Fishing Report Pier and Surf

By: Noel Kuhn

Thismonth looks like the best month in a long time for Pompano. In mid March, we were catching them from Little Talbot Island all the way south to Flagler. At the same time my friends down south, Melbourne to Jupiter, were catching big keepers. So before the hot days in late May drive them north lets go to the beach!

Keep your tackle simple but be prepared to make long casts, especially on flat beaches on a high tide. My go to is a double dropper rig with two 2/0 Eagle Claw circle hooks. A three to five ounce sputnik sinker on the end. How much weight you ask? Enough to cast where you want to be and then enough to hold it in place.

When it comes to beads and floats, I can tell you this for sure. I have been catching a lot of Pompano since the mid 1970’s and then there were no beads and floats on our rigs! None and we caught a lot of fish. However, now all my rigs have beads and floats. I have over 100 different combinations of little and big floats. Also a lot of different beads both in plastic and glass. With that said, my favorite by far is a white float on the top hook and an orange tangerine translucent bead on the bottom. Why? The white float is the size of a sand flea and lifts the bait off the bottom. It also makes them wiggle in the current. The tangerine orange bead is the color of sand fleas eggs. Boom! You will not scare a fish away with that color combo!

Loosen your drag when you put it in the rod holder. There are some really big Black Drum in the surf right now. Last week I had one on for a few minutes. At first I thought it was a big ball of seaweed or a plastic garbage bag headed south with the rip current. Then I felt that big tail kick in when it’s belly touched the sand. One big run and he straightened out the 2/0 circle hook!

This could very well be the best month for the Pompano run and HUGE whiting. From Fernandina to Flagler, it is go time! See you on the beach.

Noel Kuhn

Surf fishing guide and long distance casting coach. 904-945-0660 www.TheSurfAngler.com

Florida Surfcasters 19th Annual

2023 Surf Fishing Tournament Saturday May 13th

Strike Zone 11702 Beach Blvd Jacksonville, FL 32224 904-386-4565 floridasurfcasters@gmail.com

Juniors Division Rod and Reel for 1st and 2nd place

NOTE: ONLY FIRST PRIZE IN ADULT DIVISIONS PAY $300 CASH AND $100 GIFT CARD ALL OTHER PLACES PRIZES ARE GIFT CARD/STRIKE ZONE WEIGH IN WILL BE AT STRIKE ZONE FROM 1 PM THRU 3:30 PM CUTOFF

WEIGH IN FISH TO BE ENTERED IN RAFFLE TO WIN STRIKE ZONE SURF ROD

Entry Fee: $40 adults, $10 JR. angler

Registration: Online at www.floridasurfcasters.com and go to Online Store and pay with PayPal, Pay directly thru PayPal: PayPal@surfishingflorida.com

Strike Zone Store: 11702 Beach Blvd Jacksonville, FL 32224 (cash or check only)

Registration deadline: May 12, 2023 at 11:59pm

For Questions: visit Strike-Zone / call 904-386-4565 / email:floridasurfcasters@gmail.com

Fishing Report & Forecast

By Richard Bloom

Afterthankfully surviving another winter in Jacksonville I’m pleased to predict spring fishing will be coming early this year. After a very warm February the water temperatures are much hotter than usual. Most of the annual trends we typically see are nearly a month early. Pogys have been thick on the beach since the beginning of February and the triple tail run has already come and gone. Cobia are the next star of the beach to show up. If the trend continues the manta rays and cobia should be around Jacksonville’s Beaches by the beginning of April. In the river we are already seeing legal mangrove snapper which we normally do not see until the end of April. The giant black drum bite was wide open around the end of March but unfortunately they do not stick around very long so April will unlikely be a productive month on the “Big Uglies”. Last but not least, Jacksonville’s staple, let’s talk Sheepshead. Finally the mid winter lull on sheepshead is over and big fish are around and hungry. The bite has just started to pick up so April is going to be a great month to target convicts around bridges, rocks, jetties, and docks..

TIDE CHART - April

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