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Captains day off
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Got out for a couple hours the other day with Capt. Scott and Capt. Charlie. Had a great couple hours on the water with my buddies and managed to accomplish a bit of fishing in and amongst the banter.
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this weekend Jan 20-22
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Weather is suppossed to be beautiful with light winds and highs in the mid 70's and great tides. Fishing has remained solid through the cold and windy spell and I expect this weekends weather should have the fish fired up and hungry. Call and book today! |
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Seeing red in the Oldest City!!!
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I expected that the great fishing would improve even more after the blast of arctic air earlier in the week. I had no idea of just how good it would be. Eddie and Jim joined me for a 6 hr day of catch and release on Friday and there was plenty of both to be had. We began our day up in a creek with 3 trout and a red on the first four casts. That was a nice start to an epic day of fishing. We hit several more spots throughout the day catching fish on almost all of them. We lost track of our fish count, but we ended in the neighborhood of 1 flounder, a nice sheepshead, about 25 trout, and around 55 reds nearly all being 23 inches up to Eddie’s 10 pounder. Many doubles were had and live baits as well as soft plastics accounted for an equal share of the bounty.
Capt. Charlie was out this day as well, fishing different areas and experienced similar results, and he also found a school of large black drum to play with as well. It was great fishing with you Ed and Jim, and I look forward to our next trip. Come check out our great winter time fishery, you’ll be glad you did. Besides its only 76 degrees, slick, and sunny for the next few days.
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Happy 2012
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As I write this report we are getting our first blast of winter air after a long stretch of very mild weather. Although I have enjoyed all the 70 degree days and look forward to their return over the weekend, I am anticipating clearer water and tightly schooled redfish roaming their winter haunts in the near future.
The past month has basically been full of very good fishing days. The slot+ reds are numerous and are being caught in a variety of places, methods, and tides. Trout are around but the bite is not wide open like it was back in November. I believe this cold front should fire them back up by the end of the week. In addition to the trout and reds, the black drum bite has been heating up and we are still picking off some nice flounder as well. Sheepshead are biting well and they should just get bigger and bigger the next couple months.
I had the pleasure to bring in a very foggy new years morning with Dan from Savannah and we had a great half day of fishing. On our first stop of the morning we released around 20 reds out of a school on shrimp, mud minnows, and fishbites paddletails. They ate everything we threw at them until the tide turned and were all 21-26 inch fish. Our next few stops produced a few nice trout, then we switched it up and fished way back in a couple creeks. The first spot wasn't happening, but on number two we got back on a strong bite of nice spunky 22-26 inch reds with a few really nice trout and a flounder kicker. We called it a day shortly thereafter with around 30 slot reds released to fight another day, 8 trout also released, and a flatty that was released into the livewell for my dinner.
Get out of the house this winter and come experience our best redfishing of the year!
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November report
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With temps in the 80's the past few days its hard to believe that winter is just around the corner. Fishing however is heating up as it typically does this time of year. Flounder have been wide open with lots of nice fish falling for artificials. Trout are bunching up and with a little searching you can locate these schools. Topwaters early with a moving tide have been giving up quality trout as well as reds who are starting to school up, and should just get better and better as the water cools. Need to get away for a bit around the holidays? Book your trip today and get in on the action! |
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August report
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It's been a busy summer with many memories for our clients. Irene is providing a couple of days off the water and hopefully fishing will remain strong after she has come and gone. The topwater bite remains strong early and late in the day with trophy speckled trout and stout redfish the targets. Bait remains thick inshore with plenty of preadators from the inlets to well up the rivers. Quality flounder have shown up the past week and reds have been good in the super skinny as well as intracoastal flats. I have spent quite a bit of time as of late chasing Mr. tarpon around our beaches with good success on bait and plastic and managed to leader a couple fish on the fly last week as well with a broken 12wt as a casualty. Staying on the fly game, fishing the docklights at night has been fantastic the past month with gurgulers outfishing live bait!!! Also we are on some great flood tides now and should have more really good days in September, so come stalk some tails in the grass.
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July Troutin'
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July is here and the heat is as well. The beach fishing has been plauged by our typical summer thermocline making the nearshore bite inconsistent, however bait was thick and water temps at the proper level today out of Mayport. Things seem to be coming around and should improve this week.
Inshore the fishing has been similar to my past few reports with steady action early morning with some stellar topwater fishing at times, other days you just have to be in the right place at the right time and earlier in the day has been key. Small flounder with a few studs have been biting, along with lower to overslot reds with a few rats mixed in. Slot and under trout have been steady when you can locate a nest, but the big ones are showing up shallow almost daily. If you want to try something different the nighttime bite is in full swing as long as the tide is flowing and an all around great experience.
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Late June Catching Report
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June fishing is still going strong in our backwaters with getting out early being the key to success. Baitfish are everywhere and the targeted species are close behind although they seem to move around a bit every day. We are catching lots of flounder in various sizes with a few nice ones in the 4 pound range from the past week. There are some large trout up shallow with plenty of 14-16 inch fish off the drops as well. Reds are a bit finicky at times but if you are in the right spot at the right time they will chew the bottom off the boat and we have been able to catch quite a few quality fish in a short period of time on several trips this week.
Just off the beach the tarpon, jacks, and big sharks are showing up and I hope to get out and play with the big boys this next week.
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June smokey report
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As most of you know we are in a pretty good drought these days and have had some really smokey mornings to deal with especially early June. Fortunately easterly breezes have kept it clear for the most part over the past week so when we can get out super early there has been a hot topwater bite on several occasions. Gator trout and reds are the targets and they have been cooperative more often than not. Once the sun gets up plastics and live bait have been successful as long as there is good current. Slowly working over docks and rocks have produced some nice flatties, and the beach species kings, jacks, big sharks are heating up.
Its getting hot out there and so is the night fishing. The night game is in full swing throughout our region and is a great way to keep the rods bent whether fishing bait, plastics, or fly. If you don't mind comfortable temps, no bugs, no boat traffic, and great fishing, stay up and do some after hours fishing with us.
