Now this is one thing I do not get very often on my boat....a fella who can cast a Bait Casting reel, and into the wind too!
Whit Sherrill, my Solo angler I had today could do that and more. This soon to be "ex" USAF Officer, (GO AIRFORCE...it was my choice of armed services also) was a good fish catcher, and he and I, had a ball.
He was right on time at the dock this morning, not coming from very far....he was staying at the Mayport Navy Base vacationing with his wife and baby boy.
His first fish of the morning was a big nasty Jack, that snatched his float and gave this N. Carolina "sweet water-ish" fisherman's rod a serious jerkin'. We weren't fishing 5 minutes and he hooked the Jack. Then came some Trout, then a Sheepshead.
Then we ran down river and found the wind too strong, on one spot and the current too strong on another. So back to the Big Rocks (jetties) we went. Caught some Yellowmouth Trout, a few more small Jacks, then a Ladyfish or two, and a nice light tackle battle with a good size Shark too.
The south Jetty was a mess on the outside. THE SOUTH WIND I WAS LOOKING FOR WAS ACTUALLY S.E. AT 20 KTS. NOT THE KINDA SOUTH I WANTED, LATER IN THE DAY!
The South Jetty was Sandy-silty water, nasty and very choppy, and NO BIG DEAL to fish in my battle wagon. I swear to you, you can not imagine how superior this big & brawny Plate Alloy boat of mine handles the nastiest of conditions. Believe me, I'll never go back to Fiberglass. And will never have too. It's my life time boat!
The fishing wasn't full of action. So we moved, and put up the float rig (DON'T TELL ANYONE) And pitched jigs while power drifting the jetty tip. More like power Backing. Because the 15-20 knot SE winds were pushing us into the rocks, so I had to stay in reverse the whole time we sort of drifted. (AND NOT A DROP OF WATER CAME IN THE BOAT) As the 4 footers crashed on the transom, as I backed away from the jetty. (the boats design is super dry and stable)
Whit played tug of war with a 28" deep water Redbass, and another big Jack. I even made a few casts and pulled as hard as I could on a Red, just for the fun of it and the fish straighted my jig hook.
By looking at the photo's, I think you could tell Whit had a good time and he also had some fillets for a nice family dinner, also.
Thanks Whit.
Here's today's "Recent Catch" page photo's: http://www.captdaves.com/Catch4.htm
