Red tops question

icemanldg

After having great success two weeks ago kingfishing at red tops, I was wondering a couple of things.
1. What sets the red tops area as a king attractant, bait, bottom, reef, ?
2. The captains house is also pretty good, what attracts kings to that area also?

Snatch-Um

Lime rock crevices on the sea floor, corral heads, and sloughs which all hold and attract bait fish....I guess it was a few years ago that a dude from the forum swam into the surf off of PV and free-dove and had like 2 giant lobsters. Pretty nuts..Just what I think...Steve is the king of the "redtops" though....I'm sure he wrote some book about it already. I'd like to hear his opinion...


-T

icemanldg

Has others also had luck at the captains house?

JohnH

The "red tops" are pretty easy to define and spot from the water.
Just where is the "captains house" located and how would I recognize it?

Snatch-Um

Captain's House has been PROVEN to hold nice kings....I think there in particular, water clarity plays a big roll and bait that marks on your sonar. The shrimpers are always in there too which can help attract fish. Water temp is key as well...fortunately this year there appear to be no thermoclines in our area but water temp below 74-75 degrees will shut down the bite.
-T

Jaxbchcreeks

Im pretty sure redtops is also where the nice beach sand turns into mostly coquina.

Sea Snake

Yep...that area is where pretty much the coquina bottom starts and it runs all down along the beach south....well past Matanzas.

The coquina bottom, like Tyler said, is the start of a whole eco-system, in itself.....basically a forage species attractant, which in turn brings bigger fish.....almost everything can and has been caught along that stretch of beach...in the summer it just happens to be kings.

When everything lines up perfect the fishing can be great, other times it can seem like a wasteland. Every day is different !!

I think what makes the red tops though , is simply an easily identifiable location with the distinctive red roofs of the Ponte Vedra club.

But think about it......there are 45 miles or more stretching south with the same kind of bottom. Shanty town...the Desert, Pik Nik tables, Capts house, Matanzas inlet, Flagler beach....ect, ect....all these places hold the same features.

If one was due inclined, one could go to places, that are not popular, and learn the contours and drops and locations of bait (water column bait), and water clarity and proximity of bait....and spend lots of time there, and one could make these out of the way places, their own secret "red tops", so to speak.

I can tell you that on most tournament days the red tops are too crowded to fish properly.....but a group of a few boats can make that place a "day to remember" as far as fishing days go...been there done that, and got the t-shirt too. :cool:

I would venture to say that between here and Flagler there are probably 100 or more areas that have the same features as the red tops....just nobody fishes 'em.

Slow down and get out of the comfort zone one day and just try someplace different...you'll see what i'm talking about.

Same goes for those offshore ledges...like Elton and 21 bottom....those ridges and ledges run north to south....and again, there are 100's of Elton Bottom's out there, you just gotta find one and try it...and remember 21 fathoms gets closer to shore the further south you go. If kings are being caught in 120 foot up here, they'll be being caught in 120 foot all up and down the 21 fathom line, no matter how close to the beach it gets....

Kings are creatures of habit.....theirs is ingrained in their DNA....Similar to the Salmon that can find their way all the way back to where they were hatched....

We as fishermen are creatures of habit too.....however ours is learned...kinda like shooting a big 8 point from a certain tree stand...we keep going back to the same tree. In other words that ain't the only tree that deer ever walked past. So get out of that comfort zone !!

...just sayin....

Let's Go Amigo

Sea Snake wrote: »

Yep...that area is where pretty much the coquina bottom starts and it runs all down along the beach south....well past Matanzas.

The coquina bottom, like Tyler said, is the start of a whole eco-system, in itself.....basically a forage species attractant, which in turn brings bigger fish.....almost everything can and has been caught along that stretch of beach...in the summer it just happens to be kings.

When everything lines up perfect the fishing can be great, other times it can seem like a wasteland. Every day is different !!

I think what makes the red tops though , is simply an easily identifiable location with the distinctive red roofs of the Ponte Vedra club.

But think about it......there are 45 miles or more stretching south with the same kind of bottom. Shanty town...the Desert, Pik Nik tables, Capts house, Matanzas inlet, Flagler beach....ect, ect....all these places hold the same features.

If one was due inclined, one could go to places, that are not popular, and learn the contours and drops and locations of bait (water column bait), and water clarity and proximity of bait....and spend lots of time there, and one could make these out of the way places, their own secret "red tops", so to speak.

I can tell you that on most tournament days the red tops are too crowded to fish properly.....but a group of a few boats can make that place a "day to remember" as far as fishing days go...been there done that, and got the t-shirt too. :cool:

I would venture to say that between here and Flagler there are probably 100 or more areas that have the same features as the red tops....just nobody fishes 'em.

Slow down and get out of the comfort zone one day and just try someplace different...you'll see what i'm talking about.

Same goes for those offshore ledges...like Elton and 21 bottom....those ridges and ledges run north to south....and again, there are 100's of Elton Bottom's out there, you just gotta find one and try it...and remember 21 fathoms gets closer to shore the further south you go. If kings are being caught in 120 foot up here, they'll be being caught in 120 foot all up and down the 21 fathom line, no matter how close to the beach it gets....

Kings are creatures of habit.....theirs is ingrained in their DNA....Similar to the Salmon that can find their way all the way back to where they were hatched....

