El Jobean Florida Feeding Frenzy

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Feeding Frenzy of January Begins at Dusk
The full moon occurs on Sunday at 3:47 a.m., while the lunar perigee happens a day later. Both facts combined create the largest nighttime feeding period of the month and if the daytime weather is ideal, perhaps the largest daytime feeding period of the month.
Normally, the new-moon event produces the best daytime fishing experience of the month, but as in all cases with judging which fishing day is better or was better, the weather usually determines the winner.
Today, however, the major feeding migration of the day occurs during daylight hours from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. with a peak time of 10 a.m., however the amount of fog and clouds or lack of, along with any barometric pressure changes, will influence when exactly the peak period will actually occur.

The secondary feeding migration of the day occurs during nighttime hours from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Expect this to increase in intensity and duration each day over the next week as the moon causes the majority of fish to feed in unison by the light of the waxing full moon. The nighttime feeding session normally becomes the major feeding migration of the day, over the daytime feeding session, during the full moon-event week. Nevertheless, if the weather produces cloud cover during the night and the barometer rises or remains unchanged, less fish will feed successfully, meaning they will attempt to feed again during the daytime migration period. We found this true this week as we fished El Jobean Pier for a wide mixture of fish caught on live shrimp to grunts and Pinfish.

Plan your trip Local Radar Detailed Forecast

Bean Bay from El Jobean Pier

It has been spotty on the El Jobean Pier with Spotted Seatrout on the grass-flats. Small sharks, Snapper, Bluefish, Black Sea Bass, Ladyfish, and many short Grouper are scattered all around the pier and channel. We found some slack times but most of the times allotted us to bait ups and loosing up drags to running fish. This is also the time that keeper size Grouper start coming into the bay, holding just under the causeway near the channel. The channel at 23 plus feet deep rises to skinnies and six-foot ledges as a perfect spot for may a fish on a falling barometer or approaching cold front. If angling at night, be sure to being plenty of bug spray or you will find out who really is the bait.
Fresh caught live Pinfish and Grunts make excellent bait on the bay for the larger fish like Grouper.


Historical Facts:
From 1888 until 1921, Southland existed solely as Charlotte Harbor & Northern Railroad depot that serviced Hall Naval Stores and Stephen Brothers turpentine camps that leased prisoners for labor.

In 1922-23, Joel Bean had the town replanted and renamed to an anagram of his name, El Jobe-an, and began building up the town by providing a Post Office & General Store and a Hotel.

Shell Drops Plus Plastic Yield Lunker Trout

Wait for the passing of a good front, as we get every week this time of year. Move out into the ICW and look for shell drops to either side of creeks entering the area or grass flats approach. If wading, just work, the ledges against the rocks and under the bridges and you will find fish too. The key is finding the shell drops from eight to twelve feet deep. Like cordwood the fish generally stack in these areas for forage as well a shelter from rouge currents and boaters or such. If you do not get a fish after six or eight casts then move to a new area. As I said once, you find them, it is on and it is some of the easiest fishing I do all year. I use a quarter ounce jig head with white 4-inch curl tail plastic bait; Luv lures are my favorite. All you have to do is bounce it off the bottom very slow. Once you get the first few fish and figure out how to work it, you will catch a Trout almost every cast as well, any stacked snook within them. They will pick up the baits on the drop and you will feel an ever so slight twitch to your line. Reel in your slack quickly and set back that rod tip high to the sky with “Fish On!”

Grab Your Partners Two by Two, Ladies and Trout the Duce C Due;

Grab Your Partners Two by Two, Ladies and Trout the Duce C Due; Onward tournament CCA and Redfish angler’s doe c doe, the toe to toe! The cool to cold weather action has brought on a much-needed change to both fresh and saltwater alike in both feeding patterns as well, strikes to bites as well! I find wither angling Lake Okeechobee to the flats of Lemon Bay to the Harbor, angling with a single hooked spoon by itself, under a Carolina Regina knocker rigging or a bobble is a deadly combination in catching redfish to largemouth bass, kings to Spanish, cobia to tarpon and dancing ladies to dip diving trout. Single-hook spoons have been ideal lures for fall fishing throughout Southwest Florida since the last arrivals and departures of our fall hurricanes. Almost all game fish, from redfish to king mackerel, strike minnow-imitating spoons to shinny mirrored like plugs and jerk baits with reckless abandonment to their own safety. Toothy fish, like the mackerels, rarely cut a metal spoon off a line. Out-of-season fish, like spotted Seatrout (November-December) and snook (December-February) rarely are seriously injured by single-hook lures and in general never fall off or are foul hooked as is the case with a Gotcha or similar lure or plug. Spoons dictate a cutting of the edge technology for all generations as they can never be improved, just imitated, casting through stiff fall breezes with ease, trolling with fish-catching flash that’s hard to beat and hook up ratio’s to far exceed those of its revivals the treble. Speaking of Lake Okeechobee, them Big Mouths were over heard a bragging about not being caught somewhere around the Rita Point Island area around em weeds and reeds. They say they cain’t be caught but they sure be tempted by them frogs skittered through the grass, mmm, mmm. Makes ya ungary! Crickets are the tickets for all else with minnows fallen a fast in-between back up baits for bass to specks but for this ole boy it is back to the bays; just thought I’d bring it up because I use to fish with Roland back in the day every once in a blue Sunday. Now it is rare to none but you never know, we just might go back to church some day.