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WARCAT · Pony Mullet Joined: 02 Oct 2007 Posts: 89

I've never done it before, but considering giving it a shot. How do you go about fishing the "wells" in cc bay? How deep is the water? Do you simply tie off to the well? Cast very near the structure? Free line croaker/shrimp? How many wells are there? I.e. when I get to one, what are the odds a boat will already be there? What is the etiquette? Stay away if there's a boat there? I guess I don't have a feel for how many there are and how big they are...

Johninaustin · Full Grown Flour Bluffian Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 1113

There are gas wells all over the bay. The water can be quite shallow around them at times. (5-6 ft)

I usually fish the ones' close to the ICW or ship channel.

Be CAREFUL approaching the older ones. Lots of pipes and such sticking up.

Just drop a bait alongside the legs.

Don't climb on them, folks get pissy about that.

REEL BEAST · Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2013 10:13 am Post subject:

Every well has a flow line leaving the platform. On the opposite side of the well from the flowline there is a large shell pad on the bottom built up to hold the rig that drilled the well. Fish will like to hang over the hard bottom. Fish opposite of the direction the flow line leaves the platform. I use to care for a lot of those wells, and we did slay a LOT of trout off of them. Try the top, but free lining a bait works best.
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nisurodoc · Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2013 4:46 pm Post subject:

cdhknives · Flour Bluffian in training Joined: 03 Aug 2012 Posts: 297

I suggest drifting by a well very quietly first. Cast up to it. If you get some good hits, swing around and anchor upstream and fish it.

Sometimes the fish are very spooky around them, sometimes not. It never hurts to be extra quiet when approaching and fishing them...and many times makes the difference between perch and trout.
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Jegarza · Finger Mullet Joined: 09 Jun 2013 Posts: 13

I agree with what you said on the wells. A buddy and I hit them up with some success. Normally I get discouraged when I see dolphins in the area. But this time the fish were aggressive in hitting our shrimp. There were 5 dolphins total. We didn't lose one trout but they came close several times. This was a first for me. A rush of excitement and fear of losing my catch. We were catching consistently till a boat came to service that particular well. Just our luck.lol...but fun nonetheless.

gulftrout · Full Grown Flour Bluffian Joined: 20 Aug 2007 Posts: 1629

I remember commercially fishing the wells out of Ingleside in the late 70's. It was a quick box, 50lbs. every day at a well with the numbers 14-2 written on it. I would leave Ingleside Cove and head toward Portland in the dark every morning when the conditions were right. I had to catch them quick because the work boat would get there by 8:15 every morning. I remember the trout being so large I would take the "Tout Tail" off the jig head in front so I would not hook them two at a time. If I did one would break the 20lb. leader that the double rig was made with! Shocked

FIDO · Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 6:33 am Post subject:

I didn't know about the large shell pad, thanks.

Jellyfish · Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 6:50 am Post subject:

Back in the early and mid 70's, Glenn Kammeyer of Portland and I fished the gas wells in CC bay at least twice a month during the summer. Glenn had a sportsmans shrimp net and we would drag the ship channel for croaker before going out to the wells. All of the info above about the shell pads is right on. In 50 years of salt water fishing, I don't remember the bite being any better than around those gas wells. Those were days before limits, and dolphins were not a problem. I've tried the wells in the past couple of years, but have never been able to replicate the success we used to have there. Most of the trout we caught were over 25, and I don't ever remember catching dinks out there.
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WARCAT · Pony Mullet Joined: 02 Oct 2007 Posts: 89

Great info... I will have to try my luck soon!

I've never ventured into CC bay, so yesterday was kind of a scouting trip. I did see a platform just west of a straight line from the intercoastal waterway to Shamrock Island... Is this a "well"? Ha

My Shamrock Point report:

Arrived at approximately 11:30 a.m.... I had two novice boys (my son and nephew) with me along with my brother-in-law. We anchored in 5-6 feet of water and cast towards the shore. No action for the first 20ish minutes, and we were JUST about to leave when my son hooked a 14" trout. From that point on, it was steady to non-stop action with several dinks and skippies. But we did manage to box 3 keepers at 16", 18" and 21". All fish were caught on live shrimp... zero hits on croaker. Water was pretty good, green and the grass lines were distinguishable. We left them biting at around 3:00 p.m... seemed like a nice area, and one that I'd go back to.

Granite Guy · Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 7:45 am Post subject: danger at the wells

The large rig off the ICW, be carefull if you tie under it. We had some of the light weight concrete come down and nearly hit us ! Not a bad idea to wear a hard hat if you have to get some shade under it
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