2/28 - Trout re-opens tomarrow! With a windy start.....

You want to know what every single first week in March and the re-opening of the Speck's means?

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY MORNING THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING...yeah sure. More like all day, probably.

Believe me, when I tell you, I know!

This is the "norm".

I have too many log books to flip thru, to prove it.

Right when you want to go full bore into Trout attack mode with some customers, here comes the wind. Plus, I have a guy who moved his charter from last Sunday (probably because of the forecast, to March 2nd..."so he could keep more fish", and now the forecast is worse, than last Sunday. (SCA-small craft advisory = one tough ass day!)

Went out today "solo" so I could look for a new spot if my "go to" creek area fails on Friday.

Caught 6 Redbass all about the size of the one in the picture, with I think one "mini" Red, at 15". A bunch of small Trout & 3 keeper sizers, and a 14" Flounder. Found a spot that should be a great Flounder haunt in the spring. That I could even wade fish, better than fishing in the boat. It's a sand bar in a creek, with a slew of water with oyster beds between a island that has a pond of water in the middle that drains into the slew........"whewww, I gotta keep my eye on that spot!"

I'm going reiterate something I said on my old Forum on a post I made. And something I learned while fishing with friend Nick on Monday. (if your here reading this for an educational purpose)

-do you realize, that there is a new hot spot, right next to an area you already fish?

**Most people think everything is about a "magic spot", when its not that at all.

-I'm usually in "Economy Mode" when I go out and fish solo. That means I want to spend a gallon or two of gas and that's all, so I go to an area very close, fish a good spot and then beat the area to death trying to find as many ways of fishing that same area as I can. Another oyster bed, a different bank, a shallower area next to the deep spot.

** I see people come in to an area, not catch anything and then get frustrated and take off to another so called great spot they heard about. That doesn't really work.

-Today, I never left the same 1/4 mile area. No further than a few miles from the boat ramp.

** that's how I learn the bottom, the topography, the currents, and where the fish are.

10% of the fisherman catch 90% of the fish, and 90% of the fish are in 10% of all the water.

MAN, DOES THIS REALLY APPLY TO INSHORE FISHING!

_______________________________________________________

My 23' MayCraft is sold........HURRAY!!!!!!!!! (it only took 6 months)

Sold thru Consignment Boat Sales, Ocean Street in Mayport.

A nice fella in Georgia that has a dock in a creek off the St. Marys River is gonna be the new owner. He's going to have a great do-all boat that's for sure. (and a brand new trailer to boot)

________________________________________________________

I'd love to know if anyone reads this new Daily Reports page, and if you like it better than the old Forum. If you have a minute e-mail me if you visit this part of my web site. I'm afraid no potential customers are finding it, or even look at it. I'd appreciate it.

charter@captdaves.com

2/26/07 - A really fun day with Nick

Whewwww....

Had to wait till Monday to go fishing.

Well, I actually had a weekend charter, but they ended up changing the date to March 2nd

when Speckled trout opens again. Plus there was the 300 boat El Cheapo Sheepshead Tournament on Saturday. I was a sponsor, had a free entry, and still never fished it.

I love fishing tournaments when they are 50 boats or even a 100 boats. BUT 300 boats??? Count me out.

That's what happened to the Redfish SPOTS tournament too.

I fished it, till it got way out of hand, then quit fishing it.

I'm not into crowds.

That's why I waited till Monday to go fishing.

And after seeing Nick Watson, drummer for my favorite band RATHKELTAIR, a Celtic Rock Band at the boat ramp the other day while he was out with his buddy from another Celtic rock band, SEVEN NATIONS and they didn't do so good, I called Nick and invited him out with me, because I wanted to help him out with some of the finer points of Float-rig fishing.

Nick and I always talk about Float-riggin', and I always like to hear what's the latest on the band, and what he's been up too lately. (I find the musician life interesting) and like Nick's willing to learn.

So we left out at 6:30am to go catch the falling tide in the creeks.

Low tide: 10:30

High tide: 4:30

(Mayport)

First spot was the one of my "go-to's" that I've been hitting because it's just so damn productive on the Redbass, since Trout season has been closed. I catch plenty of trout there, but sometimes I can really clean up on the nice slot reds. We had 3 good ones today from 23-26 inches.

A bunch of Trout to 18 inches....and of course a few pup reds.

Then since I was doing a little show and tell so Nick could pick up some tips, we moved around and went into a few more creeks. We had a "sea-breeze" problem on a certain spot, and couldn't even fish it, as the tide flooded in, and after that as it rose higher. Our fish catching was over.

Can't catch anything on a incoming tide soon as I get 2 hours or more into it. But we tried and picked up a small trout and a Flounder.

I had a really good time sharing some time with Nick. I wanted him to see the new boat, and how shallow I can go, the tackle, the techniques, and the areas to fish. I want him to take his musician friends out in his boat and "be the man", and get them hooked up on a few, next time.

The rest of the pictures (8) from our day are on Recent Catch Page 5 on my web site:

http://www.captdaves.com/Catch5.htm

If you're wanting to learn more about float fishing for Reds & Trout, the time is now to reserve your day. Speckled Trout season opens in a few days, from the reprive from the Float Freak.

And March 's good tidal days are filling up fast.

2/22/07 - Making Trails, then big time rod bending

How many times have a said, "I just can't find any decent bites on the incoming tide, since the water's cold"?

So why was I in the water and wanting to catch some fish at 8:30 am?

Today's Mayport tides:

Low tide: 6am

High tide: 12:17pm

Low tide: 6:07pm

So there I was, and I just knew it was a futile to beat this dead horse. So I went and utilized the $4,000.00 worth of electronics I have on my boat. I went and made "trails" on my chart-plotter, (a laymans term would be "bread crumb trails") up in the Hannah Mills area. I wanted to chart the way from Sisters Creek to Clapboard Creek. There is a miriad of creeks back there between the ICW and Clapboard creek, that are navigatable. And I haven't been up there for years, but found my way thru, and made a permanant "trail" to follow via using my color chart-plotter and GPS. MORE WINTER SPOTS TO TRY.

I did all this on the incoming tide. And by the time the tide turned, I went back to my "go to" area for some fish catching on the falling water.

And if you haven't kept up on it, the tides this week have been L-O-W.....I mean, there's areas that are going dry that haven't been that way for a long time.

But never fear......MY 26' Black Lab is here! The only 26' sea-going, rough water able, boat that can go in incredibily shallow water.

My new favorite spot is in shallow water.....that get's impassable for most boats my size on tides like we're having now. But I had this week, 2 charters up in there and had 4 anglers plus me in the boat and still got in and out. That's why I'm so happy. My boat does it all. What a great choice I made. I'll never fish fiberglass again!

