4/15 - calm & cold after the storm

Ended up rescheduling the 14th, because of the obvious 70 MPH winds that hammered the area Tuesday. Spent a good part of the day helping to cut up giant tree limbs that fell in my parents yard.

So Wednesday the 15th at 7am was a whole new set of weather. It was down right C-O-L-D out on the river. Met Keith E. his girlfriend and his mom visiting from Minnesota at 7:30AM.

We had the last few hours of the falling tide to work with so we ran up river. With plans of the jetties later in the day.

The spot only produced one good Speck, and Keith caught it (I think) on his first drift of his float-rig. A nice 20 incher.

Just on Monday afternoon, the same spot yielded many break-offs and big fish hook-ups for Bob and I, with a 4 pound Trout and a 28" Redfish that came to the boat on the same tide.

But today was also the Ladyfish arrival day for me. Day 1 of Ladyfish catching. As if they sneak in under the cover of darkness, all in one day.

But that's okay, Keith's Mom caught the first one, along with a big Jack that kicked her butt pretty bad. She said to me, "this is alot different that Mil lac's fishing, back home." And she was right.

We stayed till the tide slowed, hoping to get a big Redfish or more Trout, till it was time to head toward the jetties.

The jetties haven't been big time Speckled Trout lately. But the large Yellowmouth Trout fishing has been through the roof. And Keith's mom was gonna love this.

So we got on them rather quickly, and started filling the cooler full with nice ones. Great fun, and so much ACTION, it's incredible.

No one goes with out bites, and catching fish.

And in between the yellers, we picked up some small Speckled Trout, Jacks, and a Ladyfish or two. But did manage to box a few more keeper Specks. No Sheepshead or Reds for us though.

The action was very consistant, and lots of fun.

Keith's mom was having a ball, as she sat on one of my livewells in the stern of the boat. At one point she was leaning back on a fish and reeling and almost fell completely backwards off the livewell, she was so into it. I was right behind her, and caught her as she fought the fish. As if it was an "ole man of the sea" battle.

As you can see, it finally warmed up for us, heck it is Florida and mid April and should be warm anyhow. The forecast was actually a bit wrong.

They called for 15 knots, and as we sat at the jetties wackin them, the ocean was slick calm and it warmed up nicely.

The water was a bit stirred up, naturally it should have after belly washer rain storms and 65 MPH winds in the last few days.

Talk about a transitional time of year!

I have fished through or around some wacky weather so far this month.

The goal is to book as many trips as I can, and if I can get out 2/3rds of them, I really doing good!

I've rescheduled trips all the way back from January till now, and then have moved a few all the way forward till July,

when the folks can come

back to J-ville again.

It's the nature of the beast. But the fishing is worth it.

Coming up next week is some great morning tides.

And I have some days open.

4/13 - Day of firsts, with Bob from N.C. // UPDATED

Had Bob J. aboard today. It was a solo trip, just he and I that was rescheduled back from a windy cold day in January. I've known Bob for quite awhile, because he fishes the Southern Kingfish Assoc. tournaments around here, in his own boat. But he wanted to learn some "river" fishing techniques.

The weather in the morning was okay, but not great. So we left out and I headed to the lil' jetties instead of the big jetties, which I'm sure were really rough. My left foot was killing me. You may remember that back in February I missed the Miami Boat Show because of the side of my foot having some kind of problem, and there was no way I could have walked 5 miles a day around the show. Well, all the jumping out of the boat I've been doing re-injured whatever was wrong with my foot. So I hobbled around the boat all day on my right foot. I think I may have a fracture or something. All the dancing around on the deck in the rough stuff this last week probably didn't help what I thought was a healed foot. No, I have not been to a doctor either.

We pulled up at the lil' jetties and in the first 10 minutes, I caught the years FIRST Pompano!

Usually, I get the first Pomp's at the big jetties, naturally. It wasn't a big one, maybe a pound and a half "keeper". We got a few more bites. And I had a sneaky suspicion that the second round of VERMIN fish, have magically appeared over night. MANGROVE SNAPPERS!!!
I'll be marking the calendar with today as the first day I got into those rock & dock snappers that eat ya out of house and home.

I took a photo of Bob and I and the Pompano, and realized again somethings wrong with my digital "dive" camera, still. It wasn't working last week so well, either. And I didn't have time or the patience to sit and play with it.

We didn't pick up any Trout or anything. And Bob was getting the hang of the "float-rig" really well. So we moved on.

We worked our way up river and started to hit every rock pile and good dock spot on the way towards the Dames Point area. We ended up catching Bluefish, and more Mangrove Snappers, boxing a few large ones big enough for a good fillet. Then, it was "double whammy secret spot time".

But by now the wind was in the heinous category. And it wasn't looking like we were gonna bust any decent Trout or Reds. We picked through some smaller Trout on a few normally GATOR Trout spots, boxing only a few between 15-16 inch Specks. These were two spots that I have basically been able to keep to myself. And if it was any other day, without a looming front approaching and 20-25 knot winds, I have the utmost confidence that we would have pulled out some really big Trout.

So we headed back towards Mayport. I was enjoying fishing with Bob, he's a good fisherman. So I made one more stop......and we ended up there, for 3 more hours! The tide was high, and I usually don't fish this spot at high tide. But I figured, "Why Not?"

We picked up a few more vermin Bluefish, and a Speckled Trout. And we were a bit protected by the wind too. Eventually, the tide started to slowly ebb, and "swells" started to form in the river. The boat was going up and down as if we were anchored offshore. Then, as usual the spot "lit off"!!!

