4/20 - Another windy weekend

I think today's weather stats say it all:

04/20 - 12:06 pm,

NNE @

22.9 knot sustained/

32.1 knot gusts
04/20 - 12:00 pm,

NNE @

25.1 knot sustained/

31.1 knot gusts
04/20 - 11:54 am,

NNE @

24.1 knot sustained/

28.9 knot gusts

I THINK YA GET MY DRIFT.

But there's more to this story than just un-bare able winds. That's Dave Seidel in the photo. He met me at the Mayport boat ramp around 8am. It was sunny, chilly and with some wind, about 10 knots from the N.E. Not all that bad.....just a tad askew that's all. Dave just wanted to "get out", since he was hotel bound and was here for a Navy reunion, and was leaving Monday back to Pa. I told him, the forecast looks to be heinous, and I certainly cannot promise much if anything at all. It was okay, he said. He understood, an was a fisherman himself at home.

So we leave the ramp, and head for the jetties. Not really to fish them, but I wanted to give him the .50 cent tour at least. He was easy going on the phone last night and at 6:00am this morning when I called, for the heads-up on the weather report. I wanted to at least show him around.

The jetties were nasty, even on the incoming tide. I can only image how bad they will be when the tide really starts falling against the N.E. wind. So off down river we went. 2-Bluefish on, 2- Bluefish off.....they chewed through the 20 pound leader. Next spot, 2- Speckled Trout (keepers) and a Flounder. And then another one we call "LUCKY".

Dave's float goes down, he reels, sets the hook tight, and has the fish coming to the boat, so he thought. The drag burns.....he reels, the drag burns again.....I look into the water (care of Ocean Waves sunglasses Illuminator Lens') and see a big fat Speck! The drag goes off again......I go for the net...Dave's line goes slack.....Fish Gone!

AHHHHH, man. A big Trout lost. And Dave did nothing I saw wrong. The fishes name was "LUCKY", that's all.

The sky was dark, the wind was picking up, and the saving grace is we were into some fish up in a small creek, behind another creek, that branched off another small creek, way on back there! The rain started, the clouds began to darken, and here it comes. ANOTHER "FRONT" FROM HELL!

All bites stopped, the anchor broke free because the wind was so full bore against the side of the boat, so we moved on. As I got out in the main creek, it was not looking good. But we tried it again. Then another spot, and it was now in full Gale conditions.

In the back of my mind I was thinking about..."how do I pull up to the dock in this wind?" "how do I get the boat on the trailer in this wind?"

So we looked around a little more and headed into the river. Holy Crap, this was some sporty stuff, and the tide hasn't changed yet and may never against all this. So I made the decision to bag it and head in.

I idled outside the boat ramp docks studying how to get to the dock that was down wind, without making this into an all out collision with concrete and those damned NYLON sides on the dock. Hey, I may have a big Plate Alloy boat, but still would like to avoid any dents in the hull.

So I made my approach with "all hands on deck", ready for who knows what. And I came in good and safely. Now, how do I drive on the trailer without driving over the trailer??

Dave and I figured it out and it was so simple, and I slid into the bunks like an ole man sliding into bed.....oh so easy.

I was so happy. No casualties or broken anything! Just had to do the geometry. The angle of the gale force gust versus the docks, the trailer and take it easy and think it through.

Sounds stupid maybe but this was no laughing matter, because the wind was blowing straight into the docks, and in this kind of Gale I had no bow control at slow speeds, or boat control at all.

Tomorrow, I have two guys scheduled. And we decided to do a rain check and I put them in my long will call list. They want to go, but will call back with another date to do so.

Back to back weekends with winds this strong is freakin me OUT!

This like NO April I have ever seen before.

So far I have 3 days next week and as far as what they say now, 15 knots from the south seems to be the norm. I'll take that over a cold NE 15 anyday!

4/19 - Very interesting web site

A very interesting web site. Maybe Florida should take note!

Georgia's, close enough to fish....close enough for us to pay attention to what they are doing!

* Tournament
*Redfish facts
*Stocking program
*Why & when they spawn
*Pollution....effects them
*Degrading of habitat (something Jacksonville needs to care more about!)

Personally, I have made an effort that I will only keep a Redfish every once in a blue moon, myself. I don't really care to eat them...and especially do not care to clean them (like a Sheepshead).
Ya'll know what fish cleans easier and the fish I'm always looking for!

It has "speckles" rather than "spots".....but then again the one pictured here could have been refered to as a "Speckled Redfish", caught by a member of the Campbell Clan on a charter many moons ago. When we used to actually have a CONGREGATION of fish in the river during the fall.

I'd love to find an article about the Redfish of the St. Johns River, since this area was mentioned as one of the TOP 5, in Saltwater Sportsman Magazine (Feb of 2007). And why sometimes the fish are here spawning and sometimes not.
Angler lore is; Salinity Levels - no rain, Pollution...IE: "Green Algae", the US Navy, gone to Georgia for a one night stand. I'd like to read what the scientists say.

http://www.peachstatereds.org/index.html

P.S.

Keep some fingers crossed "about this weekend".

4/18 - Is this really April?????

Not much to report, lately.

VERY SMOKEY....because of all the fires, again.

That ain't FOG in this photo. And there's nothing wrong with my camera either.

I'm absolutely dieing to try something different. Bored with the same ole thing, and since the tide was coming in and almost high by the time I got bait and dropped the boat in the water. I went to Mill Cove. Yep, I went to where I used to catch a lot of fish on MirrOlures. Up under the high tension wires. And I went all the way in and fished the last towers, and pitched a Cajun Thunder clicker float and micro shrimp over those massive oyster bars under the power lines.

NOT A SINGLE BITE! Although I witnessed leaping Flounder. And more than just one.

So obviously there was something with gills & scales up in there besides just big Mullet jumping. I was starting to get a real short fuse after not even giving a micro-shrimp away to a pinfish.

Now that the 45 knot winds have gone away. I assume it really screwed up the fishing. After Mill Cove, I ran down river to a spot that I can't hardly figure out when it has good current most of the time, but found it had water movement today.

If it does, it usually holds some serious Trout. Instead I had my ass handed to me by a Big Red, up under a dock....that eventually straightened my small hook. Then about 10 drifts later I got it's lil' Brother, a 18 inch Redfish. And not a single Trout.

The smoke from the Georgia Fires was intense, and made a probably decent day seem like a cloudy one. But before I go any further let me also say it was, COLD and windy at times!

The weather Guessers said it was going to be:

5-10 knots - Light & Variable winds.

The real question is, is this actually mid April??

Today, it felt like March 1st, as I wore a rain jacket all day. Because of the chill in the air.

Then, I lost all my current and I moved on. I was stuck. Stuck down river with no current, and no where to really go till the tide changes and started to fall.

Before I left this morning, I had to wait around for live shrimp to arrive at the bait shop, and after almost 2 hours of waiting, it arrived at 9am. And they turned out to be 1 inch shrimp. Yes, I waited almost 2 hours for shrimp so small they weren't worth using.

So I headed back to regular stomping grounds, and caught 3 small 14-3/4 inch Trout.

And two hours later a 3 pound Jack.

What a waste of time. Obviously, those huge winds we just had, did some damage. Because I wasn't the only one, not catching. I never went to the jetties, I figured it was probably a soup sandwich out there too. The water in the river was dirty enough.

Now, I have charters on Friday and Saturday and the weather report is all about the wind. Who cares about temp. or the sun. 15-20 knots of wind will keep ya on your toes, enough.

Honestly, I've had it better in the middle of February than I do now. But no one wants to go in February......because they actually believe the fishing is no good and it's too cold. When in all reality they have it all backwards. About this point, I'll take winter all over again. I caught more and had to put up with less knuckle-heads, out on the river.

