# why does johnson beach fishing suck so bad?



## flex

i don't get it. 

people are posting perdido bay, hell even ft pickens surf fishing reports with success. 

and then j beach is only catfish on murky days and maybe some ladies on clear days. 

is it the depth? the topography? if you go 10 miles east or west the fishing is much better. is there something like the bermuda triangle magnetic field that repels fish away? help me out here understand and give me a reason to drive further away


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## Lexcore

flex said:


> i don't get it.
> 
> people are posting perdido bay, hell even ft pickens surf fishing reports with success.
> 
> and then j beach is only catfish on murky days and maybe some ladies on clear days.
> 
> is it the depth? the topography? if you go 10 miles east or west the fishing is much better. is there something like the bermuda triangle magnetic field that repels fish away? help me out here understand and give me a reason to drive further away


Flex what time of day are you going? I have friends that are catch tons of Pompanos there, they are fishing at darn and dusk, and are bring them in and Whitings, Reds, yes lot of cats but they are there, plus what setup are you using?


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## flex

^^^ interesting cause when i go no one there catches anything. i walk the beach and ask.. plus i snorkel out there to the 1st and 2nd bars and i don't see anything except an occasion sting ray. 

i fish all times of the day. using a double or triple rig with a 2-3 ounce pyramid.. same rig i've been using all my life. i used to fish the atlantic side and the fishing was far superior, i'm talking tons of schools of whiting

also how can you say to fish dawn when the place opens at 8am? and dusk is tricky cause you gotta be out by sunset. so you pack up a good 20 minutes beforehand to make sure you are out .. but i don't believe this to be the problem

i have caught plenty of fish in perdido and pcola beach all times of the day. i just think jbeach there is something going on where the fish are just not there


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## Tobiwan

Night owl pass


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## Lexcore

flex said:


> ^^^ interesting cause when i go no one there catches anything. i walk the beach and ask.. plus i snorkel out there to the 1st and 2nd bars and i don't see anything except an occasion sting ray.
> 
> i fish all times of the day. using a double or triple rig with a 2-3 ounce pyramid.. same rig i've been using all my life. i used to fish the atlantic side and the fishing was far superior, i'm talking tons of schools of whiting
> 
> also how can you say to fish dawn when the place opens at 8am? and dusk is tricky cause you gotta be out by sunset. so you pack up a good 20 minutes beforehand to make sure you are out .. but i don't believe this to be the problem
> 
> i have caught plenty of fish in perdido and pcola beach all times of the day. i just think jbeach there is something going on where the fish are just not there


Night Owl Pass as mention :yes: 30 bucks if you have a year pass, once you pay they will give you the combo to the gate for a year. And the go get'EM


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## BananaTom

*It is on the west side of the pass, beaches always move to the west, which is why McRea fell into the pass.

The fish do not want to hang out west of the pass. 

Bad Juju.*


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## flex

BananaTom said:


> *It is on the west side of the pass, beaches always move to the west, which is why McRea fell into the pass.*
> 
> *The fish do not want to hang out west of the pass. *
> 
> *Bad Juju.*


what do you mean by beaches always move to the west?


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## flex

Tobiwan said:


> Night owl pass


okay so you are saying the fishing there at night is better than the day? 

thats not far fetched.. when the water is clear i have had more success right at sunrise


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## specktackler57

yep.what he said.no fish jb.i wood not waste my time.


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## BananaTom

flex said:


> what do you mean by beaches always move to the west?


*Pensacola Pass has moved to the west. The Fort at Pickens was once within a stone throw from the waters edge. Now look how much land is there.

Fort McRea's location is on the bottom of the pass now.

Beaches move to the west.

Ever took a Fort Pickens Ranger Tour? *


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## Cracker

Oh, so all the fish are on the east side of the pass ? What about perdido pass ?


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## fishninmysoul

I've caught a bunch of fish out at J beach all times if the day. I don't even go towards the pass area. The last time I went was last Friday and did pretty good. I caught 3 pompano and 4 whiting using both dead shrimp and live fleas. Also hooked onto a bull redfish.


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## specktackler57

just missin with ya.+++ on the night owl pass.there are fish on jb.just keep pluging,you will figure them out.sound side offers some killa wade fishing.wade west of boat ramp.good luck.catchumup.


