Fishing In Steinhatchee Florida  by www.steinhatchee.info

Here is a list of fish with some pictures and  information about the most sought after fish by anglers in the Dead Man's Bay area.  This will help you to identify a few of the species caught here.  From the Steinhatchee River to the  bay flats or offshore deep water fishing in the Gulf of Mexico.

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Most sought after fish inshore  is the Speckled Trout (Weakfish).  These fish can be caught all year long in this area.  A really beautiful fish with brilliant colors.  An aggressive feeder that prefers  live bait (smaller fish, or shrimp) but will readily hit lures.  This fish is caught in the bay from inshore shallow grass flats to the rack line off shore and in the Steinhatchee River.  The best time for catching this fish is in the fall and early winter.  These fish come into the Steinhatchee River usually in the late fall after the weather begins to chill.  As it warms up a bit they begin to move out of the  river and back onto the flats.  Shrimp, mirror lures, and spoons work well in the river.  Be prepared to donate some tackle to the rocks and oyster bars in and around the river.  Trout touts and live bait work well on the flats,  and mirror lures as well but the mirror lures load up with grass quite a bit.  A lot of fun to catch and very good table fare.

 Blackfish, a fun to catch fish usually found on offshore reefs or deep rocky holes or channels .  A very tasty fish that  rarely gets over  2 pounds.  Most of the fish caught are generally around 8-10 inches.  These fish are bottom feeders so fish with medium tackle with enough weight to get your bait to the bottom.  There are several spots not too far off-shore  from Steinhatchee where they can be found during the summer.  Cut bait, squid, or shrimp will usually produce a  decent catch.     

RED GROUPER are bottom dwelling fish usually found on hard bottom off shore.  Grouper can be found within an hours boat ride from the mouth of the Steinhatchee River in a fairly quick boat.  In the summer they are found a little closer in shore.  Grouper will hit jigs and plugs but, best results are live bait .  Pinfish, shrimp, and cut bait will produce good results if you find the fish.  Methods used are to drift or anchor .  Try and pick a nice day and I would recommend using a local guide.

Flounder are taken by rod and reel or by gig.  Light tackle spinning reels work well.   Both artificial lures and natural bait can be used. Over sandy bottoms, leaded plastic worms  are often very effective. On the grass flats shallow-running spoons are best.  The most popular method is gigging at night on an incoming tide along the  mouth of the river's edge.  A flood like lamp or lantern in front of a small boat where you can see the flounder buried up in the sand in very shallow water.  We spent many summer nights gigging flounder successfully  along the edge of the Steinhatchee River during my youth.  It is a lot of fun and requires the stealth of a hunter and fisherman.  You might want to have some mosquito repellant handy if you try this.

SHEEPSHEAD are found  around oyster bars, seawalls and in tidal creeks and rivers.  Moves near shore  in late winter and early spring for spawning.  Also found on boat wrecks, artificial reefs and any type of structure or navigation markers.  A sturdy line and a short shank strong hook is the key here.  These fish crush barnacles with their teeth.  Pieces of shrimp or small crabs are the best bait.  They do not run whenever they take the bait so feel is important .  Use a light weight, you may only feel a peck or slight tug , then it is time to set the hook.

Redfish or (Red drum) are caught on the grass flats and around the river. At times they are caught in the river, usually during cold weather.  The juveniles live inshore until they are about 30" inches in length at which time they  move to deeper water.  This fish moves into deeper water during cold weather as well.  They feed on  mainly crustaceans and smaller fish.  They will take a very wide variety of baits, including artificial lures and spoons.  Live shrimp or finger mullet usually work pretty well.  Fish with the shrimp on a popping cork with just a very small amount of weight or toss it out with no weight or cork at all.  Hook the live minnow or finger mullet behind the dorsal fin or through the mouth.   Rubber worms and jigs work well at times.  The fish are easily spooked in shallow water on the grass flats if the water is clear.  Casting or  trolling a light gig or spoon often produces good results.  A very tasty fish at the table and a challenge to catch easily places this fish in the top 10 most wanted.

COBIA (Ling)  Hook into one of the guys and hang on.    A great fighting fish, usually found around structure  on the flats.  Whenever I say structure I mean floating debris or floating  grass near the surface of the water during the summer months.  It is hard for these fish to pass up live bait, shrimp, pinfish, or finger mullet.  Use just enough weight to keep your bait down.  You will need medium tackle, a spinning reel with 15 to 25 test pound line will usually get the job done.  These fish run hard once hooked and will readily foul your line around any nearby structure.  They are caught on artificial bait as well but live bait works best.                  

BLACK GROUPER  Found off shore on deep water reefs.  Smaller fish are caught a little closer inshore during the summer months.  Live bait, pinfish, shrimp, cut bait and artificial lures will catch black grouper.  Heavy tackle is required, these fish pull hard.  Black grouper, like red grouper can be found within an hour's boat ride from the Steinhatchee  River if you are in fairly fast boat.  There are several local guides that offer grouper fishing day trips  at reasonable rates.  A fun fish to catch and very tasty at the dinner table.

BLUEFISH although not here in great numbers there are good catches from time to time. These fish can be found inshore during the spring and summer.  Greater numbers of these fish are around during fall an winter, usually in deeper water.  Look for commotion in schools of bait fish.  Schools of blues feed on and follow these bait fish schools.  Once bluefish are located they can be caught on live minnows, finger mullet, lures, and spoons.  A steel leader is suggested with med tackle.  These fish have very sharp teeth.  Aggressive feeders they will readily hit most baits presented to them.  Two, to three pound fish are common in the Gulf.   These fish are good to eat and taste best if prepared and served while they are fresh.

MULLET (Black Lisa)  Last but not least in the top ten most wanted fish list.  Not a game fish but important to this area never the less.  The commercial harvest of this fish  contributed greatly to the economy of this small community at one time.  A very tasty fish especially from the gulf waters.  The net ban in Florida greatly reduce the number of these fish harvested.  There really is no other way to catch them in large quantities.   The method of harvest is a cast net these days.  These fish can be caught in the river from docks or piers with a small hook and bobber.  The best bait is corn or small chunks of bread dough.  They are difficult to catch but well worth the effort.