Jacksonville Fishing Reports

Your private fishing charter Capt. Dave’s Sport Fishing • Date Unlike contacting Uber We’ll be spending the day together. Only minutes with a Uber driver. This Charter Captain has a drivers licence, too. And a United States Coast Guard Merchant Mariner license, and as for me. Decades of experience also. Don’t think of going on a private charter boat, like calling a Uber driver. We don’t have a App for that. At least I don’t. And I don’t want one! I’m in the people business first. WE’RE OUT TO HAVE FUN! It’s a learning/doing/adventure, in Jacksonville Florida, for a fisherman. Not just some boat ride! But, you’ll still see Bald Eagles, Pink spoonbills, Dolphins, and Manatees. You’ll learn local N.E. Florida history, and folklore too. JACKSONVILLE’S iconic bridge linking the North side of the river to the south side of the St Johns river. YOUR RIDE My 20’ HANKO side console aptly named, ‘’FLAT BOTTOM GIRL’’ was built over the course of 7 months, in Berwick, La. I had planned on having this boat built by HANKO for many years. It’s designed for inshore fishing for 2 persons. We have actual room to fish. True Anglers appreciate that. Many boats are NOT designed to be charter boats. They are cramped, with no room to do battle. Let alone having too many people aboard. And being all welded 3/16” aluminum has it not shy of shallow water, oyster shell, and hard bottom. Outfitted with 90hp Suzuki outboard tweaked for shallow water ‘’get up and go.’’ Comfortable SeaDek, 36v Power Pole Move trolling motor, a 12” SIMRAD sounder/chartplotter/GPS Connected to aerial satellite photo software. A baitwell for your live shrimp, and two soft sided coolers full of ice. One for fish, one for Lunches. LEAN & MEAN. And all the proper ‘’light tackle’’, you’ll need for a day's fishing adventure. WHATS NEW (ish) As a full-time fishing guide. That’s been taking clients fishing in Jacksonville, Florida since 1996. At 63 yrs. old I’ve dropped and retrieved my anchor multiple thousands of times. From back in my offshore reef fishing days to fishing the St. Johns River. Pulling 20-40’ of chain and anchor, and 150 feet PLUS of anchor line, needed to ‘stay put’ in our excessive current. With a loaded 26’ boat and a crew of 4 people. All that has taken its toll on me. So, as of May of 2025 I made a change. ‘’We’re going shallow, salt marsh, bayou, creek, estuary, backcountry fishing.’’ Whatever you want to call it. It’s 180 from what I used to do, with 4 people on a 26’ deep-V boat, with 265 horses on the stern. No more clients unable to take the choppy inlet, or offshore waters. ‘’I can’t stand even getting waked any longer, and the river isn’t for me on those crazy weekends full of boats every where!’’ Don’t worry, you won’t need seasick pills to be taken the night before, on my charter days. MORE DETAILS: Blog 1 MORE DETAILS: Blog 4: Best time of year, fo... AS OF OCT. 1 For 30 years, I’ve advised visiting fishermen to always have a back up day in mind. Because, as of October 1, we start getting weather fronts passing through the area at closer intervals. In the deep summer, a front can pass by, and we’ll hardly notice it. Every day is just H-O-T. All we care about is how bad the daily thunderstorms will be. That start around noon, DAILY. As the cooler ocean air collides with the extremely hot, land mass air. So as of Oct. 1st, have a wiggle room day available. It may be that a ‘front’ is passing by and it’s ‘Small Craft Advisory’ with high winds. That will effect our ability to inshore fish. But, BOOK YOUR DAY IN ADVANCE Back when I got started in the charter fishing biz, I booked dates 3-6 months in advance, commonly. In today's world? I feel lucky to get 36 hours in advance. I’ll help you choose a good day, if we can talk about it. My saying is; ‘’the more advance notice you give, the longer I’m thinking about your day.’’ Which is beneficial. I’m looking at weather, tides, and where to go according to those factors. Keeping up with bait availability, what kind of bait, how much. A lot goes through my mind as your day approaches. VERSUS, a call the night before at 7:30pm, for a 7am the next morning departure. Which still can be done, two days later. It can be calm and very fishable. It’s a change in season I relish!! After long 100 degree, 100% humidity summer days. MORE DETAILS: Blog 4: Best time of year, for Fi... but you kinda get what ya get. If there’s a weather, bait, tide, issue. MORE DETAILS: Blog 2 jettywolf@gmail.com (904) 642-9546 WEBSITE https://www.captdaves.com INSTAGRAM / REPORTS https://www.instagram.com/captda vessportfishing/ YOUTUBE channel https://www.youtube.com/c/captdavessportishing

