9/14 - BLUE MONDAY!!

Monday's at 7am......it's usually my favorite time and day. A vacant boat ramp, a vacant river (to some extent). And if the fish are chewin', just a great way to start a week.

Except for this Monday. Something happened.

Had John H. aboard today for a solo angler's trip. Plans were to go do some float-rig fishing, then depending on the bite, possibly stop and get a few Bull Reds before heading back to the dock to clean fish. I like to mix it up. Don't really want to spend the whole day bottom fishing, but rather wait till the tides low, and then try it. So we left the dock this morning at 7am on a falling tide, with a East wind blowing between 15-20 knots.

Headed to the same area I fished on Saturday with Nick. The tide had just started to fall. John had never float-rig fished before. But was interested in learning a new technique, seeing he has his own boat, and lives further up river.

We fished and fished, and hit approx. 5-6 spots and only had one small 14" Trout, and a few Mangrove Snappers. At first I thought it had to be just the area that we were in, so I kept moving. But after hitting some of the better Trout areas in my available locale. We both started to realize. It wasn't us. They just weren't biting! But the funny thing was, the Mangroves sure were on the loose.

A few places, a shrimp couldn't make it 20 feet behind the boat. Along with Pinfish, we ran right through 6 dozen live shrimp with nothing to show for it except two 12" Mangrove Snappers in the box.

I can easily put 2 and 2 together. On Saturday, the Trout bite was almost non-existent. And we were seemingly lucky two get the ones we did catch.

How many days now has it been with the due East wind?? This isn't spring time. Because I blatantly remember many a March-April that had incessant east winds for weeks.

This weeks strong/high tides coupled with East winds holding back the water in the river made for no genuine LOW tides. Add up all these factors, and somewhere hidden in there was the lack of Trout I believe.

And as I told John, "Don't come out on this river anytime, without some kind of back-up plan, I don't care what time of year it is."

So we headed back towards the boat ramp. But we certainly weren't going to give up completely.

Could it have been that all morning long he had Bananas hidden in the cooler? I've had my situations with the yellow funny shaped fruit before. Too many times have Bananas appeared in the hands of my clients, to my dismay. Apparently a "fisherman's snack" for many. But also "bad luck", for those who are superstitious like me.....especially when we're already struggling. John quickly ate one, and disposed of the other.


I anchored up to try and catch a few bull Redbass. (the back-up plan). And no sooner were we one the spot with two rods out did we get two bites. Both rods started bouncing. But one was what we came looking for. John was quickly hooked up to a big Redbass. The other rod had a dang Toadfish on it. The fish peeled drag on the absolute last "puff" of falling tide, running due east.......then, POP. Broke off right above the hook. Huh? Wonder what happened there?


With the bananas now gone, and now getting bites, it sure seems like the superstition was real.


The tide quickly reversed being pushed by the 15 knot east wind. So I made a move even closer to the boat ramp. Looking to get wind and tide going all the same direction. We had five frozen Blue Crabs left. If we're lucky, just enough to catch a Big Red. Even though not a "Box" fish, it would be redemption for our whole morning spent traveling, fishing hard, and coming up with no trout.

Blame it on the bananas, or just changing tactics (Trout can be way more finicky then Red's on the bottom) But we easily got bit, and John like so many other people I take, caught his largest Brutus T. Redbass, of his angling career. We ended up with three all in the same area. From 20-30 pounds.

































































It was a long, long day. But John learned a new fishing technique, saw how the tide and wind effects each spot, saw how aggravating small Mangrove Snappers can be to the Trout fisherman, and also caught his largest ever Redbass. So even though we never filled the box with Trout and Flounder. I believe he got his time and monies worth.

Now, I have to start thinking toward Thursday's charter. Wonder what the deal will be then?


-See ya on the river.



Vienna Sausages, and a pack a crackers, have never brought me bad luck!

9/12 - In between the rain

Had Nick W. aboard today. Nick and I haven't fished together in a while. The weather was mighty iffy, but you certainly couldn't tell that from the amount of boats on the river. Yeah, instead of offshore, I guess. Because the east winds blew, and the dark clouds passed over all day long.