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## flex

okay so half the people say jbeach is crap, the other half say its good. i guess its all luck running into a school. 

i'm telling you.. i snorkel out there and i don't see nothing out there.. kinda hard to catch fish when you are fishing in a swimming pool

maybe this weekend i will try ft pickens surf instead. if i catch there then i will know for sure the east side theory is true

problem for me is pickens is a long ass drive. plus having to make 2 long trips to my car to grab all my gear. but so be it. I do notice at pickens the water moves faster than at jbeach where there is just a slow current. its like the water is being sucked up into the pass vs. just moving in 1 slow direction. guess the fish like it better


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## Lexcore

flex said:


> okay so half the people say jbeach is crap, the other half say its good. i guess its all luck running into a school.
> 
> i'm telling you.. i snorkel out there and i don't see nothing out there.. kinda hard to catch fish when you are fishing in a swimming pool
> 
> maybe this weekend i will try ft pickens surf instead. if i catch there then i will know for sure the east side theory is true


:thumbup:Go get'em and let us know the results Flex:yes:


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## compulsivehp

I have often though it had to do with the surf. If you look at google maps, everything west of the pass doesn't have as defined of a bar and trough.


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## jmunoz

compulsivehp said:


> I have often though it had to do with the surf. If you look at google maps, everything west of the pass doesn't have as defined of a bar and trough.


I spend quite some time on perdido a lil fishing and a lot work. The beach changes or can change on a daily bases you gotta look for the deep spots out there


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## Sea Raptor

You can try further west than jb no money needed, two public parking lots open 24/7 a few other places if you look, me an partner done ok, if you don't getum that's why the call it fishing instead o catchen


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## jcallaham

hey flex, Johnson beach is my local fishing spot,when I am not out of town working, I'm down there every day, crack of dawn.
I agree fishing has been slow there in general. but over the 8 years I have been here some of best surf fishing I have ever seen has been at JB. 
If you just haul your stuff out the car and stay in one place,which I do a lot, you are cutting your chances of catching fish. 

try this, invest in a good cart.2,3,or 4 rods,small ice chest and tackle box so that you can move easily. park at the east end of the park and then walk on the pavement to the last cross over,from there you can go east or west. If you pay close attention the beach changes drastically going west,the water gets less clear,the sand bars move farther out. going east the water,sand and bars begin to resemble the east side of the pass.

this time of year take some chromage and top waters with wire leaders,might hit a school of bluefish or jack crevalle. 

learn how to distance cast, latley fish seem to be farther out.you need to be able to put a 3oz weight and small bait 100 yds out. 

bottom line is fishing has been tough at AtJB but trying different techniques and moving to different spots will help .


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## flex

so clifff notes you are saying i should try all the way east as far as possible? 

what about the whiting, pomps?

distance casting is not a problem for me.. i will get in there waist deep with a 3 oz pyramid and chuck that thing 100 yards easy.. but i've always had success on the atlantic side (and last spring at pcola beach) finding schools of whiting in close to the shore


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## Lexcore

jcallaham said:


> hey flex, Johnson beach is my local fishing spot,when I am not out of town working, I'm down there every day, crack of dawn.
> I agree fishing has been slow there in general. but over the 8 years I have been here some of best surf fishing I have ever seen has been at JB.
> If you just haul your stuff out the car and stay in one place,which I do a lot, you are cutting your chances of catching fish.
> 
> try this, invest in a good cart.2,3,or 4 rods,small ice chest and tackle box so that you can move easily. park at the east end of the park and then walk on the pavement to the last cross over,from there you can go east or west. If you pay close attention the beach changes drastically going west,the water gets less clear,the sand bars move farther out. going east the water,sand and bars begin to resemble the east side of the pass.
> 
> this time of year take some chromage and top waters with wire leaders,might hit a school of bluefish or jack crevalle.
> 
> learn how to distance cast, latley fish seem to be farther out.you need to be able to put a 3oz weight and small bait 100 yds out.
> 
> bottom line is fishing has been tough at AtJB but trying different techniques and moving to different spots will help .


What is CHROMAGE?


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## Charlie2

*Johnson's Beach*

Firstly ; if you hate JB so badly, why do you continue to torture yourself?

