# Escambia has Cajun Blood in'er



## LIM-IT-OUT (Aug 26, 2014)

Well I got to escape from todays work in trade to work tomorrow so what do I do with my free time... let me tell yah.

Selina and I headed for Escambia at 0900 on the way there we stoped at a gas station and met two nice fellows who were on a fishin trip of their own. They seemed to be ready to go with an entire truck load of rods and gear. We get to talking and they said they were headed to LA to go get on some specks and reds... I was suprised to hear that, being as though there are specks and reds 3 miles away and they were going 3hrs away hahaha he explained to me that the fishing there is phenomenal and that I needed to go... ---- I do need to Go check it out too many people say that place is magical.

So we get on the water, waters high, dirty, its sunny 80', hardly any wind, a neap tide, 80 degree water, and did I mention the water was dirty. 

We start on a flat chucking jerk baits and soft platics around in about 4-6ft of water. Going from clear water - sound to dirty water Escambia is almost a complete 180'

The flats in the sound are full grass, potholes, ledges, sand bars, docks exc exc. Escambia - well first of all if you can see bottom thats impressive right now***unless ur in 6inches of water : not to mention the grass is no where near as abundant. so its a game changer.

The focus of the day was finding the mud breakes, where dirty water meets not so dirty water. Although these differences are very suttle they create an ambush point that the speckd, reds, and flounder all like. Another thing to keep an eye out for are slicks, the oils created by fish feeding create slicks on the surface of the water that kind of attention to detail allows you the capability to find targets in water that looks like coffee on days with no current no tide and hardly any wind.

We caught enough 14" specks to sink the boat. Once you find one speck, just hold position because you found a school. Getting hits or a fish on every cast for 15min wasn't a suprise throughout this trip. We ended up with a nice box of specks flounder and reds and A Huge Sail cat... my personal best Sail, ugly slimy fellow but I respect all fish and she was a lunker in her own catagory.

Jeff got off work just in time for some topwater action and he quickly put a fat speck on board to end the day on a high note!! 

Tight lines and Good Fishin


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## LIM-IT-OUT (Aug 26, 2014)

Pics


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## LIM-IT-OUT (Aug 26, 2014)

Check out the blue sail on the cat and the narley bumps on her head... i could have sworn i had hooked into a red. Great fighting fish!


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## Jeffbro999#2 (Feb 17, 2014)

Nice report man. Escambia is definitely unbelievably good right now and y'all caught a NICE mix of fish. Thanks again for scooping me up for a quick topwater session:thumbup:


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## Jason (Oct 2, 2007)

Big ole sail!!!! Glad ya'll had a good time brother!!!!


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## GROUPERKING (Sep 28, 2011)

Nice mess of fish ! Those sail cats do put up a pretty good fight.


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## Smarty (Nov 23, 2008)

LIM-IT-OUT said:


> Check out the blue sail on the cat and the narley bumps on her head... i could have sworn i had hooked into a red. Great fighting fish!


 You sir give the best reports ever. Wish I had more time to get out and wet a hook! I know it sounds pretty bad but in Pensacola Bay around the old sewage discharge system you could find nothing but the hugest sailcats ever. They can run just like a bull red for sure and fool you. Some years back I posted a pic of a crazy looking smaller one about that size caught at Bob Sikes that had huge bumps on its head. Pulled in many of the slimy monsters but never again one that looked like that one. It was definitely different! I bet the old discharge system is still there even though the plant was to be moved inland. Bet the big ones are still lurking there if you're looking for a huge Gaftopsailcat fight! Great report as always and thanks for helping folks by tuning into what technique that is certainly working :thumbsup:


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## Smarty (Nov 23, 2008)

Took a little bit but I found it as I keep track of most everything since I can't sleep at night. Dang insomnia and OCD! That's one ugly fish!