But that didn't matter. Nick got to wet a line. And together, we always have fun!

We pretty much were on the Trout search. But that was ending up being kinda slow. I caught a fattie that really was a true pig. As I was taking the hook out of it's mouth I noticed that it had a big fish tail sticking out of it's throat. Was either a large mullet or a yellow

mouth Trout. I had a customer catch a 7.5 pound Trout once that had three 8-1o inch yellow

mouth Trout in it's stomach. So I'm not all that surprised what these dudes can actually eat.

Here's that fat bellied Trout that also ate a 3" live shrimp.

Nick was catching some Mangrove Snappers, and as I fished along with him. I kept the Trout coming. But the bite was quite slow on trout.

Nick hasn't wetted a line since last Christmas.

So he may have been a bit rusty.

The first of the year "river" Grouper was also caught. By this time last year I believe many more were caught while float-rig fishing.

We then moved on and went and threw some jigs and shrimp. Caught 5 Flounder, not very big ones though, but keepers. A small Sheepshead, some Jacks, a few more Trout, but small. And by the time to tide had come up, went towards the ICW, to see if we could get a Redfish up in a very flooded bay. But only caught a small Trout.

Lot's of action. on and off rain. Lot's of boats around. But the east wind really didn't affect us much at all. We hit the dock and I cleaned the fish, long after the weather sent the crowds packin'. The boat ramp when we got back was nearly vacant!

Hmmm, reminiscent of a winter day, during football season? Yes, I think so. I'm really looking forward to when the weather turns a bit cooler. But with the inshore water temps still between 78 and 80 degrees......"that won't be for awhile, yet".

The pile of fish yielded a bag of fillets that weighed over 5 pounds. Which was great, because Nick didn't want it all. So when I got home I had me a nice dinner of fresh fried fish. Then hit the sack.

9/11 - for your viewing pleasure.

Believe it or not.......look at the seas. Pretty calm I'd say.


3 People were thrown off their boat south of the stuart inlet. The "run-a-way" boat was head straight for our boat. Another boat picked up the boat owners and we rode along side, radioed coast guard...




I love it when they "hooted and hollered" when the impact was about to happen.

TOO COOL!!!

Sept. 5,6,7.....

Whewww....Are you wore slap out after the labor day weekend?

Yeah, the river, ICW, everywhere but the jetties was "bank to bank" boats! The jetties weren't all that busy, because of N.E. winds and slight swells. But I did see some "free-jumping" spinner sharks, and there was lots of bait out there on Sunday.

Does this mean, like up north, that from here on out most everyone will start to pack up their boats, wrapping them in canvas and poly tarps, and store them in the back yard till next spring?

NOT LIKELY! But just let the football games begin. And right there goes a percentage of the weekend crowd.

I spent Saturday, Sunday, and Monday out on the river. On the TOWBOAT/US boat. So I got to see it all!

At one point on Sunday, I had to wait, look both ways, and then cross the St. Johns River as if I was on foot attempting a crossing of Atlantic Blvd during rush hour! It was that bad. BIG DIFFERENCE between now and when fuel was $4.25 a gallon in the spring!!!!

That's why people like myself and my fellow big Trout Tracker buddy, D.O.A. Rob, love the winter time, so much. Less people. But then again, the biggest misconception of all Jacksonville fishing is, that during the winter fishing charter's must not be as good, as the summer. It's the direct opposite. During the hot summer, when most of the vacationers are here.

The worst areas to navigate over this past weekend was the "HUB" - the ICW and river intersection. North into Sister's Creek, all the way into Ft. George river, to the Ft. George bridge. I was up there 3 times.

Once for a battery jump, once to check-out how the sand bars have shifted from behind Ft. George Island to the bridge and out to the inlet, and then another battery jump call, on Monday morning.

