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Rolling with the St. Johns tides

The St. Johns River in Florida gave Terry Scroggins the opportunity to hone the bass fishing skills he needed to compete at a national level. However, when he tried to duplicate the patterns he learned on the river, the Florida pro ran into some problems at other fisheries.

“The fishing patterns on the St. Johns are completely reversed of anywhere else in the country,” Scroggins explained. “That was one of the hardest things for me to learn when I started fishing on the (Bassmaster) Elite level … learning the different patterns that fish use because everything I was used to doing was backwards from everywhere else.

“It is very tidal. Every six hours the tide comes in, then there is a 50-minute delay and then it goes out.”

Some of the river’s fishing cycles are similar to other fisheries, but the St. Johns also has some unique seasonal patterns.

“The spring is the same because the fish go from the grass and shallow flats and then relate to wood cover such as pilings or docks. But in the fall and winter on the St. Johns, the fish get on offshore ledges. Anywhere else in the country the fish would do that in the summertime.”

The biggest obstacle a newcomer has to overcome when fishing the St. Johns is trying to understand how the tides affect bass behavior.

“They will find fish one day when the water is moving well but then they come back the next day at a different time of the day, and they don’t understand why they can’t get a bite.”

A simple formula to remember on the St. Johns is the stronger the current created by the tides, the better the fish bite.

“Current is the number one key. You can be on the biggest load of fish in the St. Johns River but if the tide is not right you won’t get a bite. If the tide turns and gets right, you can catch 30 pounds in five minutes. It’s a timing deal because the water has to move to catch them, unless you are sight fishing.”

Water movement is essential especially when fishing the river’s wood cover or offshore ledges.

“When the water slows down, the size of catches decreases and the number of bites decrease. When the water flow picks up though, you can catch bigger fish and more fish there.”

So a key to success on the St. Johns is learning where to fish at the right time. Scroggins suggests concentrating on the same 20- to 30-mile stretch of the river everyday to learn how to read the tide.

“Once you have been on the river for a day and see how the tide goes, every day after that the tide will be about 55 minutes behind that. So you just have to figure out that the tide will be about an hour behind the previous day, and then you will be able to keep up with the tide all the time.”

Tide charts available in local newspapers and Florida outdoor magazines can also help a newcomer figure out the tide stages on the St. Johns. Scroggins advises anglers to remember that for every six miles they travel down the river the tide will change at different times.

Newcomers should also pay close attention to the weather, because strong winds can have an affect on the tides.

“When you get a northeastern wind blowing in, it backs up the river and gives it a high tide. If you get a southwest wind blowing it blows all the water out of the river.”

The St Johns flows northward from central Florida to the Atlantic Ocean at Jacksonville and has a tidal influence as far south as Astor below Lake George. The river narrows in this section and the current almost always flows down river there. “You hardly ever see the water coming back in down there.”

The most productive tide stages vary depending on the season. Scroggins prefers a low tide most of the time.

“That allows me to see most of the cover (docks, pilings and eel grass). It is a shallow river system so when the tide is low you can see everything that you want to fish.”

The low tide also positions bass on the outside of the cover, which makes the fish easier to pinpoint. “When the water gets high they get up in that cover and can roam anywhere.”

During a low tide in the spring, Scroggins catches spawning fish while sight fishing with a Yum Craw Papi. He also likes to throw a Smithwick Devil’s Horse topwater plug to points and pockets in the grass.

When summertime bass hang around wood cover such as pilings, docks and log lay-downs during low tide, Scroggins opts for a fire tiger Bomber Model 2A crankbait for the shallowest fish. If the fish have moved to deeper wood, he switches to a Bomber Model 6A or 7A or a Bomber BD6 Fat Free Shad. One of his favorite crankbait color combinations for the river is pearl back, white sides and chartreuse belly.

His favorite times for fishing the high tide are spring and early summer when the water inundates the eel grass.

“For three months you can throw a buzzbait over that eel grass and just have all kinds of fun.” The five-time BASS winner favors a 1/2-ounce white buzzbait that he can fling long distances over the grass.

Rolling with the tide and learning how to read the water movements will help put you in the right place at the right time for St. Johns River bass