4/5 - W-O-W

Ya know if you're visiting from "afar" and staying in a hotel or even at Grandma's house.
The easiest thing to do is head over to Singleton's Seafood Shack around the corner from the boat ramp docks where we'll be departing and going back to for any fish cleaning. And then have Singleton's cook up your fish for you.

At I think $3.00 a pound. It sure is a nice way to end the days adventure. Add in some Onion rings a pitcher of beer or sweet tea and you'll have a relaxing unwind from the day of bouncing around fishing and can re-cap the excitement by eating your own FISH!

Susan, just emailed this FEAST PHOTO from Singletons after their charter day. (COOLER SLAP FULL OF TASTY WHITING!)

Looks like Singletons had to break out the giant browny pans to serve up this hungry family of four (w/ two growing boys)

Well, that is what was left after my big day with the Fuqua Family from Georgia....

You remember them huh?

Just a few reports:




You too can do this.

I skin, de-bone, fillet all your fish for you "after" your days fishing trips back at the dock.
(on a gratuity basis, after charter is done)

4/3 - Re-Run...heading to the Jetties!

Had Jim and his two sons Cole and Zach aboard today. Wasn't going to run down river, like yesterday.
But instead hopefully put these boys on fish right away. And thank goodness I didn't have plans to float-rig fish, as the bait shop from what I heard later didn't have any live shrimp. Although, I had some still in my livewell from yesterday.

So we went straight to the Jetties. The tide was smoking. And was glad I brought two heavier rods, because at one point we were up to 6 ounce to hold bottom. Throw the light tackle fishing out the window. This is the St. Johns "rapids" river, dredged to China!

The hardest thing for everyone, no matter if you're a tournament Bass fisherman from Alabama, or unfortunately a 12 year old or 9 year old from Michigan. Is feeling the bottom!

I struggle with that constantly. So, out came the heavier rods, 6 oz. leads and I cast and dropped the baits out behind the boat. Because fishing current like this isn't for the beginners.

But the tide as we all know changes constantly, and eventually we got back on the light bottom fishing rods.

I have learned after all these years that I can't really take the kids float-rig fishing. It takes too much paying attention and concentration. So, it's bottom fishing from here on out, really. Because it's kids aboard from now till September. So I'll leave the float-rig fishing to adults only.

The Whiting bite (as per my last report also) is thru the roof! And these are great action fish, that kids can reel in one after another, as well as providing excellent table fare.

And today was no different than yesterday's trip. Except we did get a Black Drum on the Whiting spot, when we were along the rocks, as the tide pushed pretty good.

Cole was the man, and it kicked his butt! So, even though the kids may want monsters. "Ya gotta watch out for what you wish for, sometimes." 

A good eater size!

























This Drum along with a hand selected size and amount of Whiting, made their way into the cooler to be lunch over at Singleton's Seafood Shack, for the crew afterwards. Just like yesterday.

I even kept a few and fried them up when I got home. (Damn those Whiting are good!) After scrubbing the boat with soap/bleach and a heavy brush, cleaned and bleached the coolers, and detailed the rods and reels. Because after handful of day after day fishing. The Jettywolf needed some T.L.C. and so did my tackle!

NEXT UP:

More kids.....4- persons on Saturday the 6th, during the Redfish spots tourney. (OH NO!!!)

I guess the rain on Thursday and maybe Friday gives me enough time to re-coup???

4/2 - WHITING FEST...Serious fish fry cometh!

We tried first thing to do some float-rigging up river for a over-sized Redbass, or maybe a few Trout. But even though the tide was right for the spot. Nothing was happening. So we headed to the jetties. I was thinking Drum, Sheepshead, fishing deep at the north rocks.

Turned out that the Whiting were ON FIRE!  So, with kids and super action. I wasn't about to leave to find anything else. Plus, Mom was ON FIRE too!

They filled a 72qt. cooler with super fryer Whiting, and then filled the cracks in the box with Yellowmouth Trout later on.

I was wore slap out when I got home. But still pushed forward to produce this video for your viewing enjoyment. Then, I was up at 4am the next morning putting the finishing touches on it. And out the door for another day with some kids and Dad. To do it all over again...

(Now I still have to do Wednesday's report.)

4/1- TECH-TIP:

To clean your fish.

This tool is awesome!

3/31- Radical Change:

Had Dan Sr. & Dan Jr. out today for some "float-rig fishing". That's all we were going to do. And they might have been glad or might have been sad to be on the Jettywolf.

Because I went straight to the jetties and went on over to the southside of the south.

JETTYWOLF COUNTRY!

The reason I had the 'Wolfie built. So I could fish where I wanted when I wanted at the jetties.

Because NO ONE ELSE dared to come on over there and anchor up and fish. The wind was honking.....Not out of the SW as the weather guessers said. But out of the SE. Right into the rocks on the south.

It was slop & chop. A Soup sandwich. If it was January I would have been in all my glory. Because as hard as we tried we could hardly get a damn bite!

If it was January the big fat Gator Trout would have been there. But today, with the slop we worked hard for a few small specks and yellowmouth trout. That was it.

This was spot #2 actually. We caught one speck on the inside of the north jetty first as the last of the falling tide still dribbled out the jetties. And then the Bluefish ate us out of house and home.

WELCOME TO SPRING TIME!

I will not put up with any of the green scourge fish. So that's when we left to sit anchored in the soup over outside the south rocks.

We left there because of no bites and headed inshore. The wind was really blowing now. And experience was telling me, it wasn't us. The rest of the day searching for any decent trout bite was gonna be dismal. 

And it was. Over-cast skies and where was that 80 degrees? Not at Mayport that's for sure.

So we just kept moving around. I actually caught more Specks and a Yellowmouth up in the river on a 1/4 ounce jig and a matrix shad plastic tail then the two Dan's did on live shrimp.

That was something.

We ended the day with a few but the two Dan's didn't want them. So I cleaned the small Yellowmouths and a few Specks and went home and fried them up for supper.

Wheww...was a day. A kinda uneventful day. And the weather was far from Chamber of Commerce this time around.

NEXT UP:

4 person Tuesday all day'er
3 persons Wednesdayall day'er

During the Redfish Spots Tourney Saturday, 4 persons.  All day'er.