Water temperatures are still 63 - 64deg and fishing continues to be very productive inshore from the Mayport Jetties to the Blount Island area. We’re catching plenty of seatrout, weakfish, redfish, mangrove snapper, sheepshead, black drum, ringtail porgy, and the occasional flounder. Sheepshead has been the “go-to” fish along with the ringtails and both offer plenty of fun and fillets. The water temps have finally filtered out many of the trash fish and quality sheepshead can be counted on in their place. Bull redfish have been a nice surprise this year as many of the larger ones continue to put smiles on the faces of clients. There have been a couple of opportunities to get offshore and enjoy some consistent black seabass, red snapper, and triggerfish action along with bull sharks (that was facetious). Several of my counterparts have reported nice cobia being taken on jigs, as well. We got the most action by catching 12-15 live pinfish early in the morning around the docks and using them for bait either live or chunked. The chunked bait can often be used more than once for nice seabass; however, the red snapper thinks it’s a Christmas cookie and will devour it in seconds. Triggerfish took the squid over everything else so that’s something to consider. (What to Expect) You have probably already noticed, but I’m changing the format of this write-up to more of a report/forecast. Please keep in mind, there’s only a slightly better chance to predict fishing than there is weather, so try not to wake me too hard if you drive by me on the water and things aren’t going as planned I take into account current trends/reports and my logs over the years and put together an educated guess as to what the expectations should be. Water temps will continue to decrease but at a slower rate than in the past because of unseasonal warmth but I have noticed the clarity getting much better. Fishing activity should continue to be steady for at least another 3 weeks with the best bite occurring at the last hour and a half of an outgoing tide and the first hour of the incoming. So does this mean you can only fish for two and half hours? Absolutely not! It’s amazing how many locations will have current appearing as an outgoing on the middle of an incoming tide (eddies, etc.). This is when it pays to do your homework and find these spots during different stages of the tides. I’ve spent several 8 hour days on the water catching fish and moving based on current variations and always look for oysters, docks, and rocks causing a disturbance or break in the current. Another thing to consider is that the colder the water gets, it’s best to fish a little deeper or wait until the sun has warmed a mud flat area and fish then. You can expect sheepshead to continue to improve with not only size, but quantity, along with the black drum. Top bait for sheepshead will be quartered blue crab, fiddler crab, & shrimp, but they may get a little finicky as the water temps drop and favor clams or peeled shrimp. Black drum will take shrimp, alive or dead, on jigs or Carolina rigs but I’ve had better luck on Carolinas recently. Captain Steve Crowder posted a great report on the ringtail porgy, so I won’t go into that. Redfish, slot and oversized, will be around throughout the winter and techniques to fish them will change with water temps. The best days to fish, in my opinion, are going to be December 26th – 31st, January 4th – 6th, 11th – 14th, & 26th – 29th.

28 November 2016 Northeast Florida Fishing Report – Capt Kris Kell, Fish Whisperer Charters Water temperatures are now hovering around 64 - 66 and the fishing has been great inshore from the Mayport Jetties to the Blount Island area. The opportunity to catch a variety of fish is there and we have been netting plenty of seatrout, weakfish, redfish, mangrove snapper, sheepshead, black drum, and the occasional flounder. I keep a log of every single trip including water temps, tide, clarity, time of day, etc., and the trend is that the trout are hitting better in low light conditions, first and last of outgoing until the current is too fast (almost 2 knots). Basically, if the current is causing a wake against your boat and you can hear it, it’s probably too fast for most species unless your casting towards a break in the current. This is when it’s imperative that you search for slower currents around docks, points, and eddies from creek mouths. The bait we’ve been using lately is shrimp, fiddler crabs, and the nice-sized mud minnows from B&M® Bait and Tackle shop on A1A. We’ve caught just as many sheepshead on shrimp than fiddlers but the fiddler crabs have yielded bull/slot reds and plenty of black drum along the North Mayport Jetties. As usual, the trash fish will drive you crazy until the water temps drop a bit more but stick with it and you’ll typically be rewarded. I’ll usually fish the North Jetties when weather allows but hop over to the South tip when the tide is outgoing. For trout, the docks have produced better than anything else using the mud minnows & shrimp with smaller flounder. To my dismay, the flounder migration was not as hot as a few years ago and I suppose we’ll have to appreciate what we get. If you’re fishing the creeks, you’ll likely find that there are smaller trout in the 12-14” range and redfish 15-16” schooled up. Although fun to catch, the likelihood that you’ll find a keeper in that same area is small. Move around and when you score the target size, fish that area until the bite stops. (TTPs - Tactics, Techniques, & Procedures) The TTPs for trout are probably well known, but I like to try a variety of baits/rigs on each spot and see what produces. Check for water clarity first (high to low tide shift is good