If you were out there on the water today too, you'd probably wonder if it was really April too.

Let's face it, look back in these January and February's reports...there I am out all by myself doing R&D taking pictures, of better fish than in this March & April. Because customers are afraid to go. Ya' don't have to be a biologist to know that the winter is Jacksonville's Best inshore fishery!

Maybe soon we'll get back to some decent spring weather....Before it's May??

But this weekend doesn't look like it will happen.

4/13 - a 1/4 mile stretch -revised-

Let me start off by announcing that I have (4) and maybe more...
Abu Garcia Ambassador 6500 Trophy Series reels for sale.

New: $95 to $105 a piece.

Mine: cleaned, Oiled & in fine working order - $35 each
or buy all (4) for $130.00 ....Lasted one day, SOLD ALREADY, sorry.


If your interested, just call me or email me.
904-642-9546
reels@captdaves.com

I'd just love to let all (4) go at the same time, of course. From time to time I do a liquidation, I guess you could say of tackle I'm not using.

BTW...I also have (2) Penn Performance Tackle (PPT) 13'6" Neil MacKellow (famed British long caster designed) "Stinger" model Surf casting rods. Yes, key word is "CASTING".....what real surf casters use. Meaning; the the opposite of a "Spinner"......YUK! Can Handle large casting reel with supplied "Coaster Clips" to attach reel. Handles casting up to 5 oz. easily. (I think I did my best ever with these rods at 400 feet.) 2-piece, in cloth storage bag - $75 each and like brand new. Can handle Sharks, big Reds or Whiting and Pompano. Versatile rods.
Can be seen at B&M Bait & Tackle A1A north Atlanitic beach where they are on consignment or just call me.

Okay...back to the fishing.

Went out today with a game plan in mind. As you may or may not know, when I go by my lonesome, I call it R&D. Short for "research and development". First off, going and putting the boat in the water was a great excuse to burn the giganticus live shrimp I still had in my live well, and I had to go put fuel in the boat, anyhow. (FYI: Honda...So far so good. I have not a single negative thing to say about my new outboard. The fuel economy is very good. On average I burn thru all RPM ranges a measly 2 gallons an hour, or as I like to think of it; about 10-12 fishing trips on 60 gallons. Granted my fishing trips are not 4 hour runs to the ledge and then troll all damn day. But I do haul-ass from spot to spot, starting and stopping, idling and with varying loads of people, day to day. I'm very happy so far...)
So if I needed to burn some expensive live shrimp because I don't think I'm doing my charter on Sunday because of the weather report, and while putting $150 worth of fuel in the boat, I might as well go do some R&D.
I went to the south-side of the south jetty, that was the game plan. Do not burn much of that $150 worth of fuel, and spent all day there. (MISTAKE #1)
I do stuff like that all the time. I pick an area and never really leave. Working a 1/4 mile stretch, while attempting to learn all I can about it. Although over the 25 years worth of fishing the jetties I have probably learned about all I can about that side of the rocks. But I stayed there, thru thick and thin. But today was mighty THIN!
I caught 4 Speckled Trout, WHOOPEE! And 10 Jack Cravalles of various sizes. The Trout were not what I was hunting for, with them ranging from 14-3/4 inches to 17 inches.
I fished in 3 feet up in the jam, and out at the tip, and in between. And there was no rhyme or reason to where the Trout were, out of the whopping 4, one came from 3 feet of water while the rest were in 10' or 18' or 1 foot. It was serious pot luck. There was zero current, and I knew that going in. What I didn't know is that no one really works anymore on Friday's either.
Back in February, I could be out doing a lil' R&D on a Friday and never see a soul. But that's all changed now.

I call staying there at the south side of the south Jetty all day Mistake #1, because I really should have done some R&D elsewhere. But since I just dumped $150 dollars into the fuel tank. It was a nice economical place to venture too.

I'll repeat a saying an associate of mine used to say about fishing in Jacksonville versus when he grew up in South Miami back in the 60's and 70's.
"Fishing in Jacksonville, you better be rigidly flexible."
Claiming that in Miami back when, you could basically do the same ole thing week after week and always catch fish. I think he meant.
But, he does have a point. The weather here is the number one reason I do R&D. Because one day is never the same as the next. (I wore a light weight rain jacket all day today!) I don't really care if I'm catching a lot of fish when I'm out there by myself. I just like "being", and not having to attend to anyone or anything. And can try crazy crap like working a 1/4 mile of rocks with various float rigs, for 6 hours.
But it sure would be nice to find that giant "ocean run" 9 pound Speck. Ya' know the one that I have day dreams of? And the one that makes me go spend money, I do not have.

I often wonder, does that Trout even exist? I say 9 pounder, not to be greedy. Sure a ten pounder would be nice, but C'mon this is J-ville Florida, not south west Texas, on the Laguna Madre where 10 pounders are common place. So I'm always conservative.

Either way. That's the story.

-And thanks to Dave Lashbrook, a reader of this blog/report and a fella I had on a charter a few years ago with his family. He e-mailed me today, with his own fishing report. I'm not gonna give away his confidential findings. But thanks to Dave, I probably should have done some R&D to the west rather than going east, and being a "cheap skate" on myself. (REMEMBER YA' HAVE TO BE....RIGIDLY FLEXIBLE!!!)

Oh well, I'm sure after this big blow that's coming this weekend. I'll have another R&D day afterwards, because bad weather scares everyone off for at least 2-3 days.

Is there a pool going on how many "spots" will win this year' Redfish spots tourney?
I'm gonna gamble like a sissy and say because of the weather and possible winds Saturday, I'll go with 30 spots or under will take it. (You can tell I don't know how to make a real bet)

4/11 - The Weekend Update

Week end up-date -

HOT SATURDAY SOUTH WINDS 15 KNOTS INCREASING TO 15 TO 20 KNOTS DURING THE AFTERNOON. SEAS 2 TO 4 FEET BUILDING TO 3 TO 5 FEET. INLAND WATERS A MODERATE CHOP. ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN THE AFTERNOON.

SATURDAY NIGHT HOT SOUTH WINDS 20 TO 25 KNOTS...BECOMING SOUTHWEST. SEAS 4 TO 6 FEET. INLAND WATERS CHOPPY. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS.SUNDAY HOT WEST WINDS 25 TO 30 KNOTS...WITH GUSTS TO GALE FORCE POSSIBLE. SEAS 5 TO 7 FEET. INLAND WATERS ROUGH. ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDER STORMS.

SUNDAY HOT WEST WINDS 25 TO 30 KNOTS...WITH GUSTS TO GALE FORCE POSSIBLE. SEAS 5 TO 7 FEET. INLAND WATERS ROUGH. ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDER STORMS.

Just so you know.....Gale Force winds are defined as: Winds with a speed from 32 to 63 mph.

(Al's still mad about the hanging "chads", this must be his way of making Florida pay!)

S0, what the hell's the big diff??? 2-knots of wind this weekend??

Have a Sunday charter with one of my favorite regulars. Hmmmm....and today and tomorrow are just fine out there.

Didn't go today, had way too much to do, and no one else to do it but me. So I'll go Tomorrow instead and burn them giganticus shrimp still in my live well.

______________________________________

FYI: Keep-Alive oxygen infusor, live well pump...on a timer that only runs the pump about 1.5 minutes every 5, is one great way of keeping bait alive and fishing ready. I love my Keep-Alive systems so much I won't have a live well with out one! Learn more at: www.keepalive.net

______________________________________

I GUESS I'LL HAVE THIS WEEKEND OFF TOO. AND I FIND IT HARD TO BELIEVE EVERYONE WANTS MY JOB (OR SO THEY THINK).

