1/24 - Obvious as all hell

Had a quick decision trip with Ernie Taylor today. We decided to head out this morning at 8am.

Tuesday I went out and it was a glorious day. Wednesday I couldn't go. But on Tuesday Ernie couldn't go, but could on Wednesday, so we went today.....Thursday.

Being it's still a full moon tide, we didn't leave out till 10:30am. And man was it nice. We headed to the jetties to try out a new rig I've been working on, to replace snaggy and expensive jig heads, that I normally would cast up to the jetty rocks.

Personally, I don't have much problem fishing a jig deep in the jetty rocks. Probably because I was one of the originators of the technique and have been doing it for a long, long time. But I'm always thinking about my customers, wanting it to be easier for them, while saving me the cost of so many jigs.

So Ernie and I went an anchored up along one of my normal spots along the rocks. I had two different rigs set up, with basically the same concept I came up with.
Ernie snagged the jetties a few times, but it was his hook that he'd loose and that was it. I on the other hand kinda snagged a few times, always got my rig free, but never lost a single rig.

Okay, so what was the out come of the development of a new rig? I don't know!
But one thing was for sure, the weight part of the rig was never lost. Will it work? Yes, it did.
Now did we catch any fish?
NO.....but we only "jigged" one spot, waiting on the falling tide. And when we saw a boat up in the river go "stern east", we left out to follow the exact same pattern I worked on Tuesday.

Oh and by the way. It was warm, hardly any wind, and slick seas at the jetties at 11:00 am today. Absolutely gorgeous! The water temp on the other hand, is a cool 55 degrees on the surface, on my machine. And since all the true wintery cold nights and days really started. The jetties for me have been quite dead overall.

We caught some Trout instantly on the next spot. But it's a tough spot to fish on the full moon falling tide. So it was in and out, with 4 Trout in a matter of just a few minutes. They're there, big time. But the tide doesn't give me much time to fish the area.

Then here came the wind, and I was still on track to follow Tuesday's pattern. And this is when things started to fall apart. The sky darkened, the wind picked up, and it was obvious as hell, here comes the FRONT! One Flounder and a few Trout later, it was time to move on. The N.W. winds are not too kind on this spot if you're a Float Fisherman.

By the time we left and anchored up on another close spot, it was evident our beautiful morning weather was over. But we kinda knew this going in....all the forecasts said late afternoon it would be all over us. The air temp plummeted, and at our last 2 spots we tried anchoring which was a chore in the 20 knot winds, and then came the rain.

So we packed it in.

Didn't take any photos today. I think ya'll know what a 17" Trout looks like by now.

I'm looking forward to Monday and Tuesday which are the next trips that I have reserved.
The weather's "supposed to be" great, and the temp in the 70's.

1/22 - Observations.

What a difference a day can make, huh? Just to add a bit of science to this thang called fishin'.

First the barometer/atmospheric pressure chart.

Remember the Ye Ole Rule?

*Rising Barometer: Fishing is Best

*Rapidly Fluctuating: Indication of good Fishing (regardless of fluctuating up or down).

*Static Barometer: Fishing is poor

*Falling Barometer: First part of fall is good fishing. After the fall continues for several hours, the more the it goes down the poorer fishing will be.

*Unusually Low Barometer: Don't bother as there is no fishing.

So? Where does today fall in to this graph? I say FALLING BAROMETER, and as we can see from mid night till 12'o clock noon, would fall into the first several hours category.
left out at 10am this morning.....but what else was going on that makes me a happy angler??

Today was the day of the full moon, too. And we had a 5.7' high tide, with a negative 7" on the low. Which makes for lots of current which means no bait stealers, and a very low tide. Take in the fact that it was BRIGHT & SUNNY all day long.

And when the tide is going out, we have a warming effect, since all the shallows are draining warmer water into my hot spots. Also know as just one great day to be out on the water catching fish.

And that's what I did! First spot, 3rd drift of the float, Trout! And it was on. Mostly smaller fish, and a few 14 inchers. But steady action. Plus a Sheepshead.

Next spot....balls to the wall Trout, all in one spot. Holding on a drop, adjacent a sand bar. Mostly 15-17" fish, and a few 14 inchers. But non stop action.

Thought I might tag a Redfish here, but didn't. Never caught a single pinfish, or had a problem with the pinners. It was a dream! As the tide fell, I kept waiting for the fish I came for. Bigger Trout! So at low tide I adjusted, and re-anchored and started making casts up into 2 feet of water with my ever so versatile Salmon Stalker Float and 1 oz. lead.

But to really fool them I used a real long leader. And on my first cast up into a shallow shell covered bank, I had my live river cricket, snapping across the surface.

Then with a boil of water, I knew this was it. The float went down, and I hooked my first 21 incher of the day!

Without wasting one second of time, I pinned on a new shrimp and pitched to the same exact spot and my spitely shrimp was again greeted with some fangs and a big mouth, connected to a

19-3/4 inch Trout!

TIP 'O THE WEEK:
When you catch a big Trout. Do not waste an ounce of time. Get that fish to the boat, netted and de-hooked fast! And another bait on and back out to the same exact spot.

Because too many times, these fish are in a loose group of fish the exact same size. The pecking order rules, so it seems. The next fish or two may be in the same size range. But #1 is usually the largest.

Many times, I do this instinctual. But have never mentioned it. Because it's like I told a buddy...."it's stuff I do without even thinking about it because I know it, but forget to mention it."

Just try what I'm saying. When you're on a good spot and know it, as I was. And everything is saying it's GO TIME! Don't waste time, fiddle fartin around. "Net-dehook-drop-rebait and cast" Like a machine. And you just may find yourself catching not just one good trout, but several off one spot, and in a row. As I did today. And people don't get it when I just want to fish by myself sometimes. I love getting in that "machine mode", I'm waiting on it. And ready to go into 4th gear, when I sense all is perfect.

Certain observations say to me, this was a good day because.....

Not that I know all the reasons why. But the signals are there, and the same signals were present on other good days. Take for an example: I could see really funny looking clouds in the sky today over the ocean. Low clouds that never moved all day long. I never went any where near the jetties, so I wasn't sure what they were. But I have seen this many, many times before.

It was FOG. Hanging over the ocean. And if it isn't like an omen, when I see that I have usually have a great day. (it's again, a atmospheric thing) The photo is from the boat ramp, looking at a departing ship in the river.

I did have what I'd call a great day. Probably had over 25 Trout to 21", at least 3 limits of Trout. But of course easily caught my measly (5). A Sheepshead, and a Flounder. To add a lil' variety.

I left the house late, caught fish from my first shrimp to my last. Leisurely went back to the dock, cleaned my fish, fed the Pelican's, talked to an old friend for while, and then drifted on home. Sprayed off the boat, and then made me the freshest Trout dinner that you can have, anywhere.

What did I say in my last report?

-"Don't let a nice day with sun shine happen all too soon, or the Trout will not

all too happy."

Hey, I know more than anyone how bad it feels to go through winters around here. It's not as if ya'll Jacksonville residents are banging my door down to go fishing.

So if cabin fever sets in after a few days of heinous weather. I know I'll snap out of it. Just wish my bank account snapped back as easy as I do.

