Monday, July 30, 2007

7/30 - EXPECTATIONS......EXCEEDED!

I Had James and Robin Cutts on board today. (a good advanced reservation) James did his homework. And ya'll know, "I LIKES THAT!"

So I had a real game plan in mind. Head to Amelia Island first off. With a nice incoming tide till about 10am. We'd hunt up some Speckley Sea Trouts. It's been a few days since I got into to some so I was excited about it too.

We headed out at 6:30am, straight through the ocean up to Amelia Island. The first "HOT" spot was colder than a N. Dakota winter. All because of those damned Needlefish. Ya couldn't drift a bait on the float-rig two feet without those bastards grabbing your shrimp and killing it. They're a summer time plague. Just like tiny bluefish in the spring time......BUT WORSE!


So we moved off to spot #2. I made a cast with Robin's float-rig for her and there we were instantly hooked up to a big Speck. And we proceeded to catch (4) 19-23" Trout off this spot before the tide went slack on us and the south west wind took over boat control. The wind was a bit stiffer than I was wanting. But at least not a menace. Kind of a long way to go for (4) Trout, but they were big, so I didn't mind. I'll go to hell and back to catch some Trout this nice in the middle of the summer!

Then back to the St. Johns River we went, but first stopped by the jetties and caught some Jacks and Ladyfish. Then, on to where I've been catching Flounder limits. BUT...by now the tide was falling, and I haven't been catching any Flounder on the falling tide here, just the incoming tide. But it was well worth a look. And the look, which I anticipated would be maybe a "Flounder or two" maximum, turned into EXPECTATIONS....EXCEEDED, catching 11 total, keeping 10 from 2-6 pounds with one small one we tossed back. And then all the live shrimp were gone.

(It's a real shame that in this summer heat I'm having at least a 20% die off of all my live shrimp. So I buy 10 dozen, and maybe have 8 dozen usable live ones if I'm lucky. Usually I'm busy as hell with customers lines, leaders and hooks, plus technique coaching that I can't give the live well as much attention as it needs. Like water changes, and adding a frozen bottle of water every once in awhile to keep the water cooled off. Heck, it's the nature of the beast in the summer.....like Needlefish attacking the baits at certain spots. Not much I can do about it, really.)

So we headed back to the boat ramp and I cleaned fish for quite awhile. All I can say is if they were Sheepshead....someone else would be cleaning them. So thank goodness they were Flounder and Trout, huh?
Needless to say, that's 40 Flounder Fillets since I get 4 pieces per flattie, and 8 great big Speck fillets.

James and Robin had a great time, and so did I. I believed these two fresh water fisher-folks from Missouri, got a education on what it takes to catch really great fish, especially in the heat of the summer. I think they'll be back to try again. The perfect charter really is 2 people, and one of them a woman. They always do really good.
Photo's are care of James. My camera is still broke.

But I certainly learned that the hotter the water gets the more those pesky Needlefish really put the end to fishing one of my really great spots.


There's a whole bunch of today's photos on my "Recent Catch pages" on page #8. http://www.captdaves.com/Catch8.htm


I hope James was kidding when we were heading back to the river from Amelia Island, when he said..."What kinda boat is this with only two cup holders?" Of course I responded..."It ain't no sissy-ass boat, this is a fishing boat!" And yes, I do have two cup holders up on my dash shelf. One is for MY morning Coffee, and the other holds a container of hooks for EZ access.
Here's me doing the fish cleaning process. On the boat of course, because Jacksonville is so lame that we don't even get a fish cleaning table at the boat ramp!
It's soon to be August....call to get YOUR prime tidal dates
reserved early.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

7/28 - When Mother Nature fights back.

The funny thing about fishing is that not a single day can be like another.
Today was about as different as yesterday as it could be. It wasn't like the weather was all that dramatically different. Just the entire "flavor" of the day......and that's when it feels like Mother Nature is fighting back.

Had Kirk J and his 17 yr. old daughter on the boat today. And thank goodness it wasn't more people! Because 2 was enough when things aren't working out as planned.

My plans?

Flounder, just like yesterday. These fish are big, bad and thick! And sometimes easy to catch, and sometimes not.
Today was a NOT! Never caught a one. Had about every problem under the sun fishing where I've been for them, due to a hard west wind whipping the boat all over the place. West wind against an incoming tide. Just enough wind to mess up the delicate precision of dabbing the area with the float-rig for the Flounder.

I tryed and tryed till frustration took over. And we left for a boat ride to another area far away, so to get away from all the willy weekender boat traffic.

Caught some fish at the next spot but they were all small except for the TEASE fish, a 18" Speck, and a pup drum. Small Croakers, Yellow mouth Trout and small Specks, one after another. And the live shrimp in the well was disappearing FAST. So we left.
It was HOT. The coastal wind didn't reach this far up river. There was zero breeze, not much current and it was smoldering!

When all else fails, I like to go look for some line pullers........JACKS. About gave up on any decent size Trout, or Flounder at this point. So, I went to an area that usually has them. But all we did was get waked and there was so much boat traffic. Like I-95 it was horrific!!!!
Damn weekends SUCK! (as if that's a mystery)
I guess I'll have to go back to getting completely away from the St. Johns River area again. No matter what. Boat traffic and fishing does not go hand in hand.

So we left for Jack spot#2. No boats were around, and they were there. All ya wanted, decent size ones and small ones. But at least my two anglers were getting action and Caitlin was having fun having her float go down immediately with some pulling type fish. The Jacks ran from small 1/2 pounders to 5 pounders.

Dark clouds started to loom overhead, so we headed back. And I cleaned two 12" Mangrove Snappers and a 18" Trout for them. A far cray from just 24 hrs before. But Kirk and Caitlin had a good time going on the adventure. And learned a lot. I was glad to pull it out in the end.

I'm glad we finished up when we did. Those clouds turned into a LIGHTNING STORM from hell and back, and rain........man did it rain hard. All this happened as I was backing the boat into it's garage, just minutes after leaving the boat ramp.

At least I avoided that possible disaster! Perfect timing.
Here's Kirk's take on things...he sent me this article he wrote:
http://www.saillanier.com/articles/captdave.html
Next up: Monday 2 passengers at 0630 hrs. My favorite time on my favorite of all fishing days.
The whole place to myself...and no wakes.

To tell ya the truth, I'm tired of Summer already. And am looking forward to when it's cooler. The change in season is what I love.

