Getting into the Christmas Spirit????

The MAYPORT News:

"They just needed a bigger boat!"

I heard Mrs. Claus was okay. But Santa on the other hand didn't fair that well.



Heading out with a long time customer from St. Pete on Thursday.Gonna try something a bit different. I actually want crappy weather and winds.

Cuz, they bite then, where we're going.
At least they have been.

Stay tuned!

Even 'pencil-neck' wishes

you a happy holiday.

12/9 - More of the same. A good thing!

Left out early....because it was a weekend. I call it my "default departure time" 7:00am on ALL WEEKENDS!
Being that the slow down of persons on the river has not happened yet.

Evidence is the jetties lined with "sheepherders". Bow to stern, those "all bones a head" fish, don't stand a chance.

If they only knew what was swimming under their boat. But it's great that they don't care.

Had Micheal and son Matt aboard today. Leaving early didn't match up with the proper float-rig fishing tide. So we bottom bumped around. Not alot of action.

Then I had a chance to get a slot in the row of boats, per buddy Doc Miller. He had his limit and was going home. So we slid in and Matt had action on his 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th drifts with nice "sweetheart" sized Trout!

The boy, was now officially "SPOILED".

Between Matt and dad, they quickly put limits in the boat. And we finished our day, cleaning a pile of Trout, and one big Yellowmouth , a few Croakers and just for the heck of it a mutant sized Pinfish.

12/8 - Tis' the season for limits!!!!!!!!

The bottom bite at the inlet and in the river seems to have really fell off since last tuesday. As I just like to fish some shrimp on the bottom during a falling tide and maybe get Drum, Reds, Yellowmouth Trout etc.

But the last two days have had me watching my 12" sounder screen and seeing no life down deep. So that meant ONE thing. Wait for the ripp, roaring tide to slow down (gawd how I'm over that current!) then bust out the float-rigs and send some live shrimp out behind the boat.

And when done properly.....(IE: getting a good day, and working hard) "THIS IS WHAT YA GET!"

Had Robert, Scott & Ed aboard on Saturday. And the guys had to work hard, for the first few. Because the current was so ripping.
But when it slowed.

Mayhem, insued!

One after another came to the net.

Even Ed's good sized Yellowmouth trout. But it was wierd. The Trout waited to go nuts, when the current died. I guess they're as over the hassles as much as I am.

Sure, Ed put some to the boat while the tide was freakishly blazing along in 10' of water. And they were small Trout.

Then, Robert caught up. But Scott....he wasn't feeling the same love.

But as we fished, it all worked out and limits as I said, came to the net and went into the fish box. Trout to 21-22".

It was F-U-N.

 

 Box starting to fill by the minute.....

 

 

 

12/4 - Oh those nice December days....

It's like we hit December, and the days just get so nice. It's happened year before. Usually with dense fog mornings and sunny calm afternoons.

Well, no fog this morning. But also NO WIND either.

Had Kathy, John and Joe aboard the Jettywolf today. We had a chance to hit the absolute last of the falling tide and were looking for a big fish.

Kathy got it!

Pulling it up from the "deep"......like a pro!

18 POUND REDBASS!

 

Kathy said she wanted to catch a Redfish. That's a sure nice FIRST REDFISH!

 

We continued bottom fishing after the tide changed and slide into a new spot. Target Species:  Black Drum

 

Kathy caught one of those, too!

 

 

This was happened as I had Joe & John on the float-rigs flipping back to the jetties rocks and they were hooking up big Specks and a few yellowmouth and 5 small pups Redfish. A little bit of mayhem was insueing!

 

Dropping Specks in the box....

The bite slowed, so we moved on. The next spot was dead and had a large swell pushing. That might have been the problem. So we headed back to where we came from and continued catching a few more specks for the box, a couple small non-keeper Redfish. Then Joe set the hook.......

He came to catch Reds too, like Kathy. But after a few too small, now he caught one too big at 32", to keep.

But between the 8- Trout and the Drum, the crew had planty for a fish fry dinner.

 

 

Wonderful weather day...so good I'm heading out again with Tom O. from last week.

 

Here's those "L & V" words we love to read in a marine forecast:

 

WEDNESDAY
LIGHT AND VARIABLE WINDS BECOMING EAST
5 KNOTS LATE IN THE AFTERNOON. SEAS 2 TO 4 FEET. INLAND WATERS
SMOOTH. AREAS OF DENSE FOG WITH VISIBILITY 1 NM OR LESS IN THE
MORNING.

