Posted By: Shoreboundangler
Packery Channel Jetties - 10/21/17 02:28 PM
Fishing at the Packery Channel jetties has been very good this October. There have been flurries of redfish for the mullet soakers. Also, the trout have been cooperative for guys throwing live shrimp, small live mullet, and mullet imitating hard bodied baits. Plenty of big spanish mackerel are mixed in too. My focus has been on alternate species though.
Mojarra have been around in good numbers this year, but they are behaving differently that years past. My usual spots for catching them have been hit or miss. When I've been able to get a bucketful for bait, the Mangrove snapper bite has been exceptional. Bottom fishing with live mojarra tight to the rocks near the end of both jetties has been very good for both numbers and size. I've put together several good boxes of fish 12" and larger. My largest this year has only been 16", but I've caught several in the 14" to 15" range.
One of my best outings was on a Tuesday after work. Guys were stacked up at the end of the north jetty, jostling for positions on the best rocks and catching some nice reds on live mullet. I was successful with my Mojarra hunt and posted up just before the crowd on the channel side. I pinned a little mojo on my hook and tossed it right in front of me into the the rocks. The guy fishing next to me had enough time to tell me that I needed to be farther out to avoid getting snagged and catch a red, before my rod bent and line peeled off my little Penn Pursuit 2500. That first mangrove was a fat one which I tossed into my cooler after pulling out the one beer I'd brought along. I ended up boxing a dozen or so nice mangroves before the sun set.
My very last mojarra one was a big one, half the size of my hand. Just for grins I tossed it way out to the middle of the channel. Before it hit bottom I saw my line go tight and streak to the right. I didn't really set the hook so much as just lift my rod and hold on. Line poured off my reel. For one of the few times in my life I thought i was going to be spooled. Fortunately the fish turned with plenty of line to spare and swam back towards me. I raced to catch up, reeling furiously while pointing the rod at the fish and pinching the incoming line to keep tension. A moment later a 2' long torpedo was streaking back and forth in front of me .... Spanish Mackerel!
While snapper fishing earlier, I had broke off and re-rigged several times. The last time i rigged I got lazy and didn't tie on a leader. This oversight went thru my head as I thought of how I was going to land the big mackerel. I let it tire itself out a while, leading it back and forth on the surface in front of me. When it looked whipped, I waited for a little wave to help me slide it up on the rock just below me on the waters edge. As I lifted the rod and the fish slid out of the water, I watched the hook sort of fall out of the corner of its mouth. The fish just laid there. Going down to grab it seemed dicey. Before I had a chance to make up my mind, the guy who'd coached me earlier on how and where to cast dropped his own rod, then slid down the rocks to grab the mack by the tail. He heaved it up onto the top of the jetty and scrambled back up just before a big wave came and washed over the spot where the mack was previously beached.
"Nice Mack" he said. After recovering his own rod he realized that he was hooked up. While he fought it, I borrowed a long handled landing net from a guy fishing the surf side. Right as I got to the edge of the rocks he led the fish directly into the net. Up top it measured 27". The fish had a second hook, a 3 oz weight, and about 5' of someone else's line hanging from its mouth. That red completed his 3 fish limit.
Going into the end of October, I plan to watch the tide charts for big outgoing tides. I'll continue soaking mojarra for snapper as long as that plays out. I'll also be soaking dead shrimp for croaker and maybe thinking about targeting flounder in the surf at the base of the south jetty. We need one really good cold front for that action to really light up.
the shoreboundangler
Mojarra have been around in good numbers this year, but they are behaving differently that years past. My usual spots for catching them have been hit or miss. When I've been able to get a bucketful for bait, the Mangrove snapper bite has been exceptional. Bottom fishing with live mojarra tight to the rocks near the end of both jetties has been very good for both numbers and size. I've put together several good boxes of fish 12" and larger. My largest this year has only been 16", but I've caught several in the 14" to 15" range.
One of my best outings was on a Tuesday after work. Guys were stacked up at the end of the north jetty, jostling for positions on the best rocks and catching some nice reds on live mullet. I was successful with my Mojarra hunt and posted up just before the crowd on the channel side. I pinned a little mojo on my hook and tossed it right in front of me into the the rocks. The guy fishing next to me had enough time to tell me that I needed to be farther out to avoid getting snagged and catch a red, before my rod bent and line peeled off my little Penn Pursuit 2500. That first mangrove was a fat one which I tossed into my cooler after pulling out the one beer I'd brought along. I ended up boxing a dozen or so nice mangroves before the sun set.
My very last mojarra one was a big one, half the size of my hand. Just for grins I tossed it way out to the middle of the channel. Before it hit bottom I saw my line go tight and streak to the right. I didn't really set the hook so much as just lift my rod and hold on. Line poured off my reel. For one of the few times in my life I thought i was going to be spooled. Fortunately the fish turned with plenty of line to spare and swam back towards me. I raced to catch up, reeling furiously while pointing the rod at the fish and pinching the incoming line to keep tension. A moment later a 2' long torpedo was streaking back and forth in front of me .... Spanish Mackerel!
While snapper fishing earlier, I had broke off and re-rigged several times. The last time i rigged I got lazy and didn't tie on a leader. This oversight went thru my head as I thought of how I was going to land the big mackerel. I let it tire itself out a while, leading it back and forth on the surface in front of me. When it looked whipped, I waited for a little wave to help me slide it up on the rock just below me on the waters edge. As I lifted the rod and the fish slid out of the water, I watched the hook sort of fall out of the corner of its mouth. The fish just laid there. Going down to grab it seemed dicey. Before I had a chance to make up my mind, the guy who'd coached me earlier on how and where to cast dropped his own rod, then slid down the rocks to grab the mack by the tail. He heaved it up onto the top of the jetty and scrambled back up just before a big wave came and washed over the spot where the mack was previously beached.
"Nice Mack" he said. After recovering his own rod he realized that he was hooked up. While he fought it, I borrowed a long handled landing net from a guy fishing the surf side. Right as I got to the edge of the rocks he led the fish directly into the net. Up top it measured 27". The fish had a second hook, a 3 oz weight, and about 5' of someone else's line hanging from its mouth. That red completed his 3 fish limit.
Going into the end of October, I plan to watch the tide charts for big outgoing tides. I'll continue soaking mojarra for snapper as long as that plays out. I'll also be soaking dead shrimp for croaker and maybe thinking about targeting flounder in the surf at the base of the south jetty. We need one really good cold front for that action to really light up.
the shoreboundangler