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Late May Report
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May has nearly come and gone and with it we had a great cobia run and are still getting some shots on the brown fish this week as well. Most of the fish are now free swimmers or cruising around the numerous bait pods off the beaches and are being joined by some good sized kingfish over the past week. A few early Tarpon are showing up and with all the bait around and the warm water temps I hope they get thick soon.
On the inshore front we have had some great days and some that we had to really work at it. Trout are still on and off but when they are on it has been a hot bite with some Gator trout in the mix. With all the bait inshore some days you just have to cover a lot of water to find that nest of fish. Topwater fishing early has produced quality trout as well as redfish. Flounder are on the up and up with some larger catches around area inlets over the past week. Reds are no longer biting on every oyster bar but with a bit of persistence and patience some real quality fish have made their way onto the skiff in the last few weeks. Allen's buddy pictured below as well as Derrick both caught overslot fish last week that also happened to be their biggest fish to date. Good job guys and Mark as well with that multi spotted St. Augustine red. On another note pretty soon we will have our stormy season, so get out early and beat the heat and the storms back to the dock. Tight lines!
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Hot Late Spring Action
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Well the inshore bite did get a little funky around the last full moon and the wind made fishing a bit more challenging, but the past two weeks have more than made up for it. Coooobia are doing their thing off the beaches and any calm sunny day is a great time to tackle these bruisers. Cobia fishing is an incredible visual experience and offers some of the best sight fishing in our region.
Redfish, trout, drum, sheepshead, flounder, ladyfish, blues, jacks are about half the species I caught with the NC boys last Saturday. We had a fantastic day on the water and ended the day with multiple upper slot reds up in the skinny. There is a little bit of everything out there right now for every angler. Not only is this a great month to fish in our area, but also a great time to get out on the water and see the area wildlife. Dolphins, manatees, gators, bald eagles, and numerous other bird species are a nearly daily sight this month, so get out on the water and enjoy what mother nature has given us. Happy Mothers Day!
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Spring has sprung...Cobia are near.......
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Inshore fishing has been pretty strong in recent weeks with trout showing in decent numbers, as well as flounder catches on the rise. Drum and small to medium size reds are still prevalent in protected waters, with larger fish around inlets and adjacent to the intracoastal. Sheepshead have also been strong as of late at area inlet rockpiles. Just off the beaches some tripletail are floating around with some spanish mackeral beginning to show up as well. Manta rays are starting to migrate northward with cobia soon to join them in large numbers any day now. This is phenomenal site fishing and if you have never experienced it you need to come check it out...some years it only lasts a couple weeks while others we have several runs throughout may. Until next time tight lines and calm seas!
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Charter Inquiries Mar 10 - 17th
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I'll be in Nicaragua for the week of the 10th thru the 17th of march, so please leave me a VM at 904 403 6136 and I'll return all your calls on the 18th. If you need a trip tat week while I am gone please contact Capt. Charlie Parker. Tight Lines! |
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Another top 5 finish for team Fight Line
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This past weekend myself and Captain Scott battled some breezy conditions along with 65 other teams in the IFA Redfish Tour event out of Jacksonville. Our final tally for the day was 12.89 pounds that gave us our second fourth place finish in a row. Once again the bait of choice was a fishbites jerkbait paired with fight line leader and braid. I'm thinking it's about time to put the Hells Bay back in the winners circle in our next event in Titusville.
On a second note the area fishing is still going strong albeit transitioning. The windy conditions of the past two weeks shut down the larger redfish schools on the intracoastal but the creeks have been their place of refuge. Plenty of fish from 16-26 inches are in our local creeks right now along with black drum and ever increasing flounder numbers. Monday, myself, Marshal, and his son Steve found this to be the case as we found the right spots after a hot start with big reds around docks. Here is a pic of Marshall with a nice 29 inch St. Augustine redfish!
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Jan 31 2011
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Got out on the water with Capt Charlie today and were greeted with mild temps and light winds. Started the day out with 2 trout on the first 2 casts and followed that up with around 25 or so of their friends. We then moved on and caught a few smaller reds in the creeks before moving on to a healthy school of fish a few miles away. We steadily caught reds from 23 - 31 inches for the next couple hours and decided to leave them biting after our last double header. Fishing is on fire in our area right now so come get in on the action. Don't forget to ask about the winter special that ends March 1st.
In other news Jacksonville is holding good numbers or trout and reds as well, with some nice black drum and really nice sized sheepshead for the dinner table. It's also a good time to get the kids out on the warmer days as the whiting have been really thick throughout the region.
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January 2011
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Well we have ushered in another blustery new year and although we have been dealing with some downright cold weather at times the overall fishing has been quite consistent. Area inlets throughout our region have been giving up good catches of sheepshead as well as black drum. Those drum are also showing up in backcountry holes and around docks. Trout have been out in numbers in certain inlet areas on particular tides and have also been caught in good numbers in deeper creeks particularly around Jacksonville. Light winds and clear skies are bunching up the reds on the flats for fantastic sight fishing and these guys have been eager to eat a downsized fly. Throw in some wind and cloud cover and I've had better luck with the reds around oyster mounds and drops as the flats fish have been a bit more lockjawed during these types of conditions. On a cloudy day last week we did really well on creek trout, then slammed some striped jetty creatures, and topped it off with some stud reds at the rocks as well. Earlier this month we battled sub freezing temps but with bluebird skies and light winds my clients managed some pretty spunky reds on the fly in frigid but crystal clear water. We have plenty of open dates in February so let's go catching!!!
