Wahoossi Posted September 1, 2021 Report Share Posted September 1, 2021 I have a Redfisher 16 and a large bay boat ( Contender Bay 25). I am probably going to take the third week off in September and I am looking for a place to go and do some fishing with the wife. I am inclined to take the RF as it is more forgiving in new waters but limits me to inshore. It is also way easier to trailer to unfamiliar areas and I rarely trailer. I live north of Jacksonville (Saint Simons Island) and really don’t want to go all the way down to the Keys and put up with the craziness down there. I was in Marathon in July the Overseas Highway reminded was bumper to bumper. I would love to have some clearer water (ours is like mud) but I would really want to be able to catch some fish. The fishing up here in Georgia has been SLOW. I have been to North Captiva and Pine Island Sound and that is a consideration. Realize there is not much for the wife in Steinhatchee. Any recommendations or advice would be appreciated. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoak352 Posted September 2, 2021 Report Share Posted September 2, 2021 How is your sonar machine on the contender? Is it a through hull? I would take the contender if it were me. Not much to do in those small towns. Probably Crystal River has the most restaurants but takes forever to get to the ocean from the river. Steinhatchee is not bad they have 3 main restaurants. I love Captiva/Pine island. Let me know where you decide to go and I may have a number or two to try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bamaskeet Posted September 2, 2021 Report Share Posted September 2, 2021 I would recommend St George Island, bring your contender. You can fish the bay for trout and redfish or jump offshore for grouper or king mackerel, if the weather is nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fin-addict Posted September 2, 2021 Report Share Posted September 2, 2021 Marco or the thousand islands. Would have said LA if not for IDA. Best of luck 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lap it Up Posted September 2, 2021 Report Share Posted September 2, 2021 Steinhatchee fishing is top notch. Huge trout, Huge reds and clear water most of the time. You can throw artificials and limit very easily. Its a good spot for either of your boats. The 16' would have a farther reach inshore based on tides. The town is very old Florida. Very calm, quiet and no crowds (outside of scallop season). The entire town is a golf cart community so if you have one and can bring it, do so. They have a handful of good food choices and Sea Hag Marina has 5 star service if needed. I have a friend that lives there full time and is an inshore guide. I visit 3/4 times a year. Fun place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wahoossi Posted September 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2021 Thanks for the replies. The transducer is a through Hull and works well with the Garmin 1242 xsv. Steinhatchee sounds like the plan as we are both getting older and quiet is what we are looking for. North Captiva was fun last time when we went as we took my teenage daughter and her friend but trailering the bay boat all the way down there was a bit rough. It was a bit too big for the mangroves and I didn’t have the knowledge and equipment to wander too far offshore. I may go to Steinhatchee for a long weekend and learn a little bit about the layout with the more forgiving Redfisher. Thanks again. What is the tide swing down there . Is it as big as ours, 6-9 feet feet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoak352 Posted September 3, 2021 Report Share Posted September 3, 2021 50 minutes ago, Wahoossi said: Thanks for the replies. The transducer is a through Hull and works well with the Garmin 1242 xsv. Steinhatchee sounds like the plan as we are both getting older and quiet is what we are looking for. North Captiva was fun last time when we went as we took my teenage daughter and her friend but trailering the bay boat all the way down there was a bit rough. It was a bit too big for the mangroves and I didn’t have the knowledge and equipment to wander too far offshore. I may go to Steinhatchee for a long weekend and learn a little bit about the layout with the more forgiving Redfisher. Thanks again. What is the tide swing down there . Is it as big as ours, 6-9 feet feet? On the full/new moon maybe 3.5-4' swing. Steinhatchee is rocky inshore so watch the chart when in less than 4'. Let us know where you decide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DWoodham Posted September 4, 2021 Report Share Posted September 4, 2021 Maybe just bad luck for me, but I’ve never found clear water at the hatch. I thought that was the reason I had the only tower boat at sea hag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wahoossi Posted September 4, 2021 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2021 I am going to Steinhatchee from 9/22-9/26. Staying at the Sea Hag and have a wet slip there . Thinking about getting a guide for the first day 9/23. Any recommendations? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linesider 159 Posted September 4, 2021 Report Share Posted September 4, 2021 3 hours ago, DWoodham said: Maybe just bad luck for me, but I’ve never found clear water at the hatch. I thought that was the reason I had the only tower boat at sea hag. Go north. A lot depends on rainfall and wind as well. The closer you get to suwannee the more stained it is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knotthereelworld Posted September 7, 2021 Report Share Posted September 7, 2021 Come to Morehead City, NC and fish Cape Lookout. September is insane fishing inshore and nearshore and the clearest water you will see in the mid Atlantic. Plenty of bars and restaurants around town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lap it Up Posted September 7, 2021 Report Share Posted September 7, 2021 On 9/4/2021 at 10:23 AM, Wahoossi said: I am going to Steinhatchee from 9/22-9/26. Staying at the Sea Hag and have a wet slip there . Thinking about getting a guide for the first day 9/23. Any recommendations? Ask for Leslie Hernandez. He is a SeaHag captain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linesider 159 Posted September 7, 2021 Report Share Posted September 7, 2021 Also, recommend having the contender unless you intend on getting super shallow in the creeks. That place is pretty spread out and running a little 16 could get old. Also, if the wind is blowing out of the west it will be hard to even get out of the channel because you have to run a ways out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wahoossi Posted September 30, 2021 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2021 We took the Redfisher and we’re lucky as the weather was mostly perfect. The fishing was quite good, as Inwas able to find trout every day. Beautiful fish, larger and a more bronze tinged fish than I am used to in Georgia. I caught some on our typical popper/cork shrimp combo but most of the fish , including the larger ones succumbed to Yozuri mullet artifials of various sizes. Only one below slot redfish. No flounder and a bunch of pinfish, even on the Yozuri’s! The water was pretty cloudy and not “gin clear “ as described in some of the YouTube videos, probably due to all the recent storms and flooding. We stayed at the River Club Cottages and they were nice ( wife nixed the Sea Hag). Local people were awesome , particularly at the Sea Hag and at the River Club . Restaurants were a bit dicey, and the prices were similar to what I pay in our resort community for significantly lower quality. Kathi’s Krab House was our favorite but they insisted on playing the music at ear drum rupturing levels for some reason. The food was good though. I will definitely head back to that little town to fish in the future. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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