12/7 - Test, this was only a Test!

Went with Cappy Bryan today. He just got his boat back from the Mako factory where some warranty issues were being addressed. So it's been 70...something days since he's been in his boat, (he was Jones'n) and what did we do. Head out to test it, on an offshore trip! Close in, but offshore none the less. We headed out the jetties, and it was a "soup sandwich". So Bryan says, "forget this lets turn around, any wind direction with a "N" or an "E" in the beginning, FORGET IT!"

Hell, I was all ready! I was Grundens slickers from head to toe, had my Crocs duck shoes on, I was ready to get wet and tossed around. So instead, Bryan heads back in and up river to a good ole Trout spot. "Thank goodness we brought 4 dozen shrimp along for the ride. "

The Trout bite was hot. But most of the fish were smaller 14-1/2 inchers, and Bryan caught most of them too.

Out of nearly 20, 5 were keepers up to 20 inches, on this one and only spot we fished. Not a good ratio. I also pitched a jig-n-shrimp combo meal, besides a float-rig.

The weather was not at all what it sounded to be last night. It was overcast, cold and windy. "Didn't I read SE winds 5-10 kts.??" Well, it was North, Northeast, 15 knots! And the sky "looked like winter" . But I'm a boy scout, I came prepared and was very comfortable in my foul weather gear.

And the funny thing is, all I caught on the jig-n-shrimp was a small Lane Snapper.

So before ya knew it the 4 dozen shrimp were almost gone. And Bryan says, "can ya get rid of that last shrimp in the well?" It was a tiny little shrimp too, almost too small to fish with. I said, "sure can, I'll make one last cast with it", So I pin it on my jig, while Bryan pulls the anchor. And I get hit, I set the hook and the fish pulls a little drag. Then, the fish gets stuck in something on the bottom. I yell, "pull up, pull up ahead, the fish ran me into something!" I end up getting the fish out of the structure, and it's a really pretty Gag Grouper, 18 inches. I got "rocked-up" by a river Grouper!!

So a Lane snapper and a Gag Grouper....(almost like the offshore fishing trip, for me.)

With a few Trout added in....that's funny.

Two days ago a 18-1/2" Red Snapper at the jetties that a client caught....

(Ut Oh, Commentary brewing....)

And the State is thinking of sucking water out of the St. Johns River so Orlando residents have fresh water to drink?

Screw them, then the state shouldn't let developers go hawg wild! Greedy damn tax sucking governments!

What's next if they do that, "King Mackerel down town?"

12/5 - Cold, Crisp, Clear, Calm, I love days like this!

Had Don and Joe on board, and had plans to go down in the river for the day, but at the boat ramp changed my mind and went east, again. The lure of the big rocks, the multiple species and the big water. It calls me all winter, and I can't shake it. And that was a good thing, because we caught some nice "multiple species" today. From pup Reds, and Reds too big, Drum perfect sized eaters, big Yellowmouth Trout, Speckled Trout, add in a few Croaka's, Seabass, and Bluefish round out the bait stealer crowd, and one Genuine Red Snapper.........(18 1/2 inches)

AT THE JETTY ROCKS!

I've fished out there for a long time, and have done it all. Jigged, bottom fished, float rigged, lure fished, and caught some uncommon species, like Bonita while casting a spoon, Almaco Jacks on jigs and a pogie, Cobia on jigs and shrimp, Dog Snappers on jigs and shrimp and even Barracuda on top water plugs. Ballyhoo in my cast net, but today was the first time I've ever had anyone catch a Red Snapper at the jetty rocks, on a jig and shrimp.

I heard they are in really close, but man this is close! I thought we had another Drum, but Joe said it was fighting different. And when I went for the net, and looked back into the water, I was shocked when this "chicken" Snapper popped up to the surface.

We had a better tide for jigging than float-rigging, so I set the anchor and the guys had a 28" Redfish and two 22" Black Drum and a 20" Yellowmouth, and a 2 pound Jack Crevalle in the first 20 minutes of being on the spot. Not bad!

I don't get why a Jack is still here, the water temp was a cool 65 degrees.....ain't it time for them to head to Ft. Pierce??

It's my favorite time of year! I could easily give up June, July, August, and September, and go live some where else, and then come back to J-ville for this kind of fishing. On a Cold, Crisp, Clear, Calm winter Day! We fished the spot till the bluefish showed up and drove us outa there. And we lost a few big fish to the rocks, also.

I was very lucky....or more like the fella's were that they knew how to cast a bait casting reel, cause I don't use spinners....I hate them things!