Bob hung into a big Redbass, as his float went down with authority. But it was in a serious DANGER area. Pilings, rubble, you name it.....that's where they are, and that's where you have to be able to perplex them out of. Bob, the concement "light tackle King Mackerel angler" worked the fish out of the structure, held on for several burning runs, and kept his 15# leader intact. And I scooped the Red into the net. A pretty 28 incher...a bit longer if tail pinched.

What a fight!

Since my camera was not wanting to take or hold a photo, even though we tried several times.
Here's an "ARTISTS RENDERING" of Bob and his beautiful Redbass.



















I fished along with Bob, hung a few decent fish too, but had my leaders broke. Bob hooked another big fish, it got into the structure and popped off. Then, he hooked into another good fish.
And it was a exactly what I had been looking for all day long. A Speckled Trout, 4 pounds and 22-1/2 inches long!

Again, here's an "ARTISTS RENDERING" of Bob and his big Trout.




















We tried for a another big fish, but it was getting late. My foot was throbbing. And the "SEAS" were building in the river. So we headed back to the boat ramp. I cleaned Bob's fish, and he had himself a nice "St. Johns River sampler pack" to take back to N.C.

And when I got home, while cleaning up the boat and talking to Tim, my Tuesday charter. ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE!!!! The rain came down like a biblical flood in my area. So needless to say, Tim and his buddy are rescheduling.


That's an understatement......I sit here writing this report and the wind is blowing and gusting to what seems like Hurricane proportions. The tree limbs are flying down my street like rain drops.

HOLY CRAP, this is some bad wind.

I'm supposed to also be out tomorrow, Wednesday. And maybe Thursday or Friday, too.
It doesn't look like it, right now.
But we'll see.

(and I figured out what was wrong with my digital dive camera today. So hopefully we'll be back to "real" photos, instead of drawings.....hahaha)





------------

UPDATE:


Found some of the photos on my SD card:














2009 - first Pompano!












Bob's 28" Redbass....with screwy lines in photo from goofy
camera.



www.captdaves.com

4/11 - Late Day, windy, boat traffic, but successful 1/2 day.

Did a 2 boat charter with a good buddy out of Beach Marine, with a group of swim team teen-agers and their chaperon visiting S. Jax Beach/PV area.

2PM to 6PM....so I departed around 12:00 from the house and headed to the boat ramp knowing all too well that the Saturday before Easter Sunday, was a zoo on the water. And it was.

I soft peddled my way from Mayport all the way down the ICW to Beach Marine on an incoming tide. I don't fish the "ditch" very often that far south. So I looked over a few spots as I slowly made my way through the maze of traffic on the I-95 of waterways.

I was early as usual, and got to really take it all in, as I came up with some kind of a game plan.

Our folks arrived right on time and we jumped in the boats and headed out. Man, I feel sorry for the folks at that "behind" Beach Marine boat ramp.....that's one heck of a small area jammed packed with people loading and unloading, jet ski's, ski boats, you name it and the seawall was lined with land based anglers (LBA's) casting into the thorough fare of constant traffic into Beach Marine.
Kinda reminded me of what you see in Miami.

The wind was whipping at 20 knots plus from the west. The full moon tide was ripping, and we knew this was going to be one heck of a tough 1/2 day trip.

I decided to run all the way back north to the lil' jetties. I was going to try to get off the beaten path, since I was in the proverbial "HUB", but there was no unbeaten path today. And as the tide fell and fell fast, I didn't want to get stuck up in some creek and couldn't get out. I really had to do some serious contemplating...."where the heck can we fish and CATCH!"

I had Lee the chaperon, his son and his son's girlfriend. Both were swimmers, but not big time anglers. So I found a decent spot behind the Lil' Jetties and anchored up.
I've caught Trout, Drum, Reds, Sheepshead, Jacks to 18 pounds, and of course Mangrove Snappers one after another here, before.

So I busted out the Float-rig rods and gave them a 3 second "how-to", these were smart kids and they picked up on it very fast. Halee, the only gal on the boat was up first. Sun burnt to a crisp stood next to me as I showed her what we're going to do....and what do I do?
Hook a really big fish while I'm going over the in's & out's. But it busts me off in the jetty rocks before I could say BOO!

Okay...I think we maybe on to something here.

5 minutes later, she hooks a 4 pound Jack Crevalle.
Her first ever F-I-S-H!
It kicked her butt!
Then, five minutes later she hooks a 3 pound Sheepshead.
Then, Lee's son hooks a beautiful 18 inch Speckled Trout.
Then, Halee hooks a 20" really beautiful Speckled Trout.

Wow, not a bad start!

I was pretty dang busy, so I didn't get to take any photos, plus my camera is acting all goofy. And even though the FWC was like Vultures circling a carcass in the middle of the road, while we were getting waked in the NO WAKE zone by 40' sport fish boats!! So I had my attention elsewhere most of the time.

The tide behind the rocks faded and changes quickly. And as soon as it did, our bites dropped off.
But besides the first bite, every single bite was a fish. They did real good.

The wind just wouldn't quit. And of course since we were catching fish, I had boats circling us like Vultures too, jockeying for a position around us like a magnet. But when the current changed, there was no sense staying here. So we pulled up anchor and headed back south on the ICW.

I stopped along a deep cut back and re-anchored. And we caught one Yellowmouth Trout. After 4pm, right as all the ICW traffic magically diminished. I told Lee, "4PM it's the bewitching hour, everyone packs it in and heads home now, after a long day of running around in circles."

We met up up with Jeff, the other boat. He looked to be doing the "Bikini tour". Since that's all I could see on the bow of his boat. And he said, they trolled and caught some Jacks and Spanish Macs.

