St. Johns Bass fishing?

[rtwilson92]

hello im a new member to the forum and figured id join and get some get some knowledge from some people here. I recently moved up to palm coast and have been trying to figure out the whole st johns river. ive been out twice once out of astor and fished down into dead lake (water was low) and another time out of crescent lake. Both times i havent been able to locate fish or get a bite. I come from down south where usually you find the clean water and you find the fish but i understand here since its brackish water it is never clean. i also noticed in crescent lake you cant get 100 yards from shore without being in less than 3 ft of water. So i was wandering if alot of open water fishing goes on here or do you fish the ledges where it drops to 7-9 ft? i live closest to crescent lake so that would be my primary place to go but open to suggestions on new places i should start. Thanks in advance

[N Florida Mike]

Ive fished the Northern part of the river a lot ( as far down as Lake George ) but not recently.I never got into the " offshore" fishing , but did well fishing eel grass , docks , pads, and Cypress trees, with black or red shad worms. Just like anywhere else, big worm= big fish ,little worms= numbers.C rescent has some excellent bream and speck fishing too.

I have a friend that fishes the headwaters of the St Johns south of orlando.He uses small swimbaits and does well.

I would also try wild shiners in pads or outside eel grass beds.

You can also get topo maps of the whole river and figure out fishing deep er holes.

[rtwilson92]

Thanks for the reply Mike. Ill have to get back out there and give it all a go. Is there much difference in the north and south part of crescent lake?

[Hez]

I don't have much info on the St Johns yet - but I'm from the central Florida area too.

 

Welcome to the forums though, it's a great online community 

[N Florida Mike]

20 hours ago, rtwilson92 said:

Thanks for the reply Mike. Ill have to get back out there and give it all a go. Is there much difference in the north and south part of crescent lake?

I haven't fished it in a long time now,so I don't have any new info.

We used to do well around bear Island. .But I'd fish the areas mentioned before.Those areas work anywhere in the river system.

If I had to choose one place to fish,it would be docks,esp between 10-4 o'clock.

Baits: I always do well with red shad or black in those waters.My favorite is culprits or producto tournament worms.I typically fish black early or late,and fish red shad in between.

[RoLo]

The St Johns River is a historic trophy water, in fact two bass over 18 lbs were taken from Green Cove Springs.

Although both bass were officially weighed, neither fish was certified by our lovely state of Florida.

In years gone by, the stretch between Georgetown and Palatka was strewn with fish camps,

but nearly all of them have since been shuttered.

 

I've fished the St Johns River from Lake Washington in the south to Green Cove Springs in the north.
I'd personally concentrate on Lake George, a vast wide spot in the St Johns River south of Georgetown.

 

Roger