They quickly picked up the jigging technique that isn't all that easy to do, if you've never taken a 3/8th's ounce jighead and bounced it down a set of 10 ton granite boulders covered in all kinds of tackle and marine growth. Feel the "tick, tick" of a bite and then pull a big fish out of there on the literal "fairy wand" GL3 Loomis popping rods I had them using.

We caught Trout after the jetty bite quit on the float-rig, but most were small, and we kinda jig fished right through most of the best part of the falling tide. So we tried a few other spots, but ended up back jigging the rocks, and picked up another over sized Red. Dang...no slots??

Then, the blues showed up again so we went and did some heavier rod, deeper water, swifter current float-rig fishing. Where Don caught a slot Red, exactly 27". And a few more Specks, with one 18 incher for the cooler.

We worked this spot till it just didn't work any longer. And by now, is when the weather forecast

came true. The 15 knots from the west.

The tide was coming in on the bottom and the boat was all over the place, and when I went to move my anchor was caught on another anchor line someone cut off. Ya' know when you really understand the jetties?? It's when you pull up to a spot and tell the folks on board, that there's anchor lines down there, and then what happens.....ya get stuck on one. Hmmmmm... I wonder how I know that?

Been there, done that a few times? Yeah, that's for sure. Just like I have names for certain rocks out there too. There's the Bull Rock, the Prudential Rock, the Flat Rock, and Round Rock, and the Poop Rock.

I just realized, I never took a picture of the Specks that were caught....how could I?

They're "my" fish, and I didn't include them?

How could I!

Overall, it was a good day. It had its trials and tribulations.....some days have none. But that's usually only when I'm alone. But Don and Joe learned a lot, even though Don was a float-rigger from way back. I was pleased when an ole Float-rigger learns a new trick or two. It's one thing I can teach very well, since that's where my passion lies.

Looks like the rest of this week is gonna be okay:

FRIDAY SOUTHEAST WINDS 5 TO 10 KNOTS. SEAS 2 FEET OR LESS. INLAND WATERS SMOOTH. AREAS OF EARLY MORNING DENSE FOG WITH VISIBILITY 1NM OR LESS.

SATURDAY EAST WINDS 5 TO 10 KNOTS. SEAS 2 FEET OR LESS. INLAND WATERS MOSTLY SMOOTH. AREAS OF EARLY MORNING DENSE FOG WITH VISIBILITY 1NM OR LESS.

SATURDAY NIGHT EAST WINDS 5 TO 10 KNOTS. SEAS 2 FEET OR LESS. INLAND WATERS SMOOTH. ISOLATED SHOWERS.

SUNDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT EAST WINDS 5 TO 10 KNOTS. SEAS 2 TO3 FEET. INLAND WATERS A LIGHT CHOP. ISOLATED SHOWERS.

MONDAY NORTHEAST WINDS 5 TO 10 KNOTS. SEAS 2 TO 3 FEET. INLAND WATERS MOSTLY SMOOTH. ISOLATED SHOWERS.

Come on, "Lets Go Fishin". A 'private charter' with Capt Dave, makes for a really nice Christmas present for a son, daughter, or the wife. Quality time spent together, in the sea air, is good for the soul, and a fine way to spend time with a family member.

12/2 - It was S-W-E-L-L

Headed out again solo after some getting a few calls, that of course they never panned out. I just don't get it, why call me if you don't want to go out and have a lot of FUN.

So I did without them.

There was a monster swell at the jetties today. Why I couldn't figure. The tide wasn't strong at all. We didn't even have a 4 foot tide. But around the jetties the water movement was huge.


Especially noticeable at the tips of the jetty rocks. Swells 6 foot and maybe larger crashed on the rocks. Especially on the incoming tide. It was "kawagunga dude" where I fished. I certainly wouldn't have been where I was if I had people on board I'm sure. I sat in an area today that was for the well seasoned jetty fisherman. But it had clear water. And of course there was plenty of fish there if you could stay on two feet while fishing. I had some come around the rocks, but didn't have anyone anchor up near me. So being the fishing snob I am, I was glad they didn't have the "sand" to join me.

On my second cast of a jig-n-shrimp up to the rocks I had this pretty multi-spotted 28" Redfish.
Yes, I threw jigs most of the day. I was hoping to do some float-rig fishing on the incoming, but the crowds were out in force, this morning, so I stayed on the jig most of the morning.


