Bull Redfish to Start a Day

Jacksonville bull redfish

Bull redfish weren’t the main objective, but when Capt. Chris Holleman of Blue Cyclone Fishing Charters said there might be an early window for hooking into a few, I surely didn’t argue within the idea of targeting big reds to start our day.

One of my favorite things about fishing with Holleman is that we virtually always hit a big range of spots and fish a variety of ways and usually catch multiple species. He always studies the tide charts and considers things like wind, season and recent days on the water and comes up with a working plan in his head. 

Holleman understands the complex tidal waterways in the Jacksonville area and the fish that inhabit them like few anglers do and knows when to fish will respond best to different presentations. He has spots that are best for incoming tides, outgoing tides, high water, low water, strong tides slack periods… His working plan, which of course gets adapted through the day according to conditions and how the fish respond, puts him in key areas for different kinds of fishing when the tide is right for each.

We started on the bull red spot because that was when the tides were right, and three of them bit right when they were supposed to. From there Holleman had a flow in mind that included casting diving baits, working topwater lures and fishing jig/soft plastic combos, and fishing waters ranging from deep structures well out in the St John’s River to casting for largemouth bass in the backs of channels.

I think we ended up catching five species that day, and it’s not uncommon, fishing with Holleman to end up with twice that many.

I caught two species that day that were new to me for 2026 — redfish and jack crevalle. Earlier on the same trip, I also added bluefish to this year’s list. The bluefish was my first saltwater fish of 2026. The blue, red and jack were species 14, 15 and 16 of the year for me.

jack crevalle

First Fish of 2019

I'm not sure which is worse: that I didn't catch my first fish of 2019 until the about the third week of January or that it took a two more weeks to finally mention it in a blog post. Both are true, so I suppose it doesn't matter.

Fish No. 1 for me this year was the redfish pictured above, caught on a Bozka Salt Runner from Florida's Nassau River while I was fishing with Chris Holleman. It was in a high marsh area along the edge of the main river that you have to get into (and back out of) while the tide is pretty high or you'll be there till the next high tide! We managed to catch a couple of reds from that area and got out while we could. The same trip, which included time in the boat with Chris and with Nathan Johnson and Tim Mann, produced some more redfish, quite a few speckled trout and a few largemouth bass, although I didn't catch any of the bass, thus leaving my 2019 species list tally at two.

Next on the agenda is Santee Cooper, followed by Lake Guntersville, so it would seem I should start to get some freshwater species on this year's list. I would say, "reports to follow," but based on my recent blogging history and how it has compared to my intentions, I probably shouldn't state that as a fact quite yet.

Jacksonville Jaunt

One more update is due before I get back to the favorite fishing destinations countdown because just a few days after returning from Maine, I pointed things in the opposite direction and blasted down to Jacksonville for a couple of fun days of inshore saltwater fishing with Chris Holleman and Nathan Johnson. It was a quick trip: Southbound on Thursday, and home late Saturday night. However, that was enough time to enjoy some fun action and get plenty of the photos that drive my travel plans.

I always have fun fishing the Jacksonville area with Chris and Nathan, and we always catch fish. Along with redfish and speckled trout (which are pretty much a given, any time), the species mix from the most recent trip included jack crevalle, flounder, sheepshead and kind of weakfish that's locally called a yellowmouth trout. We hit settings ranging from very urban stuff on the St. John's river in downtown to some pretty remote feeling marsh and fished quite a few different ways. Part of the plan also was to play with some not-yet-released Bomber Lures, which preformed exceptionally well!

My original plan had actually been to do some exploring on my own along the Georgia coast on the way home, possibly doing some pier or surf fishing at Jekyll Island, and to return home Sunday. Big storms brewed up Saturday afternoon, though, and they were forecast to continue until dark, so I decided to continue toward home and save that exploration for another trip.

Of course, Chris, Nathan and I have already started talking about "next time" for Jacksonville, and the working plan is to aim for the fall mullet run, when the fishing tends to be wide open for everything. I'm looking forward to that trip already!

Southbound Fishing Travels

My most recent blog post spoke about ice fishing and my odd interest in traveling north to fish during the winter. Still no ice plans in place for this winter, but tomorrow I'm hopping in my car and pointing it in the opposite direction, and I'm pretty excited about prospects. Plans include coastal fishing near Jacksonville for speckled trout and redfish with Bomber pro staffers Nathan Johnson and Chris Holleman and then moving slightly inland to catch bass with Tim Mann. The picture above is of Tim, from Lake George, earlier this year. Tim has a few ideas about stuff we might do, and all sound really good. We'll likely start at Rodman, which I'm really excited about, because it's spectacularly beautiful and one of finest bass lakes in the nation, and I've only been there once. Stay tuned!

