kayak fishing St. John’s River.

Happy Monday Spacefish!

So this past weekend I did some Bass fishing on the olde Rio San Juan, and the northern part of “Lake” Poinsett. I put the word lake in air quotes because it is not an actual lake in so much as it is a wide section of the St. John’s River. Interesting historical fact, the St. John’s River was called “Welaka” by the Seminole/Creek Native Americans, which means river of lakes, so for anyone that has spent time on this river it makes sense, as there are a lot of “lakes” as the river marches northward towards Jacksonville and the Atlantic. Enough history for today, let’s talk fishing.

Where to Launch:
For the stretch of the river that I fished, there are two places I have launched from. They are both located off of 520 west of Cocoa. There is the Leroy Wright Recreation area, and the James G. Bourbeau Memorial Park. Both places have a boat ramp, restrooms, and the ability to hand launch paddle craft from the shoreline, there is also an air boat launch from Bourbeau Park. The cool thing about these two spots is, as soon as the river crosses north of 520, it becomes a true floodplain, where the river breaks from its channel, and on an aerial map looks like one of my kids’ finger paintings from school. This section of the St.John’s is defined by little cuts and creeks; it goes on that way past Titusville until the river reaches Lake Harney just north of state road 46. If you launch from Bourbeau you can head directly south to Lake Poinsett.

Where to Get a Cold One and Great Food:
The Lone Cabbage Fish Camp – holy moly what an establishment. Do you like Frog legs? If so, please eat there. Not into Frog legs? Anything fried looks amazing. Great place to enjoy great food, cold beverages and a view of the setting sun over the river.

The Fishing:
I fished this area a few times before writing reports for Spacefish, and again this past weekend. The Bass fishing here is decent, not great, not horrible. It’s a lot like fishing in the Lake Washington area for me. On Saturday I was out a little more than 6 hours, I wanted to cover ground and explore. I caught 11 Bass, 5 Bowfin and a Catfish (I always catch a lot of Mudifsh in the St. John’s while targeting Bass). None of the Bass were over 2 pounds. I have fished this area before and caught about 5 Bass, and had a great day on Lake Washington back before Christmas and caught over 20 that day, but all of the fish I have caught on the St. John’s here in this area have all been cookie-cutter 1-2 pound fish. I am obviously not saying that there are not bigger fish in the St. John’s I just haven’t found them.

Gear/Equipment:
So I had 5 rods rigged. I only used 4. The 4 that I caught fish with were: Ugly Stik Elite 7 Foot Medium Heavy Casting Set Up with 50 pound Power Pro tied to a 30 Pound Mono leader with an FG knot. This is my topwater setup. I fished a Heddon Super Spook Jr. in Florida Bass, a Black Terminator Walking Frog, and a Scum Frog, Walking Frog in a light green color. I started with the Spook, went over to the Black Frog to work lily pads, and the Scum Frog later in the day. I ended up catching 1 Bass on each lure. The Scum Frog got the most hits, but my hook up ratio on the frogs was pretty poor this past weekend. I yanked a couple out early, and got another one hooked up but got tangled up in the lilies and he came off.

I used a 7 Foot Medium Ugly Stik Spinning Combo with a Penn Battle 3000 Series Reel, 10 Pound Braid tied to 20 pound Mono with an FG knot. I fished a weedless and weightless DOA Sna-Koil in Avocado Red Glitter. I only caught one on this lure this past weekend, but I have been fishing this as a top water over grass/hydrilla/lily pads for the past month and it has been really productive. I fished East Lake Toho last week. I plan on doing more there over the coming months and writing a report about it later, but this lure killed it there.

For my Speed Worms I fish a 7 foot Berkley Lightning Rod casting set up with an Abu Garcia bait caster, I use 30 pound Power Pro braid with a 17 pound Flouro leader, tied with an FG knot. This past weekend I had a Texas rig with a 3/16 oz tungsten weight pegged. I used Zoom Ultra Vibes, catching 1 on Junebug Red, and as the sun came up, 3 on Watermelon Red.

For my last set up, I caught the most fish on this. I have to give credit to a buddy of mine, named Adrian who put me on these baits. I caught 4 Bass, (and all 5 Mudfish) on the Gambler Slim EZ, but Yum makes a great version of this too. I was using Copperfield as the color, but I also have Black/Blue and in the Yum I have used Red Bug, June Bug, and Watermelon Red. I like to Texas Rig these on a 3/16 or ¼ oz tungsten, and peg it. You can fish these like a swimbait, but my buddy Adrian had a great day catching them in numbers, and got an absolute hawg on Lake Toho fishing them over grass and lilies and letting them drop into holes. That seems to be the best way to fish these. It’s like a Senko and swimbait had a baby. You can also fish them like a fluke, or drag and bounce them along the bottom. Truly awesome bait! Since adding this to my arsenal I have caught them in all of these ways. But I really like just rolling them over cover, and seeing the fish come up for them. This can also be deadly when fished weedless/weightless. I fish this on a 7 foot BPS brand rod, the Fish Eagle, with a baitcaster, using 30 pound Power Pro tied to 17 pound Fluoro texas rigged with a 3/16 oz tungsten, pegged.

For the Sna-koil, the speedworms, and the swimming worms I used a 5/0 Gamakatsu G-Lock worm hook. This is my new favorite hook. That special curve at the hook point digs into the soft plastic and keeps the point from popping out and snagging cover as easily as other hooks. The hook up ratio in cover is fantastic!

One of the Bass I caught from the cove on the NW corner of Poinsett near the SJR Channel.

Best Area to Fish:
If you go south from 520 towards Poinsett, and lilies you see, fish them. My two best areas were the field of lily pads as you enter the lake on the north east side of the lake, and a little cove on the northwest side of the lake. This area had a lot of reeds and lily pads. I caught the most fish back in this cove. There were a ton of spawning beds back here too. The water throughout the river, and in Lake Poinsett in general, is very shallow. The fish will be really pushed up into the reeds, lily pads and any form of cover they can hide in. If you’re fishing this area in a kayak, just keep an eye out for Gators, Poinsett is one of the most Alligator infested lakes in the country, and as we are in the swing of Gator mating season, just keep a sharp eye out as you enter a cove, I have never had any encounter with an Alligator that has made me feel fearful in any way, but I also take great care not to ever make one feel trapped or confronted. During mating season they will be a tad more defensive/aggressive so give them their space and respect.

Conclusion:
This is a great area to go out and enjoy some time on the water. Seeing the sun rise and/or set over the St. John’s River is quite something. The fishing here can be pretty good as well, but no matter how good, bad or in between the fishing is, this is an area you will enjoy spending time in. I hope everyone has a great week, and has a chance to go out and enjoy some fishing!

Until next time!