4/11 - My obvious week off?

Well, if you picked last week to go fishing with me, you did a good job for once in your charter fishing day selection.

Because yesterday was really bad, and today was okay, seeing it was "THE DAY AFTER", but unless you were really "salty" you wouldn't have liked it much.

To start off, FOG. I mean Pea Soup thick fog. As I drove out the jetties the seas were at least 6 foot and put a plus on that at times. Confused, folding over and as a friend put it, "ass puckering". Add in the Fog and the seas, it wasn't for the faint hearted. But I didn't mind. I like getting "sporty" in the new boat. It's a feeling I cannot describe to ya. It's what the pilot boat drivers must feel like as they blast thru the seas in any weather. They just do it drier and faster than I. But the seaworthiness of this boat is incredible. I'm sure it'll be tested at some point, but nothing has even come close to making me feel like, "I shouldn't be here".

So as I anchored up and pitched a live river cricket (local Georgia Giganticus shrimp, again) I set the hook on a nice fat 19-3/4 inch Speckled Trout. Then, a few minutes later after making a move around a set of clue-less wonders, I caught a Yellowmouth the same size.

"I'M IN THE MEAT", I thought.

Man, like a drag on a foot long cigarette, for the smoker ship wrecked on a deserted island.

I really wanted to catch me some Big Specks....Jetty Size Specks.

Dang, that foot long cigarette was just a 1/4" butt! Because it was all a tease.

The water was dirty, rough, with a huge swell. Foamy, and nasty too.

So I moved around a lot.

Picked up one more keeper, but not big.

So I moved again. There was no way I was hanging it up, I was sticking to my game plan. Hell, I had 3 dozen shrimp that were 4-8 inches, and another 5 dozen small ones building a condo complex in my live well. I was fishing them. And as many as I could, as fast as I could.

With the next move, I sat spinning around in the froth as the waves poured over the jetties and my first two casts up to the rocks with my new WHOOP-ASS rod and reel (my new G. Loomis, 9 footer!!!) I finally leveraged a big time hook set on a good fish, and the drag sang. A Big Float & 2 oz. Trout lead, 30 pound leader, 50 pound Power Pro main-line, and a heavy hook on a 9 foot Loomis Pelagic trigger stick, and a Shimano Tekota. The exactly 27" Redbass came flying to the boat. (FISH IN PHOTO) AHHH, this combo is gonna put a BIG fish in it's place, this summer. Tarpon, Cobia, Shark...I do not care. I wanna kick it's azz and kick it hard!

Then on my second cast I got another 27 incher. Then, came the Jacks....about 5 pounds. They were everywhere. I held a hooked one over the side and the whole school came up and swam circles around the struggling one.

(Personal Note: I love me some light tackle. And own many of it. But I'm not all that into extreme light tackle BS any more. I have light tackle, but then again......I have the whoop-ass Float-rigging rod and reels too. When I hook a really big fish, I want that fish caught. I've done 6 & 8 pound IGFA rated mono doubled and tied straight to a fine wire jig head with a live shrimp for years, at the jetties. 6 pound can almost not be done. 8 pound is do-able jigging the jetties, but be prepared to loose a lot of fish. 10 pound mono doubled and tied straight to the jig is do-able, but watch the hell out. In my video's that's what we're using and busting big Reds no problem. Largest Red on 8 pound IGFA doubled, no leader at all was 12 pounds. Sheepshead 6 pounds, Flounder 5 pounds, Black Drum 10 pounds. So I've been there, got that T-shirt.

Now, I wanna bust some tail. So I always bring my big gun just in case.)

Back to the fishing.

Well I re-achored again I got another small speck and another keeper. So I had 3 in the box and one Redbass.

It took a long time to catch these fish, and I sat thru the tide change. Things really slowed, so I pulled up and went inshore. I don't do anything, because the tide was so strong and still flooding. So I went and cleaned my catch and got home early for once.

I'll probably have to go again tomorrow, too. Seeing that I guess I have the whole week off. And no pre-reserved charters this week. But I do have my good customer Andre coming on Monday. And Monday looks fish-able. But the tournament players Saturday (Redfish spots tournament) may have a bit of bad weather to contend with.

Yeah, I may just have to go tomorrow and burn the rest of these jumbo shrimp.

So stay hooked up!

4/10 - Let's make note of this!!

Let's make note, that my last report was on Thursday. WHY??? Because on Friday, I had to pick up and send in my taxes, then came the CRAP. Meaning the weather. Winds, coldness and just plain CRAP. Then of course Saturday came and went and the last thing I wanted to do is fish in the cold after fishing in 80 degrees last week. Then comes Easter Sunday, and of course Momma had a huge spread so I went over there and ate till I dropped. Then on Monday, I still couldn't muster the strength to fish in the cold, even though the wind was weak.

So, I went out today. And it too was the ULTIMATE in CRAP! Windy as all hell, cold and just plain Nasty!

So I'll certainly will be making note of a few things. First, I'll be making note that I went to probably one of the best BIG TROUT SPOTS in the whole lower St. Johns River, and never lost a bait. Last March & April this place was fired off so good that I kept telling a fellow fisherman of the same spot back in January, "Man I can't wait till March & April" . He was at that spot today himself with a friend and all they had was one big Red on and lost. He even said there hasn't been much Trout action either. "Good", I thought. Then, I haven't missed anything. Since I've waited to have a free day, and a particular tide, just to fish this spot for a month now. And it sucked.

I'll also make note that the Bluefish are of cataclysmic proportions in the river. I HATE THEM THINGS! Please lets net them all and send them back to Boston! Pictured above is a Spanish Mack I caught up (look close......Snagged in the tail) in Clapboard creek on a sand bar, in 2 feet of water. Along with 5 Blues, and two tiny 12" Trout.

I'll be making note that we're in the depths of spring and the weather today was heinous as hell.

Jacks, Spanish Macks, Pompano, all mark the calendar Spring Time in my book. But today the water temp on the surface was a chilly 64 degrees......last Wednesday on the beach I had 72 degrees in 3 feet of water. Today, I even saw Manatee #1 of 2007.....so is this just a joke? or is this BAZZARO WORLD?

I caught about 10 small Trout, and three Reds (1- 26" 2- 16") all day long. (plus too many Bluefish and Pinfish)

But can't seem to catch a single Pinfish or Pigfish in my fish trap I set out on oysterbeds for hours and hours today. I really want to Trout fish with something besides Shrimp. I really want small Croakers and Pigfish, but will settle for small Pinners too.

I'll make note that I also have a brand new G. Loomis 9' Pelagic series rod that's my new H.D. Float rigging rod and I've caught 2-Bluefish on it and have owned it over 2 weeks, so far. Yeah I'm really pissed off about that!

I really want a good weather day to call my own before Saturday's festival of boats called the SPOTS tournament!! That's one day that's another "joke" on the river. The tournament got too big for my blood. Too many boats, too many people all over the place. Just like ever single tournament in Jacksonville......all too BIG.

I have a tournament idea;

24 hour - Tough-Man Tournament. No more than 50-100 boats. Fishing 24 hours steady!

Every 6 hours "weigh-in", for total inches not pounds. After 24 hours of fishing, winners are the top 5 with total inches. Release or take fish.

I've made note that NO one is wanting to fish my Tough-Man Tournament idea. I've discussed it with many and they all laughed...because they ain't tough enough.

Ya;ll ought to see my Log Book. It has so many notations in it about weather. And after the last few days it really has some "notes" in it.

All was right on track, and now we have this weather.

