Negative Tide Tactics

5:56 PM jbond352 0 Comments

Twice a month, during the new and full moon phases, we get negative tides here on the First Coast....or tides that are both higher and lower than the average tide cycles.

Taking a sampling from Mayport for this weekend, you can see that the tide is almost 6' above sea level as well as 1' below all in the same day. This means much more current then an average day and almost 7'  of water moving within a six hour time frame......this is insane.

Negative Tide

Average Tide

On Saturday the high is predicted to be ~8:30am and Low at ~2:30p at Mayport. As an example, if you were planning on fishing the creeks in this area you should plan on lines in the water no later than 12:30p and out by 4:30p.

A Weekend of Opposites

2:48 PM jbond352 0 Comments

Last Friday I got a call from Alex and St. Agustin asking if I wanted to tag along on a tour to do some light fishing with a few gals that were friends of theirs. I said yes, because YOLO, even though the weather was going to be really cold (50s) and the wind was going to be rippin'.

We launched ~8a at Dutton Island and headed to the intracoastal to one of my favorite creeks. You can't tell based on this pic, but the intracoastal was really nasty, complete with whitecaps....ew



The water was really cold and the fish were no where to be found. Keep in mind that the weather the day before was in the 80s so my theory is that the fish were in shock from the sudden drop in barometric pressure, causing them to be lock jawed.

Despite the weather and lack of fish, these girls were awesome! Great attitudes, a sense of humor, and really tough!

Fast Forward 24 hours.....

My brother in law was in town from Nashville and we were able to sneak away from the family to go chase some fish. This guy fits into the category of "average angler" with minimal casting abilities/angling skills but really likes to fish, which is the best kind of fishing buddy!

We launched at the Shrimp Boats at 6:10a with our headlamps on and paddled for 45 minutes in the dark, against the tide, to the buttcrack of Browns Creek to be in position for the 10am low.






The weather that day was perfect until about noon- overcast and mid 60s with the water temp just below 60 degrees. Due to the NE wind the 24 hours before the day we fished, the low tide wasn't really that low, which gave the fish more places to hide and made my job as guide much harder.



We spent from 7a-10a searching for redfish. With the higher water the fish were a bit more scattered that I like, but we still ended up finding them.

After 3 hours we found a school of ~15 fish (small compared to other trips) and we quietly observed and followed them back into a creek that dead ended into an oyster bar. The next 30 minutes was none stop action. We even doubled up at one point. Keep in mind we were in less that a foot of water!

In this next pic you can see my brother in law with one of the fish (~22"), with the oyster bar we were fishing in the background:




We ended up catching five in the slot at that location and kept the biggest four. This was the third time we have fished together in the last 12 months and by far the hardest I've had to work to find the fish while with him.....but look at that smile! Totally worth it!

We fished our way out of the feeder creek, caught a few small trout, and then stopped at an island to organize our gear, divide the fish up on the stringers, and drink some water/eat snacks before the long paddle against the tide to the car.




So what is the moral of this story? Even if you have a slow trip one day or can't find the fish another, keep casting and searching.