature is holding around 60 - 61 degrees in the mornings and creeping up to 64-66 in the afternoons. The plug bite has been better in waters over 65 as usual and we landed three keepers on Bite-A-Baits yesterday. Look for the trout to hold to the present trend of hitting suspending baits early in the a.m. and taking some hard jerkbaits in the afternoons. Water temperature is everything this time of year. Live shrimp should be the most dependable bite this weekend.  

Terry McHone of Sylvester, Ga. with hs largest to-date Speckled Trout (24.5") taken November 11, 2014

Keaton Beach Fishing Report November, 7-8 2014

Keaton Beach Fishing Report 11/3/14

Brrrr.... Well, the second Arctic Blast dropped the water temperatures from 73 degrees, Thursday, to just below 60 Sunday and tonight's supposed to get cold again. I would guess that any warming effects this warming trend earlier this week may have added will be cancelled out by the cold front due this weekend . The Good News is that the fish may have had time to move around ( more than likely into the shallows) and get acclimated to the colder water by Friday.

Last week, I had Lee Crowe, Chuck Hurst and Wayne Allgood down from North Georgia and Friday we landed 13 trout to 5 pounds, a 5.1 pound Spanish and a 6 lb. red with four black sea bass. Wayne caught his largest-to-date a 25" 5.0 lb Sow trout while Chuck also caught his largest trout ever a 26.25" beauty which weighed one ounce shy of five pounds. Lee contributed the redfish to the box along with his share of trout. We fished live pinfish under Back Bay Thunders in 2.5 - 3.5 feet of water to catch all but two of these fish. We caught two trout on those 'ol Walmart plugs. Oh and we caught three black sea bass on Assassin Cantaloupe Sea Shads bounced in 8 - 9 ft.

I saw Steve Henderson and Tom Vafias of Tifton, Ga. who fished the entire weekend? Yikes, they had 7 trout in under three hours Friday with two over 20". Then on Saturday ( in that howling w-i-n-d) they actually caught 3 and then in water temps under 60 degrees Sunday, they managed three trout again. Tom had a 23.5" trout, Saturday, his largest-to-date! This pair fished a mixed bag of baits; plugs, Gulp and Assassin plastic and said they had no real pattern, except they had most of their luck in 5 - 6 ft of water.

It will be time to throw MirrOlure's Catch 2000's, MirrOdines, SoftDines, and Paul Brown Specials in all three designs this weekend as I doubt the trout will move much faster or further than these suspending baits move in water temps hovering around sixty degrees.

Concentrate on rocky flats adjacent to creeks with warmer water flowing out of them on the falling tide.

meanwhile Let's Go Fishing!

Lee Crowe of Bogart, Ga. with a 6.1 pound red caught Halloween 2014

Keaton Beach Fishing Report October 24 - 25, 2014

Keaton Beach Fishing Report October 24, 25 2014

Trout Fishing has been tough of late as this unrelenting High pressure hangs over us. I also contribute the slow bite to what I call "moving day "( or rather moving" week") It seems that each year, some time in October, when the water temps start to drop the larger trout seem to start a migrating from 4 - 6 feet of water into 2 - 3 ft. depths. Apparently trout don't like to eat on the run as they have yet to "set up shop" for ambushing food from their new digs etc. Our water temps are hovering around 73 degrees on average and this is down ten degrees from about ten days ago.
We went from 17 trout with three over 20" long and a nice 20" flounder for Debbie, Grant and Colin Marcum of Dozier, Alabama, Friday last to 9 trout for Don and Louise Stewart of Chiefland, Fl. and her mother Margaret ( 81 y.o) from Jax, Fl. We fished identical conditions and yet had such drastically different results. We fished live pinfish under Back Bay Thunders both days.

Most folks struggled over the weekend and this next high pressure seems to be having the same dulling effect on the trout bite; as Billy Pillow and I went Wednesday and caught 7 trout and a 19" redfish with 3 trout taken in less than 2 feet of water on "those old Walmart plugs" while the balance ate live pins under Back Bays in 3.5 feet of water right on top of the hi tide.