Then we all headed back to Beach Marine. I cleaned the fish for Lee, and he was ecstatic to have some prime fillets for dinner.

Challenging 1/2 day? YOU BET!

Sunday I have a rest day, and will be back at it on Monday thru Wednesday. I hope everyone goes back to work, spring break is over, and I know I'll be fighting high winds and possible rain this next week. Just hoping to have some tranquility on the river..."it's all I'm asking for".

A look back....

This report blog is so sweet. I can look back and see the differences between this April and April of last year. (YES! There's ARCHIVES running down the right side bar of this Blog.) It helps that last April I did a "looking at my notes" post here also.


I believe things are a bit out of wack, compared to last year during this exact same time. No year is ever the same......Not in Bazzaro world F-L-A.


This time last year I was into some FOG. Yeah FOG, and we wore out some whopper Specks.

















I believe the water was warmer too.

This was one wicked cold winter so that may have something dragging behind. But then again, other stuff seems right on time. Like the Black Drum at the jetties. Which I haven't done much of, if any..."bait-n-wait" fishing just isn't all that exciting as handing someone a rod and having them fish their float-rig all by themselves.

Here's all I'm waiting for:

I'd like to see warm water this summer. Not 74 degree water in June, July & August.
I'd also like to see a POGIE!
Actually cast net fulls of POGIES would be great!













I'd love to see the "beach" alive. Monster Redbass behind the surf, Cobia on the Rays, King Mackerel piled up in the S.E. Hole, along with a few close-in Sailfish. Tarpon and Sharks roaming the inlets and beach.


I remember going south to the Red Tops off Ponte Vedre , and trolling dead Cigar Minnows years ago and catching huge Spanish Mackerel (28 inches long) by the dozens, doing a 1/2 day charter!!!!!! Who the hell needs King Mackerel when ya have schools of eager Spanish chewing and jumping out of the water???

Opps, there we go again. It's all about them Pogies!
KEEP YOUR.........

4/10 - Slammin in the slop

Had Josh P. aboard as a "solo'ist" today. Had really no idea that it was going to be as sloppy as it was. It actually turned out to be just like yesterday, instead of a 20 knot SW wind, it was a 20 knot SE wind. Damn, the Ocean hasn't received much of a break in the last few days, at least it hasn't at the jetties.

Josh was dead on time and we flew on out to the rocks, so we didn't have to work around others. Got into position for a slam fest of monster yellowmouth Trout, and maybe a few Reds? And was surprised that it actually took both of us a 1/2 hour or so before we found the proverbial "nest".

But when we did, they weren't the big ones we had yesterday, at first. But as we fished they got larger. Josh wasn't out for supper, he was just out to catch fish. And I was happy to help.

We easily boxed our limit, and release a bunch more. I never turn my nose up at 18-21" Yellowmouths, even though I'm a Speckled Trout fan. Which Josh had only one Speck, which was 14-1/2 ".

Then from out of no where came a big color change in the water, a weird current that moved the boat, and a "rip" line passed right by us. I believe at high tide, that the high winds were pushing back the high ocean water along the jetty. Very strange, I don't see this much at all.

And then the bites got harder to get. So we made a move or two. If I say so myself, I surprised "me" with absolute precision anchoring in the 4 foot seas and sustained 20 knot SE wind. I got Josh right up to "Redfish rock" and on his first pitch up to the spot.............SLAM DUNK!

He hooked a really big fish, that handed him his butt. We were really close to the rocks, so the fish had no where to be but "in the rocks" as he attempted to pull the fish to the surface. But the leader broke.

"Okay", I said. "I know how to cure that." So we re-anchored and left some space between the boat and where the fish should be. This made for some wiggle room. But the next few casts up into the spot caught nothing. "Hmmmm, with all that sloppy water the reds ought to be in there." So the next fish was a Jack. Then, Josh lost a Sheepshead at the boat. Then two more sheeps came to the boat, then like a light switch the bites were over.

We had good action, then OFF.
(I've about had it with all camera's! Where the hell are these "lines" come from, is what I'd like to know!)
This is some really wacky stuff going on. But take in the fact that it was rough as a cob, and windy, I was just glad that we got in the middle of it all. And that Josh was savvy and had sea legs.

It was fun while it lasted. I don't even know how many yellowmouths we caught, it was a lot. Didn't take alot of pictures. Glad I didn't if they all would look like this one.

Back to my ole saying..."it's like Chinese yellow mustard, it's not hot it's exciting!"
Just like the jetties are when sitting in the slop and chop, when fighting a fish, pitching your float, and working your line. It's all Exciting. I LOVE IT!!

We left the rocks and worked the ole Funnel and only caught Blues while waiting for the tide to fall. So we moved on and there was someone fishing the next spot. So we ended up trying a shell bar in Sherman's creek to only get one Jack. So we packed it in and headed for the dock.

Damn, the FWC were like flocks of vultures today in the "hub", (aka: the Mayport Boat ramp to the little Jetties, and Sisters creek of course.)

Where are they all week long? Does that mean every no wake zone is wide ass open for high speed travel Monday thru Thursday? I find it so funny that they're presence is only when the fruit is so easy to pick off the tree. As it is on Holiday's, and nice weekends.

Next up: 1/2 day Saturday with 3.

4/9 - It was a "Yeller" fest!!

"Holy smokes.... I haven't seen a bite like that for quite awhile."

Yes, it was a Yellowmouth Trout fest like none other. And I was so glad, because I had the entire Kolls family on the boat, mom & dad and the 3 boys.















(Camera was acting up...don't adjust your screen the line is in the photo.)
The wind was damn near heinous this morning.
Due southwest, at least 20 knots sustained.