I also got to try out a new anchor, and it was a good day for it. I usually use my own Jettywolf Anchor's. Just a jetty style anchor with tines, but my designs are so much better than those bait shop rebar ones. But in the rough water, when I need to anchor in sand, the ole JettyWolf anchor just won't hold well. So I bought one of those collapsible "reef"anchors. It looks like one of those anchors a kayaker would use. The difference is theirs is light weight, and mine weighs in at 12 pounds. Add 8 foot of chain that comes in at 12 pounds too. And I have a nice anchor to hold in the soft bottom, that I can carry and won't take up a bunch of room in my boat.


I fished where I did, starting at low tide, because there's been some Drum in the area. And I didn't want to bottom fish (bait-n-wait) so jigging on light tackle (L.T.) was what I had in mind for the Drum. The swell surely had to be tough on the fishing, since after the first Redfish on my 2nd cast it took quite a while to score a drum, but I did. I caught 4 of them. Two were worth boxing, and two were too small to be worth it.


I know the photo of the seas certainly don't do it justice, but it was tough fishing, standing, and jigging where I was. But it was a whole lot better since I was alone and I wasn't being waked every two minutes. The sets of swells would almost come in on a predictable pattern. If I could have had customers out there, they would had to be experienced and had some serious sea-legs on.


I sound like a broke record, I'm sure. But I have the boat to be able to do what I do. I was safe, comfortable and dry as a bone as I sat in the back wash of the huge walls of water crashing on the jetty rocks. You know your in love with your boat when on every trip, your re-confirmed that it was a great decision to have it built.

I continued catching Reds rather than more Black Drum. I've done this before, wishing each Redfish was a Drum. After the first Red, I really have no use for them. I wanted fish for the box.


I caught a few big fat Yellowmouth Trout, on a jig with a spinner on the bottom. It sinks slower, and I really jig it after I cast up to the rocks so the spinner blade flutters, and with a live shrimp pinned to the hook, it's a definite a Trout catcher. But I caught Reds on it, too.


As the tide changed I did move on to explore the rest of the rocks. So I hit the south Jetty, and of course it had people all over it. But I shmoozed on in to a decent spot. The water was really sandy, and there wasn't any decent current. But I did make 6 casts with the float-rig and came up with 2- Speckled Trout, and a small pup Redfish.


Then, disgusted with dirty water and no current I moved on. It's really funny how some people camp out on a spot. I guess it's in hope that something will come their way. Personally, I have found especially on the float-rig, if there's active fish in the area, they'll make their presence know right quick. I have a saying when I have customers on-board, and they're fishing the float. If they each make 5 drifts on a spot, that's 10-15 drifts through an area. If we don't get bit by then, there's no fish on this spot. And hell, if I'm waiting around for the bite to magically turn on. Many times, if there's a big trout on the spot, we'll catch them on the 1st drift. It's like clock work, and happens every time. It's the nature of the presentation. It gets their attention, quickly.

I caught a few small trout up along the navy base and was waked by boaters that can't even give ya' a 100 yard berth. I'm anchored 20 feet from the bank and had people zooming by 50 feet from me, when they have the whole river. And are supposed to utilize the CHANNEL. Yes, the channel......If ya don't believe me, just ask the USCG. I don't always agree with that either, but when underway from one place to another in navigable waters, your supposed to be in the marked channel. But we all know there's nit-wits out there on weekends that haven't a clue of the "rules of the road", or common courtesy.


So I went back to the only spot where I had some peace and quiet......alone with the giant swells that now rolled in with the incoming tide.

And continued to catch more Reds.
I ended up with 12 Reds, one was a slot size, and I put it in the fish box. two were small, and the rest were too big, up to 31 inches.
I had the 4 Black Drum, kept two. and had 4 Specks, two I kept, and a few Yellowmouths.

I took 6 dozen live shrimp and still had some left in the live well, when I packed it in and headed for home.

Overall it was a decent day. I could stand a Monday like this a whole lot easier, but heck ya have to soak up the 80 degree December days when ya get them, huh?

I certainly am not gonna feel bad when I have someone booked for a trip if they are local, and it's 40 degrees all day long. Because they certainly had their chance at fishing in the warmth lately.

Overall, you cannot not miss if you go to the big rocks, right now. Tis' the season, for the jetties. But I miss the river, too. Since ever day I've been to the inlet lately, it's been rough. Today was kinda tough on the body. As I sit here now, I still feel the ocean moving.

Next up for me is a Wednesday trip, with one guy. It's guaranteed to be cold and maybe windy. Because he missed a dead calm weekday "window", last Thursday.