Bob Smith
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"BOBS LOCAL RIVER REPORTS"

CHOCTAWHATCHEE RIVER

September 21, 2002
Water Temperature: Upper 80's
Water Clarity: Clear

As was evident by todays trip to Choctawhatchee River at Ebro, FL, not every time out is a good day of fishing.
Had a bit of a late start today as my partner's truck keys were misplaced. Oh well, we were only about 2 hours late to the Highway 20 ramp at Ebro. Sky was mostly clear, light wind. The river was up about a foot from the last time we fished here and I really thought that it would make for better fishing - guess that's what I get for thinking.
We started off a little way down the river at the mid-river pilings where we had done well in the past. My third cast brought a short fish to the boat on a buzzbait and I thought that was the start of a good day - again, there's that thinking thing again. We fished around the pilings for a while without another bite.
Moving down river we stopped at the mouth of the creek where John's Little Acre is and I quickly missed one in the pads on the buzzbait again. Then nothing. We prodded the wood along the bank there with soft plastics that the bass refused to bite.
A couple more spots and we were ready to move downriver a little more.
At 12pm we were all the way down in Black Creek and Kevin had caught a single keeper bass on a white trick worm. I threw the trick worm and buzzbait alternately and got a few smaller fish on the topwater while missing a single fish on the worm. About 1 we headed back up the river towards the ramp.
While we fished along the topic turned to food, and cheesburgers, and calling it a day. Since the fish were not going to cooperate on what should have been a decent day on the water we pulled out at about 2 and headed to the burger joint and then the house.
There was no pattern today that we could find. Maybe if we had been on Black Creek sooner we may have fared a little better, but there is no way of knowing. So, as we headed off to fill our stomachs we had caught a total of about 6 bass, only one of which was a legal keeper.



September 25, 2001
Water Temperature: Upper 50's
Water Clarity: Clear

After such a good day on Choctawhatchee River Sunday I decided I had to go back. Dana Harris and I hit the water about 9am and fished until 3:30pm. Conditions were not exactly the same as we fished behind the first major cold front of the season (air temps were high 50's when we went out).
Skies were clear, wind about 15 out of the North. Water clarity was clear and Black Creek was high.
We headed into the ditches above Black Creek Lodge where the topwater bite had been so good. Not today. The buzzbait went undisturbed time and time again. Finally I caught a fish - very small - on a red shad Baby Eel. Then nothing. Slowly we worked back towards the creek figuring the front had put
the fish deeper. At the mouth of the northern most ditch we caught a warmouth, then nothing. Once we left the ditch and fished a little deeper the keepers started coming to the boat. The little rig (1/8 ounce weight, 1/0 Owner hook and a 4" Baby Eel) was a bit difficult to fish in the strong wind, and strikes were never felt. Fortunately the fish held the bait and moved off.
Often all I saw was the line just sort of twitch then nothing.
Working up the creek we caught a few more bass on the Eel. Alternately I threw the buzzbait until finally I caught a fish on it. By now it was pushing noon. Down the creek we went next to the mouth and McDanials Fish Camp. Still there were sporadic strikes on both the worm and topwater and a few more fish came flopping into the old Stratos. All the fish were relating to wooden structure and were either in deeper water (to 6 foot) or right up
close to the deeper water. Natural cover such as trees and branches were much better than man-made stuff like docks and pilings. As I swung the boat around to head to the ramp you'll never guess what happened. OK, I'll tell you - the !*#!!#!@ Trolling motor steering cable broke AGAIN! That makes 3 since March. At $50.00 a shot this is getting expensive! Anyone know of a modification to make a foot control motor into a hand control? Anyone want to trade a hand control for a foot control
(seriously) - I need at least 41 lbs of thrust and 24V operation.
Anyway, I've vented now and I am OK.
Total for the day ended up at 19 bass with 9 very good keepers between 1 1/2 and 2 pounds. The bait of choice was the Baby Eel in Red Shad. Not an extremely good day but tremendously better than being at work. Considering the front and the weather I think we did pretty good. Now, about that trolling motor...........



April 28, 2001
Water Temperature: Upper 60's Lower 70's
Water Clarity: Light Stain To Light Mud