He and I are gonna try it together. A one man trip. And a good one I hope. So stand by. More report to come. 

Dec 6th - Free Seminar and Chowda???? YEP.

DEC. 6 th 7:00pm

at Jacksonville Offshore Sport Fishing Club
Mayport Boat Ramp...

 

"It's Chowder cook-off night!!"
And seminar via "ME" on Float-rig fishing for "ALL" species, EZ.

Take it to the next level, come visit the "Home of the El Cheapo Sheepshead Tourney"

"Free seminar. Free chowder, what could be more fun on a Thursday evening......don't answer that!"

Win the El Cheapo Sheepshead Tournament and never ever buy a FIDDLER CRAB, or loose a rig.

 

10 pounder's smoke ya' on the float

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It could be done!

 

11/30 - Nicer day....Nursery

Had Tom O. and his 6 year old son Drew aboard today.

I was excited over yesterday's trip in Mill Cove, because the calm shallow water where anchoring isn't a hassle and where I have more anchor chain than it is deep.......Was a complete 180 from yesterday!

Sure little Drew reeled in twice the fish we caught yesterday. Trout and Redfish. B-U-T, everything was so small.
Loads of small Trout, and Reds.

Drew didn't care. But adults Dad and I, did.

It was super nice. Alot warmer, no wind, but the two areas we fished yesterday never gave up a fish, today.

Well, that's one thing out of my control. But "oh so common" here in J-ville. Over night a whole area can change.

I guess from now on, I'll only be going into the cove when it's cold, 20 knots of wind, and a new or full moon. Today we had one out of three of those conditions. Without the wind, the current was 1/2 of what it was yesterday.

Little Drew did get to reel a 22 inch Redfish. Dad was proud of him.

11/29 - Mountain Timers, in Mayport

Had Tom & Margie from Colorado aboard the Jettywolf today. They won a free trip to J-ville, via Visit Jacksonville, and I was there fishing guide for the day.

We departed at 7:30am. But before they arrived I took a few photos as I usually do of the conditions:

WIND "HONKING" the flag at the Pilot Station

FULL MOON, up and glowing at 7am!














NO FEAR....I specialize in fishing all kinds of K.O.D. - "kiss of death" days.
Hahahahahaha.
As Dr. Phil says on TV. "This ain't my 1st Rodeo."

No pun intended, but many moons ago when I got started in this business, having to fish on days that someone else choose, and then those days not really being under very good conditions. Was really the first, HERE'S YOUR SIGN, that taking the public fishing, wasn't as easy as it sounds.

But that was a long time ago. These days it's the norm, and I really don't sweat it at all any longer.

So with that said, I did what I call the "MOON OVER MILL COVE".  It's protected from the wind. When the tides extra high, I can go about anywhere in that shallow "mud hole", and in the fall and winter. There's always some action in there.

I told Tom and Margie......"we need a SLAM. Redfish-Trout-Flounder!"  And Margie told me, she's never fished a day in her life. And if she catches a fish. It will be her absolute, first.

Hmmmm, that's good to know. But, not uncommon either.

B-A-M...well her's her first ever fish. A keeper 16" Speckled Trout. Which was the first fish caught this morning.

And she didn't stop there. She kept catching!

Hubby Tom, finally played catch-up and scored a few also. They weren't all keepers (over 15 inches) but I was just glad a plan was coming together.

 

The two caught a few more Trout. And when that action slowed. We made a move about 100 yards.

 

Margie then nailed this 23 inch Redfish, while Tom caught a few more Trout.

 

Then, Tom had 3 Flounder damn near in a row. All keepers that hit the ice.

 

Each one was larger then the last.....

 

As the tide slowed, it was time to move on and go into the river and hide from the wind. So we hit the Croaker hole. Last Monday it gave up some big Croakers from 12-18 inches. So let's see what happens today.

 

Yep, solid 13 inchers, along with a few smaller ones. So we kept 4-13 inchers for the fish box.

Tried something new.....putting all the fish we kept on a "stringer" so they'd all be easier to hold up for a photo. Even though, now we can't really see them all very individually. Hmmm, maybe a 1/2 a good idea?

