Sunday, September 7, 2008

9/7 - Taking Advantage.....of one gorgeous day.

Had Don Z. take advantage of the special offer I sent out for this weekend. (you may have received it.) Well, from now on, what ever "deals" I do. They will be for people who have "joined" my Lil' club, I guess you could say. To become a member, you have to log-in to my rates page.

Well, if you want to know my rates schedule, anyhow. You have to log-in. By doing so you go on to a list. a private list. And will receive e-mailed announcements. Announcements like Don, took advantage of.

It was for this weekend only. One passenger only. One on one learning, the how's and why's with the "Float Freak" - (me), and catching big Speckled Trout, target species.

I knew for a fact that after hurricane or tropical storm Hanna, passed by Friday. That Saturday & Sunday would be OUTSTANDING weather. And it was!!

Saturday went by, and I thought to myself, "are these people crazy??" "How could some one pass this offer up." After storm weather is always great. Then came Sunday and Don, emailed me for info on the offer, and reserved Sunday. And by the looks of him, I think he was very glad he did. I told him, "Don, it's TROUT, and gonna be all about BIG TROUT!"

So we took off this morning at 0700 hrs. By 0730 hrs. Don had his largest Speckled Trout he's ever caught on the line heading to the net.

Yes, folks he was hooked up to a big fattie within minutes of pulling up to spot #1.
IT WAS AWESOME!



Don admitted, I had to shake him up a bit to get him on the boat again. Last time we went he caught jetty trout and a big 21 pound Spring time Red, some more Reds and some monster spawning Sheepshead.

When I say, "LETS GO!!" He should really know after today's action.

I DON'T KID AROUND. I mean, "Let's go!"

Look at that fattie he caught. Not a long fish, but a girthy fish. The sun wasn't even fully up and shining yet.

If you are a reports blog reader, you need to go to my home page, click on the rates page, and go through the simple "sign up" procedure. That way you go into my special data base.
Heck, it could mean discounted charters, free stuff, tackle sales, and just plain members only info.


The Trout were chewing on Don's shrimp as well as really good sized Croakers from 12 to 14 inches. Yes, I mean super keepers for N.E. Florida standards. I only keep them if they are 12" or more. As a matter of fact, I just got done eating a fried Croaker dinner and they were yummy.

Think of the large ones as small Redfish that you'll never be able to keep. So it's kinda like Redfish revenge to me. Even thought it's revenge through relatives. Big Croakers are fun. Pull drag, and bite so damn hard. They are always more fun on a float-rig up in structure, as is most fish, in my opinion. But then again, I'm biased! Because there isn't much that swims the lower St. Johns River, that I haven't caught on my trusty Float-rig.

And now Don is building his resume, too.


Not counting only one Ladyfish all day long. Don caught Trout to 5 pounds, Croakers, Mangrove snappers, and a Sheepshead on his float rig today.

A good angler already, and a joy to fish with and have aboard. All I had to do is just point the way for Don, and then he took over.

This is what a true "guided" charter is supposed to be like, as was Wednesdays charter Paul M.

I don't mind larger groups, but it's really great being able to spend the time to really go over a situation, a presentation, or a trick. And someone can go away with that info, knowing it was thoroughly explained and covered by doing it.


Here's the Sheepshead Don caught right as the current died
and I was saying, "let's move....", right then, he hooked up!




The Croaks were some serious just plain fun fishing as always. And we never really had to weed through the small ones, because we caught them as we caught limits of Trout. And even released over sized Trout. We had our two over twenty inches!

I think I counted about 18 Croakers that we kept.

And Don said I could have them, so that was no problem with me, as I love them. If they are worth filleting of course.




















I got to help out a little bit, and boxed me a few fat Specks.






Been using low profile Shimano high speed reels.
They're light and powerful, and are really working out. Matched to G. Loomis "Bucara" series rods you'll only be using quality tackle on my boat.

No K-mart blue light specials, here.
Lucky for you, I have a high taste when it comes to my tackle. Even if you don't know anything about the difference between a blue light special rod, and a G. Loomis. Believe me, it's the same reason that a Master Auto Mechanic doesn't use K-mart tools to fix your car. I'm your fishing mechanic!


















Here's the box getting crowded.












It was a great day! (as far as weekends go)
Turned out, we certainly were not alone.




Thanks Don.