The weather guessers said tomorrow was supposed to be 80 degrees and light winds. I'll make note, if they are actually correct or not. And I'll bet on, "NOT". Because if it is, I'll be at the jetties where I should have been today.

My number one note I'll be making in my Log Book? Look at me in those photos...It's APRIL not FEBRUARY! I've had better days in February though.

4/5 - New weather, New challenges.......

Well, today certainly wasn't yesterday, by no means. Weather wise. Over cast, a tad breezy at times, cool, and I could just feel the change, in my bones. And so did the fish obviously. Because it was a rather tough day. Take a tough weather day with a huge weather change dropped upon us add in some kids who you want to really slay'em, and what do ya have?

A Captain wracking his brain and doing alot of anchoring and re-anchoring.

But it all worked out after all.

I had Jim Cunningham, a previous customer from years ago come on back for another go 'round. And this time he brought the "boys", Jimmy & Chris. Two well mannered, Jr. Anglers who I had a lot of fun with, and I think they had fun as well. As they learned a bunch too.

We started out at high tide working a shell bar up in a creek, catching some small Specks and a few Bluefish (Them chompers, are just everywhere aren't they?) So the boys could get acclimated to the tackle and technique of Float-rig fishing. But the supposed NORTH wind wasn't NORTH at all.......not according to my compass. It was EAST. The tide took what seemed like way too long to get low. Which was screwing me up, since I needed lower water when I went to my Redfish "go-to" spot for the boys to get one. But time was ticking by and as the tide slowly fell we weren't catching anything, or even getting any decent bites. Chris did pick up a Bluefish or two and a small Flounder, but it was deadly slow. So I picked up and tried a spot where it wasn't all that easy to just send the float out and reel it back. I said, "we're kicking this up a notch, fellas."

But we only got one bit shrimp on this next spot, where it's a level 9.5 out of 0-10 in difficulty, fishing the float-rig. Last March this same area was on fire for monster specks. And this year it's zilch. But I continue to try it, because one day it's gonna produce, again.

So off to the BIG water we went. With the tide falling, it was time to hit the jetties. First spot, ZERO.

Second spot........F-I-S-H!!!!

Finally, we picked up some keeper sized Trout. Then came a 4 pound Yellowmouth, and then a 4 pound Speck. It wasn't like the boys were in a fish riot, but at least the boys were getting bit.

No one was trying any less harder where ever we went, it was just the day. One with a radical weather change versus yesterday. This is what these fronts can do. And they really seem to affect the Trout fishing especially.

I'm absolutely spent. And will take the next few days to do some boat maintenance, a visit to my book keeper, and tackle cleaning.

It was a good run of trips this last 6 days. My clients caught everything from Big Trout, too Pompano, too Big Reds, Flounder, Black Drum, and Sheepshead. In the course of just 6 days I fished in perfect conditions, not so perfect conditions, to just good enough conditions.

Spring time is such a transitional time of year, it's unbelieveable how radically things can be from one day to another. Give it 2 hours or 12 hours, and nothing will be the same!

But after 11 years of fishing for a living and constantly reviewing what I like better, I still have to say my favorite time of year is October, November thru January. There's just something about that cool down portion of a N.E. Florida year that makes me really look forward to it.

Either way, this isn't our last "front" passing thru with a radical weather change......we're into the spring now, and even though I'm sometimes challenged because of it. We'll always CATCH us some fish, just ask the Cunningham Clan. Those smiling kids, makes me smile too.

The rest of thier recent catch photos are on catch page #1:

http://www.captdaves.com/Catch1.htm

4/4 - Now today was, a "PERFECT" 80 degrees

Redfish, Speckled Trout, Flounder, Sheepshead, and Black Drum......AND WE LEFT THEM BITING!!!!!!!

Wow what a beautiful day. This is how it's supposed to be. No B.S., just three Amigos, shooting the bull telling stories, out catching some fish, and nice ones I might add. On a beautiful day, soaking up the sun, getting some great bites, a variety of species, not having to fight Momma Nature, 20 knot winds or crowds of people out to ruin your day with clients, with inconsideration.

Jake & Jeff had their trip planned for late March. But as you may know if you're a frequent reader of these pages, the end of March was heinous! Jake said, "I do not want to fish in the winds...so pick another day Dave and call me." So I picked today April 4th, for the soul reason Jeff was coming from Gainesville, and a 10:30am High Tide gave him some wiggle room, to get to Mayport. And avid Gulf Coast fisherman himself, Jeff hadn't ever went float rigging before. But then again it wasn't your average Float-rigging day. We never really did any long drifts, because the fish were all around us. Plus, we were in such shallow waters, that I could have just as well had on the ole Cajun Thunder clickin' corks. (have a I told ya'll how much I LOVE my new boat, lately??? If not let just say, It's the best boat I have ever fished on, EVER!)

And really lets face it. Some of the simplistic most relaxing fishing in saltwater is when all ya do is set the float a drifting, and watch that baby disappear......FISH ON! And anyone can do it. I think that it's obvious that this "blog" and my "recent catch pages" prove that!

There's not much else to tell other than Jake is wanting to learn more about the ways of the float, and I think he learned just enough to make him dangerous today, but he'll need some more reel time still.

We had 4 Sheepshead to 6 pounds, a 5 pound Flounder, a 4 pound Trout, and a 4 pound Black Drum, and a small 17" Redfish, too many Bluefish. And for Jake it was all he needed to fill up on some fresh fish fillets.

And again, I'll say it. WE LEFT THEM BITING!

Jeff and I both knew that. But there's hopefully more days like the one we had today still to come.

It was an awesome day, with great guys.

________________________________

So....I think a Front is coming. The weather guessers are saying. I have a family affair tomorrow, 4 people, 2 are kids. And of course the weather report is for SCC - "small craft caution", winds 15 knots from the north, which actually means to us on the water 20 knots out of the North!

And of course I have a 4 passenger, instead of just maybe 2 people which makes life a lot easier when the weathers tough.

________________________________

The rest of todays photos are on my recent catch page(s) #2

4/3 - Super weather.....doesn't anyone go to work?

Had Allen & Cliff Giddens on board today while in Jax with their parents. The boat ramp looked like a July 4th weekend, on an ordinary Tuesday.

Thank goodness, it's all the slick sea starved offshore warriors, that haven't been able to do anything, because of the 21 days worth of incessant east winds.

I'm more than happy to do just what I do and that's, no long boat rides.

So the boys met me at the dock at 8:30am. I decided to fish the incoming tide at the big rocks for a change. Drifting our floats straight down the jetty with not a single sniff.

It just wasn't happening, so I waited for the tide to turn by anchoring up and using some finger mullet about 4" that I had in my second live well pinned to a leader and a 4oz bank sinker pitched out on the bottom along the south tip.

That's where Cliff caught a 12 pound, 31" Redfish. We tired for a second one, but the dullness of bottom fishing was more than I could take, and the boys seemed restless too.

I did all I could to roust a smile or a conversation out of them, but they were the quite types. The exact opposite of me, which for 6 hours is tough.

So we went back to the trusty float-rig. We went back to where we first started, because I do not give up, and I do not run around all over chasing a bite. Patience and the tides timing will bring what it brings. We ended up nailing 5-giant Yellowmouths in a row, 2-3 pounds a piece. Then, the Specks showed and we boxed 3 of them, and that was about it. Everything shut down.

So I moved no more than 200 yards, but to a very difficult area to fish. And Cliff, nailed a 4 pound Speck. We got waked, knocked off anchor twice. And the difficulty of float-fishing this spot forced me to make a run down river.