Fished the Okaloosa County Top 6 Bass Tournament today on
Choctawhatchee River out of Black Creek Lodge in Freeport Fl.
The top 6 anglers from each club in the county are invited to
participate. Score is by team (I fished for the 16th MXS Bass Club out of Eglin AFB), individual score for big bag (1st, 2nd and 3rd) and individual score for big bass. 7 clubs sent their top 6 anglers this year for 21 boats and 42 of Northwest Florida's best bass anglers. Conditions on the river were not exactly ideal. With falling water levels, a recent cold front and minimal tidal movement. Water temps were high 60's to low 70's, water ranged from light stain to light mud. Skies were mostly sunny with a light wind. My first stop was to the Sisters area
(Big and little) where I had found fish a week before.
The water had dropped a good two feet since I had been there and I didn't even recognize the area. I fished a fluke and buzzbait on Big Sister first with no results. In a small pocket I caught a single short fish on the buzzbait and then nothing.
We moved out and up Little Sister and worked along our way to the back with still no fish. Finally, after trying everything in my boat I caught a keeper on a junebug Baby Eel
(Texas rigged with a 1/0 Owner hook and 1/8 ounce weight).
The bite was a "nothing" one. It felt like I had drug the worm into a stick. I would lightly apply pressure to the bait and if it was a fish it would move ever so little - then I set the hook!
Around 11:30 the bit drew to a close and we moved out of the Sisters to try a few other places. We fished a canal, the main river, Watermelon Lake and a few more places with only short fish. Around 1:30 we were back in the Sister's again. The fish had pretty much shut down by this time. Finally we moved to the lower end of the Mitchell River and picked up a few more short fish before weigh-in rolled around 3pm. With the exception of the short buzzbait fish, every bite I had today was on the 4" Baby Eel. With 5 keepers and around 10 or so short fish for
the day we headed to the scales. I do not have all teams positions and the top anglers names, but I managed an individual 2nd place with the only limit weighed in -
5.5 pounds for 5 bass. Our team (16th MXS Bass Club - the defending champions) scrapped out a 5th place finish. Fishing was hard, but it was hard for everyone. I look forward to qualifying for this event again next year.


April 21, 2001
Water Temperature: Upper 60's
Water Clarity: Heavy Stain

Launched at Simplers Fish Camp (Choctawhatchee River) in Bruce, FL to do some upriver practice for next Saturdays Okaloosa County Top 6 tournament. Started fishing at 9am and called it a day at 3pm. Sky was sunny with a moderate wind from the southwest. River was high and in the trees, fairly heavy stain with temps in the upper 60's. Current was moving fast,
making fishing the main river pretty hard. Since I had never run between Ebro and Black Creek (where the Top 6 is out of)
I headed off downriver. Went to the Mitchell River without a
problem so I was happy. Fish seemed pretty eager to bite once I left the river. I threw numerous baits and caught fish on all of them. A spinnerbait, buzzbait and plastic jerkbait accounted for most of the 20 fish I caught. Deeper water along wooded banks seemed to be best. Strikes were solid, even the topwater strikes in the middle of the day were explosive. Probably a dozen of the 20 bass caught were respectable keepers (not real long but fat!).
There was no real pattern - just move and make a lot of casts.
Also, there did not seem to be any color preference or specific retrieve that drew strikes. With the tournament a week away and the water on the river still falling pretty steady is could be a whole different situation next week. I did manage to find some places with extreme potential so I'll keep my fingers crossed that they hold up.


July 15, 2000
Water Temperature: Hot
Water Clarity: Clear And very Low

Fished another Duke Field Bass Club event on Choctawhatchee today out of Simplers Fish Camp, Bruce, FL. The water was very low - river stage was .4 feet at Carryville. The sky was clear, wind light to nonexistent, and air temps around 115 with the heat index. A miserable day overall.
Started off good with a 1.70 pounder on the first cat. He ate my 1/8 oz buzzbait. Then a few short fish after that for the next hour. My partners trolling motor bracket broke about 7am and we fixed it (sort of) with a pair of bungee cords.
Later, as we drifted in the fast current, we ran the trolling motor
into a large stump and totaled the mount. No number of bungee cords could fix it this time. Fortunately he had another mount (which had been given to him this morning) in the truck.
After an hour and a half back at the ramp we went back to fishing. A few short fish fell to a white spinnerbait, several more to a black and a salt and pepper Baby Eel. Two took a green pumpkin Fireclaw craw. When the day was over we had two bass weighing a massive 2.36 pounds. My 1.7 took big fish and our pair of bass landed third place. Strikes were very light in the moving water. The worms were simple Texas rigs. The only common thing was wood. The fish were holding behind
laydown trees and stumps in the faster water. Pretty textbook stuff. First place was only 4 fish for 3 pounds and change.
Who knows, we might have won if not for loosing the best time of the day due to unavoidable boat problems -
but that's tournament bassin'.


May 13, 2000
Water Temperature: 76
Water Clarity: Clear To Light Stain

Had a Duke Field Bass Club tournament on Choctawhatchee R. at Ebro today. With the water being so low (it was at .76 this morning) we changed the launch site to Simplers Fish Camp in Bruce, FL and launched without a problem.
Sky was sunny, wind around 10 from the south. Water was very low, very light stain to clear, and ranged from 78 - 81 degrees. Current on the river was strong.
Starting out I hit a small cove with some trees and quickly put a pair of keepers in the livewell on a salt n' pepper Baby Eel. Then it slowed for a while once the sune came up full.
On the main river I found fish again. Using the Baby Eel I caught close to forty fish, got my limit (5 fish). Most were small but I did get about a dozen keepers - right at 12 inches.
Fish were holding in the slack water behind fallen trees and along deeper (6' - 12') banks. Strikes were pretty noticable.
I caught several large mudfish as well as the bass.
At weigh-in (this was a team tournament which I fished alone - major handicap only being able to keep half of a tournament limit) I presented my 5 fish for a total of 6.8 lbs.
Not a great showing but good enough for 2nd place.
Didn't get bit by a large fish all day.