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Fishin in the cold
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I whine about cold weather and my disdain for it as much as anyone in the sunshine state. However I absolutely love what is does to the redfishing in our region. Had to cancel a trip on Wednesday as the front barreled through with 25+ mph winds with higher gusts. Thursday was chilly to say the least with a brisk NW breeze at 10-15, but the clouds were clearing out and we had a midday low tide. I headed off solo to fish a couple areas in Jax that should have some quality reds in them. EVERYWHERE was loaded...mudflat fish voraciously feeding trying to fatten up for the winter. The reds were running grass shrimp, brown shrimp, minnows, etc up on the banks coming out of the water on the feed. As the tide started in I moved to some shelly areas and the clearer incoming water revealed lots of burgundy shadows cruising together in about a foot of water. As the water came up i moved a bit more and found fish cruising the edges and on top of the shells, it was dumb how not spooked and eager to eat anything these fish were. Needless to say it was a great day of fishing and the reds should only get better over the next month or so, so put on your longjohns, gloves, layer up and lets go fishing. Tight Lines! |
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Late season specials
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Call and ask me about our winter specials going on from Nov 22 through March 1st. Some of the best fishing this area has to offer is this time of year. Come out and experience it for yourself at a discounted rate! |
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Fall fishing is red hot
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The title says it all. The temps are falling and fishing in our area keeps heating up. The speckled trout have invaded the intracoastal and adjacent creeks from St. Augustine all the way to south Georgia. I have fished everywhere in between this past week and the trout bite is great. Lots of overslot 20" plus fish in St. Augustine and they are hitting a wide array of artificials. Reds are starting to bunch up in tighter groups with loads of small fish still around but more and more slot and over fish being caught every day. The water has been fairly clear and low tide sight fishing is on the up and up thoughout the region. In addition black drum are improving and should keep doing so as water temps fall and there are some large flounder around as well. The best inshore fishing of the year is here, give us a call and get hooked up! We have lots of fall/winter dates available.
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poonin
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sorry for the lack of reports as of late, here are a few pics from week 2 of August
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Capt. Rob's new ride
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Got a new lady in my life.....Hells Bay's newest model the Neptune.
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No email until July 27
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Please call 904 403 6136 to book your trip |
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Summertime
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Summer undoubtedly has arrived in full force. The heat in the middle of the day has been for real. I always have lots of cold water on the boat, so stay hydrated so you can keep catchin. Fishing is quite good despite a slow period in early June. To beat the heat get out early and slot + reds have been cooperating well, along with flounder and the trout seem to be getting better as well. Hopefully this will be a repeat of last summer with big trout throughout. There are a few tarpon on the beach, along with fun size poons inshore, call ahead to reserve an ideal day (early am high water). The inshore species are still biting in the heat of the day, you just have to adjust your approach a bit and time the tides. Sharks near the area inlets have been really consistent as well as bull and upper slot reds when the bait is thick. If you can't handle the heat, we can get out at sunrise and get a half day in or ask about nite time troutin. It's a great way to beat the heat as well as the crowds and catch fish in the summer.
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hot weather fishin'
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Summertime is here and it truly feels like it. Inshore typically the best bites for trout and reds are early and late, although fishing a lil deeper midday has been productive as well. The inshore tarpon have fired off early this year surprisingly. Time of day and tide is essential to this fishing so call in advance to book the best day. Beach tarpon are showing up and should just get better as the days go by. Hopefully we will have another great gator trout summer as we are just now getting some more consistent numbers. The inlets are giving up reds from slot to bulls and trout in the st johns when the water is clean. Shallow water reds are still good if the tides are right in the northern and southern parts of our area. Stay tuned and I'll get some fresh pics up this week. |
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Late April
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Our inshore fishing has been pretty steady with a decent trout bite and quite a few redfish with upper slot and overslot fish on the regular. Flounder are heating up near the inlet, and the cobes are just now showing up with some tripletail off the beach as well. Jacksonville is holding some true gator trout, large black drum, and bull reds are thick. Sheepshead are also firing off around the mouth of the St. Johns. Grouper season opens today and the nearshore wrecks/reefs are holding these fish along with tons of the "endangered" red snappers. Fernandina has some nice schools of large reds up to 38" eager to eat a small shrimp pattern fly as these fish are gourging theirselves on tiny grass shrimp.
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COBIA
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The time is getting near. They have been thick off Canaveral, and should be arriving off our beaches within the next 2 weeks. Book your trip today and lets go get some of these brown bombers. They are a great fighting and eating fish and a fantastic way to break in your 10wt! I also spoke with Scott and the tripletail are starting to congergate off of South Georgia, beach fishing is about to be in full swing.....as soon as the 6 day noreaster settles down. |
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email issue
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for any questions, inquirys, or to book a trip between 3/27 and 4/4 call me directly at 904 403 6136. Thank you and tight lines! Capt. Rob |
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Tournament update 2010
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Myself and Captain Scott had a heartbreaker at the IFA in Jacksonville earlier this month. After a hard days fishing on extreme negative tides we went through numerous overslot fish to bring in our two fish limit. Small fish went 6.27# and our large fish went over the 27" mark by about a millimeter and was dq'd.
On to last weeks HT Redfish cup out of Jacksonville. After this never ending winter we were greeted with light winds and clear skies ...perfect for the habitual sight fisherman. This new series is very well run with excellent paybacks and has an excellent hands off measuring system where every fish is measured the exact same way. This is the only tour out there that I believe is worth travelling to fish. Day one started with a few early short strikes and slowed down till the tide came in and the water got up in the grass. We wailed the fish the last hour and a half to bring in a 12.5# bag on day one to put us in 5th place. Day 2 was a repeat with an epic wad of fish the last 5 minutes that we had to fish. Unfortunately we could not get the "Right" fish to chew and brought in just under 12#, but that was good for a 3rd place finish and a few pesos for our efforts. I want to thank Tuff stuff line (soon to be fight line), Hells Bay, JEA Mediations, and fishbites for making this tour possible for us. We hope to bring you guys some wins in the near future.
