The St. Johns River, the tidal creeks that branch off of it and the St. Johns Inlet give anglers an awesome inshore fishery for a variety of species such as redfish, sea trout, flounder, sheepshead, mangrove snapper and more.
Fish the Jetties
The jetties are very popular for fishing. The larger jetties are at the St. Johns River Inlet. The north jetty is 3 miles long at Fort George and the south jetty is around 2.5 miles long at Mayport. This is a large area that attracts plenty of bait and a variety of saltwater fish such as redfish, trout, flounder, sheepshead, mangrove snapper and more. There are also another set of jetties called “The Little Jetties” that gives anglers another good spot to fish in this area.
St. Johns River
The St. Johns River is huge and it receives a lot of interest from anglers. Anglers fish the river for a variety of saltwater fish as you get closer to the ocean, but you also have the option to fish further inland for largemouth bass, striped bass, bream and crappie. The brackish water is very popular among inshore anglers as they have miles of waters to fish with many smaller inlets from all of the tidal creeks that connect to the St. Johns River. Redfish, sea trout, flounder and sheepshead are popular species to target in the river.
Fish the Tidal Creeks
The tidal creeks create another awesome fishery here for anglers, especially if you like fishing calmer waters with smaller boats. Anglers break out the skiff boats and kayaks to get into some of these smaller tidal creeks to fish these shallower waters for redfish and trout.
Popular Fish Caught Inshore
Below you can find some of the most popular fish that you can catch in the inshore waters of Amelia Island. There are also pictures and some fishing tips to help you catch more fish on your next visit here.
Black Drum
Black drum move into the inshore areas of Jacksonville in large numbers every spring. The river mouths and inlets usually provide good numbers of very large drum in the spring and then eventually, you can find good numbers of them back into the inshore waters throughout the area. The northeast part of Florida is known for having some of the biggest black drum in the state and the spring is usually when anglers catch the biggest fish. While early summer still provides some good fishing for them, the summer fishing usually slows down quite a bit, but then the fall fishing can be very good again.
Black Drum Fishing Tips
Spring and fall are popular times to target black drum because they head into the bays and inlets to spawn. They feed on the bottom and some of the best baits are clams and crabs.
Visit our Black Drum fishing page to learn more.
Flounder
Flounder are available year round in the waters around Jacksonville. For many anglers, they will catch flounder while targeting other species of fish inshore, however, they can be fun to catch and they taste excellent, so they are definitely worth targeting. The inshore waters in the Jacksonville area offer a little bit of everything. There are inlets, rivers, plenty of river mouths, docks, grass flats, jetty fishing and more so you have plenty of places to fish for flounder.
Flounder Fishing Tips
Flounder can be caught with artificial lures, however, for many anglers, live bait or natural baits are considered the norm when fishing for flounder. Flounder love hanging tight to the bottom, so pick out your favorite bottom rig and pair it with a bull minnow, finger mullet, pinfish or shrimp and you should catch some fish.
Visit our Flounder fishing page to learn more.
Jack Crevalle
Jack Crevalle are common in the inshore waters around Jacksonville, Florida. The warm weather months will push more fish into this area. They can be super exciting to catch when you find a school of them. Anglers target them with a variety of lures and baits, but topwater lures can be a lot of fun when they are feeding near the surface.
Jack Crevalle Fishing Tips
Jack Crevalle are a very popular species for inshore anglers, although, they are commonly found offshore as well. These fish are extremely powerful and capable of making long runs, especially if you are using light tackle. Their average size ranges from 2 to 5 pounds, but in most areas fish up to 10 pounds are plentiful. Some people eat these fish, but most people would rate them as very poor-tasting.
Learn More About Jack Crevalle
Ladyfish can be a fun fish to catch, especially for younger anglers. They do not get very big, so the more experienced anglers usually see them as bait for bigger fish. Ladyfish are an excellent bait alive and as cut bait. There will be plenty of ladyfish in the inshore waters around Jacksonville.
Ladyfish Fishing Tips
Ladyfish are cousins of the much larger tarpon. They have a long, slender body and are fairly small, averaging 2 to 3 pounds. They are fun to catch for young anglers, but for most adult anglers, ladyfish are used for bait. Ladyfish can easily be caught with a small hook, weight and live shrimp, small bait fish or cut bait.
Visit our Ladyfish fishing page to learn more.
Redfish
Redfish are found year round in the inshore waters around Jacksonville. This area has miles of creeks that connect the St. Johns River to the Atlantic Ocean. Whether you fish the river mouths, the inlet or you go back further into the backcountry waters, you have so much water to fish for redfish. Anglers also target docks, bridges, grass flats and more in this area.
Redfish Fishing Tips
Anglers target redfish with a variety of artificial lures, live baits and natural baits. While you have so many options for targeting redfish, most anglers will keep it simple and use live shrimp, dead shrimp or lures that mimic a shrimp. You can target the smaller reds with medium heavy rods and reels, but if you are going after bigger redfish, you’re going to want to go with medium heavy to heavy action gear to help land some of these huge fish.