Oh, have ya noticed my slideshow up on the top right? Yeah like that was easy to do...NOT!

1/21 - Star system Earth..in November

Yeah! This is a great day for some reminiscing, that's for sure...

It's gusting to Gale Force (32 MPH), over cast and cold still, along the surface of these local waters

Yeehaw!

This time of year, each day runs into the next. And I don't even know what day it is without looking it up, on the Plasma Driver. Kinda like I'm caught in a time warp continuem, on the back side of a star cluster vortex.

So I have plenty of time to play around on the ships computer....

Here's a bit of video shot on November 14th earth year: "2007", out along planet Earths, Mayport jetties rocks. The fish were chewin' that day so good it was almost "EPIC".

Nick Watson, from the galaxy "Rathkeltair", was behind the lens of his vintage Sony cyber-shot 21st century, digital camera. Experimenting with the Video option.

I don't have sound on my ships computer anymore, from back when I was hit by a Romulen pulse ray, and the ships engineer can't get the sound to work. So I have no idea of what I was even saying in it. "I just may have to try the replicator."

We messed them up on what was a super great day to be an Earth Jetty Angler!

Here's the days end photo, ya may have seen it before posted here. Like I said it was an Epic battle between marine species and us. And we won!















Because we had "limits" of Trout, Yellowmouths, Reds, Black Drum, and several Sheepshead.
Freezer stockers.....

I hate replicator, Fish. It ends up tasting like Vulcan ass!
So fresh is what I go get.
And we released a bunch of Reds, Black Drum and Trout.

Yes, November is one of my favorite months to visit earth. And so is April.
The two transitional times of year.

Falling water temps in November.....rising water temps in April.
Hence, TRANSITIONAL!! I learned all that by talking with local 19th century anglers.

But today is another story....I wouldn't wish this kinda wind on my worst enemies, the Kilingons!

And people on Earth don't think we here get "cabin fever".

This a time of the year for contemplating. I'm working on a revolutionary new rigging method for fishing the jetties.....by studying my success on other planets, besides the tried and true Float-rig.

To all the Earth Anglers,
Thanks for visiting my star date log.

1/20 - Sun...makes a difference!

Check it out....

Just as an experiment, I'd thought I'd throw this up here the next day I saw bright sun shine!

Comparing the Barometer to the last few days (prior to that spike on the 20th.)

Look at that spike in Atmoshperic Pressure!

Gee-whiz info to the average person. But being ever so vigilant for the "fishing guide".

Now, if only the wind would go away. It's honkin' 15-20++ MPH. NNW.

1/18 - G-L-O-O-M-Y

How Gloomy can a winter day get?

It doesn't matter, when you have Kirk M. on board. Kirk as you may remember is a fella I've had out with me many times in the last month or so. He's the guy from N. Dakota. And is doing 2 trips a month, this winter. The stuff that bothers most people, like wind, cold, fog, and wet doesn't effect him one bit. Even if all of those conditions are in the same day. And with that kind of attitude, it doesn't bother me either. Because I can hang with the best or worst conditions, also.

Well, since I've been teaching Kirk the inshore fishing ropes (IE: that the Float-rig rules!) You may have seen a few of his land based catches he made on a prior post on this reports blog, aptly named...."The Student".

He found himself a nice lil' spot along the inlet's rocks and has been wackin' the Trout pretty damn good lately. So of course, we were all excited to fish it from the boat. And that's where we went this morning at 8am.

Bundled up in my usual post Christmas attire of multiple layers of fleece, and with my slicker pants with shorts underneath. I have to remain Florida like...C'mon.

We soft peddled our way over to his spot and anchored up, so precisely, I amazed myself!
When he said, "that's the rock I stand on"....That's where I put the stern of the boat. Then I hit the "save" button on my GPS map plotter. "It's logged and in my files, now!!"

Now I have to give that rock a name, and I think "Kirk's Rock" it'll be.

Yes, I have many names for rocks out there. The Poop Rock, The Bull, Prudential, The Cave, The Blow-out, is just a few that come to mind. Fisherman are famous for wacko names for where they caught a fish. It always has to be something that you'll remember.

So here we are at the wrong tide or more like the tide that Kirk said he doesn't catch them on. "The water's too high and the currents too fast", he says. "It's okay, we have all day to try it on and off if we want", I tell him.

So we grab the "HD" Float-rig rods -(8' G. Loomis Bucara's matched up with Shimano Tek-300 levelwinds, a 2 oz Salmon Stalker EVA float, a 2 oz. Trout lead, and a heavier leader and hook.) All for deeper, swifter water. And the ass to pull a big fish from any structure.

We weren't on anchor 5 minutes, and I floated my rig way, way past the hot spot that Kirk pointed out, and my Float goes down! I click the reel into gear and reel and lift......


"It's a good fish! Pulls line, and it's a Trout!"



Ahhh, a nice 21-22 incher, in the net. I drop back in the water with a new shrimp, let it go back to the same spot, quickly learning the way the current moves along this patch of jetty and my Float goes down again....drag pulls harder, loads of head shaking!



"Oh, Oh, this may be a giant Trout. "
Now remember Kirk caught a giant Trout here. So that's why we're here. For "Gator Trout", not anything else. As I work the fish back towards the boat, all I can think about is that this maybe a 6-8 pound Trout..."please let it be a Gator! It sure feels like one."

Then we see it, and it's a 26" Redbass! A nice catch, but a let down. A real let down.



Yes folks, a 26" Redbass can be a let down to a Gator Trout hunter. It happens to me all the time.

This time I really thought the fish was a big Trout, because it did way more head shaking, and less running. Usually Redbass run, and run. And do less head shaking than their speckled counter parts. But Specks & Spots, go together. So it wasn't all that bad.


The problem was, that Kirk of Fargo, "master of the Kirk Rock area", had only one bite!

We have a deal, we fish together. No one sits and watches the other guy. And no matter who catches what, Kirk gets 99% of all the fish. All I need, is some dinner that night. So he usually goes away with a pretty damn hefty cooler full, each time.

So we keep at it and wear out the spot all we can. Going for deeper drifts, shallower, closer to the rocks, further behind the boat. We worked that place till each live shrimp saw ever jetty rock from the boat to 100 feet behind the boat.

And not a single other bite!

So we moved on.....

To the South Jetty, then Snag Ally, and then again at low tide, back to Kirk's Rock.

"this ought to do it, the tides much lower now"...is what both of us thought.

Nothing!

"Holy cold water Batman.....I think we have a problem!"

We sure did. For some reason no matter what we did, we couldn't get bit.

At Kirk's Rock, both of us had so much confidence that because it was now lower tide and the current was slowing. "If they would have fired up, it would have to be NOW!"

And they never did.

I even broke out some bottom rigs, for a little 'Bait-N-Wait' fishing and never lost a shrimp to a gamefish.

So then we went and tried a "Capt Dave Gator trout spot" on the north Jetty, that's like "Kirk's Rock". Deeper, swifter and if there's a Gator Trout in the area, it ought to be here too. We caught nothing. And I even tried a bottom bait too, as Kirk worked the rocks on his Float-rig.

"Okay, were they the only two fish at the jetties today?"

But we can't quit now. So we packed it up and ran to another zip code up river.

