4/8 - SLAM FEST!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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











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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



































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

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

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

















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



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



Here is how you can help:

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

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



St. Johns water district sells us out, Orlando Sentinel

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



Put the public before the pirates, Ocala Star-Banner

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



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



Ocklawaha River: Insult Upon Injury, The Ledger

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



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



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

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



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



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

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



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

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



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

http://www.stjohnsriverkeeper.org/






www.captdaves.blogspot.com

4/6 - 4/7 - Weather

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

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

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

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

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

So we re-scheduled for the summer.

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

Then, Thursday and Friday, too.

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

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

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

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













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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

4/2- Combat fish wranglin'

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


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

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



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

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


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
















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

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

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

















































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

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

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














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

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

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

3/30 - NICE...

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

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


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


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

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

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


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

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

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















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

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

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


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



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

3/27 - Nasty....

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

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

It was gusty, cold and overcast.

Fish? Don't even ask.

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

UPDATE:

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

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

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

3/25 - Non-Gloomy day

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

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

















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














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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3/23 - Gloomy Day Trout

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

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

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

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

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

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

Next up will be the Jacks and Ladyfish.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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












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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Water temp: 63 degrees about everywhere.

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

Mmm, Mmm, good!

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

7-striped Jetty Snappers
by Capt. Dave Sipler

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Either way, "I coined the phrase!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I stood there speachless!

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

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

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

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

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



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




Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Capt_Dave_Sipler%27s_Sport_Fishing"

Stereo typical, March. Some what.

Looks like March is maintaining the stereo-typical pattern.

And from years and years of notes, that pattern is EAST winds.

Anything with east in it....NE, SE, and just plain EAST.

There's two wind directions that are tougher to fish in the Mayport area, for me at least.

Due West, and due East. But I'll take West over East.

If I look back in the archives from March last year, I see the same thing that's going on right now.

The later in the month, the windier it gets.

So, thats where you come in. If the forecast looks good. And you want to go.

Then get with me ASAP!

There's now only 4 more Monday's and Tuesday's left in March, and no one has yet to take advantage of the $50 off for two passengers.

There's (2) transitional times of year in N.E. Florida. First is around Thanksgiving, the slide into winter. And the second is Easter, the slide into summer.

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

I get asked all the time about how to tie the sliding stopper knot when using the float-rig.

Well, here's one version.

You don't have to buy those "knots on the tube" you can tie your own out of a very thin nylon string. Or even use 20# mono, if you're using braided line. Mono, won't last all that long versus the thin nylon string, though.

Here's another one, that's easier to understand and see. I usually just use this one myself.

If you can't find the perfect nylon string to make your own stopper knots.

Check out Du-Bro tackle here:

http://www.shopatron.com/index/101.2.314.1096.0.0.0

I found some spools of this thin string on Ebay once and bought a few spools. To just have.

Some people prefer those tiny rubber bands that are used for kids braces. I've never liked the rubber bands myself. Braided line cuts them real fast.

3/14 - I thought Spring was here....

Had Perry Z. and his two buddies aboard, Stu and Richard.

They came down to the boat ramp and couldn't find me in the FOG.




And as I said to a guy at the boat ramp,
"this is an anomaly, FOG and high winds!"

The fella said, "isn't this par for the course?" I replied, "Well, usually when we have FOG this thick, it's really calm and no wind."

The North East wind was honkin'.
And to make things just a bit more drastic, it was super wet and C-O-L-D, too!

As Perry and the guys walked down the ramp, I said, "Man, ya should have seen the weather earlier this week." And they were a bit shocked because they too listened to the weather and they heard something about 70 something degrees. But they knew it was nicer earlier in the week, too.

Stu was in shorts and windbreaker, and I was so glad I haven't taken my winter wardrobe out of my truck, just yet.

I not only had on a long-sleeved T-shirt, but my Grundens fleece fisherman's jacket, and my Grundens wind stopper fleece pants over my shorts.

I had a feeling this radical weather change wasn't gonna be good for anyone, let alone me and my guys.

So we headed on the rising tide to a spot where as the tide comes up, I've been catching some Reds and Trout for over a week.

We actually can get on the spot, no problem. And as we fish I look ahead of us and there's 4 boats, and then some dude in a little boat pulls right up behind us within casting range and drops his anchor. Boats attract, boats is the rule.

