Ahoy there Anglers,

The water temperatures are finally cooling down and will cool even more after this weekend's cold front. It's about time. Now I'm not excited about hurrying to freeze my tail off during the winter months but as most of you know, we catch a lot of fish during the colder months. Sheepshead, black drum, speckled trout, whiting, and of course redfish all like the cooler water temperatures and will feed throughout the winter months. That's when you can stock up on some fish in your freezer for the company you'll be having throughout the Holiday season.

If you're planning on having out-of-town guests and want to take them fishing please let me know soon as I have all of November booked and have already booked 7 dates in December, so let's get you on the books.

I want to thank all our listeners to our WOKV Just Fishin Radio Show for keeping us the "NUMBER 1" fishing and outdoor show here in Northeast Florida. The ratings are in and you've done it again! If you'd like to reach thousands of boaters, outdoor enthusiasts, fishermen and women and let them know your business is the place to do business then contact me for an advertising program you cannot pass up. We can increase your business with rates you won't believe. Let more people know where you're at and what you can do for them. Find out what I can do for you and your business!

And, as those of you who keep us tuned in on our WOKV Just Fishin Radio Show know, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission have a meeting scheduled at the Deerwood Branch Public Library, 10599 Deerwood Park Blvd. on Tuesday, November 23rd from 6:00pm til 8:00pm. They want to get a consensus on how many anglers would like the FWC to change the bag limit on Northeast and Northwest Florida's redfish from 1 per person per day to 2 per person per day. The limit would not change from Flagler County South nor would it change from the same distance on the West coast of Florida South. It's the same boundaries where the spotted trout rules change also.

So, whether youwant the FWC to increase the bag limits or not, if YOU FISH, you need to be at this meeting. So many people are always talking about "why won't they let us keep more reds"; well, this is your chance. It's now or never. It amazes me that we have a quarter million anglers right here in Jacksonville and hardly anyone shows up at these meetings, and the meetings we have here are for 3 counties. No wonder the fisheries' commissions think no one cares what they do. I remember the last redfish public hearing we had here a few years ago and only 32 anglers showed up. 32 out of over a quarter million? Who really cares about our fisheries?

That's why WE ALL need to belong to the Recreational Fishing Alliance. The RFA is the ONLY organization which has stepped up and started lawsuits against all these closures. The CCA and other organizations like them have been all talk and no action, so they do not get my support. It only costs $25 per year to belong to the RFA and be counted as a concerned angler to the Congressmen/women and Senators, so when the RFA goes up against these people in office they can say they represent X-number of anglers who VOTE.

We need to have our right to enjoy fishing as Americans have always had throughout the last 200 years! Join the RFA TODAY. If you fish you need to be a member to be counted. There are millions more anglers than there are hunters and the National Rifle Association has millions of members so when there's a new law proposed that will hurt the hunters, the NRA steps up and shows how many people they represent and the law gets thrown out. We need the same support for anglers. Please call Rick Hale of Rick's Bait & Tackle, 904-372-4689 or e-mail him at bait48@yahoo.com, and tell him you want to join the RFA now! BE COUNTED. We need to start fresh and strike quick after this new election to show our new Washington representatives and Governor that WE DO CARE. Join now.

CREEKS:
The redfish in the creeks are doing so good right now that I can hardly stand it. Redfish with their backs and tails out of the water feeding in the shallows. I love sightcasting to them. You just got to love this time of the year. We've been catching redfish up to 34" in the shallows on light tackle. What a blast! That'll scream your drag out. This will be the last weekend this year coming up where the huge sheepshead will be in the flooded grass with the redfish. Friday, Saturday and Sunday we'll have 6.0, 6.1 and 6.0 high tides. It will not be this high the rest of 2010 so get out there and sight cast to them while you can. What a hoot. Sheepshead from 5 to 10 pounds. The spotted trout are doing a little better here lately and if the rains keep coming down 100 miles South of Jacksonville then they'll only improve. The rains will help flush all the shrimp toward the ocean and the trout won't be near as scattered as the are now. They're scattered from Green Cove Springs to the ocean now. They have no reason to go North because they have so much to eat everywhere. Speaking of all the bait, the people who are gigging for flounder are getting plenty and everyone fishing for them talks about how slow it's been on them this season. They're here, they just have so much to eat that they're full and you can't hardly catch many on a hook. Black drum from 12" to 18" are in the creeks here and there. Usually when you find one you'll catch two or three in the same area.