First spot, had some nice current, but only Pinfish. We worked it feverishly too.

So we went to a last ditch spot. I managed a small Speck. Then made a slight adjustment, and found a bunch of small Yellowmouth Trout, and Kirk finally caught one decent keeper, and a few throw backs.

I know who had the "funk" on him, today! Mother River was paying him back for all the fish he's caught off of his rock during the week. And I was thrown a few bones, and I'm usually the one screamin', "I GOT BAIT TOO!"

So it was a frustrating day overall. But of course we had a blast out in the gloomy, nasty, cold weather. Can ya tell by the photo's that it was a perfect "winter day"?
Dark and grey without one glimpse of sun shine.

I know the fish are tough to catch in the 59 degree water.

Oh, the life of a Gator Trout hunter....it's a tough job sometimes. But it's not all that bad when ya have a guy like Kirk on the boat. Who always has an up beat attitude, mixed with killer instinct.

Can't wait to see the sun again. Because when I do and the Trout do too, it may not be good for their health and well being.

Here' it is again....a "here's yer sign"...

Look at that drop since the 16th when it was warm and sunny, and then 00 - GMT (greenwich mean time).

I'm no expert in this but I'd just contemplate that the fishing MAY be better when the Atmospheric pressure is steadier? Hmmmm...

1/16 - Distance casting? (SOLD, as of 1/19)

-SOLD-

I was so into surf fishing and long distance casting that I wore my bank account dry, before I bought my 26' BLM. I used Breakaway tackle mostly......the brits have it ALL figured out!



And used to be on the Breakaway Tackle forum, talking fishing and casting with the guys in Corpus Christi TX. That fish the 63 miles of undeveloped beach also know as Padre Island National Sea Shore, P.I.N.S - as it's called.


And I used to talk on the phone with an "old Kodger" who forgot about as much as most "yungin's" like me knew. And from him is where I was turned on the one of the best LONG DISTANCE Fishing reels ever made.

Today, Penn's distance casting mag reels are cheapy looking and have lower spool capacity. This reel is old school and old school works! A Penn 970 Mag. What makes it special....the fact it's SIMPLE.




-(1) rare Earth fixed but adjustable Mag, assisted spool slow down
- easy to adjust!
-High spool capacity
-Power Handle
-Parts easily obtained at: http://www.pennparts.com/
-Easily cleaned and lubed



I have for sale one of these 80's vintage Penn 970 Mag reels in absolute pristine condition. Original box with metal corners...remember them??? Original paper work, cloth bag, and rod clamp. If this reel was used once it doesn't look like it. And I doubt it. I had line on it, but I took it off.



Perfect for 20# mono, and I had this reels sister and made my farthest measured cast of 460 feet! Get used to the mag, protect that thumb, attached to a 13'6" Breakaway LDX or HDX.....and let her fly!!!!



These reels have EZ access to bearing cups and can be tweeked with Rocket Fuel high speed or slowing oil, and look out. Not a competion grade reel, but rather a fishing reel for the beach. Back in the 80's these reels were all the rage around here for King Mackerel fisherman, and for casting to Cobia...from a boat.




250 foot casts out past the first 'gut' should be achieved in the first day for a well rounded Bait Casting angler, with an educated thumb. Spinner people do not apply.

Sorry the photos are sharp, but I took them with my dive camera and it's not the best at close ups.



Box, paper-work (schematics) rod clamp, and reel are for sale here, before it goes to Ebay or Craigslist or Breakaway's Forum where I know it'll get a respected value.



This reel is in all respects is brand new...in box since 1980...something.




I'm starting out at $100. (OBO)



Can easily accept PayPal, Visa, M/C, money order payments. Will ship priority mail for whatever it costs, which won't be much.

If you're a real surfing angler and want to hit the deep water. This reels for you.

1/14 - No story today...

Had the pleasure of fishing with Jim Sutton again today. Jim's the Times Union Newspapers Outdoor editor.

The last time we fished together is when he worked for the St. Augustine RECORD, and we did a story about pitchin Jigs-N-Shrimp at the St. Augustine inlet's rocks way back in 1998 I think.
Ya know.....back when hardly a soul threw jigs n shrimp at the jetty rocks in Mayport even.

I know it was in April, because I just did the Florida Sportsman Fishing Expo. And did seminars about light tackle Jetty fishing, and the expo was in March.

And man, did we catch a lot of fish that day down in St. Augustine!

Reds, Trout, Yellowmouths, Ringtails, Drum, Jacks, Blues, Spanish Macs, Flounder, Sheepshead....It was a rally of fish down there along the rocks.

Well, today we tried it out of Mayport. I talked to Jim via email because I read his article on fishing with a "clicker" type float in Fernandina with Terry Lacosse up in the creeks.

So we got talking and planned on doing a story about the REAL style of Float-rig fishing for Trout and more, that I do.

We left out at 8am damn near dead low tide. It was cold as all get-out, but of course we've fished in colder. The wind was light, but blew harder and harder as we fished.

We fished and fished....I did sort of catch a few right off the bat. But I lost each fish , as if I had Teflon all over my hooks. They just shook off, or slipped off the hook as I was reeling them in. This hardly ever happens to me. But never say never!

It was really tough conditions. I could just feel it in my bones after the first spot we tried, that this wasn't looking too good. Because I know what "should" happen on my spots.

I did box a small 15 incher though, and Jim caught a small Yellowmouth Trout and a Bluefish.

We really didn't just, give up. We stayed at at. I fish as hard at 3pm as I do at 7am, and that's a key to success many times. But you have to get bit, before you can catch. And we weren't getting bit!

The largest Trout I did catch up in the backwater's was 19 inches. But that fish was a loner. And with a slow tide because of the NW winds blowing at least 15 knots and gusting, the forecasted 4.2' incoming was obviously stifled, and we got ate alive by Pinfish with no current moving.

So we bagged it and headed in after a good 6 hour try.

JUST MY DAMN LUCK!

I would have loved Jim to see a day like we had on January 6th or 8th....when I had 6 and 7 pounders on the boat, plus Drum and limits of specks. But the weather today was nothing like then.

REMEMBER, I SAID THE WEATHER IS USUALLY DAMN NEAR PERFECT THE FIRST TWO WEEKS OF JANUARY????

WELL, TODAY IS THE 14TH...THE END OF THE FIRST TWO WEEKS. FROM HERE ON OUT 80 DEGREE DAYS ARE HARD TO COME BY!!

(just call me if ya need to know the real fisherman weather patterns....don't call Tim)

With Speckled Trout closing on Feb. 1st we were sort of under the gun to get a float fishing story out there with some really big time action. But we'll be trying again.

Jim's on notice that a call from me could come any day. If the fish are chewin and the weather's good....even in February. Because I don't stop fishing for those Trout for 29 days. That would be like asking an Eskimo not to eat snow!!

I'm thinking of a plan, I have in the back of my mind. Where the trout stack up, and the action is good. It's a run from my regular waters, and a gamble to say the least. But we'll not only be using a float-rig and live shrimp, but we could also use my "winter ugly" MirrOlures too. To catch'em.

I have my next charter on Thursday. The temp is supposed to be up and down, and the rain is supposed to go from up to down too....We'll have to see what the deal is.