We stopped by the river/ICW intersection and worked an area that I can't wait to actually have fish on it again. Last year I could go in there, bang 5-10 healthy Specks on almost any falling tide. But not this Spring.....not so far. Yesterday Mike pulled one nice Speck off it and that was it. So we slid into a Redfish "go to spot", before packing it in for the day.

Looking for that perfect 18-27 incher that does swim this area, Cliff hooked up a nice 18" Speck instead, and Allen hooked that pupper 14" Redfish.

If we had enough time to possibly sit there and work the area hard for another hour or two we could have probably picked up a keeper Redbass or Flounder, but it was getting late.

So I ended up cleaning 5 Specks to 4 pounds and 5 yellowmouths to 3 pounds at the end of the day. I think the boys will have a good fish fry.

The photo outside the boat was taken by Ron Brooks from http://www.saltfishing.about.com/ Ron's and outdoor writer and does some great local fishing articles. Plus I knew of him because I used to buy mass amounts of my "Capt Dave's Jetty-Jigs", that I used to sell in my online tackle shop from his cousin in Tennessee. Ron was out fishing solo on his flats boat, loading up for a fish fry. So you may see the CaptDaves.com-Sportfishing boat in an article someday soon on Ron's ABOUT.com site. (thanks for the pics, Ron)

2 more days to go.......till I get a days rest. And the oil changed in the Honda outboard, and my Taxes sent to the IRS.

Whewwwwwwwww

4/2 - Species sampler...to include Green Sea Turtle

Whewwww....I be wore out!

But had a fun day with Mike and Gary today. Always good to see them again.

They did a sampling of species today. Speckled Trout, Yellowmouth Trout, Redfish, Flounder, Jack Crevalle, Bluefish, and a lil Green Sea Turtle we'll called, "Goat Roped". But now is afraid of Float fisherman....hahahah...

Although the wind was light to moderate, I thought as we pulled up on at the jetties we were gonna be into them. Mike right off the bat hooks a big Yellermouth, and then right afterwards a Sheepshead. And that was it. The incoming tide quit. We had no current. So we kept trying.

Moved around, re-anchored, and still nothing. I even caught some Mullet and put them in my second live well. Only to feed a big nasty Bluefish.

On the full moon the tide falls and falls fast, but not on the banks. It falls, but produces no real current. But look out in the middle of the river and the tide is screaming. The best example of a full moon tide is when you have a full pool. So full it's outside the rim of the pool on the grass. When you go down and pull the plug...the water goes out but you do not see that whirlpool till the waters half gone. And that's the way it is at the jetties and in the river many times on a full moon. The current really comes and you feel it everywhere, when the tides at least half out.

That being said, we bagged it and headed inshore. Caught a nice Speck at a spot that should have given up 4-5 of them, then moved to my staple "go to" spot. And instantly had Reds and a Flounder and some small trout. Good action for awhile and then all of a sudden the tide was super low and we were sitting anchored in a pool of water left.

The rest of the pics are on Catch page 8 of my recent catch pages.

I hate comparing things to last year, but there's a place "I GOTTA GET TOO", and fish it hard.

Because this time last year it was BIG Trout and Reds...doing the "Snap-crack-pop" with your line.

But it can't be done on a full moon tide, I need a slower tide at regular fishing hours, to try it.

Plus I have a new G. Loomis 9 foot float rigging rod I really want to try there, if those reds show up under a certain dock. Because this rod will put them in their place!

Next up tomorrow is two Jr. Anglers a dad is dropping off with me. 13 & 16 years old??

This will certainly be different.

Gary, I found your shirt!

4/1 - ...."its blowin again"....April fools!

I lazily rolled out of bed at 7:30am, (really sleeping in for me) back aching, burry-eyed and made some strong Java this morning. Sat down at my desk and went to work updating my NEWS page on my web site with the new pre-reserved days on the calendar. And then the phone rang around 9am.

It was Brian & Matt, wanting to go fishing.
They said they were hung-over, had a wild night but really wanted to go fishing. They called around and ended up with my phone number, from a friend already out fishing.

Well, ya know how I love "last minute" phone calls for charters. So I told them I too am sitting here waking up slowly while still in my BVD's.

But they didn't hem or haw, they wanted to go and laid a Visa on me with no gripes. (usually these types of calls never work out....not because of me, but because fishing was just a whim)
But not these two guys.

So I said, "Okay, meet me at 11am at the dock". I scurried and got my act together, loaded the boat and just knew it was gonna be a cone-a-rama out on the river, and it was! The ramp was full, the river was full, and there was people wall to wall everywhere you looked.

And ya know how I just love fishing in and around other people. I DON'T, I HATE IT!
(It's heredity. My Grand father was incredibly unsocialable when he fished so my dad tells me and he says; "you're just like your grandfather, if he saw a single body standing on the beach when he went surf fishing, he'd pack up and leave that entire stretch of ocean.")

But that was back in the 1950's, he'd just flip if he was alive and trying to fish these days, without seeing a soul.

I got a good word that the jetties were heinous, big seas and big wind. And yes, it was windy when we left, too. So my 2 crew members didn't want any parts of rockin & rollin' so we turned left out of the boat ramp towards inshore waters.

My options were pretty limited starting late and with so many people everywhere, so we went to the closest place I know we can hide-out.
We were early on the spot, but I didn't care. I had to stake claim or loose it to the unknowing weekend crowds.
The tide started to drop, and the bites came.

First fish was a small 14" pup Redfish. Then a Flounder, then a good pull on the rod lost to a user error. Then another Redfish, a 22 incher. Then more traffic coming thru screwing us over, then some small Trout, then a keeper, then another lost good puller, then a few more small trout.
Then our current died....Time to move on.

But as we were fishing the wind was worse and worse. South at a good 20 knots easy!

April fools!!!!! Ya'll who listened to the weather guessers, really got bent over the rail today. (personally I never even looked at it and didn't care. I had a feeling nothing would change from the rest of the last 30 days.)

Is that why the river was a July like festival of boats, because the weather guessers, said it was gonna be nice? Sure was nice. NICE AND WINDY.

So we looked around, and it got to the point where a boat was on every spot, the wind was bad everywhere, and the river was so rough it was like being offshore during a gale.

So we pretty much went back to the creek, caught a few more dinks at dead low tide, and then headed in.

We had a pretty good day considering a late start, too many people, and to much south wind. Keeping one Trout, one Flounder and one Redfish for take home.

Now I have Monday thru Thursday reserved...and will not be fishing next weekend probably.
5 days in a row, and if I have to fight the wind I'll really be tired of it. But according to the forecast:
- MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT SOUTHWEST WINDS 10 KNOTS. SEAS 2 FEET OR LESS. INLAND WATERS A LIGHT CHOP.
I guess I may get a breather from the wind burn.Because as of now the whole week looks good.

My News page is where you can find what dates are "pre-reserved", in case your interested in booking a day of float-riggin, aboard the CaptDaves.com boat. Along with other pertinent dates.

3/31 - Blustery, overcast, WHO CARES?

LOOK AT THOSE P-fish!!!!!

POMPANO.....one of the special spring time treats, that I love catching on the Float-rig.

And so did Jeff & Carl....Carl's was 1st, and we were excited. Then, came Jeff's whopper Pomp and we were really excited, because it hit as I was dragging on the anchor and idling the boat forward against the anchor line.

They were 2.5 & 4.5 pounds.

We also had Speckled Trout, (of course) and all but one were good keeper size fish to 19".

Then a Sheepshead, a frisky 5 pounder. And way to many Bluefish. And let me just say..."where the hell did these Nantucket junk-fish come from?" This year they are like in plague proportions. I've been fighting them since January, and I'm about tired of it. I hate them....and they're green NOT blue!