Working for Them, Southwest Louisiana Style

Captain Bryan Branch of Calcasieu Charters felt like we really had to work for the fish we caught on Sunday, and he wasn't overly impressed by the bite. By day's end, though, the cooler contained 25 specks and reds and about the same number of white trout, Spanish and flounder, and we probably released nearly as many fish as we kept. I suppose it's all relative, because what's considered "working for them" at Lake Calcasieu would be an absolute banner day of fishing catching action almost anywhere else in the country. On more than a few occasions, three or four rods were bent to the weight of fish at the same time during our tough day!

The amazing this is that it is not just talk. Really good days on the Big Lake, as Calcasieu is commonly called, produce limits of trout and/or redfish for everyone aboard. On great days, the trout are all big, and all the action comes from one or two spots. We covered quite a bit of water, picking at fish from a fair number of few schools, with weekend fishing pressure and wind that grew through the day creating challenges for staying with the fish.

So I suppose we did work, by Southwest Louisiana standards, but I'll take that day of work any day. I'll also take the cooler filled with fillets that came as reward for our efforts!

Learning from the Birds

I've "fished birds" many times before, and seagulls have helped me catch many fish of many kinds over the years. I've also long known that while resting birds suggest areas fish have been using, diving birds suggest more interesting activity below and a greater possibility of fish-catching action.

Today I learned more. Much, much more. While spending a great day in the boat with Capt. Bryan Branch of Calcasieu Charters, I learned how to interpret much more of what the birds are saying by their behavior, how to aim casts based on the activity of specific birds and how to work around a flock of birds without spooking the fish that are causing the birds to circle and dive.

We spent the larger part of today fishing around groups of birds and only a handful of the 80 or 90 fish I'd guess we caught were not specifically associated with a group of seagulls other birds. Often, Bryan would tell us before we hooked a fish whether we were likely to catch redfish, speckled trout or white trout, based on how the birds were acting, and more often than not he was correct.

Bird watching is only a small piece of the fish finding and catching story, but at times it can be a very important piece, and studying the birds' behavior at various times and watching what follows with the fish can help you catch far more fish.

Sometimes Frantic Action

I've heard people joke about not hanging rods out of sides of the boat because the fishing was so good, but today that was played out -- twice. Lawrence Taylor and Capt. David Iverson scored a day-ending double when both of them laid down rods with dangling Bomber Pogies on them and turned to other tasks, only to have redfish attack both baits.
That finale was par for the courses on a day filled with doubles, break-offs, shark appearances and huge schools of redfish. We caught several "eaters" early but never could quite fill our limits because almost all the fish we caught this afternoon were more than 27 inches long and therefore above the slot.
One of many highlights for me was catching the most uniquely marked redfish I've ever seen. Really, though, the whole day was one giant highlight reel.

Redfish Dinner

The main course tonight was baked redfish topped with crab meat. Appetizers included fried shrimp and oysters, followed by a little gumbo. Outstanding!  Now I feel like I'm in Louisiana. 
We'll start tomorrow targeting bull reds and then will sight fish marsh fish after the sun climbs farther up and the tide goes down. I'd better nap awhile I suppose. It hardly seems like today when we left Georgia.

Autumn's Arrival Occuring in Georgia

Finding a leaf-littering roof upon returning from the road and seeing a 10-day forecast with no highs over 80 both suggest that fall really is arriving. Autumn color changes won't occur significantly in Georgia for a couple of weeks, at least, and our brightest hues remain more than a month distant. Still, change is in the air, and the homemade apple pie that helped welcome Nathaniel and me home from our travels truly did fit the season.

I'm glad to get to enjoy a week or so of early autumn at home before traveling again. Beginning early next week, things get busy again, beginning with a trip to Johnson City, Tennessee to hunt squirrels, fish for trout or smallmouths and attend a Southeastern Outdoor Press Association conference. Johnson City is well north of here and higher in the hills, so maybe there will be a few hints of color there.

The next trip takes me in the opposite direction -- well South of New Orleans, in fact -- and I don't expect fallish temperatures in the marsh. That's OK. The fishing for bull reds is supposed to be red hot during early October. Reds are seriously fun to catch, and I have high hopes of catching some "eater size" reds along with the heavyweights and bringing home a cooler filled with delicious fillets.

I suppose I'd better quit daydreaming about days ahead, though. I have lots of fish stories to write this week!