https://captdaves.com/best-time-of-yearfor-fish-andhumans-alike/ Very Soon, We’ll Be “Cool” It’s 9/23/2026 right now, and here in Jacksonville, Florida, it’s not as bad as it was a month ago. We’re finally feeling cooler air temps. Just two days ago I was up a creek in shallow water, catching one Flounder after another, plus some Seatrout and Redfish, casting a double-rig of soft plastics on jigheads. The water temp was down 6 degrees from just 10 days earlier. No, it’s not really the air temp that controls the water temps. It’s the Atlantic Ocean. As we move into the fall season, ocean currents change, and the local coastal water temps change with them. There’s also the length of the days. “Length of days, it’s all about the length of days, Dave.” That’s what my ole “sea daddy,” Capt. Randall Dyal, used to preach to me. Sea daddy: a fishing mentor, the kind of guy who probably forgot more than most people will ever know. Capt. Randall was a lifelong commercial fisherman and a successful “great white hunter.” He traveled North America in search of trophy whitetail deer and wild turkey, and he passed on to me the knowledge he gained. That quote was part of it. Capt. Randall is gone now, but I can still pull up on a certain spot in the St. Johns River and hear him say, “Look for that break in the bottom, and only fish it 2 hours after low tide at the Inlet.” I Have My Own Sayings Too “When booking a fishing charter starting Oct. 1st, always have a back-up date too.” During the heat of summer, there can be 7 days between weather fronts. We barely notice them, because every day is basically the same: hot, hot, hot, with someone in the county getting a late-afternoon thunderstorm between 1 and 6pm that’s so wicked you want nothing to do with it out on the water. All that starts to change around October. The days between “fronts” get closer and closer, and those weather changes can bring big winds, a fisherman’s nemesis! Say you picked a great tide day but the wind is blowing 25 knots. It’s gonna be one tough, long day on the water. Starting October 1, Tides Matter “Some tides are better than others, especially during the fall season.” Not all tides are created equal. That’s why my rate is one flat rate for the day for two people. Fishing the tide, which runs 6 hours, gives us a shot at what I want as your “guide.” Remember, YOU are picking the date 90% of the time. I’m doing my best with what Mother Nature gives me. So many 4-hour, supposedly half-day trips could have been better if we’d just had some extra wiggle room. That’s why I don’t even discuss half days during the fall, winter and spring seasons. For 30 years, I’ve always counted a day as at least 6 hours. We always want to give it our best shot, right?

FOLLOW THAT REDFISH .......VIDEO: https://youtu.be/G3n2mojXCEU?si=kW3xH-60iiTom8AJ

MICRO REDFISH, EYES BIGGER THAN IT'S STOMACH https://youtu.be/2MSfGwZ0Ikw?si=RtDo-PmgeOFugLas

in all reality..... I DO MANY TWO HR. ''KIDS TRIPS'' IN THE SUMMER MONTHS. MY STANDARD DAY IS UP TO 6 HRS FOR 2 ADULTS. AND WE CAN'T WASTE ANY TIME IN THE MORNING. BUT, THE 6 HR. TRIP GIVES US WIGGLE ROOM AT LEAST. BY NOON, ITS PRETTY DANG HOT. BUT WE'VE FOUND SOME BIG TROUT NONE THE LESS. BUT BIG ONES AREN'T KEEPERS ANY LONGER IN FLORIDA. 15'' TO 19 INCHERS ARE ALL WE CAN KEEP, NOW. AND LATELY, WE'VE HAD SEVERAL 4 POUNDERS. LARGE REDFISH IN THE CREEKS CAN BE TOUGH TO FIND ON SOME DAYS. LOADS OF SMALLER FLOUNDER SEEM TO LOVE THE BAIT FILLED CREEKS. SO WHEN WE LEAVE AT 7AM.....DON'T BE LATE IN THE DEEP SUMMER MONTHS.

