10/5 - Speck outlook, finally catchin on?

If the absence of Specked Trout like we are experiencing in the St. Johns ever happened in the bayous of Louisiana it would make headlines in the New Orleans Newspaper.

If you are a frequent follower of this blog of mine. You may have caught the clues that have floated through many of my reports. If you missed it all, I'll remind you.

If I could only fish (personally) for a single fish, the species would be TROPHY TROUT, period. Yeah, I'm in the wrong area, I know that.  The Texas coast and the Louisiana coast are number one in the entire USA for BIG Trout hunters.

But, I'm here. Where the tides are extreme, the current is fast and to be a really good Speck hunter, you have to be dedicated and knowledgible of the species.

I've said many times here on these  blog pages that this past winter put a real hurt on the tender Speck population in the river.

August 26, 2009 - Kirk M. and myself over 100 Trout in a day.
November 2009 - Glory Days! Wackin & Stackin limits of specks.
December 2009 - the same fish were on thier way to the inlet, (which they do each and every year) limits caught and released just east of the Mayport Boat Ramp.

By January 2010 the vicious cold weather that set record lows was in full swing. One day DOA Rob and myself fished in 43 degree water that was 10' deep and actually caught 20 near dead Trout.

DOA Rob and "Kayak Mike" Kogan and myself actually attempted to Kayak fish Simpsons Creek, for Trout. When we got out of the truck at Kayak Amelia the news talk radio station on DOA Robs radio said it was 18 degrees at the airport......"And we were gonna sit in plastic boats and trout fish??"  We three, lasted about 2 hrs.

If you were really into all this like I am, you could go through November through January's blog archives along the right side bar of this page and read the facts for yourself and see the end of Speck catching due to serious cold.

It's funny that it gets to be Sept & Oct and finally ""other"" local fishing guides are just starting to realize what I've been talking about, since January.

Here's what some of them say in their reports:

"What is really glaring though is the absence of trout in any numbers which I attribute to this past winter's hard freeze."

"Speckled trout seem to have taken a hit from the cold winter we had this year. They are still here, just more difficult to catch."

Harder to catch? Because there's LESS of them....that's why! 

It's really simple, "more fish, easier to catch."


Since January 1st, we are also over a foot to the negative with rain fall. You ask, "why does that matter when it comes to Trout fishing?" 

I've tracked it to an extent. Wetter years, better Trout fishing....actually better EVERY FISH FISHING!
Dry years, tougher fishing.

Wet, dry? What are you talking about Dave? 
I mean, storms! Hurricanes, Tropical depressions, Tropical storms, whatever you want to call them. They mean R-A-I-N!!!

All "Estuary Species" depend on the mixing of fresh and saltwater to thrive, and spawn. And being that the St. Johns River is NOT a real river, but rather a 318 mile long estuary. Our fishing is dependent on rain, since the "estuary" doesn't get a rise from northern snow melt, or a flush because of up river floods.

When you think rivers, think the big Mississippi heading around New Orleans. Before it even gets to New Orleans, fresh water via flood control, is diverted into the bayous. And fresh water enters the bayous all over SE Louisiana. And Trout THRIVE!

Remember the storm season of 2005? I believe we had 4 named storms / hurricanes, go over Florida.

Where did all that rain water go? Allot went into the St. Johns River. And when it got to N.E. Florida, it was like a Trout fishermans dream land.  I found the holy grail of Trout bottle-necked up in water that was only 6 part per thousand of actual saltwater.......nearly drinkable!

And BTW....if you actually think you're catching lots of bull Redbass in the river, right now. You're NOT! This whole theory also goes for those big spawning Reds.

Two, Three, Five, big spawners is not allot of big Reds, in a single tide. 30-40-50 on a single tide is really catching them. Just as some may call catching allot of Trout being three or four. What I call catching Trout is 25-50.  And yes, you can also catch the big Reds better, during wetter years.

When you think about Speckled Trout in the St. Johns River......just ask yourself, "where did all those Mangrove Snappers I used to catch go?"
(we won't talk about those Snook that we once had)

Ditto for Trout......

Thank goodness for Croakers, Whiting, Spots, Sheepshead, Black Drum, and Reds. As you may have noticed, I've switched my daily techniques lately.

Less Float-rigging and more bottom fishing.

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10/4 - MOST GORGEOUS DAY, and the greatest crew.

Wow, was Monday the pick of the week. Even though the forecast was for "wind", the little we had was perfection. And the air temp was so nice and cool. I was loving it. As was my crew the Brandt family. Don lives around the corner from me, while his folks come down from NY at least 4 times a year. They are long-time customers that I so much enjoy having aboard the Jettywolf, that I look forward to them calling me. We always have such a good time. It helps that they are, "nose to the grind stone" anglers. Willing to fish hard, all day long.

So we departed at 8am after the flood tide. My plan was to go catch some Reds off the stern in the current, while they fished shrimp on the bottom for "stringer fish" (IE: Whiting, Croakers, Spots, Yellowmouth, Sand Trout, Seabass.)

But they did better than that!



















Right off the bat, Don's mom scores a nice Sheepshead in 35 foot of water on a piece of shrimp. And as planned they wacked the Croakers real good too. While I took the smallest ones and put them in the livewell for big Redbass bait...."gotta love free bait, that are a blast to catch."