The pristine area, that I know as a great Black Drum, deep winter Trout area was transformed into a 2 mile long parking lot of boats. From rubber dingies, to 50 foot ocean going Sportfish boats. With needless to say......"endless amounts of tinny winnie bikini's."

The Jet-ski's is what makes me nervous. Like flies around a dead fish. They are out of control. From every direction, going every speed. It just looks like disaster waiting to happen to me.

And then, there's the people pulling small kids on tubes behind boats. Not just in Ft. George, either. But in the middle of the St. Johns and all over the ICW. I'd NEVER EVER pull my kids behind the boat where I see these people doing so. I picture this; Kid falls off tube, boat traffic is all around, drunk "partier" runs over my kid in a speed boat or jet ski doing 50mph. All hell breaks loose!

I guess, as a fishing guide I make it my business to not be near boat traffic. And I can tell you the best place to pull your kids around on a tube, but no one will go there, because it's off the beaten path. Behind Blount Island, back between Clapboard and Browns Creek. Slower current, and zero ships, tugs, jet skies, boaters, fisherman, and partiers. I was truly amazed at what I saw.

These past three days has me longing for a quiet weekday along the jetty rocks, that's for sure.

If you can, and want the best possible fishing charter, and best fishing opportunities. I'll reiterate myself for the one thousandth time........

Pick a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. And with more "holidays" coming in the future, like Thanksgiving. It would be very wise to plan ahead, and plan for the week before a holiday.

9/4 - Target species, Catch species

Had the pleasure of having Vic C. on board. He was an attendee of my Float-rig fishing seminar at Dicks Wings sports bar on Beach Blvd. a few weeks ago. And his buddy Mark.

Vic's an avid reader here, so he knows what makes me tick. He has his own boat and fishes with his wife in the creeks. Who couldn't attend our "on the water" Trout seminar today.

We left out this morning under dark skies patchy with plenty of clouds and a stiff N.E. breeze at the boat ramp. I pointed the Jettywolf westward, even though we had a great tide for some jetty fishing. I certainly wasn't up to fighting the waves and wind out there. (I'm getting older. I can tell.)

First spot was to teach Mark the way we where going to spend, at least half the day. What I call an acclimation area. Good current, no super challenges, and calm. So calm that the bugs were chewin' on us. Vic and Mark picked right up on the float-rig and we even caught a handful of small "buck" male Specks. I think they had it down. So we moved on.

The next spot should have been really hot, but wasn't. But we caught a few good keeper Trout up to 18" and a few small ones. But after a few adjustments on the spot. We just weren't into them steady. So we moved on once again.

No big deal. It was the incoming tide. And I had big plans to hit a hot spot once the tide turned.

Vic mentioned he'd love to try catching a Big Bull Redbass. So I told him we'd give it a try after we use up some of the 12 dozen live shrimp I had, and after the tide got low. We saw "the herd" of boats lined up in the river. But we substained. And I kept with my plan.

We took a break for a short while, and then the tide turned. I headed straight for where Kirk M. and I whooped up on the trout last week. It was a slow start, but in the end we caught some nice "box" specks, and a "mini-7 striped jetty snapper" - aka: Sheepshead. A Yellowmouth Trout and a few keeper Mangrove Snappers. With all but a few small shrimp left in the bait well. I asked the fellas, "Ya'll ready to go catch a big "RB" (Redbass)??" With a resounding, "Yes" we headed back eastward.

"Baiting and waiting", isn't always my favorite style of fishing. But I'm always willing to give it a try for a few really big ones. Since right now, we could catch the largest fish either one of the guys have ever caught. I like firsts!

It didn't take all that long, before we had a "bump, bump" on a bottom rod. And Vic took the rod.

The rod bowed, and spool emptied, and Vic was smiling ear to ear. As he struggled to put the breaks on the Bull Red. And thanks to my favorite reels of all time, my Accurate twin drags. Vic turned the fish and had it heading to the boat.
It was Mark's turn next, and after an adjustment of the anchor to get back in the ever changing river current. We sat BS'n for a while, when I saw the rod "bump, bump" again.