Well, I had (all on the float-rig) in shallow water :

16- Speckled Trout to 4 pounds!

11- Redfish to 28 inches

1- Flounder 18"

All on one spot as the tide ebbed.

Then I left and went home.

As you can see in the photos, that's my anchor line and you can even see my anchor barely sticking out of the water. That's where I started out! I was anchored up there, and had to keep letting out anchor line so I wouldn't sit on the bottom, as the tide dropped.

I didn't get a picture of the big Trout because I booked 6 charters today alone, and half the time as the phone rang, I was reeling in a fish. It was a very busy phone day!

The wind was a real pain in the butt, blowing hard from the west. And the front (clouds) didn't clear till at least 11am. But afterwards it was sunny and warm.

Have I mentioned lately how effective and fun fishing the float rig is?

I had a blast.

And if it can't be caught on the float rig, it ain't worth catching.

But I catch it all on the float-rig.....so whats that mean?

It means, do I ever need to do anything else? NOPE.

I was watching a boat full of guys today, just casting out and sitting there like bumps on a log. And I was 200 yards away up in my shallow spot waxing the fish. I never saw them catch a thing. Too bad they don't know the ways of the float, and how to fish it. Then, I had a Kayaker come near, as I caught at least 5 fish insight of him. Never saw him get a bite. Why are the Kayakers fishing where the birds are wading? If the birds are wading around your Kayak, I think the fish maybe in a tad deeper water.

Wanna learn the tides, the currents, and the structure.....book a charter with the Float-Freak and you'll learn more than you will on your own in two years worth of poking around weekend after weekend staring at your rod tip.

2/20/07 - Media General Corp. group charter

I WISH I TOOK A FEW PICTURES....sorry they had me running, and time was of the essence so I never got around to it.

But, I had a 4 boat 13-16 passenger trip that headed out Tuesday. It was in the planning since back in October before I even got my new boat.

BIG problems though, as usual. NO LIVE SHRIMP were to be had. Except on my boat, because I run a shrimp farm in my live well most of the time.
With the weekends cold cold weather no shrimp could be caught, so a few of the boats had to just "wing-it". And go with mud Minnows or dead shrimp.

I know I had plenty so a few of the big-wigs jumped on my boat, for a 1/2 day of float rigging.
They told me, "Dave, we have a big pot going for largest fish...so put us on them."

Just what ya wanna on a February charter huh? So I was under the gun.

On the first spot, and only spot I had that would produce "I.G." - instantaneous Gratification", we were on Trout the first drift of the float!
Then came a few more. For I think it was (3) 17-19 inchers.
Then a few pup reds, and then a 29", 8.5 pound Redbass.

I said, "Here's your winning fish!" As one of the guys took 15 minutes to get it to the boat.
(the fella who hooked into it wasn't by now means a Roland Martin type fisherman)

And then I think we picked up another small pup red again...and that was it. This spot was OVER and DONE with.

But what did we have yesterday?? The lowest tide of damn near all of 2006 and 2007.
The ICW was 10' deep in the middle, the creeks went dry, and by the time we left out of where we were, the tide was so low I couldn't go anywhere else in a creek, or if I went in the river the current was so strong we couldn't fish.

So we spent our nickle on that one spot.

One other boat did really well tossing jigs and Gulp and Mud Minnows, and caught Reds, Trout, and a nice fat Flounder while using the trolling motor up inside Hannah Mills area.

Now we still have no shrimp at the bait shop, No fiddler crabs, just clams....and here comes the JOSFC Sheepshead tournament this Saturday. I'm a sponsor and may or may not fish it.

But I will trade my entry for 20 dozen live shrimp...anyone??

2/19/07 - After the big Blow

That was some serious wind yesterday, huh?

Gale force gusts, in conjunction with some nice strong tides made for 'NO' water as I went over the ICW-Wonderwood Bridge and looked over the side as I always do while going and coming from B&M bait and tackle. The "ditch" was dry! A heavy duty west wind and a very low tide, made for some big time exposed shoreline.

I had to hurry up and get to B&M because I no sooner get home and had to pro-cure bait for a Monday charter, that I booked while walking the Miami Beach Convention Center halls, with Sam Kennedy who called and wanted to go fishing with 3 of his buddies.

The rush to B&M bait and tackle was because when there's seriously cold (hard Freeze type weather) You can bet there was NO live shrimp delivery in days. The shrimp just bury up, and no one catch's any. So I hoofed it quickly over there to get some for Today's charter and Tuesdays charter. I have keeping them warm, comfortable and alive for days down pat, thru obvious trial and error of many years. My secret "a heating pad"....yep, the same thing you may use on a bum knee, with a good slathering of BenGay.

And ya'll think, us fishing guides just go get bait, because it's always plentiful and just show up to go fishing in the morning huh? Naw....it's far from that many days in the "deep" winter. Babying bait, rushing to get bait before it's all gone, having a really tight relationship with the manager of the bait shop, and getting up at 3am to check on them is all things I have to do. And I did a lot of it last spring when no one was catching many shrimp. And then there's those holiday weekends and live shrimp are scarce, and people call and have no idea what hoops I have toi jump thru to make sure we have bait to use. But all that is another story.

Today, after yesterdays huge blow. And not fishing since last Thursday. I couldn't believe how fast the tide moved out today. I picked up Sam and three of his buddies at 11:30am to fish the falling tide all day.

And we float rig fished to start. And one spot produced...even though the tide was great. Low tide in the late part of the afternoon, perfect timing for a chilly day.

We caught a bunch of what you see in the picture. Small "pup" reds. And them had a double header of a pupper and a 23 incher. Our only keeper fish of the day.
I tried some clams at the jetties and just plain bottom fished. Good ole Bait-N-Wait fishing.
B-O-R-I-N-G...as hell. And the 4 guys aboard would agree. We had a few "pecks" but no Sheepshead which was the target species. So we stayed at the jetties and went back to Float Rig fishing and caught way too many small bluefish. (We never got any brown water)

It wasn't the festival I was wanting, of course. But on a short notice trip, and me not knowing what the deal would be, we did okay and caught a few fish, most were just very small.

Now, tomarrow it's a company group charter, 4 boats.

Man was it a beautiful day today though, it remained cool, but the wind went away, and the sun was nice and bright.....the waters still very cold though.

2/16-2/18 - MIAMI'S SOUTH BEACH

MIAMI INTERNATIONAL BOAT SHOW - If you've never been there, and you like "water-sports" you just don't know what you are missing. The largest boat show on Earth....and held in maybe the 2nd CRAZIEST place on Earth. Miami's South Beach. (First CRAZIEST place I'm assuming is New York City.)

You can read more about it on my web sites NEWS PAGE. Just click on the home page link here on the BLOG page and then go to NEWS.

