The following Bait Shops Carry

Fishing forecast

The whiting fired off Tuesday at the Jacksonville Beach Pier -- a couple of anglers tallied more than 100 each -- and were still biting Wednesday. Giant black drum should be showing in force as the March 25 full moon approaches.

3-19-05

The whiting continue to be on the fishing scene. Whether you choose to surf fish or use a boat, you're bound to catch a whiting. Whiting catches continue to be reported in North Beach, Main Beach, Slider's access, American Beach and the south end. The incoming tide has been the best tide to fish.

TOP CATCHES -- Brad Smith and Earl Kerr kept 10 sheepshead -- the smallest weighing 3 pounds -- on Sunday at the Mayport jetties. ... Among the whiting catches last week at the Jacksonville Beach Pier were Spencer Brogden with 177, Willis Ellis with 137, Leroy Gore with 55, Walt Sturtevant with 48 and Mike Bauer with 24. ...

Guide Mike Morris, Joey Hendrixson, Chris Shuman and Adam Jackson totaled 37 sheepshead to 7 pounds and a 9-pound redfish on Saturday at the Mayport jetties. The fish were taken on fiddler crabs.

3-24-05

Offshore Mayport: Legal snapper moving a bit closer to the beach -- fish in the teens have been taken within 20 miles. Amberjacks at ledge. Sea bass in close. Whiting in surf.

Offshore St. Augustine: Boats that have made it to the ledge this week report a strong wahoo bite. Some blackfin tuna, too. Sea bass on the local wrecks. Whiting in the surf.

At Floridasurffishing.net, the unofficial talk from the Flagler Pier was around a mixed but active week that saw weakfish, sheepshead, flounder, whiting and pompano come aboard.

Ron Joiner (County Pier) in St. Augustine Beach said that several pompano and bluefish made the rounds as well as three oversized reds. There were no big drum, but whiting came and went unpredictably.

3-31-05

More variety is beginning to liven up the surf fishing throughout the area. In addition to lots of whiting, anglers at the Jacksonville Beach Pier have seen pompano, sheepshead and even a Spanish mackerel. And the best is yet to come.

Offshore Fernandina: Giant black drum off Main Beach and the south St. Marys River jetties. A 77 1/2-pounder is leading one tournament. Sea bass on close-in wrecks. Whiting, bluefish in surf.

Offshore Mayport: Big beeliners, some cobia at Elton Bottom. King Neptune partyboat was recently catching yellowmouth trout 18 miles out. More quality snapper being taken.

Offshore St. Augustine: Bluewater fishing beginning to heat up. Sailfish were caught over weekend, and there should be shots at wahoo, dolphin, tuna. Whiting in good numbers in the surf.

The storms chased them in, but before it did, he, Punkin McQuaig and Mike Schultz had 18 large whiting they caught at the can near the end of the south jetty. They released a number of smaller fish. Although they were in the inlet, the fog was so thick at one point that they could not see land and had to use a compass.

Candi Privett (Oldest City Bait and Tackle) confirmed some nice catches of whiting at Crescent Beach and Vilano, while Darryl Lloyd (County Pier) said that the whiting sizes were good but numbers were not overwhelming. He added that the afternoon fishing was best. Lloyd also said that any pompano were small. Surprisingly, the strong winds of Monday brought a pretty good whiting bite at the Tables in North Beach.

Internet reports putting whiting in Fernandina, Saturday (2coolfishing.net) and Guana Beach, Tuesday (outdoorsbest.zeroforum.com) indicate that the whiting are widespread, big and hungry. The feeling I got putting together all the reports was that they were biting in tidal stretches; that is, it was either the incoming or the outgoing but not both.

4-2-05

Anglers fishing Amelia Island's surf are reporting excellent catches of whiting using dead shrimp fished on the bottom.

Roy Haspel reported catching 30 whiting, many of which were bulls, in a 2 1/2-hour trip.

Just about any beach access you pick is holding whiting. Fort Clinch fishing pier and the George Crady fishing pier are also having excellent catches this week. The gang at the Amelia by the Sea pier are also having awesome results.

Sheepshead fishing has been excellent all week at the north and south jetties, Fort Clinch and George Crady fishing pier. Also try fishing along any docks with barnacles on the pilings. That's usually a good sign there will be sheepshead. Fiddler crabs and clams are both good choices to entice sheepshead.

Trout and redfish have picked up with the increasing water temperatures . The trout are hitting live shrimp, jigs, Mirrolure Catch 2000 Jrs. and most top water plugs. Schools of redfish continue to be found in shallow water on warm, sunny days, around the low tide. Live shrimp, mud minnows or jigs with tails are working well with those hard-fighting fish.

Terry Sanderson caught this 30-inch drum in Nassau Sound and threw in a nice sheepshead for good measure. Special

4-5-05

By Capt. Jim Johnson
Nassau Neighbors columnist,

High winds and torrential downpours describe this past weekend. As I write, we're experiencing gusty winds and cold temperatures.