Mark was now hooked up to a Bull Red that was swimming under the boat. They will feed into the current and not always turn away and go, but rather eat the bait, and just keep swimming dragging the 6 oz sinker behind them.

Mark had to reel like his hand was a Black & Decker, but finally came tight and had a close quarters battle.

It was getting late. So we packed it in to go clean Trout. There's no disputing that the time is now to get your personal private day of adventure.

They're all biting.
"Isn't it time to...get you some!"

Sad Day.....

To all Capt Dave's Fishin' Report Blog Readers,





I have received horrible and shocking news from home. My faithful companion for the last 26+ years is gone. Her passing was unexpected and occurred sometime earlier today. I have endless memories of the nights we’ve spent together…(Sorry, I’m trying to hold back the tears as I type this)








It’s just such sad, sad news knowing I will never be able to be with her again.
I was so looking forward to being with her tonight.








She’s going to be impossible to replace. But I guess Monday I will start looking.










Anyone have any ideas as to how much a new Lazy Boy recliner costs these days?


heheheheheh...

9/1 - George's Hunt for Big Fish

George M. has fished with me several times. All in the hunt for "BIG FISH". His biggest Redbass was around 15 pounds prior to today, from back in the spring. We've tried Tarpon and Shark fishing, caught no Tarpon, but did catch sharks...."just not the super big ones, that I wanted".

So with the Reds starting to fire up in the river, we gave it a try on a quickly deteriorating day, that started out really nice. But as you can see, got nastier as the day went on. That's okay. Because we actually avoided the weather, as the storms passed all around us.

At one point it was raining about 500 yards in front of us, lightning a few miles from us. And all we received was a very light sprinkle that cooled us off nicely.

George wanted to at least double his "best" Redbass, and he did. The "RB's" ranged from 22 pounds to 30 pounds.

The big Reds out in the deep water are something.....But one about 33" hooked up on really light tackle, on a 15# light leader, and a tiny hook burning down the knife edge encrusted jetty rocks is really a thrill. So keep practicing George!

Solo, personal, private, "one-on-one" charters are reasonably priced for the avid angler. As you can see in the last few reports here on my blog. Many of these trips, set personal records for the anglers as well as records for even my boat. It's two guys, on the hunt!!

8/31 - Good Bye August!

Yep, another month closer to the "COOOOOOL". And I can't wait. I wish summer was about 2 months and we went right into October or November temps as soon as July was over.

Had John H. and two guests aboard today for a late afternoon 1/2 to 3/4 day trip. So we left the dock around 1:00pm and headed up river. But not before running into Bob a ole customer.

He pulled up to the dock and told me what a great day he had at the jetties. He had Redfish stories, and a nice one in the box, along with "monster river Mangroves". Especially this one, which was a real STUD when looking at it in "person". (the photo isn't doing it justice)

So, I had 10 dozen live shrimp and had plans on float-rig fishing with the three guys on board.

And then maybe trying for a Bull Redbass after some light tackle fishing.

And it all worked out perfectly. On the first stop, and on Johns first drift of his float he nailed a 17 inch Trout. The guys ended up catching some throw-back Trout, a few Ladyfish that were perfect bottom bait for later, and a Jack.

Then the tide slacked, so we ran back closer to the inlet and did some bottom fishing, with cut Ladyfish.

We weren't on anchor more than 15 minutes when the first rod bowed over. Kevin was up and handled it with ease. We were using rather light Ugly Stik's matched up to my Accurate 197 twin drag reels that are so smooth and can produce serious drag pressure on any fish. Smaller than a Abu Garcia 5500, and packed full of bearing, and drag washers. My Accurate's will go into my will. Because they're that well built.

The big Red pulled and the rod bowed real good against the flooding tide. And turned out to be a healthy 22 pounder.

The next bite didn't act like a big Redbass.

I can tell right away.

It was a giant Stingray, and out of all 4 of us aboard came to an agreement......"we all hate them!!!"

