Wahoo work over Nine-Mile

**Wahoo work over Nine-Mile**

**THE ST. JOHNS RIVER AND AREA LAKES:** The big bream spawn occurred around the full moon. Fishing remains very good, but the big push onto the beds for the bluegill and shellcracker is waning. Still, all that procreating leaves them hungry, and it still a great time to go after them.

The catfish are likewise in their post-spawn phase, though they tend to spread out more than the bream.

They remain suckers for a chicken livers, wad of worms, a dead shrimp or a chunk of shiner or shad.

Bass fishing is slowing, as it will as the spawn completely peters out and the water turns more into the summer stew of hot water and algae. Theyre more active before and after the heat of the day, at least where it easier to target them. This is a great time to break out the topwater plugs early and late.

There a decent bite of medium croakers in the channels near Green Cove Springs. Word is that stripers are being caught in the Croaker Hole south of Welaka and at the railroad trestle in Palatka.

**THE INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY:** Flounder fishing is the most improved this week. The numbers are up  sizes, too. More about this under “The Atlantic.

The jacks and ladyfish seem to be giving anglers a bit of a break this week. But some of the guides report that if you can get a decent substitute, live and dead shrimp have been an invitation to what we courteously term “poop fish because of the family nature of The Record.

Redfish seem to still be preferring the ICW to the backs of creeks this week. Might be the cleaner, cooler water. Youll catch a lot more undersized fish than a couple of weeks ago, and fewer of the big spawners. There are enough reds out there to pretty much ensure your two-fish limit in the 18- to 27-inch slot.

Black drum are being taken under all the bridges, and seem to be biting better between noon and 2 p.m. That, of course, might be because that a good place to be  in the shade  during the heat of the day.

The mangrove snapper remain on the small side in the ICW, but these are panfish, after all, and genuinely tasty. Fish rocks, riprap and dock pilings. The San Sebastian docks would be a good place to start.

**THE ATLANTIC:** The bottom fishing has been excellent out past 23 fathoms, according to Captain Robert Johnson. He said his boats were getting into the mangrove and vermilion snapper. But the grouper bite is the news. He reports two black-belly grouper this week pushing 50 pounds each, along with gags, red and scamp grouper. The triggerfish and porgies are biting well, too.

We werent able to get you much info from the trollers this week, except that the dolphin bite in slowing way down and the wahoo bite is poor 50 miles offshore.

**Where it not petering out, apparently, is nine miles offshore.**

At least three wahoo were reported caught this week on the Nine-Mile bottom. Captain Guy spear hooked one this week he said was as big as he ever seen on the inside stuff. He hooked him up and got a couple of jumps before it cut off. Guy said 14 inches of coffee wire on a kingfish rig, is a decided disadvantage when the fish has an 18-inch head, and the teeth to fill it. Sage advice, indeed.

But Chip Whitfield beat those same odds earlier in the week when he hooked up a monster wahoo on at TDL 15 and a kingfish rig. He fought the fish for an hour alone in the boat. That fish could have dumped that reel in a minute, so you know Chip was working both the fish and the throttle trying to keep up. When he finally gaffed the fish and iced him down, his GPS showed he was 4.7 miles from the hookup point. Great fish and a great story. He caught it on a big, live pogie.

Three were also a few dolphin caught on the same bottom. A few sailfish were raised and one released in the area as well. This can happened from time to time  deep water fish uncommonly close to shore  when water conditions are very clean and the sardines are thick. Spear said he seen flying fish as close as three miles off the beach over the past week or so.

Early this week the guides reported gobs of giant pogies all over the beach, from the inlet to south of the pier. Two days later, they cant find any.

**Surf fishing has been a little slow**. But the big story this week has been the flounder bite at both the St. Augustine and the Flagler County piers. Anglers are getting several fish, and these are larger than their counterparts in the river. Dont know how long this will last, but get out there if you can. Finger mullet would be your best bait bet.

**Note:** The feds have decided to close the entire year to red snapper fishing once again. See the editorial today, page 10A.

**THE WEATHER:** Northerly winds will blow from this afternoon at least through Sunday with seas forecast at 2 to 4 feet.

**Jim Sutton** provides a weekly fishing report for The Record. Contact him at [email protected]

**CONTRIBUTED PHOTO:** BY THE ST. JOHNS COUNTY PIER Ron Joiner with six really nice flounder caught at the St. Johns County Pier on May 19. Joiner caught another four Wednesday morning.