From: Capt. Jim Hammond
Date: September 13, 2002
Time: 7:23:07
Summer is winding down, the nor'easters are starting to blow and the migratory push to the south is starting. As the days get shorter and the temperatures drop, the migratory fish are heading south.
The offshore bottom fishing is starting to turn on, the Spanish Mackerel are in big numbers at the jetties and south of Jacksonville and the bait fish are making thier push toward the ocean, heading south.
For those of you that have a boat that will make it to the inshore reefs (reefs, such as the MG, PG, BB, NM, DR and any other reef or placement inside of 12 miles) or just off of the beach, you should be able to catch pretty good numbers of cobia and Spanish mackerel to 4 pounds.
For the cobia, I would troll a live eel, pogy or the biggest live shrimp that you can fing. First go to the beach and cast your net for pogies as they are everywhere from the north Georgia to south Florida. After you have five or six dozen baits, head for a close in reef. Hook up the baits as you would if you were trolling for kingfish.
If you are having a hard time find the pogies flipping, turn on your Lowrance and ease along in about 10 to 20 feet of water and when you pass over them, they will show up on the Lowrance recorder. Be ready to cast your net as the boat passes over them and you should manage to get enough to fish with.
ROD and REEL:
I like a very soft tip rod about 7 to 8 feet in length, a reel that has level wind with a 3.8 to 1 or better retrieval rate and will hold at least 300 yards of 20 pound test monofilament. Here is one of the rigs that I use. Shakespeare Ugly Stik Tiger Rod BWC 2200 7' ML with a Shakespeare Tidewater TW 30 LA Reel or TWMA 30L Reel. Both of these reels will hold at least 300 yards of 20 pound test and the rods will be some of the finest that you have ever fished.
TERMINAL TACKLE:
Live bait rigs consist of 20 to 30 pound coffee colored wire, a small barrel swivel, a couple of Daichii 2 to 4x,Bleeding Bait #4 treble hooks and if you like, some sort of skirt. If you have not been able to tie your own rigs, then you can purchase them from several tackle shops here locally such as Thrifty Bait and tackle on Cassatt Ave. Even if you might think you can tie one of these and you are a novice, go and buy one or two so you can see exactly how there are tied.
Hook a bait through the nose and send him over. Do this until you have a good spread of baits. I like to run from four to six depending on the boat setup. Be sure that you are not dragging the bait too fast or it will be ineffective. To be sure that your speed is just right, the bait should be able to swim, if it is being dragged on its side or spinning, you are going too fast. If your boat is in idle and you are still going too fast, you can drag a five gallon bucket along side or purchase a sea anchor and drag that.
Drag the baits along and it shouldn't be long before something eats one or more or them. You can also try sending them down on bottom rigs to catch cobia.
Spanish Mackerel:
The Spanish are so thick south of Jacksonville, you can almost walk on them. There are plenty of the smaller ones at the Mayport Jetties and they will eat a Clark Spoon. I managed to catch over 70 of them this past week.
Here is the best way to catch Spanish from a boat, around the inlets and on the beach.
TROLLING:
To troll for these fish you will need the following:
1. Bait Casting style reels.
2. Bait casting rods, from six to seven feet in length, medium to medium heavy action.
3. Spool the reels with 50 pound test PowerPro line.
4. Sea Striker # 1 size planners, one for each rod.
5. A supply of 00 and 0 Clark Spoons, with the red bead.
6. 20 to 40 pound test monofilament leader.
7. 100 and 50 pound test snap swivels (BLACK)
The set-up:
Spool the reels with the PowerPro line, from the line on the reel tie on a 100 pound test snap swivel and clip it to the planner. From the other end of the planner clip on a 50 pound test snap swivel, tie to this 10 to 20 feet of monofilament leader line. To this tie on a Clark Spoon. Repeat this step for each rod you intend on using. I like to troll three rods and have a couple more ready to use if you snag one and lose your rig (this sometimes happens).
TRICK: paint your planners flat black.
Now that you have your rigs ready, make your way to the jetties on the last of the incoming tide. LOOK FOR THE DIVING BIRDS (terns). They are your friends and will tell you where the fish are. The fish are driving up glass minnows and the birds are feeding on them, so this is generally where the fish are.
Get your boat speed up to about 4 to 6 miles per hour and send out the planner rigs. I like to let out about 50 to 75 feet of line before locking the reel down. When the planners are engaged, the rod will bend pretty good and will be almost impossible to hold for any length of time. Place the rods in the rod holders and troll around the outer edges of the diving birds. When you have a fish on the bend will be gone from the rod and the rod will be jerking and bouncing around. DO NOT troll through the middle of the birds, as you will scatter the fish. If you troll around the edges you should be able to catch plenty of Spanish without sending the fish off in another direction.
Keep in mind, the further that you let the planner out behind the boat the further DOWN the planner goes.
FLY CASTING:
To be successful with the fly rod you will need the following:
1. A fly rod that you can cast about 75 feet or longer.
2. Extra fast sinking line.
3. 30 pound test monofilament leader.
4. A fly that looks as much like a glass minnow as possible.
If you visit the Orvis web site at Orvis.com you can see pictures of a few of the patterns that work well and they are, Glass Minnow, Bead Eye Charlie, Bearded Charlie, Deep Water Gotcha, Spawning Gotcha, Kirk's Fly Spoon (in silver) and the Cowen's Albie Anchovie. These are just a few of the proven Spanish Mackerel flies. Orvis will sell you the fly or the material to make your own. When you find the fly that you want to tie, click on the picture and you will have a list of the materials needed to tie it yourself.
These fish are feeding on GLASS MINNOWS and that is what they want. They are not interested in mullet, shrimp or anything else, they want GLASS MINNOWS. The point that I am trying to get across is tie your flies to look as closely to glass minnows as possible. If you can work with epoxy, this is the way to go.
CASTING CONVENTIONAL TACKLE:
The tackle needed:
1. A light spinning outfit with a rod about 7 feet in length, I like the Shakespeare IM7 Intrepid.
2. 10 to 20 pound test PowerPro line on the reel.
3. 00 or 0 Clark Spoons, with the red bead.
4. Thirty pound test monofilament leader line.
5. Barrel swivels, very small, black.
6. 1/2 ounce trout weights, painted black.
Spool the reel with the power pro line, from there tie on a barrel swivel or the trout weight, then to that, tie on about 1 to 3 feet of leader line and to that the spoon.
CATCHING THE FISH:
Find the birds or go to the end of the rocks and cast your spoon in the middle of the diving birds. Let the spoon sink to about 20 to 30 feet. When the spoon is deep enough, WIND LIKE HECK. These fish are fast swimming feeders and the faster that you can wind there more you will generally catch.
Size and Bag limits in Jacksonville, Florida for Spanish Mackerel:
The bag limit is 15 fish per person, with the minimum size limit of 12 inches long at the fork.
For information on booking a charter with me, you can call me at (904) 757-7550 in Jacksonville or email me at jim@hammondfishing.com. Check out my website, www.hammondfishing.com/, for links to some of the tackle that I have written about or to find out when and where my fishing show plays in your area.
Good Fishing
Capt. Jim Hammond