Looks Like We Are Going To Have An Early Winter
 
This early winter has not seemed to adversely affect the fish as most of what I have been after have been biting very well and from talking to the offshore boats they also seem to be catching um good.
 
This past week this Mayport Princess deep sea fishing boat had 3 Scamps with John Cartledge bringing in a 14 pounder and Gary Powers with a 12 pounder. The Mayport Princess also had several Grouper with Gary Riley landing a 14 pounder and Randy Carver boated a whopping 22 pounder. The boat also had limits of nice Beeliners to 2 pounds, lots of Amberjacks and Kings and some nice Snapper.
 
Jimmy Stephens fished inside of 10 miles and had 38 real nice Sea Bass to 1 1/2 pounds, a few Snapper and a Flounder.
 
The Tuna have also been stacked up at the East 18 and of course I have not had a chance to get some for my grill. You know how I am about that fresh Tuna, um, um, um.
 
The jetties are still producing good numbers of Black Drum and Croakers to 3 pounds. Both of these fish can be caught by using fresh shrimp or Fishbites fished on the bottom.
 
Here are a couple of young fellows with some nice jetties drum.

 
Here is a very good rig for catching drum and croakers at the jetties or in the river.
 

 
The reds are not going crazy but if you work at it you will end up with your keepers and catch a few smaller ones while in search of the nice ones.
 
Becky Hogan reported that her and James from B & M had a mess of nice sheepshead last week at the jetties and I have also had several other reports of nice catches of these very good fighting fish.  Try a fiddler crab or a fresh live shrimp, fished in the rocks at the jetties.
 
The trout in the creeks are on fire. Try a MirrOlure, a Trout Killer, a shrimp on a Jaw Jacker Jig, an Exude Shrimp or a small spinner bait with a trailer soft plastic. All of these should work well for the next month or so.
 
For you fly fishing persons, I like a very fast sinking fly in a pattern that looks like a small fish. Try the Deep Water Gotcha or a Bend Back. I like a neutral or a chartreuse color this time of the year.
 
There are still a few flounder to be caught in the creeks and near the inlets. I bet there are also a few out there on the close in wrecks.
 
The speckled perch are starting to get fired up. This cold weather has sent them into an early spawn. James Roney caught 17 nice ones this past weekend. He said the fish were suspended in about 2 to 4 feet of water and he caught most of them on a small jig like the Road Runner.
 
My new boat is here and it is amazing. I have the new Carolina Skiff 2790 Extra Wide with a Honda 225 on the back. This boat is 27 feet long and floats in less than 5 inches of water. The room in this boat is unbelievable. Last week I had five guys, all fishing from one side and the boat hardly leaned at all. There is so much room in this boat that I will easily be able to take 6 customers plus me. The Honda people have done once again. The new Honda 225 hp motor is quieter than the 130 that I had on the last boat.
 

For charter information please call me at 904 757 7550 or email me at jim@hammondfishing.com. Don't forget to watch my TV show, every Tuesday at 7pm and Sundays at 8:30am on cable channel 7 in Jacksonville, Clay County and the Beaches and Thursdays at 7:30, Saturdays at 1:30 p.m., Sundays at 11:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m pm on channel 22 and 2 in St. Augustine and St. Johns County.

Remember mom and dad, spend some time with your sons and daughters taking them fishing and you will not be looking for them come Friday and Saturday nights, as they will be home in bed waiting to go the next day.

Don't forget to check out my website for other information on fishing this area, the products that I use and charter info at www.hammondfishing.com/.

Christmas is just around the corner and a gift certificate for a day with Capt. Jim might make a good present for someone. They start at only $225. I accept Visa and Master Card or your check.

Good Fishing

Capt. Jim Hammond

This report is brought to you by and