Here are some reports from the girls at Sea Hag at Keaton Beach:

Ashley, Cody and Zach Fowler of Moultrie, Ga. fished 3.5 - 4 ft. with New Penny and Pearl White Gulp to catch a limit of trout to 18 " and a 21" red 8/17/14

Steve Henderson and Tom Vafias of Tifton, Ga. had their limit of trout Friday, using Zara Spooks and Gulp then caught 7 on Saturday all with Gulp under Cajuns. 10/18,19 

That's it!

Grant, Debbie and Colin Marcum of Dozier, Alabama 10/ 17 /14

Keaton Beach Fishing report October 17-18 2014

Keaton Beach Fishing report October 17-18 2014

Trout had begun to take more topwater baits before the w-i-n-d left us then rebounded well over the weekend. This last piece of weather should drop the water temps down again and fishing should be Great this weekend. Live pinfish under Back Bays and Original Cajun Thunders in 3-5 feet were the best bet this week.

Last week, I had Pete and Kay Giddens of Ocilla,Ga. out and we had 14 trout, a red and three BSB then the next day we had 15 trout and a monster 5 pound Spanish Mackerel for Pete. All of these fish took live pins under Back Bay Thunders in 4 - 4.5 feet of water.

Trout were on fire Saturday, as I took Harry Dorsey, Larry Sculley and Mike Johnston of Albany, Ga out and we landed 20 keeper trout in three hours fishing time. We fished with live pinfish under Back Bay Thunders in 2.5 -3.5 feet of water. Harry also landed a 15 pound Blacktip shark; one of two he hooked Saturday.

Harry Dorsey, Mike Johnston and Larry Sculley of Albany, Ga took three hours to land this catch!

Ray Carlile of O'Brien, Fl. had two cobia last week, one each day with his limit of trout for two days. Ray fished live pinfish under Cajun Thunders in 3 - 5 feet of water.

From Sea Hag: Jack Minchey of Milledgeville, Ga. had a buddy on board Saturday and Sunday and caught their limit of trout both day using live pinfish under original Cajun Thunders.

The Kevin’s Fine Outdoor Gear & Apparel Sea trout Shootout presented by Calico Jack's will take place Saturday, October 25, 2014. Cash rewards will be paid out to the top 10 teams weighing in the heaviest combined weight of (5) Slot Seatrout (15" - 20"). Teams will also have the option to register for an additional $1000 in bonus money. $250 will be given for each of the following categories. Big Trout, Big Red, Red w/ Most Spots and Luck Of The Draw. With an entry fee of $50.00 per angler (bonus categories are optional) and a Guaranteed cash purse of $5000, you and your crew will want to get registered today!!!

Launch your boat at any boat ramp, fish your favorite holes and then weigh in at Jerry's Bait & Tackle located at 664 Woodville Highway, Crawfordville, FL.

The tournament banquet is at Cross Creek Par 3 Golf Course & Driving Range on Friday, October 10th & Kick Off Party/Captain's Meeting at Calico Jack's is Thursday, October 23rd featuring live music by Tallahassee's very own Tobacco Rd Band.
For more information, visit our website at www.seatroutshootout.com or contact Brian Hurley at (850) 528-0553.

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REDTIDE?

According to the State and all the reports I have heard from, the red tide outbreaks along our coast near Steinhatchee are over. We were lucky to have lost very few trout and reds, as most of the fish kills were of catfish, gar, mullet and grunts. (pigfish) 

Keaton Beach Fishing Report October 10 - 11, 2014

Keaton Beach Fishing Report 10/10-11/14

Water temperatures dropped to 70 degrees over the weekend and rebounded to mid-seventies only to settle around 72 later this week. Trout are continuing to take live pinfish under Back Bays in 3 - 4.5 ft., Paul Brown Specials, MirrOdines, TopDog Jrs and lipped jerkbaits in depths ranging from 1.5' to 3'.

This weekend should see Great fishing at Keaton as trout continue to move in and take advantage of the cooler water temps. Topwater has begun to take off and will only get better.

