Inshore/nearshore report Jacksonville area waters
Capt. Bob Cosby
June 27, 2009
Jacksonville - Saltwater Fishing Report
Summer is in full swing now with several kingfish tournaments completed and tarpon being caught in the pogie pods off the beach.
Two significant weather events have influenced fishing recently. A couple of weeks ago our end of the state got 12 plus inches of rain flooding the St Johns river system. Since then the local waters inshore and even offshore resemble tea or black coffee with reduced salinity. It may take a month or more to stabilize, if it's anything like Fay last year.
The other event was a week long heat wave with heat indexes up to 111 degrees. This latter event probably sped up the arrival of kings and tarpon off the beach. I recorded 85 degree water temps in a creek today.
It has been a great year for cobia with many being caught off the rays, free swimming the tide lines and pogie pods, and hanging around the reefs. Numerous tripletail have been caught the past month, also. You really have to be dialed in on tripletail or you won't even recognize one if its staring you in the face. They look like a submerged paper bag drifting just below the surface. A live shrimp under a float will usually do the trick.
The inshore mangrove snapper have grown a little, and most are over the 10 inch limit this year. Jacks, ladyfish, and blues are harassing the schools of glass minnows and baby ribbonfish in the river and inlet. Try a long shiny diving plug to imitate the ribbonfish. I saw some larger jacks in the 15 to 20lb range attack a pogie pod near the south jetty yesterday. Cast into them at your own risk.
The creeks have been slow for me recently, with more redfish action coming along the banks of the ICW. If you want to fish the creeks, I recommend fishing early before they heat up.
The big jetties have been productive for both slot and oversize reds when the current slows enough to fish. Some gator trout are still hitting topwater lures, if that's what you like to do. Chicopit and Mill Cove are likely spots to try.
Good fishing!
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