and if it’s clean, the last of the low tide is awesome!) and currents to determine the weight/jig color you’ll need to use. I’ll put someone on a popping cork and shrimp, a carolina rig, and a jig. The cork and Carolina rig have been the best lately but could change. If the water is dirty, I’ll hook up some spinners on the jigs to help with vibration/sight detection. A popping cork is rigged with about 3’ of fluorocarbon leader and a 1 or 1/0 kahle or circle hook with a splitshot sinker 6” above the hook. After it’s casted, pop it with a sharp twitch every 8-10 secs or so to imitate the sound of baitfish and draw attention. Something to consider here is a fast twitch rod because trying to work this rig with a very soft tip causes a delayed reaction for popping and hookset. If you’re using the circle hooks, remember that it is NOT required that you jump back 3ft to set the hook. Simply raise the rod quickly and start retrieving and the hook will do the job for you. For the carolina rig and jig, work it back by raising the rodtip to vertical if you’re around structure and lower it while reeling in the slack. This needs to be done slowly because that is the natural pace of a shrimp/minnow moving through the water. A moderate hookset with this rig is okay which simply translates into a faster raising of the rod and not a full body movement. This is the number one reason I see clients miss the trout. The mouth of a trout is soft and the hook tears clean from the tissue. Also, keep the drag on your reels set a little lower because if you hook into a larger trout, the fight against the drag alone can cause the hook to tear loose. (What to Expect) Water temps will continue to decrease which will increase the fish activity and clarity is still improving. A steady bite can be expected for at least another 3 weeks. The best days to fish, in my opinion, are going to be November 29th – 30th, December 1st, 11th – 16th, & 26th – 31st. Until next time! Fair Winds & Following Seas, Capt Kris Kell

Although there has been a persistent North/Northeast wind keeping the seas churned up, there have been a few gorgeous days allowing one to get out around the Mayport Jetties as well as the beaches. Because the water surface temps are 73-75 based on tide, the variety of species available makes for some exciting fishing. Redfish, flounder, seatrout, mangrove snapper, black drum, & most recently, sheepshead are on the list of likely catches and all can be caught on low or high tide; however, high shifting to low tide has worked best for me offering some water clarity and outflow where ambush points can be set up. The flounder, in my opinion, are still not in full migration to offshore areas but they are getting more consistent and perhaps in the next week or two we’ll see a pick-up in size and quantity. The sheepshead…yes, there is an “s” after sheep to the dismay of some of my buddies, have been rolling in from offshore and have been great one day and elusive the next with more days offering a handful as the water temps drop. (TTPs - Tactics, Techniques, & Procedures) Sheepshead are peculiar fish to catch and the majority of clients I take out either hate them and express such feelings with various curses, or are absolutely addicted to the things. Again, I like the high to low shift of tide offering water clarity and current that forces fish to a certain area as opposed to a flood tide that allows for greater fish dispersion in a given area. It is also important to understand that one doesn’t have to be practically on the rocks along the jetties to catch them as some of the better places can be 20-50ft away from them. Observe the bottom structure on your fish finder and you’ll see plenty of rocks and such in deeper water that will produce sheepshead along with some black drum. If you’re not getting a consistent bite in one area, move to another because there are plenty of places to fish. I like to vary my rigs for sheepshead and have found that they will hit one better than the other on different occasions. My favorite is the Carolina rig with a weight just heavy enough to get the line straight up and down and a small bead on the main line (20lb braid). My leader is attached via a small 80# SPRO swivel and consists of a 12” length of fluorocarbon (30#) with a 1 or 1/0 kahle hook using an offshore loop knot. Sometimes, I will use mosquito hooks instead of kahle but in either case, check your hook after each fish because their hard mouths and teeth can bend or destroy it easily. The other rig is a 14” leader with a 1/4oz sheepshead jig. These jigs are specific because they have smaller hooks and short shanks. Bait is also varied and consists of fiddler crabs, peeled shrimp, quartered blue crab, and sometimes clams. The technique I use is to drop the bait straight down until it touches bottom, bring it up about 6-12”, hold for about 5-7 seconds, lower it back down and repeat. This helps in keeping the rigs from snagging and allows the angler to feel everything going on. The hardest thing to teach my customers is to not set the hook like a Bassmaster every time something is felt. If a bump is felt, steadily raise the rod up and feel if it is a solid pull, like a rock, or a dead weight that flops around. If it’s the latter, then set the hook with a little “sting” and not a full body lift! (What to Expect) Water temps will continue to decrease which will increase the fish activity and clarity is still improving. Flounder should increase in numbers as they make their way offshore as well as trout and sheepshead. The best days to fish, in my opinion, are going to be November 8th – 10th, 15th – 17th, & 28th – 30th. Until next time! Fair Winds & Following Seas, Capt Kris Kell