All I can think about is spring, which means warm weather and warm water temperatures. This usually brings along awesome fishing in the creeks, bays, surf and offshore.

We should also be experiencing the arrival of bait, right behind which we should start hearing of catches of black drum, cobia, kingfish and many others.

Nikki Von Wingerden caught this 28-inch redfish on Feb. 26. Special

Moving on, whiting fishermen had tremendous results last week and can expect the same luck this coming week. Anglers fishing by boat or on the bank reported catching whiting on the low incoming tide using dead shrimp on the bottom.

4-7-05

Offshore Fernandina: Big black drum humming at Fernandina's Main Beach and St. Marys jetties. Sea bass and some oversize redfish at FA reef. Whiting in the surf.

Offshore St. Augustine: Schoolie dolphin, a few wahoo at the Stream. Sea bass, hordes of small bluefish on inshore wrecks. Bottomfishing good in 145-150 feet. Whiting, blues in surf.

As for the whiting, they too, were carrying roe. Bill Bacon wrote that he caught 25 and all were gravid. The whiting continued with their pattern of biting in masses and then shutting off for a tide or a day. Ron Joiner (County Pier) likened it more to every other day. One of the problems at the county planks is that the mudline that hugs the shore during westerlies really works against them. The pier is a few hundred feet short of extending beyond it.

Others found whiting at North Beach and beyond. Long casts covered more territory and thus more fish, but some were in the surf wash. Ken Morse said that Saturday was a very good day in front of the Reef Restaurant, which is more than I can say for Friday when I tried it at the Tables. I saw few and caught fewer.

All that changed Saturday as the winning team of four anglers at the Florida Surfcasters tourney checked in with 125 pounds of the southern kingfish (whiting). Second place had 50 pounds (3 anglers). Those fishing in boats -- and not in the tournament -- have also fared very well in the last few days. I understand that at times, it was difficult to find anchorage at their favorite haunts in the inlet. The Vilano boat ramp was certainly full.

There weren't as many pompano caught, or perhaps they were undersized as hoped, but a few more made it into our neck of the woods. Joiner said almost all the pompano at the County Pier were undersized, but Miles said there were some nice fish in the south part of the county and along Flagler County beaches. Guide Chip Owen (Avid Angler) reported, that to his surprise one of his fares caught a 3-pounder in North River while fishing with live shrimp. At first, he thought it was a jack and then a permit. But upon landing it, he recognized it as a healthy pompano.

April 9, 2005

Offshore fishing is improving, the surf fishing has been phenomenal, but backcountry fishing has been hit and miss.

Many excellent reports have come in for the past two weeks.

Robert James caught this huge black drum at the George Crady fishing pier. Crabs, clam and fresh shrimp are the bait to use. Special

Big game anglers who ventured to the ledge reported excellent catches of wahoo. Donald Skipper, Kevin Blanton and Ronnie Mixson caught five wahoo and one dolphin on March 30 aboard the Ms. Pamela. They also reported four other wahoo strikes, which occurred during the early morning bite.

Live bait is starting to appear on the inshore reefs. Snapper are biting with the advent of warmer water. Be prepared when bottom fishing the outer reefs for that elusive cobia.

Local surf anglers say Amelia Island is experiencing a whiting bite like we haven't seen in years. Von Holcomb reported a catch of large bull whiting from the surf on March 31. The Rev. Bill Holmes reported a catch of 52 whiting from the surf on the same day, and many were large bulls. Rex Lester reported catching bull whiting the size of small reds from the surf on April 2. Carlos Benja also reported a catch of 47 bull whiting fishing Cumberland Sound.

The black drum fishing is still hot and heavy. Steve Pickett and crew boated seven drum off Main Beach on March 29. Capt. Bennie Hendrix and crew had three drum, and Capt. Jason Scott reported two drum from the breakers.

Vernon Cartwright and crew boated seven drum from Main Beach on March 29.

4-14-05

St. Johns River/Jetties: Giant drum, sheepshead, some redfish at the Mayport jetties. Reds also in Mill Cove, Chicopit Bay and at the little jetties. Scattered trout, bluefish in the river.

Offshore Fernandina: Inshore ledges holding a mix of sea bass, snapper, grouper. Some kingfish, dolphin, blackfin tuna reported at the 40-Mile Bottom. Whiting in surf.

Offshore Mayport: Sea bass, sharks, snapper on the inshore wrecks. Mayport Princess partyboat had some nice grouper this week. Whiting, yellowmouth trout at Jax Beach Pier.

Ron Laudenslager (Camachee Cove Charters) wrote that charter captain Dennis Goldstein saw Spanish mackerel in the inlet, and Joiner noted that a few were landed at the pier by an angler throwing a "Gotcha" lure. Weather permitting, I'm sure there will be many more Spanish within the next few weeks. Brad Miller (Coastal Outdoors) said that the first jacks of the season were in the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) in the Crescent Beach area, a clear indication that the water had warned.