Margie, wants everyone to know that the Gal who's never fished a day in her life before, caught the largest fish. By "pointing it out to everyone who see's it." Her Redfish.

 

As it turned out, they didn't want any of their fish. They didn't have the time to head over to Singleton's and have them fried up for lunch. So they let me have them.

 

And I cleaned them all up, and had them hit the oil by 4:00pm at home in my deep frier, that's permanantly ready on my back porch.

 

A few cold PBR's later. They were all done, and ready for mass consumption. THANKS, Tom & Margie!!!

 

 

Next up: a 1/2 day with Tom O. and his little son on Friday morning.

11/26 - UTILIZATION

I learned a few things, over this very busy week.  For starters, I get alot of phone calls and inquiries from my YOUTUBE channel. Which is GREAT!

But at the same time, there's things I have addressed on my YOUTUBE video's that have a concerned me, that I find out people should also know.

Bob the "Traveler", who I had out on the Jettywolf on Wednesday the 21st had ethanol problems with his boat. Being he stores it for a long time. I asked him, if he ever tests the fuel he puts in his boat. Because alot of people are blaming ethanol in fuel for everything. From paint falling off the house to why they didn't win a local tournament. But when you test some fuels (as I do) many times there's not even 10% ethanol in the fuel. And 10% ethanol is the maximum allowed, in the state of Florida right now. Can't speak for other states.

With that being said. If I find 3%, or 5% ethanol in my fuel. I'm inclined to think, since a modern outboard is made to run on 10% or less.......the key words: "even less than 10%", can't be all that bad."
I did several YOUTUBE video's on this topic, showing two different testers. And have even posted the "how-to" video's here.

YOU'LL NOW NOTICE. THAT NOT ONLY IS MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL LISTED ALONG THE SIDE BAR OF THIS BLOG ALONG WITH OTHER LINKS OF INTEREST, BUT I HAVE NOW POSTED THE LINK ON THE TOP OF THIS BLOG UNDER THE BANNER. In hopes that you'll visit it.

I did this, because I also talked to a fella at the boat ramp this week who said, "I read your........" but at the same time. Didn't know that this is the BEST time of year for fishing inshore in all of NE Florida. And didn't know that we use shrimp for bait.

Well, I use alot of shrimp for bait. Because everything eats shrimp! And I constantly push that this is the best time of year. EVEN in July! Because in July, I'm dreaming about when it's cold and the trout are chewing. Hence, I have many a YOUTUBE video, that show the fishing, this time of year.

Especially Oct thru May, I do mostly "float-rig fishing". Because it's fun and productive. I'll receive emails afterwards of a week of charters, asking "how do I rig up myself a float to do what we did on the Jettywolf??"  Again, I have posted that same video here several times. It's also on my YOUTUBE channel. Of how to rig a float.

Yes, I know. Each video isn't titled "FLOAT RIG TECHNICAL STUFF HERE!"  Every video is titled Jacksonville fishing. Because that's the title that helps ME. And helps all the people that find me on youtube.

So, you'll have to LOOK, and read the video's discription.

Today, YOUTUBE is like Google. Want to watch reviews of a certain Pick up Truck, looking for a vacation destination, buying a boat and want to learn about what others think?  YOUTUBE can be very useful. I use it almost every single day!

You'll notice, since Google owns Youtube. that under certain searches on Google, you'll see listed Youtube video's on Google.  That's why I have JACKSONVILLE FISHING as the name of each and everyone of my video's. When someone wants to know about Jacksonville Fishing. My videos usually pop up in the search.

REMEMBER, I'M NOT DOING THESE VIDEO'S OR REPORTS FOR MYSELF....I DO EACH AND EVERYONE FOR YOU!

11/25 - 2 hr Kids trip

Had Rachel B. and her two boys aboard this morning at 10am for a few hours. Didn't want to leave too early. Because it was kind of chilly this morning early. Plus, I just wanted some decent falling tide.

Turned out it was super nice. NO WIND, and hardly anyone around. I really love that! Guess everyone burned their wicks  down by today on this big Holiday.

But this Holiday is the start to the finest my comfortable fishing of the year. Having to wear a Jacket, and maybe even a pair of long johns is always better than sweating at 8am.

We went to the Jetties. Ran all the way to the tip. The Ocean was green and calm. Then, we went back and anchored up in 8-10' of water and I showed the kids the float-rig.