So we sat in rough and tumble waters most of the morning to get our fish, then all of a sudden the bite fell off. So I went shallow, down river. We went to kayak country. Yakers all up in water where the birds wade....why? Fish need to swim yaker-man. So as we laughed and joked about the yaks fishing in 3 inches of water, we caught some pupper Redfish, and then came the one we were fishing for, Harry's 26 incher that fought real good. (in 3 feet of water...where the fish were)

The day was overcast, blustery winds shifting from easterly to the south. Waters disturbed, and rough, with swells in the river. But we didn't care. The fish were chewing. And I was surprised, seeing that yesterday it blew like hell.

Wanna see the whole days pics? Go to my Catch page 3 on my web site: http://www.captdaves.com/Catch3.htm

Next day up, Monday with just two anglers. I'm looking forward to it. The Weather Guessers say it'll be nice, I'll see, and if so I'll enjoy that.

Commentary:

I've notice A LOT of fishing guides who constantly fish-hard on their charters. They are always casting, and seem to be "just going fishing" and letting paying customers tag along. That isn't a charter, that's paying to fish while the guide fishes. That's tacky, and hack-like in my book.

And I guess at the end of the day the Guides fish are what his "charter caught" huh? I see something kinda wrong with that do you? If not. Stop reading any further or you'll get your feelings hurt.

I just want you to know, my people aboard catch all their own fish. They don't just reel in a fish after a guide hooks it for them, or watch the fishing guide reel in a fish. This seems to be a running trend with the flats boat/bay boat crowd on a trolling motor. I guess that's their excuse they're using. Personally, I see some guides never, I mean never bait a hook, or personally instruct an angler. I've done it all, had bay boats, small skiffs with trolling motors....)I hate them! Because they always break, when ya need them the most.) I was in the fore front of developing the jigging the jetty rocks with jigs and shrimp/fiddlers. I've done it all, and believe what I'm doing right now is a true and a honest days fishing.....for my customers. Where YOU always catch the fish, not me. And personal attention and instruction is something you get a lot of.

And I even read an article about a outdoor writer who did one of those "$400 a day take a Guide on a Fishing charter, type trips." And man was he telling it like he saw it. I'd love to find that article again and post it here.

-Just food for thought, that's all. I'm always watching and observing.

3/30 - Ya' should have been here...a few days ago.

Of course after several beautiful mornings, with low-'er' winds and fish-able conditions with no reservations, for when it was nice. So here comes today & tomorrow, 3/30-3/31 and I have pre-reserved days. But the forecast is of course, NOT GOOD.

20 knot N.E. winds for Friday....plus rain, over-cast skies, and ultimately crappy.

Saturday supposive 10-15 S.E. and getting better, toward the new week. ( we'll see)

Easter Holiday, no one has pre-reserved yet.

And of course no one has thought about Memorial day week, either.

I best be prepared for the onslaught of late callers.

2- weeks to 30 days notice makes a Happy Cappy....remember, plan to "succeed".

I'd hate to know the ratio of reserved trips on "Iffy" versus "good" weather days, so far in 2007.

I'm sure I wouldn't be surprised.

So, the theme of this weekend and UGLY MARCH is the photo to the right. Because calm waters....slick seas, and low wind, where the fish are has been hit & miss this month. I no sooner have a big time game plan and then get shut out, for Friday (rescheduled to Monday) and I'll have to see what's up for tomorrow......but we're going anyhow.

I truly believe I have rescheduled more trips in March that I ever did in January & February.

I think we're on the 17 day with Easterly or N.E. winds, and tough fishing conditions.

"and people ask why I do not fish offshore any more", include me in a trust fund and I'll go right back to it any time. It's hard enough making a living fishing the river. I'm not a part-timer! This is what I do.

But, each month has it's challenges. And so, I procceed on.

This is just a weather FYI, incase your trapped in a cubical with no windows. (UHG)

3/27 - They came ready to rumble!!!!!!

Had a two boat charter today with Capt Bryan, and some fun guys from Jax. Port Authority. Had Mike, Dave & Dennis on my boat.

We left out at sun-up, with somewhere in the neighborhood of 7-8 dozen live "river crickets" (aka: Shrimp), more than plenty for a 1/2 day river trip...................SO I THOUGHT!

We pulled up on the spot, and I had "I.G." - Instantaneous Gratification, showing them what to do, catching a small trout. And then that was all she wrote. It was time to rumble. I could barely get them all ready to go with their rods before Trout were hooked up and coming to the boat.

We flew threw the shrimp, as the fish flew over the gunnel as floats were disappearing, as soon as they hit the water. The tide was the last few hours of the falling, it was calm with low winds and all was right in "Cappy Dave's World" again.

The catching was so fast and furious, I felt as if we were bailing schoolie Dolphin from under a mat of Sargasso weeds offshore.

And the guys were having a ball.

Then right as I turned and said we ought to get another species fired up with all this commotion, the hook was set in a Sheepheads mouth. It crushed the hook flat, be it made it to the net.

The Trout were big'ish and small'ish, we had to have caught 30 plus easily, and kept 20 of the largest. We were astonished, at least I was when Mike hooked a Trout and it took off like a Bat outa hell. Ripping drag like no Trout could. And then we thought it came off.....NOPE!

It came back crushed, ripped up and mutilated. Some MONSTER something came by and grabbed it, mauled it and then let it go. I'm scepticizing (fancy fishing word), that it was a huge Bluefish, a really big Bluefish like a 10 pounder that we "used" to get visits from around here, but haven't seen in many years.

Then, quickly we were down to just 2 shrimp left..and we were only 2.5 hours into the charter.

HOLY CRAP! I've never burned through that many shrimp in such a short time.....maybe I had but it's been a real long time.

That's when Dennis sets the hook on another Trout, and Dave sets the hook on a different fish. One that was clearly not a Trout.

"P-FISH"....I yelled. IT'S A POMPANO!

And I didn't even have to see it. I could just tell by watching the line in the water. It zipped around so fast, making 180's on a dime. There's only one fish that I know of that can turn from one direction to another in the length of it's own body, and that's a Pompano. And all during a high rate of speed. The last shrimp of the day caught a beautiful 3 pound Pomp, and the first one for the 2007 fishing year. And nice and early too, just like the 5 pound Jack Crevalle on Friday. I usually do not catch the first Pomp or 5 pound Jack until were into April a little ways.

So we hit the dock, snapped a few pics and then began the a long fish cleaning process. ( And I was happy) Between the two boats, these guys had some serious fish fry fixin's, make that 4 fish fry fixin's, for several people.

I may have to go hit the Trout myself tomorrow. I have a experimental plan, I'd like to try out.

Then next up is Mike a regular on Friday, and another regular Jeff and his dad on Saturday.

Hope the weather holds, (because it doesn't look that good for Friday, right now the NWS is calling for Friday to be 15-20 knots out of the N.E. and we all know, that means 20-25 knots out of the N.E. in reality! And Saturday is iffy'ish wind wise too.)

But the closer we get to the weekend the more people on the river "will" affect the fishing. It always does, that's why I hate weekends this time of year with a passion. Maybe the wind will keep people off the water???? But if it's sunny, I doubt it.

There's nothing like a Tuesday at sun-up on the St. Johns, except for someplace else where there's no one around.

Just remember.....you stand a whole lot better chance at catching a lot of or BIGGER Trout when there's less boat traffic.

3/23 - Renewed Vitality "Spring has Sprung"

Alrighty...Finally a day where the East winds weren't the center of my world! The wind was there, a bit more N.E. and not as strong as it has been. We could actually F-I-S-H.

Can ya believe that?

Had returning customers Rod & Charles on board for a 7am departure..."suns up, let's GO!"