And still the whiting and sheepshead played on. At Kyle's Seafood, I was told that in one case, a couple of commercial (hook and line) fishermen had brought in 125 pounds of sheepshead, while others came in with 250 pounds of whiting. This was in one day of fishing. Miles said sheepshead were still pretty thick near the rocks at Matanzas Bridge and the Fort.

4-16-05

By CAPT. JIM JOHNSON
Nassau Neighbors columnist,

The bull whiting continue to bite along Amelia Island's beaches, sounds and in the river.

This has been without a doubt one of the best years for surf fishing we've experienced in a long time. Could this be some more good consequences due to the net ban, or could this be some positive effect from last year's hurricanes? I'm not sure which.

Mark Meena and his son, Kenton, caught a lot of whiting, including this one, during a recent trip to Cumberland Sound. Special

The North Beach accesses, pipeline, Slider's access, American Beach and the south end have all been public access points of interest. Kids, friends and many families have enjoyed this year's whiting frenzy, which should continue through April.

4-21-05

Whiting continue to be an easy pull everywhere, as do weakfish. Timmons said anglers had "crushed the whiting at Nine Mile." And that seemed to be the consensus wherever anglers dropped a line. Cobia have been here and there, although the weather pushed them out of sight over the weekend.

4-23-05

The whiting bite is still dominating the fishing scene of Nassau County. There are also puppy drum, blues, trout and redfish being caught in the Amelia Island surf.

4-28-05

5-5-05

Published Thursday, May 05, 2005

The local water temperature was as low as 67 degrees earlier in the week but finally cracked 70 degrees. It may not remain there and therein lies much of the problem. Ron Joiner (County Pier) noted a marked increase in Spanish mackerel -- especially very early and late in the day -- and added that they measure 18 to 22 inches. There were still a few drum near the rock, but nothing in the way of flounder.

Other surf reports addressed a drop in the number of whiting and weakfish and an increase in pompano and catfish. A couple of Internet reports reflected different feeding habits of the pompano. At the north side of Matanzas inlet, the rewards went to the long heaves, whereas Mickler's Landing put the fish in the first cut. That's where anglers with short poles and in some cases, old bait, caught them between the catfish bites. Another favorite haunt was over the inside sand bars and cuts where the St. Augustine Inlet, Salt Run and the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) meet. Sand fleas, clam, fresh dead shrimp and small crabs are the baits to use.

5-12-05

Although I didn't hear of many drum, Dave Privett (Oldest City Bait and Tackle) did mention a 20-pounder that was caught by an unidentified angler in the surf of Crescent Beach, and he also weighed two bluefish that topped 8 pounds apiece. Surf throughout the county yielded numerous smaller bluefish, some whiting and occasional pompano.

Surf: Conditions make it a difficult call. Still havent gotten the big pompano or Spanish run although there seems to be a pretty good number of bluefish. Water temperatures approaching normal.

9-15-05

Wednesday, there were a few anglers working the surf and Jamal Eid was one. Fishing at Surfside Avenue he had eight whiting, a pompano and a drum. He fished with dead shrimp. Ron Joiner (County Pier) said now that the beach has given back what experts call "sacrificial" sand, the pier actually has water under it at low tide. Two weeks ago it was at least 30 feet on dry land at high tide. He said that whiting and reds were caught recently and expected a lot more in the upcoming days. He won't be alone, post storm offshore catches also have a tendency to spike at this time of year. This is a great time to be a fisherman.

3. Surf: Pretty unbearable last week but shows great promise this week. No telling what will happen in pursuit of the mullet. Bluefish, Spanish, flounder, reds and trout will go after the fingerlings while shark, tarpon, jacks and barracuda will seek out the larger mugilids. I think I said that last week.

4. Just offshore: Some tarpon and blacktip sharks behind shrimp boats and in pursuit of the mullet and the few remaining pogies (the water is still very warm).

5. Offshore: It will probably be excellent for those with private numbers. Local reefs did not do good although there were still kings. The deeper reefs show very good promise for big redeyes, genuines and grouper.

6. St. Johns River: Much improved catches of bream, catfish and specks despite an increase in the algae. The stripers are particularly active near the Shands Bridge

7. The Pier: More water to fish but not much in the way of fish until the water cleans up. Mostly sharks, catfish and rays.

10-15-05

Trout, reds, puppy drum, whiting and pompano have been biting in our rivers and surf this past week. Huge bull reds are biting at the jetties and in deep holes along the river and Nassau Sound. I've had reports of some anglers releasing more than 20 bull reds in a trip, with sizes in the 40-pound range being caught.