They caught 4 Trout right away! And we also pitched out shrimp on the bottom to see what was going on, and caught 3-4 small Whiting.

They got to see the little Turtles that hang around the Jetties, and the Dolphins. On this short trip that's just a "Taste" of what I do, this time of year......



 

11/23 & 24 - Trout Mayhem on the Jettywolf!

THIS IS THE BEST TIME OF YEAR, BAR NONE....ACCORDING TO "ME". And if you're reading my reports. That's all that matters.

Many, many years I have been preaching this. And it seems like this year, people have listened. Evidence that I have been booked for the whole week, except for Thanksgiving day.

Yes, the weather isn't always perfect. But FISHING isn't a perfect endevour. Especially, if the winds blowing and it's cold. Well, I say....."suck it up and let's go catch some GATORS!"

Or you can be like Tim and his son Steve that were aboard the Jettywolf on the #1 day of the entire year. THE DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING DAY.

We departed under skies that were lighting up, and SLICK CALM conditions.

 

 



Departing, we went west. I knew the tide wasn't right yet. But gave it a try on the first spot. FIRST DRIFT of the float-rig and live shrimp.....Steve was hooked up and handed his butt, by a big Redbass that went where ever it wanted with the slack current.

After that, the bait stealer drove us crazy, and we only had enough LIVE shrimp for catching what was on the menu of the day, and that was TROUT!

\

So off to the jetties we went....and it was a parking lot of sheepsheaders as usual. And if they only knew what was swimming under their boats. G-A-T-O-R, Trout!

 

As the tide poured eastward. The games began......

Our LIMIT was 18 Trout.....and none were throw-backs, and everyone was in the "sweetheart" catagory.

Trout up to 24 inches were not uncommon.

 

We finished up and had a three person limit of Trout, and our three Trout over 20" that were allowed. Loads of 18-19" fish, by 12:30pm. And also had one Sheepshead.

 

We decided not to push our luck. And end this glorious day on a high note. So we headed back to the dock. Finishing what I called an EPIC day. And I don't use that term loosely. 

 

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

 

11/24 - Could it happen again??????  YEP!

 

Had Ed & Ron aboard the Jettywolf.

 

Wasting no time up in the river, I headed straight for the Jetty rocks. But in the game of fishing around here. NO DAY is ever like the one before. Local anglers get used to that. You have to always be rigidly flexible!

 

We were WAY........to early on the spot. But because of what I saw yesterday with all the rock dabbers lined up, and it being a bit extra cool, with a NW wind blowing quite stiff. I knew I had my flexiblity challenged, for sure. But I was NOT going to deveate from my plan of attack.

 

Anchoring was a royal pain. Close to the rock we'd be too close, and would get sucked into the rocks. To far out, meant that the NW wind would blow us out too far. So before the tide really started to pour. I was a real cussing machine! If there's one thing that I'm totally sick of, is the tides around here......"been there, done that, got the T-shirt!"

 

I had to change anchors and use my 25 pounder and heavy chain to grab. My 26' boat isn't like a little 15 footer. With total comfort comes some anchoring issues.

 

The fish came rather slowly. Ed banged the first 15 at least......"he and his float became one." He had it down pat, and fast!

 

They weren't all big ones. And we did have a few smaller 14-3/4" Trout today. But most were 16 inches up to Ron's 24 incher.....as he said, "I'm waiting on the BIG ONE, and he wasn't kidding."  He caught the largest of the day. And the heaviest, while hooking a Sea Turtle!

I helped out, working for that LIMIT OF 18 TROUT.......

We had to make a few moves around. Nothing was as EZ as it was yesterday. But we had our 3 person limit, and some throw-backs and one Turtle by 12:45pm.

 

At one time, we all drifted our floats behind the boat. 3 floats all heading away from the boat at the same time. All three floats went down at the same time, and we had a TRIPLE HEADER!

 

Now that doesn't happen all that often. But that quickly sealed the deal on having our limits in the fish box.

 

ANOTHER GREAT DAY WITH A GREAT CREW. WHEN WE'RE CATCHING FISH LIKE THIS. I WOULDN'T TRADE MY JOB FOR ANY OTHER.

 

next up:

 

11/25 - Two hour kids trip

11/29 - two adults, mid week

 

 

I'd be thinking real hard about getting your day booked for December.