Johnson's Beach is close to me. Per Dr's orders(bad ticker), I was limited to 2 hours of daily fishing time. I chose the first two hours after dawn, because this is the most productive time for me.

I 'run and gun' with a combination spin/fly rod. I fish with a fly until the sun and wind come up, when I change to the spin with jigs. I often am 'limited out', before I change.

Yes: an 'Owl Pass' is required. If you can't spring for one, use the public parking previously posted.

Johnson's Beach has always been good to me.

Learn to read the beach, cast far enough to reach the fish, and put the proper lure/bait where they can see it.

It doesn't require a ton or special equipment. A rod and reel, a small tackle bag and a bucket.

Right now ; I am 'grounded' until they Docs decide on what's next with my 'ticker', but maybe something simple.

Fishing is supposed to be fun! I make all of my fishing tackle, and catching a fish on something that you made yourself is 'icing 'on the cake! 

A long post, for sure, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to defend my favorite beach. 

There's some good plug fishing out there! Cast a Bone colotred Spook out beyond the breakers and hold on! Some big old Tiderunner Specks lurk there! C2


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## tuan850

6-9 am 4-7 pm !! I fish Johnson's quite often, they are there. Whoever says that Johnson's beach never has fish must be delusional. If you don't mind the swarm of ****** try public access 3.


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## jcallaham

sorry lexcore chromage is anything shiny with some weight to it. Kastmasters,diamond jigs,hopkins lures,westcoast surface irons, stuff like that.

Flex this is a true story. a few years back I found a spot between crossover F and H at JB, for about 4 or 5 days in a row I took 5 to 8 whiting out of there every morning. got there late one Saturday and a father son team were on this spot doing fish a cast, wearing a trail to their ice chest.20 yards away I couldn't get a bite. I finally moved over there and caught a few fish,they didn't mind ,the bite was limited to about a 20yard area of beach, but the whiting were absouletly concentrated right there.

those guys probably took 100 fish out of there that morning. C2 is right you have to move around and try to find the fish.


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## flex

Charlie2 said:


> Firstly ; if you hate JB so badly, why do you continue to torture yourself?
> 
> Johnson's Beach is close to me. Per Dr's orders(bad ticker), I was limited to 2 hours of daily fishing time. I chose the first two hours after dawn, because this is the most productive time for me.
> 
> I 'run and gun' with a combination spin/fly rod. I fish with a fly until the sun and wind come up, when I change to the spin with jigs. I often am 'limited out', before I change.
> 
> Yes: an 'Owl Pass' is required. If you can't spring for one, use the public parking previously posted.
> 
> Johnson's Beach has always been good to me.
> 
> Learn to read the beach, cast far enough to reach the fish, and put the proper lure/bait where they can see it.
> 
> It doesn't require a ton or special equipment. A rod and reel, a small tackle bag and a bucket.
> 
> Right now ; I am 'grounded' until they Docs decide on what's next with my 'ticker', but maybe something simple.
> 
> Fishing is supposed to be fun! I make all of my fishing tackle, and catching a fish on something that you made yourself is 'icing 'on the cake!
> 
> A long post, for sure, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to defend my favorite beach.
> 
> There's some good plug fishing out there! Cast a Bone colotred Spook out beyond the breakers and hold on! Some big old Tiderunner Specks lurk there! C2


its the closest beach to me. i wasn't attacking the beach i was merely asking a qustion.. sheesh. 

and if there are a ton of fish how come the last few times i have gone out i've walked the beach and asked every fisherman how they have done and they've all said nothing? you seem to think its me donig something wrong but i've been surf fishing since i was old enough to walk.. and yes i make my own rigs as well. 

also i've snorkelled out there and haven't seen any baitfish at all. i remember last year around this time at pcola beach there would be a ton of lady, whiting, and hardtail schools bumping all into me. i didn't fish jbeach at all last year cause i lived on the east side of town so that is why i made the thread. i'm not gonna give up though will continue trying. maybe this year the baitfish haven't started up yet

when your ticker gets healthy again drop me a PM and I will gladly buy the bait or whatever else and meet you out there. i just want to catch some fish!!


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## flex

tuan850 said:


> 6-9 am 4-7 pm !! I fish Johnson's quite often, they are there. Whoever says that Johnson's beach never has fish must be delusional. If you don't mind the swarm of ****** try public access 3.


by ****** you mean asians and yes i would love to fish next to you guys. you guys are the best at it so i would definately feel better seeing the pro's in action.


