Sunday, February 4, 2007

2/4- SUPER FISH SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!





WHERE WERE YOU?
Today, was a beautiful Sunday with low winds, blue skies, and yes it was cold...but real fisherman, don't really care.
I'm obviously tougher then a lot of you. More dedicated, yeah that's obvious.
I'm so hard core, wives hate me, and their husbands get defensive. Because I'm a bad influence on their domesticated husbands.
I used to make them wish they were in my shoes. Talk them into going fishing too much, spend too much money, and stay out too long. Yes, I'm a bad influence, so keep away if you want to stay married.
But I don't do that any more. I just go alone, I don't talk to many of these men much anymore. I do whatever I want when I want and don't have to share a phenomenal bite, like I had today with anyone.
Or was it because there was a foot ball game on, this evening? The water was nearly vacant? Or was it because it was cold this morning?
For what ever reason.........THANK YOU for staying home. Because I had a great day.
Today was a nearly perfect tidal day.
High Tide: 4.4 feet @ 10:05 Mayport
Low Tide: -0.3 @ 4:00 Mayport.
What's that make the tide height? A 4.7'.....just perfect! The wind, no concern at all. And the JEA plant smoke stacks? They were straight up, almost all day long. The cold? Well, it really wasn't all that bad.
First stop was up in a creek, and before the boat settled tight on the anchor I had 5 small reds and 5 small trout off a Oyster bar, using of course the float rig. That was on the last of the incoming tide. And I actually left because I just wanted to make sure they were there, for future reference. So I picked up and left.
I won't go thru each and ever move I made, but I'll tell ya I never fished in any water deeper than 4.5 feet all day long, no matter what the tide was. At one point I was in 2.5 feet of water, catching one Flounder after another fishing double Floats. The tide was easing along so perfectly. I cast out two float rigs and have them drift off the starboard side of the boat at the same time and just watched them drift on a slack line, till one of them went under.
Later, I caught a bunch more Reds in a hole, literally a hole or a pocket in a sandy bottom with a shell bar adjacent and behind it. I spent the whole rest of the day at the second area I went to.
It's a "way" of fishing actually. I refer to it as "tracking". Go to one spot, catch some fish, and when they stop biting, move 50, 75 or only a 100 feet to the next "likely" spot they'd be at.
This system works for me so well, it's absolutely incredible. Don't run around, especially if you found fish in an area. If they stop biting it's most likely they moved with the tide. (they do that ya' know??)
I arrived on the second spot I went too, at high tide. And by low tide between 4-6 hrs later, I was only 500 feet away from where I started. (I hope you caught that... because I'm giving away Pearls here.....)
This way of Float rig fishing insures you're learning the area, the way the water moves, the way the currents flow, it's subtleties, and with that it's usually the way the fish move too. Just do it. You'll be so surprised.
Today's catch was so good I started a tally on a piece of paper, to keep it all straight.
Redfish- 15 (Largest were 30", 28", 21". The rest were pups.)
Flounder - 7 (in a row, fishing double float-rigs.)
Trout - 12 (not even trying for them, could have had a nice limit from 18" to 20")
Sheepshead - 1 ( fought a 5 pounder class one all the way to the boat, then it got off the hook.)
It was another "Super Fish Sunday". Just like many other's I've had on Super Bowl Sunday's.
I thank the usual masses of weekenders for being (you know). Or more kindly discribed as..."being fair weather fishermen", and staying home.
My favorite game is played on the Fluid turf, in a big alloy plate platform, that I have found goes unbelievably shallow! And I even had 100 gallons of gas in her.
(rest of the photos are on my recent catch pages #6)