The tides really nice, and we have great current. As I show the guys how to float-rig fish the area. And we get two small sized Specks. No other bites at all, no lost baits, no anything.

We ended up making a move and worked hard to really get something going. Even heading to the jetties and fishing there when it was "all wrong".

Then, I switched to bottom fishing. "Ya' know somethings really wacky when I break out the up and down rods."

After multitudes of spots we finally got into some Yellowmouth Trout, and small Bluefish (THEY'RE HERE, UGH!).

The fog never went away, and the temperature didn't change all that much.

It was just the day of the front. Because as I write this report on Sunday. The weather is beautiful. Sunny, 80 degrees, a light breeze maybe. But a thousand times better than Saturday.

This weeks forecast for my Monday & Tuesday 2 passenger, discount:

MONDAY: SOUTHWEST WINDS 5 TO 10 KNOTS. SEAS 2 FEET OR LESS.INLAND WATERS A LIGHT AFTERNOON CHOP. ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDER STORMS.

TUESDAY: NORTHEAST WINDS 15 KNOTS. SEAS 2 TO 3 FEET BUILDING TO3 TO 5 FEET IN THE AFTERNOON. INLAND WATERS A MODERATE CHOP.

3/12 - SPRING IS HERE....

Spring is here. BUT, just last Monday and Tuesday I sat in the river with the Creke group and the wind was 20kts and it was 30 degrees. Wow, how things change quick this time of year!!

I know the first real day of spring is on the 20th. But today, I saw the evidence.

What a huge difference this full moon has made. Right now, literally daily events will happen out there in the big blue and along the coast, and give zero notice. So you have to be paying attention.
Today, I saw a few small Cobia hanging around those "brown" Ray's that come first before the big Manta's. I tried to catch one, but they were skittish, the Cobia, I mean.

Outside the inlet on the color change, I saw millions of baby Needlefish. Not a huge fan of those Needles. But this years crop is already here.

Monster Bluefish were crashing tiny minnow sized baitfish offshore a few miles. A few came out of the water and they sure looked to be about 2 feet long.

Couldn't find a single Speckled Trout this morning at the jetties (the one area I tried) but I had my limit (4) of yellowmouth Trout in a matter of minutes. Which is a good thing.

Ocean surface temp at 2pm was 63 degrees around the jetties.

And I know this ain't no Trout.....but I still caught it on a float and a live shrimp. The best way I believe.
It's my first sight-casted Tripletail.
Yep, and exotic species for me.

I found them and had about 10 shots at several fish I saw laying on the surface as they do.
Mimicking a piece of driftwood, or weed.

The last one I cleaned was one that a customer caught on a Jig-N-Shrimp combo meal back in Greenfield creek, many years ago.

These fish cost a small fortune in fuel. Because they don't come to you. You have to go to them. Hunting them up.

By the afternoon the South Easterly wind really started to blow. And East winds and a falling tide means wind bucking the current. That right there, can shut down any bite, if your into one or hunting one. I still tried to catch a big Trout, but only found small ones.

So I headed back down river, and into the ICW. Where I caught 10 or so small 16-17" pupper Redbass. For some reason, where I often go is a nursery for them, I guess. While I'm actually hunting the ole folks home, for Brutus T. Redbass. But I did pick up a Flounder, too.

The wind was blowing so steadily and hard I gave up and went back to clean my fish and have a visit from some friends.

But this isn't the same "foul" that usually comes to see me for a cheap and easy meal.



Look, this Egret has green around it's eyes.
Isn't that usually Yellow???
This is a new guy if so.
Maybe a reverse snow bird from S. Florida??






Next up:
Saturday with three people.

3/10 - WEEKDAY.....calm....

You wanna know the difference between last Sunday's ABSOLUTE craziness on the river and today...... "I'm holding a few of them."

















NO, I-95 STYLE TRAFFIC ON THE RIVER!

















JUST CALM, ENJOYABLE FISHING/CATCHING.















YOU CAN CATCH QUALITY TROUT, WHEN THE WATERS CALM.
















EVEN 23" FIVE POUNDERS....I SMELL A FISH FRY!!

AND IT'S 5 POUND TWIN ON ANOTHER CAST!

Yep, it's unbelieveable how the quality of fishing is effected by incessant boat traffic. It's FLORIDA and even though none will admit it, most people don't act much like "real Floridians".

