How clear is the water near Jax?

[Distraction]

Yup, it's me again with another question about Jacksonville. (My wife and I are considering moving there.)

This one's from my wife. She was watching an ESPN fishing show this morning in the Bahamas where they were bonefishing. She wants to know if there is water that clear near Jax.

So how clear does the water get and where are the good clear flats?

I assume bonefish are out, and I don't know about permit, but do any of you guys put down the spears and grab a rod and hit the flats for redfish?

I'm interested in water clarity from the shallows for hook-and-line, as well as viz for diving and slingin' steel.

[slipknot]

The water here is generally pretty dirty due to the St.Johns river,the farther you get away from it,the cleaner it is.Nothing like the Bahamas,or even Tampa for that matter.Up here where I live around Nassau Sound, it will be clean at times,but with all this rain it's real tanned right now.
The only flats we have are mudflats,there are some sandflats but not many.Inshore fishing is done in the river ,to downtown,and in the Intracoastal and its surrounding creeks.
No Permit to speak of and no Bonefish. The 3 target species are speckled trout,Redfish,and Flounder.I like to target Flounder,but will usually catch all 3 species,along with Bluefish,Spanish,Black drum ,and the usual array of trashfish.We get a few Snook,but not too many,they don't like the cold water up here.
We have a real good shrimp run in the river around August that lasts about 2 mos.,and if you go 2 or 3 times a week you can really hammer em'. The big Black drum spawn just started,and as I look out the window there are about 25 boats out back anchored up.They come in the inlets and stay about a month to breed.Anglers can expect some heavyweights up to 100#.
As for the offshore vis.I hope to let you know tomorrow,gonna go inflict some serious injuries if this weather lets up?
Hope I have helped,on Monday I'm gonna go apply for the Chamber of Commerce outdoor's job.:D

[Distraction]

So how far out of the St. John's River do you go to get good clear water for spearfishing?

Also, is there any place to launch to get out in the ocean that's not out of the St. John's? I see on the local maps it looks like boat ramps right on the beach. Is that correct? Is it easier to get to clear water that way since you're not at the mouth of the river (dumping dirty water)?

[slipknot]

The river does'nt effect the offshore reefs because they start at 9 miles or so ,and about 60 '. Not many fish on them in the summer,but right now should be o.k. We usually dive from 15 to 30 miles out where the depth get's to 130 '. If the water is dirty,we just keep bumpin' out til' it get's good.I don't mind it a little dirty,you can slip up on them.
The ramp your lookin at is probably Mayport,nice public ramp,but kinda inconvenient unless you live at Jax. beach.2 ramps at sisters creek , where the intracoastal crosses the river,about 3 mi.run to ocean.That is where we launch.If you want to trailer to St. Augustine,the Vilano ramp is right there at the ocean.It all depends on what side of town you live on?
If you have any more questions that might not pertain to spearing , you can email me at r.whitley@attbi.com

[100days-a-year]

Vis can go from 100'+ to nothin' in 2 days if there is a swell.Offshore vis can be better than 100' but usually only from June til November.The Labrador current brings cold temps and bad vis in June and July,but it's effects are unpredictable even from day to day.As an average I would say 50' most of the time.Fishing here is unbelieveable.Billfish,bottom fish,pelagics and lobsters get big here.