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## Charlie2

*Fishing Folks*



flex said:


> by ****** you mean asians and yes i would love to fish next to you guys. you guys are the best at it so i would definately feel better seeing the pro's in action.


Fishing is a Brotherhood which transcends all races, creeds and colors.

I have fished with all kinds, and developed some deep relationships doing so! 

I have also gleaned some very good information from some who were fishing for their Supper! They take their fishing seriously! C2


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## flex

Charlie2 said:


> Fishing is a Brotherhood which transcends all races, creeds and colors.
> 
> I have fished with all kinds, and developed some deep relationships doing so!
> 
> I have also gleaned some very good information from some who were fishing for their Supper! They take their fishing seriously! C2


 
troooo... i will be giving jbeach one last shot today.. gonna try several spots.. since I am going with a group getting a late start to it so won't get there until around 9ish.. conditions look good.. 2-3 foot seas.. gonna use fresh dead shrimp and live clams.

if anyone is out there today look for the muscular dude in the beemur.. that is me.. (dont think anyone else takes their bmw fishing so i won't be hard to spot)


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## Ashl67ey

.i wood not waste my time.


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## flex

ended up with one ladyfish. conditions were excellent.. water was dirty but not really bad.. and there was a nice surf out there.. 

i did figure out something being there though.. there is a long walk to the sandbar where you can stand in knee deep water. it would not be possible to walk out there with a rod without getting the reel wet as its a decent swim.. i needed a boogie board to do it. once you get to that bar then i bet you can find some excellent fishing. i recommend someone bring a buddy to kayak them out there and drop them off at the sandbar if you want to fish there for best results.

pretty much if you cast out you are casting into that barren sand bar and when i was there it was clear and i did not see any fish there at all. i bet they are past that sand bar and i bet the fishing is fantastic since its so difficult to get to

my friend with me insisted next time we rent a kayak and go out there but i shot that idea down as to me it would not be worth the headache and makes more sense to try another spot instead


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## Sea Raptor

i did figure out something being there though.. there is a long walk to the sandbar where you can stand in knee deep water. it would not be possible to walk out there with a rod without getting the reel wet as its a decent swim.. i needed a boogie board to do it. once you get to that bar then i bet you can find some excellent fishing. i recommend someone bring a buddy to kayak them out there and drop them off at the sandbar if you want to fish there for best results.

pretty much if you cast out you are casting into that barren sand bar and when i was there it was clear and i did not see any fish there at all. i bet they are past that sand bar and i bet the fishing is fantastic since its so difficult to get to

my friend with me insisted next time we rent a kayak and go out there but i shot that idea down as to me it would not be worth the headache and makes more sense to try another spot instead[/QUOTE]. Next week that sandbar,will be in another place


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## Lexcore

jcallaham said:


> sorry lexcore chromage is anything shiny with some weight to it. Kastmasters,diamond jigs,hopkins lures,westcoast surface irons, stuff like that.
> 
> Flex this is a true story. a few years back I found a spot between crossover F and H at JB, for about 4 or 5 days in a row I took 5 to 8 whiting out of there every morning. got there late one Saturday and a father son team were on this spot doing fish a cast, wearing a trail to their ice chest.20 yards away I couldn't get a bite. I finally moved over there and caught a few fish,they didn't mind ,the bite was limited to about a 20yard area of beach, but the whiting were absouletly concentrated right there.
> 
> those guys probably took 100 fish out of there that morning. C2 is right you have to move around and try to find the fish.


JCallaham, the light bulb came on once you start explaning it thank you for your reply. Cheers:thumbup::yes:


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## kilroy1117

Anyone ever try fishing sound side? I hear the trout bite is pretty decent? At this point I have to agree with most...JB is not what it was last year. Thinking about going back out east past Portofino. I've always had pretty decent luck out there.


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## Tobiwan

kilroy1117 said:


> Anyone ever try fishing sound side? I hear the trout bite is pretty decent? At this point I have to agree with most...JB is not what it was last year. Thinking about going back out east past Portofino. I've always had pretty decent luck out there.


There are no fish on the sound side of Johnson's beach I assure you :whistling:


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