So not wanting to get too close to the jetties I stayed off them, and made casts for the crew up to the rocks. And Ray (dad) agreed that 98% of all casts were instantaneous gratification!!

Before you think that these were those lil' Yellowmouths, let me correct you. These fish averaged 17-18 inches and were so full of spit and vinegar, it was unreal. Many of them ran 20 plus inches!! And I didn't even care that they weren't specks. Because I've haven't even been in a speck bite like this so far in 2009. And the boys were LOVING it!

If I had to guess, 50 of them would be a very low estimate.

So as I kept tossing, and they kept on catching, I pitched out a bottom line and all it caught was a blenny, a Bonnethead shark, a Seabass, and two clear-nosed spiney backed rays.

Yeah, we were hoping for a Sheepshead, a Redbass, or even a Speckled Trout. But the ferocious Yellowmouths wouldn't let a single live shrimp pass them by.

So after 4 hrs of filling the fish box with only monster Yellers, and after the tide died. We moved on finally. Up into the river. I wanted to see if we could get a nice keeper Speck or a Sheepshead.

And that's just what we caught.

A real nice 18" Speck, and a small Sheeps. But a Sheeps it was. So the game plan worked!

I thought I got a photo of the Speckled Trout, but I guess not. My camera was acting awful goofy today. That never happened with my 35mm Canon SLR.

So after some serious success, we headed in and I clean up a big mess of fish for them. And made up a lunch bag, so they could stop by Singletons and have some really fresh fried fish dinners out of the fish they caught themselves. Which is always a great way to end the day.



Next up: Friday, a solo angler and me. Oh, man...this ought to be a good one too.

4/8 - SLAM FEST!

Well...after having to reschedule Monday the 6th and Tuesday the 7th because of absolute heinous winds in the 40 MPH category. It sure was refreshing to have a beautiful windless morning, albeit the cold temps that blew in last nice.

But, I'm the kinda guy that if we had perpetual December and maybe even January temps it wouldn't bother me one bit. I almost hate to see late winter and spring end soon. Because it's my damn near my favorite time of the year fishing wise.

So today I left out with Dave M. and his son Adam, and headed straight the jetties. Ready to fish, but also ready to beat feet as soon as I saw any Bluefish.

So I set up Adam first and before I could get Dave ready to go he had 4 Trout in the box.

AND NOT A SINGLE BLUEFISH! Wheww....that's a relief.

Specks and yellowmouths as fast as you got your float in the right spot. Now, we're talking my game. And when I got Dave into the mix it was double headers coming in. I stood ready with the net doing double fish netting.

This was the fish box after being on anchor, for just 20 minutes.











Then, I said as I do many times, "Now remember, at any given time your float can disappear and you'll be hooked up to a trophy class Speckled Trout or a big Redbass ready to kick some butt".

Five minutes later Dave hooks into a drag burning, pole bending Redbass that he couldn't stop.

And this one was a serious junk yard dog on the ole float rig. We had Capt. Kirk behind us and his folks said they could see the fish up in the jetty rocks on the surface. Dave tried all his might to turn the fish and it gave just a tad. It turned and ran down the rocks deep, and that's when it broke off. WOW, what a mean ass fish. (a really big fish)

We re-grouped and caught more and more Specks and Yellowmouths, a small Jack (only #2 so far for 2009 season) and then it happened to Dave all over again. Slam-bam-thank-you-Ma'am!

Here we go again.....the reel spool spun backwards and the line whistled in the breeze. POP!
Another Brutus T. Redbass in the jetty rocks.

But that was 0kay. The trout were infesting like the Bluefish did last Saturday behind the boat.
I was so busy I barely was able to snap a photo.

90% of all the trout were keepers, which was sweet. But we did have some smaller ones in the mix.

But the action was exactly what it should have been for this time of year. Not just catching Bluefish after Bluefish. So I figure the gale force winds from the other day blew them away. And I hope "away" means to another state!

As the action slowed we moved on. But here came the FULL moon falling tide current. It started to barrel through between the jetties, and was way to strong for our style of fishing. So we went into the river and went into a close creek.

That's where we finished up catching more Specks, some keepers some throw backs. And only 2 Bluefish. That's about when the land breeze started to blow. So we headed back to clean fish, and feed the friendly boat ramp Egret.....and I mean clean, alot of fish!!



































Next up tomarrow : a 5 pack. Mom, Dad, and three boys. I expect I'll be pretty whooped after Thursday, ya think?

4/6 - SAVE OUR RIVER...for future generations

SAY “NO” TO WATER WITHDRAWALS, HELP PROTECT THE ST. JOHNS AND OCKLAWAHA RIVERS

















Green “pin” marks the location of the proposed Yankee Lake facility. Red line represents the pipeline to the St. Johns. On April 13th, the Governing Board of the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) will vote on a permit from Seminole County to withdraw an average of 5.5 million gallons of water a day (MGD) from the St. Johns River. Seminole County’s Yankee Lake facility would eventually be able to withdraw up to 55 MGD. This initial permit from Seminole County represents the beginning of an Alternative Water Supply (AWS) program that could eventually result in the withdrawal of over 260 million gallons of water a day (MGD) from the St. Johns and Ocklawaha.



This is not just about the future of the St. Johns and Ocklawaha. This is a fight to protect all of our water resources in Florida - our aquifer, rivers, and springs.



Here is how you can help:

1) Send an e-mail to the SJRWMD Governing Board members and Governor Charlie Crist and let them know that you oppose surface water withdrawals and support water conservation. Click here to learn more and to send an e-mail today. http://www.stjohnsriverkeeper.org/thirstthreatens.asp Takes two seconds to help!!

