fishing western lake

[carmcoop]

We're coming down next week. We have a rental house in Grayton Beach with a dock on Western Lake - right at the point where it goes in to the surf. Our entire group loves to fish - all day, every day. We'll do some surf fishing for sure, but we also hope to do some good from the dock on the lake.
ANY information or advice about fishing Western Lake will be much appreciated. We'll check out Yellowfin for sure when we get there, but I would love to find out as much as possible before we head down. Thank you VERY MUCH!

 

[kkddbb]

fish live bait ie shrimp early morning or evening. western lake holds large reds, etc. however, i wouldnt fish the inlet/outlet. you may get lucky, but id go more into the lake. ive had great luck on that lake from a kayak in the past. again, theres some BIG reds in that lake. good luck

 

[carmcoop]

Thanks Mr. kkddbb

We would LOVE to catch some redfish. My brother has never landed one - and it's become a major challenge now!
We're trying to find a jon boat that we can throw in the back of the truck - we have a couple that are too big. We need to be able to take a couple of kids with us - not quite up to handling a kayak. Know of any local place to rent a jon boat?
Thanks again for the response.
cc

 

[John]

We're coming down next week. We have a rental house in Grayton Beach with a dock on Western Lake - right at the point where it goes in to the surf. Our entire group loves to fish - all day, every day. We'll do some surf fishing for sure, but we also hope to do some good from the dock on the lake.
ANY information or advice about fishing Western Lake will be much appreciated. We'll check out Yellowfin for sure when we get there, but I would love to find out as much as possible before we head down. Thank you VERY MUCH!

Dear carmcoop:

You've picked a great beach house there. Western lake flows to the Gulf right in front of your place. It's a favorite spot for many of us. The lake water at your dock probably won't be very deep right now as the lake is near a low point. It's a fun place to watch or catch crabs, but you'll need to walk around to the deeper parts of the lake for any real fishing. Surf fishing in the Gulf should also be on your list. Lots of interesting fish are being caught this week. Spanish Mackerel, Ladyfish (skipjack), Flounder, Pompano, Bluefish, Blue Runners, etc.

Redfish. We could talk for hours. Yes, they are in Western Lake, the Gulf, and the bays. Ya'll may need to come by our Seagrove store for specifics. We've got some live minnows, among other things, that should work well for you.

Jon Boat. Well, we've got an unpowered 12-foot Jon Boat. The wind blows a lot down here so somebody needs to be a really good sculler or paddler. Otherwise, it's going to get blown around quite a bit. I don't really recommend it. A kayak is less sinkable and less suseptible to the winds. We also have a canoe, but the wind...
Note: Neither the canoe nor a Jon Boat is safe in the Gulf. Sure, it's been done, but it's not recommended.

The weather's fine. Hurry up and get here.

 

[carmcoop]

Well, we were already excited - but after reading your post I just about can't stand it.
We had already mapped out your store, and planned to come in just as soon as we hit town. But we had planned to go to the one at 32 E Hwy 30A - which is right where we are staying. So we need to come to the other store I guess?
We will arrive Saturday around 5 and unpack. What time do you close? I didn't see hours on your website. Will you be there on Sunday?
Do you sell fishing licenses? From what I can tell, we will need both salt and fresh water licenses?
We have a trolling motor and marine battery. If we bring that, would it work on your jon boat? We keep thinking jon boat because there are several of us - four fishing crazy adults, plus a 14 yr old and 9 yr old. We will definitely surf fish. No plans at all to take a small boat in the gulf - but for the lake, we would like to have a way to get at least 2-3 out at a time. We have a 4 man inflatable raft we were going to bring, too. We have a small powered boat, but I assume that only electric motors are allowed? We weren't crazy about towing for the trip, but if that works better......
Or maybe we would be better to forget the boats and rafts and just walk around the lake to a better spot?

John, I really appreciate your response and your help. Can I bring you something from Gwinnett County Ga? How about some beautiful home grown tomatoes or Hot peppers from my garden?

Thank you so much, and I look forward to meeting you.
cc

 

[liquorqueen]

Hey John...have the rules changed in Florida whereby a person fishing off a dock now needs a fishing license? I think I heard something about it and was wondering. Tks.

 

[Kurt]

FWC - License & Permit Information: Recreational Hunt, Fish

License is required if saltwater fishing from a dock or land starting Aug. 1, 2009.


Follow this link to buy your license online. *(A $2.25 + 2.5% surcharge of total sale per person will be added to your purchase.)

 

[John]

We have a trolling motor and marine battery. If we bring that, would it work on your jon boat?

Thanks for the kind offer of bringing something from beautiful Gwinnett County. I'm fortunate to report that I need nothing.

Licenses: Salt only is fine around here, unless yo plan to keep some freshwater fish. We sell licenses at our Seagrove store, which is our main store.

Hours: We are open Sunday 9-1. The other six days a week we are open 9-5 at Seagrove and 9-4 at Grayton. The shorter hours at Grayton reflect the certain hazards of the job. When you see our Grayton location, you may understand why we affectionately call it "the cage". It's a little claustraphobic so we close it up at 4pm.

Jon Boat: Well, it's gettin' complicated. If you put your motor (yes, even electric) on the jon boat, then it must have current registration numbers, which this boat does not. If a kayak is out of the question, can we make do with a canoe?

 

[croixbum]

Hours

Thanks for the kind offer of bringing something from beautiful Gwinnett County. I'm fortunate to report that I need nothing.

Licenses: Salt only is fine around here, unless yo plan to keep some freshwater fish. We sell licenses at our Seagrove store, which is our main store.

Hours: We are open Sunday 9-1. The other six days a week we are open 9-5 at Seagrove and 9-4 at Grayton. The shorter hours at Grayton reflect the certain hazards of the job. When you see our Grayton location, you may understand why we affectionately call it "the cage". It's a little claustraphobic so we close it up at 4pm.

Jon Boat: Well, it's gettin' complicated. If you put your motor (yes, even electric) on the jon boat, then it must have current registration numbers, which this boat does not. If a kayak is out of the question, can we make do with a canoe?

In Mississippi we call those bankers hours, not typical bait shop hours.

See you in late Sept hopefully John, for sure Thanksgiving.

 

[John]

In Mississippi we call those bankers hours, not typical bait shop hours.

See you in late Sept hopefully John, for sure Thanksgiving.

You know I'm a former banker. For sure you know we're not your typical bait shop.