1/12 - The student......

Wanna see what the float-rig can do for you?

Ya think it's some billybob way of fishing?

Well here's Kirk, the Navy fella who's been going out with me twice a month.

Who has access to an area we can't anchor the boat......off the jetties on the Navy Base.

And went today.

Here's what he said...
"That float rig is deadly from the rocks too!!!!!!"

Of course it is. That's how I'd be fishing if I was on a rock, attached to land.

And btw....to ya'll "clicker float" (cajun thunders, etc. and poppin corkers) keep them for the shallow water with no current. In the big water, ya may want to go traditional, with traditional "float" rigging.

Kirk said he had 25 trout today from 13" to 28".

1/10 - Quick Trip....

Was sitting checking emails this morning drinkin' coffee and the phone rang, It was Ernie, "Hey Dave, let's go......" "What, now?", I replied. "Yeah, If you can......" "I was thinking about going, because today is supposed to be last great weather day...." I said to Ernie.

Ernie and I have talked over the last few months via emails. And he's a faithful blog reader.

And obviously read my last report when I said, "hell, just call me. I'll let ya know when it's a good day to go, if you're local" Of course, I meant weather wise. Because so many people even locals have no idea of what our weather is doing. But Ernie does, he's an avid fisherman! So when I said that, it sparked him to give me a call.

So at 10:30am, I finally got to meet him as we were heading out to do our best. Ernie uses the Float-rig as a LBA - "Land Based Angler" and fishes a lot up in the Ft. George area.

Now, I know that it was tougher fishing on Tuesday than it was on Sunday, even though I did have a nice big fattie on my 52M "winter ugly" MirrOlure. But, I had a friend that was out yesterday and he did well on the Redfish and had a 22 pounder on a float, even. But the trout were a tad slow. So I knew going in that it may not be a whirlwind day of floats going down.

But Ernie is a fisherman, I'm a fisherman......Key word: F-i-s-h, that's what we do. So why not go try. But reality was all too in our faces as we fished and fished, and waited and waited for the tide to turn and start to fall. And nothing!! A few bites, but damn it was DEAD!

Then all of a sudden Ernie was shocked back into the fishing world with a slam dunking, big fish. Just as we were talking about how dead it really was. The fish ran under the boat, around the bow, down the side. It was a 28" Redfish. From zero to a hero!! Ernie was up on me big time, all with one fish. As we worked the area together.




Alrighty....nice Red! And it seemed that the tide was starting to finally move too.

So we kept at it as I moved us around a bit and maneuvered us into better positions for our attack.

I my 12" bottom scope, I passed over a huge pile of what looked like Yellowmouth Trout out in deeper water. So I tried out deeper and caught, ONE! And that was it.

"If the eating machines of the inlet are not chewin', what the hell!"

But as we worked our float-rigs, we finally stuck it to a few Specks. The first one I caught on my "winter ugly" MirrOlure, but it was a small fish.

Then Ernie caught what I call a ocean size Trout. One of those solid and fat 18-19 inchers. No measuring needed. That's more like the fish I'm used to this time of year.

So, we're finally cookin'.....and boxed a few more jetty sized Trout. My favorite!

As you could see it was slick dead calm. A serious "bluebird" day. But I wouldn't blame the slow bite on that as much as maybe because just as we thought the current would run hard. It really wouldn't. My theories always are; If you don't have the proper water movement to move bait, then you don't get moving predators. But I wasn't about to give up on where a 7 and a 6 pound Trout just came from this week. Not until I gave it plenty of time.


It's funny how we're catching out there speck-less Speckled Trout. Many of the fish have no body spots, or very few.

Ernie said, "yep, I think this area is about speck-less and spot-less today" because, where were more Reds and where were more Trout?

It's a fine line we travel....We want super weather days. But super fish days aren't always super fish days. But when we have super fish and super weather days at the same time, it's a Monumental thing!!

And the ole saying is, that no one ever thinks about is "want more fish, that go fishing more often". So, I see those days. And as a reader you certainly can tell when they happen, because I'm so excited.

So we ended up moving on, to try another zip code. And that's when the pesky engine temp alarm went off again on my outboard, No biggy. It's a bad sensor, I'm sure. Because the buzzer has been going off so intermittently. So we ided and went slow from spot to spot and found that the current everywhere else was practically unfishable inside the inlet.


So we went a threw some jigs for those Black Drum. But never really had a bite.

Hmmm, I think Mother Ocean is trying to tell us something.

So we went to a spot where the tide and current ought to be right. And it was.

And we caught some Trout, but not an whoppers and 3 big Ringtailed Porgies, and finished up the rest of the shrimp in the livewell.

Today's totals were maybe 10-12 Trout, with 7 in the fish box, the 3 Ringtails and a released 28" Redfish....everything on the float, and live shrimp.

Not a killer day. But a beautiful one for sure.

And that dang sensor in the motor went off enough that I'm taking the boat on it tomorrow morning to Deonas Boat works in Yulee, to have that thing changed out. Just in time for the wind and rainy weather to come in to the area over the weekend.

Ernie and I are gonna go do it again this month. And I'm sure we'll do better. It was a good day, but could have been much better.

And BTW....that cider block anchor anchor????
I'm still using the same one and it works good.
Why the hell have I spent thousands on jetty
anchors that I cared too much about all these
years?

1/8 - Do not read this without reading 1/7 report first!

http://captdaves.blogspot.com/2008/01/1708-i-cant-believe-it.html - Jan 7th report.


REDEMPTION.....I NEEDED REDEMPTION!

After yesterday's follies in Simpson Creek and numerous other creeks with DOA Rob, where I fished behind him all day and never caught a fish on a DOA Shrimp lure. As he caught at least 18-20 fish! Good fish.....Specks!!


I went out to dinner with my dad after fishing yesterday, because it was his birthday. And as we sat in "Rite Spot" in Jax Beach eating a fine meal, all I could think about was what a crappy day I had. I take these things personally. And I know what you're thinking because I hear it all the time from readers in e-mails....."geez, I'm glad to hear you had a day like that too. It happens to me all the time, Capt Dave".


Well, my response is..."I can have a bad day when someone else picks the day, and I'm not fishing, THEY ARE." But I can tell ya, it doesn't happen to me very often. Just so you know before you hit that email button!


So, I got up to yet another wonderful morning. And had NO plans on going fishing. Even told a friend that asked me too go, "naw... I've fished three days in a row I think I'll take a break."


But as the morning went on, all I could think about was redemption. I needed to fix, my mental attitude. So I checked my email, drank my coffee, and looked out the window at yet another perfect day. (why people are letting the first weeks of January go by without calling to go fishing is beyond me. The first two weeks or so of January is ALWAYS beautiful!!!!)


So I hitched up the boat, threw in a few rods and took off. I could feel my anxiety starting to subside just by putting the boat in the water, if ya can believe that. I needed redemption. And this fishing thing and competing with myself is like a sickness. Plus, THEY'RE BITING, so get while the getting is good folks. February will roll around quickly and the Specks will be closed for harvest then. So this guy's stocking up!


I ran to the spot where I have confidence galore. And found two friends sitting there Float-rigging. I asked them how they were doing and they said it was super slow. Oh No! I need redemption!!!