2/13 - Something was goofy....

I don't know what the deal was today other than not having a strong tide, but either way something was goofy. (YEAH, LIKE THIS WACKO WEATHER!!)

But I went to my go skinny water spots and had to wait forever for the tide to move, I was there before the sun was up again. I cannot find any good action on an incoming tide. So all measures are taken to fish just falling water.

But, I did catch some fish. And that's a good thing. Just wanted some bigger Redbass really, instead I got a bunch of lil' pupper reds,a 20" Red and this 23 incher. Some small Trout, (I've been avoiding them) and 3 small 7-stripers from my go to Sheepshead spot in the I.C.W.

Fished from 6:30- 12:30. And even went down river to try my big time Trout and large Redbass on the float-rig spot, and it was dead.

The cloudiness made it feel funky, for some reason today. Maybe it was just me.

I wish the weather would make up it's mind. Like my buddy D.O.A. Rob says; "I love those really cold mornings up in the creeks, they really bite for me then" , I have to agree. The warm-cold-warm-cold thing isn't for me either. I can take the cold. I'm not in love with it, but I am when the fish are chewing.

And it's really funny or actually sad for me. The minute I go to make plans for heading to the Miami Boat Show, I get calls galore for that same weekend. This month has been dead as hell, so I figure get out of dodge for a few days, it'll shorten the closed Trout season if I'm not here thinking about them. Then as far as today, I've had a total of 6 calls for either this Friday, Saturday or Sunday, when I'll be in Miami!!!!! The one thing that's making me feel okay is that the weather here this weekend is gonna be for crap, with high winds and cold. So if anyone can take all these people out, "It's gonna be very challenging to say the least!"

I do not get a single vacation in three years, and when I do make plans to be gone for 3 days everyone wants to go those same 3 days out of a whopping 28.

I cannot figure the "public" out, and I never will.

I'm over and out till Tuesday of next week. Then is when I have a 4 boat company charter heading out for a 1/2 day trip 12-5pm.

I hope all my "homework" pays off.

I plan on having them catch Reds, Trout, Flounder and Sheepshead, but will be happy with 2 out of the 4 species.

2/11 - Early bird gets a lot of FISH!

Ya gotta get up pretty damn early to beat this "4 minute kid" to the bait shop! 4 minute kid, because that's how long it takes me to get some live shrimp at the bait shop from my drive way, and then another 4 minutes to get to the boat ramp.

So when I'm on a mission......look out, I'm there!

I was on my spot at 0630 hrs. before the sun came up. Ready, and armed.

Yeah, another beautiful morning. And I had to go solo, because no one wants to go. I think next January and February I'll just go get a "real" j-o-b, like the rest of the world. Because as far as everyone thinks. The world just halts, because it's winter..."and that's total bull!" The world doesn't stop, it just keeps going. And the tough get going, because if ya wanna catch some fish, you better be tough. I've got zero tolerance for winter whiners.

As you can see from my self portraits, if you wanted any falling tide, you'd have to be on the spot before sun up. AND I WAS! It was cold, too. But I had new rods to try out. 8'3" Bad-azz G.LOOMIS Greenwater series rods. Remember, I said I was going l-0-n-g-e-r?????

We'll I did. And will now also have clients using longer 7'6" Greenwaters, rather than 7 footers.

Yes, 6 inches makes a lot of difference!

Low tide came early. And this is the only time I can catch anything worth going.

I tried the incoming tide 3 times earlier in the week. And didn't report on it because I had zero to report about! It's R&D, and let me tell ya'...If you wanna fish on an incoming tide, so be it. But YOU picked the day, not me. FALLING TIDE, IS IT RIGHT NOW, period.

Float fishing 4 feet of water. First drift of my float-Flounder. Second drift of my float - Redfish, Third drift of my float-BIGGER Redfish, Forth drift of my float-Speckled Trout. You get the picture. It was a riot.

Ended up with:

9 -Reds to 28"

1-Flounder 15"

7-Speckled Trout (had a limit of 5 easily)

1-Sheepshead 5 pounds

7-Yellowmouth Trout all 15"

I can go in such shallow water with my 26' boat, I'm amazed. If you really think an aluminum (plate alloy) boat is some kind of odd-ball boat, call me. I'll show ya. This is the best boat for my kind of fishing there possibly is. Super rough deep water to shallow. I can do it all. Think twice before you go out and shop for one of those "look-alike Euro Clorox bottles" the next time you want to upgrade. This baby is all fishing, any where you need to go. I'm loving it!

(Rest of the pics on my recent catch photo pages on my web site)

2/4- SUPER FISH SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHERE WERE YOU?

Today, was a beautiful Sunday with low winds, blue skies, and yes it was cold...but real fisherman, don't really care.

I'm obviously tougher then a lot of you. More dedicated, yeah that's obvious.

I'm so hard core, wives hate me, and their husbands get defensive. Because I'm a bad influence on their domesticated husbands.

I used to make them wish they were in my shoes. Talk them into going fishing too much, spend too much money, and stay out too long. Yes, I'm a bad influence, so keep away if you want to stay married.

But I don't do that any more. I just go alone, I don't talk to many of these men much anymore. I do whatever I want when I want and don't have to share a phenomenal bite, like I had today with anyone.

Or was it because there was a foot ball game on, this evening? The water was nearly vacant? Or was it because it was cold this morning?

For what ever reason.........THANK YOU for staying home. Because I had a great day.

Today was a nearly perfect tidal day.

High Tide: 4.4 feet @ 10:05 Mayport

Low Tide: -0.3 @ 4:00 Mayport.

What's that make the tide height? A 4.7'.....just perfect! The wind, no concern at all. And the JEA plant smoke stacks? They were straight up, almost all day long. The cold? Well, it really wasn't all that bad.

First stop was up in a creek, and before the boat settled tight on the anchor I had 5 small reds and 5 small trout off a Oyster bar, using of course the float rig. That was on the last of the incoming tide. And I actually left because I just wanted to make sure they were there, for future reference. So I picked up and left.

I won't go thru each and ever move I made, but I'll tell ya I never fished in any water deeper than 4.5 feet all day long, no matter what the tide was. At one point I was in 2.5 feet of water, catching one Flounder after another fishing double Floats. The tide was easing along so perfectly. I cast out two float rigs and have them drift off the starboard side of the boat at the same time and just watched them drift on a slack line, till one of them went under.

Later, I caught a bunch more Reds in a hole, literally a hole or a pocket in a sandy bottom with a shell bar adjacent and behind it. I spent the whole rest of the day at the second area I went to.

It's a "way" of fishing actually. I refer to it as "tracking". Go to one spot, catch some fish, and when they stop biting, move 50, 75 or only a 100 feet to the next "likely" spot they'd be at.

