By Capt. David Lifka
mail@floridanewsline.com

Fishing is a year-round activity for us in this part of the state. There is always some kind of fish waiting to be caught somewhere. Spring through late fall is usually when fishing is at its best. Weather often determines the start and end, the length, and how good our fishing season is going to be.

We’ve been waiting and hoping all summer long for a comeback to the fantastic bite we were experiencing this spring before heavy rains came and flushed the river. Unfortunately, most of the fishing has remained slow, but has been showing signs of improvement. The croaker bite has been the best bite happening in recent trips, with good numbers and sizes being caught up and down the river.

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Now that we are entering our fall season, we have reached a time of year when fishing in the St. Johns River usually reaches its peak. In previous years with similar heavy summer rains, fall fishing still turned out to be great. For many of our fall fishing seasons, the Florida — Georgia football game was the signal to get out in the river for yellowmouth trout. Sea trout just off of docks from Goodby’s Creek to San Marco would soon follow, with a variety of other species such as reds, flounder, and sheepshead. 

Fall fishing at the beach is almost always very good. This is the time of year when bait fish begin their migrations south for the winter. Much larger fish like to follow the baitfish, as they too are migrating to warmer water for the winter. The whiting bite has been very good all summer long, and should continue to do so as long as water temperatures remain warm.

Fishing Report: The croaker remain a constant bite in the river. The Green Cove Springs areas of the river seem to be the better locations, but other locations such as Marker 10 or Mandarin Point will produce once the tide gets right.

Whether you catch one, some, or none, the family time spent fishing will last a lifetime.

Email your Catch of the Month photo to catchofthemonthpictures@gmail.com. Be sure to include the name of the person(s) in the photo, the name of the person who took the photo, the type of fish and date and location of the catch. We will select a photo each month for publication.

Photo courtesy Patrick Baiocco
Brady Baiocco, age 5, caught a panfish in Fruit Cove.

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