6/5 - Before the pour.

Had Greg G. aboard today with his brother-in-law and his daughter. When we talked the evening before I had just got done watching the weather, and the 60% chance of rain had me saying, "I hope we make our day......"

When I was on the phone with Greg it was also pouring buckets, but that was at 5:00pm. So naturally I thought, it might not cut loose till after our day is done.

We departed at 6:30am and I headed straight for the jetties. I had float-rig rods rigged and had plans to fish the last of the incoming tide there. The night before the wind was blowing pretty hard, and where I wanted to try first was not un-fishable in the Jettywolf, but after anchoring perfectly where I thought we'd be able to fish safely, we still rocked and rolled pretty good in a sloppy chop coming from the S.E. residual from over night.

Always plan or be aware that if we go to the jetties/inlet that it may be Ocean like. And let me remind all that the Ocean is not commonly a Mill pond in Apple Valley, Wisconsin.

First hook-up was a 18-1/2 inch Redbass, a true rarity. They normally are not that small.

But the next hook-up was a brute that acted as if it didn't know it was hooked at first then after getting closer to the boat, made a dash behind the boat into the jetty rocks and POP, went the leader.

A few small Jacks later, the high tide came and the current faded, so we moved on too calmer waters up in the river. Ladyfish, Jack, Ladyfish, Jack, more Ladyfish. Then a nice Flounder.

After the falling tide really got rolling and the current became stronger (full moon is on Sunday)

we moved on and further up river. I was hoping to get a few Trout on the spot but it was overrun with Mangrove Snappers......."What's new??"

I kept looking west, and the sky was getting darker and darker. One keeper sized Mangrove was caught about 12", then I had a charter call, and then all of a sudden the dark turned into a wall of rain, with a temperature drop, and gusty winds started. It was going to get us! The wall was a mere 1/4 mile away.

I said, "pack it up....we're outa here", and I drug up the anchor, pulled into the boat and hit 5200 rpm's back east toward the boat ramp. The rain was coming down at a 45 degree angle and was hitting the river creating a mist above the water. I call this "bouncing rain drops". Usually associated with high winds and big rain drops.

At the boat ramp Capt Kirk was there alone attempting to get away from the dock and on his trailer. So I opted for the next best thing.......a crash landing over at Mayport Marine next door.

Between the west wind at 40 MPH, and the river's ebbing tide, the marinas docks have soft bumpers, unlike the public docks that have hard nylon down the side. And it could have been a really rough landing. But not nearly as bad at the marina. We took cover inside the boat building till the storm passed.

I know I was wet down to the BVD's, and I'll assume my crew was too.

I cleaned up the fish we had, and we called it a day. A shorter day then what was planned.

I sat talking to a few friends at the boat ramp afterwards and it continued to rain even more.

It was a good idea to cut our losses.

6/4 - here he goes again....being an "Alloyist"

Yep, every once in awhile I get a bone up my butt and start talking "welded Plate Alloy" here, again.

This is what ya'll would call "Aluminum"...doesn't look like it, huh?

I know, almost every single day at the boat ramp while waiting, then waiting some more for my people to show up, I get "That's the biggest aluminum boat I have ever seen, did ya buy that in Alaska??"

Floridians are so "out of it". This beast in the photo is built in Louisiana. Looks like a Contender crusher, huh?

Then there's this one, the 34' Rock Salt built in Texas.

Crusher? Yeah, with specs like this:

Max HP 1050
Min HP 600
Bottom ¼”

Sides ¼”

Transom ½”

5083 Grade Alloy

http://www.rocksaltboats.com/

When was the last time you talked thickness of fiberglass with your boat dealer??

So, the point is... so called "aluminum" boats don't have to look like this green one.

Which "we" call Tinnies. Because they are built out of thin low grade riveted alloys usually reserved for just light freshwater use.

The next time you see one of these coming up behind you, think to yourself, "Why don't they use Boston Whalers, anymore?"

Yep, the U.S.C.G. uses nothing but Welded Plate Alloy high speed designed boats from now on. I believe they have about 10 of them in Mayport, alone.

And as a tax payer, the real killer is they are about $350,000.00 PLUS each. That's serious deficit Zero's there, times hundreds or thousands across the country and US territories.

So when you see me at the dock, you can be rest assured I'm not the owner of a luxurious chick magnet, but they are out there. PAINT.....that's what really does the cloaking. If I was sitting at the dock and was stark glaring white in color, most folks would never even notice me. Paint means maintenance. I don't want maintenance!

That's why I own the boat I do. I don't even have to wash it off after a days fishing, if I don't want too. I use no polish, no cleaners, no nothing. But I do wash her off. Because I don't want my gal to smell.

If a 19 foot 1980's version of my boat, was on a mooring floating in a cove along the coast of Maine all summer long, and was picking oysters all day long during the season. Doesn't get washed off with soap and fresh water, I believe my boat lives in the lap of luxury.

Here's the example:

From Texas to New Zealand, Alaska to Southern Baja Mexico, Canada to Iceland, there's some of the most killer Welded Plate Alloy boats out there in more styles than you can image.

And the owners reside here, to talk and share: http://www.aluminumalloyboats.com/

- owner customizable is the norm

- more fuel efficient

- less Horse Power needed

- less "truck" needed as a tow vehicle

- way tougher than Fiberglass

- Less physical maintenance

- Better re-sale value

- Safer from punctures and sinking

- Floats higher than F'glass

- Less draft

SEE YA AT THE DOCK...... I'll be sitting there watching the boat ramp follies, waiting on my customers.