We as fishermen are creatures of habit too.....however ours is learned...kinda like shooting a big 8 point from a certain tree stand...we keep going back to the same tree. In other words that ain't the only tree that deer ever walked past. So get out of that comfort zone !!

...just sayin....

nice reply!

BottomBumpin

:Agree :USA

The Midge

This forum would suck without you on it. That was a great reply I agree as well. Wealth of knowledge

Slug-O

Can anyone here tell me who ownes the "captains house"?

Jaxbchcreeks

Sea Snake wrote: »

Yep...that area is where pretty much the coquina bottom starts and it runs all down along the beach south....well past Matanzas.

The coquina bottom, like Tyler said, is the start of a whole eco-system, in itself.....basically a forage species attractant, which in turn brings bigger fish.....almost everything can and has been caught along that stretch of beach...in the summer it just happens to be kings.

When everything lines up perfect the fishing can be great, other times it can seem like a wasteland. Every day is different !!

I think what makes the red tops though , is simply an easily identifiable location with the distinctive red roofs of the Ponte Vedra club.

But think about it......there are 45 miles or more stretching south with the same kind of bottom. Shanty town...the Desert, Pik Nik tables, Capts house, Matanzas inlet, Flagler beach....ect, ect....all these places hold the same features.

If one was due inclined, one could go to places, that are not popular, and learn the contours and drops and locations of bait (water column bait), and water clarity and proximity of bait....and spend lots of time there, and one could make these out of the way places, their own secret "red tops", so to speak.

I can tell you that on most tournament days the red tops are too crowded to fish properly.....but a group of a few boats can make that place a "day to remember" as far as fishing days go...been there done that, and got the t-shirt too. :cool:

I would venture to say that between here and Flagler there are probably 100 or more areas that have the same features as the red tops....just nobody fishes 'em.

Slow down and get out of the comfort zone one day and just try someplace different...you'll see what i'm talking about.

Same goes for those offshore ledges...like Elton and 21 bottom....those ridges and ledges run north to south....and again, there are 100's of Elton Bottom's out there, you just gotta find one and try it...and remember 21 fathoms gets closer to shore the further south you go. If kings are being caught in 120 foot up here, they'll be being caught in 120 foot all up and down the 21 fathom line, no matter how close to the beach it gets....

Kings are creatures of habit.....theirs is ingrained in their DNA....Similar to the Salmon that can find their way all the way back to where they were hatched....

We as fishermen are creatures of habit too.....however ours is learned...kinda like shooting a big 8 point from a certain tree stand...we keep going back to the same tree. In other words that ain't the only tree that deer ever walked past. So get out of that comfort zone !!

...just sayin....

Dude.im stoked i read this lol.very knowledgeable information forsure

trousertroutman

Sea Snake wrote: »

I think what makes the red tops though , is simply an easily identifiable location with the distinctive red roofs of the Ponte Vedra club.

I thought the Kings like the "queens" that hang out at the inn and club!?

Sea Snake

trousertroutman wrote: »

I thought the Kings like the "queens" that hang out at the inn and club!?

They used to....but now-days they can't tell the difference...since it's now PC for the queens to have ding-a-lings...

so they stopped looking...them kings still want to have street cred with the little fishes...:willynilly

....just sayin'....

NSB Photog

There isn't much that I can add to the excellent information that has already been shared so far, but I lived just down the street from there for about 5 years (up until last summer) and walked the beach, fished or surfed that area almost daily for that period of time. One thing that I learned is that the shift from the sand to the coquina, as already mentioned, often created various changes in sandbar and bottom configurations in that transition zone.

During some periods of calmer conditions, there would be some pretty pronounced sandbar "points" accompanied by some pretty significant outflows or rip currents that would flow perpendicular to the beach. These outflows would also contribute to concentrations of baitfish feeding on what is being washed out, and naturally the predators would be close by to take advantage.

As also mentioned, there are places like this all up and down the coast. Even the most subtle shift in coastline may be a sign that something is different offshore. Keep in mind, structure to a fish is really anything different than the normal conditions, so an extension of a sandbar, a hole, a rip current, etc. can all be considered structure to a fish's brain.

It also made for some very good surfing when the tide was right, and I have some fond memories of surfing some very good days in the summer all to myself.

Snatch-Um

Sea Snake wrote: »

They used to....but now-days they can't tell the difference...since it's now PC for the queens to have ding-a-lings...

so they stopped looking...them kings still want to have street cred with the little fishes...:willynilly

....just sayin'....

No you didn't.....Bahahahah!!!

C2 H5 OH man

Slug-O wrote: »

Can anyone here tell me who ownes the "captains house"?

I believe the little round house with the gang plank is owned by Bill Gay of W Gay mechanical.
I have been fishing there for the last 30 years and pulled a lot fish out while looking at that little house.

sicksecbeamer

Slug-O wrote: »

Can anyone here tell me who ownes the "captains house"?

I Thought it was Steve Spurrer? or do i have that mixed up? i know he has some big house on the water and supposedly the flags are flying when he is down there in it.

JohnH

I can find out if you know the street address.

slobouf

http://www.gameandfishmag.com/fishing/fishing_saltwater-fishing_fl_0808_02/

Good article detailing the various kingfish spots in NE FL.


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