Best Bet

Ahoy there Anglers,

I want to thank all the listeners who've tuned us back in on our new radio station, Talk Radio 600 WBOB. We're "Still Just Fishing" Radio Show is doing great and with our listeners calling in and helping us keep our ratings on top is what it's all about. I also want to thank our sponsors for staying with us, supporting us and helping to keep us on the air waves. Supporting our show helps keep us on the air talking about everything that's important to our favorite sports, fishing and boating. I enjoy doing the show mainly because I can keep all boaters and anglers aware of what's coming up that has anything to do with proposed laws, public hearings on fisheries, the environmentalists wanting us to stay indoors and not get out in nature and enjoy what Americans have been enjoying for the last couple of hundred years. This still is America isn't it? It's just my opinion, but to me, no one "owns" the fish in the ocean. There are no 'titles' or 'rights' to a wild animal. They are all wild animals. Why are we being 'governed to death' by our very own government telling us that we cannot keep a certain species? And they tell us they have to be a certain size. Who, with the federal government, is out there diving and counting how many fish are in one spot? No one! Fish do not stay in one spot anyway. We all know that! If they did, everyone could just go out and load the boat on each and every trip. How many times do you get to do that? If you miss us on a Saturday morning all you have to do is go to Talk Radio 600 WBOB's web site and listen to us on the podcast. Here's the link: Still Just Fishing with Captian Vic and Captain Mike » Talk Radio 600 WBOB Jacksonville, Florida | News | Weather | Sports | Tr The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission is doing a lot better job of managing our State's fisheries then the 'feds' do. The South Atlantic Marine Fisheries Council and National Marine Fisheries don't even come around Florida except for their meetings. The Florida FWC are constantly testing the waters. I've seen and talked with the surveyors at the boat ramps from the FWC getting information about what we're catching, size and quantities. They net fish to test the health of different species and stay concerned with their spawning abilities. The FWC is still interested in keeping Florida 'THE Fishing Capitol of the World'. Let's all help them with their surveys on their web site on myfwc. com when they have them.

CREEKS:
Redfish in the creeks are doing better and better here lately. I believe it's not only all the rain we've been getting South of here bringing the salinity line back to the areas it's usually supposed to be at naturally but also all this rain cools the water temperatures down considerably making fish more active. We've also see more flounder show up now and that's a very good thing. It was slow going on the flounder again this year but it's looking up better now. I'm hoping we'll have a lot better fall-flounder-run this year that what we've had the past two years. Seems like with each species we have one or two slow seasons every now and then and then banner years right after the slow seasons. I've seen that same thing happen over the last 50 years I've fished these same local waters. Speckled trout picking up also. Still a lot of small ones float fishing or with jigs and plastics but some nicer ones on hard lures. A few black drum in the creeks and we've also been lucky enough to catch some 8 to 10 pound sheepshead up in the creeks too.

JETTIES:
Bull redfish, (oversized reds) some nice sharks to 10 feet, (big bull sharks, black tips, spinners, nurse, sand and bonnetheads), black drum and sheepshead are all biting out at the rocks now. I can hardly believe how many black drum from 18" to 32" biting this time of the year. We usually only catch a few during the heat of the summer but good catches are coming from the rocks and the river. Sheepshead are another species that are usually hiding from us during the summertime but are biting now too. We're even catching a few slot-sized redfish mixed in the schools of the bull reds too. Loads of sea bass but most are small. Whiting and a few yellowmouth trout are biting just off the rocks too. Look for the bull redfish to really stack up about the second week of August.

RIVERS:
In the Nassau River, some pretty good catches of whiting are now being had but you do have to deal with some bonnethead sharks in there too. Every summer the bonnetheads get in there pretty thick and they'll eat a half of a dead shrimp too. They'll start leaving about the first part of September. A few flounder on the edges of the 'clay jetties', the rock jetty and up around the docks in the Nassau River also. In the St. Johns River, loads of small croakers up and down the river and you'll have to go South past the Buckman Bridge to find some decent sized ones. Nicer-sized yellowmouth trout also in the same areas as they'll eat a few small croakers too. It won't be long and they'll all be up here in October and November feeding everywhere as the shrimp heads this way. The black drum will be following the shrimp from down past Green Cove heading to the ocean at the same time and all of a sudden you'll see them fire up along the usual spots in the river too. Buckman Bridge, Ortega River, Fuller Warren area, mouth of Trout River, Dames Point, Mayport Ferry Area and then at the jetties. I've had people ask me why people don't eat black drum as much. It's mainly because of the "game fish" people put labels on. Black drum are better eating than redfish by far but people can't catch them as easily on lures/artificials as they can redfish so they think redfish are more of a "game fish". Black drum only eat crustaceans, shrimp, clams, crabs and oysters. A redfish will eat anything much like a ladyfish will. Speckled trout are showing up in more numbers but there is still a lot of small ones around. You can increase the sizes of your trout by using hard lures such as top waters or suspending, floater-divers, etc.

MILL COVE:
The Cove is another location where lures work very well on speckled trout. Try all around the grass areas until you find "your favorite area" then you can concentrate in that area when you get to go. Redfish in the Cove in the shallows also but you need to know how to get around in there as it's very shallow and you don't want to be stuck for hours waiting on the tide to come back in. It's way too hot for that plus you really don't want to be stuck when one of these possible thunderstorms comes around. Lightening and sitting on the water do not go well together. A few more flounder has been showing up in the Cove also but from what I'm hearing, they're mostly potato-chip-sized.

SURF:
Whiting, redfish and black drum are biting again in the surf and I think mainly because the water cleared up a little. Watch out for the sharks though if you're wading out. Do NOT have bait on you if you do wade fish during this time of the year. Remember, please take your trash, drink cans, paper, plastic bags, etc. back to the ramp with you. We can all help keep our waterways cleaner for our kids to enjoy now and later on in their lives.

You can say what you want about the South but, you never hear of anyone retiring and moving to the North.

Captain Vic Tison