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3/10/10
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Had the pleasure of doing a lil fun fishing with Capt. Charlie Parker today. The morning started off much different than the days of late...relatively mild and mirror glass conditions. Of course the wind picked up to around 15mph by mid day but with high temps in the low 70's no complaints were made. Started off in the creeks catching several nice slot reds up to 26" with a dozen or so 16-18" before moving out to the ditch to chase some schools at low tide. We found a couple nice schools of mid to a bit overslot reds and managed to release several including a fat and angry 33 incher for Capt. Charlie. I haven't seen a red fight like that in quite a while. Back at the ramp I spoke to a guy who showed me a pic of a 29" trout he caught and released the day before along with 15+ keepers also released. I guess I will be doing a bit of trout hunting next week after the front. The bite is really good right now, so come down and see us. Book a trip between now and March 28th and mention this report and get $50 off a half day and $75 off a full day. Lets go catchin! |
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Subpar conditions, but great fishing
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February has been a continuation of January. Really cold weather with lots of wind/rain or both particularly on the weekends with very few "nice" days in the mix. Several trips have been cancelled due to the conditions, but that hasn't kept us off the water. The Amelia Island sight fishing has been fantastic with several 12-15# reds taken the past couple weeks. Also had a few fly trips last week. Carol and Walt fished with me for a couple hours in a frigid rain, but there was no wind and the fish were chewin. These folks never fished in the salt with a fly before, but once we got out of the habit of a trout set it was on. They hooked 11 fish in about 2 hrs landing several each. This weekend was windy and the water was very stirred up but Bill and Dr. Ryan made the most of it north of the border, and we stayed on fish almost all of both days. These guys are excellent fly anglers and we had to work for them but managed some nice fish. Don't let a few of these pics fool you, the wind did lay for all of 20 minutes and we hammered em, but it blew about 20 the other 10 or so hours.
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Jan 15 2010
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Did a little prefishing with Captain Scott for the upcoming HT open in Jax this weekend. Found some nice schools of the proper size reds with quite a few oversize piggys in the mix. Also in near proximity were nice schools of black drum. We ran the new Hells Bay Neptune, and if you haven't heard about this boat check it out on their webpage www.hellsbayboatworks.com
This thing rides incredible, poles silently and effortlessly like all HB models, and she absolutely screams with the 150 on the back. This boat is a 10 inch boat and at 60+ mph you can get to the fish in a hurry!
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2010 update
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This first week of January started out frigid. The good news is the fish don't seem to mind. The last week of December I fished Jacksonville, and found numerous small to lower slot reds up shallow in the creeks eager to eat. The larger fish took a bit more stealth and coaxing but they are bunching up in the shallows as well. Trout were on and off the past 2 weeks, but some we did catch a few yellowmouths in the 5# class as well as some small and lower slot specs. Sheepshead have been steady at the big Rocks with some overslot reds in the mix.
Capt. Charlie and I took a day off to chase the reds north of Vilano. We found a couple nice schools of slot + fish and also numerous fish in the 16-23 inch range in the creek systems. Hopefully it will warm up soon, but don't let the cold keep you off the water, because the bite has been very good. Put on your layers and lets go catch them. Tight lines! |
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Holiday gift certificates
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Get yours today, just give us a call at 904 403 6136. your charter will be $50 off if booked by to Jan. 1st, and $75 off a full day. Also Dec. 19 - 26 I will be in Islamorada, so if you need to speak to me or book a trip please call the above number b/c I will not have email for that week. Happy Holidays! |
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November catchin'
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Late October and the month of November brought us a wide array of weather conditions to deal with. Now that the water temps have dropped off, we can expect some of the best fishing of the year. Trout have invaded area waters to fatten up for the winter, and have proven to be quite consistent from Palm Coast north into SE Georgia with some nice size fish in the mix. Live shrimp, fishbites plastics, and clouser minnows/decievers have been the top producers.
Reds are getting quite active around the lower tides and are beginning to school up in nice groups. Staying on the good schools has been the key for sucess. On the last round of big tides, we had excellent tailing redfish action but the fish are chasing shrimp in the grass now more so than crabs, so you have to get on them quickly to get your shot.
Flounder have been more hit or miss, but should show up thick anyday now. Bull reds are still being caught at the mouth of the St. Johns, along with an impressive bite of Black Drum from 5-50 pounds, as well as sheephead. Keeper size drum are in the creeks, and Capt. Charlie has been wacking them the past week. Charlie also got a nice snook this past weekend for his clients.
Book your trip now to get on some of the more consistent fishing of the year. Tight Lines.
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Mosquito/Indian River Lagoon
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I have been down in the lagoons with Captain Scott prefishing for the IFA tournament in Titusville next weekend and enjoyed some fantastic fishing despite some breezy conditions. We caught numerous trout, black drum, and redfish from 20-50 inches, as well as some nice snook up to 34", and even jumped a couple baby tarpon all on artificial lures with fishbites being the bait of choice. I'm not sure what kind of slam that is but it is a whole lotta fun. The water is really high down there right now, and I was surprised by the quality of the bite. It is quite the thrill to watch a 40 pound red pile on an artificial lure in 2 feet of water or less. Those big fish are all over down there right now. Give us a call and we will set up a multi-day hotel fishing package for you so you can get in on the action. Myself, Scott, and Charlie will guide you to your trophy.....or 2. Tight Lines!
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Fall came early
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reds reds reds.....from flood tide tailers to the Monsters of the deep, the Redfish are out in force. The big Bull Redfish have invaded our area waters a bit ahead of schedule. From Matanzas thru the St. Johns river with fish especially thick around Jacksonville, these bruisers are sure to test your tackle and your back. If deeper water fishing is not your thing, the flood tides are going off as well and will be for the next week. Redfish tailing in the grass are ready to pounce on a well presented fly or lure, and they have been thick from south St. Auggie all the way thru south Georgia. Book your trip today and get in on the action.
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August report
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Fishing has been on fire the past few weeks. The hardest thing right now is deciding what to target. Good numbers of trout with lots of redfish and ever increasing flounder catches inshore. Nice mangrove snapper around structure and should have some nice flood tide fishing in the Jax/Fernandina waters this week. There are still Tarpon on the beaches with plenty of smaller fish inshore. The shrimp boats have lots of big blacktip and spinner sharks behind them, and the bull reds are on the jetties and in certain spots in the St. Johns River. The rays are back on the beaches with alot of smaller sized cobia on them. There are some fat fish out there but you have to weed thru the smaller ones. We are still seeing some monster Jacks as well. Kings and sailfish are regular visitors in the 10-15 mile range, and snapper and grouper fishing has been fantastic. Book your trip today to get in on the action. Tight Lines.
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Hot summertime fishing
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Summertime has officially kicked in here in North Florida. Pogies are on the beaches and they are being blasted by all sorts of preadators. Tarpon and jacks are regular visitors in bait pods and have shown up in good numbers the past week. A mile or 2 farther out the big beach Kingfish are making their presence known with a good number of cobia still showing themselves.
