Fishing Reports
21 March 2023
Welcome to Fish Whisperer Charters in Jacksonville, FL!
Water surface temperatures range from 65° - 67° from Blount Island to the Mayport area depending on the tide with a four degree drop in a two-week period. Water clarity has been decent, but the last few days of high winds and recent rain may change that. I’ve had a better bite this week on the last of and first of a high tide. Redfish, slot and over-sized, have been showing up in better numbers and some decent size pogies are popping up around the area; which always makes my baitwell happy! Always good to see those and most likely why the redfish bite has gotten better while a few sharks are showing up at the jetties. Along with the redfish, we continue to catch trout, pompano, sheepshead, and flounder.
We have also been steadily picking at the eating-sized black drum with fresh dead shrimp to compliment the sheepshead. I’ve not targeted them yet, but I’ve seen many folks hauling in scary-big black drum at the inlet. Just make sure you have the correct gear for this and not a Disney Princess rod in order to give you a chance to land it and help the fish survive.
TTPs (Tactics, Techniques, Procedures)
TTPs cover many things and I think we need to cover getting your terminal tackle “unstuck” from the rocks or other debris. If you fish jetties or any other structure, which is where the fish are, you’ve gotten your equipment hung up at one time or another. The WORST thing to do is continuously jerk your rod back hard because: 1) you may break your rod, and 2) all you are doing is really setting the hook into the structure even harder. I observe this all of the time and cringe when the line or rod snaps and things come flying back at the boat and people.
The most effective way I help my folks get out of a snag is to immediately give the line slack when you feel it begin to grab, then just jiggle the rod tip and skip the tackle over the object. If it gets snagged anyway, “pluck the banjo” a few times by pulling some line out to the side by the reel, raise the rod and bend it slightly, then release the line while keeping tension on the rod. This snap gives the tackle a split second of slack while the rod tension pulls it right out of the snag (ideally). Last resort though, point the rod directly at the snag with no bend, grab the spool to hold off any drag and pull straight back. It will either come loose (most of the time) or safely break beneath the surface without rods breaking and equipment flying back at people.
Hope that helps!
If there are ever any questions, just post them up on my Facebook Page and I'll get back with you.
Catch em' up and stay safe!
Until next time...
Fair Winds & Following Seas,
Capt Kris Kell