Summer maybe when the kids are out of school, and everyone is on vacations, frolicking in the surf and hot sand. But I just got done looking at the "ARCHIVES" of reports I have here, and some of the great days I had, when it wasn't tourist or vacation season. Pretty Sweet....Dang, it's HOT outside, ain't it? Yep, that's why I can't wait for November....ahhhhh.

Friday, July 27, 2007

7/27 - A flat & brown morning...yellow & red afternoon

Had a great day today with some kids (11 & 14 year old). And their dad Ralph, too.
Damn, I wish I had a way of taking a few quick pics today, because we had some BEAUTIFUL
Flounder.

Met Ralph, Walton & Matt at the ramp at 0630 hrs. And headed to where I've been flattie hunting to catch the very last minutes of the incoming tide.

Weren't there 15 minutes when we had the first one hooked up.......But "lost" at the boat.
Another try and a second lost at the boat. And then me and Matt double teamed the third hook up (I helped a little) and a big fat 4 pound Flounder was in the net.

Minutes ticked by and the incoming tide was about over. And when I say I only catch them on my Float-rigs on an incoming tide. I ain't kidding. They devour a giant live shrimp dangling from the float! But as soon as that tide turns or slows down, it's all done. Which I'm finding amazing!

My crew put three, 3-5 pounders in the cooler.

So as the tide started to turn we tryed and tryed, but no more Flounder. So we kept or lines wet in the same area for a little while hoping for a different hook-up of some kind. Besides the piggy Perch, and little Seabass that we caught while working the area.

Since the Flounder fishing isn't a big time YANK or PULL kinda fishing. I told the kids I had something in store. And about 25 Jacks from a 1/2 pound to 3 or 4 pounds, a 21" Redfish, a Trout, a few Ladyfish later, they were ready to call it a day.

A day full of challenges and fish. Plus they went away with one hell of a bag of gorgeous fillets.

Ralph asked me, if I need any of the Flounder to eat. I said, "No, I want you to have it all, I caught 8 of them 2 days ago myself".

I had them last night lightly fried to perfection in (EVOO) Extra Virgin Olive Oil, with a mix of Zaterains fish fry mix. And some thick sliced tomatoes on the side with several cold glasses of Herbal Green Iced Tea......Light and tasty. And such a treat after a long day on the water.

Tomorrow: A dad & his daughter, and we'll have an extra hour of incoming tide!

These reports sure are bland with no photos aren't they? Can't wait to have a digital camera again. There's several things I can't live without. A digital camera of course, a float-rigged rod & reel, a cell phone and a propane fish cooker. I already have the perfect boat, some of the greatest tackle, and a great job.

FLOUNDER...It's whats for dinner!

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

7/25 - A perfect weather day....missed by U.

WHEWWWWW.....thank goodness those easterly winds are gone and we're back into HEAT,HEAT,HEAT. Even though they bring nice temps they suck for fishing, and I don't care what month it is. I'll trade the intense heat for East winds any day!

So since I had, I don't know 10 calls for the middle of this week?

And no one wanted to go ..........Hook some Tarpon, Yellow submarines (Jack Crevalles to 15 pounds) or Flounder????
I went by me lonesome. And even though it was slow going at first. I had some serious fun.
And serious fun for me is EDUCATING MYSELF.
I learned that the same spot where I got the most perfect 3 inch finger Mullet the other day produces one mo' time. And it's all about "Timing".
I pull up to the spot, and I see a guy in a boat, and a guy wading with a net. They look as if they've been throwing a cast net for awhile. NOT ME. I'm into what????? I.G. - Instantaneous Gratification! I pull up down from them. Grab my net, step out onto a dock and toss the net on the same mullet they are wading in the mud for. GO FIGURE?


The only problem I had was that the loop on the cast net drag line flew off my hand and now my net is sinking away. Thanks to floating drag lines, I grab it as it drifts back to me, pull up the net and have 200 3" perfect Mullet snacks. Step back into the boat and drive off. I look back and those two are still wading around tossing the net.

The fishing was deathly slow for awhile till the last hour or so of the falling tide. But when that time came, it was fun.

I sat at the jetties drifting my float-rig back to a really good spot. Using my BIG 9 foot rod and larger reel. Because when I use the light stuff is when I'll get hammered by some monster that I'll loose or take too long fighting.

I jumped (2) really nice sized Tarpon on big live shrimp and my float-rig. I may have had a chance at getting some longer battle out of them, but I was fishing my bait at 25 feet deep. And they both hit the bait, and my float disappeared but by the time I went to set the hook on them they were already airborne flying through the air doing somersaults. And of course since there was no real hook set, they threw the hook.

A buddy said, "you mean those Tarpon ate a shrimp?" I relied, "Yeah and those Tarpon in the keys eat a little Fly..." Shrimp are the bait of choice in Miami when drift fishing at night. I've seen it. And I believe everything will eat a shrimp. It's the night crawler of Saltwater fishing......(the photo is of a Jetty caught 15 pound Tarpon caught on a live shrimp)
Of course I had numerous Ladyfish while looking for those Tarpon bites. The Tarpon were rolling all around 50 feet behind my boat. So I had a feeling a hook-up was emanate. The perfect Tarpon is like the one in the photo, taken 2 years ago. Small, easy to handle, fun to catch....but one that size is A LOT rarer to catch than a large one in N.E. Florida.

Then came the schools of good sized Jacks. Not jumbo's, but great pullers. 8-15 Pounds worth of yeller submarines. I caught 4 back to back.

Then as the incoming tide started, I caught 8 Flounder up to 5 pounds on the boga-grip scale.


NICE! Just what I had planned!

JUST WISH I HAD MY DIGITAL CAMERA. BUT IT'S STILL BEING FIXED. IT'S ALMOST 'NOT AS FUN' WITHOUT, PROOF IN THE PHOTOS.

A good day, and I learned a lot about current and wind direction and where those flatfish like to be when things are not the same as they were a few days ago.

I tryed like hell to get my limit of Flounder (10), but the S.E. sea breeze really started to kick up the seas later in the day. And made staying anchored on the right spot tough.


But since I don't have a photo of today, here's a 5 pounder from a day in April...
Caught by Scott from
Gainesville, Florida
on a float-rig, of course.

Monday, July 23, 2007

7/23 - When Sly met Jack and........

Had to pick up my Amelia Island customers at that Carlucci boat ramp. That place needs some bigger docks or something. There's so much 'room' unused, you'd think the facility could be much larger.
My "dad and 6 yr. old" trip quickly turned into a 2-adult, a 14 yr. old and of course Sly the 6 year old, over night. And yes at times it was pure mayhem!!!
A fish riot! A rally, what ever ya want to call it. They caught A LOT OF FISH.
Of course I have no photos to post since my camera is at the manufacture getting fixed. So until I have it back, my reports will feel and look, kinda naked.

