# St George Island or New Smyrna Bch?



## 4HAND (May 31, 2011)

Well, after tossing it around, we've decided to go back to SGI for the last week in June.

Gonna do some surf/wade fishing & let the kids play on the beach.


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## Swamprat (May 31, 2011)

I agree SGI is the better of both worlds and I head over to New Smyrna every year to vacation at the beach. I just fish first thing in the morning for whiting, after that it is most of the day spent at the pool or on the beach.

NSB has been my wife's family tradition for close to 40 years so basically my input is nill but I would rather be at SGI


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## HALOJmpr (May 31, 2011)

Swamprat said:


> I agree SGI is the better of both worlds and I head over to New Smyrna every year to vacation at the beach. I just fish first thing in the morning for whiting, after that it is most of the day spent at the pool or on the beach.
> 
> NSB has been my wife's family tradition for close to 40 years so basically my input is nill but I would rather be at SGI



Do you ever head down to the Jetty to fish at NSB?


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## 4HAND (Jun 1, 2011)

BTW. I read on some other posts about the condition of the road in the state park. I called the park office & was told that the road has been fixed & is accessible by 2 wheel drive vehicle all the way to the east end.  

Cost to fish is $6 per person per day.

So we will definately spend at least one day at the east end!


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## Dustin Pate (Jun 1, 2011)

4HAND said:


> BTW. I read on some other posts about the condition of the road in the state park. I called the park office & was told that the road has been fixed & is accessible by 2 wheel drive vehicle all the way to the east end.
> 
> Cost to fish is $6 per person per day.
> 
> So we will definately spend at least one day at the east end!



I've had great luck down there in June. Caught many Spanish, trout and reds. Sharks can actually be a nuisance and can be caught very easily. I like to fish any white bait I can net on site. Drifting it under a float works on Spanish quite well. All the others can be caught on bottom. Spoons and jigs work well also. Tarpon also come through from time to time. I like to fish from the bird rack to the point.


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## 4HAND (Jun 1, 2011)

Thanks Dustin. You must spend quite a bit of time at SGI. I've read a lot of your posts on here. Good info. I'm gonna try the bay at the end of 6th St, never fished there.

Is the bird rack at the east end in the park? I've been in the park before, but never gone all the way to the end.

I'm planning on buying some live shrimp before we head out there. They will die, but should be in decent shape for the 1st couple of days. Will definately be better than frozen shrimp. Will also be flippin a gold spoon as that's my favorite redfish lure.

My 7 year old just got a new spinning reel for his B-day & is about to have a fit to try it out! That boy can sling a spinning reel.


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## duckbill (Jun 1, 2011)

Swamprat said:


> I agree SGI is the better of both worlds and I head over to New Smyrna every year to vacation at the beach. I just fish first thing in the morning for whiting, after that it is most of the day spent at the pool or on the beach.
> 
> NSB has been my wife's family tradition for close to 40 years so basically my input is nill but I would rather be at SGI




We are heading to NSB Friday morning for our annual 8 day vacation.  It is my favorite week of the year.  All I do is fish and relax (and play with the kids in the pool).  We go the 1st week of June every year.  Whiting and Pompano are generally the catch.  I might try some wade fishing in the mosquito lagoon this year.  
My attraction to NSB began when I was about 7 years old.  My dad used to carry us over for a week every summer.  There something special about NSB when it comes to building family memories.  My wife and I talk about this trip all year.
It's finally here


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## HALOJmpr (Jun 1, 2011)

4HAND said:


> Thanks Dustin. You must spend quite a bit of time at SGI. I've read a lot of your posts on here. Good info. I'm gonna try the bay at the end of 6th St, never fished there.
> 
> Is the bird rack at the east end in the park? I've been in the park before, but never gone all the way to the end.
> 
> ...




Don't spend the money on live honestly .... I actually cut the dead ones into 3 or 4 pieces if they are large.  I caught over 100 fish last week off the beach at SGI just using dead shrimp.  There's a  few bait shops in Eastpoint just before you go over to the island.


