The inshore fishing is on fire right now! There is a lot of variety to be had. The Sheepshead bite is steadily improving, albeit, slower than normal for November. The warmer than normal weather for this time of year has delayed the movement of a lot of fish.
The inlet Blennies are definitely no exception. The Sheepshead are crazy thick out there but man o man, you have to cull through the Blennie numbers to reach them. If you attempt Sheepshead fishing out there, bring a heck of a lot of Fiddlers. If you have more than 2 anglers on board, I wouldn't bring less than 1.5 quarts of Fiddlers. You'll feed 2/3's of them to Blennies. I would suggest looking further up river as there are much more productive options right now that harbor far less by-catch. The little Jetties are definitely NOT producing good numbers for me right now. I check there periodically and haven't found a consistent bite as of yet. There are a number of random rock bottom locations between the Inlet and Dames Point that are holding some good numbers of Sheepshead. Most are on the smaller side but keepers are still abundant. Check "aids to navigation", aka wake zone signs, channel markers, beacons, range markers, etc. Don't be mislead into thinking a random sign piling won't hold enough fish to justify fishing it. Here's why, Most ATN's(Aids To Navigation) are surrounded by rock piles to keep them from washing out. A random marker or beacon can be several square yards of potential Sheepshead habitat. Something to think about....
The Black Drum are making their move from the down town area. Good fish are being caught in the channel between Trout River and Dames Point. These fish are averaging 25 to 30 inches. Not as desirable of a size but fun to catch with an abundance of large Croakers and Yellow Mouth Trout.
The Trout bite has been really good. Particularly, the Yellow Mouth. These guys are averaging 2 pounds, 15-21 inches long. Big healthy fish with some thick shoulders. We've been catching them with finger Mullet on a 1/4oz jig head. Find rocky bottom with sharp depth changes between Blount Island and Trout River and prepare for war.
The Red Drum bite is going strong. The Bull Red Spawn is over but there are still a lot of lingering monsters around. Most are in the Inlet but many others are being caught in the Sisters Creek channel and on the shallower shoulders of the St. Johns. We picked up a few big ones in around 8-10 feet of water this week. The biggest was 45 inches long and caught on Trout tackle. I'm sure these areas probably hold Bulls during the spawn as well, I just never tried these areas that time of the year. In the future, I will likely target Bull Reds with light tackle only and in shallower water.
The slot fish are still thick in the Little Jetties and Big Jetties. They are averaging 26-29 inches and plentiful.... The best tide for me, especially at the Little Jetties, has been the first half of the out going. Bring Live Mullet, cut bait and Blue Crab. Reds have unpredictable appetites so it's best to be prepared.
admin
Danny Pardue