We started out up in some shallows as the tide was still kind of high'ish when we started. But ebbing. The morning sky as the sun rose was "rose" colored. Commonly refered too as; Red sky in the morning sailor's take warning. Because the wind's gonna blow....and it did.
From the east, again. Damn an east wind really sucks. But that's why I fish inshore, because I can. 12 months a year, nearly 7 days a week, if I could.

As the tide started to fall even more and more the bites started to pick up. With some small Redfish, and Trout. Plus 2 - nice keeper Flounder. And a few LadyFish and Jacks.
But I had a BIG time in mind. A rally, a fish fest, a Brewhaha!

So we pulled up to spot #2, and the waylay commenced.

Jacks, one after another. Double hook-ups.....since I had 4 passengers but I will only let 2 floats out at a time, especially with kids. And I want the youngest to not be bored. We had just one serious "ass-hander" that Evan the 14 yr. old hooked up. But it trashed him into a set of pilings as the drag burned the spool.

Then as the tide got even lower, TROUT one after another, up to 19".
And the cooler started to look really good. And not soon after the current on this spot "timed out" and we had no more shrimp left. It was time to go clean fish, at the boat ramp dock.

John, Roger, Evan, and lil' Sly caught at least 15 Trout, inwhich half went in the fish box, along with the two Flounder.
We threw back 2- small Reds. And went through no less than 6-7 dozen live shrimp. So I figured they caught at least 40 fish.
And lil' Sly seemed really happy. He helped me clean-up by feeding the birds all the fish scraps, as I filleted the catch. A kid favorite.

It was elbow to elbow action. Just what I want when taking a small kid fishing.

Have had one late notice call after another for the remained of this week.
And had one funny call that was looking for a charter for 3 passengers, all for a 1970's price.....at the last moment! And that's what made it so funny. "Take us now, but take us for nearly nothing....." I'd take them for $200, but it wouldn't include bait, rods, reels, ice, and fish cleaning or fuel!!!!!!!
--------------------------------------------------
By the way....
Here's a little diddy about fishing the jetties...of course "yours truely" was there.
http://saltfishing.about.com/b/a/256544.htm

Sunday, July 22, 2007

7/22 - extreme short day

Got up at 4am. Was at the bait shop at 4:45am. Arrived at boat ramp at 5:45am.
Realized that the wind was HOWLING straight out of the east at 20 knots 5:46am!!
Sat at boat ramp talking to a friend who was heading north, but decided to try that another day.
Saw many a boat come rambling into the boat ramp "looking" as if they had big-time offshore plans......I certainly hope they didn't.
I wanted to turn east at the boat ramp also, but I knew it would make no sense to do so.
Instead, I turned west. And it was a good thing.
I anchored up on a spot not far away, pitched out a float-rig and had instant Jacks. One after another. And then for some reason my float made it thru them and up under a dock. And as soon as I got under there, the float went down.

Wow, what a good battle pulling the fish out of some serious structure. And after a few minutes of give and take on that tiny #8 hook and 15# leader up pops a nice Redfish.
A perfect 27 inches and 7 pounds. (no photo....remember my water proof camera got wet and died on me?) So I quickly released the fish. Since I'm not a huge "Redfish on the barbie" fan.

So off I went in pursuit of a Trout or Flounder real close. Hit spot #2 and caught more Jacks. The reason I was there, Flounder!

I said to myself....."self, that spot right there sure looks good. And with all the Mullet flipping around in there, I bet there's a big Flounder just laying in wait for a easy meal." And I was DEAD RIGHT!

Except the BIG Flounder that I caught was, 8 inches!!!!!!
Hey, at least I knew there was one there.
Kept trying and trying.....just more Jacks and mini Mangroves.

And then the Northern sky looked bad...REALLY BAD. (this photo is from another storm at the jetties last year...but it looked very much like this, but worse because it had more lightning today.)
Either way, I wasn't all that happy with today's weather so I burned water heading back to the boat ramp. I was gettin' outa Dodge!
It was just 9:15 when I pulled into my driveway, but felt much later. I don't know if the storm ever hit the river or not, but since I live really close to the river/intra-coastal intersection I could hear the booming, but never recieved an ass handing at my house from any storm.
I did learn where I'm taking my 6 year old and his dad tomorrow morning. Where I've taken many kids before. WHERE THE NON-STOP-ACTION-IS.
The boys name I'm taking Monday morning is "Sly"...and I'm gonna introduce him to "Jack!"

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

7/18 - OPPS, I DID IT AGAIN....


I ran out of bait and ice. Just like the Saturday (7/14) when the Hooch & I destroyed them.
I GUESS YA COULD SAY,
"THEY'RE CHEWIN!"
Oh well. All I can say is, the last two trips I've made were made in Fishing Heaven for this Float Freak! Ya don't get days like this in the middle of the summer all the time. And what I've done is completely change fishing attitudes. And the only reason I could do that is because of the weather.

Don't think for one second that if it wasn't perfectly calm with light S. Westerly breezes. The fish boxes would fill to the rim so easily. And all while I was doing this today, I had some dude call for a 4 passenger shark fishing trip. SHARK....??? Ain't gonna eat like these flatties from the float-rig!!!
I basically limited out on Black Drum, Specks (sea trout) and Flounder today. Not keeping them all, since they were biting so well. I certainly kept enough. 8- Flounder, 3- Specks, and 4- Drum.
Of course I was Trout fishing. But my Float-rigged live-n-snappy, native river crickets kept catching other fish too. I'll admit, I did catch a few of these on a jig-n-shrimp happy meal. The dead shrimp in the livewell always make for great jig pinned shrimp, especially for Drum. They're not a fancy fish. Not until they hit the well seasoned cast iron skillet, where they'll be blackened. That's when they get all "fancy".
So far this has been a great Drum year for me. I like these pup Drum better than Redfish, anyhow. Not as glamorous, but provide a better fillet I think.
This may be the last "digital" photo for awhile. This photo was taken by my dad who came down to the dock to see me when I got back today. The storm me and Hooch sat thru while cleaning fish at the dock on Saturday seemed to have caused a casualty, my water resistant digital camera. Now it doesn't want to work.
A blog with out photo's? That's just plain insane.
I think I'll buy a back up. Like trolling motors, ya can't just have one!