So I broke the big Bastard off. And then we called it a day. John was showing his guests a good time, and now it was time for a good dinner.

I was happy. Targeted species in the boat. No problem, on both spots we fished.

Next up tomarrow: George M. going just for the big Reds. That's all.

(and maybe a few stingers, too....it's inevitable)

8/26 - CHAPTER 2, w/ Kirk, in from Peru

Okay, if you read the report proceeding this one. You learned that Kirk M. and I have fished alot together. And he's back in Jax, for a few days from Peru. Alrighty.....now let's get to the meat and potato's of our second day together on the big St. Johns.

Okay, this gets really good.

By 11:00am Kirk and I are out of shrimp, we have 2 limits of trout to 4 pounds, 2- Reds, 18-21", two Flounder, and two Mangrove Snappers.......IN THE COOLER. And caught a bunch of throw back trout too. I MEAN A LOT, of throw back Trout!!!

There was no sun anyhow, it was on & off windy and overcast all morning long. Felt great actually.

Kirk ain't here to play games. He fishes 12 hrs or that isn't called a fishing day. He just isn't farking around!! He wants to fish, period!

The weather is what "we" call PERFECT. And that's why we were ripping the fish!!! They put on a serious feed bag before the blow coming on Thursday/Friday.

We go back to the dock. We unload all of our fish, Kirk takes them home. And he them stops by the bait shop and comes back to the boat with 15 dozen live shrimp!!!!

I told ya, he ain't messing around.

I believe we're gonna do a second trip of the day?

Yep!

So we leave the dock for the second time. After purchasing 27 dozen shrimp.

So back to where we left off. But now, with a different tide. But it didn't matter. The fish were chewing the bottom of the boat. We stopped at 2 spots and had our limit of Speckled Trout already and no less that 30-40 throw-backs.

They're heading my way. Towards the EAST!

I'll give ya'll a hint. When I see small shrimp boats dragging the river. That's where I fish.

We slam-dunked another 2 person limit. with Trout up to 3 pounds. Picked off another Flounder, lost a Flounder, and I caught a exact 27 inch Redbass on a jig and Creme Litl' Fishie, soft plastic lure.

Toss in a few more Mangroves and we were soon out of 15 doz. of our afternoon bait.

We easily caught a HUNDRED or more Trout today, between Kirk and I on our two different trips, today. No kidding! And I arrived at home well after dark.

I almost felt as if I was in Louisiana. (where I was supposed to be this week anyhow)

Was today and omen or something? Was the Speckled Trout gods shining on Kirk and I, knowing that he's been stuck in Lima Peru. Where he can't fish. And I was supposed to be over in Louisiana slaughtering Trout and Reds right now.

KINDA SPOOKY HUH?

I have to admit, when the suns shining, the winds calm, there's no chance of rain and it's June through September. That those days ARE NOT my favorite days to be out fishing.

Because everyone else is out also. And I always do better on a day when the weather's a bit off. We usually refer to it as a Barometric pressure change in the fishing world. And I believe we had it today, for sure.

Thanks Kirk.

I'm sure this won't be the last time we "wack'em and stack'em", as usual.

See ya soon, and take care buddy.

EPIC, EPIC, DAY....

NOW THAT I THINK BACK AND TELL FRIENDS ABOUT IT. I WOULDN'T HAVE RATHER HAD A DAY LIKE THIS WITH ANYONE ELSE.

KIRK'S ROCK, next time? (and that's another story, hahahahahaha)

8/23 - FISH, caught everywhere.

Had Kirk M. aboard today. Kirk's fished with me many, many times before. BUT, usually in either the fall, winter or spring. So he's used to a bit of a different scenario. I don't think he's ever been on my boat when it's 90 degrees.

But he was in town, from Lima, Peru. Where the U.S. Navy has him spending a few years. And he's just thrilled with that, BTW. So fishing is an activity in which he has been severely lacking.

He wanted to go, but I thought I was going to be in the great state of Louisiana fishing for a week. So when I had to cancel on the La. trip at the last minute, I emailed Kirk and said, "I'm now open to fish Sunday the 23rd."

