August signals the start of the bait run up here, which is a great time to be fishing in the surf and around the inlets. The fall mullet run begins sometime in mid- to late-August, and runs through October, with mullet of all sizes pushing down the coast and inland in huge schools.
Most of the anglers fishing the surf are targeting redfish, whiting and the first of the fall pompano, which gets better as we move deeper into the month. One of the most popular methods of surf fishing around here in August is to use a castnet to catch finger mullet along the beach, and then fish it on the bottom either live, dead whole or dead cut into pieces. That will draw strikes from redfish, bluefish, ladyfish, sharks, giant jack crevalles and any migrating tarpon that might be on the backs of the mullet schools.
Most of the guys surf fishing will set up several rods with different rigs on them to target different fish and cover the water column. A lot of people use pieces of shrimp for bait (you want the freshest you can find) and a 1/0 Kahle hook to target the pompano and whiting. Then put another rod out with cut bait for the reds, bluefish and other gamefish chasing the mullet. On that rod, you’d have 30 pound line, while on the pompano/whiting rod you’d use 15 to 17 pound test.
If you catch a ladyfish, you can cut that fish into chunks and fish them on the bottom the same way for redfish, bluefish, sharks and tarpon. If you’re targeting the sharks, be sure to use a piece of steel to keep them from biting you off. As a rule, I like a 6/0 VMC circle hook for fishing the larger cut baits, and a 2/0 or 3/0 hook for fishing live finger mullet.
One of the favorite things my wife and I like to do is throw topwater plugs at daylight along the points of land, the tide lines and along the rocks of the jetties. If you find bait sitting in an eddy, you can throw topwater plugs into the mix and do well.
We’ve got some phenomenal piers in my region like the Flagler Pier, the St. Augustine Pier and the Jacksonville Pier, and as far as surf fishing goes the south end of Amelia Island and Talbot Island are great, while Vilano Beach and Matanzas Inlet are just about the best fishing areas around. Our Jetty fishing is best in St. Augustine if you don’t have a boat because there’s access from shore, but if you’re fishing from a boat the Mayport and Fernandina Jetties will be covered with fish.
You want to remember that the mullet are moving south down the beach, so anything that impedes their progress becomes an ambush point for gamefish. As those fish move down the shoreline they hit the jetties at the inlets, where the tarpon, sharks and redfish are there waiting to take advantage of the mullet getting bottled up against the rocks.
You can freeline mullet right in the middle of the bait schools using 20 or 30 pound tackle, a 50 pound Sufix fluorocarbon leader and circle hook. Hook the baits underneath near the tail if you want them to swim up and stay out of the rocks, and in front of the dorsal fin if you want them to swim down. You can also fish away from the structure using a slip sinker rig, and when fishing that method you want to hook the mullet through the lips going under the chin and out the top of the head.
The bull reds will be moving to the inlets and beaches from August through December, so just because a couple of weeks go by, it doesn’t mean the best fishing is over. The mullet will be running until the end of October, so get out there and get in on the action.
Captain Tips