# Ponce Jetty Report 1/23/06



## KodiakZach (Mar 16, 2005)

Took my pet fiddler crabs down for a walk on the jetty last night. Caught the last hour before dark and the water was murky as h3ll. Caught 5 of these critters, kept 1 for fish dinner.


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## KodiakZach (Mar 16, 2005)

Went and got me some more this evening. Jetty channel was dead calm and that might be why they weren't hardly biting. Still managed to pull some nice ones out:



















Ended the evening with a beautiful Ponce Inlet jetty sunset:


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## Otter (Jun 18, 2004)

nice work as usual bro. Keep it up.


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## VICIII (Apr 8, 2005)

*how ...?*

How do you cook them???
Still deep fry,.?


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## KodiakZach (Mar 16, 2005)

I grilled the last one....

Aint been eating too much fish lately. Been giving most of it away to friends and neighbors.

Now that you mention it... I do need to deep fry some


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## Pond Fisher (Jul 17, 2005)

you clean those dudes inside?? Man whatta stinky mess! :--| 

Chris


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## VICIII (Apr 8, 2005)

*KZ...grilling*

skin on or off?


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## VICIII (Apr 8, 2005)

*KZ...grilling*

skin on or off?

Ok here is an article that I read about sheepshead that you may want to read...

*“Never set the hook on a sheepshead,” Morris preaches. “When you feel some resistance, just lift up on the rod and the sheepshead will hook himself. Jerk it hard and you’ll lose lots of fish.”


Morris’ approach works. On a trip last February to the jetties at Mayport, Morris and David King combined for 42 sheepshead. On another trip to the St. Marys Inlet jetties in Fernandina Beach, Morris estimated his party tallied more than 200 sheepshead. Talk about counting ’heads.

Like some other anglers in the area, this skipper eschews the traditional sliding-sinker sheepshead rig in favor of a 1⁄ 8-ounce jighead that he makes himself. A lightweight jig sweetened with a fiddler crab bait is less likely to foul in the rocks than a heavier egg sinker. Also, light jigs have a relatively slow sink rate that can sometimes trigger a bite before the bait reaches bottom. 


Typically, Morris eases along the jetties with his trolling motor, staying 15 to 20 feet from the rocks. He pitches the baited jighead into the shallow rocks, then slowly maneuvers the rig plastic-worm style back to the boat by raising and lowering the rodtip while taking up slack line. “It’s sort of like walking the bait down a flight of stairs,” said Morris, who fishes the jigs on straight 12-pound-test monofilament.


Finding sheepshead haunts along inlet jetty rocks is a hunt-and-peck game. Rockpiles festooned with algae growth and barnacles are often an indication that sheepshead will be nearby. Most anglers prefer higher stages of the tide when fishing for ’heads at the big Mayport rocks at the mouth of St. Johns River.


The Mayport little jetties, at the confluence of the St. Johns River and Intracoastal Waterway, also hold sheepshead, as will close-in wrecks outside the inlet.


Inlets aren’t the only places to catch a sack of sheepshead this month. Like a bum in a buffet line, sheepshead will gnaw along the perimeter of oyster mounds in the Intracoastal Waterway and its feeder creeks. Clear water and high sun make them vulnerable to sight-fishers. Flip a shrimp on a bare hook to the base of the shell bar, or use a small float to suspend a bait over the mound.


Fiddler crabs are king when it comes to sheepshead baits, but they’re not often available in winter. A small live shrimp threaded onto a hook is a worthy substitute, as are clam and oyster baits. Sheepshead can be an exasperating target for artificial lure lovers, but a featherweight fly in a crab pattern or a dark-colored Spoonfly will sometimes connect.


This month and next should offer up some of the largest sheepshead of the year. At the annual El Cheapo Sheepshead Tournament last February out of Mayport, the top three fish bombed the scales at 11, 10.4 and 10.1 pounds. *


Just thougt of the info you were talking about earlier... Little different but worth reading...


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## KodiakZach (Mar 16, 2005)

Thanx for the sheepie article. I think I will try the jighead. He's right about bouncin the crabs, it will get your bait taken a lot quicker, as opposed to letting it sit and waiting for them to come to it. However, bottom bumping the Ponce jetty with strong current from the shoreline is just begging to lose your rig. You pretty much need a boat so you can drop behind the boat with the current for it to work.

When I grill them I leave the skin on and face down on a piece of tinfoil on the top rack. That way when it's read the meat pulls away from the skin and you know it's cooked perfect. For taste though, I prefer them fried


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## VICIII (Apr 8, 2005)

All food that is fried or dip-able in ranch dressing is great!!


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