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

7/17 - yeah...and when TUNA fly

No reports today.....but I WILL RETURN tomorrow with a report because I'm going Fishin' by me lonesome, on Wednesday!!!!!!! It's been way too long. Ya' know, R&D??



And I expect to return with a cooler full of T-rout (my nickname for T-Rex sized Specks) Wednesday is a break in the local "Karnivale le King Mackeralus" that's been going on this week . Then on the 19th, I have a check-up appointment with Dr. Schnipper. To check the ole eye balls one more time before my Lasik surgery on August 27th.



Saw this pic and thought to myself...what's that old saying, "yeah sure, when pigs fly". Well this ain't no farmers blog!!

It's all about F-I-S-H here!



So it's, "yeah sure, when Tuna's fly"



And that sure looks like a Flying Fish in the lower ones mouth. I'm no Viking, but I've seen Tuna Fly one time just like that back in my offshore fishing days, many moons ago.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

7/14 - A perfect day, with a summer time flair

Had Chris "the Hooch" out with me today. Chris and I have known eachother for at least 10 years. He's fished with me many times, but is also a boat owner himself and an avid fisherman. But has been out of the fishing scene for awhile, is feeling kinda rusty and needed ME to help him get his groove on, again. And he DID!

So what else could he do, than call ole Cappy Dave, and have a great excuse to go fishing in my new boat. He could.... drag his boat out, plug around, maybe or maybe not catch something. And since being out of the loop, go on old recycled information, and do it all in the middle of July, by himself. Not a appealing idea, really. "The Hooch" is a lot smarter than that. This is the man who WON the first ever Jacksonville Offshore Sport Fishing clubs EL CHEAPO Sheepshead Tournament.

So I started thinking and thinking hard about where and what I wanted to do with Chris. Running up river and fish an incoming tide again was out of the question! And since it was going to be just him on the boat, no crowds, no friends, no co-workers. Just him and I. I wanted to do something special, and come up with something really good.

It's been awhile since we fished together. And I really enjoy the Hooch's company, every time he calls me to go fishing. So I called him the night before, leaving a message at his home. And then I started to get a bit worried. Six O'clock passed, then 7 O'clock, and then just before 8pm he called me back. He just got home from work! I was almost passed-out in my Lazy-boy when the phone rang. I told him "if you're tired now, you'll be even more tired when he has to be at the boat ramp at 6:30am", because we were going to head to a spot I haven't fished since April 4th. And it's a bit of a run. I don't know if it'll be the same as in the spring-time. But that last time I was there with just a 2 man charter, in two hours we filled the cooler with Drum, Sheepshead, Trout, Flounder and Redfish. But again........I haven't fished the area since April, so I asked Chris, "ARE YOU IN?" He said, "I'M IN".

So upon arriving at the spot. "UHHHH.....there's someone else already there!!" There's enough room for both of us, I guess. So we begin fishing, and right away Chris nails a Speck. Then a small BlackDrum. So then I get in the mix and we really find the Trout. And in a matter of just a few minutes put 10 beautiful Trout to 19" (no need to measure a single one) in the fish box! It was just what I was hoping would happen and "The Hooch" is feeling good.

But we both kept and eye on the other boat. He was in the drum hole. Hooking pup Black Drum one after another on what looked like Jigs-N-Shrimp. So we pull up anchor and go to SCHMOOZE on over there. The guy in the other boat says, "Ya'll limited out?".....I relied, "Yep, that didn't take long." Then he said to us. "Heck, we're done here, so lets just swap spots." "Now that sounds like a great idea to me". So he pulls off and moves to where we where, and I drop anchor right where he was. And he starts catching Trout, and we start catching Drum! Wow, ....what a decent guy, you don't meet that kind of person very often, anymore. Everyone was happy!

We also caught a 19" Redfish, hooked an unstoppable sized Jack that warped the line around a piling and broke off, and 6 perfect size Drum, with one throwback and a few small Jacks. IT WAS GREAT!

So far, it was the perfect charter on a perfect day. And the Hooch reminded me, "see...and you were sceptical, if it would be worth coming here."

So as the action slowed we packed it up and headed to the south Jetty, with a dozen or so shrimp left in the livewell. We switched over to the whoop-ass twins. My big bad 9 foot, Loomis Pelagic series rods matched up with Shimano Tek-500 reels and a 2 ounce Trout lead and bigger float.

I told the Hooch, that I want to use the bigger tackle here, just incase. In case of a inadvertent Tarpon, Shark or giant Jack hook-up. It's summer, deep summer...and at the big Jetties I take all precautions. (so not to be like many other fisherman that say, "damn I was just fishing along, and hooked a ______ and it schooled me, I wasn't prepared!") Rigged and ready for any takers we pinned on big jumbo local live shrimp, and began drifting a good spot to get your ass handed to ya. But as we fished, I was thinking to myself, "there ought to be some Flounder in here." And I was right.

Chris hooks a decent flattie. And as we continued fishing, I see one of those "PERFECT" Tarpon roll right where we were fishing. About a 20-30 pounder. The hardest of all Tarpon to catch around here. The small ones are finicky. And that's the size I want, of course. They aren't an all day affair to catch. But we get no hook-ups. I picked up the last shrimp in the livewell, pitch it out along the jetty rocks. And my float goes under. It's a nicer size Flounder. We are now officially out of 10+ dozen live shrimp. I look west and there's some seriously dark skies. So we beat it to the boat ramp. There's boats everywhere. But I get up to the dock, I have A LOT of fish to clean!!

The wind builds up, and here comes the torrential rain. Then comes the lightning. Fire in the sky is cracking all around the Mayport area, it was scary.......But Chris and I stand there cleaning all our fish in this weather like a couple nuts as hundreds of boats rush to get out of the water.

Water Spouts off the north Jetty were reported. A boat supposedly didn't make it to the inlet, either. They flipped over (??) and we saw the Coasties rushing towards the inlet, doing what we want them to do.........RESCUES! Instead of hassling fisherman.

Lightning popped all around us, as boaters rushed in from offshore. I heard the ride in was pretty heinous. But, our perfect day wasn't all that affected. So we got a little wet, and I learned I could clean...10-Trout, 6-Drum, 1-Redfish, and 2 Flounder in 30 minutes!! As you can see here, Ole Cappy Dave got his end of day photo for this BLOG and RECENT CATCH PHOTO PAGES before all the shit hit the fan. The Hooch and I had to work fast! Because 2 minutes after this photo was taken. ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE!

Go to this quick link to see the rest of the pics: http://www.captdaves.com/Catch3.htm

Thanks, HOOCH!

