I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who made it out to New Berlin Boat & RV Superstore Plus this past Saturday. It was great meeting the people who enjoy receiving my fishing reports and listen to us on our Just Fishin Radio Show. Those sure were some good hamburgers, huh?
As you can tell by receiving this report today, the 25 knot winds are keeping me off the water, yet again! I sure hope this year's winds aren't anything like 2008's. The bite has slowed with this Arctic blast we're having. The bite will pick back up soon because when the water temperatures drop suddenly, like it did last week, then the fish's metabolism slows down and they do not need to feed as much because they are not burning as much energy by not moving around as much. When we have colder temperatures and have the wind blowing at the same time, it chills the water so much faster by creating waves that allow the air temps to mix with the water's surface. If the winds didn't blow as hard when we have the colder temps then the smooth water surface wouldn't mix with the air as fast. It's a slower process and the fish get used to it quicker. The fish though do have to eat and will as soon as they get used to the colder water. It usually takes a few days after a sudden drop.
When I call my customers and tell them that there is a "SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY" posted so we should reschedule their booking, they usually tell me that I have a large, 23' boat. Not a small craft. Just for everyone's information, the "small craft" the Coast Guard and NOAA considers is any vessel under 20 meters. That's 66 feet. So, if you see a small craft advisory and especially a small craft warning, please stay on land. It's not worth it to venture out. I talk to the Coast Guard and FWC guys all the time and they tell me that it never fails, someone will be out there in those conditions and get in trouble and they'll have to go get them.
I know it's hard enough to want to go fishing in 28 to 32 degree weather and then when the wind blows at 15 to 20 knots and the wind chill is down in the teens it gets brutal. Where is March already? Let's get this stuff over with.
CREEKS:
The redfish have slowed down a little as the water temperatures are dropping like a rock. After a few days the bite will resume. We just need the weather to resume back to normal to go along with it. Redfish biting on live mud minnows, live shrimp, cut mullet and quartered blue crab. If you see a lot of reds in the creeks but have a problem getting them to bite anything, try a blue crab. Just toss it out and let it sit. Keep your line a little slack so when they pick it up they won't feel any tension and will usually go ahead and take it.
A flounder or two are still around here and there but don't look to catch whole lot of them. We're catching two to three a week while targeting reds in the shallows.
Speckled trout, (proper name is spotted seatrout) are biting in the deeper areas of the creeks and the Intracoastal Waterway. This time of the year I'm targeting them with live shrimp drifted under a long slip-float rig. You can catch them on lures but need to reach deeper when the water gets this cold. Their bite will also pick up in the next day or two because the water temperatures are evening out.
A few yellow mouth trout are also in the deeper areas and the black drum bite picked back up in the creeks. Some are up to 18" which are great table fare.
1st and 2nd photos are of a 2 pound black margate.JETTIES:
The sheepshead slowed down last week when we had that Arctic blast come through with the high winds. I don't look for the sheepshead bite to pick up for a little while now. Oh, you can still catch sheepshead with fiddler crabs on the rocks just not as many but this time of the year I try to concentrate on the larger sheeps with quartered blue crab on the hard bottom areas in the river.
Black drum are still biting during this time of the year. Cut blue crab or dead shrimp work well. The cold water temperatures does not seem to bother them as much as other fish. The same thing with the ringtail porgies. You can usually catch ringtails even through the coldest month of February. Ringtail porgies are a very overlooked fish. They fight hard, eat the same food as sheepshead, have the same teeth and even taste like sheepshead. Sheepshead are members of the porgy family also.
Oversized redfish along with a few slot-sized ones are also eating our crab and shrimp baits too.
There are a few black margates still around. These fish are also porgies. For those of you who don't know what a black margate is, they look like a cross between a sheepshead and a black drum only the teeth are sharp pointed. The 1st and 2nd photos in this report is a 2 pound black margate. The whiting bite has picked up finally and you can target these in the sandier areas at the rocks. Yellow mouth trout in the sandier areas also. Some of the black sea bass we're catching at the rocks are now over the 12" mark. Good eating too.
Next photo is a 3 pound ring-tail porgy then the next, a sheepshead's teeth. The proper name for a ring-tail is actually spot-tail porgy. It's just the spot goes around it's tail so most people call them ring-tails.
RIVERS:Black drum are still biting in the rivers. The St. Johns and Nassau Rivers are giving up pretty good numbers of these fish. There is the occasional oversized redfish mixed in with the drum too. The whiting bite has picked up in the St. Johns and Nassau Rivers and I've even heard of some real nice croakers that's came back in and are willing to bite again. Just this past week there were some catches of 35 to 50 nice-sized croakers being caught in the St. Johns.
Yellow mouth trout are still being caught, although not as many lately, but still some good legal-sized ones in the rivers. A few sheepshead on the rock banks and dock pilings throughout the rivers but that bite has also slowed due to the cold water.
Spotted trout along grass banks and rock banks in the river. If you're not catching them on the usual lures then try slip-float fishing with live shrimp deeper in the water column. I like to start at the bottom and then raise my bait about 6" with every few drifts until I find just what column they're holding in.
Check out the 28" black drum in the last photo of this report. What a fight!
MILL COVE:Spotted trout, redfish and black drum are the main players in the Cove right now. In the shallower water that's in the Cove I like to use the Cajun Thunders with a live shrimp about 16" under the float. Work grass edges at high tides, especially where you know there are oyster beds under the surface. There are some nice whiting and yellow mouth trout in the deeper areas in the Cove also.
SURF:
Whiting at the Pier and mostly down by the Gate Station and also the Picnic Tables along with a few black drum and small bluefish. Dead shrimp or sand fleas are the preferred baits for these fish. They've been catching some nice whiting and drum at the pier whenever the wind lays down and the water clears.
OFFSHORE:
Offshore has been hit or miss as far as the weather is concerned. It's been windy and cold, the same as it has been everywhere. The water has been cooling down quickly with the past couple freeze fronts. Capt. Chad Starling was at Nine Mile on Thursday and the water temp was 59 degrees. The snapper will be moving further out soon, as the water continues to cool down. Even though you can catch red snapper in cold water, he likes to look for water temperatures of 63 degrees and up. There are also some flounder in the 10-30 mile range offshore. That's why we don't have many inshore now. They can be caught on live bait or cut bait. If you use cut bait, cut it in thin strips so it appears to be swimming in the current. Black Sea Bass can be caught around live bottom and they love cut bait, squid and fish bites. If you want larger beeliners, don't stop till you get about 25 miles or so out. There have been some wahoo caught in the blue water along with the occasional dolphin.
Remember everyone, let's keep our trash in the boats. With all this wind it's easy for it to blow out before you know it. I always keep a bag in a small plastic trash can so when I return to the ramp I just pull the bag out and drop it in the City's receptacles. It's easy, you should too.
You can say what you want about the South but,
you never hear of anyone retiring and moving up North,,,
Captain Vic Tison
Co-Host of WOKV's 'Just Fishing' Radio Show, Saturdays 6:00am to 8:00am
United States Coast Guard Licensed Captain
International Game Fish Assoc. Certified Captain
Regional Director for the Florida Guides Assoc.
Member of the National Assoc. of Charterboat Operators
Member of the American Professional Captain's Association
Sponsor of The Inshore Saltwater Anglers Club
Vic2Fish & Adventures, Inc.
P O Box 28208
Jax., Fl. 32226
904-699-2285
Web Site http://vic2fish.com
Neither Captain Vic nor Vic2Fish & Adventures, Inc. claims any responsibility for any injury or loss of property arising out of any party using these Fishing Reports.
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