Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Aldeer General Forum Father/Son Fishing Trip

I've been brainstorming about a quick trip out of state to do some type of fishing and would appreciate suggestions from y'all. I've read through some good comments on other threads on here and have already been looking into those. A couple summers ago we did some simple bottom fishing out of Captain Anderson's Marina in Panama City and it was OK, extremely affordable, but it would be nice to do something different just to change things up. I've only been trolling once when I was a kid so I don't know the ins and outs of setting that up and worry a charter would blow through the budget. Geno and others mentioned youth-only trout fishing up in Arkansas, which is appealing too. I mainly just want to get out of the state and let mini-me try to catch something we're not going to catch here around the house. Ideally, I'd want to go before October since our weekend schedule gets busier then.

They’ve been killing the strikers up here on the Clinch River.

I have always wanted to go to south Florida for a large mouth bass and peacock bass trip three days fishing.

Go to Louisianna, fish the marsh and wear out the bass, trout and redfish. Non-stop action and a cooler of fillets to take home to boot. Whole lot cheaper than an offshore charter.

Any insider trading info on who to call or a site to visit for info?

South Louisiana, redfish and trout inshore charter.

I've had some nice trout trips floating down the Clinch from the dam @ Norris Lake down to 61? bridge but we never caught any stripers (strikers?) below the dam but my buddies up @ Andersonville caught some salt stripers in Norris over 25#

I know some good guides that fish Venice. This would be my choice.

If you got the money, a wade fishing trip out at the islands is an awesome way to enjoy the summer.

I live on Choctawhatchee bay and fish it a couple times a week. If you're wanting to catch a pile of fish and take a mess of fish home to cook up, NWFL is not the place you want to be fishing. Limits on inshore species, just like the "nearly extinct red snapper", have been reduced to next to nothing. 3 trout that must fall into a 15-19" slot with only one oversize and 1 redfish in the 18-27" slot with no oversized allowed. I'll also say this, I grew up down here and there are tons more reds and specks in the bay now than there ever were back in the 80's when I was growing up. No shortage of either for sure and certainly no justification for the draconian size and number limits. I caught 28 specks in about 2 hrs Saturday morning on artificials and all were 13-25" but only 3 out of 28 fell into that "magical" slot. Trust me, go to LA. You'll catch more and better quality fish and be able to take more back to the house with you for a fish fry.

For comparison, LA limits are 25 specks over 12" with 2 allowed to be over 25" and 5 redfish with a 16-27" slot and 1 can be over 27". I fish both on a regular basis and if I was taking my kid on a trip of a lifetime/experience type deal, NWFL wouldnt even be considered.

I'm headed to Cocodrie, LA on Wednesday for specks and redfish.

Yeah autocorrect. The stripers are mostly biting below Melton hill dam right now on the clinch.

My top vote is Louisiana.

Redfish in Hopedale, Delacroix, or Venice would be a trip you will never forget. It’s about $750/day not including lodging, but if you got two other folks to go with you, it would half that price.

Delacroix is where I fish when I go down that way. Generally really easy to limit out on bass, reds and specks.

Hopedale last time I for sure will never forget.

Biting horseflies and zero fish

If you can sort out what species you want to target/budget/time, it would make suggestions easier.

No budget issues and largest fish - fly to St. Thomas and fish the north drop off the eastern side of the island. Marlin of all types up to 1k pounds for big blues.

Severely restricted budget and smallest fish - drive to Georgia and fish the upper reaches of just about any stream in the mountains for 3 to 8 inch brook trout.

And everything in between.

Suggestions for eye popping opportunities just for children would be the trout at Dry Run Creek (probably the densest packed 1200 yards of trout in the state of AR and that's really saying something). All four species are present so you could get a grand slam in the same day.

Suggestions for just something not very common in Alabama would be:

Pickwick Lake for smallmouth. Find threadfin shad (yellowtails) and work the rocks in the tailrace with light line, no. 4 hooks and the lightest weight that will get your bait close to the bottom.

Saline River in Arkansas for walleye. Use large minnows or small shad and fish the bends at night.

If you have any other species you might be interested in, let us know and we can be more specific.

What I was gonna say, and depending on what you want to spend a tuna trip on the rigs is pretty cool.

Boca Grande pass tarpon. Stay on the state park island

Very fun.

Pm me for pics if you’d like. Very family friendly

fished out of Co Co marina several times years ago. Good fishing and good times

Capt dude in Hopedale. He also has affordable lodging. www.captdude.com

After Labor Day I would suggest St George Island. You can camp at the state park and rent kayaks and fish the bay or surf fish the Gulf. Your son will love it and it’s affordable. Even if you decide to stay in a hotel in Apalachicola or Eastpoint instead of camping. Even the Buccaneer Inn on the island will have cheaper rates in the off season. Let me know if I can help on some good spots.