Last Saturday & Sunday was evidence that J-ville fisherman/boat owners act like people in the north on the first sunny, warm day of spring, for some reason. When the gals can put on thier new summer bikini's for the first time. And the 3 feet of snow is just a memory.

Real boating and fishing Floridians, do it all year long. LIKE ME!

And I can tell you simply, the difference between catching on Sunday and today was night and day!

Didn't even leave the boat ramp till noon. Approx. 30 or so Speckled Trout. 2-five pounders back to back! All the yellowmouth Trout I wanted. A 6 pound Sheepshead. And to top it all off, I lost two gigantic fish I couldn't even slow down, before they pulled the hook.

It's AMAZING, the difference when there's no cruiser wakes crashing the shore line constantly, and no boats running circles around me. And then, how nice it is to pull up to a spot that I always fish, and find no one there camping on the spot, catching nothing.

That's why I sent out and announcement on Monday. Here's what I sent everyone in my mailing data base....There's now 7 Monday and Tuesday's left in March. On these days for a 2 passenger trip only, I will discount these 7 weekdays left $50. Advanced reservations/deposit only.

I will actually, TAKE THE HIT TO MY WALLET, just so I can put you on decent fish.

That's why you hire me, right??

I HOPE SO!

Need more info, just call 904-642-9546

Ocean water temp today on flooding tide: 61 degrees.
Full Moon was in full strength, thats for sure.


















The Floatfreak, smells something COOKIN'!!!!!!
(or getting ready too, at least)

3/8 - Completely Futile!

Had Tom W. (my neighbor) on board today. What I thought was a no stress one person trip.
But when we arrived at the bait shop there wasn't any shrimp...sold out from yesterdays crowds. So we waited about an hour and Wade the shrimp man showed up with his truck of "west coast" shrimp. Because he isn't catching any here in his home waters.

Small, weak, and generally very unappealing live shrimp. But hell, that's all there is.
It gets this way around this time of year. Another wonderful event.

Because it was warm, sunny and a weekend, the hordes of people on the water was literally a joke. Wake making cruisers were going up and down the intra-coastal waterway like tractor-trailers on I-95. Which was where we started first.

And I love it when you travel the distance and get to a spot where you've been fishing all week long (Monday-Tuesday-Thursday-Friday) and there's a boat sitting on the spot, that really burns my butt!! Wasted time and fuel.

Tom caught a few small Trout, but the constant wakes are just a big giant sign, "YOU WILL NOT CATCH QUALITY FISH HERE."

So we beat feet outa there. But the river was no better. The HUB as I call it, where the river and ICW meet all the way to the end of the jetties was a froth of wakes and boats everywhere.

I was just about to run north for an hour just to get away from all the people. There is peace on a weekend, in certain places.....It's Nirvana, but one heck of a boat ride away. I have seen this place with my own two eyes! But Tom talked me out it.

Then there was the full moon falling tide. So strong on a few of my spots I couldn't get my anchor to hold no matter how many times I tried. And these were the same places I fished on Thursday and had so many Trout it was ridicules. Now, I couldn't even anchor because of the current.

But, we did find a spot or two where the molesting boat wakes, and current were bearable.

And we caught a few Trout. Mostly small ones, boxing a few 16-17 inchers. I even caught a few decent Trout on a plug. The first time I ever tossed this lure. And I was impressed in it's versatility.

Those little treble hooks really gang hooked this fish really good.

We had to actually sit and wait for the current to slow down as the boat planed in the current at a spot where I just tie off. Only after maneuvering around several boats just to get to the spot. It was if the area I wanted to go to was being blocked off from making an entrance. I'm just not used to this kind of BS. And it was worth butting our way in through the lines of some "Croaka" fisherman to have Tom catch a 27 inch Redfish in that high speed current on the float rig and small hook.


At one point we tried fishing a commercial dock, and by the time I turned around after anchoring, there was a human standing on this dock even, casting in our direction!
Holy Crap, there's no escape!!!

RESISTANCE IS FUTILE. (that's what the "borg" used to say to Capt. Picard on the new Star Trek, remember that?)

We packed up and went back to the boat ramp to clean our catch, and go home.

I guess this was a wake-up call, that I need to fish another county on weekends.
Okay.....more gas means, more cost. If you want to catch fish, and I want you to catch fish.