This system works for me so well, it's absolutely incredible. Don't run around, especially if you found fish in an area. If they stop biting it's most likely they moved with the tide. (they do that ya' know??)

I arrived on the second spot I went too, at high tide. And by low tide between 4-6 hrs later, I was only 500 feet away from where I started. (I hope you caught that... because I'm giving away Pearls here.....)

This way of Float rig fishing insures you're learning the area, the way the water moves, the way the currents flow, it's subtleties, and with that it's usually the way the fish move too. Just do it. You'll be so surprised.

Today's catch was so good I started a tally on a piece of paper, to keep it all straight.

Redfish- 15 (Largest were 30", 28", 21". The rest were pups.)

Flounder - 7 (in a row, fishing double float-rigs.)

Trout - 12 (not even trying for them, could have had a nice limit from 18" to 20")

Sheepshead - 1 ( fought a 5 pounder class one all the way to the boat, then it got off the hook.)

It was another "Super Fish Sunday". Just like many other's I've had on Super Bowl Sunday's.

I thank the usual masses of weekenders for being (you know). Or more kindly discribed as..."being fair weather fishermen", and staying home.

My favorite game is played on the Fluid turf, in a big alloy plate platform, that I have found goes unbelievably shallow! And I even had 100 gallons of gas in her.

(rest of the photos are on my recent catch pages #6)

2/3 - some tackle history...FYI

Always facinated by the dog-eat-dog world of the fishing tackle industry. I have an interest in the how's and why's of the G. Loomis company.
(I'd actually love to take a vacation and go to Woodland, Washington to the factory. And while there fish for Steelhead or Salmon on the local rivers. Ya' know they "float-fish" up there for those species! Plus hit Marysville, Washington where my 26' BlackLab Marine boat boat was built.)

I first became a Pro staff or Guide Program member for G. Loomis Rods about 5-6 years ago.
I remember always wanting a set of Loomis rods, when I was much younger. Because, G. Loomis for me was always thought of as an innovative company making high quality rods for specific anglers need. For specific fish, in specific places, for a demending angler.
Well, G. Loomis is celebrating it's 25th anniversary.

Here's a bit of history by Bruce Holt, who's been with the company since the beginning.

Gary Loomis has always been and will always be an avid outdoorsman. He is a unique individual. He is passionate, driven, opinionated and strong-willed. He is one of those individuals that hits the floor running and never slows down.Several years ago, he had a dream. He wanted to make the best ultra-light steelhead rod that money could buy and nobody in the world made anything close. As time went by, he refined his techniques and his rods and the next thing you know he started building blanks. Within a year or so, he started a blank company (Loomis Composites, Inc.) and a few years later, following a short hiatus from the fishing industry, he started making rod blanks under his own label...G.Loomis, Inc. That was January of 1982 and today, G.Loomis is recognized as one of the leaders in the fishing rod business, making very technical, high performance graphite rods for bass, walleye, trout, salmon, steelhead, bonefish, tarpon, redfish...well, you get the picture. In May of 1997, Shimano American Corporation purchased the company from Gary and today, it's bigger and better than ever. Gary still has an office here at the factory where he not-so-quietly takes on salmon fisheries issues © Copyright 2007 G Loomis, All Rights Reserved

With that said. BUY THE BEST EQUIPMENT YOU CAN AFFORD! At this point, it should be pretty clear that cutting corners on your equipment will ultimately be reflected in the number of fish you hook and land. Plain and simple, fishing garbage gear will cost you fish! Pay attention to detail, eliminate every controllable variable, and most importantly, buy the very best equipment that you can afford. As technology rockets forward at break-neck speed, most of us “average Joes” will quickly come to realize that constantly upgrading our fishing equipment is just not economically feasible. So where do you draw the line? Before parting with my hard earned cash, I like to ask myself one simple question: “does this purchase have the potential to either enhance my equipments performance or raise my confidence level?” If the answer is a resounding “yes,” then I think its money well spent. Without a doubt, the equipment advantage is one of the fastest and easiest ways to improve your Trout, Flounder and Redfish or (what ever species) success rate! 2007 G. oomis all rights reserved

And believe me when I tell you. That I have friends that didn't always have the highest grade of tackle. And they caught plenty of fish. Now, as they have progressed. You ought to see what they catch thier fish with now. One of those guys that comes to mind is my buddy, nick-named "DOA Rob", (that's him up there at the top of the page in his Bad-azz Hobie Kayak). He has a nice boat, a wow-factor Hobie Kayak, and now some serious tackle. And this guy has specialty tackle for fishing his favorite lure of all, a 1/4oz. DOA shrimp. Now that's what I'm talking about! Once you figure out what works best for you, and your favorite kind of fishing, go ahead and make the upgrade. And that's where Loomis rods come into play.

And that's why you'll use all G.Loomis rods when aboard my boat, because I want you to have the best performing equipment, and the highest confidence level. Because, you can float fish with anything. But then there's specialized float fishing tackle, that'll never let you down.

2/2 - Bored to tears...large enough to surf. Cyber surf that is.

Well the weather screwed me!!!!
Had a charter call yesterday, for today.....(gotta love the late notice crowd) Yeah there was loads of planning going into that trip, huh?

It was blowing 25 knots yesterday and I looked at the weather that morning and today it was supposed to blow hard too. So I said to the guy, "I think the winds gonna be way to strong", but now of course it isn't.

So I was sitting surfing the web. And checked out Yahoo, to see my listing. Then, found where I come up in the search listings. Then saw a tab for "more information" so I clicked on it.

Soooooo, this is where people get all that old stuff from. I recieve calls all the time where people tell me they are looking at my web site and telling me that they see _____. When that stuff hasn't been on my web site in 8 years!!!

I'm not all that search engine savvy, but now I get it. And either is half the callers I get.
They click on anything that moves, obviously.

Well, I found VERY old archived pages of my web site. Now remember, I've had a web site before there was Google and Yahoo. My dad (35 years in the computer field) started me a one page web site, the minute the Internet was public. When was that....over 10 years ago??
Now look at the world wide web, huh?
I always say, "I had a web page back when web pages weren't cool!"

So of course I have many, many generations of web pages out there floating in cyber space.

That explains the "what are you looking at.....?" reaction you'll get from me when I hear your looking at a page from 10 years ago. Which today is ANCIENT history.

You may or may not notice I change things on my web site almost weekly. "I had a good teacher". I go in and tweek pages all the time.

But I found these from surfing around on Yahoo:
http://www.captdaves.com/Article.htm

You may find this a bunch or crappola, or interesting educational reading, as many did back in the day. But yes, I did have a complete articles page for a while. Because I did 6 years worth of monthly columns for the Jacksonville Fisherman Magazine. That's a lot of fishing stories.