So we went hunting the Speckley T-routs, and caught some, all nice fish between 16-19", but still not as many as I wanted, where I wanted.

So we hit another creeky spot and the tide (incoming) wouldn't run...so off to the BIG ROCKS we went. "We ought to be able to bang some fatties out there", I said. But we only caught one 17 incher. The swell was big and the water disturbed and off color, but Charles got a nice Sheepshead, and then 2 minutes later had another, but it "crushed" his small hook and got off. The Bluefish are just aggravating enough to make ya wanna kill'em all, but we hung in there.

I even fished along with them on and off. I find I need too sometimes to get an idea of what the drift and to do some trial and error in varying depths. So my float slams under the water and I'm thinking another Trout, when line peels off the reel...IT'S THIS YEARS FIRST JACK!

Then, I get another slam dunk and have a huge fish hooked up, it runs towards the boat, under the boat, around the anchor line, and POW.....leader breaks! Monster Red, or maybe another Jack?? I bigger Jack?? I just didn't know.

But it's Charles to the rescue. He get's slam dunked next, and has a real runner on, heading out towards Lake Atlantic. He gets it under control, and it's a 30" Redbass.

We pack it in after that because we're out of good size Shrimp, and have maybe 3 tiny ones left.

IT'S SPRING FOR SURE, NOW. Here's the progression in a nut shell. It's Blues First...(although they seem to have been here all damn winter.) Then, the Jacks, then the Spanish Mackerel come next, then the C-O-B-S-L-O-B-S...the Cobia. Then Kingfish, then after that, it's Tarpon & Shark time. And it's Summer all over again. But never fear. I'm already gearing up for targeting Larger TROUT, and have another "Keep-Alive oxygen infuser", live well for the boat coming (I'll be carrying 2, 14 gallon tanks. one for shrimp the other for special baits), and have plans on using some different baits and tactics this spring and summer, because I want BIG Trout.

Ya' know....It's just my addiction. Some are into 7-striped Jetty Snappers. Some are into Flounder, mine are those pretty speckled types, that get me all excited. Especially really large ones.

It's apparently obvious, on my side of the fence that some thing is really backwards. The winds are lighter this weekend, the sun brighter, but I have no charters booked....."because the weather will be actually nice." I just had 6 trips in a row reserved of course, during some of the worst winds I've fished in 2007. So that's why I have a saying, "if its blowin' I'll be charter fishing, that's for sure." It's sort of a fishing guides joke, we all talk about amongst eachother.

So Monday morning at day break, I'll be out there somewhere hunting down some Trout. And ya know what? The weather will probably be great! (just another observation from the other-side, of the fishing business)

3/22 - Leave it up to March

Just doing an update, here.

Rescheduled

yesterdays charter, because I had locals that could, we're pushing it back to sometime in April.

Tomorrows trip (Friday) is suppose to depart at noon, I just don't know if that's a good thing, or not. I'm just looking for a falling tide.

But because of the bla,bla Equinox the tides are really powerful, this time around on the new moon.

Had friends out yesterday, and they certainly didn't look thrilled afterwards.

The East winds are just playing hell with us on the river, and I thought I was the nutty one, because no one was really talking about it.

Because most people I talked to are "casual" fisherman, just going when they can. And don't have to try and get kids catching fish in very tough conditions.

And just last night the "Weather Guessers" on TV started mentioning how bad the ocean would be...........they finally woke up from behind the desk and said..."damn the ocean should be messy because of all this!"

So, there maybe a good, bad or indifferent report after Friday's trip. But now you know what incessant East 15-20 knot winds does to the charter fisherman out there, at the height of a busy "Spring Breaker" week.

One thing is a sure bet, this HIGH that's sitting there creating all this East Wind will eventually go away and things do turn around, again.

3/19 - More Spring Breakers and EAST winds

Had Carl B. his son Danny and his friend and his son aboard today. It's still spring break, and the kids have off, so it was the "boys day out".

But again....the heavy duty due east winds were incessant.......AGAIN!

And this really effected the fishing, well its affected the Trout fishing a lot.

But first off, (ALERT, ALERT....Editorial forth coming) I supply 2 coolers on my boat, each one is 72 qts. And each one is filled with fresh clean ice each day. If any thing gets me fired up it's buying ice and coolers and not using them. I go days on end not using the cooler and ice I have provided for drinks & sandwiches. WHY??? Because my instructions are disregarded.

I tell everyone, "bring your "whatever" in a plastic bag, leave a cooler in your vehicle for when we get back for your fish fillets, I have coolers and ice".

And the cooler size is what it is because you do not need any more supplies than a 72 qt cooler can provide. So, (in the photo) my white 72 qt cooler sits full of ice, with two coolers full of Gilligan's Island provisions. More food than has EVER been in my refrigerator in my entire adult life. Does anyone need all that? NO. I got this way, back when I was in the offshore fishing business. I supplied a 200 qt cooler for just fish and bait, and another cooler box built into the boat that was 120 qt. And still I had to convince people to take all that stuff back to their truck! You will not eat all that or drink those 75 bottles of Gatorade!!!

So as you can see the boys caught some fish. Largest was a 22" Redfish. But it was a tough day, that's for sure. They caught another small 14" Redfish, a small Flounder, one small Trout, and a bluefish. THAT WAS IT! And as usual I even extended the day a little while to try a few more spots.

Everywhere we went it was challenging for these boys, if they knew it or not. Today would have been tough for the highly skilled, even. It was because of the wind.

And I just realized, after talking to my neighbor about this week so far, that this has to be the first strong tide week, that I couldn't get the "keeper size" Trout going. I could have, if they possessed the skills to fish the area. But as Carl said today, "people some times I'm sure don't realize what you have to do to catch good fish." And Carl was so right, especially about today.

Things are looking really good for the upcoming months. Multiple Corporate bookings, meaning multiple boats, multiple days.

Three more days, to go.....and just one more with a junior spring breaker.

Damn, if the wind actually lays down and I can get complete concentration, we may be back into the Trout. Damn, that would actually be nice!

This time last year, I was knee-deep in big fat Specks every single day I was out that had "some" version of a falling tide.

Is my frustration evident? Because I'm trying to keep a handle on it.

3/19 - Special Request.....how-to

I had a request to put up here on the Blog Page the rigging of the float. I can't remember who asked.....but someone did.

It's all on my Fishing Report page too, along with the weather links for Mayport, and season calendar.

But, you can also go hog wild with modifications, as I do. I use Salmon Stalker Floats, one ounce, Trout weights, very long leaders, and very small hooks, so the shrimp can "carry" the hook rather than being weighted down by it. (plus I also make adjustable rattling popping corks for shallow water applications)

But the rig is only one thing......using it is another. Have your bait about a foot off the bottom in which you are drifting. "How do you do that??" It's real simple. Take a 4 ounce sinker with a piece of wire on it and hang it on your float-rigs hook and drop it over the side of the boat.

The heavy 4 oz sinker will take the whole rig under water. Keep adjusting your "stopper knot" till the float is only pulled 12 inches under water, by the 4oz lead. Un-wire the 4 oz. sinker off your float-rig hook and now you'll be set up for your bait being one foot from the bottom. You should only have to do this if you want to be exact, or do not know the depth, or sometimes I do it in very deep water, just to really be perfect. But if you're in 8 feet of water and that's where your drift will be basically and you use a 7 foot rod......measure against your rod. It's that EZ.

But in fishing there is no "exact", or "perfect", so do not be afraid to go a tad longer after a few drifts with no bites or a drift a tad (6-8") shorter, if you're still not getting bit. Always play with your depth till you start getting Targeted species in the boat.

