Shrimp running, but off the reservation

*Shrimp running, but off the reservation*

**JIM SUTTON**

**The St. Johns River and area lakes:** The shrimping continues to pick up, but they’re off the reservation in terms of where they should be and what they should be doing.

You know … I just read that first line and it occurred to me how that’s so common a conceit among homo sapiens — that we should be talking about what a shrimp ought to be doing.

At any rate, we ought not talk about it, but here goes. The shrimp are spreading from what seems to be their home waters this year around Palatka, both north past Green Cove Springs and south all the way down to Lake George. In fact, guides are reporting catching shrimp in the lake itself, which isn’t common. Neither is their apparent migration status.

Historically, the shrimp move south from the mouth of the river at May-port. They wander upriver — remember the St. Johns runs north (Gator fans will say that occurs because Georgia sucks).

They grow along the way in number and, more importantly, in size. This time of year, they should be bigger, and they should be centered down around Welaka. By October, the run should be heading north again as the bigger shrimp head back out toward the sea, while another run (or two) of smaller shrimp make the trip south.

What we seem to have this year is a bunch of decent-sized shrimp spread all over the river, but none the size we’d expect. What all this shrimp-speak means is that we don’t have a clue, but its a good bet they do.

Still, it looks like the shrimp run will be excellent through October, with an extended season and a bunch of late-run “large” shrimp running north. These will be called “red legs” because their legs will be bright red, a physiological change that occurs late in the season when they make their final runs out of the river and to the sea.

But the bottom line for cast-netters is that they’re here, now. And minus a huge tropical storm dumping 8 or 10 inches of freshwater in the St. Johns, it’ll just get better over the next few weeks.

For the few who are fishing, it’s been a crappy week. The guides on Lake George look forward to the last couple of weeks of September and the first couple of October as some of their best days. Forty bass trips are not uncommon, as the largemouths gorge on live shrimp.

But nothing’s biting. The consensus is that it’s the water temperature. We should have had several 60-degree nights in September and haven’t. It’s also been hotter than normal and brighter than normal. Remember the last cloudy day? So the river (and lake) temperatures hover in the high 80s when they should be in the low 80s — a trigger for most of these freshwater fish that says its time to feed up for the winter. Cool water drains the lethargy from their piscatorial souls.

Catfish seem to be about the only species not affected, other than a deluge of ladyfish having a field day in the river, especially on live shrimp, especially the ones dangling off hooks.

The Intracoastal Waterway: Whatever type of fishing you intend to do in the brackish water, net yourself some of the scads of finger mullet all over the ICW and shy away from live shrimp. First, the mullet are free. Second, it may be the only way you’ll be able to keep a bait down long enough to catch a target species — without a pinfish, ladyfish, undersized mangrove snapper or rat redfish sucking you clean.

The slot reds are definitely preferring the mullet anyway, as do the bigger trout and, of course, flounder. There seem to be plenty of the former and the latter.

The trout are tough to find in any concentration, but the ones being caught are generally nice ones. They’re still hitting topwater baits, mainly because they’re big and slow. But you might want to take look at the new-ish line of MirrOlure corky mullet lures.

These are the original Paul Brown mullet that L&S got the rights to produce. And they are legendary big trout baits all along the Texas coast. Some now float, but most are slow sinkers. There’s only one way to work them and it is “don’t.” Take up slack if you have to, but just let them do what they do. This is definitely not a lure for Type A personalities. But big trout just love getting a mouthful of this lure — at least for a second or two.

**The Atlantic:** There just haven’t been many folks out in the recent chop. The word on the local reefs and wrecks is that they’re covered up in bait pods. They are also covered up in barracuda, bonito, jacks and kingfish so small some anglers are reporting good catches of “big” Spanish mackerel (which are most likely really small kings).

The charter boats doing half-days out in 100 feet of water found a surprising early run of cobia. The beeliners were plentiful and generally big enough to keep. The bottom fishing on the ledge is excellent with jumbo trigger-fish, beeliners, porgies, illegal red snapper and scamp and gag grouper. The bigger mangrove snapper are out there as well, if you chum them up.

There was no trolling out there that we heard of.

The county pier hasn’t been hot this week but it has been warm, with catches of black drum, flounder, redfish, legal pompano and scattered whiting. So it make sense that the surf fishing is pretty good and beats the pier, if only because you can seek out troughs and runouts driving.

Got a couple of reports from commercial pompano guys on the beach. The fishing is OK, but it’s outside the trough one day at low tide and inside the trough on high water the next. One thing’s pretty much sure, though. If you can get fresh clams rather than shrimp, your catch rate goes way up and your trash fish quotient goes way down. Live sand fleas, of course, are excellent if you can dig them.

**The weather:** Gosh, it looks pretty. We need some northeast breezes to kick up the offshore bite. It’s coming Saturday and Sunday. But winds will blow at only around 10 knots, with seas at 2 to 3 feet. Surf fishing, in particular, might benefit from the little front.

**Contributed photo**

Lawrence Masters stands with a sow speckled seatrout. Masters did not weigh the fish, but she stretched the tape at 29.5 inches. The seatrout was caught south of the inlet on a live finger mullet.

**Calendar:** The Ancient City Game Fish Association and Pink up the Pace will host the Pink Up the Spots — Largest Redfish Charity Tournament Oct.

8. It’s a one fish event with the heaviest slot red paying $500. Nine other spots will be paid. Entry is $25 for adults, $10 for Junior Anglers — early registration only.

Final registration is from 5-7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7 at the Camachee Cove Marlin Association clubhouse. A mandatory captain’s meeting follows. Weigh-in is 3-5 p.m. Saturday. Ya’ll come. Call Donna at 814-0515 for added info.