Saturday, July 14, 2007

7/13 - Was it the "Friday the 13th"...superstition?

Yeah, Friday the 13th didn't start out all that bad. I had 3 guys Billy, Jason, and John that have fished with me a few times before. And they've probably never did the float-rig thang in the past. But that's what I had planned. And I came prepared after my prior trip on the 11th.

I had 12 dozen live shrimp in the well! I was ready for all bait stealers, Jacks, and Ladyfish.

So I met the guys at the boat ramp at 0630 hrs. And we made the 15 mile run up river (actual heading SW). I pulled up and dropped anchor on spot #1 and proceeded to give these Three Amigos the float-rig low down. And as it happens....I did an I.G. - (Instantaneous Gratification). I was talking along, and they said, "Dave your floats down". I looked back and yes it was. So I set the hook on a real nice 19" Speck (Trout). "Okay, that's how ya'll need to do it", I said as I readied the rest of the rods & reels.

And it didn't take long for the first hook-up. A 14" Speck (keepers are 15") Then came another, at 13", then another at 12". Then another at 14-1/2". Then a Jack or two.....WOW, I thought we might have been in the M-E-A-T. But nothing materialized!

And that's how the whole day went. Small fish or none at all. Of course every spot I went too, I'd show them where and how I wanted them to float their rig, and I'd get either bit, or catch some kind of fish. Then hand it all over to the Amigos, and nothing would happen.

We did have a nice eater-size 20" type pup Black Drum hooked up, but it was lost at the side of the boat.

Everything but the tide was in our favor. It wasn't too hot, there wasn't much wind. But we did fish a incoming tide till about 10am, and that was the problem.

Then one of the guys had a stomach problem and needed to call it quits about noon, which had us running back toward "any" boat ramp with a "facility".

They did get one 14" Yellowmouth to the boat. Some Ladyfish, Jacks and the small Specks. But the day was sort of un-eventful.

Hill's & Valley's....Hill's & Valley's.
Or was it the Friday the 13th, superstition??

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

7/11 - Why charters are a good idea......

Had two really nice folks on board today. Charles Taylor and his girlfriend Noreen.
Patient, conversational, and willing to learn, which made having them out a pleasure.

I very much appreciated their patience.

Because I had a wheel bearing "POP" today. All new bearings/emergency service......$381.00
C/O Wilson Trailer Repair, Mayport road. Who were just a phone call away and came and got my trailer, and fixed all 4 bearings while I was out with my charter.

Yesterday, I had a new Trailer hitch put on my truck. The old one from 1995 was completely rusted out and I was on borrowed time. New 1200 pound class hitch/installation/ removal of old one..........$360.00. C/O Cannons Welding, very fast service!!

A day of inshore fishing.......Priceless!

And unless YOU TOO want to go broke, this is why charters are a great idea. Versus buying, maintaining, insuring, storing, outfitting, and feeding a boat.

Enough said?

So once I got the trailer all taken care of and off to the trailer shop, we headed out for a day of fun in the hot sun, and 86 degree water temps, with a stiff SW breeze.

It was high tide, and for me zero has been happening till low tide. So we went hours with a cooler full of just ice, as I taught Charles & Noreen the finer points of float rig fishing the St. Johns river. Catching Ladyfish and Jacks in the Mayport area.

So after many frustrating spots, I boogied south about 15 miles. The only area I have confidence in, but proved to be a hard road to catch anything there too till low'ish tide. We couldn't even get Jacks.
But ended up with:
2-Flounder
10-Trout (4-5 keepers)
1 - yellowmouth Trout
1 - Croaker
1 - giant Whiting...go figure.
2-Black Drum

Frustrating day from the git-go, and I forgot all about taking any pics.

No big fish........unless you want to count the serious ass-handing Charles received by what seemed like a huge Redbass, as soon as we pulled up on the first spot after our long run. But as it happened in "Newbie-dom", the hook straightened out from possible excessive pulling instead of letting the big fish just run on that small hook, I use. I've caught 20 pound plus Reds and 15 pound Tarpon, and 20 pound sharks on that same hook. But it's always tough to get these fresh water fisherman to "go lightly". That's why what I do is called Light tackle fishing, really....that's what it is.
The reason I figure is that Sweetwater species like bass and others don't really pull like a big saltwater fish. But we use even smaller hooks and lighter leaders than the sweetwater guys. So the sweetwater fisherman still pulls too hard, despite the built in handicap.

You know it's Deep Summer when those Mangrove Snappers consume 6 out of the 10 dozen shrimp you still have alive in your livewell, after the heat kills the first 2 dozen!

Next up: Friday - 3 guys I've had out several times. High tide about 10am...really looking forward to that!
Then Saturday: An ole client Chris C. by himself as a solo fisherman, and is a fisherman. Just heading out to do have some fun, and get him back in the fishing saddle once again.

I heard something about east winds this weekend, but that looks as if the weather forecasters made a mistake and now the winds supposed to be from the south.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's about that time of year to go look back at other posts/reports I've made during the year.
The reason being is that everyone has Jacksonville inshore fishing all wrong. I know I'm busy now, and I'm telling everyone I wish I could take some of these trips and spread them out over the course of the year.
DID YOU KNOW THAT THE FISHING IS REALLY GOOD DURING ""OTHER"" MONTHS IN JACKSONVILLE?
Take a look at this report from March and read what the last line of it says.......
http://captdaves.blogspot.com/2007/03/36-wonderful-weatheryou-choose.html

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

7/10 - Big differences just 2 states away

Ya know, I can't help being totally amazed at the reactions I get when I pull up to a boat ramp in my Black Lab Alloy Plate 26 footer. And believe it or not, the #1 response is, "NOW THAT'S A REAL BOAT".
But responses also range from, "I AIN'T NEVA SEEN A BOAT LIKE DAT' BEFOE" to "HEY MAN IS THAT STAINLESS STEEL?"
I'll admit it's an eye catcher for sure. Which is a good thing, and a bad thing. Because some people want to take up some of my valuable time when I'm in a hurry. And other's I just don't plain care to talk too. And the good part is, when people see it they don't forget it.
Although I'm amazed at some of the comments I get, it's because I think all boaters are like me. I'm not only a fisherman, and a fishing guide. But I'm also a surfer. No, not the catching that Kawabunga wave "dude" surfer, but rather a surfer of the World Wide Web. Cyber-space, the open door to the WORLD. Where knowledge can be attained as easily as clicking a mouse.
That's how I found my boat, after 3 years of surfing, reading, studying, and contemplating. I figure, everyone knows what the Internet is, and everyone uses it.......NOT!! So to the dismay of others in the boating/fishing world, I just may be smarter, and just plain more......"learned". I like to make it my business to know all or at least been exposed to as much of the life style, as I can.
Which brings me to the topic of Aluminum boats, and their popularity.
I've been a long time reader of Louisiana Sportsman magazine. And share a common fascination with a friend named Dave (another Dave) of the differences between the fishing here in N.E. Florida, and the fishing in Louisiana, saltwater fishing of course. Mainly inshore fishing.

