SECRETS OF CHOCTAWHATCHEE BAY

Live Chum

EDITOR'S NOTE: Some of the best speckled trout fishing in the nation is in Destin, Florida. Captain Mike Parker's Guide Service books for three different captains who fish the Choctawhatchee Bay area around Destin almost daily. Captain Rich Walker has fished and guided on Choctawhatchee Bay for more than 10 years.

"You also can catch trout in Choctawhatchee Bay near Destin, Florida, by using live chum," Rich Walker mentions. "I carry numbers of menhaden with me when I go out in the morning to fish because I plan to use some of those baits as chum. After I start my drift over a grass bed, I take eight to 10 live menhaden and throw them out in the water where I think trout may hold. If I've guessed right, I usually see the trout come up close to the surface and take the menhaden almost as quick as they hit the water. This live-chumming tactic not only locates the trout and reveals their size, it causes the trout to begin to feed actively. The trout will inhale the next menhaden that hit the surface of the water, even though the menhaden have hooks running from their bottom jaws up through their nostrils."

When a trout takes the live bait, Walker instructs the angler not to strike the trout. "Let the trout run for a three-count so that it can get the bait well into its mouth," Walker advises. "Then steadily retrieve the line. Don't pull back quickly, or try to set the hook. A circle hook will set itself. Just take up line, and let the hook get into the right position to pierce the corner of the fish's mouth. If you try to strike the fish, most of the time you'll miss it.

In a morning of fishing for four hours, Walker expects to catch 10 to 12 trout, with the average fish weighing about 2 pounds. "I often catch three or four trout that weigh 3- or 4-pounds each. On a really good day, I can anchor that string with a 5 pounder."

For more information on fishing Choctawhatchee Bay or to fish with one of the guides, contact Mike Parker at 408 Lee Lane, Destin, Florida, 32541, call
(877) 827-7667 or check out his website at www.destincharterboats.com.

TOMORROW: FISHERMEN STRIKE OUT