Heading to Florida this Summer, any ideas.

[KI-NC]

I am going to be heading to Jacksonville this summer for a month for school. I have to leave the family in Carolina and will be making this trip solo, so I plan on towing the boat down and plan to do a lot of fishing.

I plan on fishing the mouth of the Saint Johns River by Huguenot State Park, and the marsh flats around the intracoastal.

Anybody got any advice, or other good spots to fish. I may go to the Keys for a weekend.

[Captain D]

I have lived and fished jacksonville my intire life. Obviously different times of the year i fish different. For the summer i go out during dawn or dusk. I will throw topwater plugs (superspook J.R.) around oyster bars or by grass beds, baitfish and on high tides over oysterbars. Then when the sun comes up around 9:00a.m ( for dusk start fishing topwater around 7:00p.m. ) i switch over to artificial (Fishbites white 3inch paddle tail) nothing beats them. I put them on a 1/4 ounce jighead. Depending on the tide depends on where i fish. Alot of times i see tailing redfish and cast at them. And where there is tidal movement and deep spots (usually creek mouths) is where the trout hangout. Now for spots. Launch at the sister creek boat ramp. Once you launch, go north (the way where you see all of the creeks not the ways where everthing is all industrailized). There will be miles of creeks to fish. Some creeks better that others but they all hold alot fish.I also fish south of down town jacksonville around peoples dock pilings. These are really good in the summer because of the shrimp run ( starts in June but if you want to catch a bunch of shrimp there here thick late august) you can catch everything around these docks. Take a live shrimp clip its fan tail and put on a jig head and tose it under the docks. When you get a fish pull him out, or you will get cut off. If your boat is big enough I recomened also fishing the pogie pods that come here every summer. Take a pogie toss is out side of the pod (even better behind a shrimp boat after he dumps out his bycatch) and hold on. You can catch tarpon, kings, Sharks, cobia, Jacks and more. These pogie pods are located by the surf, In side the jetties, a few miles ofshore, there usually everywhere. I have fished for these fish in my 14ft jon boat before. All ways use braided lin when fishing here. If you dont you will lose all of your fish cuz of oyster bars and pilings etc. There is no point fishing the keys the fishens better here.

[KI-NC]

Thanks for the info Captain D. I have a 21 Foot DLV, and I believe I should be able to get outside the jetties at mayport on most good days. My only concern is how fast an afternoon thunderstorm can pop up around there.

Can't wait.

[TooTall]

Thanks for the info Captain D. I have a 21 Foot DLV, and I believe I should be able to get outside the jetties at mayport on most good days. My only concern is how fast an afternoon thunderstorm can pop up around there.

Can't wait.

With a 115 hp on the back you can out run them... plus it is a real blood pumper out running a storm.... I remember one time I was trying to out run a storm when the 70hp was running on two of the three cyclinders... the blood was pumping that day! I got a little wet I covered myself with the console cover... rotflmao

[KI-NC]

good to know...Thanks. I will spend the next three months watching videos on youtube of them pulling monsters out of the saint johns.