So I grabbed my Loomis 8'2" casting rod matched up to a Shimano Curado DSV 300, that had the last lure I was throwing yesterday with DOA Rob, and that was a ugly colored MirrOlure TT. It was one of my bargain bin lures, perfect for winter time trout fishing. Because the flashier and the weirdest colors work in the winter time. This MirrOlure has a fluorescent orange head, yellow body and a gold foil insert. Really an ugly lure......perfect for winter time!


I made my second cast to the rocks with this winter bait, and it got slammed. But it was a small Trout. So I kept throwing. Only to feel it get hit numerous times without another hook-up.

So I grabbed my float-rig rod and fished a live shrimp.

My friends were right. Damn, hardly a bite. I worked deep, shallow and in between. Eventually getting a few small Trout and small Yellowmouth Trout. Then my buddies picked up and left.


They happened to be anchored right near a spot I call "point rock" now, after Kirk and I caught so many the other day in front of that rock. And their leaving left the spot wide open now.


So I picked up the MirrOlure rod and made a cast up to "point rock" let the MirrOlure sink a bit and then gave it a twitch, and I GOT SLAMMED!!!! Something hit that MirrOlure hard and was peeling line down the jetty. This was the exact spot where I caught the 7 pound Speck on Monday!!


I worked the fish toward the boat, very easy. Never ever yank and crank on a possible Trout when on a MirrOlure. They have a way of throwing THREE treble hooks real easy, for some reason. I could see it now, it was a big ass Speck, and had my lure across it' jaws. I grabbed the net, eased the fish closer, and went for it.........SCOOP.....and my REDEMPTION was made!!


Holy crap, I was so happy. I did it, and I did it with one of the lures that I used yesterday with Rob, after cutting the DOA Shrimp off my line out of frustration. Which made this fish only sweeter. I grabbed the boga-grip and weighed it. An even, 6 POUNDS!



I grabbed my phone and called my buddy Jeff.
"hey Jeff, you won't believe what I just caught on that MirrOlure from right where you were just fishing......a 6 pound Speck!"


He was glad to hear something good was caught, because he left because it was so damn slow out there.

But, I stuck to it. And it felt good.


So I continued fishing back and forth with the MirrOlure and my Float-rig. The lure caught a few more aggressive but small Yellowmouth Trout, and the live shrimp on the float rig was catching nothing! Because I kept having Sheepshead eat my shrimp. My float would "bob", and my shrimp would be gone. So I went to the smallest shrimp I had in the well, and kept at it. And finally nailed me one on the float-rig.



A 6 pound
Sheepshead


"SIX" was my number, today.


I anchoring once. And had redemption just that easy. And it felt so good, too. The tide really slowed, so I moved on with 4 yellowmouth trout, my big Trout, one 15" Speck and the Sheepshead in the box. But I needed my limit. I eat a lot of Trout, so stocking up was the plan.


I pulled anchor or should I say, "pulled cinder block" .......By the way, I'm still using the first cinder block as a jetty anchor. I bought 5 because I thought I'd break it or loose it, but as it turns out, this 1/2 cinder black thing is really the way to go for me. Back to ole School. Because like many things in life, over complication is sometimes just that COMPLICATION! (see older report for Cinder Block anchor tutorial)


I tried jigging for a Black Drum for about 15 minutes, had one good fish on, but it got off somehow. Then went and Float-rigged a really good winter Trout spot, and caught 5 more trout, and kept 3 to fill my 5 Speckled Trout limit.


Then, headed back to the boat ramp, to clean my fish. So I can stare out the window at probably another nice day again tomorrow. A day I should be booked. But for some reason ya'll only want me to take ya fishing on windy, freezing cold days instead of perfect ones, like today!
I caught the tide perfect too. I wasn't even fishing till noon, and was done fishing at 4:00pm.


Not bad.

And what did I do when I got home?
I ate me some 7 pound Speckled trout fillets from Sunday's trip.


So when are we going Gator trout chasing? Reserve your charter for them quick, because in February it'll be all "catch and release".

1/7/08 - I can't believe it!!!!!!!

Remember me saying how I was so looking forward to fishing up in Simpson's Creek with DOA ROB, since it's been years since I had a boat small enough to make it in there?

Well, today was the day we planned on going.

Weather.....Perfect

Wind......Perfect

Temp......Perfect

I was so psych'd up last night. Especially after having such a great day with Kirk M. on board.

So I called Rob, and we figured out the tide and what time to leave. He had been up in Simpsons creek on Sunday too. So I said, "I hope ya have them all penned up for me." and he replied, " I had a great day today, the Reds were going off......"

I was so fired up, I was like a lil' kid and had a hard time sleeping!

This particular creek we were going to is a "local knowledge only creek". Because like most of the area it's filling in with continent sized sand bars. And it's for shallow draft boats only. And getting in and out is reserved for the people who frequent it, all the time to watch the changes.

I was once one of those people.

I used to fish it in my 17' Carolina Skiff, and my 22' bay boats I ran for Caps Marine. And had some great days up in there. Mostly tossing lures, as in MirrOlures and DOA shrimp. Hence DOA Rob's nick name. It's about all he uses. The only lure that has the perfect fake shrimp posture, profile and fish ability. I used to use them enough, that I got a bulk discount from the manufacture, even. So, I don't feel like I'm a rookie user. But DOA Rob has taken it to a new level.....almost the same level as Mark Nichols the inventor and owner of DOA Lures. Rob just does it on a local level in his boat and kayak. Mark, does it globally!!

So here we are. In the creek we always refer to as and "Ocean creek" because of it's proximity to the Ocean on both ends of it. Clean clear water abounds, especially in the winter. And so does BIG Speckled Trout, for the regular angler. DOA Rob, is that regular angler. Like I have names for certain jetty rocks and can tell ya' what tide and time of year that I've caught what size Trout or Redfish, so does DOA Rob. Each lil' feeder that dumps into Simpsons creek, he can remember what size Trout he caught there, and when.

That's called, LOCAL KNOWLEDGE!

We no sooner get into position for a drift with assistance from his trolling motor on his 'customized' McKee Craft 17 footer, than he catches the first Speck of the morning. We're using nothing but "almost" matching DOA Shrimp lures. His is a 1/4 oz. grey colored really almost black. Mine is a 1/2 oz. a tad larger, but not by much, and is Black with silver fleck.

He always throws the 1/4 oz. on a fairy wand spinning rig. And I always throw a 1/2 oz. dark in color, (doesn't really matter to me just as long as it's dark) and I was using a light bait casting rig.

The DOA shrimp is a great lure. IF you just use it the way its intended. It's a do nothing lure.

Just cast it to the right spot, and pull it along the bottom. No jigging, no hopping, or jerking. Because a naturally swimming shrimp neither jigs, hops, or jerks. Go to the bait shop and look at the live shrimp in the tanks. They "HOVER"....like waterbourne helicopters. They swim forward with the use of their finlets, located under their tails, and use the planers on their heads for up and down. Kind of like a submarine. Natures, lil' submarines is how they swim. And only kick and go backwards when attacked by a predator. A DOA shrimp is designed to look like a swimming shrimp.....ready to be attacked by a predator. Like a Speckled Trout.

