Water temps on the surface today were 84 degree's.
If there's a bite at all at the Mayport Jetties, ya better hope you booked a date with a rising tide!
At least the flooding ocean water kicks off a bit of a bite.
-Croakers
-Whiting
-Redfish
-etc.
So as I "ALWAYS SAY"......Your day is based on the tide.
Heading to a close reef. Oh, that's fun. Especially with the 3-4 foot seas every morning. Or at least every time I try!!!
The whole reason I gave up doing offshore trips is the Atlantic Ocean Seas, in the 1st place! Got tired of getting beat up all the time.
I've yet to see any "pond like" conditions outside the Jetties on days that I tried getting just a bit offshore.
(FREE shark bait. Anyone want to try for a 500 pounder?)
Here's a Bonita, or rather a "little Tunny" as they are really called, caught while moving from spot to spot the other day while dragging a Buck-tailed Jig behind the boat.
With live Pogies being a 10 plus mile long trek to get. I "opted out", so we hit a close in ledge (8 miles out) and we bottom fished, and hooked up Sharks and Cuda's on the reef.
To properly do offshore trips, I'd have to revamp my my whole thinking and boat set up.
So I just "dabble".
I used to troll dead cigar minnows and was very successful using them (back in the day). From 45 pound kings too Sailfish, we caught the ole school way. "Making a dead cigar minnow look a live!" But today, it seems like its a lost art, kinda thing.
BUT....like a few pounds of fresh dead shrimp on the boat, ALWAYS. When fishing inshore. When I'm thinking of heading to any reef for a bit of trolling. I'm not leaving the dock without a box of Cigar minnows!
People would rather run 15 miles, in hopes to catch a pogie. And spend till 10:30AM getting bait versus just going fishing, and fishing '"bait from a box".
First off, when it's rough out there, the last thing I wanna do is to troll so slow, that I'm going backwards in the seas. Cigar minnow trolling, means that you can go faster, and cover more ground at the same time.