HERE'S SOME PHOTOS AND A VIDEO LINK TO WHATS BEEN GOING ON IN JUNE 2026, SO FAR

DID NOT FISH THE MARSH CREEKS....''they are filled with BAIT'' THAT WOULD SEEM LIKE A GOOD THING, HUH? WELL, IT CERTAINTLY HASN'T BEEN. THE ACTION VIA REDFISH, AND EVEN JUST ''action'' SPECIES, LIKE SUMMER TIME JACKS, AND LADYFISH HAVE BEEN LACKING IN THE SHALLOWS. AND BELIEVE ME, I'VE BEEN ULTRA SHALLOW: YOUTUBE VIDEO LINK: https://youtu.be/gEH_9R7lkcg?si=INVjfqCO77wtn5dr SO TODAY I STAYED IN THE RIVER, AND FISHED THE ''MAIN-STAY'' TECHNIQUE THAT IF THIS DOESN'T PRODUCE, NOT MUCH ELSE WILL, AND THAT WAS ''FLOAT-RIG'' FISHING ROCKS & DOCKS IN THE ST. JOHNS RIVER. I'M USUALLY, ANYMORE FED UP WITH THE RIVER, BECAUSE OF THE HUGE CURRENT, BOAT TRAFFIC, TUG BOATS, SHIPS, CONE-HEADS, AND AMOUNT OF CONSTANT WAKES. BUT TODAY, IT WAS NOT BAD AT ALL. I WAS SURPRISED. MANY SPOTS, WERE COMFORTABLE TO ''FLOAT-RIG'' FISH, WITH THE 4 DOZEN LIVE SHRIMP, I BROUGHT ALONG. I WAS FEELING ''SPENDY'', I GUESS. BECAUSE LURE FISHING WASN'T PART OF THE PLAN AT ALL. NO THIS WASN'T A CHARTER TRIP WITH KIDS.....plenty o that is coming soon. Just had fishing buddy Nick aboard. AND HE HOOKED UP A GOOD SIZED TROUT, BUT LOST IT AT BOAT SIDE WITHIN THE FIRST 10 MINUTES OF FLOATS IN THE WATER. YES, SPECKLED SEA TROUT, my favorite fish of all time! WHICH HAVE BEEN REALLY LACKING IN THE CREEKS, FOR ME. THE NEW TROUT LIMITS REALLY SUCK. FLORIDA DOESN'T WANT YOU TO BE A FISH EATER IN N.E. FLORIDA. BECAUSE THE 3 TROUT LIMIT, BETWEEN 15-19 INCHES, IS MY BIGGEST COMPLAINT. I LIKE ''''''TROPHIES'''''''. A 16" TROUT, DOES NOT EXCITE ME. BUT A 20'' AND LARGER DOES....hopefully 5 pounds and larger!!! TODAY, I HAD A 22-23'' 4 POUNDER. AND THATS WHAT I'M FISHING FOR, PERSONALLY. OR A 27'' REDFISH, OR A 2-4 POUND FLOUNDER. BUT WE HAD NO REDFISH TODAY. I MAY HAVE HOOKED A FEW, BUT I'M JUST GUESSING, BECAUSE WHATEVER ATE MY LIVE SHRIMP, BECAME A CASUALTY TO THE HEAVY STRUCTURE I WAS FISHING. I BASICALLY, GOT MY BUTT HANDED TO ME, ON A PLATTER! WE DID CATCH FLOUNDER. BUT THET WERE BARELY KEEPERS AT 14 INCHES. OF COURSE WE HAD PLENTY OF LADYFISH, WHICH ISN'T A BAD THING. SINCE TROUT - highly sought after, AND LADYFISH, FREQUENT THE SAME AREAS IN THE HOT MONTHS. AND NICK CAUGHT A 5 POUND JAK CREVALLE ON HIS LIGHT TACKLE, FISHING A FLOAT RIG A BIT DEEPER, OFF A ROCK PILE. I KEPT 4 TROUT, WE LOST 2, AND RELEASED THE LARGEST. AT THE 22-23 INCHES AND 4 POUNDS. NO VIDEO TODAY. JUST PHOTOS. you can find my recent fishing reports, and happenings on my INSTA-FACE PAGE AT: https://www.instagram.com/captdavessportfishing/ ALSO INCLUDED SOME OTHER TRIP PHOTOS FROM THIS MONTH.