May 6, 2000
Water Temperature: 76
Water Clarity: Clear To Light Stain

Fished a 16th MXS Bass Club tournament on Choctawhatchee River at Highway 20 in Ebro, FL, today. Sky was sunny, wind moderate from the south. River was LOW! With the lack of rain the river level was at 1.6 feet (about 4 foot low). Water was clear to light stain and 76 degrees. Slow fishing most of the day. I managed 3 keepers on a Black Baby Eel and about 15 shorts - also one large mudfish. Fish seemed to be holding along the deeper banks in 6 to 12 foot of water.
There was really no pattern. It was hit or miss most of the day and I played run n' gun up and down the river to assemble my 3 fish out of a 5 fish limit. It was tough.
At weigh in I took second place with 3 bass for 4.2 lbs. I also took big bass with a "hugh" 2.2 pounder. First went to a limit and 6.0 even. The river is still falling and I wonder if next weekend I will be able to even launch the boat as I have another tournament at the same place.


August 28, 1999
Water Temperature: 82
Water Clarity: Mud to Moderate Stain

Been a while since I fished Choctawhatchee, almost a year.
Had a club tournament on Choctawhatchee River today out of Ebro, FL. The river was low and ranged from mud to moderate stain. Water temp average was 82 degrees. Sky was sunny, wind light from the south. Caught well over 60 bass, and culled several keepers for a change. I started in a slough by John's
Little Acre (a boat ramp) and caught one keeper on a buzzbait and a few non keepers on a worm. Moved out to the main river and put the balance of my 5 fish limit in the boat on a black Baby Eel. I was fishing behind stumps and laydown trees in the fast current. Strikes were light. Next I moved upriver above Highway 20 and culled every fish from downriver! One fish took a black/blue spinnerbait and the rest a Baby Eel. At weigh-in I presented my 5 fish (if I had a partner it could have been 10 fish since it was a team tournament that I fished alone) for a total weight of 9.04 pounds. My big bass was just 2.17lbs, but big enough for big bass. Oh, I won also.



Mar 3, 1998
Water Temperature: 50s
Water Clarity: 1 foot

I took half a day off from work today because the bass are really starting to bit good on the coastal Northwest Florida rivers. I returned to Choctawhatchee River at Freeport Florida. Launch site was Black Creek Lodge.
I returned to the mouth of Black Creek where Sunday I caught quite a few keepers. I was not disappointed. In the course of 3 hours fishing time I boated 6 bass. The smallest fish was right at a pound with the largest probably near 3. All fish were caught on the Baby Eel worm.
Since I am Pro Staff for Allen Lures (maker of the Baby Eel) I thought I might be biased and catch all these fish because that was the only bait I threw. To alleviate that I did use Culprit worms for an hour without so much as a bump.
When I switched back to the Baby Eel and fished the same places I caught fish.
Texas rigged, as usual, I would let the bait slowly fall to the bottom along 4 - 5' deep banks. A requirement was trees. There had to be some wooden cover where I was fishing or I would not get any bites.
Weather was pretty nasty because of the wind, which howled from some component of north at around 15 mph. Otherwise it was sunny. The tide was falling and the water ranged from light stain to light mud.


Mar 1, 1998
Water Temperature: 50s
Water Clarity: 1 foot

Today was quality rather than quantity, for a change.
Started out about mid morning out of Black Creek Lodge. It has been over a year since I fished the Choctawhatchee River.
The River is very muddy, to say the least, so I decided not to fish the main river. A strong southerly wind kept the water about a foot higher than it should have been and the current was really moving good.
Since I have been doing so well in the grass on Escambia River I decided to start off in the grass at the lower end of Mitchel River. The wind was blowing so hard that I could not maintain boat position. Moved north a bit and found a little more protected water.
I caught my first fish around 1 PM, in a small cut off of Mitchel River. The water was heavy stained, and the current was very strong. After fishing another hour with no results I moved closer to Black Creek.
Black Creek is typically crystal clear. I do not prefer to fish the clear water if I don't have to so I moved south into the stained water which begins at the mouth of Black Creek. I began catching fish at McDanials Fish Camp.
With another boat next to me I caught my first good fish, a 4 pounder, from a small pocket. I moved out to the river and began fishing up current toward Black Creek. From McDanials to the island, and around it, at the mouth of Black Creek I caught 7 more good fish.
I fished the black Baby Eel rigged with a light weight, just like on Escambia. I found the fish holding in pockets on the back side of the lily pads. There had to be some sort of wooden cover there also, as well as at least a foot of water.
I ended the day at 4 PM with 9 bass to my credit. All but one were good keepers with 3 at or over the 4 pound mark.