Ken McClain was surf fishing this week and reports an excellent catch of trout and reds using live mullet. Ken said some of the trout were huge, and he released many nice reds. On Oct. 8, Tony Salcines and friends fishing with Capt. Jim Anderson caught and released 20 bull reds, all in the 36- to 38-inch range, at the Mayport jetties. Paul Gale and Gus Martin reported a good catch of trout wade fishing at Nassau Sound. Paul and Gus were using small live mullet rigged with a half-ounce egg sinker to a bead tied to a barrel swivel rigged to 20-pound test leader tied to a No. 2 wide bend hook. Gus and Paul released 10 bull reds, one flounder and plenty of sharks. Incidently, they also kept a whiting rod going and caught a nice mess of whiting, too.

10-18-05

10-20-05

Locally, seas have calmed nicely from last week's seasonal northeaster, the water temperature is still in the upper 70s along the beach, and the lower 80s offshore. The mullet are still here, the grouper are moving in, and the pompano are in sync with big whiting. Autumn is a fun time to fish in Northeast Florida.

As the surf calmed down, the number of surf anglers went up. As baits sank, catches increased. Whiting bit throughout the county. It wasn't always a case of great numbers, but if you were in an area unencumbered with catfish, the respective sizes were very good.

Ron Joiner (County Pier) said that not only was the fishing good, but at times anglers would challenge themselves to guess whether they had a large whiting or a small red. Point in case, Glen Laudenslager (Camachee Island Fishing) said that Larry Finch had a 19-inch whiting. Moreover, a number of them found pompano on their shrimp baits.

Most early Internet reports of pompano cited them as small at best and undersized regularly. Catches since the full moon have been better however, and Joiner said that most of them at the planks were easily in the legal range. The pier also is undergoing a bite of sheepshead around the pilings. Sheepshead were also mentioned in several Internet reports; they weren't overwhelming but they were certainly better than the previous month.

Flounder could not say the same; they were down from the blitz a few weeks ago. Still, I saw a couple caught on Porpoise Point on Monday afternoon, and at the very least catches were consistent throughout the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW).

10-27-05

Offshore Fernandina: Wahoo at the Gulf Stream. Grouper, snapper on the wrecks. RL reef has been productive. Some oversized redfish at the St. Marys inlet jetties.

Offshore Mayport: Plenty of grouper, snapper within 15 miles. Big beeliners, triggerfish at Elton Bottom. Some cobia in deeper water. Mostly whiting, bluefish at the pier.

The fall trout bite is on. Trout fishing has picked up just about everywhere, from Fernandina to south of St. Augustine. Sliding float rigs and live shrimp are catching fish, as are plastic-tailed jigs. Some anglers reporting catches of 30 trout or more.

There was no such confusion at the County Pier or along the surf in general. Whiting were good in size but only so-so in numbers, pompano were small and even fewer in numbers. The biggest surprise, although not unexpected by veterans, were the sheepshead at places like the Mayport jetties (Jacksonville) and local ICW haunts.

Another much-anticipated run was mullet at Matanzas. Apparently some of the bigger fish were there, according to Wiseman.

Other fish moving through our area include bluefish, which are in the surf, the inlets, the ICW and now Guana according to a report at Fishingchronicle.com . I've seen them occasionally caught there in the past along with Spanish mackerel but not recently.

10-29-05

3. Surf: Some excellent catches of pompano, along with reds, whiting and even flounder. The Marineland area also holding sharks in the 3- to 4-foot range. The surf is home to multiple species currently moving south.

The highlight of the week had to be the pompano bite at the County Pier. Ron Joiner said that a run took place on Tuesday that saw at least a half dozen people catch their limit of six pompano while fishing with dead shrimp for whiting. Oddly enough, I did not hear of the bite taking place anywhere else -- probably because there weren't a lot of people fishing along the surf on Monday and Tuesday. Joiner added that as many people released big reds that ranged from 30 to 40 inches. Chip Owen (Avid Angler) heard similar reports of pompano catches at the pier Wednesday.

11-10-05

The first thing to come up on the radar was the pompano run that hit Vilano and North Beach. Assaults took place in other parts of the county but it focused at Vilano last Saturday morning.

Ken Morse said that around 8:30 a.m. anglers were pulling them in left and right.

Some of the commercial fishermen were easily into the double-digits, and recreational anglers lucky to be in the right-place at the right-time also found their limits.

Things weren't too bad at the County Pier either; Darryl Lloyd (County Pier) said that he avoided the north shore crowds and easily found his limit at the planks.

Seafood Shoppe and Kyle's Seafood both had plenty of local pompano on ice.

Some of Lloyd's fish measured 18-inches.

By Sunday morning the Vilano bite was over but yesterday I spoke with visitors Otto and Sally Worten of McClenny and learned that Otto had caught a 5-pound pompano on Monday at Surfside Ave.

Walking the beach, I saw another angler with several pompano near the Vilano ramp.