Unfortunately, for me I've never fished there. But Dave has....a lot. His brother-in-law is a fishing guide out of Venice La. So Dave rubs in the stories of 75 Specks and 44 Reds, throw in a few drum, sheepshead, and Flounder that he'll catch with his brother-in-law per day, each time he goes to visit. Yeah, yeah, "we"- the knowledgeable, already know that they have the damn near if not the #1 Trout (aka: Specks) and Redfish fishery in the whole United States, from La. to Texas. And lucky for me, Dave gives me all of his Louisiana Sportsman Magazines after he's done reading them.

And if you've never seen a REAL fishing magazine like this one, you ought to treat yourself sometime, and get a years subscription just for shits and giggles. Big in size, and monstrous in Speck and Redfish articles.
But there's something else I've noticed for a long time. And have never mentioned before except to a few. Every 5-10 pages or so of this magazine has Boat Advertisements of course, like most "sportsman" type publications will. BUT, many of them are for ALUMINUM BOATS.

Yes, ALUMINUM BOATS!!!!!!

Just two states away, and it's a different world over there. Every dealer will have your average Cobia's, Hydra-sports, Skeeters, Triton bay boats, but will also offer a aluminum boat or two, usually a Sea-Ark, Tracker, G3 or Express, Jon boat style aluminum bay or bass boat, manufactured by big corporate type manufactures.

And then there's the smaller manufactures, like Scully's, Hanko's, TunaDawg, GatorTrax, Lifetyme, to just name a few that build custom welded plate hulls. (pictured here from Bay style to flats to big offshore) Painted or not these are Aluminum boats built in Dixie!













So when I hear people tell me, "yeah they make all those aluminum boats up yonder in Washington state." They are partly right, that's where mine was built, but Louisiana is a big time aluminum boat state too. And just two states away from Jacksonville, Florida. Other states where aluminum boats are very popular is Oregon, California, Idaho. And the entire countries of Canada and Australia!

I think the uniqueness is that people see a big silver boat about once in there lifetimes here in Jacksonville Florida, if they are blind to the St. Johns River Bar Pilot boats, many Mega Yachts that travel our river's, the St. Johns River water management, the Jacksonville Fire boat. All large aluminum boats too. That for some reason people don't pay attention too. (again, I'm more learned...)

So what's the difference between here and Louisiana? Probably the difference between here and Washington, or British Columbia.

Aluminum boats are for people who work their boats hard, in tough areas, and expect more than what fiberglass can ever give. With less maintenance, overall. For hard working commercial purposes, or for totally customized luxury, with fuel economy.

My first boat was a 1971 riveted, thickly built with not a single leak ALUMA-CRAFT 14 footer, that I traded in for a 19' fiberglass boat that was pretty much a piece of crap. Years later, I could have kicked myself in the ass for getting rid of that nice lil' indestructible boat.

And here I am years and years later with my customized 26' (marine grade alloy) aka: Aluminum boat. Going back to my r-o-o-t-s!

And all the while fascinated with the difference between what I see in Florida Sportsman magazine versus Louisiana Sportsman magazine.
Here, South Florida sets the tone for the entire state. I don't think anyone would argue with that.
I just wanted to throw a tid-bit of education, along with a clue to "my style" out there to my readers. Since I was off today....and it only takes me a few minutes to do 1200 words, and a few pics to go along with them. (typos and all!)
Next up Wednesday: 2 angler day...and I'll get 11 dozen shrimp to make sure we have enough this time! In case they're members of the same CULT and have a prearranged death pact, before entering my live-well. Now that's Funny!

Monday, July 9, 2007

7/9 - Bait stress or Captain stress, or both?

Had Kevin Kingston, his Brother and Dad aboard today. Visiting Amelia Island and were there for Tom Coughlin's daughters wedding. They said it was a hell of a wedding, too!

Had 8 dozen live river crickets in the well and decided to give the southern part of my stomping grounds a try, again. The tide was a bit high as we arrived, and since everything seems to be a low tide bite, I told the guys we have plenty of time to get familiar with the float-rig system.

And I was dead on. As the tide started to drop we started to get bit. First it was small Jacks, the deep summer scourge, versus the spring time scourge which are 6" bluefish. And don't forget Mangrove snappers in the 6" category eating as many scrumpteous shrimp tails as they can.

And that brings me to some inshore fishing wisdom, learned the hard way. Never think for one second that when you buy live bait, that they will be alive 10 minutes later, no matter how good your live well is. Bait can shit the bed so easily in the summer.

So when buying live shrimp from now on what ever amount I need I'm buying two dozen more because no matter what (2) dozen seem to always die!

I started out with (8) dozen two dozen died, so maybe I have 6 dozen now. 6 dozen live shrimp and three sweet water anglers means one thing........NOT ENOUGH BAIT!

At 11am we were slap outa shrimpz.

But only after about 10 or so Trout, boxing just 4 up to 4 pounds with the rest 14 3/4" long.

Mega-numbers of 12 inch Jacks and Mangrove snappers. One 14" Flounder, 2- small Reds and 2 - Pup Black Drum.

Smaller fish than I wanted.

So I run to Browns Creek Fish Camp and buy 5 dozen more, 2 more dozen than I actually needed, (per dieing purposes) put them in my livewell run to a close spot for a look see, and we use 3 shrimp and when I go to dip out a 4th Shrimp. ALL of the shrimp I just purchased 10 minutes ago are D-E-A-D!

Good god, I'm having to bite my tongue and am about to go postal. $15.00 worth of bait with not a single live shrimp, and nothings wrong with my livewell. "I just had live shrimp in it that we used up 20 minutes ago." I've NEVER EVER had this happen before. I mean NEVER.

Kind of reminds me of my ole Cigar Minnow trolling days, many moons ago. I'd buy 2 boxes of frozen cigar's, have my customers get on board, run offshore, pull up to the first spot, thawing out some baits on the way. And as I rig them up for deployment at 2.5 knots of troll speed, they'd be rotten! And completely blow-out after 2 minutes of trolling. Right then, I'd have to repeat..."SERENITY NOW, SERENITY NOW", because my head would be about to blow off.

