Tony's Fishing Calendar
|
March - May
March is the transitional time of year when the water starts to heat back up and brings the bait back to North Florida. It is a great time of year to get out and throw artificial's. Diving plugs, jigs, topwaters etc. I will teach you how to throw artificial lures as well.....Do not be intimidated!! I have patiently taught many with successful results!! A great time to break out the fly rod 8 / 9 wt. and have action on bluefish / trout in Mar / April. As the bait enters the area, St. Johns river, many fish start to follow. Bigger trout, redfish, jack crevalle, spanish mackerel, ladyfish, and bluefish will be hungry and on the prowl. Trips can be action packed with a variety of fish plugging various spots in the river and adjoining locations. Great time to catch a trophy gator trout. (Trout over 5lbs) Also a good time to do a 6 or 8 hour trip where most of your time will be spent productively fishing some back country for shallow water redfish and throwing artificial's. All tide dependent. Or maybe you just want action bending a rod with a bunch of blues and trout. We have days with well over 30/40 fish at this time!! Good time of year to get out and fish. Call and I'll customize your trip. May- Cobia (Weather dependant) This is usually the month where the Cobia will be making there migration North up the beach front. They will follow the Rays, free swim, or be around the bait pods and we will sight fish them with live bait, or TBS Bucktail Jigs. This can be very exciting. Cobia are very strong, give a awesome fight and make great table fare! This is not a numbers fish, but, a quality game. We run the ocean beaches for these fish, so casting accurate and being able on the boat is helpful. June - September The hot months! I like to take my anglers very early in the mourning or even late in the day and fish the cooler times. This is a great time to get out very early / late and plug various locations like docks / river flats for some great trout and reds in the St John's river. You can still catch a big trout at this time. Lure fishing is very good. Usually a 4 hr trip from 6AM to 10:00AM will be best. Many of my clients scored great Trout and Redfish during these early morning hours last year!! July - October - Ladyfish This is something new that I added in to the calendar. I have had alot of great feedback from my clients about these big Ladyfish. They are actually in the Tarpon family and act just like them except easy to hook up!! If you just want to stretch a line, or get your kids out, on a user friendly, hard fighting, drag pulling, jumping fish, than the "poor man's Tarpon" is the fish for you!! It is common to catch 15 - 100 of these in a half day trip (tide depended) Often anglers take there 8/9 wt fly rods and get plenty of action. Casting lures, bait, or fly rod, this can be alot of fun and excitement even for the most experienced angler (Weather permitting) This can be a good time for Sharks and Tarpon. Call for details Sept - October - Tailing Redfish in the Grass / River- Jetty Big Redfish 25lbs + The best time to fish the exceptionally high tides for redfish tailing in the grass. This is a hunt, and these trips are usually 4 hours and we will pole or possibly wade (bring your wade boots) the grasses looking for actual tails and making presentations with a fly rod or you can spin cast weedless lures. We fish 2 hours before high tide and 2 hours after. Many angles like to through an 8 wt with floating line and a weedless crab, shrimp, or spoon pattern. It is best if you can through 40 ft and fairly accurate for best results. In the past, anglers have caught redfish up to 32 inches and very possible to take a sheephead as well. A true trophy on fly!! This can be a great experience! Redfish 25+ The best time to fish for the annual big spawning reds in the river and jetties. We will be anchoring in 20-40 ft depths along the river channel and with slightly heavier 20-30lb tackle, soaking crabs and cut bait for giant redfish. 20 - 40lb Redfish are common and few bigger. This is a picture and release redfish. (18 - 27 inches slot size legal Redfish) Most fish are well over the slot size. October - November Great time to get out and throw lures for trout and redfish. This is another transitional time of the year when the water starts to cool off and the fall mullet run is happening. Fish are fired up eating all the bait as it schools up and heads South for the winter. (Opposite of March) Combine this with redfish in Nov. as they start to school up in the backcountry and become very predictable and territorial. Another good time to do a 6 or 8hr trip with alot of good fishing through out most of the day. December - February The best time to focus on catching redfish in the backcountry. (Weather permitting) Also the best time for true sight fishing in shallow water on the mud flats poling backcountry waters looking for backing / tailing or cruising redfish. Also a great time to focus on numbers of redfish, where many redfish school up and become very territorial and predictable. Many anglers have had 20-50 fish days with some redfish measuring 30+ inches. |