Although the Wortens didn't have any pompano on Wednesday, they were pulling whiting right-and-left around 4:30 p.m. Thursday.

Pompano were not the only issue in the surf.

Personal conversations and internet reports put a lot on the table.

Floridasurffishing.net specializes in such things and from the accounts offered from their patrons, the Mickler/Guana region was quite the stretch to be for yellow mouth trout (weakfish), Spanish mackerel, bluefish, whiting, reds and sharks.

11-17-05

Terrific month of fishing may be slowing down. This past week was really good but not as great as the week before.

11-24-05

Offshore Mayport: When the ocean reopens, snapper and grouper should still be good bets, even on the close-in reefs. Scattered whiting, sheepshead at Jax Beach Pier.

Offshore St. Augustine: No one's

There's almost always a major run of whiting between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, but surf conditions were terrible until Wednesday, according to Ron Joiner (County Pier). West winds turned the water a chocolate color, and that usually translates to catfish, stingrays and small sharks.

The mud will disappear with the offshore winds. Before that, Sunday to be precise, Jamie Dumont caught some nice whiting and pompano at Vilano Beach,

12-1-05 (Nov 25-27 pier)

Best bet

Whiting and bluefish are in the surf from Fernandina Beach to St. Augustine. Many of the whiting are big, up to about 2 pounds. Some of the best reports have come from the Jacksonville Beach Pier, where at least one angler caught more than 50 last weekend.

12-1-05

Thanksgiving was good. Walking the beaches, some nice blues 2-3 lbs, lot of pompano and lots of reds along beach. Whiting bigger in surf than inland. Right now surf is worked up, look for blues and whiting when things calm down

Surf fishing continues to be consistent, with bull whiting, pompano and trout being caught. On a trip over Thanksgiving, my wife and I caught numerous bull whiting in the surf on the first of the incoming tide. Some of the bull whiting were 2 pounds. North Beach, Sliders access, Peters Point and American Beach have all had nice reports of bull whiting being caught.

12-6-05

How good was the inshore bite last week? Just ask some of those who took advantage of it.

"The reds are so fired up it's unbelievable. It seems like everywhere you go, north or south of the St. Johns River, there's plenty of them," said Capt. Kirk Waltz. Waltz, David Bissel and his son, Brandon, caught 38 redfish to 26 inches, two trout and eight bluefish on Sunday using shrimp on jigheads in creeks north of the St. Johns River.

"The fishing has just been incredible," said Bill Lancaster, who teamed with Mike Draper for two days last week to total 30 reds, 30 trout, 14 sheepshead and a number of black drum. Lancaster and Draper soaked shrimp around deep-water oyster bars north of the St. Johns River.
TOP CATCHES -- In only about two hours, Lee Wimberley and crew combined for 35 redfish to 9 pounds and five trout in the Nassau Sound area. On Thanksgiving Day out of Los Swenos Marina in Costa Rica, Jacksonville's Ben Lipford and Greg Palmer went 7-for-11 on sailfish to 120 pounds and also caught a 45-pound dolphin and five yellowfin tuna.

Bob Houghton, his son, Bobby, and Art Potter caught six flounder -- all around 3 1/2 pounds -- at the Mayport north jetties. On a trip to the Gulf Coast of Florida the week before, the same anglers caught six grouper while trolling in 15 feet of water out of St. Marks. ...

Last week produced good numbers of whiting at the Jacksonville Beach Pier. D.J. Nieves totaled 140 whiting during the week, and Spencer Brogden had 35 on Saturday. Also on Saturday, Bobby Morris caught 20-25 whiting, and Bobby Kemp scored 38 whiting on Friday. ...

nov30-dec 3 great

12-8-05

Offshore Fernandina: Good numbers of sea bass on the wrecks. A recent Mayport Princess charter had snapper, grouper, sea bass in close. Whiting in the surf.

Offshore St. Augustine: Scattered wahoo in bluewater. Sea bass, triggerfish, some keeper snapper, short grouper on inshore wrecks. Whiting, bluefish in surf and at St. Johns County Pier.

Some blues to 2-4 lbs and some pompano. Whiting were everywhere over the past week in surf and the size made it even better. Two hours before sunset on to dark best time.

Whiting were everywhere throughout the local surf and their size made it even better. Hard core and commercial fishermen found several hotspots where their numbers went 50 or better. The word was that two hours before sunset was the best time for big whiting at the planks. Surprisingly, a few pompano were also still in the surf mix and bluefish of 2- and 4- pounds were not unheard of in the reports. Del Wiseman (Devil's Elbow) said a few pompano were even caught in the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) to the south.

12-10-05

I expect good fishing in our local surf from north beach all the way to the south end of Amelia Island. This past week, anglers reported consistent catches of bull whiting using fresh shrimp fished on the bottom.