For all those people who say "there is no such thing as the perfect boat"...I disagree. I have one!

6/2 - Trying a different approach

DOA Rob and myself headed to Nassau Sound early, for a bit of R&D. The ocean was slick, so a quick run north was easy.

Plans were to just do the standard Nassau Sound thing. Get up in the bars and see if we could get either Shark, Whiting, or Pompano action.

And we did. But it wasn't RED HOT. Both Rob and I know what red hot Nassau Sound action is.
We called it adequate, catching all three listed species.


From a small Pompano to a larger "keeper" Pompano. We only boated one keeper.





The keeper was a good one, and Rob would have loved to load the box with a double limit of these.

In between we had Bonnethead Sharks of course. Great drag pullers being 4 footers on light tackle, unruly as all hell, fun to catch. But I was wanting a larger shark. So I sent out a 1/2 a Ladyfish on a big rod with a 7/0 circle hook. And caught this shark, but it wasn't a broad shouldered Blacktip or Spinner. I believe it was a Fine-tooth. Not much of a battle against my 9' meat handler rod and Accurate twin drag reel.

Only 7 Whiting were caught. But they were okay sized fish, with one super stud at 16 inches.

Still nothing compared to some of the Speckled Trout I've gotten up that way in years past in the middle of the summer.

"Yeah, I look at Whiting like Specks. If they ain't monsters, then we better catch a cooler full!"



We tried a different area when the tide started to come in. Hoping for Trout or Black Drum, that I've caught before. Rob caught a 15" Trout on a dead shrimp on the bottom, while I caught Ladyfish & Jacks on the float rig. While we both had Stingrays......yep, the famous Nassau sound flatfish!


By mid-day the seas picked up as the east wind started to howl. And the sound got rather "sporty". I attempted to run back to Mayport via the Ocean, but with the wind and waves Rob convinced me, that he wasn't into a "Chinese Yellow Mustard" kind of trip home.


Ya' know......It's not HOT, just exciting. Making 5 knots in 4 footers with a 20 knot east wind. It was slow going to say the least. And wet, too. So we came back via the Intra-Coastal waterway. Where it was even windier yet, but calmer.


My Thursday charter in which I was doing R&D for......called and switched to Friday instead.
I believe I'll stick around the jetties and river still. Hunting Reds with pogies, maybe. And still bring the float-rig rods, too. Don't really see the run up to Nassau Sound worth it. Not for a 3 passenger charter. I'd rather stick it out and try and find some better pullers, and maybe a few we can keep.

5/31 - getting closer to 11/1

May is over and we're getting closer to November every day.......Ahhhhh, November! What a month.

-here's one afternoon in November with just me and Nick W. dropping anchor only twice!!!


Either way, I got off the Sunday trip at 0630 hrs.
They were right on time. Daniel S. and Carter.

We float-rigged a few places and came up with one trout, one black drum, one Mangrove snapper, and two ladyfish. Everything was small.


Worked our way back towards Mayport and ran into my buddy DOA Rob sitting on his kayak. Rob was not smiling and casting, but rather anchored up tossing a light bottom rig and catching Croakers. He had 2-3 potato chip flounder, and 4 small Trout doing his DOA shrimp thing. He gave up and went home, not long after we stopped to chat.


We headed to the jetties after completing the St. Johns River 'world tour'. Missing about 3 spots I wanted to try, due to boats already sitting on them. Damn, the weekends! And another spot the Mangrove Snappers were so bad we couldn't even get a bait threw them, while fishing in constant river traffic wakes, muddying the bank. Not very conducive to "gamefish" catching.

We missed the last of the falling tide, going at getting Pogies. That were moving fast up the beach from the south hitting the jetty, working down the rocks and then getting blasted at the south jetty tip, probably from sharks. Two or three times a 1/4 acre of water exploded with baitfish flying through the air escaping the jaws of death. It was an awesome sight! One guy was motoring over the south rocks and the irruption happened around his boat. The two occupants got wide eyed, real quick.

When we got back to the jetties from getting a few pogies, having to dump the net. Because one toss had the net swimming away with 200 pounds of them. The current had about died, so we laid slack on the anchor line. Carter hung into something massive that ran him up and under the boat and out the other side.......this was no Redbass!! Most likely a shark, and the 25 pound leader broke on the light rigs we were using. The tide started on the bottom as usual and as the boat swung around we had a few other small bumps on the big pogies and that was it. So we headed in. Day two with no keepers, in the fish box.

I have a decent idea of where I could go and get a different kind of action, but it's a incoming tide spot and it has to be dead calm with light winds to fish it. It's usually a July hot and steamy kinda weather spot, and is 10 miles away....completely a different direction that I normally go. So once the commitment is made. You're committed to that area, period. But is worth a look, so I believe DOA Rob and I may check it out tomorrow. If it's dead, we'll just leave and have no hard feelings. Because we know the stakes.

It's one hell of an incoming tide spot in July...here's the proof.

But tomorrow isn't an incoming tide, and this certainly isn't July, 2 years ago.

I told DOA Rob this morning (Monday) on the phone that I still have a glimmer of hope, cause it can only get better.

Oh the topper to Sunday's trip?? While a customer was adjusting his float rig stopper knot 12 inches of the tip of one of my custom Biscayne float-rigging rods snapped off!!

With no willingness to help out with the expensive of replacement, I guess I'll be bearing the whole loss. The clause in my policies is; Lost or damaged tackle (rods & reels) will be charged at replacement cost. Please treat my fishing tackle as if it were your own.

I'm having a "re-build" done on the rod, so I'll know what the replacement cost will be now, for next time.