To my disappointment, I'll be possibly fishing the river here for a few more years, before I can fish the "oh so bountiful" Louisiana inshore waters.

We caught fish at every single spot we went too. There's no lack of bites. We even gave bottom fishing a try again. But was there after the big Redfish bite was about over. 20 boats of all sizes were jam packed into a small area. I initially went in there just to say HI to some friends. Instead we caught small Yellowmouth Trout. As we talked with my friends. And the big Red bite was about done, so when the current went wacky we moved on.

We did try the jetties, earlier. The water temp on the incoming tide was 75 degrees. We were one of 3 boats fishing the rocks. The tide was pouring in, and Kirk hooked a Ass-Hander! Probably a really big Jack. And it ripped him down the jetty and around the corner and then shut the door.

My Ugly Stik "Striper rods"....which are my new charter Float-rigging rods, got a super horseshoe put in the one that Kirk had in his hands, on this fish. Bowed up and drag smoking. It was super cool. But once the big fish hooked around the jetty. It was over, when the light 15# leader popped.

We were looking for some incoming tide Redbass, of course. But the jetties just didn't feel really right for some reason. And that cool water was suspect.

That was about it out there, so back down river we went. Yep, we did some back and forth stuff. But settled in around Blount Island to the Dames Point bridge area.

In the river we caught Speckled Trout about everywhere. But most of them were shorts, 14-12" Trout. Out of maybe 25 total we kept six of the largest. A 14" Yellowmouth,. and two Mangrove Snappers.

But the really good thing is every spot we fished (Float-rig) we caught fish. Even a quick stop up in a shallow cove in 2 feet of water, we still caught Trout. Small ones, but they were Trout.
(we were looking for a red....even a pup red)

Hey, at least my Speckly friends are all over the place in the river. That's a good thing.

The ratio of keeper sized Trout was a bit of a bummer. I bought no less than 10 dozen live shrimp. So we were ready!
I thought.

The incoming tide came very quickly this morning and by the time the tide turned and we had ebbing water again, and were on a decent bite good Specks, we ran out of live shrimp.
We had keeper Trout from 15 inches to 20" being the largest.















Kirk thinks while he's here that we maybe able to sneak out around 3pm again this week, after he's done Navy business over at Jax NAS. I'm all up to that. Late afternoon falling tide bite? Yeah baby! Hmmm, I think I have a few "top water" spots I'd want to try.

C'C'mon.....Kirk!!!

8/21 - BIG FAT RAIN

While towing a boat today, it rained. At one point I couldn't see the bow of the boat I was on, it was so dark and coming down so hard, at 5:00pm.

Here's going under the Dames Point Bridge, after it backed off. Sheets of water were pouring thru the drain holes up on the bridge. Looked really cool in person.

8/20 - you think aluminum is odd?

Yeah, it's years later now, but I still get looks, stares and stupid human comments about having an alloy plate boat. The only real reason is because mine isn't painted.

Well, over on my other site. (aluminumalloyboats.com) we had a member post a really serious fishing machine, sitting in Biloxi, Miss. Currently docked outside the Palace Casino.

Trinity yachts supposedly has them lined up to be built. Yeah, aluminum boats!!

That's if you really want to call these boats, at 122 feet long with a 24 foot beam!!

And it's all aluminum...go figure, huh? So when you think I'm some sort of odd-ball, think again. Or the next time you see a maga-yacht come in the St. Johns River.....think again.

Just because it's painted. You may be fooled.

http://www.trinityyachts.com/news-06-19-06.asp

8/18 - A really nice day on the river!

Yeah, it may have been a bit breezy. It has been for a few days now. But that's what kept it cooler. The sun may have bumped in and out because of the clouds. But that's what kept it cooler.
And yeah, we may have gotten really wet because of a short rain shower that snuck up on us.
But again, that really cooled us off.