So I flung out a live Croaker behind the boat pinned to a 7/0 circle hook on the heavier rods, as the crew continued catching one fish after another. In hopes for a big bow in the rod and a large Redbass. And it did happen! But whatever it was stole the live Croaker.

Some of the Croakers are getting pretty big. Good enough for some fillets.





















Then, "BIG FISH BILL", Don's dad. While stealthfully fishing up on the bow of the boat. Stuck a big fish on the light tackle. It smoked drag, ran slack back towards the boat, ran under the boat, and then ran out off the side of the boat. Bill was smiling! It was an oversized Redbass that ate a small dead shrimp intended for more Croakers........."or was it??"

At 28-1/2 inches long it wasn't a keeper. But Bill didn't care. It was a great fight. In the photo Bill's holding his fish, and the tiny piece of shrimp it ate. "yep, elephants eat peanuts too, Bill..."

It was steady as it comes. Fish after fish. Croakers, Spots, Pigfish galore...but ya never know what's gonna eat that dead shrimp bouncing on the bottom. A-C-T-I-O-N, that's what I like. Be it with customers or while I'm out by myself doing R&D. Some of the Croakers were big enough to drop in the fish box, along with filletable Spots also. Good makings for a fish fry. Small, skinless, boneless fillets, perfect for some Zaterains fish fry mix, and Peanut oil. I knew we'd have plenty of stringer fish, so we kept all the filletables.

As the tide fell the action on spot #1 faded some we made a move.  "let it be known...that Spot #1 was only 2 miles from the dock. And we sat and caught fish steady for hours. That's my motto. NO LONG BOAT RIDES!" 

Spot #2, was just an area I wanted to check out. It was deep on the channel edge, and the current was extreme. But Bill pulls pup Drum out of the spot while fishing a 6 ounce sinker on my light bottom rods.

Lunches aboard the Jettywolf, are always great with the Brandts. Really good sandwiches, cheese and crackers, and various fruits. So since the current was blazing. It was time for a lunch break. Then, I slid the anchor up into shallower water along a hard bottom area in 26 feet.

We continued fishing just plain ole dead shrimp on the light rods, while I threw a butterflied Croaker out behind the boat. Whiting, Yellowmouth Trout, Sand Trout, some weird species, and more keeper Spots were biting when the stern rod bowed over with authority. Don's mom grabbed it.......The battle was on!

Thank goodness, this fish hit the beefier tackle. Because it made a long, long run against the heavy drag of my B-197 twin-drag Accurate reel and 6' Ugly Stik charter rod.

   




















Another over-sized Redbass in the 36 inch catagory. "This fish was full of spit & vinegar!" Healthy, no doubt. But Don's momma handled it as she always does, like an Pro.

We boxed some more big Croakers, some Whiting and sizeable Spots. And feed plenty of Pigfish. And it was time to move on. So we hit the first spot of the morning again, because the tide would be perfect again.

And no sooner were we on the spot, Bill was up on the bow again with his rod bowed over and drag peeling.
Don, was in the stern with me and Bill came back with his fish and gave it to Don. "Ohhh, this will something by the time Dad gets home.....having to catch a Red for his son",  Don said.

But either way. Don put a beautiful 32 incher into the net after a light tackle battle in 35 foot of water. And again, another big Red on a small piece of dead shrimp!















We finished up every single piece of shrimp on the boat. The tide went slack, and that was our signal to head to the dock. I cleaned all the fish in the box, and there was some mighty fine fish fry fillets, afterwards.

It was a great day, weather-wise and fishing-wise. And Bill said before they headed off, "See ya in May Capt Dave...." I replied, "I'll be looking forward to it, Bill." 

Oct. 3 - Lot's of fishing.....in the wind.

Been really busy. Have had groups up to 4 passengers in 20 kt winds to a dad and his daughter, which was fun. Even attempted to fish a "fun tournament", put on by the Underground Utilities Contractors Assoc. with a dad and his two boys, during a Nor-easter with 20-25 knot winds. Not as much f-u-n....

Here's the five of us, on Sept 30th running back from up river around 7pm. (gotta love the...JETTYWOLF)

The day before on Friday the 1st of Oct. was obviously the calm before the storm. It was cool (for J-ville standards) and BEAUTIFUL weather. Then, on Saturday Oct. 2nd is when it was even cooler, and so much wind that "real" fishing was almost futile.

But each day we caught fish, and that's what counts...... right?? 

We may not have scored big time in the winds during the tournament, or had the biggest and baddest Redbass of all time. Dealing with the tides and weather gets to be just second nature. And as long as we had fun aboard the Jettywolf.....that's what I'm here for!















Here's a 27 pound Redbass that was caught during a late day 4 passenger trip, along with Speckled Trout, Sand Trout & Whiting. The big Red was a great fish. But it had it's own problems.....(????)

What's dat on yer' head??

Then, there was some Jacks, Flounder, Ladyfish, Redbass, Sharks, Whiting, Croakers on the trip with Chris and his daughter Amanda. It was a gorgeous day, also.

And even a Speckled Trout, haven't seen many of them on Gale force days!

Next up: Monday Oct. 4th with the Brandt's and then a 4 passenger trip on Thursday.

The forecast for the week is basically 10-15 knots out of the North or North East every day. I'll bet it'll be closer to the 15 knots than the 10.