One More Cast trips: Well, the first true arctic blast of the year came thru Saturday and we still managed 8 trout for Paul and Clarisse Kinsley of Shady Grove, Florida. we fished live pinfish under Back Bay Thunders in 3.5 - 4.5 feet of water for our fish. We had two trout over 20" in the mix.

Sunday was even better, while I fished Jack Byrd with Chrissy Queen, both of Dallus, Ga. who landed 13 trout, four nice 11" Black Sea Bass and a Bluefish.

Chrissie Queen with her first-ever Speckled Trout

Jack Byrd with a beautiful 23" trout taken on a live pinfish under a Back Bay Thunder

The fishing had greatly improved by Tuesday, as Billy Pillow and I had 10 trout, catching the first six on those lipped jerkbaits in less than 2 feet of water; then finishing off our limit with live pinfish under Back Bays in 3.5 - 4' of water. We had two trout over 23" and a nice 20" redfish.

Seabold and Johnny Griggs and a pal had their 15 trout with 3 over 20" using MirrOdines and Paul Brown Devils in 2-3 feet, Tuesday.

Jason Hencley, Todd and Eddie Robinson of Gray, Ga. had their limit of 15 trout, one red, 4 Black Sea Bass in 4' - 5' of water using Gulp Pearl and New Penny under Cajun Thunders, Friday, before the front.

Dave Bosch sent me this email: "Good seeing you over the weekend! Peng, Calvin, Guna, and I had a good couple of days fishing on the 4th and 5th. We picked up 27 trout, 5 redfish, 3 Spanish, and an assortment of others. Most were caught on pin fish although we did dabble with some 'spots' Calvin cast netted in the canal for us. Calvin also did pretty well on his favorite plastic, Candy Corn Saltwater Assassin Shad. The bulk of our fish were picked up in 4.5' - 5' of water. Water temps were from 72 to 77 degrees on Saturday and from 69 to 72 on Sunday" ( this crew is from Tifton, Ga.)

Hey, just want to announce the SeaTrout Shootout! is Saturday, October 25, 2014

The Kevin’s Fine Outdoor Gear & Apparel Seatrout Shootout presented by Calico Jack's will take place Saturday, October 25, 2014. Cash rewards will be paid out to the top 10 teams weighing in the heaviest combined weight of (5) Slot Seatrout (15" - 20"). Teams will also have the option to register for an additional $1000 in bonus money. $250 will be given for each of the following categories. Big Trout, Big Red, Red w/ Most Spots and Luck Of The Draw. With an entry fee of $50.00 per angler (bonus categories are optional) and a Guaranteed cash purse of $5000, you and your crew will want to get registered today!!!

Launch your boat at any boat ramp, fish your favorite holes and then weigh in at Jerry's Bait & Tackle located at 664 Woodville Highway, Crawfordville, FL.

The tournament banquet is at Cross Creek Par 3 Golf Course & Driving Range on Friday, October 10th & Kick Off Party/Captain's Meeting at Calico Jack's is Thursday, October 23rd featuring live music by Tallahassee's very own Tobacco Rd Band.

For more information, visit their website  www.seatroutshootout.com or contact Brian Hurley at (850) 528-0553.

Keaton Beach Fishing Report October 2-3, 2014

Keaton Beach Fishing Report October 3 - 4 2014

Well, the weather took my trips away this past week and the tides were reversed as well, which made it tough to want to go out in that 15 - 20 knot East W-i-n-d which howled for five straight days.Better tides and cooler temps this weekend should yield some nice trout in shallower water on topwater and Cajun and Jig'nGrub combos.

I would expect the majority of trout to be caught in 3 - 5 feet until the shrimp make their move late in the month.

Here is a report from Holly at Sea Hag at Keaton Beach.9/26 Bob and Brenda Holt with Casey Downs all from Franklin, South Carolina caught trout to 17", bluefish, ladyfish, Black Sea Bass and Sailcats out in 11 (eleven) feet of water. (Now why they were that deep I will never know) Their best trout bait was Nuclear Chicken Gulp shrimp.

