Fishing report: Sheepshead, trout fishing pick up as water temperatures drop

Water temperatures are dropping in the St. Johns River estuary, and fishing for sheepshead and trout is heating up.

Sunday’s cool front pushed water temperatures below 80 degrees. After the winds settled, local guides reported a strong run of fishing for trout, sheepshead and slot black drum. 

If the water temperature stays in the mid-70s — and the long-term weather forecast suggests it should — expect inshore fishing to kick into a higher gear in the coming days and more sheepshead to join the ones that arrived before the water temperatures dropped.

“That seems to be a magic number for all of us,” said Capt. David Borries.

Jetties

Sheepshead were the highlight of the reports from the weekend.

Capt. Vic Tison said he was catching sheepshead before the water temperature dropped, but he expects the fishing to get better with the cooler waters. He’s using fiddler crabs and finding the best fishing on the incoming tide.

Capt. Steve Mullen also reported a strong sheepshead bite over the last few days, as did Capt. Kirk Waltz and Capt. Jeremy Alvarez.

It’s been a fun run on tarpon this year, and the silver kings were still at the jetties over the weekend. However, Tison said he expects them to move south with the dropping water temperatures.

St. Johns River

Tison said trout fishing has been “off and on” and flounder fishing moderate. The croaker fishing has been “terrible,” he said, especially considering it should have picked up three weeks ago.

Bull red fishing remains good from the Dames Point Bridge to the inlet, Mullen said. He said flounder fishing was “noticeably strong” around rocks and docks in Mayport.

Waltz is also catching bull reds in 30 to 42 feet of water at peak high tide on cut mullet. If you can find clean water, even better.

Waltz said trout fishing has been good in the river and creeks fishing with live mullet. Overall, he described fishing to be a seven out of 10.

The ICW and the backcountry

Capt. David Borries has fished from St. Augustine to Sisters Creek in the last three days, and he says the bite has been very good everywhere. A pair of longtime clients told him that it was the best day they’d ever had with him.

“Today it wasn’t as good, but we still had some quality fish,” Borries said.

Borries said he’s catching strong numbers of black drum, slot redfish and trout, including a few that broke 20 inches. He’s fishing with live shrimp and mud minnows on jig heads.

The key, he says, has been finding clean water.

Tison says red fish in the creeks have been finicky. Some days are great, and others are slow. But he expects that to pick up with the cooler water.

Capt. Chip Wingo said fishing for reds and trout has been good in the Sisters Creek area using live finger mullet or soft plastic swimbaits. He’s also catching good numbers of legal black drum in the deepwater creek bends using live shrimp on a jig head. He rated the fishing an eight out of 10.

Surf

The surf turned nasty with the cold front that arrived Sunday, said surf fishing guide Noel Kuhn.

This weekend"s forecast calls for westerly winds, which should clean up the slop. There should be some whiting to be caught, along with the usual catch of predators if there are mullet nearby. If you can find clean water, pompano should be fair game. Sand fleas were reported to be the hot bait last week.

Borries said he heard a second-hand report of a strong trout bite in the surf at the Fernandina Beach Pier.

Bridge fishing at the Nassau Sound was good last weekend despite the wind, said Soeun Nhim, who is better known as the Mayor of the George Crady Bridge fishing pier. He said he caught lots of black drum and saw tarpon feeding on mullet near the shore. He said the trout fishing has picked up, and he’ll be targeting them this weekend with live shrimp.

Offshore

Capt. Chad Starling said he made it offshore last week and found great bottom-fishing for beeliners, triggerfish, porgy and even a few grouper. He said other boats have been trolling in bluewater for wahoo, which has been improving.

A small craft advisory is in effect until Friday morning, and it’s unclear whether the ocean will be fishable this weekend. Check the marine forecast and use your best judgment.

Freshwater

Capt. Sean Rush said bass fishing is still good on the St. Johns River and Lake George between Astor and Welaka. Using live shrimp, his clients are at times catching as many as 50 fish per trip. Lure fishermen should give speedworms and crankbaits a try.

He ranked the fishing in that area an eight out of 10 and expects it to stay the same for the next week. He says the cooler water may give anglers a shot at some bigger fish.

Rick Hamilton from R & J Tackle in Green Cove Springs says striped bass fishing has been good around the Shands Bridge on live or dead shrimp.

Largemouth bass fishing is picking up in the main river, as are the speckled perch in the creeks. He said he’s been surprised by reports of decent catfishing in the creeks from anglers using nightcrawlers.

Still no reports of croakers, he said. And he expects that to stay the same if the shrimping remains lousy.

“I figure no shrimp, no croaker,” he said.

Source: https://www.jacksonville.com/news/20181024/fishing-report-sheepshead-trout-fishing-pick-up-as-water-temperatures-drop