That seems like a life time ago, now. When even the charter biz in Jacksonville seemed different. And I had such a "following readership" also. I guess the Internet kind of sterilized that kind of relationship between readers and writers. Now, there's too much out there. But still, here I am!
Cooking along, as a survivor.

Rusty, owner of B&M bait and tackle keeps asking me when I'm going to do a Newspaper article again, like in the Beaches Leader Newspaper. I tell him no one bothers to ask, and like the military it's all political, I'm sure. Plus, since my literary mentor is Tred Barta (back page of Sport Fishing Magazine, and author of The best and worst of Tred Barta, and host of his own TV show)

I may not always tell it the way people want to hear it either.....like Tred.
I'm an opinionated SOB, just like him.

1/31 - a different day indeed, COLDER

Ya know I could be watching American Idol right now, but here I am again. Letting you all know what you missed.

NOT MUCH.

Compared to yesterday, today was REALLY COLD! Burning cold.

Yesterday, we didn't have a 20 knot NE wind blowing, and never relenting. But like I said, I'm gonna wear-out the last days of Trout season.

So I went back to the only spot I can "consistently" find them, and whacked my 5 keepers 15-17".
No big ones, and I had to throw back several at that spot.

But I cannot figure out why I can't find any 15 plus inchers, anywhere else in this creek system.

I caught a ton of Trout, but as soon as I leave this one area they all are small.

The whole day was different than yesterday. That wind direction made everything a struggle.

Tuesday, the wind was light from the NW.

Oh well, I can still bask in the great day I had yesterday. No pic's to share, nothing was worth taking the time to do a photo.

I guess, I'll take a break for awhile. Had loads of charter calls today, and can ya believe 2 of them were for the same days I'll be in Miami at the boat show? It never fails. I get NO vacation for several years, and as soon as I plan a very brief one (3 days), that's when people call to go.

The BORG were calling!

THERE'S AN ABSOLUTE OVER ABUNDANCE OF 14'' TROUT OUT THERE!
(and when the limit was 14" there was too many 13")

Okay, despite the cold and the wind. I went out with a bang. But just not as loud as previous years. (oh, how I long for the ole days....hahahaha)

Let's blame climate change.
Everyone else can use that excuse, why not fisherman?

1/30 - Creekin' it, in the cold

Down right chilly today. I was maxed out with the fleece outer wear.

Immediately had my Trout limit of 5 from 15" to 19", but they were all skinny fish. Basically went back to the same place I took Travis the other day, and tried it again. The trout were seriously scattered along a 100 yard piece of the creek, way back in the salt marsh.

Then as the tide got really low and I had my 5 Trout in the box, I worked my way around and float-rigged some deeper holes. Catching an absolute ton of 12-14" Trout, at the slack low tide.

Then, as the water barely started to move again, I re-anchored and floated just outside an exposed oyster bank. I got a great hook up on a big fish and had it one for a nano-second. So, I pitched up there again.....float bobs a little and I come back with a bit in half shrimp. I pitch up there again, and the float takes a dive. And I'm hooked up to that fish with a few lives, but those lives just ended. And that 7 pound Sheepshead puts up one hell of a battle.

The bite was fast and furious as the tide poured in over the oysters beds. I also had no less than 8 small Redfish, 15 more small Trout, and two small Flounder.

As the tide got high I switched over to my home made (and a lot better) Cajun thunder, clicker float with a 3 foot leader. But I call mine, the "Capt Dave's custom thunder" rig. I don't get to use it very often. Because I'm not in very shallow water very often. But, I ended up on a huge mud flat with high mounds of oyster's and islands out off the grass line. I pulled up on that flat when it was just barely 2 feet deep, and as the water rose, the fish followed, and I found them all in one spot, with my "CDCT".

I had a blast today, and had to have caught at least 30 fish, on 48 live shrimp. But still only ended up with my 5 Trout, and the Sheepshead in the box.

It's really something that 26 foot Plate Alloy, boat of mine. It floats in hardly any water.

It's no Gheenoe, or Kayak but for a 26 footer with a 225 HP Honda on the back, you'd be very surprised where I can go. And do it with lots of fishing room. That's the difference between 26 feet of 1/4" Aluminum, and a fiberglass boat. Plus, I have no fear of oyster beds, either.

One more day till the Speckled Trout closure for the next 28 days. I just had to go and get me some for the plate. And that Sheepshead will taste better knowing I got it on a float-rig off a shell bar, in a creek. And by the way.....there's a whole lot more up in those creeks I didn't catch.

I had other Salt marsh "7-striped Jetty Snappers" chewing on my live shrimp too. I just couldn't connect as good as I did with the big boy.

Go wade the hard bottomed areas of flooded marsh grass off the ICW sometime in Sept. & Oct. if you want to see for yourself how many Sheepshead "DO NOT" hang out on pilings, rocks & docks.

I just may have to go tomorrow too. We'll see.

-hope to have you aboard,

Capt. Dave - "the float freak"

1/29 - Old School Vs. New School.... float-riggin'

I had a customer snap the tip off a $220 rod the other day, while sliding his stopper knot up the line to the tip. I'm not going to go into "how he could have avoided that", but lets just say I wasn't fast enough to stop him in mid stride.

I suspect that know one knows what kind of quality tackle I'm handing over to them, each day. Although, I tell them in dollar amounts what replacement cost of each rig is, while running replacement my How-to. But it doesn't phase many that one rod and reel with line COSTS more than their entire charter. I may not have to pay MSRP, but either way. A car rental company doesn't either before they rent you the car, but go by that same car yourself.

Gary Loomis the owner/founder of the G.LOOMIS rod company had a saying; "I can make a rod that you will not break, but then again, you won't want to fish with it". Gary was not only a smart man, a master Machinist, but an avid angler. He knew what other avid anglers wanted in a rod. And since I was a kid, I dreamed of owning a set of G.LOOMIS rods. Because he built them for specific purposes, specific species, and for specific anglers. I knew when I was teen, I was one of those anglers. Always looking for the edge. My rod is a sword, in which I go into battle with. I was not some rich kid, where all I had to do is ask for something and got it. I patiently waited and worked my way up the ladder, and used what worked to the best of it's ability, till I could afford the best.

And today, that motto is still there with me. The only difference is I can now afford to hand you my sword(s), and only hope you too will take care of it, and know the difference between great rods, and just adequate rods as you pursue the days species.

My Float-rig rods have an "Action", that (almost) no matter what you do you cannot pull the hook on that big ole Speckled Trout. The rods are forgiving. But in skilled hands, I can take the same rod and whip a 20 pound Redfish in a matter of minutes, still not pull the hook, and get the fish to the boat, with maximum fun. IT'S CALLED, LIGHT TACKLE FISHING.