That's it except to say that no red tide or fish kills are occurring inshore, north of the Steinhatchee River and the red tide blooms according to the State are as follows:

A patchy bloom of Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, continues in the northeast Gulf of Mexico. Satellite images from the Optical Oceanography Laboratory at the University of South Florida show a surface bloom starting approximately 5 to 35 miles offshore, dependent on location, between Franklin and Citrus counties, and less than 3 miles offshore of Cedar Key (Levy County). Concentrations of the red tide organism in these areas range from background to high.Karenia brevis was not detected in or alongshore of Okaloosa, Franklin, Wakulla, or Taylor counties, or offshore of Escambia, Wakulla, or Taylor counties. No samples were analyzed this week from Santa Rosa, Walton, or Jefferson counties. One sample collected inshore of Bay, Gulf, and Lee counties, and one collected offshore of Pinellas County and one collected offshore of Lee County, each contained background concentrations of K. brevis. Additional samples analyzed throughout Florida this week did not contain Karenia brevis. 9/26/14

We can only hope the cooler weather and high East winds have helped to push what is left of these blooms further offshore and away from us in Taylor County.

Keaton Beach Fishing Report - September 26,27 2014

Trout were loving the cooler weather before this latest front of w-i-n-d came down and we had great limits of trout like the 15 trout to 22 inches with one Spanish for Dawn Taylor, Leanne Powell of Perry, Fl. and Steve Johnson of Live Oak, Fl. They fished with me Friday with live pinfish under Back Bay Thunders in 3 - 5 ft of water to land their catch.

I saw Gus Powell, Pat Summerhill and Craig Bozeman down from Griffin Ga. and they had caught their usual limits of trout each day for three days over last weekend. This trio throws Bomber 15 A's exclusively ( with a few Walmart Renegades in the mix) in 1-3 feet of water.

Tuesday, I had Pete Giddens, Jess Brantley, and Kristy Yarbrough of Ocilla, Ga. out and we managed 8 trout and a 12 lb. Blacktip Shark (Pete) in 15+ knot N.E. w-i-n-d-s We had three trout over 20" including a 23" fish for Pete. Guess the trout didn't recognize a N.E. w-i-n-d? as usual we fished with live pins under Back Bays in 3.5 - 4.5 feet.

Here are a couple of reports from Holly at Sea Hag at Keaton Beach:

Binh Nguyen caught his limit of trout using live shrimp as bait including a 22" trout. 9/15

Fred and Mary Register limited out in under an hour for their last scallop trip of the year with 5 folks on the boat. 9/16

that's it! Go Noles!

Dawn Taylor, Perry Chamber of Commerce, with Steve( "Stevie D") Johnson of 98.1 F.M. Live Oak with a great "double" of Specks caught 9/19/14

Leanne Powell & Dawn Taylor of Perry, Fl. with Steve Johnson of Live Oak, Fl. with a Great Day's catch 9/19/14

Keaton Beach Fishing Report - September 19,20 2014

Paul Wilson and Jason Witherspoon accepting a $1000 check for first place in the 3rd annual Taylor County Fall Trout tourney Saturday, September 13.

Trout were biting this past weekend as 82 anglers fished the 3rd annual Taylor County Trout Tournament. It took 12.10 lbs for the winning stringer of five trout for Jason Witherspoon and Paul Wilson of Valdosta, Ga.  Top trout was 4.46 lbs for Kala Hobbs of Lenox, Ga. The winning redfish was caught from Steinhatchee by Jeff Evans.

Here are the complete results from the Tourney

RESULTS:

5 Trout Stringer - 1st Place $1,000.00 Winner - Jason Witherspoon and Paul Wilson!! 12.10 lbs.

5 Trout Stringer - 2nd Place $600.00 - Billy Pillow and Pat McGriff!! 11.54 lbs.

5 Trout Stringer - 3rd Place $300.00 - Robert Maxwell and Charles Griner! 11.26 lbs.

Largest Trout: Kala Hobbs - Weighing in at 4.46 lbs. She won $300.00! 2nd Place:Jason Witherspoon 3.86 lbs., 3rd Place-Billy Pillow 3.42 lbs., 4th Place-Jim Carter 3.36 lbs., 5th Place Bobby Cannon 3.36 lbs.