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## 4HAND (Jun 1, 2011)

Is that for whiting? Here at home we fish whole shrimp for trout, reds, etc. 

I also noticed ya'll were talking about peeling the shrimp pieces? We just hook em through the tail, run hook up through body & out the head. I'm always up for trying new tactics & saving money! 

Isn't the best time to beach fish early morning & late evening, and not necessarily incoming/outgoing tides? Again, I'm used to fishing according to the rising/falling tide more so than time of day. However, I fish from a boat & in our area you can't navigate on a low tide unless you're in an airboat. This surf fishing is kind of new to me.


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## Dustin Pate (Jun 1, 2011)

I only cut the pieces when fishing for whiting. I usually salt it down also. The problem with shrimp on the bay side is pinfish, crabs and cats will drive you crazy. 

To me catching live bait is much easier and catches much more fish than the effort of shrimp on the bayside.

And yes the bird rack is at the far east end. Just an old wooden thing in the water. The deeper water swings in from around it to the tip.


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## HALOJmpr (Jun 1, 2011)

I caught a lot of different fish that day.  Yes it's mostly for the whiting that are there right now and they have small mouths.  I caught trout, shark, reds, a couple of cats and whiting.  I was going to run a bobber pole with whole shrimp and the bottom pole but I was getting hit so fast I couldn't do both.  I the pass between Dog Island and SGI I'd fish them whole.  I took the yak with me but was so busy on the beach I never put it in.  Let me know when you'll be there and I'll try to come down with the yak and cast net one day


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## 4HAND (Jun 1, 2011)

That'd be great. My castnetting throws are more in the shape of a banana than a circle........... and I haven't thrown 1 in years.


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## Swamprat (Jun 1, 2011)

HALOJmpr said:


> Do you ever head down to the Jetty to fish at NSB?



Very rarely....where we stay is still a few miles from the jetties. I just soon head to a bridge and fish instead of putting up with the rocks and the surfers. I will say that the South wash of the South jetty toward the beach can be good at first light. A few times I have caught some nice pomps and whiting there.


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## mudmanh41 (Jun 2, 2011)

I used to live in DeBary Fl. about 35 miles from NSB. I used to fish the South Jetty from April till the middle of June every year.That hole in the South wash just off the jettys is full of flounder.We used to catch doormats out of there.Action usually dies around the middle of june.
  Catch the out going tide and drift Live Shrimp or finger mullett right next to the jettys on the right side of the south jetty as you look out.


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## Wes (Jun 2, 2011)

Right as you go onto SGI take a right and there is a bait shack right there. You can get shrimp and frozen squid there. Cut the squid up and fish it on the bottom with a pyramid sinker. Use your spoon for casting while you wait and you will have a great time. Gulp Shrimp work well too. 

There is also a good bait shop just past the turn for SGI (coming from Tallahassee). The name escapes me right now. 

SGI is great. I am jealous.


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## HALOJmpr (Jun 2, 2011)

4HAND said:


> That'd be great. My castnetting throws are more in the shape of a banana than a circle........... and I haven't thrown 1 in years.



I like to make cheap chum with menhaden oil and cornmeal ... it keeps them in a tight area to net if there aren't big schools.  Let me know about your dates ... I'm going to be in ST Augustine the weekend of the 24th-25th but after that I can make it down.  It's just over a 2 hour ride from here.


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## 4HAND (Jun 2, 2011)

Thanks for all the input guys. I'm starting to get excited!


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## teethdoc (Jun 3, 2011)

I love fishing the East end, but be careful with your 7yo.  It drops off pretty steep and when the tide is moving it rips out of there pretty fast.


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## 4HAND (Jun 3, 2011)

Thanks teethdoc. Can't be too careful w/little ones.


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## 4HAND (Jun 3, 2011)

Looking on google earth, it appears there is a shallow bank on the bay side just west of the cut between SGI & Dog Island. I'm thinking that's where the kids will play.

If we're fishing the deep water pass I'll keep them out of the water.