Read these articles for more information about the threats to our water resources:



St. Johns water district sells us out, Orlando Sentinel

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-locmaxwell29032909mar29,0,4800323.column



Put the public before the pirates, Ocala Star-Banner

http://www.ocala.com/article/20090325/OPINION/903251007



Groveland plans an April rally to drum up support in water war, Orlando Sentinel http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/lake/orl-lk-county-niagara-032309,0,2309985.story



Ocklawaha River: Insult Upon Injury, The Ledger

http://www.theledger.com/article/20090324/NEWS/903245007/1036?Title=Ocklawaha-River-Insult-Upon-Injury



Who gets aquifer access? Answer is telling, Orlando Sentinel http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/columnists/orl-lauren-ritchie-031109,0,838414.column



We think: Water managers' efforts to feed development starve efforts to fight it, Orlando Sentinel

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/orl-edped072030709mar07,0,2551277.story



Central Florida politicians wearing blinders, Orlando Sentinel http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/orl-edphealy0109mar01,0,1709812.column



We think: The latest plans to address water demands is a nightmare, Orlando Sentinel

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/orl-edped271022709feb27,0,7995351.story



Now is the time to protect Florida's precious springs, Ocala Star-Banner

http://www.ocala.com/article/20081214/OPINION/812140975



Jimmy Orth, Executive Director St. Johns Riverkeeper 2800 University Blvd. N. Jacksonville, FL 32211P: 904.256.7591

http://www.stjohnsriverkeeper.org/






www.captdaves.blogspot.com

4/6 - 4/7 - Weather

TODAY: SOUTHWEST WINDS 15 TO 20 KNOTS BECOMING WEST 20 TO 25 KNOTS BY AFTERNOON. SEAS 2 TO 4 FEET. INLAND WATERS CHOPPY. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDER STORMS.

TONIGHT: AND TUESDAY, WEST WINDS 20 TO 25 KNOTS WITH GUSTS TO 30 KNOTS. SEAS 3 TO 5 FEET. INLAND WATERS CHOPPY.

TUESDAY NIGHT: NORTHWEST WINDS 15 TO 20 KNOTS. SEAS 2 TO 4 FEET. INLAND WATERS A MODERATE CHOP.

Front passing thru.........again!

Had Monday & Tuesday pre-booked for several months with the Robinsons coming from Alabama. A far enough journey to be really pee-O'd if they got here and we couldn't fish effectively.

So we re-scheduled for the summer.

Next up is Wednesday with (2) doing a Jetty/Mayport Trip.

Then, Thursday and Friday, too.

Had a real fun Sunday. All in one day, I had to replace my Truck's battery and Starter. Just glad it crapped out on me right in my own driveway!!

4/ 3&4 - Invasions & Changes, daily!

Had Chris B. and his father out in some really bad winds on 4/3 - Friday. Before I even left the dock, I had a feeling that this would be a really tough one. 20-25 knot winds from the west was no good.
Here's what the flag looked like at the Marina next door to the boat ramp.
They call that
"standing at attention!!"
We went to the jetties, yeah like that was gonna
work. But just 24 hrs earlier, as you can see in
the 4/2 report.
http://captdaves.blogspot.com/2009/04/42-combat-fish-wranglin.html
It was one good day out there.

Needless to say my anchor wouldn't even hold in those winds. So we ended up catching some Blues, some small reds and trout. And man did we have to work for those bites, even. And in the ICW Chris caught the years first Jack Crevalle.













---------------------------
Then on 4/4 - Saturday, I had Chad P. and his father aboard. It was the Redfish spots tournament and I was entered in it. I was originally just going to fish with my dad. But business first. So Chad booked the day.

It was cold in the morning, with a 10 knot North wind bring down the chill.

We fished the jetties. And I thought the Bluefish were "Vermin" in the river, well the jetties takes the cake. Bite after bite was nothing but Bluefish. We lost bait after bait and hook after hook. They were so thick, it was like nothing I had ever encountered before.

On 4/2, the Bluefish ran us out of the jetties, and stopped the bite of nice Reds that we were into. But today, the only bites were the Blues. So as the tide was still falling we worked our way up river and everywhere we went it was exactly the same thing. More Bluefish.

Literally, it's an invasion of almost "epic" proportions!

People were everywhere, so we just went back to the jetties, and waited for the tide to slow up and hopefully change SOON! As we float-rig fished, we kept loosing baits to quick sharp bites all in one area. Between the Spanish Mackerel & Bluefish, this was something else. Then, we finally caught one, it was Sheepshead. They were bait stealing us pretty bad, But in between the constant Bluefish bites and all, it was tough to connect. So we got two back to back.

We ended up making a move over to the north jetty again, and connected to one more Sheepshead that could get to the shrimp in between the constant Bluefish bites over there too. But it was lost at the boat side due to probably a raggedy leader from Bluefish teeth.

I had to of gone through 50 hooks, and 100 yards of 15# leader. And all we could pull out of there was two Sheepshead and two Spanish Macs.

I've already rescheduled Monday & Tuesday due to high winds. Wednesday is supposed to be 15-20 knots from the West, and then have a 5 person charter, again on Thursday at this time is supposed to be south at 15 knots.

If I had one wish right now, I'd wish for no more Bluefish!!!!!!!!

4/2- Combat fish wranglin'

Had Chris & Kyle B. on board today. Original day was yesterday. And no way were we gonna make it yesterday. That was some BIG RAIN, we had. But I was still a bit worried about today even.