Still further offshore on the wrecks/reefs in 10-20 mi range, we have been having excellent luck with cobia, mid size kings, as well as snapper and grouper. For the sporting angler, large lil tunnys (bonito) and cudas are everywhere in this range and make for a lot of fun on fly or light tackle.
Inshore is also been really hot with good size and numbers of trout available early or late in the day. A solid flounder and redfish bite all over the region with a few baby tarpon and snook for the lucky angler. In the northern area of our region we have had good action on tailing redfish on the flood tides....one of my favorite ways to catch these fish. Until next time, Tight Lines.....
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Cobia are on the beaches!!!!!
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Its that time of year to sight fish the rays for cobia. Call now and book your cobia trip.
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April and May
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The weather is hot and summer time fishing is right around the corner. The name of the game is variety. Jacks, blues, spanish, and ladyfish have infiltrated our inshore waters providing fun light tackle action. Reds, trout, and flounder are around, it just takes a little looking around to find good numbers. Cobia are beginning to move down the beaches shadowing the giant rays, and we even spotted some nice tripletail off St. Augustine beach this past weekend. When the wind cooperates offshore fishing is excellent as well with snapper biting very well, and kingfish due to show up in good numbers any day now. |
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February report
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The water in northeast Florida has been super clear the past month and the redfish schools have been tightly balled and consistently available. Lighten and lengthen your flourocarbon leaders in this clear water and you will definitely get more bites. The speckled trout fishing is heating up as well with larger fish being caught. We had a 6 pounder last week, and it's just a matter of days before double digit trout will be a real possibility. Black drum and sheepshead are still readily available on certain flats, jetty rocks and other hard structure as well as in deep holes and troughs around oyster mounds. This is also the time for giant drum in excess of 100#! It's been a great month for fishing so don't miss out.
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Windy fishin
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The weather has been warmer but another cold front is on the way. Fishing this week with Fish Bites jerk baits and shrimp has produced nice trout, big redfish and a couple flatties. It takes a lot of work but the fish are eating. Winds yesterday blew to 30kts and it was tought but with work we had trout, and reds up to 7 pounds! Water conditions remain very clear so tie on that extra foot of fluoro carbon to fool the smart ones. We even have stepped back from 25 to 15 pound. The jetties should start to produce big redfish and trout over the next few weeks as spring gets closer. A float rig or jig head tipped with shrimp will do the trick and remember to tighten that drag or the big boys will break you off in the rocks. Tight Lines and until next time
Capt Scott
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Late January Report
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I may have jinxed myself with the title of the last report. It is definitely January. The weather may be cold but the fish don't seem to mind. Cold temps and clear water mean MUDFLATS. Low tide fishing for reds has been excellent whether you fish bait, artificials, or fly. Stealthy boat handling is key, but the reds have been eager to eat and for the most part, the low tide fish have been large. There are also some nice black drum to be had around the lower tide stages. My dad and brother stopped in on fri the 23rd and bagged 15 big fish with most in the 8 - 11 # range.
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Is it really January???
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The inshore bite for most of the new year has been quite hot for the most part with warm temps and bluebird skys most days. The fish have been a little tougher to get to eat just after the cold fronts or on the windier days, but if you are willing to adjust your tactics or targeted species, there are still some great catches to be had.
Reds are schooling nicely on the flats and in the creeks on the lower parts of the tide, with some nice flounder mixed in around oyster bed dropoffs. Deeper holes in the creeks are giving up nice trout as well as numerous smaller reds. When the weather permits, from the St. Johns out towards the jetties you can find a variety of species including large speckled trout, reds, sheephead, as well as black drum and yellowmouth trout.
The offshore scene has been red hot as well with a strong snapper bite still pretty close to the beach. Working out a little deeper, vermillion snapper, grouper, flounder, lane, and red snapper are still in abundance with seabass nearly everywhere you stop. Take advantage of this great whether while it lasts and come stretch your line.
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Jax bite in fall
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Well the fall is here and actually the last few days have felt more like winter than fall. The fishing however is as hot as summer. Redfish, trout, flounder, and a mess of other fish are eating just about everything you through in front of them. fishing the outgoing tides have been most productive for us and soft plastics and live bait are working best. Tuesday I had the pleasure of fishing Nick and his father and after going over our options of sitting at home in the 25kt cold weather or fishing they went for fishing and I'm glad they did. We headed to a creek where Captain Charlie Parker told me there should be some redfish and he was dead on. We never left the creek and caught 4 redfish all over 7 pounds and one 10 and a few nice trout. The fish were like us cold and enjoying the sun. We were able to sight cast all the redfish and missed a few more. It turned out to be a great day on the water.
Enjoy
Captain Scott Owens
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November brings crazy weather and hot fishing to Jacksonville
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It's that time of the year again in North Florida. One week it's shorts and flipflops, the next you might have to deal with frost on the boat at dawn. Despite the changing weather conditions and windy days, fishing in the greater Jacksonville area north to Amelia Island has been red hot.
Large Flounder have been stacked up in the St Johns from Dames Point out to Mayport with doormats up to 13# a real possibility. When the tides are larger we have been catching fish in the 3-7# class in creek mouths and dropoffs around the oyster bars.
On the warmer days and low tides redfish up to 10 pounds have been in shallow water on mudflats or patrolling the oysters. These fish get active on the warmer afternoons and are blasting mullet in the shallows. The cooler temps encourage these fish to school up so when you find the reds, there are generally quite a few in that immediate area. Earlier in the day and when it's colder, these fish are laid up over mud, or hanging just a bit deeper.
Speckled trout are on a rampage throughout the region in the main river from downtown to mayport as well as creekmouths off the intracoastal wherever there is a good current. The trout get particularly active after a good cold front passes by.
The cooler temps have also turned the sheephead bite on. 20+ fish days are not uncommon with most fish up to 7 pounds. Any good structure in the river or around jettys is an excellent place to start.
In a short trip on Thursday, we racked up a dozen reds to 8 pounds, 4 trout and a 6 pound flounder in just over an hour fishing white weighted fishbites jerkbaits down about a 200 yard stetch of oyster littered creekbank. Now is the time to get in on the action.
