Northeast Florida is in the thick of its late-summer pattern. The St. Johns is warm and stained, the beaches are holding bait, and the nearshore reefs have been the most consistent producer on the calm mornings. With a new moon arriving at the end of the week, the jetty tides will be running hard — good for the snapper crowd and worth planning around if you are fishing the river.
What’s Hitting
King mackerel are the best bet right now, working the bait pods from the beach out to the nearshore ledges in 40 to 70 feet. Mangrove snapper are stacked on the St. Johns jetty rocks and the bridge structure, feeding best on the strong night tides. Redfish are pulling out of the shallow marsh in the heat and holding at the creek mouths and dock lines at dawn. Tarpon are still around the river mouth and the beaches for anglers willing to put in the hours, and flounder are showing on the jetty rocks and around the Mayport rips.
Where to Find Them
The north and south jetties at Mayport are the center of gravity this week for snapper, flounder and the occasional big red. The creek mouths off the Intracoastal — Clapboard, Sisters and the Nassau Sound drains — hold redfish on the falling tide. Nearshore, the Casa Blanca and nine-mile reefs are producing kings and Spanish. Beach anglers are finding whiting and pompano in the troughs at first light.
Tides & Conditions
Water is 84 to 87 degrees inshore, low 80s nearshore. The new moon makes for a big exchange and hard current at the jetties — the last two hours of the outgoing are the productive window. Morning seas have been running 1 to 3 feet with a light southwest wind before the afternoon storms build. River clarity is stained above the Dames Point and cleaner below.
Tackle & Tactics
Slow-trolled live pogies on stinger rigs with light wire remain the standard king setup; a 20-pound class outfit is plenty. Jetty snapper want a live shrimp or a cut pogie on 20-pound fluorocarbon and just enough weight to hold bottom. For redfish, a quarter-ounce jighead with a paddle tail or a live mud minnow on a popping cork covers the creek mouths. Flounder anglers are doing best with a live finger mullet fished slowly along the rocks.
Local Intel This Week
Sisters Creek Park is the primary ramp for jetty and river-mouth access and fills early on weekends. Mayport and Huguenot Memorial Park give beach and jetty access from shore. Fish are concentrating on the jetty rocks and the creek mouths rather than the open river. Redfish, flounder and snapper all carry size and bag restrictions that change seasonally — check current FWC regulations before keeping fish.
This Week’s Tip
At the jetties, the last two hours of the outgoing beat everything else. Bait is being flushed out of the river and the fish sit in the rock pockets waiting on it. Fish the down-current side of a rock point and let your bait tumble past it rather than casting into the middle of the flow.
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