Keaton Beach

1. Matt Williams of Dallas, Ga. with a 23-inch trout 
2. Laura Gavronsky who fished with me to catch the winning 5.15 lb. trout in the Nauti-Girls tourney June 9  
3. Laura Gavronsky of St. Augustine, Fl. with her winning trout; 25.5- inch, 5.15 lbs. 
4. Janice Cross of St. Augustine Fl., with her first–ever redfish June 9, 2018 
  

KEATON BEACH July Fishing Report

Trout fishing has been great, despite the heavy stain which Alberto laid on us. We had 16 trout with three over 20 inches for Danny, Tracy and Jake Jaramillo of Valdosta, Ga. on Friday, June 8. We fished in 6 to 6.5 feet of water, with live pinfish under Back Bay Thunders for these limits of trout. The following day, I fished three ladies from St. Augustine in the Nauti-Girls tourney, and we won the trout division with a 5.15 pound trout for Laura Gavronsky  (who, incidentally, won first place in the trout division fishing with me in 2016) “Charmed I’m sure” The large trout came in during a slick water period, right before the full tide stand, as the water was settling to stop altogether. The water was 4.5 to 5 feet where this sow hit.  We brought in 12 trout with two more over 20 inches, five bsb and had four reds to 23 inches. The reds also ate live pinfish but were up in 3 to 3.5 feet of water, so dark you couldn’t see 16 inches deep.

This current stain is a blessing, especially on these calm days when the trout wouldn’t think of moving, much less eating in gin-clear conditions, when it is slick and the sky is a “bluebird day” under a high pressure, etc. The right color “mix” would be a cross between coffee and tea; which provides cover for them to move about safely.  That’s what I look for anyway. Plastic colors, which are working for me, are Assassin’s Stinky Pink, Croaker Shad, Pink Ghost, and Butt Naked. 1/8 ounce, Chartreuse Flash jig heads from Assassin are the match. I fish all my artificials on a Star 7 foot SG614FT70 rods matched with Star 3000 Aerial reels (no longer in production) spooled with TrikFish X-Rated co-polymer 12 lb. test line.  A Shimano 2500 or 3000 reel will do just fine.
Trout should continue to migrate out from the shallower 3 to 4 ft. flats, to the deeper areas, as the water continues to heat up in July.  We fished in 84 to 85 degrees this week. (Today is June 10.) I would expect to find the larger trout on, or near the breaks, where the deeper troughs feed to deep flats. Fish days when the tides are stronger; that means a greater range of tide (difference between high and low or low and high tides) which translates to more oxygen for the fish to utilize which both provides and extends the feed periods. 6 to 7 feet, and perhaps deeper this year, would be my target depth in July for trout.

We caught a few reds, before the blow, on Thunder-Spins and Intruder Hex Spoons, and I would expect by July, the same will follow. Try Silver and Gold now, until the water clears up a bit, then go back to Copper and Cajun Copper.

Keep an eye out and have a 40# outfit handy for Tarpon and Cobia.

Meanwhile, Let’s Go Fishing!
Pat McGriff dba One More Cast guide service for 28 years!
www.onemorecast.net
onemorecast@gtcom.net
850.838.7541