Largest Red Jeff Evans 7.22 lbs. Jeff won $300.00. Also won Red Fish with MOST SPOTS (7 Spots). 2nd Place - Cornell Silveira 5.24 lbs., 3rd Place Hudson Carter 5.16 lbs., 4th Place Billy Pillow 5.00 lbs., 5th Place June Palmer 2.66 lbs.

Lucky Dog Winner of $100.00 was Ty Spikes!

Largest Mystery Fish (Spanish Mack) David Malone at 5.08 lbs.

Miss Jody Devane won 1st Place Largest SHINER weighing in at .34 lbs.

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Billy and I caught and released over three dozen keeper trout including an amazing 7 trout over 21" in a row  ( Billy caught five on five casts) during one stretch from 2:43 p.m. to 3:18 p.m.  Brian Stone told me Kala's big trout hit at 2:45p.m. so that was the Major feed for the day. We caught fish early from 7:30 a.m. till about 11:30 including the one red we weighed, then didn't get a bite from 11:30 til 2:30 p.m. I tried topwater early, but they would only slap at my She Dogs and Zara Spooks; so after Billy had put four trout in the boat in under 20 minutes, using live pinfish rigged under a Back Bay Thunder, I switched to live bait and never looked back. We caught most of our trout in 3.5 - 4.5 feet of water with a few under 3' near the low tide.  I also jumped a 100+ lb. Tarpon on about my third bait and she gave us three magnificent jumps before I grabbed the spool and broke her off!

It was a Great Tournament and I would like to thank Sea Hag At Keaton Beach, all the sponsors: Duke Energy, Snyder-Lance, Big Bend Marine,  also Bass Assassin and volunteers; as well as Dawn Taylor, Ashley Mock, Aaron Portwood and Leanne Powell for putting on the Tournament on behalf of the Taylor County Tourism Development Council.

that's it...

Keaton Beach Fishing Report September 12-13/ 2014

Trout continued to bite  as this report from The girls at Sea Hag at Keaton shows:

Brandon and James Hendry of Valdosta, Ga. had their limit of trout with a 20" and a 22" fish while fishing with live pinfish under Cajuns.

I had Tya, Jolee and Shane Camp of Hahira, Ga. out Sunday and they landed 18 trout a 20" red (Jolee 10 yrs. old) her first-ever and we had four trout over 21" long in the cooler. We fished live pinfish under Back Bay Thunders in 4 - 5 feet of water.

Saturday is the Fall Taylor County Fishing tournament with $3000 in cash and prizes, including $1000, $600 and $300 for the three places in the five slot fish trout category. The largest trout pays $300 and the largest red also $300 Come to Keaton this weekend to try your hand at catching trout! Only a $30 per angler entry fee.  Captain's meeting at Sea Hag at Keaton 6:30 p.m. Friday attend to gain .3 of a pound weight bonus!

See you there!

Keaton Beach Fishing Report September 5,6 2014

From the girls at Sea Hag @Keaton :

8/27-30 Jack Minchey and David McAfee had their limit each day, Wednesday through Saturday fishing with live pinfish under Cajuns. Jack told me he fished some in the a.m.s catching about half then came in and went back out to finish his limits on the incoming tides in the late afternoons.

8/30  Mitchell Donahoo and Wes Carter with E.L Sprayberry of Ashburn, Ga.. had their limit of trout to 23" while fishing with grubs and Gulp in 4 - 6 ft near Rock Island

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I had Zack and Nick Cook with Nathan Alexander of Woodstock, Ga. out Saturday and we landed 16 trout with one 25" trout which I landed on an Assassin Violet Moon five inch shad on an Assassin Pro Elite jighead from 2.8 feet of water. We also had a 24" trout for Nick and two more over 20" long. Nathan caught a 20" red on a pigfish under a Back Bay.