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## Smarty (Nov 23, 2008)

Please stop, you're scaring me! :laughing:


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## LIM-IT-OUT (Aug 26, 2014)

Smarty said:


> Please stop, you're scaring me! :laughing:


Thats a toad of a cat.... i guess once they get a certain size the females or males cant tell which one, grow those large bumps on their head. If they werent so slimy id be mre inclined to actually eating one. In my opinion theyre the most beautiful looking of cat breeds, those large sail fins can light up electric blue.... hahahaha thats not saying much but still....


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

LIM-IT-OUT said:


> Check out the blue sail on the cat and the narley bumps on her head... i could have sworn i had hooked into a red. Great fighting fish!


You sure have been the sailcat master lately bro!


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## Kim (Aug 5, 2008)

Great post and pics as usual Josh. Stay bowed up and keep the posts coming.


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## crabbait (Aug 28, 2014)

Sailcats (gafftops in La) are good eating. Just filet them like any other fish. This is the time to fish La. 25 specks and 5 reds a day.


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## LIM-IT-OUT (Aug 26, 2014)

crabbait said:


> Sailcats (gafftops in La) are good eating. Just filet them like any other fish. This is the time to fish La. 25 specks and 5 reds a day.


Ill take that 25 speck and 5 red challenge to escambia right now if I would have left the specks alone and hunted reds we could have pulled that 25speck and 5 red day off easy... we caught 25 specks at our first spot... most were 14" in LA they keep those little things...

Escambia is on fire!!! No reason to drive all the way to LA right now...

I know multiple people who have had 50-100 speck days on Escambia.


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## crabbait (Aug 28, 2014)

How many did you keep? That's the difference between La. and Fla. Fla. Fishes for sport while La. fishes for meat. I'm impressed with your attitude on conservation and I'm trying to learn your ways.


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## crabbait (Aug 28, 2014)

P.S. there's nothing better than a fried 14" speck


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## LIM-IT-OUT (Aug 26, 2014)

We kept 5 specks and let everything else go except 1 of the bigger flounder.


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## crabbait (Aug 28, 2014)

I think it's great to see young men and women on this forum acting in such a conservation minded way.


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## LIM-IT-OUT (Aug 26, 2014)

When I watch videos of LA and them piling on the specks or guys going off shore and catching a boat load of reef fish its seems somewhat wasteful but maybe they save it all for a rainy day. There is no possible way I could eat that much fish... Personally I prefer a steak anyhow...but I do enjoy a speck salad, blackened red fish, mahi taco, king dip or fried flounder from time to time.


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## 153 Large fish (Nov 30, 2013)

Man sailcats taste really good...you can fish the I10 railroad trussel where tugboats go through and catch 3-5 pound sailcats all day...My technique for preparing sail cat is clean into fillets or better yet little nuggets...soak the meat in milk overnight in a large bowl in the refrigerator..after soaking 18-24 hrs...remove from milk (do not rinse). .dip the fillets into a whipped egg covering the nugget....then place in plastic bag with zatarins cajun fry mix...shake and place nugget into fryer...the egg makes your batter thicker...

We did a taste test last year along with sheapshead and white trout....everyone liked the sailcat the most (without knowing which was which....and they dont have that muddy taste like farm raised catfish...nice work at Escambia brougham!


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## crabbait (Aug 28, 2014)

When you catch a lot of fish you start calling friends and family. The guys clean fish while the wives fry them up. Thats how you pass a good time!


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## LIM-IT-OUT (Aug 26, 2014)

Smarty said:


> You sir give the best reports ever. Wish I had more time to get out and wet a hook! I know it sounds pretty bad but in Pensacola Bay around the old sewage discharge system you could find nothing but the hugest sailcats ever. They can run just like a bull red for sure and fool you. Some years back I posted a pic of a crazy looking smaller one about that size caught at Bob Sikes that had huge bumps on its head. Pulled in many of the slimy monsters but never again one that looked like that one. It was definitely different! I bet the old discharge system is still there even though the plant was to be moved inland. Bet the big ones are still lurking there if you're looking for a huge Gaftopsailcat fight! Great report as always and thanks for helping folks by tuning into what technique that is certainly working :thumbsup:


Thank uou very much for that. Yah man Escambia has a very hot bite. Just search the bay and you will find some fish!


