So myself and praticing "lone angler" D.O.A. Rob went today, Monday. And we were alone, alright! 0730 hrs, Mayport boat ramp. We were one of three trailers in the parking lot. "WE LOVE THAT." One was two guys that came into B&M bait and tackle in a low, small, lightly horse powered, 16 footer. JB, who works at B&M said, "watch Dave, these guys are going offshore!" And he was right. They walked in, straight to the coolers, grabbed 2-5 pound boxes of cigar minnows and a 5 pound box of squid, checked out and left without saying......BOO.
Well, they must not have a TV, or radio. Because they weren't going offshore today! They did not listen to the Marine Forecast, that's for sure.
Rob and I went to the jetties first. It was really cold. I got up on plane and barely crept along heading east. Huddling up behind the windshield. Rob glad to not be in his "windshieldless" boat.
And before we got past the Carrier basin, who passes us heading back? But two guys in a small, low, 16 footer......the two "offshore bound" guys from B&M. Rob and I just looked at each other, wondering what they were thinking.
I wouldn't go offshore anywhere today. And that boat could have fit inside mine!
Incoming tide, high in an hour or two is what we had. This photo of the tip of the rocks doesn't do it any justice, these were 6 footers rolling. Usually, I run right through the spin cycle slop at the jetty tips, but not with the wind howling like it was. I was already getting wet on the port side as it blew the spray.
We anchored up on the jetty with a new cinder block system, I have been working on. A cheap alternative to expensive "jetty anchors", that do not take up nearly the space in the boat. My new system is the attachment point. And it worked great, holding us tight, on the second try!
Rob and I pitched out some floats, but the high water was pouring through the jetty rock. More like over the jetty rocks, and washing our floats away. Casting them into the wind was a pain, too.
We gave it all a shot. But it certainly didn't look good. Ya know, I can pull up and just get a "feeling" most of the time if this is going to produce any fish at all. And the feeling wasn't a good one. And just then, Rob sets the hook as his float goes down.
A sma
ll 12" Yellowmouth Trout.Look at him! A south Florida boy....freezing in NE Florida!
Or is he on an Arctic expedition, doing a cold fish survey?
Yes, we have our "moments" here too.
No kidding it just was 82 two days ago!!!!!
Not long after the capture of this rare 12" yellowmouth with a hole in it's lip, did we move on to more comfortable waters. Up river we went, thinking..."last of incoming very, very high tide, where have we caught them before?" And Rob came up with a spot. We pulled up and he instantly caught a small Speck. Damn, he was two up on me, already! So we re-adjusted the anchor and I started whacking the small trout on every drift. Which quickly became boring, since they were hungry as hell, but small as hell too. So we moved on again.....
I picked the next spot. A shallow shell bar. Rob drifted his float out, and I went right behind him.
My float went down, I reeled and lifted and set the hook on a good puller. Like a kid on his first ever fish, I immediately went into a song and dance. My rod bowed nicely, the fish stayed deep and I saw it.......GET ME THE NET!!!!
Rob handed me the net and I scooped up dinner, a 20 inch Speck.
Man, we thought we were in the meat now!
Feverishly we worked the area, but like us I think this trout preferred to be a "lone angler" too.
The wind started to really howl inshore now too.
The cold was really getting to my feet, and we talked about "how do people up north stand it?"
Knowing all well that we're a bunch a Nancy's here in Florida. Why not, it was just 80 degrees a few days ago, we have the right to be sissy's.
We tried a few more spots, and never caught a Trout or anything, so we headed in.
I'm supposed to have Carl J. (who we saw out today too) on board Thursday, but Carl made mention that he's available other days too. Meaning, in code language...if its really cold, forget it, we'll reschedule!
Either way you look at it, where would I rather be? Fishing in the cold wind, barely catching anything, but do-able? Or here on some windy concrete river, covered in white stuff.
The photo below to me, is hell on Earth. Look at that place!!
Why not visit Florida?
It's fish'erific!
