Twas the night before grouper season and all through the house the tidings of a tackle shop lay strewn about. Between my desk, coffee table and couch is arrayed the full Seaworx spread of crimps, barrel swivels, 3 way swivels, monofilament leader, fluorocarbon leader, hooks of every shape and size, egg weights, bank weights. In preparation for the season opener this week I’ve caught up on pre tying all the go to offshore terminal tackle I can; hi lo chicken rigs, 6/0 60lb mono snapper rigs, 9/0 100lb mono grouper rigs, stinger rigs for Kingfish. The more knots you tie on the comfort of the couch the less messing around you have to do after a break off when the bite is hot offshore.
There are plenty weighs to catch grouper, I keep it simple with either a 3 way bank weight rig or a Carolina rig. They each have their own advantages and drawbacks. The 3 way is nice because you can change weight size quickly without cutting any line and easily remove the weight while running between spots. On a 3 way rig the distance between the weight and the bait is fixed. For some picky fish this can require using longer leaders for more bites. An egg weight rig can be fished with the bail open, allowing the weight to rest on the bottom and the line to run through it, separating the bait and the weight. To change weights however you have to cut the line and tie another knot each time.
The weather is looking like it might be a bit breezy but should be fishable over the weekend and with a little cooperation from the sun we might get a few more days to fish the beach. We had a great trip last Friday on the beach with tons of bait pods to fish and a plenty of shots for Cobia. It’s hard to tell how many more Manta Rays we will see this season with water temps already rising along the rest of their migration route. The Pompano bite is starting to heat up along the beaches of St. John’s county. I heard reports of a some larger fish being caught the last few days in the Crescent to Marineland stretch of beach.
Inshore the fishing has been hot with the early morning low tides making for good sight fishing over the last few days. As we move towards the weekend fishing that early outgoing through the low tide swing could be very productive in the creeks. The higher water at sunrise over next few days is a great tide for throwing topwater plugs for Redfish and Trout. If you’re near the inlets there’s been another wave of big Bluefish around and they will readily inhale a topwater as well.
Nearshore the wrecks and reefs are coming alive with the spring push of migratory fish starting to arrive on the First Coast. The Kingfish bite is picking up especially off the wrecks and reefs. I did see one fish sky on the beach last week a sure sign of summertime fast approaching. This is always a good time of year for nearshore Flounder fishing and there’s been plenty of bait around to cast net. I like drifting nearshore ledges, shallow wrecks, the 9-12 mile party grounds stuff with a live pogy on a 2oz jig head for Flounder. The key to getting past the Red Snapper is staying out off the actual number and keeping that bait in the sand on the bottom. You’re going to have some snapper by catch but the better you can get about working the fringes of the wrecks the more you’ll see flatfish coming up instead of Red ones.
As always wishing y’all tight lines, fair winds, and following seas going into the weekend! If you’re looking to book a charter, submit a photo, or have a report to share reach out to me directly at chris@fishjax.org or visit www.fishjaxcharters.com.
Nory and Kaleb have been catching all kinds of fish together including this nice Speckled Trout.
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