Sunday, I took the same crew out and this time Nathan took top honors with a 25" , 5.1 pound trout. Nathan also landed a cobia which was an inch too short for the grill. But the best fish of the weekend was a Pompano which Zach caught on a pinfish! In my 24 years of guiding out of Keaton no one has caught a Pompano on board my charters..so that is unusual enough...but to catch one on a live "fish" is especially rare, as they are mostly crustacean and mollusk eaters?  We brought in 17 trout, a Spanish and the Pompano with four trout over 20" long.

From David Bosch of Tifton, Ga. "Fished 8/30 out of Keaton Beach with Peng, Calvin, and Guna Chee We landed 16 trout, 2 Spanish, and a couple of sea bass. All were caught on pin fish under Cajuns  We had our best success in 5 ' - 6 ' in slightly stained water. Water temps rose from 82 to 86."

HEY! the Fall Taylor County Fall Trout Tournament is next Saturday, September 13 at Sea Hag at Keaton Beach.

Prizes include $1000, $600 and $300 for 3 places in the heaviest five trout stringer, $300 for the largest trout weighed;

$300 for the largest Red weighed; a $100 Lucky DOG drawing and Prizes for more categories. Entry fee is only $30 per angler.

Weigh-in in is 3:00 p.m. or you can pay an extra $20.00 and weigh in at 4:00 p.m. For more information call Ashley Mock at 850-843-0566 or the Chamber @ 584-5366.

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Keaton Beach Fishing Report Labor Day Weekend.

I had one trip last week,  Seabold & Johnny Griggs of Phenix City , Alabama with David Parkman of Columbus, Ga. ( whom I graduated with from Hardaway High school back in the day ) and we limited out on Trout with three trout over 20" including a 24" fish for Seabold. We caught 9 trout on the incoming ( oh and one sand trout)  on live pinfish under Back Bay Thunders and we landed several nice trout on Assassin's 5 inch shads in Violet Moon bounced on a ProElite chartreuse jighead.  We caught the balance ( 11 trout) on the first hour of the falling tide. All these fish came from 4.5' to 5.5' of water.

Anglers should watch out for scallopers, this Holiday weekend and you scallopers Fly your Dive Flags, It's the LAW!

Keaton Beach Fishing Report 8-22,23 2014

KEATON Beach Fishing report 8/22,23/14

Billy Pillow of Woods 'N Water Fishing Team fame and I went Wednesday and landed 7 trout with one 24" long (Billy) and one 22.5" We were using live pinfish under Back Bay Thunders in 4.5 - 5.5 feet of water. I landed one nice trout one an Assassin 5" shad in Sand Trout pattern. Oh and I caught and threw back a 15" gag grouper from 6 ft.of water.

That's all I have this week, as with School starting back the marina was downright lonesome looking with very few going fishing.

Scallopers were still finding limits this past weekend with much less traffic on the water. Now is the time to go if you haven't been, no crowds, more scallops and fewer Thunderstorms .

Remember to Fly Your Dive Flags It's the LAW!

Keaton Report 8/15,16, 2014

Trout were eating it up between thunderstorms over the weekend with my charters landing limits each day. Friday, I had Joe Wallace and Ellen Williams down from Vermont for a week's stay at Sea Hag at Keaton and they landed 15 trout weighing in at  29.04 pounds! We fished live pinfish under Back Bays in 4.5 - 5.5 feet of water for their limit.
 
Saturday and Sunday I took Stan and Tyler Bryant, with Kyle Stamper, all of Warner Robins, Ga. out and we had 20 trout weighing 31.3 pounds and 34.2 pounds respectively. We had three over 21" long Saturday and one over 23" Sunday. Live pinfish and pigfish were the ticket again, while we landed some of the largest trout from 3.5 feet both days. We also caught a few nice trout on Assassin's Violet Moon and Sand Trout five inch shads.
 
Sharks continue to rule the calm slick water on the tide changes and we lost four rigs in under 30 minutes to large "noseeums" Monday, while catching 9 nice trout once the water started moving for Ray Carlile and Jim Watson of Obrien, Florida. We had to go in early as the Thunderstorms took over the Gulf after fishing less than two hours.
 
