I don't know where to start on this one. I haven't had time to post and the fishing has been nuts to say the least. Everything from Slot and barely over slot Reds, Sheepshead and Pompano in the Inlet, to slot Reds and Speckled Trout on lures. And of course, I can't forget the big River Donkey Bull Reds up river.
Ill start off touching on the smaller slot to over slot Reds in the Inlet. We've been pitching the usual Sheepshead jigs tipped with a live Shrimp around the big rocks. Ill usually scope out the area before choosing a spot to start working. I'm looking for clean water. This time of year, with all the sharks rolling in, the Reds tend to stay out of the muddy water. I prefer fishing the outsides of the North and South rows. Typically, one side will be clean and the other will be muddy. Find the clean water and you'll find the Reds and Sheepshead. You'll need good moving water so avoid slower tides. The incoming tide has been the ticket. Pitch the jigs up current from your current position and let the current carry the jig back down current. Give the jig a bump every so often to ensure the bait isn't getting hung up in the rocks. If anything is biting, you'll know within minutes. If the bite is off, move down the rock line, repeat the process again until you find the fish. Once you find the Reds, you'll likely catch a few or even a mess of them. Not to mention Sheepshead and the occasional Pompano.
Catching fish on live Shrimp and jigs is a blast but I still gotta get my lure fix as I'm addicted to casting plastics. My wife Anna is really starting to appreciate lure fishing as well and has gotten a lot better at it. I took her out for a couple of hours to see if we could locate a school of Reds to cast on. The water clarity has vastly improved and with all the bait in the river, signs of life are everywhere. We picked a fishy bank and deployed the trolling motor. It took a minute but, before too long, I was hooked up to a healthy, fully spotted up 26 incher. I noticed right away that my fish was being tailed by a couple other Reds. I had Anna fire out her lure towards the group and immediately, she gets hammered. Doubled up! Gotta love it. Another highlight of our trip was a Red Anna caught that was also caught 2 days before by one of my clients. It's good to see that these fish bounce back and feed right away after being caught.
The Bull Reds are starting to stack up in they're usual haunts. I've been doing remarkably well around B.A.E. I primarily fish the south dredge line from 37-41 feet and between marker 25 and the ICW leading towards West Chicopit. Bring Blue Crab and cut fish of some sort. Jack Crevalles are everywhere and make a killer cut bait for Bull Reds. They're bloody and oily and the Bulls can't leave the stuff alone. On an incoming tide, you can't miss the Jack Schools. The mouth of Hogan Creek has been littered with them. When you see the birds diving on the east side of the bridge, the Jacks are home.
I've been making connections on Instagram and have linked up with some awesome guides out of south Florida. Primarily Miami and Tampa. One in particular was a unique cat. #Monster_Mike out of Miami was something else. This guy started off posting as an MMA fighter and built a huge following. He got heavy into fishing and now has one of the largest followings on Instagram based off of fishing. around 70K followers. Lol, this dudes, about 4 foot, 7 inches tall and an absolute nut. Great time to say the least.
Tight lines and catch em up!
Florida inshore charter fishing. Jacksonville fishing charters. Mayport fishing charters.
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Danny Pardue