12-13-05

Also at the pier last week, Spencer Brogden tallied more than 150 whiting in two days, and Rick Hale had an 18-inch yellowmouth trout. 4-10th

12-15-05

Offshore Mayport: Some legal red snapper and lots of vermilion snapper on the deeper wrecks. Whiting, small bluefish in surf. Whiting bite slowed this week at Jax Beach Pier.

Offshore St. Augustine: Sea bass, triggerfish, mostly throwback snapper and grouper on inshore wrecks. Quite a few kingfish in 100 feet. Whiting, a pompano or two in the surf.

And if there was one constant in this week's reports it was the whiting. Ron Joiner summed it up rather succinctly when he said that there was a "whiting bite county wide."

His observation was filled in a bit by Jade, who was relaying Ron's report, when she said that they were "pulling up buckets" of whiting off the pier.

Further fleshing out the whiting situation was Dave Privett at Oldest City Bait, who reported that there were a few whiting coming from the State Road 312 bridge area.

Bill Kerr at Hook Line & Sinker mentioned the whiting also and said that he expected them to be coming inside in large numbers very soon. Bill noted that the whiting were not the only inshore species currently in abundance.

He pointed to Bill Schuler on the Heads & Tails who has been catching 40-plus trout a day. Kerr did say that the trout were running a bit on the small side, with a 4- or 5-to-1 throwback ratio, but that with so many fish being caught it was no problem getting a limit.

And it should be pointed out that Schuler has been catching most of his fish tossing lures.

Farther south, Matt Wrann at Devil's Elbow said he had been doing quite well under the lights on the trout but that the "blues were getting in the way."

The presence of blues this time of year is to be expected, and a number of the reports mentioned them. Wrann also reported that there were still a fair number of reds to be had but that the flounder bite seemed to have slowed. The slowing of the flounder bite meshes quite well with what our commercial giggers up in Jacksonville are reporting: not that many fish left.

12-17-05

12-22-05

12-29-05

1-5-06

I had mixed reports of whiting along the beach, and several walks I took in North Beach revealed nothing. It was a case of good weather, bad fishing. Lloyd said it was slow at the pier, and some indications were that the beach whiting were partial to dining very early or very late in the day. Not so, for the boaters where the fish ate all day -- Kerr said some of them were catching 60 to 100 fish a trip, and at least one commercial angler was known to have harvested about 500 pounds in five days.

Pacetti's Fish Camp is holding a speck tournament Feb. 4 and it is hoped that the fishing will improve by then. The numbers and size are only so-so at the moment, although Jim Calloway came in with a half-dozen specks and 22 warmouth, according to Vivian Knight (Pacetti's). He fished Trout Creek. Okie Worzell got into his winter pattern with four bass.

WHAT ELSE HAPPENED IN '05?

Last week, I wrote about how it was a very good year for reds, flounder, sheepshead, pompano, kings and trout. It was also very good for whiting and red snapper.

We pretty much take whiting for granted since the demise of beach seining. Moreover, there aren't many shrimp boats working close to the beach.

1-12-06

St. Johns River/Jetties: Scattered sheepshead, redfish at Mayport jetties. Speckled trout at the big and little jetties. Yellowmouth trout in holes in the river.

Offshore Mayport: Quite a few snapper and grouper have been caught close in recently. Beeliners at the Elton Bottom. Scattered whiting at Jax Beach Pier.

Offshore St. Augustine: Some wahoo at the ledge. A 75-pounder was taken recently. Flounder, sea bass on the close-in wrecks. Whiting on and off in the surf.

BILL SABO

Published Thursday, January 12, 2006

1. Matanzas: From here on down to Marineland, there seems to be some pretty good numbers of flounder. Going north, sheepshead take over. Going north, and or south, there are balanced numbers of trout, reds and bluefish.

2. Intracoastal Waterway: I thought the cold would change things but it didn't. The song remains the same for trout, reds, drum, flounder, reds and sheepshead. Most of the trout are small; most of the sheepshead are getting bigger as the spawners move in. Some good numbers of big whiting in North River according to Janie Jones (Mike's Place). Look in deep holes

3.Surf: Some nice numbers of big whiting at North Beach -- Tables, Mickler's, Rock Pile, Reef. The County Pier has its moments but nothing consistent. Overall, a lot of rods with little show in the way of fish but a lot to show in the way of therapy because of calm seas and warm weather.

1-14-06

Shrimp fished with a sinker slide, rigged with a 2- to 3-ounce pyramid sinker should produce whiting. I also recommend 20-pound fluorocarbon leader tied to a No. 1 baitholder hook.

Larry Bechan shows off a 7 1/2-pound trout he landed Jan. 9 in Mosquito Lagoon during a trip guided by Capt. Eric Mannino. Special

Joe Green caught a 25-pound black drum while whiting fishing last week. Joe also has had excellent success with whiting this past week. Capt. Burgess Lewellyn, enjoying his semi-retirement by surf fishing this past week, caught more than 50 whiting in two consecutive trips. Lewellyn thinks this whiting bite will continue, provided the water temperature doesn't drop below 55 degrees.