But, when I see rod tips broken. G.Loomis Rods dropped on the side of the boat, rods smacked against the outboard, rods smacked together.....it sends shivers up and down my spine. And if ya listen closely you just may hear me grimis under my breath. Because high modulus graphite is made for sensitive-feel, light tackle fishing, not as a boat oar. These rods are light in weight, and strong on fish. Sensitive because of their high tech materials, and designed by avid anglers for avid anglers, not a weekend party-barger.

My tackle used, is by my choice. No one gives it to me. It's not free, I have to pay for it. And I strive to educate my customers, on the finer ways of the fishing life-style, I enjoy.

So with that all said.....what about Old School vs. New School when it comes to Float-rig fishing?

Well, I'm doing New School, right now. You're using my G.LOOMIS high dollar, graphite rods designed for poppin' cork fishing for Redfish & Trout.....literally designed for what we're using them for, for the one exception that we're not popping our cork, we let it float in the current. The top four rod guides remain large, rather than taper smaller, so your "stopper knot" can easily slid in and out. The action is for the size fish that we normally catch around here, and are extremely light in weight so anyone can hold the rod all day long.

The line I'm using is Super Braid line (gel-spun synthetics), not monofilament. The biggest difference is in the fact there is hardy any stretch in super braid, and it floats on top of the water. Versus mono that stretches like a rubber band, and sinks plus gets water logged. My reels are a subject that's kind dear to me. I've been a user of Abu Garcia reels since I could hold one as a child, fishing for Bass and bluegills and light saltwater. I grew-up watching people like Roland Martin, and Bill Dance, and watched them cast a bait casting reel, all day long, not a spinning reel, which was originally designed for people who couldn't cast at all. I was a bait caster man, through and through. And to this day, hate spinning reels with a passion.

My reels we use are Abu Garcia - Chrome Rockets, commonly called bait-cast reels, or "casting" for short. Of every single Abu Garcia reel I have ever owned and used in saltwater. The chrome rockets hold up the best....WHY? Because they are not stamped Aluminum, but rather "Chrome over Brass" where it counts most, when using them in saltwater.

Most Abu Garcia reels are built for fresh water fishing, I believe. But many of us use them in saltwater, because they are like a Timex watch. They can take a beating, and can keep on performing. And yes, a Chrome Rocket isn't cheap...$200 plus dollars MSRP. And believe it or not, many of mine have come off of Ebay. Yes, I have to search and make deals on Ebay, so you can fish with what I consider the BEST! I also love an Abu Garcia reel because I can break one down to parade rest in a matter of minutes, clean it, and put it together just as fast. I've been doing it since I was a kid.

Now lets go Old School on rods for Float rig fishing. Many moons ago, Float fisherman used longer rods, 7'6" to 8'6", rather than the 7 footers I have you using. Number one, it was because of line stretch. Remember, I said monofilament stretches?? And old style mono stretched more than 20%. So if you have a float drifting out 100 feet behind the boat, when a fish grabs the bait and runs, and you go to set the hook the mono can stretch 20 feet before the line is at it's breaking point or before you can get a good hook set into a big fishes jaw. So what do you want to compensate for all that stretch? A LONGER ROD, so you can swing a hook set higher and get that line tight, faster taking up any slack and stretch.

That's why I constantly preach, REEL, THEN LIFT when you have a fish pull your float under. I want you to get used to getting that line tight fast! Even though you are not using mono, but super braid line. It's just good practice.

Another reason, for a long rod when float rig fishing is that no matter what your casting skill level is with a bait casting reel, such a my Chrome Rockets. You'll be able to pitch your float-rig away from the boat further. A longer rod many times is a way to "crutch" a un-skilled caster, for the short term. Another reason maybe also, that when I have 3 on the boat, two can hold out the sides of the boat as one person goes down the middle, drifting your floats back.

Can ya see where this is going, yet?

I ordered 4- custom made 8'6" float-rigging Old School rods, made out of plain old fiberglass, so they hopefully won't break as easily. So as I can experiment with them. They won't be as light weight, and the action may not be as "light-tackle", when it comes to a big giant fish. But we're going back to Old School tackle as far as the rods go. I'll use my same reels, the same line the same floats etc. But the rods will be different. A foot and a 1/2 longer, and with foam grips instead of cork handles. I meticulously went over every detail with a local rod builder yesterday afternoon. And drove home the point to him that these have to be Old School, and have to be durable.

Because honestly, I don't think know one cares what kind of rods and reels I give them. Because if they did care, they'd take better care of them.

We all know that Float rig fishing isn't going anywhere on my boat, it's my staple. Because it works. The technique catches fish, there's no doubt. People who have never fished a day in their life can catch fish this way. And for me, it's not only a way to take those same people catching, rather than teaching them how to cast all day long, or pull their sinker out of the snags all day long. It's like fly fishing to me. You can always take it to the next level and consistently work on your techniques. Just as Golfing is Golfing......but what Tiger does is more than Golfing sometimes. That's how I look at the Float rig. There's always a bigger species to catch on it, or a different species to target with it, and it goes on and on.

So when these new custom Old School rods come in. I'll be mixing Old School and New School together, and hope we all are happy at the end of the day.

This will be a test to see, what I like better. I'll report when I get them and have customers use them.

Hope to have you aboard,

Capt Dave

1/27 - We earned these Trout!!!!!

Holy MOSES!!!!
Travis R. and myself, out like two ole buds, chasing the ever illusive OVER 15" Speckley bastards for the Fish Box.

So we left out at 'sun-up', 7am.
It was beautiful out, not nearly as cold as yesterday. Sunny, warmer, and I had all the hopes in the world for Travis to catch some decent Trout. We were supposed to go originally on December 9, but that day was a small craft advisory. But hell at least there was a lot of Trout chewin' then. But I knew we'd not be able to fish, so we rescheduled and Travis picked today.

First off "east of the boat ramp" we headed. Because the general rule for Trout Trackers is about Late Nov. early December is to concentrate all your efforts closer to inlets. But, forget about it if you fish the St. Johns River inlet. Because they just are not there in masses. (they were, and then of course they disappeared)
We went to a few spots, never lost a bait, and I caught a Bluefish, and a 3" Sea Bass. That was it.
And when I get pissed, I change zip codes. So off we went down river to some hopefully Bluefish-less waters, and warmer waters.

Nope, same temp 57 degrees. As far as 5 miles west of the inlet. Still no bites.
Now, it's at least 10am!!!!