Here is a report from Sea Hag at Keaton Beach :
Tracey Green of Statenville, Ga had his limit of scallops for two days from 3 - 4 ft of water 7/26 & 7/27
8/7 Ken McMillan , Steve Roberts and Pat Carmichael of Gwinnett county, Ga. had their limit of six reds fishing with live shrimp and live pinfish somewhere "down South"
 
Last week I met Theresa and Albert Ellershaw with Tom and Donna Throm from Cocoa Beach down for a week on their annual ten-year tradition of coming to Keaton Beach to scallop and they had their limit for four days in a row! The Throms daughter and son-in-law were coming in from Colorado to join them for the last three days of their vacation. I saw several other boats cleaning what looked to be a limit of scallops, each day over the weekend, but sorry I didn't get any names or locations.
 
Now that the crowds have diminished limits are more common and some claim scallops to still be coming in on each subsequent tide.
 
Just Remember to FLY Your Dive Flags. It's the LAW!

Keaton Beach Fishing Report 8/8-9/14

Tyler Bryant of Warner Robins, Ga. with a 24" trout taken on a live pinfish under a Back Bay Thunder  8/9/14

Trout continue to eat live pinfish under Back Bay Thunders and are hitting topwater baits early in shallower water when you can find a clear(floating grass) place to work them. Try the outgoing tides for best topwater results.

Billy Pillow of Woods 'N Water Magazine took his son-in-law and grandson Ralph  and  Blake Plaza respectively from Orlando, FL. out for an hour-and-a-half Saturday and they brought back four trout, including a monster 28 inch long Sow trout which Billy caught on a live pinfish under a Back Bay Thunder. This trio was fishing in 4.5 - 5.5 feet of water. They also caught some jacks and catfish.

Wes Blue of Perry, Florida went Tuesday and landed his limit of five trout and was back at the ramp by 10:00 a.m. while using Zara Spooks for three of the fish and Gulp under a Cajun for the balance. Wes also reported several Sailcats blasting his topwater baits.

Other reports of limits Saturday came from Aucilla, Econfina, Hickory Mound and Fenholloway, so Don't let the Hot weather talk you out of going.

That's it... except to say they are still getting scallops at Keaton... mostly from 4' - 6' of water.

Remember Fly Your Dive Flags! It's the LAW!

Keaton Beach Fishing Report August 1,2 - 2014

Trout Fishing was great last week with limits every day, from Tuesday through Saturday .... until Sunday. Sunday was tough with 11 trout and I caught one sand trout... first I have seen this year?

Tuesday, I had Cindy and Edward Brown of Mayo, Florida with their buddy Alan Peacock and we brought in 16 trout with three over 20" including a 24 inch trout for Alan. Ed had a 45" cobia on a while but it decided to release the hook after several minutes of fight.

Wednesday, I took Jeff Bloodworth and his nephew Trent Ingram of Madison, Florida out and we managed 13 trout, a Spanish, A Blue and a Black Sea Bass. We had two over 20" with one 24" Sow to top of the cooler.

Thursday, I took Alan Dacus and his grandson Drew Stubbs and we landed a limit of 15 trout, a blacktip shark and a black sea bass.

Friday, I had Matt Chastain and Bobby Chastain of Elijay, Ga. out with Glen Durham of Hendersonville, North Carolina and we brought back 17 trout, four over 20" of which, with two were over 24" long!

We caught all these fish on live pinfish and pigfish under Back Bay Thunders from 5.5' - 7' of water. The smaller 2.5 " - 4" fish worked the best.

Scallop Report:
John Turner of Stone Mountain way Ga. had his limit on board the "OverLeigh" for three snorkelers for Friday and Saturday last.

Cindy Chastain with Luke and Keith Parks all from Elijay , Ga. had their limit of scallops each day for 6 days from Friday last 'til Wednesday.

last week: Bill Privitar, Bobby Collaro and John Caprio and their wives all from Palm Coast, Florida had a limit of scallops for the three days they were here at Keaton.

Remember, Slow Down and FLY Your DIve Flags! It's the LAW!