Sight Fishing St Augustine/ Palm Coast
Capt. Chris Herrera
February 9, 2011
St. Augustine - Saltwater Fishing Report
The Palm Coast and St Augustine redfish bite has been great if the weather allows it. Sight fishing for redfish has been the norm with some nice 50+ fish schools swimming in the shallows ready to eat anything put in front of them. Lower tides has been best with live or artificial lures.
St. Augustine Fishing Forecast:
March Fishing Forecast for St Augustine, Palm Coast Area
Spring is knocking on old man winters door which will bring the mullet out of their winter hiding holes in the Palm Coast and St. Augustine area. Redfish schools should start to scatter on the flats if water temps start to rise and will be hanging around the pods of mullet eating whatever gets kicked up. Look for redfish cruising along Spartina grass edges, over oyster patches during high tides and ICW shallow banks on low tides. Slayer Penetrator 3/16oz hooks with a Fish Bites Extreme Paddle tail, Sebile Stick Shadd and topwater plugs are proven lures that work for reds in March.
Don't toss that old dead shrimp at the end of your day just yet, bag it up and save it for some black drum. Drum are schooling and ready to chow down that stinky old shrimp pegged to a jighead or a Daiichi circle hook with enough weight to hold bottom. Best places to look for drum are in creek holes, oysters that lay in deeper water of the ICW or docks along the ICW. Lower tides seem to favor the black drum bite but high tides should not be overlooked.
Trout will be devouring topwater plugs at first light along the ICW banks around Matanzas if mullet are present. Once sun gets high, whip out that jig and soft plastic or lipped diving plugs for subsurface trout. Low outgoing tides at creek mouths is another great places to target trout with live bait such as shrimp on a 1/0 circle hook and bb split shot combo.
Flounder can be found on the flats during all stages of the tide and in creek holes but the best bite should be at the St Augustine and Matanzas Inlet. Finger size mullet on a fish finder rig with a 2/0 Daiichi Octopus hook or a mud minnow on a Slayer inc. jighead should do the trick. Blue fish will be around in great numbers so make sure you have plenty of mullet as you will lose a lot to blue fish.
Snook will show up from winter holding spots if water temps warm rapidly for catch and release fishing only as Snook will be closed for harvest till September 1, 2011.
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