# Trout kill



## tailfisher1979 (Jan 24, 2012)

Went to panama city a couple days after the cold snap and found 20"-32" trout floating around by the hundreds, and that was just in the mile of shoreline I fished. It looks pretty devastating and Im sure will affect the trout fishing there for the next several years. There were tons of big mullet too but no reds. Its the closest thing Ive seen to the central florida snook kill a few years back.


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## Fielro (Jun 4, 2012)

Can't survive the extreme cold


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## Redtracker (Dec 28, 2011)

Show pics or i call BS


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## badonskybuccaneers (Aug 19, 2013)

*Fish die off*

I also heard from a couple guys in the Big Bend (Horseshoe, Crystal River, Homossasa) of several areas there were Snook die offs due to the sudden cold temps a couple weeks ago. A few areas- Not large scale- No where near like 2010. The temps just fell too low too quick. I don't expect it will affect stocks too bad. Remember, last winter was rather mild. I understood it to just be fish that were caught at the wrong place when the temps dropped- hadn't gotten to their "winter holes" yet. As I understand it, fish like the Snook in the Big Bend area will return to river areas fed by springs and other _warm water_ outflows when the temps start to drop in the winter months year after year (others move further offshore). It was reported at least one spot where the Snook died was at a location where (no trying to start anything here) human interference stopped one springs natural flow. I suspect our area has some similarity with trout and other fish- they didn't made it to the springs and holes they normally _winter_ in.
Of course this is just based on what I have heard and theorized on, I haven't had a chance to interview any of the surviving fishes to confirm it.:laughing:


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## tailfisher1979 (Jan 24, 2012)

Redtracker said:


> Show pics or i call BS


I have some pics but why do I have to prove a statement on a bunch of big ass dead trout. I never said I caught them. Why dont you get off your lazy ass, get in your boat and go look at them yourself mr. all-knowing? I picked several up and measured them and one was right at 32". ALL were over 20". Also got back to the ramp and told the FWC guy and he said its like that in East bay and North Bay too, all big trout. He had two dead dolphins tied up to the dock as well.


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## grumpy old man (Dec 20, 2009)

wife and i were in homasassa last friday, after the big freeze. the locals said it got down to 27 degrees. i checked several places from there back as far north as st. marks, and did not see any cold die off. friday it was 80 degrees and sunshine. it just didnt stay cold long enough down there. i worked at crystal river in the early 1980s, and there was big die off of snook in the yankee town area. we all went down after work to pick up the frozen snook, but the marine patrol would only let us keep 2 apiece. we left a thousand laying there. what a shame!


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## badonskybuccaneers (Aug 19, 2013)

grumpy old man said:


> wife and i were in homasassa last friday, after the big freeze. the locals said it got down to 27 degrees. i checked several places from there back as far north as st. marks, and did not see any cold die off. friday it was 80 degrees and sunshine. it just didnt stay cold long enough down there. i worked at crystal river in the early 1980s, and there was big die off of snook in the yankee town area. we all went down after work to pick up the frozen snook, but the marine patrol would only let us keep 2 apiece. we left a thousand laying there. what a shame!


The freeze kill was reportedly spotty- not everywhere. I'm guessing probably at locations where the water was shallow enough to be affected by the temporary temp drop. They showed a few pics- not a lot, maybe several fish here and there.


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## flounderslayerman (Jun 3, 2011)

Never heard of specks being affected by the cold and I've seen it get a lot colder then it did and not hurt the specks.


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## badonskybuccaneers (Aug 19, 2013)

*Something else?*



flounderslayerman said:


> Never heard of specks being affected by the cold and I've seen it get a lot colder then it did and not hurt the specks.


That thought crossed my mind even though I didn't say anything. And I *wouldn't* say anyone is BS'n- maybe there was another reason to the kill.


