Greetings from Tru Luvin Fishing and Hagan Coastal Outfitters. This blog provides you with a front row seat to what Domenic and Ron are seeing on the water in Northeast Florida from our kayaks, as we chase inshore saltwater species, primarily using artificial lures. From time to time, we will include bonus reports from tournaments and fishing trips around the region as we travel. We want to keep you informed of what is biting, what lures are working for us and what gear has been helping us get on the fish.
Overall Fishing Report
Hot! That one word would be the best description for the month of June as it pertained to both the weather and the fishing. The bite was very strong throughout the month of June. We have reached the summer fishing months now, and it is that time of year where you have to get out early and get off the water before those afternoon heat advisories and thunderstorms kick in. However, if you are willing to set that alarm clock to get out early, the trips can be very rewarding. We have a strong early summer bite in progress and Domenic and Ron both took advantage of it.
Domenic and Ron fished from their Hobie kayaks in June along with several trips in the Beavertail skiff. Fish were caught on every trip. Redfish, Trout and Flounder were all caught in good numbers throughout June. Fish were caught both in the St. John’s River, where the guys have spent a lot of their time lately, and the traditional North Jacksonville creek systems off of Hecksher Drive.
Water temperatures are creeping higher, and Domenic clocked readings as high as ninety-one degrees. That is hot and can affect the fish over time, but for now the bite is very active. Look for moving water and try to avoid fishing during the slack tides to access better oxygenated water for more active fish. The best Trout of the month were caught on Topwater lures and the best Redfish and Flounder were caught subsurface on or near the bottom. Let’s take a closer look at which lures were working in June.
Tactics That Are Working
Let’s talk about the tactics and lures that caught fish this month. Domenic continued his hot streak fishing with paddle tails or swim baits. He stumbled across a new Nomad Design paddle tail called the Dozer Minnow. He used it on a recent trip to catch all three species of an inshore saltwater slam. This larger profile body worked well in both open water and skipped well under docks. He was using white on the day he caught his slam. The lure comes with a proprietary scent infused in it and produced some really nice fish.
Ron has been fishing a lot of river docks for Redfish. He recently experimented with an old favorite lure he normally uses on high tide creek grass lines under the docks. The results were dramatic with large Reds absolutely crushing the ZMan Kicker Crabz in darker natural colors. These lures mimic a small crab and Ron likes to rig them weedless on a ZMan Bulletz 3/0 quarter ounce hook. The retrieve he uses is very slow. Think about the pace a small crab walks. The Reds were absolutely thumping this lure and Trout and Flounder will eat it as well.
An old favorite worked for Domenic and Ron as well this month. It is hard to not catch fish with the Berkley Gulp Swimming Mullet. We like the four-inch size and the white with a chartreuse tail is hard to beat. It has great contrast and tail movement in the water and catches Reds, Trout and Flounder. In fact, Ron had one of his best days ever on big Flounder in June using this lure on a quarter ounce ZMan Trout Eye jig head against the grass lines of a North Jacksonville creek. He also picked up a mid slot Redfish and a nice Trout to complete a slam on this one lure during that trip.
Lessons Learned
Domenic and Ron enjoy planning fishing trips and coming up with strategies to maximize their catches based on the conditions. This typically pays off with rewarding days on the water.
However, it is important not to get too deep into your own head with your planning. The guys really love top water fishing this time of year and planned a recent trip around that tactic. They knew where Redfish liked to stage around oysters on the incoming tide of one of their favorite creeks.
The weather, tide and winds were all perfect and the guys were certain the top water bite would be on fire. For whatever reason the fish were not willing to eat up top that day and Ron stubbornly fished for two hours trying to make it happen. He reluctantly decided to switch tactics and wound up having one of the best big Flounder fishing days he has ever had. The key was switching to fish subsurface using the Gulp Swimming Mullet on the bottom that is described above. A tough day initially turned around completely into a slam, and a fantastic Flounder fishing day, by being willing to switch up tactics.
The takeaway here is to go into your day with a plan A, B and C. The guys both take multiple rods, that are rigged differently with them, so they can change tactics on the fly if plan A is not working. Flexibility in tactics and planning will help you catch more fish!