St Johns River Fishing Charters & Guides

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Charters Near St Johns River
Southern Fried Charters- Astor
Astor, FL
(5.0, 1 Review)
Popular in Daytona Beach
Cast Out Fishing Charters
Daytona Beach, FL
(5.0, 4 Reviews)
Popular in Ormond Beach
East Coast Beach Fishing Charters
Ormond Beach, FL
(5.0, 3 Reviews)
Get Bit Outdoors
Oviedo, FL
Popular in Casselberry
Close Encounters Fishing Charters
Casselberry, FL
(5.0, 2 Reviews)
Charters by Capt. Brad - 18ft Flats
New Smyrna Beach, FL
(5.0, 9 Reviews)
  • The average cost for a four hour trip in St Johns River is $486, while the average cost for an 8 hour trip is $783. Prices can vary based on trip duration, boat size and amenities, and the type of fishing your group is looking to do. View all St Johns River Charters here.

  • There are no shared trips currently available in St Johns River. View all St Johns River Charters here.

  • The most common charter boat types in St Johns River are:

    Center Console

    Flats Boat/skiff

  • The average charter boat size in St Johns River is 20 feet.

About Fishing in St Johns River

St. Johns River, FL

So much river. So little time. Florida’s St. Johns River is the longest river in the state of Florida and while it’s commercial significance is great, it’s recreational use is off the charts. It’s 310 miles long and has numerous lakes, cuts, tributaries and other water features that are full of fish. The beauty of this lazy river and the complex that makes it up is that you truly don’t know what you might catch. Big largemouth bass are the poster girls of the waterway, but there is lots more. Bass, crappie, bluegills and redear sunfish, called shellcrackers here, and catfish give freshwater anglers great targets from boats or the shore. But there are also redfish, flounder, striped bass and snook present in some areas of the river and it’s lakes. Along the river, anglers can choose from the brackish, salty marsh in open areas in Brevard. Or they can pick a quiet lake in Orange or Seminole counties. Or just find a spot along the trees as it winds its way through Volusia and St. Johns counties. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Fishing the St. Johns River

Fishing the St. Johns River is, as they say, kind of like eating an elephant. You have to take it one bite at a time. Anglers who want to fish here need to take some time to identify the best spots for their species and concentrate on those key areas. A guide is a good move on this waterway, especially for visitors or anglers new to the area. The best advice for catching one of the river’s lunker largemouths is to follow three basic steps. First, slow down. When you are on a good fishing spot, you have to be patient and be willing to put some time in. The big ones may not bite the first time you throw out a lure. If you want a good one, fish the good spots often and try a variety of baits, from live shiners to large soft plastics. Second, if you are in doubt, go with the shiners. The fish here love live, wild shiners. If you go artificial, go shiny and mimic the look of the shiners. That’s the No. 1 menu item for largemouth here. And third, don’t shy away from fishing the grass. There is vegetation in abundance here and the fish like to hide up in the grass, especially when it is found along with rocks, timber and other structures. Patience + shiners + grass = get the net! The headwaters portion of the St Johns offers excellent bass fishing, especially when its waters are low, but still navigable. That brings the bass out of the endless miles of vegetation and to the edges of the main channel and the deeper holes. The numbers of two to five pounders caught here amaze anglers. Moving water, resulting from seasonal rainfall, usually stimulates feeding activity in the river and in the entrances and exits of lakes. Top spots to cast your line include edges of submerged vegetation along banks, sharp bends, and drop-offs near shallow bars. Traditional methods for taking all species will work. Swimming plastic worms/jerkbaits and twitching shallow-running minnow imitations are preferred tactics among many bass anglers here. Bass and panfish fishing are good among the mixed bulrush, bonnets, emergent grass, and hydrilla located along the river. Crappie anglers usually fish minnows under a cork in shallow areas early in the year and then later over deeper waters where the fish hang out of the current on tops or bends of the channels.

Visiting the St. Johns River

The river is located in the Northeastern part of Florida and stretches nearly half its length. It is one of Florida’s greatest locations for bass fishermen, producing trophy results that have helped Florida to the nickname, “Bass Fishing Capital of the World”. Here’s an oddity about the river: The St Johns river always flows from South to North. The upper basin is located in the headwaters of the river at its southernmost point in Indian River County, where the river begins as a network of marshes. The St. Johns River is a blackwater stream, meaning that it is fed primarily by swamps and marshes lying beneath it. The river becomes a navigable waterway in Brevard County. The river touches on the borders of Osceola and Orange Counties, and flows through the southeast tip of Seminole County, transitioning into its middle basin a dozen miles or so north of Titusville, the home of Kennedy Space Center. For 37 miles the river passes through a 1,200-square-mile basin fed primarily by springs and stormwater runoff. This is the middle basin, passing through Orange, Lake, Volusia, and Seminole counties and the Orlando metropolitan area. The topography of the middle basin varies between clearly distinguishable banks along the river and broad, shallow lakes. No matter where you find yourself along the St. Johns River, you’re certain to have a great day of reeling in some trophies.

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