Rob hooks up with probably 5 small trout in the first hour. I get one bite. Mind you, that we're both casting the same banks littered with oyster beds that have drop offs, where Trout lurk. Now, it's two hours into our day and Rob's got the first keeper Trout, I got 3 bites, and not a single taker.

I'm starting to wonder what the hell is going on?

I've been in this same creek, this same time of year, throwing the same DOA shrimp and caught loads of Trout. JUST AS ROB, IS DOING!

So, I continue. But one thing I do know, is that Rob knows the area way better than me. Hell, he was just here yesterday too! And secondly, the first cast into a good spot, usually nabs the aggressive single Trout. And who gets first dibs?

The person running the trolling motor!!!!

I was in the back of the boat. So I had to search my own spot to make a cast, at high tide, not having a clue of the topography of the bottom. Just relying on my own instinct. But it never helped. So I changed my DOA shrimp and put on another, with a lighter Fluorocarbon leader.

Still Rob was "wack happy", catching a Trout off of every little spot, it seemed. And I still could even get a bite! So I went to a MirrOlure

Catch 2000. A slow sinking or suspending mullet imitator. And finally got a bite, now 3 hours or more into our drift down the creek. But Rob kept waxin' me. And now had released at least 7 or 8, and put 3 in the box up to 4 pounds! Plus, he had a pup sized Redfish or two. Along with tons of bites.

We did bring live shrimp, just in case. And I even tried the float-rig, but have ya ever fished a Float-rig as the boats driving around on a Trolling motor?? It can't be done, correctly.

Pissed ain't the word.....

I said after I finally caught a 12 inch Trout on a

3-1/4" MirrOlure, "Geez Rob, this is why I got up at 5am this morning!"

My frustration was hurting. Especially after I've been here before, done this very successfully before many times, and was so excited last night.

That's what really hurt. The dreams I had of a great day!

Rob and I just couldn't figure out what was wrong. I was just not meant to be here today or any other day, I suppose.

And the funny thing was that I'm not some guy that fishes once a year. If Rob was in the charter biz, and this was happening. Holy crap, I can't imagine what a client would think.

And I was thinking also about all the charter guides I see fishing their asses off up on the front deck on the trolling motor, as they catch one fish after another. Sometimes looking oblivious that they actually have paying customers standing behind them that aren't expert casters, or fisherman.

We fished our way out of the creek, because we had to get out before the tide got to low to do so.

But not after Rob catches a nice Redfish off a shell bar, that I probably casted too a few times also with the MirrOlure and never had a bite.

After the Red, we moved on... and out after even running into a few sand bars because the water was so low.

We went to a second area that I have float-rigged before with another friend Nick, in his 17' skiff and that day we caught 4 trout, but the gnats ran us off before we could really enjoy the spot.

This area has Trout written all over it. Deeper swifter moving water. And Rob catches more Trout, while I get a tap on my DOA Shrimp, and that was all.

I switched to the float-rig and a live shrimp....pretty much futile in a moving boat, but I did catch a pinfish and another 12 inch Trout....sort of a mercy fish.

We leave there, run up another creek on the way home, and Rob catches only one big Trout there....I get one or two hits on my DOA.

Then, we run back the intra-coastal waterway back to the St. Johns River. And stop by White Shell rocks. I catch a 12" Trout there on a MirrOlure, Rob catches a few Trout on his DOA.

We left as the tide went dead, because I had to be home and on to an engagement by 5pm. And Rob ended up with 7 big fat Specks and a 23" Redfish in the box and probably caught damn near 20 of various sizes, to my 3 tiny yearlings.

So, what do you think the deal was today?

I certainly don't know for sure, but can guess....

If it's at all possible for a 1/4 oz. Grey/black "non" silver flecked DOA shrimp, to be all that different than a 1/2 oz. Black with silver fleck DOA shrimp?

I know local knowledge has it's benefits.....but I didn't fall off the mullet truck yesterday, either. I should have at least connected a few times with my DOA shrimp.

Was the cards not in my favor after catching a big fat Trout yesterday with my client Kirk?

(and just so you know our agreement is that I fish along with him....99.99% of the time, this fishing guide does not fish with his clients)

I really don't know....but if you'd like some 1/2 oz black with silver fleck DOA Shrimp lures. You can have them. I'll stick to my Salmon Stalker Float, and live shrimp, behind an anchored boat in perfect current. I won't wear out my casting arm that way, and will always catch me some dinner.

And you will too!!

Float-Freak, over and out!

01/6/08 - A GLORIOUS DAY!

Okay......I'll admit, I went out on Saturday by myself and didn't do a Blog report.

ecause it was cold, and I had a lot of just plain "funk" all over me. I left out too late, it was cold as all get out on the river, it was windy, and all I caught was a bunch of 14-3/4 inch Trout and one small Sheepshead. It was basically the first day after the gale force winds, and freezing cold we got slammed with. But I just had to go. And nothing was worth discussing here.

So today was a day I had planned with Kirk M. to fish, since we were actually scheduled to go on that first day of sub zero temps. And I told Kirk.....I don't think it'll happen. Even though we have fished together in 20-25 knot winds in 30 degrees before and caught a load of Reds in Dec.

http://captdaves.blogspot.com/2007/12/1222-iffyweather.html - here's the report.

Kirk is local #1, and he's a good angler #2, and he does a charter right #3. What do I mean by does it right? He wants "one on one" guided fishing trips. Kinda the way I always envisioned this business would be. Ya know, like a Fly fishing flats guide in the keys. But what are a lot of the calls I get? Well, I had one call today for 12 people, and another for 4 passengers offshore.

I don't have a boat the size of the Queen Mary, and secondly......I don't fish offshore! I inshore fishing, period.

And here's good reason:

Kirk & I caught fish, after fish. 2.5 miles from the boat ramp where we left from. Bait was in the water 90% of the time. And we fished a whopping two areas and came back with limits of Speckled Trout to 7 pounds, Yellowmouth Trout, 3-Black Drum to 6 pounds and 2-Sheepshead to 6 pounds. ON LIGHT TACKLE.

We had so much fun that in another country it might be illegal.
NO LONG runs to a distant land. Real easy to make a pit stop,
and I even had too. So we ran back and I visited Mayport Marine's

facilities, next door to the boat ramp. And then we soft peddled our way right on back out to the inlet.

This is what I live for. And this is the way it always seems to be when Kirk's out with me. We have great days together.

Live shrimp and a Float-rig, Trout and Sheepshead. And the action was constant as long as the tide was moving. Then, we finished

up the shrimp on 3 - Black Drum.

We even got one of those "us" in the boat photos.

Here's my "redemption" from a bad day on Saturday.

My 7 pound, 26" Speck!

I think this is the most pictures I've tried to jam on to this

space.

If you're gonna let the good weather report this week

pass you by......oh well. But if you want to go out and give

this a try.

CALL ME!

Remember.....I always believe in Photos say a thousand words. If it's happening, you'll SEE it here.

1/4/08 - Cramping my style

I'm never prepared for this. Especially mentally. And it's a sure sign, "I'm getting older".

THIS WEATHER IS SEVERELY CRAMPING MY STYLE!