DAY 2 WITH THE "TRAVELLER" LEFT MAYPORT AT 1pm DIDN'T WANT TO DEAL WITH 6 HRS OF A RISING TIDE AND NO BITES LIKE YESTERDAY. INSTEAD..."WE NEVER CAUGHT THE FIRST REDFISH?" NOT FROM A LACK OF TRYING, THATS FOR SURE. BUT, AS THE TIDE TURNED WE CAUGHT PLENTY OF TROUT, WITH 4 GOOD KEEPERS, AND LOTS OF FLOUNDER. AND 2 KEEPERS. THE SO-CALLED 5-10 KNOT WINDS UP IN THE CREEK WAS THE "JOKE ON US". IT WAS SUPER WINDY. BUT BEGGARS CAN'T BE CHOOSERS. WE AT LEAST ONLY HAD TO WASTE, AND WE DID GETTING WAKE IN THE RIVER, 2 HRS OF THE HIGH TIDE, AND CAUGHT BASICALLY ZERO, STILL LOOKING FOR THOSE SCHOOLS OF YELLOWMOUTH TROUT ON PLACES WE CAUGHT THEM "EVERY YEAR THIS TIME, EXCEPT...THIS YEAR!!!" ANOTHER JOKE ON US. WE HAD A GOOD TIME UP IN THE SALTMARSH, AS THE DAY GOT LATER IT TURNED REALLY NICE. THE "NO REDFISH" THING WAS CONFUSING. BAIT EVERYWHERE AT DEAD LOW. BUT MY OLE SAYING STILL RINGS TRUE FOR BAZARO WORLD FLORIDA, "BAIT BAIT EVERYWHERE AND NO FISH TO EAT THEM". ON THE WAY OUT OF THE CREEK, WE SLOWLY DRIFTED SOME GIANT OYSTER MOUNDS LOOKING TO SEE IF REDFISH WERE AROUND. MAYBE THERE WAS. BUT THE TRAVELLER SAID, "I'M DONE", SO WE HEADED BACK TO MAYPORT BOAT RAMP TO MAKE THE DONUTS. TRAVELLER BOB DOESN'T DO THE INCESSANT HEAT THING OF SUMMER. HE'S NOT LIKE THE AVERAGE TOURIST. HE'S A TRUE ANGLER, ONE OF THE FEW I'VE HAD AS REPEAT CUSTOMERS. HEAT AND SWEATING HE KNOWS ISN'T THE FINEST FISHING IN JAX. SO THE NEXT TIME HE'S COMING WILL BE LATE OCTOBER OR EARLY NOVEMBER. THE "TRAVELLER" ONLY TRAVELS WHEN THE TEMP IS RIGHT. NEXT TIME HE VOWS WON'T BE ON RISING TIDE DAYS. THATS FOR SURE. VISIT: https://www.captdaves.com TO MAKE YOUR OWN REPORT. Light tackle inshore fishing for 2.

EASTER SUNDAY, A SUPER NICE DAY, TO FILL THE SCHEDULE FULL OF EXCITEMENT FOR THE "LITTLE ONES". THATS WHAT I DID WITH BEN FROM CALIFORNIA, AND HIS TWO YOUNG BOYS. WE WENT INTO A SALTY CREEK AND BOTTOM FISHED WITH DEAD SHRIMP, AND CAUGHT 2 BLACK DRUM, 2 PINFISH, AND A SPOTTED SEATROUT. ALL IN TWO HOURS ON MY 2 HR. KIDS TRIP. (NOT TOO LONG, NOT TOO SHORT) MADE JUST FOR THE UNDER 10 YEAR OLDS, WHO CAN NOT DO A BIG TIME 6 HOUR SPORT FISHING CHARTER IN JACKSONILLE WHILE VISTING GRANDMA, AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE ALL THE WAY FROM ACROSS THE ENTIRE COUNTRY. IF YOU'RE A TRUE ANGLER AND WANT A 6 HR STANDARD DAY FISHIN THE TIDE. AND WANT TO CATCH NICE LIGHT TACKLE EXCITMENT REDFISH, THE FISH THAT RULES THE RIVER HERE. CALL ME: 904-642-9546 8AM-7PM eastern time. NO TEXTS.