JETTIES:
You know in October all the way through April I spend a lot of time at the Mayport Jetties. After all, catching sheepshead is second only to redfish in the shallows as my favorite. These great tasting, hard fighting bream on steroids are like the "crab-of-the-sea" as far as taste goes. So many people enjoy eating these wonderful fish. The sheepshead have been doing real good out at the rocks for some time now and are picking up more and more as the time goes by. With this cooler weather we're about to have they will only get even better. Black drum from 4 to 15 pounds are being caught out at the rocks now also. We even caught a 45 pounder last week. he must have been lost. Usually the giants come through the end of March. These fish have been overlooked by so many. Black drum eat the same things as sheepshead, (only crustaceans) and that's why they also taste so good. Be sure to only keep the ones up to about 16 to 18 pounds as the giants over 20 pounds are not good to eat. Bull redfish along with a few slot-sized reds at the rocks this time of the year also and don't forget the black margates and ring-tail porgies. Most people don't know they're of the same species as the sheepshead, porgies. I've been waiting on the mangrove snapper. They should've already been here a few weeks ago but keep looking for these great fish. Seems a lot of species are a few weeks behind this year. Whiting out in the sandier areas away from the rocks and loads of croakers but not big yet. They too are spread out from Green Cove to the jetties. Tarpon are all over the mullet run the inside of the South jetty during the outgoing tides. Have fun with them while you can. With this cold spell the water temp will drop and they'll be gone soon. A few yellowmouth trout are at the rocks but ever since the FWC unregulated them here I think they heard about it and left town.

RIVERS:
Whiting in Nassau Sound along with a couple drum and a pompano here and there. Loads of speckled trout but seems almost all are shorties. I had a few people one day catch 39 and we didn't have one keeper. I don't like it when they're all shorts. Not much fun. Redfish along the grass edges and clay jetties in the Sound. A couple of flounder but not many. Nassau Sound is where I've caught my largest two flounder ever. One was 13.5 pounds and the other was 14.5 pounds. Wish they would show up again. Bull reds still in the St. Johns River. There are some Virginia croakers, (the larger croakers) in the river finally but not as many as we'd like. Those too are scattered from the Shands Bridge to the Mayport Jetties. Rain, rain, we need some rain South of us. Yellowmouth trout are finally showing up in the St. Johns again. It's about time. Some really nice ones too. Whiting in the sandier areas of the river and black drum are finally schooling up more. Some big sheepshead on hard rock bottoms throughout the area but the mangrove snapper just won't show. Maybe with this cold spell and rain we'll get them going. Spotted trout along the rock banks and grass lines at the higher tides in the St. Johns also.

MILL COVE:
WOW, nice bluefish have been schooling up the bait on the surface and tearing them up. The blues have been from 2 to 5 pounds. Fun on light tackle and lures. I say nice because usually the schooling blues here are 10" to 16" but these fight good and hard. Spotted trout, (speckled trout) are showing up a little better. They've been scattered but hopefully with this cooler weather they'll school up more often in the areas we're used to seeing them. We're catching a few but most are very small. A few flounder here and there. Check out the edges of sand bars and edges of grass lines on the higher tides. Redfish have been doing good on the edges of the grass also. If you're not used to hard lures then try live shrimp on a 2/0 Eagle Claw Kayle hook about 14" under a Cajun Thunder float for trout and reds. Sometimes you'll get a flounder or two with this method also. They work. A few whiting and yellowmouth trout at the entrance to the Cove.

SURF:
Whiting and black drum seem to be the best action going on now in the surf and a couple pompano have showed up but should get even better in the next couple weeks. This water temperature has to start dropping now. Small bluefish and a Spanish here and there.

We're about to see a big change in what's happening as this water cools and we're getting more rain. The storms that are South of us should help us out here in Northeast Florida. Just wait and see. It's November now so we're going to see a lot of "firing up" among the best eating inshore species.

Remember, take your trash back with you to the ramp. Don't let paper blow out of your boat and please keep those drink cans I see everywhere in your cooler.
Until next time.