Wind Direction (WDIR):
NE ( 40 deg true )

Wind Speed (WSPD):
15.0 kts

Atmospheric Pressure (PRES):
30.67 in

Air Temperature (ATMP):
49.6 °F

Wind Chill (CHILL):
43.7 °F


I want to go fishing. Hell, I have shrimp in my live well covered up with a blanket and the well sitting on a heating pad jacked up to maximum warp heat. But, can I muster the strength. Knowing all too well that the wind speed is 15 knots, but in reality more like 20 knots when I get out there. (something ya learn as you get older and wiser)

I'd go out and fool around, if the wind would die off. I bet it can cut ya like a fillet knife. Especially, when you're not used to such cold.

I don't mind the cold that much and can dress for it. But that wind is making me very apprehensive.

Here's a few pics of last year in late January and in February, when I was told I looked like "Yukon Cornelius" on vacation!



It was bone chilling this day too. But ZERO wind!

I have a charter on Sunday. The weather guessers say by this weekend, it should be bearable. I'll have Kirk M. with me....
Mr. N. Dakota.

He's obviously immune to all chill. But then again, I'm sitting here right now and freezing behind my desk! The heat in the house is running and just won't stop. I live in an ole Florida house, not really good for anything less that 40 degrees.
Unless I spent several thousand dollars in upgrading it. IE: insulation, windows, doors etc.

And the friends I have that live up in Mass. and Maine can't believe Floridians get "cabin fever", but I can tell ya that the first signs of it are coming.

Fever or not, I'm getting e-mail after e-mail for charters. Or "tire kickers" as I refer to them as. From all over, but I only take seriously, PHONE CALLS!

Most E-mailers, I never hear hide nor hair outa them ever again. But they want, something? And all this info here and on my web site ain't enough, I guess. (that's Amazing!!!!)

I'm sure we'll bounce outa this freeze soon enough. But what concerns me is big changes. I like to keep up with my fish, and visit them often. And I just can't muster the strength to go out today in this burning wind and cold.


I'm another year older.....and maybe smarter???

1/2/2008 - His name is D.O.A

Well, not much to report....all ya have to do is walk outside. And that's yer report.
The huge weather occurrences are obviously easy to forecast, ever notice that?
But the slight things, like wind direction, speed are the tough ones. So, the weather guessers surely got this one right. It's really really cold.

I was standing in front of B&M bait and tackle yesterday, along with 50 other people on "customer appreciation day", which is always New Years day. Eating some of the best food I've ever eaten out-of-doors. Fried Grouper, Snapper, bbq ribs, greens, salads, beef, venison, chicken, corn bread, tater salad, brownies, cookies, stews, you name it....Each year I look forward to this on New Years day. The B&M folks, Rusty, Tracy and Patsy do it up right, along with help from customers who bring some superlative dishes for everyone.

If you're reading the blog, but not from here. Today was the start of a massive cold blast to hit Fla. Winds are gusting to gale force, the high temp is 40 on my back porch, and this morning it was even colder. The wind gusts have the temp feeling like it's 30 degrees...this morning it must have felt like in the teens. I've fished in some cold windy days (which can be seen here on this reports blog) but C'C',on....This morning had to brutal.

Not what we're used too. And 99.999% of us don't fish in. Because we're too used to nice warm days. (60 degree at least)

Yesterday, while at B&M bait and tackle, I was standing there talking to all my friends with a long sleeved T-shirt on and shorts. AND SWEATING in the sun.

I was invited to go fishing with a friend yesterday. Not even thinking about the cold and wind, I replied, "I have errands to run, or I'd go". Well, I just got back from B&M where I stopped in to say hello. Come to find out, this guy went fishing!!! According to J.B. that works at the bait shop.

"Dave, your cohort went fishing this morning", said J.B.
"WHAT????" I replied.
"Yep, and he left out real early, like 15 minutes after we opened this morning at 6am." said J.B.
"Holy Crap. Yeah, he invited me and I told him I could go after 9am, but he said that was too late. I said to him, man it's gonna be cold and he said, Oh well I'm gonna run the boat, anyhow"
"So how did he do?" I asked J.B.
"he's crazy.....But he caught himself some Trout!!!"
"Wow, that's one tough dude" I replied. "almost makes me wish I could have gone too."

His nick name; "D.O.A. Rob"

He's a fellow year round Speckled Trout chaser, and has now gained even more respect of mine.

He's my kinda guy.

12/31/07 - Ate by the Alligator!

Holy Mother Of All Creatures, Big & Small !!!!

If only I had a crystal ball. Because today, out with Jeff and son Dillon, was like I was in Bazaro World. By no means was it the sweetest day of December weather-wise. But at least it would have been nice to give away a live river cricket to a gamefish or two, especially some nice Trout, like I had with 3 guys on the 27th.

Between myself and every other fisherman I talked too out there today. It was the same deal. Loads of bait, no fish to eat it.

We tried the jetties, the back waters, the river, under docks, along rocks, and back to the jetties again.

Also known as the "World Tour of fishing". I probably used more gas today, looking for fish than I have in the last 6 trips. We were all over the place. And when I change zip codes and there still isn't a change in the "bite".......it's a "Here's yer sign" kinda day. Here come Mr. Alligator!

I even went and made the trip to my "double whammy secret winter trout creek". Totally reserved for deep winter, tough days. We did have a big fish hooked up, but Jeff had it break the line right at the hook. Something was funny about that whole deal too??

We did have one small Bluefish, and one small Speck, and this one Sheepshead Dillon caught along a breakwater wall on his shrimp and float-rig.

It wasn't a float fisherman's day. But I wasn't gonna sit and stare at a rod tip either and bottom fish. In the creeks at low tide it was bait stealers galore. Literally, every single shrimp was ate off the hook with out them hardly noticing.

Is the impending weather at fault?

It's gonna be really cold this week. Unlike last year the first week of January, where it was 80 degrees.

But according to my log book from January 2007,
by the middle of the month the Specks had about dropped off the face of the earth. And for two weeks, it was one hard day after another, till the end of January to find quality Specks.
I hope it's different this year. Because in one month, they'll be closed for harvest. (February)

I did all I could today, short of fishing my butt off. And doing what I see so many other guides do.....forget they have customers, and fish and fish away......

Instead I tried to work with Jeff and Dillons technique. I did the "10 drifts and we're outa here" deal, if no bites. I worked an area, start up here, then move back there.
Nothing worked.

Sometimes ya eat the Alligator, and sometimes the Alligator eats you!

I have to check the barometer. Something was funky today. It never got better, and never got worse. It just was dead slow all day.

Suppose to fish on Thursday. The forecast is for 25 degrees in the morning, and probably high winds. I suppose we'll be re-scheduling the first trip of 2008, and doing all I can to forget the last trip of 2007.










LOOK AT THIS GRAPH OF TODAY'S BAROMETER!

That huge fall, and then spike was TODAY.
(that can't be good)
hmmm, I think I found the Alligator that ate us!

12/27 - Where was RED?

Happy to report, my idea of going back to "old School" jetty anchoring, with a 1/2 cinder block worked just fine today. And I got it back each time I retrieved it. And when it held....IT HELD!