If I know I'm after Reds or Flounder I may set up to about drag closer to the bottom with my shrimp.

Reds are pigletts.....always rooting around on the bottom, and of course Flounder are there too.

Sheepshead, Trout, Yellowmouths, Drum, Flounder, Jacks, Ladyfish, Croakers, Tarpon, Sharks, Whiting, Pompano, and Porgies are a sampling of what I have had caught on this versatile rigging method.

And if you're doing it right, you hardly even loose a hook, or get snagged. That's the wonderful thing about it!

People stay busy, it's interactive, light tackle fishing where the angler has to always paying attention. To me it's similar to Fly Fishing that you can take it to many levels of expertise. And fishing areas that require a special touch, after mastering.

It teaches you to pay attention to the tides, currents, and velocity of the water movement. Underwater structure, hard bottom, and where the fish stage at various tides. Its a great learning tool, no doubt.

This traditional N.E. Florida method of fishing the St. Johns river, can be used in the creeks, the river, the ICW, the jetties, and the surf. It helps immensely if you know how to "cast" a Bait cast reel, and I laughing when I see the float-rig used with a spinning reel......"this person really ain't with the program or is from Miami", is what I'm thinking. I'm an ANTI-SPINNER.....I hate them aweful things! (I have my reasons!)

All casting is nothing more than a "pitch" over to the area...or away from the boat, not some long bomb cast. Because you should always be ahead or along side the area you're wanting to fish. I call the position of the boat the "point of origin". Because that's where you begin your drift from....not on top of the spot. This isn't bottom fishing. Stay clear of where you think the fish are. Do not disturb that area.

Gotta go get ready to do this afternoons charter. So I have to close up shop. But I hope some of this was helpful.

Report coming tonight.

3/18 - Quick time tide......

Had Chuck R. and two boys out today. They were here along with all the girls for a Cheer leading competition down town. And as Chuck said; "We are not hanging around to watch all that...."

So we left out in the cold and I mean C-O-L-D, NNE winds, to see what the boys could catch.

I, was having flash backs. Flash back memories of February, more like the first week of February.

Because the cold wind burned as we ran down the river at even 9am.

And once on location I just had a feeling it was gonna take a long while to warm up...and it did.

I stayed in my heavy fleece Grundens fisherman's jacket, with a fleece vest underneath, and insulated slicker pants all the way till almost 3pm. Can't imagine how the 3 of them felt in light sweatshirts.

The tide finally started falling. And they caught some Trout, mostly small ones with maybe a few keepers thrown in. Then moved and picked up a few small pupper Reds, and more smaller Trout, and a Flounder, then went back to the Redfish spot again and caught some more small Reds. Then went into the river and went to a spot HIGHLY affected by the wind and caught zero.......then went back in to the same creek and caught a Bluefish and 3 Flounder at dead low tide, plus plenty of those bait stealing yella perch.

And man was it low. The falling tide is a negative 1 foot, and the High tide was a 5.0 foot so we're looking a a 6 foot tide, and when it gets low, it gets low. But I'm sure it could have been lower, if the NNE wind possibly wasn't holding the tide in the river.

BUT...we never hooked a big fish all day. Anchoring was a struggle in the wind, staying on the spot, and of course the boys were just learning to fish.

They all had a big time, but I wanted to get some bigger fish for Chuck, the adult avid fisherman. But no matter what we did I just couldn't find a spot that was BIG fish friendly in the NNE wind.

The boys including Chuck caught some fish and learned A LOT, because Chucks fishes the Gulf, and our tides were definately new to him.

The forecast is really unbelievable for the rest of the week. East winds projected, and at least 10-15 knots. I hope, maybe one day out of all of these reserved during "spring break for kids", I'll get a comfortable day on the water.

I have some Amelia Island customers Tuesday, and I think I'm just going to pick them up that way, and fish there. I certainly do not know it as well, but at least I'll be working my way towards my goal of knowing the area a lot better.

Have Ole Carl B. (the hog farmer) and his son, the neighbor and his son tomorrow. (like I said, it's Kids week with spring break from school) I can't wait to get some of that organically raised pork, in sausage, bacon, and Boston butt form.

3/17 - step back.....take a look....reschedule....

My dad said, "It'll be interesting to see how many of these 6 days in a row that ya have reserved in March, that you actually get out."

I was thinking the same damn thing.

Here's #1:

6:00 am report from National Marine Weather Service:

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM EDT THIS MORNING...TODAY NORTHWEST WINDS 20 TO 25 KNOTS WITH OCCASIONAL GUSTS TO GALE FORCE THIS MORNING...DECREASING TO 15 TO 20KNOTS. SEAS 3 TO 5 FEET. INLAND WATERS CHOPPY.

3/16 - MORE WIND! (how much can I actually take?)

Had Pat W. aboard today from out around Liveoak Florida.

As you can see in the photos it doesn't look windy, because when we got started it wasn't........but just give it an hour or so. That's when the west winds blew like stink. Pat got kinds side tracked, and lost some "time on the road". And we ended up leaving the dock almost 40 minutes late. OUCH.....that hurt us. Because this was a 1/2 day trip, and the tide and current doesn't wait for anyone. Add in a huge blow from the west and you have water exiting the Big St. Johns River at mach 10 on a falling tide. So needless to say, that fouled me all up.

Can ya feel a commentary coming on?????? I do.

People, people, please leave with adequate time to travel to the boat ramp, and get lost also. If your coming from France, then leave France with time to spare, because I'll be at the boat ramp waiting on you. I'm ALWAYS EARLY. And if we leave earlier than we're supposed to then treat it like you're getting a Free-bee. Everyone likes things for free, right?

So off we go Pat and his son and daughter. I pull up to the "sacred spot"of of mine, same one I "Pre" fished yesterday in the howling S.E. 20+ knot conditions. And upon our arrival the west wind was just starting. Then it would stop. So in the middle of getting them fishing I have to re-adjust the boat on anchor twice. Not good, when your making noise in 3.3 feet of water!!

And then, and just then I realized something! Hit me in the face with a big ole cast iron skillet, kinda realizing.....

This spot really doesn't want to produce the same on a hard west wind as it does on almost any other wind direction. And I have the "notes and tallies" mental and physical, to prove it. WOW, but now its too late.

So we catch some Reds, small ones and the largest at 26" at 6-1/2 pounds, and that be it folks.

Now the tides gone...out....no current...over, what ever you'd like to call it. And the wind is blazing from the west. So I try a few other things, and NADA!

The "Front" has officially arrived in my fishing mind.

So I resort to going out towards the Navy Base. Realize we're at the 3.5 hour mark of a 4 hour trip now. I anchor up. The anchor pops loose and we get a case of haul azz.....backwards in the wind. I try again...No Dice, says momma nature. What do I need a Tug Boat anchor to hold in this wind????

So I opt to give them a tour to the jetties. Dolphins everywhere, birds diving, and the south Jetty at dead low slack water was like someone took a million dump trucks of dirt and dumped it in the water, the sandy color is a dead give-away that there's NO good fishing here....its the jetties saying, "Hey Dave. Here's yer sign! Now go away!" But like the hard head I am, I attempt to anchor in the sandy bottom, and the anchor (a brand new Jettywolf anchor) again will not hold in the wind.

Pat says, "Dave its okay we gotta get going anyhow." So we come back and I clean the 26" Red and they headed home.

Wheww.....

So that was it, but they saw the coast, the river, caught some fish, had one keeper, took pictures of either Dolphins or the water, and learned how this coastal guy lives day to day, with the weather issues.

Tomorrow?? I guess its still 20 knots out of the Northeast. This ought to be a fun one for me. At least its two past clients from a previous trip last summer.