Visit our Redfish fishing page to learn more.
Saltwater Catfish
You will find plenty of catfish in the inshore areas and at times around the bridges, inlets, jetties and along the surf. They can be annoying if you don’t want to catch them or exciting to provide some action while other fish aren’t biting.
Hardhead Catfish
Gafftopsail Catfish
Catfish Fishing Tips
Catching catfish is easy in saltwater. Once you find them, they will easily bite many different types of cut baits. Just get your bait on the bottom, wait for the bite and then set the hook.
Sea Trout
The inshore waters are home to some good fishing for sea trout and these fish are available year round. Fish the grass flats in the backcountry waters or around the inlets, river mouths and jetties and you’ll find some trout. They are a reliable fish to catch here even during the colder times of the year.
Sea Trout Fishing Tips
Sea trout give anglers lots of options because they can be very aggressive. At times, you can do just as well or even better with artificial lures. For the live bait anglers, you have a variety of live and natural baits that you can use to catch sea trout. Anglers can also get away with using lighter tackle as well since most of the better spots tend to be around shallow water grass flats.
Visit our Sea Trout fishing page to learn more.
Sharks
There are plenty of sharks in this area, especially during the summer with the warmer water temperatures. Anglers will catch sharks on the beaches and farther inshore too, but if you are coming here to target sharks, the better fishing will be nearshore and offshore out around the reefs and wrecks.
Learn More About Sharks on our Shark Fishing page.
Sheepshead
Northeast Florida is home to some very good sheepshead fishing, especially during the winter months. Sheepshead do well in cooler water and they will feed pretty consistently in the inshore waters around Jacksonville. You have plenty of places to fish for them here with the inlet, river mouths, jetties and docks, so if you want to target them, you should be able to figure out a pattern on any given day. On some of the colder days in the winter, sheepshead will be the fish that helps make fishing exciting since they are usually willing to bite.
Sheepshead Fishing Tips
Sheepshead are one of the tougher saltwater fish to catch on artificial lures. It can be done, but using live or natural baits can out fish lures by 10 to 1 or more at times. It is easy to understand why most anglers just go with live bait and they don’t even mess with lures when fishing for sheepshead. Shrimp and fiddler crabs are the most popular baits, but don’t rule out a variety of cut baits, oysters and sand fleas. Sheepshead are known for stealing your bait and they also are a tough fish, so make sure you have a strong enough hook and a solid medium-heavy to heavy action fishing rod or you will lose a lot of fish.
Visit our Sheepshead fishing page to learn more.
Mangrove Snapper
Mangrove Snapper are a popular to fish to target in the inshore waters of Jacksonville, Florida.
Mangrove Snapper Fishing Tips
Mangrove Snapper are one of the most popular snapper to catch because large populations of juvenile fish can be caught inshore where most anglers fish. Offshore, you will find bigger mangrove snapper over the reefs and wrecks. Some of the best baits to use for mangrove snappers are live and dead shrimp, mud minnows, small pinfish, small finger mullet and small crabs.
Snook
Snook like warm water and they can really struggle in the cool waters that winter brings to northeastern Florida. The better snook fishing in the waters around Jacksonville are going to be the spring through early fall. You aren’t going to find the snook numbers that you will see in south Florida, however, you can definitely target them around the inlets, river mouths, jetties and docks.
Snook Fishing Tips
Most anglers prefer to use lures for snook, but live baits such as jumbo shrimp and pilchards are some of the best baits to use. At times, snook can be super tough to catch on lures, but a lively shrimp or pilchard will usually still get plenty of bites even when they are picky. If you fish for bass in freshwater, the type of tackle will be similar to largemouth bass fishing except you may have to upsize the rod, reel and line a bit.
Visit our Snook fishing page to learn more.
Tarpon
While you may be able to catch some tarpon year round, the migratory tarpon will be providing the best fishing opportunities in this area. With cooler water temperatures in this part of the state, it takes a little longer into the spring for the tarpon to make their way into Northeast Florida in big numbers. They will eventually arrive and anglers will be out targeting them just off the beaches, in the inlets and river mouths. Fishing for the resident tarpon will also pick up from late spring and carry through the fall. In the summer, tarpon keep working their way north, so you will eventually see smaller numbers here until the fall mullet run brings large numbers back south. The mullet run is one of the best times to target big tarpon in this area.
Tarpon Fishing Tips
While many anglers may run into smaller tarpon and catch them without much effort, to consistently target bigger tarpon, you need to make sure you have the right tackle & equipment so things go your way. Tarpon will eat a variety of baits, so you have a lot of options when it comes to live & cut baits or artificial lures. The time of year is very important as well since tarpon will migrate a long way up and down both the Gulf & Atlantic Coasts each year.
Visit our Tarpon fishing page to learn more.