I've been called "Captain Gadget" before by friends. Because I always have an eye out for the latest and greatest fishing/boating product improvement. Although, I don't fall for hype, I do give many items such as rods, reels, terminal tackle and yes, even anchors a fair shake and if it works in my world....I usually talk about it. (been there, done that with those Mighty-Mite aluminum anchors. If that's what your thinking....)

That's the reason I even mentioned the folding grapnel hook anchors. The problems I was having with my old jetty anchor in high winds, and basically getting fed up in the long run, in previous posts.

I ended up taking my large chain and looping it through one of the holes in the block. It did drag of course when it wasn't in the rocks. But if I placed it up in the jetty. It held tight.

And as with many days out there, I needed a good hold today. This morning at 8am it was pretty sloppy where I anchored. With the incoming tide pushing hard, a swell breaking on the tops of the jetty, and a serious chop on the surface. It was S.O.P in Dave's world. But it calmed to a tranquil slick sea as the day went on.

I had Bill N. and his two brother-in-laws out with me. I was supposed to have 2 kids and two adults. So when Bill's brother-in-laws walked up to me at the boat ramp. They weren't who I was looking for. I had my eye out for a few kids and dad's.

We soft peddled our way to the inlet, as we talked a bit. I wasn't in a huge hurry, for I know my tides and I didn't have to hurry...it was incoming and I needed good current and it'll be there on my spot, no worries.

I went over all the details as usual, but was on the big danforth style "fluke" anchor out in the sand. And as I went over the fine art of mending your line, tackle handling, pinning on a live shrimp. I observed that "yes, it's gonna be a cinder block kinda day".

So I changed out the anchors and went to work getting us, Just Right. Remember, I had two new guys to this kinda of fishing, and one that was on top of this game. So positioning and having behind the boat being the "point of origin" in which the float-rig will drift from makes it easier for the new guys.

Bill, scored the first and second as we drifted back on the anchor "block". Two nice Yellowmouths. I had to get used to using a cinder block for an anchor again.....it's only been 18 years since I've used one.

Everyone ended up getting bit. We lost some and we caught some, and the cooler was starting to look pretty good. Especially as the nice Specks from 16 to over 20 inches started coming to the net.

The tide was getting really high, and we should start getting bit by a Redfish or two, and it never happened.

I was coaching the guys, they were running right through where they should be. Every thing looked really good. The current was perfect, the position I was in was perfect. The only thing that wasn't perfect, was the size of the shrimp.

They were really small.

I'm always thinking like a good lure angler or even a fly fisherman.....PRESENTATION, PRESENTATION, PRESENTATION!!

And you should be too, unless your just "bait-n-wait" fishing on the bottom. That still is about presentation, but not nearly as crucial. Bottom fishing is more about, LOCATION.

Bill did have a big fish hooked up, probably the big Red we were looking for, but it broke him off in the rocks. (a here's yer sign...It was an ass-hander!) And one his brother-in-laws also lost a bigger fish.

Bill then hooked the largest Speck of the day, and it fought so good I thought it was a small Redfish. I think Bill did too.

I think a congratulatory Beer was opened after that Trout!

The guys caught some more till the current completely faded......but still no Redfish!

So, I headed to a new spot and it was time to do some Jiggin'. I busted out my "meat mover" rods, and tied on fresh 1/2 oz jigs and pinned the tiny shrimp on them. And the first fish was a monster Ring-tailed Porgy. (a true sign...it's really winter)

Then it was Bill's turn. I said we were here to catch a damn Redfish, but we could catch a Redfishes UGLY cousin, a Black Drum.

And what does Bill immediately hook-up with? A perfect sized eater, Black Drum. Was Bill the groups "ringer". I think so.

We worked the area hard, pitchin and jigging, till the current again on this spot, went slack.

And not a single Red. Hmm, that's really something. I usually don't mind, because if the Trout are chewing really great and we hook some Reds while working the specks. All is great.

But the Trout had to be worked at to get them too. At least that's the way it seemed, to me while observing /coaching/ anchoring and tying hooks and leaders.

We headed in to clean fish, and we had way more Trout than I thought as I filled a bag with prime boneless, skinless ready to fry fillets.

It was one heck of beautiful day, that's for sure. And it got warm, really fast.

Next up: 12/31 with 2-3 anglers.

12/26 - I'm goin' back to old school

Well, if you've been keeping up. (kinda hard with all the Holiday BS going on I'm sure) You know that I've been trying my best to work out my Jetty Anchor woes. I usually have no problems at the jetties unless the winds blowing 15 knots or better, with my jetty anchor.

But, are those days in the winter time far and few between? NOPE. The wind is always up along the inlet in the winter it seems, or at least when I'm there.


If there's one place in all of Florida that can be an anchoring nightmare, it's here in J-ville. From up in the river in deep swift currents, to out at the jetties in swells and currents. Not to forget the ever "CONSTANT" wakes from Pilot boats, Ships, US Navy contracted sea tractor tugs, and just plain other boats.


So taking into account that I sometimes don't know what I'm getting myself into when I head to
the inlets jetty rocks in the winter, I'm going back to "OLD SCHOOL" anchoring.

Yes, I remember the days in my old 1970's something AlumaCraft 14 footer. That had limited space to stow multiple anchors. But I was a jetty-guy! So the best anchor was a "BRICK".
I could carry 3-4 of them. If it got so stuck in the rocks.......SO WHAT! I'd just break it, or just loose it and tie on another one and be on my way.


Ahhh, things were so simple back then.


Well that was a 14' boat.
Today's aluminum craft
that I fish from is
substantially heftier.

And btw....that's the reason I LOVE ALUMINUM!

It was the 14' foot AlumaCraft's fault. That lil boat was 3 plies of thick aluminum, sandwiched together, and then riveted, and was tough as hell.

Today, I wouldn't even think of having a the same AlumaCraft....they ain't built like they used to be. Their thinner today, then back in the "ole days". And welded is the way to go in the saltwater world.

So as I was welding supports on my old jetty anchors, trying to beef them up, since they bend too easy. I just said "hell with all this mess!" I jumped in my truck Christmas eve afternoon, and went to the Home Depot!


They have lots of cheap jetty anchors there!


$1.50 a piece! And I left out with (5) - "1/2" blocks. Yep, a cheap, who cares jetty anchor. That given the nature of this material, I bet I can break it if I have too. With cleats WELDED to the boat, I can really get some serious tuggin' going on. If I have too. Wrap a piece of chain through the holes in the block and I can snap it like a twig. Grab another and re-anchor!

Sounds all good in theory right? We'll see. But you're saying....."where the hell do you keep these cinder blocks in your boat?

Hmmm, that's the big difference between YOU and ME. I have a monster anchor locker, with lots of room. And rubber tiles on the deck to store them on. Plus a boat, that a few weighty 10 pound blocks won't bother. Hell my ole jetty anchor weighed in at 10 pounds. My weight carrying capacity is 4600 pounds. Almost twice of a comparable sized Fiberglass boat.

I'll probably get to try it all out tomorrow, with a FULL boat. I have a family trip and there will be 5 of us on board, including me. So, I'll be carrying a lot of weight! And that's when the jetty anchor really bends out of the jetty rocks, when a swell or wake comes.


Damn, I hope this works!