10/13 - Hungry mouths...abound!

My last two trips were interesting.

I had a dad and son, just a day or two after catching my first of the season Jetty Trout when out solo.
So I was excited. But when we got there and started working the float-rigs. No Trout. But plenty of larger Mangrove Snappers, that's for sure.

We left the big rocks in search...I decided that we'd pull on in along the Navy Base. You know, the US Navy Fish preservation, you're a terrorist zone?  One boat was already anchored up closer to the basin and no one seemed to be harassing him.  So i slipped into the area that yielded me loads of Trout over the years prior to the US Navy Fish preservation Zone, and also produced my 1st 10 pound Trout.

Mere seconds went by and here comes the feds...or whatever those base cops are. He yelled something over the car speaker never once getting out of the vehicle. I yelled back (*&&**^%$) and slowly and I mean slowly pulled my anchor.

I guess you're okay if you are not in sight of the towers that over look the kingdom of the Navy.

Ya know, there's NO SIGNS POSTED ?  If I moved here with my bowrider from Indiana how am I supposed to know that the Navy is looking out for my welfare, via the Army Corps??????

You can read all about it "HERE"

No economic impact? I believe they are dead wrong!

So we moved on and caught more Mangroves, alot of Croakers, and finished the day up pulling Jacks from under a dock.

My Jr. Angler had a really good time, as well as dad. And they went home with a good sack of Croaker and sweet Mangrove fillets.

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The next day out I was hired to fish the Underground Utility Contractors Assoc. tournament.
I've done the tourney several times. But the two years that stand out the most is when it was really cold in the morning.

This past Saturday it surely wasn't. And was 85 degrees again by the afternoon.

First off, I didn't know I could depart from anywhere I wanted. So I left Mayport and had thought I had to pick up and drop off my guys at the Dames Point Marina, where the even was held.

Since it was a 9 mile ride in the dark at 6am. I figured there was no way i was running back to Mayport. So I hung around down there and fished that area of the river....VERSUS heading to the Jetties where I really wish I was. I found out I could have had my guys meet me at Mayport and then after fishing they could drive to the Dames Point Marina.

I would have loved to just bottom fish, and maybe do some Sharkin' for fun. But instead we burned through 6 dozen shrimp in a flash, and pitched Mud Minnows. Croakers and Mangrove Snappers ate us out of house and home. And we had 4 Flounder on jigs and Matrix Shad plastics. Keeping three okay Flounder. Never caught a Trout all day and I figured no Redfish. Since I never catch them on my Trout spots anyhow.

We fished the same area's I fished during the heat of the summer. And we sure could have used live Mullet!!  I'm not a mud Minnow fan. But then again, I'm not a fan of spending hours getting enough Mullet either. And my crew didn't seem to care either way.

One thing I hardly ever do is fish that far down river this time of year. I live by the Trout fisherman's motto; "Closer to inlets in the fall/winter. And further from inlets in the spring/summer." 

Reserved for:  Oct. 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22
-for everything from a 3-boat company charter I booked, to a one man charter for 2 days in a row.

Sure hope I can just turn EAST out of the boat ramp those days.