Reddie Point Preserve Fishing

Reddie Point Preserve has a 700-foot public fishing pier on the St. Johns River, set in a city nature preserve with trails and picnic shelters. It is a comfortable, family-friendly place to fish the brackish river.

• A 700-foot fishing pier with boat docks along it
• Redfish, black drum and croaker are the regular catches
• Sheepshead in winter, seatrout and flounder in season
• Restrooms, drinking water, picnic shelters and a kayak launch

The preserve is in the Arlington area of east Jacksonville, on the south bank of the St. Johns River. The city lists the address as 4499 Yachtsman Way.

• Hours: open at sunrise, closed at sundown
• Parking: the city lists car parking and bike racks; no entry fee is listed
• The pier: a long walk out over the river, with boat docks joined to it
• Trails and wildlife viewing areas wind through the rest of the preserve
• No overnight mooring is allowed at the docks

What you catch follows the season and how salty the river is running.

• Spring (Mar-May): black drum and redfish on the bottom, croaker arriving as the water warms
• Summer (Jun-Aug): croaker and catfish, redfish on the moving tide, jacks pushing bait
• Fall (Sep-Nov): the best season, with redfish, flounder and seatrout following the mullet run up the river
• Winter (Dec-Feb): sheepshead and black drum around the pilings, seatrout on milder days

Bottom rigs do most of the work from this pier.

• Redfish and black drum: cut mullet, blue crab or shrimp on a fish-finder rig with 2 to 4 oz of lead and a 4/0 to 6/0 circle hook
• Croaker: a two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and pieces of shrimp
• Sheepshead: fiddler crabs or shrimp on a short leader, dropped straight down the pilings
• Seatrout: live shrimp under a popping cork, drifted along the pier on a gentle tide
• Flounder: mud minnows or finger mullet on a Carolina rig, moved slowly
• Bring a long-handled net for landing fish from the deck

The river rises and falls twice a day with the Atlantic tide, a little later and with a smaller range than at Mayport, and the current can still run hard off the end of the pier.

• The hours either side of the tide change usually fish best
• Slack water is the easiest time to hold bottom
• Dry weather lets saltier water and more saltwater fish push up the river
• Heavy rain upriver turns the water darker and fresher for days
• A strong wind against the tide makes the pier choppy and hard to fish

The FWC's 2011 pier survey noted strong currents here and described the pier as handicap accessible.

• Never wade or swim off the pier or the shoreline
• Keep clear of boats tying up at the docks along the pier
• Summer lightning: the pier is exposed, so leave at the first thunder
• Bring water and sun protection; there is little shade over the water
• Watch children closely on the long deck

The city lists a full set of park facilities.

• Restrooms and a drinking fountain
• Picnic shelters, picnic tables and benches
• Boat docks joined to the pier and a kayak launch
• Nature trails, a birding trail and scenic overlooks
• Car parking, bike racks and trash barrels
• No bait shop is listed, so bring bait and ice

• Fish the tide changes; the middle of a big tide makes holding bottom hard
• Try both the end of the pier and the pilings by the docks; the fish move with the tide
• Fresh shrimp is the all-round bait for croaker, drum and redfish
• Winter sheepshead come to fiddler crabs fished tight to the pilings
• Pair a fishing trip with a walk on the preserve's trails

Reddie Point Preserve is run by the City of Jacksonville's Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department.

• Open from sunrise to sundown
• No overnight mooring at the docks
• City park rules post floating docks meant for mooring boats, and their gangways, as no-fishing areas, so fish from the pier deck
• A Florida saltwater fishing license is required unless you are exempt
• Shore-based shark fishing needs the free FWC shore-based shark fishing permit
• Check current FWC rules (myfwc.com) for size, bag and season limits before keeping anything