More subtle in strike, and in taste, are the wily sheepshead congregating around the pilings of local bridges. Anglers using baits of fiddler crab may also find their baits taken by small drum. Blue fish should be just about everywhere in county waters. Their traditional hot spots include the county pier, the city pier, Vilano and south jetties, and Matanzas Inlet. Freshwater fish also change their habits with the advent of winter and, depending on the number of cold days, can make life interesting.
Bream become less active and speckled enter the picture as days get shorter and cooler.
While the bream are partial to worms, the specks show a marked preference for minnows fished in the deepest parts of the creeks. Nasty, gray weather means you'll find stripers around the Shands Bridge near Green Cove Springs. Anglers will also be treated to winter runs of speckled perch in the feeder creeks of the St. Johns River. Live minnow baits worked in the deepest waters of Trout and Six Mile Creeks often produce double digit stringers. The St. Augustine Record and Morris Digital Works .