Capt. Rob
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Fall and Winter
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Fishing had made a full turn around since the red tide hit our area in last summer. Trout are pleantyful and are eager to take soft plastics, hard baits and live shrimp. Early in the am and in the pm we are catching them on top water plugs. The redfish and black drum are in the flats, creeks, and intercoastal which meens they are everywhere. The only fish that has made itseft scarce is the flounder. I have not seen but a hand full since the red tide however the giggers are reporting they are finding them. Anyway it on so come down and get warm in florida or if you are hear already lits go fishing. |
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capt charlie:St Augustine
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Spring time has arrived.Spring & fall are my favorite times of the year for fishing.We have had some stable weather the last two weeks with tempetures in the 80s & light winds.Today started at 6:30 am leaving the dock well before daylight. I knew with the forcast for bright sun , light wind & a high outgoing tide we should have a good daylight trout bite.By 9:30am we had 14 trout between 18 & 22 inches on tbs jiggs & bass assasin plastic grubs in the pinfish pattern.In between about every third fish was a blue fish.We finished the mourning off with 2 nice flounder in the 3 & 4 pound range & were back at the dock at 11:00.The intercoastal has started filling up with plenty of finger mullet ,wich means that the big flounder,redfish & trout will be all over them.,
Captain Charlie Parker |
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Redfish Cup 07
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DAY 1
Team Hooters Captains Chris Wittman from Ft. Myers Fl. and owner of Still Water Charters and Scott Owens from St. Augustine FL./ Brunswick GA. and Co owner ofOldest City Guide Service had a great 1st day with a 2 fish limit of 12.23 pounds. The weather was tough in the morning with pouring down rain and winds out of the North at 15knts which made the fast 65+ mile per hour boat ride miserable but, by 10am the clouds and rain had diminished
and the winds layed down. They had fish working a grass line and managed to put several fish over the 27 inch limit in the boat before Chris brought in a 6.5 pound fish to start the day. Not long after that they put another fish over 6 pounds in the boat and felt they could upgrade those fish to slightly heavier fish but only manadged to bring in a few over slot fish and one small fish. Team Redline Captain Jason Keating another Co Owner of Oldest City Fishing Guides and his partner Keith McBride had similar results with over size fish and only managed to bring in one monster that tipped the scales at 7 pounds. Conditions were tough but even tougher was trying to stay focused after Capt. Jason recieved a call just before the tournament start to find out his long time friend Steve Senecal, 34, of St. Augustine had went missing offshore the night before. Steve a great guy who was like by everyone he met was also an avid offshore fisherman and had ventured out the day before to fish offshore. His brother reported him missing the day night before when he didn't return back to the ramp by 9pm. His boat was found the next day 27 miles offshore with no sign of him. Please say a prayer for Steves Family and Friends. He was never found. He was a great guy and a huge loss to the fishing community. We will miss Steve here in St.. Augustine.
DAY 2
Conditions really worsened over night as a cold front dropped tempetures over night to the mid 30s and winds pack a punch to 30knts out of the north northeast. Team Hooters fished the grass as the winds and moon flooded grass flats and had 2 fish over 9 pounds and of course over the 27 inch limit first thing in the morning. They said they fished hard and stuck to thereoriginal game plan all day but only managed to bring in 1 fish to weigh in which was 5.12 pounds and ended up dropping them to 14th place. Team Redline however had a great day and managed to catch a limit of fish which brought them up from 40th into the money as well. Check out live weigh-ins at www.redfishcup.com for future tournaments and see team standing an past results.
Until Next time take a kid fishing and light lines
  
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Inshore report with Capt. Charlie
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Chris Gates and friends has a great day fishing with Capt. Charlie today with 11 redfish several trout and even a few sheepshead. 6 of the reds were over the 27 inch slot!!! We have seen fishing along the intercoastal and around the inlets really picking up and the summer migratory fish like tarpon, cobia, jacks, and others are just around the corner. Come and see us to enjoy some of this exciting action seen.
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Cold Days
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Well after 6 hours of 25knt winds out of the north west Marcos and his girlfriend tuffed it out. I told them how bad it would be but they wanted to go. We left the dock at 8am and the weather was not to bad yet so we hit a few dockss and managed to get a few flounder. By the time we started to move to 3rd dock the winds started to really blow and the clouds moved in and the tempature dropped even more. We were all freezing but kept fishing as hard as we could. The second spot turned over a big zero so we moved on to a smaller creek where we fished some oyster beds that turned out to be loaded up with redfish. After catching a few reds, sheepshead, bluefish, and some small pinfish we decited to call it a day. As for the fish they didn't seem to mind the weather and were eager to bight. As for Mocos and his girlfriend they fished hard all day and would have stayed out longer but were also to see the warm car.
Tight lines until next time.
Capt. Scott
www.oldestcityfishingguides.com
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Slam Time
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If you have never caught a NF Grand Slam now is the time. Here is what it takes. 1 Redfish, 1 Trout, and 1 Flounder. As the waters cool the trout and redfish have become active and plentiful and flounder are stacked up at the inlet and in creek mouths. We have been able to guide anglers to Grand Slams on several of our trips in the last month or so. Capt. Tony was able to guide one angler to a Grand Slam on fly last week and several others with spinning. Come down or up and see what North Florida has to offer! You wont regret it!!!
Tight lines |
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November Reports
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We fished the afternoon tide and it started out a little slow. Once the tide started out though we had several redfish, flounder, and trout. We caught most of the trout the last hour light on Fish Bites Jerk baits. We had about 20 or so up to 18 inches. The redfish came from a variety of baits as did the flounder.
Tight Lines |
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Nov. Reports
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Well the water has cooled off and the fish are starting to really move onto the flats and school. Larger schools of redfish can be found during the next several months schooling on the flats and the flounder have still be everywhere. They should start to move to the beaches to spawn in the next few weeks. The black drums have also started appearing and should get more plentiful.
We had some really cool eats by redfish on the flats south of St Augustine yesterday. The water is very clear and on sunny days you can expect to see lots of fish cruising the shallow waters looking for quick meal. This is my favorite time of year to fish so come and enjoy it with us.