Today, I stayed relatively calm because I just wanted to take the guys, and finish up our day where I took 5 year old Will Tanner and his dad yesterday, for a little while.

This occurance seems so similar to the other day when I bought mud minnows, didn't catch squat on them and then went and bought 8 dozen shrimp and caught squat on them spending a total of $50 on bait for two people and they caught only 3 fish.

I took those 5 dozen dead shrimp and threw them over the side of the boat, and headed in to clean fish.

But we had fun. And it is surely the height of summer for an inshore fisherman. Hot as hell by noon, and ya GOTTA work, hard and smart.

Hell with the stressed bait, how about stressed fishing guides?

Next up Wednesday, 2 anglers at 7am.

Saturday, July 7, 2007

7/7 - Great day...not far away.

Had Greg Tanner with his 5 year old son Will aboard today. To start out.....what the hell was going on?? The Mayport Boat ramp was an absolute ZOO. I haven't seen it like this in a long time. It's as if no one took off work for the holiday week and all of a sudden here comes Saturday, and if you had a boat, you were damn gonna use it today!
The Parking lot was utter mayhem.
Probably because of that Kingfish Karnival closing the Sisters creek boat ramp. I say let's all get together and do a kingfish a favor and make them get their own dang park to run the tournament.
It's such a disruption every single year. If you don't think so, then you're NUTZ! (I tried to capture the look of the parking lot at the Mayport Boat Ramp in this photo, because it looked like the local mall the day after Thanksgiving. But obviously the photo doesn't depict what I was seeing.)
B&M bait and tackle was crazy too. As I motored up there at 6:30am. GOD I LOVE MONDAY'S AT 7:00am!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So I finally got in the water and had to pick up Greg at the Carlucci boat ramp off of the Hecksher drive area. What a zoo that was. I waited around and finally pulled up to tie off to the dock right when Greg said he'd be there. Answered the standard 10 questions a day about the greatest fishing boat ever, MY BOAT. Because over at that ramp, "We ain't never seen a boat just like dat"....I was told over and over again. Then, finally Greg and Will walked down.
I had plans to get this lil' boy hooked up and fast to some fish. And man, I surprised myself!
I wanted to just go see what the deal was over at the ship yard 200 yards away from the dock where I just picked them up. So I idled over there (NO LONG BOAT RIDE REQUIRED) and tossed the anchor. Showed Greg what we were going to do and we were off to the races!
Hooking fish after fish on the float-rig for lil' Will to reel in.
First it was Jacks, then came Trout, then some Croakers, and a giant Pinfish. It was fun! Me and Greg would hook'em, and Will would reel them in. This was an observant 5 year old. He could tell right away if the Trout were "keepers" or not. And we measured every one.
On one drift Greg hooked an ass-hander of a fish, torquing the rod hard, but it broke him off under the dock. These docks have a lot of "stuff" hanging in the water. Besides having oyster growth galore. So the fun is, getting them outa there!
Will was keeping a count of every fish, and we ended up with 21 or so that he caught. And we never left till all the bait was gone (approx: 4 dozen live shrimp) I had a ball hooking the lil guy up, and was so surprised that this area had so much to offer. The last time I fished this same spot was a week or so ago, and we hooked up a 10 pound Jack and boated it along those nasty pilings. But today, the spot yielded trout to 18 inches. I usually fish this area in the spring and fall for Trout, because that's when I've had 5 & 6 pounders there.
Go figure......instead of traveling 15 miles up river. We went 200 yards, down river and had a ball, almost all by mistake.
Next up:
Monday friends of Tom Coughlin's attending his daughters wedding (ex Jags head coach)
then Wednesday with just (2) anglers
and then Friday the 13th with (3) anglers.
(To say I'm not superstitious would be a lie!)

Friday, July 6, 2007

7/6 - what the hell happened.........?


My day started off B-A-D, right off the GIT-GO this morning at 6:00am.

NO SHRIMP

Which I was suspecting would happen after days of charters in a row, the holiday crowds, and the incoming tides with strong east winds by afternoon the last few days.

Hey, I'm sure ole Wade the shrimp man has his favorite tides & conditions up north in his shrimping grounds.

So to say I didn't expect a bad day after I was told there was NO shrimp, would be a lie.
I knew it was coming. And every single day the phone rings with more late noticers. IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU, TOO.

So I bought 5 dozen mud minnows. I want shrimp. And HATE mud minnows, and never catch crap on them. But what am I suppose to do show up at the dock with NO BAIT?
Mud Minnows on a float-rig folks, just plain suck!

So I headed up river, to the same areas I have been fishing all week. NO BITES!
NO JUNKFISH, NO NOTHING. Can ya believe not a single Jack or Ladyfish??
James from B&M calls me about 9:30am and says the west coast shrimp are their way if I want them to run me some to the boat ramp. I was too far away.
But I put two and two together and called Browns Creek Fish camp. We picked up and ran to Brown's and I got 8 dozen and 4 more dozen for trading in my 5 dozen mud minnows.
Which was a great deal. I was hoping this would change our luck. Because at least I was happy now . And out almost $50 on bait alone at this point and haven't caught a single fish YET!!!!!!!
I was thinking....man I'm loosing out on this trip. Which was already kinda "discounted".

By now I missed the last of the falling tide, as we ran back to my area.
We tried it though and caught one trout.
Oh, BTW I had Mike & Jewel on board today from Atlanta. Mike wanted to ride and fish in my boat, because he was very curious about Black Lab Plate Alloy boats. So he received the royal treatment, because we did A LOT of riding around by this point. As any, if all profits were going down the toilet of this charter fast. The more I run around burning gas, and buying $25 worth of bait, time after time I'm loosing my ass on this trip!!

I went from spot to spot, at slack tide looking for some kind of current. We finally fished the incoming tide back by Blount Island and picked and poked up two small Flounder. No Trout, no Reds at the same places I fished yesterday. What the hell happened? I don't know.

Chock it up to a bad start, I guess.

And then I even went out of my way and took Mike and Jewel out to the inlet, and stayed out a bit longer letting them drive my boat. So it was a real sea-trial kind of trip.

I put it on the trailer at the end of the day and headed home thinking about today, and how I go out of my way sometimes, for so little. "Hills and Valleys......Hills and Valleys", is what my ole buddy Capt Randall would say. And he's usually right.
But those hills are much more Fun.