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## markbxr400 (Jul 23, 2013)

Looks like a great day. How close to the nuclear power plant outfall did you catch that mutated sailfish? :nuke::1eye:


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## Yakavelli (Mar 17, 2010)

I've wondered about the 25 speck limits in LA myself. No way in hell I'd need to keep that many. It ain't like you can freeze trout and have it be worth a damn.


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## 49913 (Apr 18, 2014)

Yakavelli said:


> I've wondered about the 25 speck limits in LA myself. No way in hell I'd need to keep that many. It ain't like you can freeze trout and have it be worth a damn.


 I've been going to Lafitte and loading up on Trout twice a year for a long time now. Wish I knew what you guys were talking about, sometimes it's like a completely different fish over here? I almost always have Specks frozen up in the freezer, they defrost and fry up just fine. Whites are a little softer and better fresh, but Specks? No problem.


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## LIM-IT-OUT (Aug 26, 2014)

I know a guy who uses a flash freezing process to keep specks fresh and frozen... Personally I fish too mutch to freeze fish if I dont plan on eating that day or the next I dont like to keep any... but back to the flash freezing process take your speck fillets put them in a shallow pan with water stick them in the freezer the the ice around the fish will keep them fresh... cut the ice around the fish stick it in a ziplock and good to go


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## 49913 (Apr 18, 2014)

I've seen that flash freezing article, and that looks pretty good, but I don't get problems with freezer burn. All I do is, I rinse off and pat dry the filets, then roll them as tightly as I can (enough for Janette and me per pack) in aluminum foil to remove air, and put the foil rolls into freezer ziplocks. I have zero complaints to report doing it this way, but that's me.


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## tailfisher1979 (Jan 24, 2012)

There are no redfish and speckled trout in La. Don't waste your time going over there. I believe the nutria rats and alligators ate all the fish.


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## SWAngler (Sep 13, 2014)

I grew up fishing there in Barataria Bay, Hermitage. We had a fish camp in Myrtle Grove. Knew those areas like the back of my hand. Fishing just doesn't get any better. 

Don't know how long the good times will go on though. The delta is so eroded in most places landmarks disappear after only a few years. The more it retreats the faster the erosion eats at the rest. 

What once were tidal streams are now canals, the old canals now rivers or lakes. Where duck blinds use to stand in solid marsh, are now open shallow bays.

Most people just don't appreciate how bad it is unless you see a time lapse, or grew up there like myself. Couple of Mississippi River diversions seem to be helping a few areas maintain what they have, or even rebuild, but they are really just a drop in the bucket for what is really needed. Honestly, I think it beyond salvaging it is so bad now.

Once it becomes mostly open water the productivity has to peak and start trending down I would think? Anyways, I hate being a Debbie Downer, but the more people that know, all the better for working towards a solution.


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## BlueWaterWarrior (May 28, 2015)

Josh, 

We may have to start calling you 'Cat Daddy'. That was a very 'hip' nickname back in the Fifties and early 60s. You may be just the guy to bring it back.


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## crabbait (Aug 28, 2014)

When I fished Barataria in the early 90s you could get from Lafitte to Grand Isle in Barataria bayou . Now it's open water from just south of Lafitte to the gulf. It's all gone


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## tailfisher1979 (Jan 24, 2012)

crabbait said:


> When I fished Barataria in the early 90s you could get from Lafitte to Grand Isle in Barataria bayou . Now it's open water from just south of Lafitte to the gulf. It's all gone


Yep. That side of the river has been hammered by storms from Venice to Port Fourchon.


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## crabbait (Aug 28, 2014)

I sure miss fishing Venice this time of year


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## LIM-IT-OUT (Aug 26, 2014)

No need to go all the way to la. Guys 

lots of fish here more then enough to keep me from making the 2.5-3 hour treck to la.


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