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Night Time Bite
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The night time dock bite has been great. Lots of trout, blue fish, jacks, ladyfish, and some snook. We fished the brigdes and docks south of St. Augustie on 5/10 and had a great night. We had several big trout in the 5lb range and could not keep the jacks and ladyfish off our Gulp Jerk baits. The pearl glo seemed to be the color of choice. We lso through the fly and a white clouser with some crystal flash and mono eyes worked great. If you are interested in a night time outing we offer 4 hour trips leaving from St. Augustine and Palm Coast. Fly and light tackle welcome
Tight Lines |
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April Action
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The April fishing has really been good. The jacks and ladyfish are chasing schools of bait up and down the intercoastal. We are seeing some big fish as well. Last Week Capt. Charlie Parker had a flounder that went 10++ pounds and I had a 7 pound trout durring a 4 hour trip. Capt. Jason has had some big cobia and Capt. Bill has had lots of big redfish in the 30inch range. The fishing will continue to heat up as summer rolls in so give us a call and lets do some fishing.
Capt. Scott
Oldest City Fishing Guides |
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Cobia Report
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The Cobia fishing is Red Hot !!!!! The Manta Ray's are on the move, and alot of fish have been caught off the beach, double digit catches are the norm over the last few trips. Capt. Jason caught four fish in the 30-50 pound range last week and Friday 4/20 he bagged the 54.6 pound fish shown. Sunday 4/23 He caught 12 fish with 3 of those over 30 pounds. On Monday 4/24 Capt. Jason put Capt. Scott on several manta rays with fish on them. He fished a fly rod all day and bagged 4 fish and one keeper that is shown also. We ended up seeing over 30 rays and catching 8 cobia. What a day !!! Thanks to Capt. Scott for coming down and sharing such an awesome day on the water with me!!! If this sounds like fun to you give us a call and book a trip today . See you next report ...   |
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Palm Coast 3/22 - 3/23 Report
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Fishing in Palm Coast is really starting to heat up. We left from Bings Landing both days and the wind was blowing 15 to 20kts. We started out using several lures including the Bite-A-Bait plug which is definatly the hot new plug to have. We had everything from snook and redfish to trout and flounder. It was a great day of fishing! The areas we fished is full of small river poggies which tells us that the jacks and tarpon are not far behind. Although we did not cast the fly rod there are lots of opportunities for catching fish on the fly. So come and fish with us and enjoy a day out on the water!!
Capt. Scott Owens
Oldest City Guide Service
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Cold weather reds
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Well as I sit here I realize winter is upon us. It is 29 degrees with wind gusts to 30knts. In the last few days however it has been perfect. Cool mornings and warm afternoons. Fishing has Been great as well. Here are a few pics from Jax with Eric Davis and Patrick Galloway on Saturday which incuded a 6.5 pound flounder, 4.5 pound trout, and some very nice redfish!!! Great Job Guys
Tight Lines
Scott
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November brings crazy weather and hot fishing to Jacksonville
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It's that time of the year again in North Florida. One week it's shorts and flipflops, the next you might have to deal with frost on the boat at dawn. Despite the changing weather conditions and windy days, fishing in the greater Jacksonville area north to Amelia Island has been red hot.
Large Flounder have been stacked up in the St Johns from Dames Point out to Mayport with doormats up to 13# a real possibility. When the tides are larger we have been catching fish in the 3-7# class in creek mouths and dropoffs around the oyster bars.
On the warmer days and low tides redfish up to 10 pounds have been in shallow water on mudflats or patrolling the oysters. These fish get active on the warmer afternoons and are blasting mullet in the shallows. The cooler temps encourage these fish to school up so when you find the reds, there are generally quite a few in that immediate area. Earlier in the day and when it's colder, these fish are laid up over mud, or hanging just a bit deeper.
Speckled trout are on a rampage throughout the region in the main river from downtown to mayport as well as creekmouths off the intracoastal wherever there is a good current. The trout get particularly active after a good cold front passes by.
The cooler temps have also turned the sheephead bite on. 20+ fish days are not uncommon with most fish up to 7 pounds. Any good structure in the river or around jettys is an excellent place to start.
In a short trip on Thursday, we racked up a dozen reds to 8 pounds, 4 trout and a 6 pound flounder in just over an hour fishing white weighted fishbites jerkbaits down about a 200 yard stetch of oyster littered creekbank. Now is the time to get in on the action.
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A Fly Fishermans Dream
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Well in most cases. The Lady fish are all over the inlet. Thousands of them from 1 to 5 ++ pounds. Go on incoming or outgoing tide and bring your 4-8wt and hold on. Dont forget to check your leader or you will go though fly's like kids with candy.
Tight Lines
Captain Scott |
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Jacksonville October Report
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Well the fall is here and actually the last few days have felt more like winter than fall. The fishing however is as hot as summer. Redfish, trout, flounder, and a mess of other fish are eating just about everything you through in front of them. fishing the outgoing tides have been most productive for us and soft plastics and live bait are working best. Tuesday I had the pleasure of fishing Nick and his father and after going over our options of sitting at home in the 25kt cold weather or fishing they went for fishing and I'm glad they did. We headed to a creek where Captain Charlie Parker told me there should be some redfish and he was dead on. We never left the creek and caught 4 redfish all over 7 pounds and one 10 and a few nice trout. The fish were like us cold and enjoying the sun. We were able to sight cast all the redfish and missed a few more. It turned out to be a great day on the water.
Enjoy
Captain Scott Owens
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Oldest City Guides take IFA Redfish tournament in Jacksonville
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http://www.inshorefan.com/news_article.asp?id=2835
IFA Jacksonville Winning Pattern
Owens-Aldridge Targeted Protected Docks
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Photo: IFA Redfish Tour/Mike Lott
Scott Owens (left) and Rob Aldridge had plans to make a longer run, but the wind kept them within a few miles of the launch.
Scott Owens and Rob Aldridge weren't supposed to fish last weekend's Jacksonville IFA Redfish Tour event as a team, but they're glad they did. Owens' original partner came down with the flu a couple days before the event, so he placed a last-minute call to Aldridge, a friend and fellow charter captain from the Jacksonville area.
