Mayport July 2017
The weather at the conclusion of the final few weeks of June made for a near perfect scenario of fishing conditions. The bait stacked up on the areas beaches bringing all the big predators in hunt for all this wealth of fresh food. Both north and south of the St. John’s River jetties big pods of menhaden were available and I don’t see that changing for July.
The big rocks will continue to hold decent numbers of oversized reds, jacks, and sharks. Tarpon will really start to show in good numbers this month too. Run outside of the rocks net a few baits and bring them back to the rocks for some hot action. Depending on the size of the baits a jig from 1/4oz to ½ oz will prove to suffice but bigger baits need more weight to get them down. When that is the case I will use a 1oz knocker rig. My knocker rigs consist of a 30-40lb 18in piece of fluorocarbon attached to the Spider Wire Ultra Cast braid, typically 30lb, with a uniknot then slide a ½ to 1oz egg sinker on tying a stout 3x to 4x No#1 short shank live bait hook to the end . This extra weight gets those baits down deep and allows for the sinker to slide up off the hook some. A great rig for pitching around the rocks. Work the high outgoing tide for the best results.
The bait pods on the beach can also be a great way to start a day of fishing. Look for tarpon, huge jacks, sharks, and bull reds to hang around these pods early and late in the day. I have caught many during the peak heat of the day so stay alert for schools being busted. Just a few years ago while chasing bait pods on Amelia Island with fellow anglers Roger Walker and Clay Philips we netted bait almost side by side to slow troll the party grounds for striking fish. I made the jump offshore and was 4 miles off the beach when they called me on the radio and said perhaps I needed to turn around. Nothing else was said to me but knowing these guys as expert anglers I flipped around quickly to enjoy non-stop kingfish action in 15-20ft of water literally right on the sand as kings fed on the pogies in shallow water. All we did is drift and these 20lb fish went crazy feeding on the baits as we just eased them off the sides of the boat.
The kings, jacks, little tunny, and even tarpon will feed along the areas beaches this month so grab some baits and slow troll the SE Hole, Redtops, And Nassau sound for some near shore fun. A Squall 30 with a 7ftUgly Stix spooled with 25lb Berkley Premium Spec high Vis green is my go to rig coupled with a short length of 7strand braided wire and two 3x no#3 treble hooks in bronze or silver for best results. I like to troll from 35ft to 50ft of water in a zig zag east to west pattern.
The offshore party grounds were really great in June and I think that pattern will continue into July. Grab some bait off the beach or jig sardines, cigar minnows or scad from the local wrecks and reefs. A number 6 Sabiki is my favored rig. Kings, jacks, cobia, cudas, sailfish, tunny and sharks should be plentiful. Slow troll and when the troll slows down drop a few to the bottom for snapper, grouper, seabass, grunts, and triggers for some fast action. Remember to check the regs for what you can keep and your limits. A great resource for party ground spots is go to the FWC website MyFWC.com and you can download a list from Nassau to St Augustine of a bunch of the offshore fishing spots.
Enjoy the summer, hydrate frequently and remember you can’t catch them from the couch. Listen to the Outdoors Show every Sat for tides, weather, and local reports from our area for what’s hot and what’s not from 7-10am on 1010am or 92.5fm. For charter info go to www.Enterprisefishingcharters.com or check us out on Instagram or Facebook at Enterprise Fishing Charters