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## spike (May 25, 2008)

tailfisher1979 said:


> I have some pics but why do I have to prove a statement on a bunch of big ass dead trout. I never said I caught them. Why dont you get off your lazy ass, get in your boat and go look at them yourself mr. all-knowing? I picked several up and measured them and one was right at 32". ALL were over 20". Also got back to the ramp and told the FWC guy and he said its like that in East bay and North Bay too, all big trout. He had two dead dolphins tied up to the dock as well.



Damn bud, take a pill. he was just joking with you.:no:


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## flounderslayerman (Jun 3, 2011)

badonskybuccaneers said:


> That thought crossed my mind even though I didn't say anything. And I *wouldn't* say anyone is BS'n- maybe there was another reason to the kill.


I didn't call bs either but I highly dought it was from the cold. To keep people from calling bs he needs to show pics.


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## Redalert08 (May 30, 2011)

Yeah bud it wasn't the cold that did that. Our trout fishery can survive a super cold winter. Suck that they died off, hope you picked one up and sent it to a lab to find why. I would like to see some pics though.


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## Az-Vic (Jan 7, 2012)

If you have some photos, why not post them? A pic of hundreds of big trout is worthy forum material......if you have the pics?


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## todd in the bay (Oct 3, 2007)

I hate to hear that.


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## KingCrab (Apr 29, 2012)

:shifty:


todd in the bay said:


> I hate to hear that.


So it was u killing all those trout !!!!!!


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## daybreaker (Mar 23, 2011)

Tailfisher,What area in Panama City were you fishing?I fished in North Bay after the cold weather and did not see any dead fish.Just trying to figure out what else may have caused the kill.


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## chunsreefchip (Jul 17, 2012)

I live near West Bay, I didn't fish the first day of the cold snap but did the second after the wind died. There was a crap load of dead silver mullet around Burnt Mill Creek but didn't see any trout. Absolutely blistered the Reds on the flat that day.


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## chunsreefchip (Jul 17, 2012)

this is from that day


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## tailfisher1979 (Jan 24, 2012)

daybreaker said:


> Tailfisher,What area in Panama City were you fishing?I fished in North Bay after the cold weather and did not see any dead fish.Just trying to figure out what else may have caused the kill.


They were all around breakfast point and botheration bayou. Thats fine to all who call bs. I was just trying to be helpful by letting you guys know. I wont do it again in the future. As a guide of 15 years I know what the hell I saw. Scooped the 32" and 30" with a net and gave them to the FWC officer. He said it was because of the cold. The north wind dropped the water extremely fast and the fish got trapped in 3 ft of water and froze. Simple as that. Your theories of what may have happened are nice and all, but incorrect.


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## tailfisher1979 (Jan 24, 2012)

Here's the two we didn't give to the fwc guy. 28" & 29".


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## tailfisher1979 (Jan 24, 2012)

spike said:


> Damn bud, take a pill. he was just joking with you.:no:


Most people put jk behind their statement when they are joking.:no:


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## daybreaker (Mar 23, 2011)

Tailfisher,I was fishing in the Fannin Bayou area,which is a long way from where you were fishing.Hate to see that quality of fish die from the cold.I am glad to see that there are trout that size in our bay systems.


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## Magic Mike (Jun 30, 2009)

Those are some slob trout... would have loved to see one nail a topwater.


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## tailfisher1979 (Jan 24, 2012)

There are plenty more in good numbers there.


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## badonskybuccaneers (Aug 19, 2013)

*Same conditions...*



tailfisher1979 said:


> They were all around breakfast point and botheration bayou. Thats fine to all who call bs. I was just trying to be helpful by letting you guys know. I wont do it again in the future. As a guide of 15 years I know what the hell I saw. Scooped the 32" and 30" with a net and gave them to the FWC officer. He said it was because of the cold. The north wind dropped the water extremely fast and the fish got trapped in 3 ft of water and froze. Simple as that. Your theories of what may have happened are nice and all, but incorrect.


That was the same theory we had with the Snook kill with that same front in the BB area. Surprising it affected the Trout though- that's bad. Nice looking ones you brought home!


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