Fishing Reports Jacksonville St Augustine Amelia Island Ponte Vedra Beach Jacksonville Beach

A few degrees in water temperature and the fish turn on. The past few days it is like the dinner bell has rung and the fish are willing to eat, no inhale your bait. I have in the past week caught over 200 trout and most from the Sea Striker trout grub. No matter what you have thrown at these fish in the past, you have to try the Sea Striker trout grub in white body with chartreuse tail. This is by far the best grub for this area. I like a 1/4 ounce lead head jig fished on the lightest tackle you can get away with. I like a seven foot Ugly Stik rod and a 30 series Pflueger spinning reel. With this outfit you can make long accurate cast and still have the sensitivity to feel the subtle bites. I like the bends of creeks and shell banks in the ICW. The water temperature is cold and these fish want a slowly worked bait. Most of the time the bite is going to be like a small fish but if you let the fish tap it a time or two you will be hooked up.

If you are stealthy on the low tides you will also find pods of redfish working the edges. I like the lower end of the tides. Say the last two of the outgoing and the first two of the incoming. Find a creek, put your Minn Kota down and start easing along. When you see fish turn your trolling motor down to a slow crawl. The key is NO NOISE form you or the trolling motor. The day before this writing, my videographer and I found a creek on the last two of the outgoing that was full of reds and most of them were feeding. We could see them crashing baits all along the edges so we put the Minn Kota down, turned it to setting number three and SLOWLY eased along. Because we were going very slow and not making any noise, we were able to get within casting distance of most of these fish. We threw a Sea Striker 4 inch grub, white with a green tail and these fish were all over it. There were several times that a pod of several fish would be working the bank and come with in ten feet of the boat, BECAUSE WE WERE VERY QUIET. It was so neat to see these fish feeding that close to us.

We would wait until on them to come to us instead of trying to chase them. And the killer part of this is when several reds are feeding in a pack, THEY WILL EAT YOUR BAIT instead of turning up their nose and running from you. For a minute close your eyes and imagine this. You are on the casting deck of your boat and a pod of six nice reds are heading down the bank in ten inches of water. as they get within casting distance their backs are out of the water and they are devouring any little fish or shrimp in their path. You wait until you get the perfect chance to cast about two feet in front of them. Your Sea Striker grub hits the water softly and as they get near it, you just slightly jiggle the rod tip to give the bait a little movement. Then CRASH, one has it. You rare back and set the hook. Now you are doing what dreams are made of. You are hooked up on a quality red in less than a foot of water. The fish is screaming line from the reel and you are in fisherman's heaven. Even as I write this, chill bumps are running up my spine. This is what all the effort of preparing for a day on the water is all about. And the reward is doing battle with nice fish. These days are not the average day on the water and it is a good thing or you would not be able to appreciate it when it does come all together for a day that even someone like me that is on the water many days will remember.

Lots of yellow mouth trout in the deep holes in the river. Try the Dames Point bridge on the edge of the river channel, the tip of the jetties in the deeper spots, the Fuller Warren bridge and any other deep hole that has a hard bottom. Just about any bait will work, from soft plastics to cut bait.

Speckled trout are everywhere. Trolling can be productive as can be casting. Try a mud minnow on a lead head jig, a Sea Striker trout grub on a lead head, a shrimp on a jig or a Sea Striker Trout Killers or Shad Bodies. All of these work great in this area. Remember to work it slow and be ready for the gentle tap of a bite.

Offshore fishing is happening with good catches of trigger fish, snapper, grouper, a few cobia and lots of vermilion snapper. This time of the year you do not have to go far to find good bottom. Try the Nine Mile, PV, MR, PG, PM or any other close in wreck. Live bait is best for the larger species but an assortment of cut bait will work. Squid, cigar minnows, boston mackerel, mullet and even real big mud minnows. Blackfin tuna, kingfish and wahoo can be expected this time of the year in the stream. Cedar Plugs, Sea Rouges, Tuka Trolls and Penn Tantalizers all work good to entice these fish to come home with you.