For the past four years I have been involved in The Oldest City Red-Trout Celebrity Classic tournament in St. Augustine to help raise money for Cystic Fibrosis. It seems every year the tournament has been affected by the weather and this year was no exception. Last Friday was the start of the two day event and with winds at 25 knots and gusting the days fishing was canceled.
Launching that Friday at the Villano boat ramp wasn’t too bad until you reached the open water to go under the bridge to reach Camachee Cove Marina. Once you hit the open water you were greeted by 3ft waves. Let me tell you this is not the kind of water you want to be in with a 17’ flats skiff. Heading into the wind and waves I took two over the bow and was soaked by the time I reached the marina. One of the other Captains almost lost his skiff when he came down off a wave and buried his bow into the next wave. He said the water was up over the gunnels but his engine didn’t die and he was able to swing the boat around and rid a lot of the water he took on. Luck was with him this day.
At Camachee Cove they told us the day was canceled but if we wanted to take our people fishing someplace else it was up to us. My anglers, Wade Wilson and Sam Killin, followed me to Bings Landing and we fished for half a day. The fishing was tough due to the wind but they did manage a couple of 3 lb jacks, mangrove snapper,a small red and a 18” snook.
On Saturday the winds weren’t quite as bad. All teams met at the Villano ramp and we were able to take our anglers to any boat ramp we wanted to launch out of. We returned to Bings along with a few other teams. Again the fishing was slow. They had ladyfish, a couple of small trout, 4 reds to 20”, a 16” snook and 3 flounder. The snook was caught on a live shrimp. The reds were caught on live shrimp and Berkley Gulps, the flounder were on gulps, live shrimp and a gold spoon and the trout were on live shrimp and mullet. The guys fished hard for the day but none of the fish were able to put them on the board. Maybe next year will bring better weather for a change.
Locally, trout to 20” are being caught around the backwaters of Highbridge along with snook at night from the bridge. Reds are also showing in this area and other flats along the ICW. Flounder action has started to pick up around Matanzas and should improve greatly as the month progresses.
The surf and pier are providing blues, whiting and reds. Look for the flounder action to pick up in the surf and pier as well.


Photo: Wade Wilson with a snook that was caught during last Friday’s winds. It hit a 7m mirrolure.