It's been a tough couple of weeks with the cold fronts coming in one behind the other. The good news is the fishing in Mayport Inlet has been on fire! The upper slot Reds have started showing up consistently, along with some healthy Black Drum and Spot Tail Porgy's. The Sheepshead fishing has been hit or miss in the Inlet. What Sheepshead we have been able to find have been big at least.
The Slot Reds have been staying pretty close to the rock line tips. Both the south and north rows are holding plenty of quality Reds. On the inside and outside areas. The best bite has been on the last of the incoming tide. I pitch a live Shrimp on a 2/0 Sheepshead Jig near the rocks and slowly work the bait back to the boat with the rod tip up. This helps to cut back on snagging. The rougher days have been even better, especially on the outside tips. The waves crashing on the rocks at the top of the up going tide washes a lot of bait out of the rocks. The Reds anticipate this and are often sitting at the base of the rocks picking off Crustaceans as they are swept out. We always take advantage of "blow through's"(low areas in the rock walls) for this very same reason. Always position your boat on the side that the water is moving towards. Just don't sit too close to the blow through, especially the ones on the outside south line. Water there is shallow and the boat will spook the Reds.
There are two excellent benefits to fishing the Inlet on rough days. For 1, the inlet has less boat traffic and for 2, the waves breaking on the rocks oxygenate the water and attracts bait and predator fish to those spots. A good friend of mine made this point recently and I am completely sold on this advice. Toss a jig with a live Shrimp near rocks where waves consistently break and you'll find the Reds. "Find the foam, find the fish"
The Black Drum are starting to come in. We are getting them hear and there. They'll start showing up in better numbers in a couple more weeks. They'll start small(keeper sized) and by the first full moon of March the monster spawners will show up.
The Spot Tail Porgy fishing is absolutely insane right now. they are averaging around a pound and often close to 2 pounds. A 2 pound porgy will strip a good amount of drag on medium, light tackle. For their size, there isn't a tougher customer out there. It's a tough fish to hook with it's small mouth. Pair that with the same finesse that Sheepshead exhibit and you are in for a challenge. The good news is once you are on a school, the action is none stop with a bite happening every time the jig hits the bottom. This fish is what I like to call a "Day saver". between the months of January and March, it's almost a guarantee that I'll find a school of tasty Spot Tails. Find structure and plenty of clean ocean water and it's on! When the Reds and Sheepshead refuse to cooperate, I'm not coming home empty handed.
There are two ways to rig up when targeting Porgy's. My personal favorite is a simple Sheepshead jig paired with either a live or fresh dead Shrimp. I don't normally waste the live Shrimp if the Porgy's are averaging less than a pound. The other rig that produces, especially when the fish are being more difficult than usual, is a simple Split shot paired with an Owner, 2/0 Mosquito Hook. Use as light of a Split Shot as you can get away with.
It was a good day fishing with my boy Leon, aka SLUGO! I also got to fish with another great guy Charley, aka Tuna! It was a blast fellas. On the water at 8:00am, off the water by 11:00am!
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Danny Pardue