The makeshift team made magic and conjured up the only 14-pound limit of the day to secure a hard-fought victory in windswept Jacksonville. Owens said the win "feels great. I've had a Top 5, a couple Top 10s, a Top 15 - it's nice to finally get a win."
Aldridge said his first professional-level win "took a few days to set in, but it feels great. It couldn't have come at a better time for either of us."
Here's how they beat the wind to get the win.
Practice: Just Looking
Owens made the drive down to Jacksonville (he lives about an hour north of there) the day before the tournament, so practice time for him and Aldridge was pretty much non-existent. They did make it out on the water to do a little scouting, though.
"We mainly just rode around and took a look at some things," Owens said. "We saw some fish and developed a game plan. I'm a die-hard sight fisherman so all the areas we looked at were shallow. If I'm fishing in anything more than a foot of water I'm lost."
Unfortunately, their shallow-water sight-fishing game plan didn't fly for them on tournament day.
Competition: Rock the Docks
> 7.22 + 6.94 = 14.16
The 122 teams fishing the event were greeted by 25 mph winds and gusts over 30 on tournament morning. Owens and Aldridge were fairly certain their shallow spots would be unfishable, but they gave them a look anyway.
"It was bad," Owens said. "I've got a 24-volt 80-pound thrust Minn Kota and even that couldn't keep up with the wind. We were running the boat up on oysters. The hull was making a ton of noise. It was just bad."
They made a couple moves and checked out some more shallow areas near Nassau Sound with zero luck.
Aldridge noted: "We were about to make another move and then I looked across the way and saw this littler area off the Nassau River. I'd been there about 6 months ago on a similar day and caught a few fish off a set of docks.
"You hear guys talk about plan A and plan B. Well, this was like our plan F," he added.
Plan F proved to be the winner. They stuck their first fish off the docks about 9:30. Two hours later they had their limit.
"Those were our only two bites of the day," Owens said. "We caught a few trout and hit some other spots, but it was brutal out there.
"I felt pretty good we were going to get a check with what we had. But I didn't see us winning it. But as it turned out everybody had a tough time out there. There were a few other teams fishing those docks - we just got the two biggest bites."
Winning Presentation
Details:
# They fished an area in the Nassau River just a few miles north of the launch.
# The water off the end of their docks tapered off to over 20-feet deep, but the fish were suspended in the upper part of the water column, only a few feet deep.
# The bank where they were fishing was covered with boulders. "I think those rocks really help to keep the bait in there," Owens said.
# "The current was ripping so strong out of the river that I had to turn my trolling motor up to full blast just to sit still," Ownes noted. "I'd pull up right to the end of the dock, set my trolling motor on AutoPilot and we could work a dock without moving."
# They fished a fairly quick retrieve and Owens said he actually had to speed up his presentation in order to get bit. "The fish are just really active chasing big bait right now," he added.
# They used a Humminbird Side Imaging machine to look under the docks. "One of our docks had a 40-foot boat sunk under it," Aldridge said. "We caught one of our fish off it, too."
# "I think Mother Nature helped us win this event," Owens said. "We were forced to stay close and that turned out to be the reason we won."
Winning Gear
Owens and Aldridge used the same equipment.
> Rod – 7'6" medium-fast St. Croix Legend Inshore Series spinning rod
> Reel – Quantum Cabo 40 and Quantum Catalyst spinning reels
> Line – 20-pound Sufix Performance braid
> Leader – 25-pound Sufix fluorocarbon leader
> Terminal Tackle – 1/16- and 1/8-ounce flutter-style weedless hooks
> Bait – 5-inch Fish Bites Extreme jerkbait (white)
> About the bait, Aldridge said: "We've got a bunch of jumbo mullet around right now. The fish are definitely keying in on those bigger baits. We were just trying to match the hatch."
Winning Rig
They used Owens' boat.
> Boat – 18' Gordon Boatworks Waterman
> Motor – 70hp Yamaha
> Trolling Motor – Minn Kota Riptide ST 80 with AutoPilot
> Electronics – Humminbird 997c SI Side Imaging combo
> Other – Power-Pole
Main Factor In Their Success
> Owens – "Just our knowledge of the area and our experience on the water. I fish 240 days a year and you really take the little things for granted like running a trolling motor in to that current and fighting fish around those dock pilings. That stuff comes naturally to me because I do it just about every day."
> Aldridge – "Confidence and our experience together. We've been fishing for a long time and we know when it's time to make a change."
Performance Edge
> Owens – "The trolling motor and our braided line. I put that trolling motor to the test and it met the challenge. We couldn't have fished that spot without the trolling motor, but we couldn't have landed our fish without that Sufix braid."
> Aldridge – "Picking the right bait. We had some fish spook off from other stuff, but they ate those Fish Bites jerkbaits. The boat was a big part, too. For a poling skiff that Gordon can really handle some rough water."
Notable
> Owens and Aldridge are both full-time guides. Owens: CaptainScottOwens.com or 877-605-FISH (3474), Aldridge: HitNRunfishing.com.com (website currently under construction), hitnrunfishing@yahoo.com or 904-403-6136.
> Owens: "I never take a fish out of the livewell without a Boga Grip now. I lost a 7-pounder over the side before a weigh-in last year and I swore to myself I'd never do that again."
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Well it time for Big trout
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The big trout have shown up and top water at day breat is the time to take them. I find the Lucky Craft Sammy's work best but Skitter Walks are a close second. Try to fish high outgoing tide where water is being pulled from creeks in the intercoastal and start there. Working shell bars and drop offs is also a great way to pick thm up. Docks in salt run are always a sure thing just start early before the boat traffic gets going.
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Spots Specs and flatties
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Well as I sit here I realize winter is upon us. It is 29 degrees with wind gusts to 30knts. In the last few days however it has been perfect. Cool mornings and warm afternoons. Fishing has Been great as well. Here are a few pics from Jax with Eric Davis and Patrick Galloway on Saturday which incuded a 6.5 pound flounder, 4.5 pound trout, and some very nice redfish!!! Great Job Guys
Tight Lines |
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