9/28 - River update and rant.......

Time to gear up for fall. The mullet are everywhere at the inlet and especially at the north jetty of the St. Johns River. The Tarpon/Cudas and Sharks are going nuts on them, as well as the birds.

The top of the St. Johns River is basically "FRESH WATER".....has the orange tinge to it. Watch out for your live shrimp!! Don't recirculate the water in your bait well. Unless you go get clean green Ocean water. Your shrimp can die.

After what seemed like weeks of due east winds and astronomically strong tides, we had yesterday a decent west wind. Which pushed along with the falling tide enough Fresh Water that the surface of the river in the Ft. Caroline/Blount Island/Dames Point bridge area, that the salinity on the surface was 2 parts out of a possible 40 parts per thousand on my salinity gauge. And a back up test is "just taste it". I can just look at the water's color and know what's going on. The usual dark tannin, looked lighter and more tea color. Along the part of the river I fish.

Fresh water lays on the surface of saltwater, since saltwater is heavier. Just be aware of your water clarity, saltiness and temperature, in your bait well. If you want your live shrimp to stay fish'able. With river and ocean temps still at 80 degrees or better, it may seem like fall because of all that's going on in the fish world. But you still have to pay close attention to the environment that you're fishing in.

Especially us Float-rigger's"aka: Float Freaks" I'm personally keeping close tabs on when my favorites really start showing up east of the Mayport Boat Ramp. And NO, my favorites aren't Flounder although I catch mine on the float-rig 90% of the time. Or just by taking a break and pitching a jig-n-shrimp combo, bumping it along the bottom.

WE'RE ALL TERRORISTS, YOU KNOW!
Since just after 9/11 and all the "knee jerk re-actions" of our law enforcement agencies. I have lost at least 5 prime, Trout spots and now some primo flattie haunts. Last week, I was told that I can't be where I just pulled 5 Flounder and one Sheepshead out of. It's off limits now......"didn't YOU see the sign". "ya mean, the one hidden way up on the bank in the trees?", I replied.

Really.....does two guys in a boat in the river obviously fishing a certain rock pile or point, pose any National Security Threat to an area already equipped with a fence, probably with motion detectors on it, and with surveillance camera's on top of high poles, with patrolling security guards.....with binoculars? I'd love to take a Washington politician fishing just so he/she could see how utterly un-common sense this really is.

I can anchor within a BB gun range of a Naval Ship docked in Mayport N.S. But cannot anchor and fish, 200 yards from the closest Jeep, parked in a lot??

Who are these idiots, who make up these rules? Post a few signs, and become the Gestapos of the land? The land that I couldn't care less about, as a Tax paying, Jacksonville resident who's only interest is what's laying by that rock or point "UNDER WATER"! Use your head, folks. Or is the security so lame, you're scared of us?

I know we're living in a total "militaristic" country now. Let alone this city!

I AM YOUR FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE. DON'T YOU GET IT. I SEE WAY MORE THAN YOU DO.

DO SOME PROFILING!!

If I look/act like I'm a terrorist, I probably am. Just like the "Osama" they just caught putting a plan together in Colorado. BTW.....Why is that dude even here in my USA? A full-time fishing guide, just trying to make a living with a customer. Isn't your biggest problem. As we can see on the nightly news.

I PROFILE......you can too. I can tell if a caller or someone who emails me is really interested in a fishing charter, or if they are just out on a info hunt or tire kicking session. Car salesman do it. They steer you in the right direction to get that sale. They quickly profile your needs.

What's this country come too? I've had multiple background checks, have been finger printed I don't know how many times, have to buy a so called, security card (which is another fancy word for taxing me to pay for this "homeland security".) And still am considered a potential Terrorist?
NOW, is stereo typically in my mind the Big Bull Redfish time of the year. Ahh, October is almost here. Not August or even the beginning of Sept. And the funny thing is I hear about all these MONSTER REDS...and how big they are.

It's funny, I'm anchored 100 feet away from someone who's catching only monster reds, while we are catching the average sized fish, 20-30 pounds. Boy, can some guides really "pump up" a story. I guess that's why they're fisherman. If they weren't fisherman, they maybe "sci-fi writers".

I've caught numerous 50 plus pound Reds. But I can tell ya honestly, I don't really care if they're 20 or 40 pounds, they're all fun for the person who hasn't ever caught a big'un. The school that comes through is the school that comes through...No one's catching just 40-50 pound Reds, while everyone else is catching 20-30's. It is what it is, folks.

No one's blue crab sitting on the bottom is that special.....just the stories you'll hear afterwards are "special".......special hype!

Have fun with them, make sure you get a good healthy release, take a picture and be happy they haven't outlawed the catch & release of a big Redbass, yet.

We can all learn a lesson from what the offshore charters and headboats are facing today. The fight to not have the entire "bottom fishing" industry shut down. Starting with the closure of Geniune Red Snapper, then the entire Grouper/Snapper Complex to follow?

Jerry Sienfeld put it into perspective, when he said. "Parents for Adults is what government agencies are. As a kid you never understood why your parents had such rules. And as an adult you don't know why the government it constantly telling you what you can and can't do."

See ya out there......