When I got to the boat ramp, no flags were flying high or whipping. And the boat ramp was a perfect weekday vacant. Which was a relief.
So off we went to the jetties.

The first spot the current was really ripping and only produced one Bluefish.
And that was just the start to our battles with those VERMIN.



So we moved on. And went straight to Float-rig land.

It was sloppy, and it was choppy. But the fish are not always were you're gonna be perfectly comfortable. And that's why I have the boat I have, I told Chris and Kyle. The larger the platform, the easier it is to sit in the washing machine.


We got into some really big Yellowmouth Trout, right off. Then, I tried to re-situate us, and then we picked up a Sheepshead. I situated us right out of the yellowmouth bite!!
















Damn, good deeds can be punished. I was trying to make it so the guys didn't have to cast far, but rather just drift to them.

So I readjusted the boat back to the position we were in 20 minutes before. And on the first cast was a hook up with Brutus T. Redbass.

They're Here!
Nice maxed out keeper, for Kyle.
And from here on out it was one red after another, up to 32", with two keepers.

















































Kyle caught a Spanish Mackerel on the float-rig, first one of the year.

And after some lengthy battles with Brustus T , we obviously stirred up the VERMIN pot, because after the Reds, the dang Bluefish were chewing every hook off our leaders. And as usual this time of year, "they damn ran us outa there!"

So we moved on to a Trout spot. And Kyle was the HOT ROD. And caught 4 in a row, with two keepers.














We finished up the day there and went back to clean our fish.

Zero rain, no big winds, perfect temp.
Great Day!

But Kyle had to get home and get to work.
Poor guy.....

3/30 - NICE...

Had the Taylor B. crew on board today. And after yesterdays huge amount of wind I was really worried. I need a day that's nice....it seems like it's been so long since I had a charter when it wasn't blowing.

The forecast was 5-10 from the N.E. at first, then it switched to NW. And as we sat at the jetties this morning yes, it was N.W. with a light breeze, then later it turned to the N.E. But it was light, so it didn't hurt anything I had planned.


Things started out slow, but got better as the tide flooded in. The water was sandy looking at it should have been after all that wind we had. Cleaner water could have helped the Trout fishing. But we eventually got what we came for. A box of Specks and some Yellowmouth's. The best Trout was Keith's (hope I remember his name right....I'm bad with names) He nailed a fat 21 incher just as the tide and current got really right.


Taylor has float-rigged with bait casting tackle with me once before. But Charles and Keith haven't. And they sure picked it up well and fast.

The Specks and yellowmouth's kinda came in waves. We'd get a good rally of fish going and then nothing. I believe the fish were on the move and not hanging around, to long. Then, we'd get another wave come by.

We made a few moves. Added a few here and there, and only had one throw back small one all day long. But still, I was hoping to find the "nest". Which means action for hours. But believe the dirty water may have played a big part in no "nest" today.


So as the tide got high, we made a move again. I told the guys, we're moving to a Redfish spot. And believe it or not, it's all about high tide and the spot you get your by. And 5 minutes after being there, Keith sets the hook on a 22 inch Redfish, right after I tossed a jig out and hung a Sheepshead.

The current the died off, and it was time to eat a sandwich, so as we did that we travelled part of the "rip" that was forming on high tide, I don't see many distinct rip lines on high tide very often. But we checked a couple hundred yards of it, just to see if a Tripletail might be hanging out on it.

Time to step it up a notch. So we hit the north rocks and tossed jig-n-shrimp combo meals.















Again, HOT ROD Kieth set the hook on a Sheepshead. We stayed at it for a bit, but that's all the guys caught out of the spot. I was thinking, "more Redbass" myself.

All day out towards the "chum hole" sat a big sailing ship anchored up. And I mean BIG.
So I had to try and get a photo of it.

It was a good day, nice weather, and a good group of guys.


Next up will be Wednesday, Friday, Saturday - fishing the Redfish spots Tournament with clients, and then Monday and Tuesday with the Robinson's.



Lots of good fish.....now it's "time to make the donuts", aka: cleaning the fish.

3/27 - Nasty....

Had (5) people aboard and out for a bottom fishing trip. Looking for a BIG Red, a Drum, a big Sheeps, on that new moon tide.

Current & wind and heaviness, made it so I couldn't even anchor on any of the deep hard bottom spots, I usually fish. Anchor bounced like it was being pulled across blacktop!!!

It was gusty, cold and overcast.

Fish? Don't even ask.

Next few trips....I only have 2 passengers. "Have float-rig & jigging combos, will travel."

UPDATE:

sent this photo of what it looked like out there, to our locaL FOX NEWS station's, Mike Buresh the meteorologist, he explained to me what we were seeing out there.

He replied, "Good stuff, Cap! Those are mammatus clouds. I received a photo from a viewer Fri. & noticed them myself. Mammatus is latin for "udder" -- use some imagination!!These clouds most often appear on the under side of the anvil of intense thunderstorms. In Fri's case, they were the anvil ahead of a thunderstorm complex in the Panhandle. I imagine the fish were skitish perhaps because of the falling air pressure? -Here's to some better fishin'!"

It did rain and blew even harder after I got home, cleaned up the boat while eating dinner.

3/25 - Non-Gloomy day

I knew I had a very short time before the S.E. wind would start to blow. And I barely made it out with enough time to catch anything before it did.

But on my first pitch of the float up to the jetty docks, I caught this nice 17" Trout.

















It was super nice on the river as long as the tide was flooding, and the wind wasn't a sustained 20 knots. This is what it looked like as I left the boat ramp around 8:30am.