Whether you fish with lures or live bait, fishing continues to be excellent. Anglers are having the best luck on the last of the outgoing tide. If you are a bank fisherman, try Fort Clinch pier, the George Crady fishing pier or Egans Creek all of these locations are holding good numbers of trout. Many being caught are below the legal limits, so please remember to catch and release. A float rig with a live shrimp or contender twin-tail grub will give you good results.

1-17-06

1-19-06

1-19-06

Close on the heels of the whiting were reds and trout. Del Wiseman at Devils Elbow reported that the reds were very willing to take topwater lures fished along the grass at high tide. There were also trout to be had in the creeks, along with a few flounder. Seconding the reds and trout was Bill Kerr, who reported that Bill Schuler on the Heads and Tails was having consistent luck with both, and was scoring a few drum also.

While most anglers would consider them more of a nuisance than anything else, bluefish were, if anything, more consistent than the whiting. In fact, two unidentified anglers reported to Bill Sabo that they had caught and released more than 150 using a variety of lures.

1-21-06

Surf anglers are reporting better than average catches of bull whiting. Any beach access from the north end of Amelia Island to the south end would be points to fish for bull whiting.

1-25-06

The keeping of speckled trout for table fare closes for one month on Feb. 1, reopening March 1. For the angler who enjoys eating fish and usually targets speckled trout, here are a few options you may choose during February's closure.

Offshore Mayport: Snapper-grouper bite beginning at around 15 miles. Sea bass coming on in such areas as Mr. Beeliners at Elton Bottom. Jax Beach Pier is slow.

Offshore St. Augustine: Wahoo spotty in deep water. Kingfish, snapper, grouper, cobia at 21 fathoms. Sea bass, flounder, triggerfish inshore. Whiting in the surf.

From Fort Clinch south along our beaches to the point at Amelia Island State Park are all choices for fishing for bull whiting. My favorite rig is a sinker slide with a pyramid sinker of 2 to 3 ounces. I then tie a No. 7 barrel swivel to approximately 18 inches of 20- to 25-pound test fluorocarbon leader tied to a No. 1 baitholder hook.

If you are catching bluefish along with the whiting, you may want to switch to a Mustad 92611 hook in size No. 1. The bait of choice is peeled shrimp cut into pieces big enough to fit on your hook. I prefer the incoming tide when fishing along the surf.

I recommend the last two hours of the outgoing tide and the first two hours of the incoming tide. The north and south jetties, Fort Clinch Pier and the finger jetties located at Fort Clinch and also the George Crady Bridge fishing pier are all hot spots for sheepshead fishing. Fiddler crabs, mussels, clams and small live shrimp are all awesome choices for enticing a sheepshead to take your hook.

Sunday was beautiful by any and all standards.

In the category of pleasing the most people most of the time, the award would have to go to whiting.

The operative word, however, is 'most' because not everyone who tried to find whiting were successful.

In some cases it came down to location but in most it was a matter of timing.

Places to be were South Ponte Vedra, Marineland, and Matanzas; the slower zones included the three piers -- Jacksonville, St. Johns County, and Flagler Beach as well as most of the surf in North Beach and Anastasia Island.

The best tides were just before, into, and just out of the high tide.

That's not to say that whiting were at other places at other times but this was the best mosaic I put together from about a dozen phone calls and internet sites.

Henry Miles (Devil's Elbow) and Darryl Lloyd (County Pier) both mentioned Matanzas while Dave Privett (Oldest City Bait and Tackle) cited the State Road 312 Bridge area and the Vilano Pier. He also noted that "Fedex" Brian was one of the few good reports from the County Pier when he pulled 25 nice fish on Sunday.

Floridasurffishing.net and jacksonvillebeachpier.com both had glowing reports about the whiting in south Ponte Vedra.

2-2-06

Offshore St. Augustine: Rough seas have kept most boats at the dock. There should be some wahoo at the ledge. Sea bass on inshore wrecks. Whiting, bluefish in the surf when it's fishable.

Offshore Fernandina: Haddock's Hideaway (HH) Reef produced grouper, snapper, sea bass and sharks over the weekend. Big black drum could be showing near St. Marys inlet in next few weeks.

Offshore Mayport: Good bottom action begins about 15 miles out. Beeliners on the deeper wrecks. No wahoo reports this week. Whiting so-so at the Jacksonville Beach Pier.

Offshore St. Augustine: Rough seas have kept most boats at the dock. There should be some wahoo at the ledge. Sea bass on inshore wrecks. Whiting, bluefish in the surf when it's fishable.

Surf: Some nice numbers of big whiting at Ponte Vedra. Crescent, Marineland and Guana. Even a few sand fleas if you dig deep enough. Most anglers are using fresh-dead shrimp, but unlike last week the bite has been on the outside and not near the shorebreak ... need a big caster. .

