7/13 - Snake bit...?

Had a customer I have not had on board in 6 years. Chad S. and he brought his 14 year old nephew. Plan was since the river fishing has been so hit and miss. We'd head offshore. Yeah, first stop was to be somewhere around Montgomery's Reef. From the end of the jetties, 10.8 miles.

We broke the jetties early. Looked for Pogies off the north. And as we saw ZERO, I said hell with this let's go.
And the further we went, the less I could actually get on plane!!

It was "SLOP" city!  (as we watched the 70' Party boats pass us, heaving in the seas.)

Yes, it was windy about 10-15 kts. which isn't all that much wind, but out of the SE with the "5 second intervals" between the 4 foot back to back waves would have had me doing a fast idle, for the next 10 miles?  Heck NO.

So, hell with this....

I turned around and we fought our way back in the jetties, as it was a sloppy mess too. By this time, Chad and Dakota his 14 year old nephew were soaked. I was kinda pissed, by this point. Plans shot, to hell. All I had was cuttlefish for bait. And wanted absolute nothing to do with this nasty boat bobbing around, waking, waves at that inlet, either.

Rough water is worth it when you know, you have a chance at catching good fish. (IE: January at the Jetties) Be it inshore or offshore. This was gonna be neither.

We found out really fast that not even a Croaker would eat a Cuttlefish snack. So I ended up getting some dead shrimp and we finished the day with a good handful of Whiting & Yellowmouth Trout, caught bottom fishing. Which turned into a decent bag of fish fry fillets. And the day ended with getting rained on.

I think it's baitwell of live shrimp and float-rigging inshore for me, with bottom fishing or tossing jigs as a back up no matter what, or no matter how many people on my boat. Cause I'm  kinda tired of having to be jack of all trades, master of none, during long hot summer's. 

NEXT UP:

Before the Greater Jax Kingfish Tournament mess.....starting next week on Tuesday thru Saturday. I'm able to sneak in a 2 hour kids trip on Monday, with two boys and dad.

FOR THE KIDS ONLY TRIPS, still just $200 for 2 hours, max. 4 person (kids or adults)


Greater Jax Kingfish Tournament schedule:
Tuesday - Kids tourney
Thursday & Friday - General Tourney
Saturday - GJKT Redfish tourney day

-just don't like having to get in the mess in the morning, or afternoon. Don't feel like doing no wake/idle speed in the river and jetties.