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## 4HAND (Jun 4, 2011)

Ok Guys, gonna pick your brains a little bit more.
Was talking to a cousin last night. He & his family are going to be in SGI mid July. He was wanting us to wait & meet them out there.

My question is will the fishing be as good mid July as the last week of June?  The reason I'm asking this is at home, the later into summer the higher the water temp, and the fishing is not as good. However I do live in the "big bend" area.


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## Dustin Pate (Jun 4, 2011)

4HAND said:


> Ok Guys, gonna pick your brains a little bit more.
> Was talking to a cousin last night. He & his family are going to be in SGI mid July. He was wanting us to wait & meet them out there.
> 
> My question is will the fishing be as good mid July as the last week of June?  The reason I'm asking this is at home, the later into summer the higher the water temp, and the fishing is not as good. However I do live in the "big bend" area.



I've caught fish in June, July and August. Last year in August was as good as ever and it was HOT. Some fish like pompano will have moved on for the most part. When it really gets hot I fish till mid morning then again late in the evening.


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## 4HAND (Jun 4, 2011)

Thanks. I'm hoping to hook up w/a bull red or two.


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## 4HAND (Jun 8, 2011)

Reservations made! C'mon July!!


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## southGAlefty (Jun 8, 2011)

I fished the east end this weekend and did ok. Caught plenty of bait fish on a bottom rig tipped with shrimp. I was mostly trying to catch some sharks and casting a silver spoon in between hook-ups. My girlfriend caught a monster 25 1/4" spanish mackerel on one of my shark rigs and I hooked into a couple of really big black tips that broke me off when they started jumping. One was 6'+, several people saw him jump. I was using cut ladyfish and blue runners for bait.


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## d-a (Jun 8, 2011)

4HAND said:


> Looking on google earth, it appears there is a shallow bank on the bay side just west of the cut between SGI & Dog Island. I'm thinking that's where the kids will play.
> 
> If we're fishing the deep water pass I'll keep them out of the water.



Im not sure if you got your directions correct. West of the cut is going away from Dog Island and towards little St George. Out in the middle of the bay from the boy scout ramp there is a "bird Island" basically a sand bar that is above the water on low tide. Just a little S of it is a 30ft hole. We have caught everything imaginable out of that "deep hole" as we call it.

d-a


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## 4HAND (Jun 8, 2011)

I'm talking about what appears to be a shallow area bayside & on the west side of the "tip" of the east end of the Island. On google earth you can see a boat anchored in the area I'm referring to.


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## Dustin Pate (Jun 8, 2011)

I wouldn't take that map for 100% correct. It will be close but it does shift around from time to time.


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## southGAlefty (Jun 8, 2011)

This weekend the shallows went out about 30 yards before dropping off on the bay side of the east end tip. Kids could play there I assume but I'd watch them, I had a decent sized shark swim up to me while I was casting a spoon  in waist deep water there this weekend. I backed on up and only went about knee deep the rest of the time.


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## d-a (Jun 8, 2011)

4HAND said:


> I'm talking about what appears to be a shallow area bayside & on the west side of the "tip" of the east end of the Island. On google earth you can see a boat anchored in the area I'm referring to.



Thats a good spanish mack spot on the outgoing tide where the boat is anchored. We have in the past caught all we wanted there.

Like Southgalefty said, there are a lot of big sharks that cruise that area.

d-a


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## 4HAND (Jun 8, 2011)

Thanks for the info. Can't be too careful w/little ones.

d-a, the deep hole you mentioned, do you wade fish it or do you fish it from a boat. I'd certainly like to figure out where it is.


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## d-a (Jun 9, 2011)

4HAND said:


> Thanks for the info. Can't be too careful w/little ones.
> 
> d-a, the deep hole you mentioned, do you wade fish it or do you fish it from a boat. I'd certainly like to figure out where it is.



I fish it from a boat, have only wade fished off the beach a few times when we use to rent a beach house many years ago. Its not too far of a paddle for a Yak

d-a


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