2-9-06
Terrible weather. Lots of wind and current. County pier said the Whiting were hit or miss with emphasis on the latter. On Monday there was a modest run in the afternoon with some bulls, but sand perch was stealing the shrimp. No blues.

2-11-06

Tony Salcines reports a catch of 25 whiting from the surf at American Beach on Tuesday afternoon.

Everyone hopes the extreme cold temperatures predicted for this weekend won't dampen this excellent whiting bite we've experienced this season.

2-16-06

2-25-06

Rain and winds are predicted for this weekend, creating tough conditions for anglers to fish our surf, banks or bridges.

But with the great weather this past week, many great reports have been coming in all week.

Whiting and trout were the fish of the week for inshore anglers, while offshore anglers were catching good numbers of snapper. With rough seas predicted for this weekend, this will put a damper on any plans you may have for offshore.

Great fishing occurred all week along our surf, with phenomenal numbers of bull whiting being caught. Fresh shrimp was the bait of choice for the most success.

On two consecutive trips with friends, Mike and O.J. Oliver had more than 100 whiting at the south jetties on Feb. 16 and again on Feb. 18 Mike and Eugene Grant repeated the trip with 100-plus whiting. Great catch Mike!

Local angler Joe Palmer has been surf-fishing along the coast from St. Augustine to Fernandina Beach all along the surf. He is reporting consistent catches for the past few weeks. On Feb. 18, Joe caught more than 60 whiting in Cumberland Sound. Keep it up, Joe!

Capt. Bill Supplee reports a catch of 30-plus whiting fishing the incoming tide from Cumberland Sound on Sunday.

Local angler A. Hunt has been fishing the surf consistently this past week. He reports his best day was Monday, with 42 bull whiting from the south end of Amelia Island.

Capt. Bill Supplee reports a catch of 30-plus whiting fishing the incoming tide from Cumberland Sound on Sunday.

Local angler A. Hunt has been fishing the surf consistently this past week. He reports his best day was Monday, with 42 bull whiting from the south end of Amelia Island.

3-4-06

It has been almost impossible not to think about going fishing this past week due to the spring-like weather we've experienced. If this weather pattern continues, the drum and whiting bite will continue, and many other species will arrive earlier than usual.

The phenomenal catches of whiting continued this week, with reports of up to 60 whiting caught in one outing by local anglers. Many are small, but some nice bulls are mixed in.

The best bite has been the incoming tide up to the high tide fished along their favorite slough. North Beach, Slider's access, Burney Park, American Beach and the south end at Amelia State Park are just a few of the spots being fished with success.

Good bait shrimp -- peeled, headed and cut into small pieces -- has been working well for whiting. The No. 1 Eagle Claw Baitholder hook has been working well this past week.

With this warm spell, the bottom fishing will improve for snapper and seabass on the inshore reefs. Boston mackerel chunks, Spanish sardines, squid and cigar minnows should all do a great job when fishing offshore. FA, FC, HH and AH, including the rock piles and culverts, are all great choices for trying your luck at inshore bottom fishing. Pick days when the winds are light and the sun is bright, and this will give you an excellent chance at inshore bottom bumping.

Sheepshead fishing remains excellent with the best catches being made around bridges, docks, buoys and the north and south jetties. Fort Clinch and the George Crady Bridge fishing piers have been having good catches of sheepshead on the high tide.

You want to fish the slack current for sheepshead at the George Crady Bridge. Don't forget your bridge net just in case you hook a big one and need a hand getting it up on the bridge. Fiddler crabs, clams and live shrimp are all good baits when fishing for sheepshead.

Fishing for trout and redfish has been good this week.

3-16-06

It would seem that the water temperature is not quite there yet for the pompano.

Even without the many reports of them, the demand we've seen in the market for large clams, and crabs, would be enough to indicate that large drum are in the intracoastal.
3-17-06
Mar 17, 2006 - Bluefish are schooled up under all of the downtown Daytona Beach bridges. Look for the swiftest current. The old river channel that flows under ...

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We have been experiencing awesome fishing the first half of March as a result of our mild winter. Warmer water temperatures are bringing great offshore, inshore and surf fishing.

Surf anglers continued to land decent catches of whiting on those pretty days with light winds. The baby bonnet heads also have shown up this past week because of the warmer water temperatures.

Anderson Hunt fished on two consecutive days, March 9 and 10, catching more than 60 whiting on fresh shrimp fished on the bottom. This is not a bad way to spend your day when retired, but it almost sounds like working. The whiting bite will only get better through March.

The drum bite has been the big news this past week. This has been a powerful bite for the first half of March. The south jetty seems to be the spot to fish. Keep in mind, though, Main Beach and Nassau Sound also have been producing a few nice catches.

On March 9, Ben Hall caught a 20-pound and a 40-pound drum at the south jetties.