After that first Trout, I made another pitch to the same spot and caught another Speck. Two casts, two fish. But the tide was high and just about to turn. I knew this good fortune was gonna be short lived. Because where I was anchored is all about rising tide, and as soon as it falls a bit as the turn around happens. It's usually all over. And that's pretty much what did happen.

I caught one more Trout. And then it seemed like all the bites just quit. If you're not in tune with what's happening every single minute while your out there. And have a lackadaisical approach, I believe your just wasting your time. So I said to myself, "I'll give it 10 more minutes or so and see."

I made a cast back up near where my first trout came from, and as my float drifted back toward me, it went down and I had me a rod bender. A 28" Redbass.
I had very short patience today. So after the Redbass, I moved on because the tide was now falling and if I wasn't going to get bit, I was gone!

So I headed to another spot at the jetties. And after pulling up there I could tell I was going to get a perfect "boat" drift right down the rocks. Hmmmm...I'm all about covering ground. So I turned off the engine and just drifted slowly right along the rocks.

I pitched a Jig-N-Shrimp. And believe it or not, for about 30 minutes I didn't get a single bite.
So I switch over to my float-rig rod, set my depth at 14 feet and again made casts to the rocks to about 16 feet deep.

The wind drifted the boat one way, and the tide drifted my float the opposite. After about 3 drifts of boat and float, my line came tight my float disappeared. And I was in a serious drag burning tug-a-war with some kind of monster. Probably a really big Redbass.

As hard as I pulled, the fish pulled harder and straight down the jetty. I high-sticked my rod so to get a taller angle on my line so to keep it out of the rocks. But it didn't matter. The fish broke me off. Well, that was a fun 30 seconds!

I got tired of drifting the boat so I went back and anchored up along the rocks and pitched my float. For one hour I sat there drifting a frisky live shrimp down the jetties and never had a single bite....actually I went through 3 shrimp, because they just died of pure boredom.

I find that almost unbelievable, but believable. Like a switch, here came the wind that seemed to shut down the bite. A falling tide gets "bucked" by any direction with East in it. So that's probably why.

The wind was pretty damn strong making almost everywhere, non float-fishable.
But I did have a spot that was out of the wind, right in Mayport. Gotta remember, I have to limit where I go. I can't afford to run all over. Keeping it close to the boat ramp is the whole idea.

So, I pulled up to a protected spot. Float fished, nothing. Threw out two bottom rigs, nothing. So I packed it up and headed home.

Oh well, soon enough this wind direction will be over. I really needed to get an early start, today.

3/23 - Gloomy Day Trout

The first day in a week that the wind wasn't blowing hard, was this morning.

It was so calm that the bugs were chewing on me. There must have been a big hatch, because between the gnats and the biting flies I stayed in my hooded jacket and fleece pants all morning.

Was heading to the north. Way north, but got distracted and ended up stopping short. The water was clean, green and dead calm as the tide started to flow east.

On the way, I thought "call the National Guard...we have an invasion on our hands!" The small Bluefish and Spanish Mackerel are everywhere. I mean everywhere.

Popping the surface like rain drops as far as the eye can see in the ICW, river and even back in the creeks.

With the arrival of the Spanish Macs, it is truly spring time. Sometimes the calender says Spring, but without the Spaniards in the river. It doesn't always feel like it.

Next up will be the Jacks and Ladyfish.

You can either like this invasion, or not. I'm not all that crazy about it, myself. Because they make catching my target species (trophy spring time Trout) many times alot tougher. Because these Blues, Jacks, and Ladyfish are so aggressive. And next comes the 6" Mangrove Snappers. My bait bill will double by mid April. Because I'll have to bring twice the amount of live shrimp on a given day. Because these fish can be ferocious!

I hadn't float fished this area in a long time. The last time I was here and spent the day was back when I had the Bay boats. And I used to lure fish it a lot with top water plugs. Plus the tide was seriously high, and I needed some bank to show before the fishing got right. So I spent some time looking around.

I was all alone for 3 hours till I had the first boat pass by me. I told you the best days are Monday's & Tuesdays!! It was tranquil and dead still. Nothing but the birds singing and the crows squawking, in the woods adjacent the water.

I finally anchored up. And the fishing was really slow. The only bites I had while float-rig fishing were the Pinfish, which are now back in full force along any hard bottom, and the occasional Bluefish biting my hook off. The only way to stay away from the "pinners" is to fish deeper. So that's what I had to do.

My float finally went down and I had a big fish. Far back behind the boat on a long range drift.
It was a big Trout.
Good fish, at 22 inches. So I dropped it in the cooler and continued on.

I certainly didn't find the "nest" by any means because the next "take down" wasn't for another 30 minutes. I was on the phone, and my float took a dive. The drag pulled hard. I ended the phone call quickly while thinking I had a decent Redfish.

Which would be nice, since lately all I'm finding is small puppers.

The fish ran down the back and almost ahead of the anchored boat. Then I saw it. Another Trout!

I always tell people who say Trout don't fight, "it's because they haven't caught any large ones."

Boiling on the surface and shaking it head was truly big Trout antics. But you can't yank and crank. These are fish you must "finesse". This isn't shark fishing! That's why so many big Trout are lost at boat side. You have to take it easy on them, they have tender mouths.

I slipped the Trout into the net, and couldn't believe it. This fish was the exact same size as the first one. 22 inches.....a twin! But with a whole different attitude.
Just my luck. I had to release this one.
Only one over 20" per person is allowed.

But before doing that I had to check , real quick.












Yep, these two fish were identical.
One with a mean streak, the other a bit more passive on the hook.

I kept trying to see if there was a nest of large Trout hanging around behind the boat, but they were the only two I got on this spot.