I LOVE WINTER.... I'D RATHER WEAR LONG-SLEEVES. YESTERDAY WE (JAX. FL.) MADE A NEW RECORD FOR MARCH 10th. IT WAS A RECORDED, 92 DEGREES AT THE AIRPORT ❗ THE SPANISH MACKEREL ARE ALREADY SWIMMING AROUND THE JAX BEACH PIER❗ I'M CATCHING, THE ''SILVER SCOURGE FISH'', aka: LADYFISH, IN A FEW CREEKS, ALREADY ❗ AND THE TROUT ALREADY VACATED A FEW WINTER SPOTS. AS LONG AS THE TROUT KEEP CHOKIN' DOWN THE "MATRIX SHADS" LIKE THIS ONE DID. (the cost of live shrimp isn't worth 3 Trout per person) I GUESS I'LL HAVE TO PUT UP WITH THE ''''FLORIDA FISH COMMUNISTS'''', BASICALLY SHUTTING THE DOOR ON "SPECKLED TROUT CHARTERS" I TOLD YA, AT CHRISTMAS. 1/2 THE BEST FISHING. WAS ALREADY OVER: GO HERE: https://youtu.be/BvCtBSCYbs4?si=oMa0L... https://truthsocial.com/@CaptDavesSpo...

BIG YELLOWMOUTH TROUT, 18 INCHERS, AND MANY FILLED WITH ROE. I LOVE WHEN THESE FISH SHOW UP IN MAYPORT "THICK", NO LIMIT, NO SIZE LIMIT (we don't bother with 12 inchers) TODAY HAD 18 PLUS INCH FISH. AS USUAL, WE HAD TO WORK FOR THEM. AND HAD A BIT OF A RIDE TO GET TO THEM. "LIGHT TACKLE FUN" AND ALL WE USED WAS "DEAD SHRIMP".......EZ AS, (as they say in New Zealand) HERE'S A CLASSIC, JACKSONILLE FLORIDA BOAT RAMP SHOT. BOOK NOW FOR MARCH.

GIVING MY HANKO 20SF, THE ''OLE MAN TREATMENT''. (not me) OF NEW SEATS. TEMPRESS ''all weather'', with removable cushions, folding, detachable base. I'm wondering how the bases will hold up. youtube video short: https://youtube.com/shorts/a6N82C_Gaa...

I love this....BECAUSE I'M A FISHING GUIDE, NOW. Got fired '''30 yrs ago''', for same thing!!!!! I took off, and fished too much. I've never looked back. AND HAVE NO CLUELESS WOMAN TELLING ME WHAT TO DO ALL THE TIME. 👍👍👍👍 VIDEO LINK EXPLAINS ALL https://youtu.be/9ByoGAcKXqo?si=T8iW1SdwtNcXL8Da YOU ARE MISSING BEAUTIFUL WINTER DAYS, IN JAX FL. LETS GO GET A NETFULL

YOUTUBE VIDEO: https://youtu.be/fxBBF_PSYoI?si=NTV0uDs388T8pjoF GET THE JIGS, I USE MOST OFTEN IN BULK FROM SOFT PLASTICS TO LIVE SHRIMP & MORE: AMAZON LINK: https://amzn.to/4aqNGlH COME GET YOUR SHEEPS...OR MISS OUT. ITS OVER BY MAY.

www.fishingharter-jacksonville.com Solo, after the ''JAX FREEZE''...Still cold as a witches tit, but one heck of a nice day. Major NEGATIVE low tide, light winds. Again, being a ''jetty guy'' for the past 29 years, I saw areas of the Marsh that I've never seen before with such low water. Overall; 4- flounder too small to keep, 10- Trout too small to keep. 8- ''green scourge fish'' aka: Bluefish too small to keep. And then, I got what I was fishing for! a 21'' Speckled Wonder'', aka: Spotted Sea Trout. a 17'' Speckled Wonder'', aka: Spotted Sea Trout. and a 23'' Redfish - pictured here ready to be taken outa their suits. Video (not that any one watches, but good for my Angling Archives) coming soon at: https://www.youtube.com/c/captdavessportfishing 😊

SOLO TRY IN A JANUARY FREEZE IN JAX FLORIDA VIDEO LINK: MY YOUTUBE https://youtu.be/5eydbE9oqNw?si=f-mDSS1_Ckk4KSdR