Next up tomorrow, having to do a Amelia Island customer pick-up at the Carlucci boat ramp because the Sisters Creek is closed due to the supposed getting ready for the "Kingfish Karnival" so they say...."they better be working on that place, on the weekend", is all I can say. I don't like picking folks up at the Carlucci Ramp, because the docks are too small and busy on a weekend.

I have a dad and a 5 year old for a 1/2 day.

Thursday, July 5, 2007

7/5 - The day after......a good rest.


Had Dr. Jim and son-in-laws Mike and Scott aboard today.....Boys day out.
Jim was a fisherman, but Mike & Scott were admittedly "clean-slaters". A new term we coined today. Meaning, "I have not a single idea of what I'm supposed to do".
And that's a GOOD THANG! Why? Because I have that clean slate to work with, rather than some possible bad habits, like setting the hook like Bill Dance, and ripping the fish from the water like a Tournament Bass Fisherman.
And as you can see, "my Guys" caught them some FISHEZ. We really good time.
It was over cast again this morning, as big dark clouds passed by. But we stayed dry, as the guys started to catch some Trout in between Ladyfish attacks and bait snatching by those lil' bastard Mangrove snappers and small Jacks. Then as the brief window of falling tide we had slacked up, I decided to move toward the bank and anchor up in 3.5 feet of water and cast their lines up shallow. The float rigs barely drifted away with the last of the falling tide current. And that's when Scott set the hook on a nice fat 25" Redbass. From clean-slater to Mr. Angler, I think Scott was quickly thrown into that Angler status as line peeled off his reel. Great fish!! And then we moved on, but not after a few more pitches up into the shallows. Where their lively river shrimp attacked from below and sent snapping across the surface of the water, while attached by the leash we call a leader under their float rig. It's just too cool to watch that live river cricket get all nerves. And see those boils as the Trout misses the bait. "How does a Trout not catch a live shrimp, on a leash in 3 feet of water??
We moved on to the next spot, and got into ravenous monster Ladyfish, a few Mangrove Snappers and more Trout. Then we got rained on. But it didn't last all that long.
Hope to have Jim and the guys back again someday.
Friday, it's Mike from Georgia. A man who's wanting to check out what PLATE ALLOY is all about, aboard my Black Lab Marine Plate Alloy 26 footer. So he figured what's a better way than fishing on one.
And the falling tide in the morning will run for awhile longer. Which is a good thing.
So stayed tuned......Float Freak over and out.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

7/3 - absolutely wonderful weather!


Wow, what a great day! It was overcast, then drizzling, then complete down pours, throw in some serious wind, add then add in more rain...
It was GREAT!
Here's the facts:
07/03 - 11:54 am wind direction: ENE @
18.1 knots sustained, 29.9 knot gusts.
I easily can go straight to my fishing report page and then to my National weather Service link and then scroll down and see hour by hour stats.
And man did it feel ever bit of "almost Gale Force winds".
But, I had some serious Troopers on board today. Mack, J.T. & Pete.
That's J.T. and Pete holding their Trout. Largest was 22 inches. From a place where the action was getting good with some Jacks, Mangrove snapper, Ladyfish and Trout as those asshole Coasties came by and ran us out of a great trout spot. This is getting to be a bit much.
The dock where we were fishing has a sign, and it says; "stay back 50 feet". But it's a private dock, has nothing to do with the feds. "WE", us Float-riggers fish it all the time. And even the guys who work there never say LEAVE. It's a place where a lot of Trout fisherman fish.
But the coasties make up the rules, as they go along. As Pete was reeling in his nice fat Trout, they hailed us on the load speaker and said we had to be 100 yards from the dock, and since a ship was coming had to leave. Then sped off straight between the docking ship and the dock (dangerous) and then ran close to the bank, through the Manatee Zone! (You try that!)
Every single day I'm battling to fish the places I've fished my whole life. Because I'm a Terrorism Suspect. I yelled to the "PUNK" sitting at the .50 caliber machine gun on the bow of the Coastie boat, as if he's ready to shoot us, "Yeah, I guess it's a bad day to try and make a living in this town." which is nothing but the truth, anymore.
Remember this: YOUR Freedom was LOST on 9/11, by the overboard "knee jerk reaction" of the US government. Not terrorism, but by your government.
And that was about it. No where else was productive, no where else was it not almost blowing a gale. The weather was getting worse, not better. We did experiment along an area and caught micro yellowmouth Trout in the driving rain. And tried a few other spots and picked off one small Puppy Black Drum.
But my guy's stayed into it. A lot longer than most other people would have.
We fished an incoming tide with help from a N.E. blowing wind that sent the tide higher and higher. Which made the fishing harder and harder.
I hope to have these guys out again, because they were really into it. But we had the cards stacked against us. By the weather and our own government agencies........"the land of the free".......LOL!!!!
I bet out in Louisiana the Coasties don't run ever fisherman away from every oil or gas rig. If they did they'd need more recruits. Because that's where they fish out there. The rigs are privately owned, and the companies don't mind.
JUST LIKE WHERE WE WERE FISHING TODAY. SO WHY DO THEY KEEP MESSING WITH US? It really makes someone like me despise the federal government even more than I already do. I'm a free bird, and do not like answering to anyone that's why I am a law abiding self employed small businessman, struggling to make a living while paying my taxes.

Monday, July 2, 2007

7/2 - In the Sound







Had Dave Hogan, Dan, Fran, and Lon on board today.
Lon looks really excited as he holds that big Pompano, huh?
That maybe because an hour later he was loosing his lunch!. It was pretty calm by Nassau Sound standards.
We left out at 7am, and ran the ICW up to the sound. Once I found the Whiting they were small. All of them. Although bountiful. But before we caught the first one, Lon caught that big Pompano.
We also had Jacks, a mini Spadefish, a few Ladyfish, and a few small sharks.
The name of the game was small fish. I just didn't get it. Everything was a copy of the next. But we had a good rally for a while. Since changing up our tactics and location was out of the question. When I got all the way up to Nassau Sound from the Mayport Boat ramp, we're there for the good, the bad or the ugly! Because once invested in the area, there's no, just leaving to try someplace else.
We ended up with 25 or more Whiting, and 4 Pompano that were our target species. Which yielded a big bag of small fillets. But fantastic fillets for the fryer, and some really good eatin'.
Came back via the Ocean instead of the ICW because it was nice and half the distance back to the boat ramp.
Incoming tide most of our day, 4 passengers, it was a Nassau Sound kinda day for sure.
Next up.... back to river fishing tomorrow. Another incoming tide morning.