The weather was going to hell, it started drizzling and the clouds got thicker, and with that came a cool easterly breeze.

I worked a few more spots, and only caught more Bluefish, Pinfish, and several really small Trout. So I left out.

I hit 2 more spots, as the tide started to rise. And couldn't catch anything but Bluefish, and small 15-16" Redfish. My last spot was a tricky one. I had to put the boat practically up on the bank to fish behind a shell bar that was flooding over with the incoming tide.

But the Trout were there, and that's where I finally boxed my limit of (5) fish. I caught a few more small Reds too.

It was getting late and the weather had really deteriorated compared to this morning.
I had no more shrimp, so I left for the boat ramp, cleaned my fish, and headed home.

If it wasn't for the East wind, that I know was coming. I would have just preferred to hit the jetties. The Pinfish in the creeks around the oyster bars are just intolerable sometimes, in my opinion.

Water temp: 63 degrees about everywhere.

But, I tried it and caught myself another 10 Trout fillets for the freezer....."hell, 5 fillets never made it to the freezer when I got home. But rather hit the frying pan!!"

Mmm, Mmm, good!

Article, I found and dusted off..since the wind won't stop blowing!

7-striped Jetty Snappers
by Capt. Dave Sipler

The term "seven striped jetty snapper" has become synonymous with the fish called a Sheepshead, here in N.E. Florida.

Many moons ago I wrote articles every month for what was the first local yokal fishing magazine in the Jacksonville, Florida area. Published by Mike Patterson of Atlantic beach, Florida, also an avid fisherman.

Back in those days when I wrote an article about fishing the Mayport Jetties, I'd refer to the Sheepshead that patrol the big jetty boulders as "seven striped Jetty Snappers".

They have the same broad appearance as a genuine Red Snapper that's a local offshore reef favorite. And they have seven black and white stripes. Which is also something most angler's don't even realize. "It's the ole so close to your nose you can't see it syndrome."

The reason I can say that is because, I asked "how many stripes are on a Sheepshead?" As a trivia question when Pelican and myself hosted our radio show on Saturday mornings.

The responses we got were really funny. Many people just didn't know. But one thing we did learn from a caller was, since the colors of the fish are black and white, is that white stripes on a black fish or black stripes on a white fish.

Our two hour fishing show on ESPN sure did fly by that morning, as we joked about the why's, how many, and what for.


Either way, "I coined the phrase!"

And the reason I can say that is because I never heard it till I wrote it myself.
Today, many local outdoors writers are using the term to describe a Sheepshead.

I started to notice this during the week of our last El Cheapo Sheepshead tournament held in Mayport. By the Jacksonville offshore sport fishing club.

The tournament is like any other fishing tournament. But the unique thing about it is, it's the only Sheepshead fishing tournament in the world that we know of.

I have a big time love-hate relationship with seven striped jetty snappers. I love catching them. I love it when my charter customers catch them. But I absolutely hate cleaning them.

There's nothing like navigating giant dorsal spines, heavily scaled skin, and a extra heavy duty rib cage, versus cleaning a nice 3 pound Speckled Trout or Flounder. That's easy and yields twice if not 3 times the fillet, for fish of equal size.
That's right. Sheepshead have one poor yield of filleted meat. I don't care how good of a fish cleaner you are. The yield of fillet versus unusable carcase is probably 20% to 80%. Twenty percent being what you get to eat, out of the whole fish.

Around these parts (N.E. Florida) Sheepshead reign as kings of the winter time fish. And I find it so very funny that regions of the Gulf coast could probably put our little area to shame in sheer numbers. And one of the reasons why is they are junk fish there!

Talk to any Texan, and you won't hear passionate, loosing sleep over thoughts from them, as you will around here. For some reason, N.E. Floridians are obsessed with them.

Take any given fall, winter, or spring day at the Mayport jetties, and you'll see boat after boat lining the jetty rocks all fishing for them. I call these folks the "sheep herders".

And while talking to them they will quickly admit that the yield of meat versus head, backbone, ribcage, and tail is ridicules. But the very next words will be, "but they are so good."

I guess I can't get over the bad taste in my mouth that was brought on by a charter customer I had once.

We went out while the Sheepshead were spawning, and congregated in one area of the river just inside the jetties. Using fresh cut pieces of giant chowder clams the size of softballs, we caught plenty of Sheepshead. The state limit is way out of wack at 15 fish per person, I believe.

We easily boxed 30. Mind you these are not small fish. Spawners range from 5 pounds to 10 pounds. The fish box on my boat at that time was jam packed.

As usual I clean my customers fish for tips. That's how I make back the money for standing and cleaning fish for hours on the boat that isn't part of the agreed charter price. Supposedly.

Well, I cleaned those 30 fish. It took me four hours. I was wore out, cut up and spined. The boat was a mess. I was a mess.

After bagging up all the fillets my customer said, "you want some of these?" I replied, "no, I'm good". They dropped the bags in their cooler, paid me my balance for the day and walked up the dock.

I stood there speachless!

Not a single dime more did they give me for cleaning all those Sheepshead.

I could have gone out and done a 1/2 day charter for the time it took to clean all those nasty Sheepshead. Yeah, I could have made another $300.

I guess the "ya want some of these?" was supposed to be my tip.

So there ya go. "I have learned now." And now we don't keep more than two or three Sheepshead on a days trip, if I'm going to clean them. If you want to clean them, we'll keep as many as you like.

Looking back....the monster ones caught stick in my mind more than the stuffed fish boxes.



Information on N.E. Florida fishing charters, go to: http://www.fish-jacksonville-fishin.com/




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