Maybe time to try something different.

ez3putt

Looks like the wind and weather are going to cooperate for the next few days, so I am heading to our Cape Haze fish camp.  Rather than spend my time chunking plastics or spoons inshore, I think I will go out through Stump Pass to look for birds and scout the bottom in the near shore arena.  Expectations are low since I have no idea what I am doing, but should make for a few nice boat rides in my old Proline 22 Bay.  I hope I never get too old to learn something new.

1outlaw

Im just hopingl this wind lays down!! 
Good luck out there!!

ez3putt

Anyone who could not get out yesterday sure missed a beautiful day on the water.  Stopped at Stump Pass marina at 9:30 AM and they were already sold out of shrimp, so I took a boat ride with only frozen squid in the cooler.  At about 40' I started seeing birds and sure enough some pretty big fish were chasing bait under them.  Probably bonita, but whatever they were, they didn't like my gold spoon.  

I finally anchored at 56' with five or six other boats around what I think was a publicly known reef.  Caught a few small grunts and only saw one other boat catching any sizable fish.  I was anchored up using my spot lock when another boat pulled up within easy casting distance and dropped their anchor.  I am a total newb to near shore fishing, but I would never anchor that close to another boat.  Just curious to know if this is normal when fishing in the gulf?

Gin clear water, pleasant temps, and very light winds.  Catching fish would have just been a bonus.

CaptainBly

In general NO but some of the public #'s aren't huge, rock pile here, rock pile there and people will snuggle up.  Doesn't make it acceptable and more than likely the guy was being rude and you were on  "his" number but need to be a little more flexible on public #'s that are accessible by almost all size boats...Not worth the blood pressure to confront the person.

When you are on "non" public #'s it is even more irritating because people  are just trying to steal your #'s but again, not sure it is worth a confrontation.  I have been on spots 35 miles offshore with noone around me for miles and someone will pull up within 50' of me and throw an anchor...Oh well..

Capt Dan Medina

ez3putt said:

Anyone who could not get out yesterday sure missed a beautiful day on the water.  Stopped at Stump Pass marina at 9:30 AM and they were already sold out of shrimp, so I took a boat ride with only frozen squid in the cooler.  At about 40' I started seeing birds and sure enough some pretty big fish were chasing bait under them.  Probably bonita, but whatever they were, they didn't like my gold spoon.  

I finally anchored at 56' with five or six other boats around what I think was a publicly known reef.  Caught a few small grunts and only saw one other boat catching any sizable fish.  I was anchored up using my spot lock when another boat pulled up within easy casting distance and dropped their anchor.  I am a total newb to near shore fishing, but I would never anchor that close to another boat.  Just curious to know if this is normal when fishing in the gulf?

Gin clear water, pleasant temps, and very light winds.  Catching fish would have just been a bonus.

Exactly what Captain Bly said.  At public numbers, its almost expected these days, although common courtesy and etiquette go a long way.