I'm so pissed that I'm ready to go to home depot, and quit this gig. So on the way back I get a premonition, "Ahhh, lets go up here and see if I can slid into this creek...it's been so long since I've been in there, probably 5+ years", I told Travis.
So we went for it. The first leg was okay, we had water. Remember now, it was dead low tide starting to barely come in. And then we reached the first mud bar, and Travis jumped up on the bow deck and searched the water pointing which way to head, as did I from the helm. I'm heading in here all by my photographic memory. We twist and turn through the creek and head over mud bar #2. The depth finder went blank as we drifted over 2 feet of water, and we could see the bottom, again.

Then, we made it to the next turn and after that we were in! I knew exactly where we were and and then we were safely in after that. So we moved in towards the Trout spot, where we (me and some buddies) used to mess them up on just 1/4 oz. jigs and Creme Lil Fishie's. It's always been a January creek. And as soon as February came, we'd stop fishing it. All this took place when I used to have a smaller boat as my second one.

By now it's at least 11-11:30 am...we are fish-less. But I'm not a wimp, I'm a Trout Tracker at heart. And I do not give up. I'm a die hard. And Travis came here to float-fish and see the in's and out's of it all. So, this was about the last ditch effort for the day. But I was willing, hell I only had Travis on the boat, it wasn't like I would do all this to go "party boating" with 4 passengers up in this creek.

We anchored up, just below two dudes in a flats boat pitching jigs and plastic baits, drifting in front of us. Travis and I dropped our floats over the stern and as soon as they got behind the boat 20 feet Travis reeled in a nice fattie! Then, he did it again....and then I got a chance.

By now the two flats boat dudes, came drifting down the side of my boat. Pleasantly, I asked, "Have ya'll been catching them?" They said abruptly, "Nope". I said back, "well I made it all the way up in here, and since I did we finally caught some and they are the first ones all day." They said nothing back and smugly just drifted by us and continued casting their lures.

I figured they were pissed we were here...being I'm 26', and probably don't belong up in this creek. Or it was because they caught none and we did in the first 2 minutes. But I've fished this creek for 20 year, and wasn't bothering them.

Either way, we continued wacking some decent keeper Trout and some throw backs. Then, like a light switch. IT WAS OVER!

I told Travis, "ain't this just great, they wanna play this game, the teasing game".
Been there done that got the T-shirt, and the bruises. But this was all new to Travis, and VERY VERY old to me. So we moved around and caught a few more and then in a matter of a few hours, the current was gone. Because it was a very weak incoming tide again today. So the further we ended up into this creek system, the less current we would have. Because with such a low high tide today, there's just not enough water to make current all the way back here.

After thinking about it we could have just tossed out some shrimp on jigs near a oyster bar, after the Trout quit, and sat it out waiting on a Red or a Drum, but we stayed at the float rig. Working hard and moving around.

So we ended up with 7-8 keepers up to 19 inches, just shy of a two person limit out of all the ones we caught. No Reds, No sheeps, no other fish at all, maybe a few more Bluefish that's all.

So is today the last hurrah of the Trout, till Feb.'s closure, for Dave? As I said before, I'd at least like to go out with a big bang, and load the box for someone. Or even myself.

I ususally do end January with a big bang of Trout, but it's obvious this ain't you average January, either.

Although the water is cold, good and cold. And yes, anything below a solid 60 degrees is a tough day on them. So this maybe it.

The ole January Creek.....damn, I cannot believe I forgot about it. That's not right......I never really forgot, just never thought I could put my 26 feet of boat, up in it at dead low tide. But sometimes ya just gotta have some balls.

But then again, this ain't your average 26 footer either. It's the super tank...the USS Speckled Trout!

1/26 - "E" for a huge EFFORT

Had Cliff, Martin & Dave aboard today. Cliff & Martin were from Canada, Dave a Jax. Sheriff's Dept. deputy.
Never got the relation between the three, but it didn't matter. They were all good guys. And man I love having people aboard from far away places. I really like talking to them and hearing about where they are from.

Ya' know I had Whiting at Nassau Sound in mind. But of course took the float-rods, just in case.
Well, I couldn't help myself when I got near the Sound, I stopped at a great Trout spot....or more like, "I've wacked the hell out of them there many a time". In January thru February. Mostly on MirrOlures. So we fished it. And instantly had Trout hooked up. 14-1/2 inches...one after another. With only two keepers only. Even this place was off. Damn, what's going on? This same spot is where I've taken people numerous times for limits and limits of big fish.
Like I said in an earlier post, none of this measures up with any of my log books for other years in January.

We BARELY caught the last of the falling tide. So after about 12 trout, we moved out to the innards of the Sound, deep up into the sand bar country I went, and found nothing but high winds and NO CURRENT. Tried another spot same deal.
Looked at the tides. Very 'low' incoming....like a 3.5' incoming. And what's the story???
"if there's less than 4 foot of water movement, there's probably gonna be no current" Right??

Okay, hell with this. The guys seemed to really like the float-rig fishing, so we went back to it.

The tide was incoming now, and we barely could catch a cold. Picked off maybe 6 more Trout, that were all small, even went up in a creek off the ICW. And the Bluefish are everywhere.
The "scourge" of winter fishing species. I hate them more than blennies at the jetties!

The theme is clear, crystal clear. And my best laid plans of fishing the sound for Whiting went awash as soon as I got there......14 miles north!

And man, it was cold ride North, at 7am.

We caught fish. But certainly not like I wanted and I'm sure the guys wanted. But after it warmed up we had a nice day. A wintry chill was in the air even this afternoon, but the clear skies and bright sun was nice.

Tomorrow....I have Travis a solo guy along, and will be sticking closer to the home turf. I don't think he's all that interested in Whiting, so we'll probably beat up the jetty rocks.
Maybe I'll even get to take a picture or two.

1/24 - Stick a fork in me...I'm Done!

I don't know anyone who takes as much pride in being as thorough
as I do. I loose sleep over contemplating the questions of where are
they, how can I better catch them, how can I better help my clients
catch them. I live it, breath it, it's a lifestyle. Hunting fish on the
Float-rig. Shallow, deep, and in between.

I believe it's the best overall fish catching technique
in N.E. Florida, and just not for Trout.

Some get it, some don't. Some can do it easily, some can't.
But everyone (my customers) stays active,
stays fishing, and in pursuit
while learning something,
other than how to cast.

All I have to say is......I'm very disappointed.

The float freak is very very upset.

Again, I gave it "one last try" today, before forgeting about it till something really changes in that river. I never had such a bad January day in my whole life. I caught ZERO trout, in 6 hours. Frequented a few areas at different tide phases than I usually would. But keep in mind I only fish places I would take a charter too, 90% of the time. Places others could catch some too.

Going back to bottom fishing. And Whiting is on the agenda too. (they're biting) That's what we'll be doing in the days to come.

Because there's a serious 'lack of Trout'.
ARE THEY JUST GONE, from the Mayport area?
According to all my log books for the last 10 years they would still be biting. At least the Yellowmouth, I find on the south jetties.

