October 2016
With 244 miles of different and varied shoreline, you may think so. Water may actually run through Captain Trey Landry’s veins. Avid fishing and hunting guide, Captain Trey has been living off the water since he was 18 and you won’t meet a more passionate and respectful outdoorsman. He’s the perfect person to walk us through the differences in the Gulf County waters.
“There are so many different kinds of waters in Gulf County that you can go some place completely new every single day. St. Joseph Bay is a deep water, salty bay. It makes for some great Triple Tail fishing. Triple Tail is a beautiful golden fish and they lay right on top of the water. They are a sight fish. They like to hide around structures so you really have to know where to find them. Generally, the water is so clear you can easily spot dolphins and turtles, too. Some days we like to take people out to the shallow areas and get out in the water. You’ll see so much sea life down there.
On another day you could decide to explore the waters off of Indian Pass and St. Vincent Island. The Apalachicola River basin dumps water to the south of us and it drains into the Apalachicola Bay. That means fresh water mixes with salt water. These spots aren’t as clear as St. Joseph Bay but they have neat marshy, swampy, tidal creeks that go out into the Gulf. The oysters love this environment so then so do the birds. Because there are different crustaceans down there, it’s a big spawning area in the summer. Tons of pogies – acres of them – and other bait fish. So, beyond being beautiful in the fall, only one mile or so off our shores you’ll find all of the big fish in the passes – Tarpon, shark – bulking up before they go south.
And that’s just a few. We offer river tours down to Apalachicola for the day. It’s a beautiful ride up the Gulf County canal and back through the inland waterways. You can see some beautiful white pelicans and then grab some oysters for lunch. The biodiversity here is so great that there is always something different to see – in the sky, in the water or on land.”
Is it strange we have “Gulf” in our name and haven’t mentioned the Gulf of Mexico once? In Gulf County, we love the Gulf, too. But, just ask Adventure Guide and water expert Captain Trey Landry, there are so many different waters to explore, we’re not sure we could pick just one.
Updated: Dec 14, 2017 20:55
Published: Oct 13, 2016 22:00