Thats where the fish are. Here on the Northwest central coast of Florida. !6 miles ESE of Cedar Key the Waccasassa river runs into the Gulf of Mexico. The water temperature around the Cedar Key area has dropped so low, 47 to 51 degrees F, that the fish have migrated up and into the rivers and creeks here. Waccasassa, doesn`t that sound like old Florida? One of the few old Florida coastlines left now-a-days. It`s just like it has been for hundreds of years. Not a speck of concrete or any power lines as far as you can see. The redfish and speckled trout have moved as far as 5 miles up the river. I went to the boat ramp last Thursday the 12th to see who`s catching what and ran into some men fishing for mullet there at the park. The County Park and boat ramp are located at the dead end of hwy 326 in Gulf Hammock, Fl. From I 75, a few miles north of Ocala, Fl. take hwy 326 westward all the way to the end. Simple. 
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There were just a few trucks with empty trailers there in the lot and 3 men fishing on the bank. The men on the bank were fishing for mullet with rods and small treble hooks on the end of their lines and a float about 2 ft up. Usually you fish for mullet with a cast net because they are vegetarians and do not take traditional bait or artificial baits. On the treble hook you place a small piece of white rubber. Slice up a jig lure about fingernail size and hook it right on. Then toss oatmeal out over the top of the water. The same breakfast food we all eat. The vegetarian mullet goes after the real oatmeal as you toss your hook in at the same spot. They think your small piece of rubber lure is more oatmeal, and WHAM! Fish on. It`s a lot of fun. You have to be quick. First, toss a small handful of oats out over the water, then right quick, toss the fake oatmeal at the same spot. When the float sinks, snatch back and reel `em in. As I was standing on the bank I saw a boat approaching the ramp and walked over to see what he`d caught . That`s Mike with a trout 21 inches long . He showed me a redfish the same size. There were sheepshead and small drum and 2 more trout in his cooler. He said he traveled only 2 miles away from the ramp, downriver, to catch all his fish. It was breezy last Thursday the 12th, but in the river he was protected from the stiff wind. I have a trip scheduled soon with 5 residents of the Villages and I`m going to tell them to meet me at the ramp on the Waccasassa river at the end of hwy 326 in Gulf Hammock, Fl. 
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It`s a real treat to drift down that old river and catch your dinner in an environment as unspoiled as the Waccasassa. please call me at 352-221-5463 or go to inshorefloridafishing.com , thanks, Capt. Dan |