Don't bother. I know what your thinking.
I go by the book. My books. Don't care about what is in other reports or where anyone else has been or done.
I use my detailed logs to double check what and when, constantly.
I've seen this 'pattern' coming, even as I wrote reports on my old forum.

Do I dare too open up last years books???
Do I dare post the pics of last January 2006 either.


Okay just one. That's, PETER TELFORD up there, a happy Float-Freak!
With his 16 pound "XLB" - Xtra lighttackle battle, Float-rig caught Redbass from Jan. 10th of 2006.
Haven't see any of those in January of 2007 except a few slot fish, but not a heavyweight like that.

Here's January 2006: (in between the high winds, cold and Gales, and post-holiday empty check books)
the 1st.....a Trout riot! Limits, limits and limits to 4 pounds.
the 10th.....Big Redfish 16 pounds, some really nice Trout and even Sheepshead.
the 17th......Lots of wind but still Sheepshead to 7 pounds, yellowmouth Trout and Speck mix.
the 28th....Box of Specks even on a tough day, but 4-3 pounders, 20-Yellowmouth, a Redfish and Flounder!
the 29th......two person limit of Specks to 3 pounds.

ALL FLOAT-RIG FISHING!!
Nothing else. The Float-Freak was happy.
Now he's not.

1/23 - cold 1/2 day.....searching

Had a call on the 22nd from Mark D. to fish on the 23rd. I was open and as I looked in my "Florida Sportsman Tide Planner" as I always do to check the tides, I figured we couldn't even leave till 1:00pm. Because we had a 11:45am high tide Mayport time. And even that would be pushing it. Remembering that most of the bites have been coming only on the low water.

Man, this is a tough time of year!

So Mark, Skyler and Tom met me at the ramp at 1:00pm. And we went into a creek to start off, and do some acclimation. I first have to show everybody what we're going to do and how to fish the float-rig. Plus, Skyler and Tom were'nt dressed all that well. They may have been from the north country, but it was chilly out there. Mark was in his full foul weather attire, and so was I.

But the other two weren't big time fishermen. And didn't have foul weather gore-tex on.

As usual, we caught a few 12" trout while practicing the float-rig, at the first of the falling tide in the creek. I say, 'as usual' because that's the way it seems to be. The creeks have alot of small fish in them. But we didn't catch alot, because the tide was still up in the grass as we were there.

I had a feeling, this was going to turn out just as it did. A SEARCHING, CHARTER.....as in searching for a bite! As I went from one good spot to another. Hit one spot and of course the Bluefish were everywhere, 10" Blues eating our baits and that was all. One spot we stopped at, we had zero bites. And although not right now it seems, this spot is a tournament Trout spot in March & April. Like this town would ever have a Trout Tournament??? Thats a laugh.

Then we found a few....along the Navy Base. Fat 18 plus inchers. And caught 3 back to back. And then not another single bite. What the hell, did we catch the 3 that swam by? I guess so.

I then picked up and tried the jetties. The tide was haulin ass there, but Tom picked a Trout from close to the rocks. Now we have 4 in the box, and should have 14!!!!

We left out and went back along the Navy Base, and the current eventually died out on us, and it started to get dark.

So we headed back to clean the fish we had.

They asked me "Is there a place, that will cook your fish for you?" And believe it or not, I didn't know of any. I don't get a request for that very often, so I haven't gave it much though. But as it turned out, they stopped just out side the boat ramp in Mayport at Singleton's Seafood Shack, and they had Trout dinner there prepared by them. I found this out because Mark called me back later and wanted to say, they really enjoyed the Trout and how good they were.

See....I'm glad he called. So now I can send folks over to Singleton's if they want to have their fish cooked for them, and that's called F-R-E-S-H fish!

It sure would be nice to not have to do so much searching to find some fish on a 1/2 days trip, were time is of the essence.

Next up is Friday & Saturday....I hope they wear there Gore-Tex, because all aboard is gonna need it, along with some patience.

Late Jan. Doldrums????? 1/22/07

Welcome to my new daily reports (rants & raves-observations-commentary) blog. With the new year, comes out with the old in with the new. The last report forum I had was plagued with technical problems. So I had enough of it. And opted for this format, and getting to it from just a link on my Fishing Reports page of my web site.

Well, I'm perplexed. Ever since Monday, January 15th, the Speck fishing has taken a nose dive. And if I could figure out why, I might be a millionaire. But most folks don't figure that, "we're gonna tear them up son, Capt. Dave's gonna put us on them." Yep, I certainly will, but "you can't catch'em if you don't get bit!" There's no guarantees.


Yesterday, while out solo I did see an ole acquaintance catch a monster Croaker. He said it weighed in at 4 pounds even on his boga-grip scale, and was 20-1/8th inch long. It was huge, as far as Croakers go. He kept it alive in his bait tank, and I hope he followed up finding out if it would be a new state record. It's got to be close.


Again, I tried my luck attempting to "un-lock" the secret of fishing the incoming tide with the float-rig in the river. I caught a small Sheepshead, Black Drum and a Trout....but that's far from learning the secret to momma natures flood tide vault. And then on the falling tide (new moon screaming current) many places were just "un-float-able". But I did manage 2- 18 inch, Yellowmouth and Specks, and a few throw backs. Then, the ESE winds blew hard. And blew me right on to my boat trailer and back home.


For now, I have a 'late notice' 1/2 day charter at 1pm, tomarrow. And then I have pre-booked charters on Friday and Saturday later this week. The weather report is for VERY cold mornings this weekend. And yes, because of the tide we have to leave at the crack of dawn.
Bundle up folks!

And here we go again. I always like to go out of January with a bang. I want to teach the local population of big Trout, who's to be reconded with. Just before the February closure, for harvest. It's a personal thing, I'm always setting goals. I can only hope by this weekend, we'll be able to do just that.

Heck, it was just two weeks or so ago. I sat along the Mayport Jetties and had numerous 18" to 26" (up to 6 pound) Speckled Trout just rippin' my float down, and a few slot Reds that I left biting!

I guess since this report blog is kind of hidden away amongst my "real" web site pages it may not get the views that the ole forum did, but that's okay with me. I just want my customers to know where they can track each days trips. On an always updated format without ads for Viagra or get rich quick schemes, getting in the way.

I always feel most Fishing Guide's reports are filled with fish jumping in the boat, exaggerated lies, and you should have been here yesterday antidotes. But is that really the way fishing is? Not really. I like reports that cover..."the good, the bad, and yes even the UGLY".

All I can say is......check here often, to get up to date info on what's happening. And then you've done your part, I'll do the rest.

Hope to have you aboard soon,
Capt Dave