Located between Hudson Beach and Aripeka, Filman's
Bayou has long been favorite among anglers seeking snook, trout
and redfish.
The biggest stumbling block is access by boat. The area is notorious
for it's many rocks and oyster bars and making it in and out with
your prop in one piece can be tricky if you do not know the water
there. With some care and slow going, you can get an idea of just
where you can and cannot run. It will take a few visits to get the
feel for it and with patience you can learn it without so much as
scratching a prop blade.
Use an official navigational chart for reference and go on high
tide and get out before it drops much the first time or two. If
you have someone you can take with you, position them on the front
of the boat as a lookout for rocks when motoring (slowly, of course).
Take note of the features marked on the photo. This is a very diverse
piece of water, with many oyster bars that hold reds, trout and
snook, and lush grass bottom that can offer up some great trout
action. The canal that is at the head of the bayou for years has
been a favorite among landlubbers who do their winter trout fishing
there.
A word of caution: Filman's Bayou can be alive with fish at times
and completely devoid of life at others. With all the great water
here it's not clear why it can be as bad as it is at times, but
when it's going on, you can inshore slam here multiple times in
a day and when the reds push in and school, it can be more than
you can handle.