Had Louise H. and her son Garrett aboard today, visiting from the Lone Star state. And actually quite close to the good ole Gulf of Mexico, one seriously fishy body of water. But as Louise told me in the beginning...."we're not fishing people". But heck they wanted to give it a try.

And I think they were very pleased that they did. Because we had a really great day. And even though they may have been fishin' rookies, they both did exceptionally well. And as usual, when I have the gals aboard, they're the fish magnets!!

After I shagged off my morning "stow-away", we took off just after 8am.

We headed up river. At the first stop, I try to find a nice calm easy to fish spot. So everyone on board gets acclimated to the tackle and gives me a chance to teach them about float-rig fishing.

And we were on our spot 5 minutes with lines in the water about 30 seconds when Garrett hooks the first fish of the morning. "I.G" - instantaneous gratification!!! That's what I like to see. And coming to boat is the first Speckled Trout. Not a keeper, but it doesn't matter at this point.

Then it was mom's turn, and Louise reels one on in.


Right then, we started to get some falling tide current, so we shifted on over to an area that had good steady current, straight behind the boat. But that had the wind straight to our stern, and we wobbled around a lot on anchor. But we got the job done, and started catching Trout right away.

We were fishing now, no more than an hour maybe and already caught 6 and had 3 up to 19-7/8ths of and inch, in the fish box. Again, not bad for my float-rigging newbies. They both got into the rhythm and that means fish!!


































After boxing some nice Trout up to 20 inches, we moved on and tried our hand at some bottom fishing for a big red. But it's still summer and the first hook up was a monster Stingray that smoked off line so fast there was no stopping the big "dumpster-lid", and it broke off.

My patience for this is about a foot long. Starring at the rod tips, (I hate stinger fishing...) so we moved on and went back to float-rig fishing and catching good fish. But the next spot was short lived. Here came the clouds and ran us off to a safe haven, but as I ran there, we ran straight into the big rain. We got wet, but during the down pour the boat was safely tied up and we took cover with a handful of other fisherman under a roof that was close by.

After the shower we found a nice calm river and a lesser breeze on the next spot. Caught some more throw back Trout and boxed even more up to 20 inches, again. Along with plenty of Ladyfish and jacks, and the days only Mangrove Snapper at 14 inches, that hit the ice along with a double limit of beautiful Specks. I know, I couldn't believe it either.....only one Mangrove?? We really didn't have many problems with the "shrimp snatchers" much at all, today. Maybe because I fished deeper waters, further away from the hard structures.





























Louise was the "hot rod" all day. And it was well deserved. She was on her game.
I believe, she should fish more often. She might get really hooked.

They ended their day by taking a bag of freshly caught trout all filleted, de-boned and skinned by their guide to Singletons Seafood Shack and having them cooked up for them. They just don't get fresher than that. Louise gave me some also, because they had more than enough and when I got home and put everything away I was reminded of what a nice day we had with a big plate of fresh fried Speckled Trout myself for supper. Ahhhh, the fruits of our FUN. sure did taste good.


See ya out there...

8/16 - In Between Fishing

In between seeing me on my Big Alloy Boat, wave when ya see me on this big red boat. And hopefully it won't be a "waving me down", because you in need of a tow, fuel, or a jump start. Or to be pulled off a sand bar.


Yep, in between fishing charters I'll sometimes be in the red TOWBOAT/US boat.


















It's not Big Alloy. And I almost forgot the way F'glass feels on the water. But I'll have to let it slide, this time.


























Next up: Tuesday's charter, then maybe Saturday and then a definate Sunday charter.

8/14 - Almost one year ago......

Remember Tropical Storm Fay? Or "Faye" as some spelled it.
It was last year, NEXT WEEK.

Myself and DOA Rob went out the first day afterwards that was calm enough and not raining and I caught my largest Redbass to date; 50-55 pounds.




















Tropical Storm Fay was a real belly washer and from there on out the season basically began.
The "fall'ish" season I mean.

The Reds were about everywhere, and so was the bait.....CROAKERS. Yep, that's what I used,. them and cut Ladyfish (cuts down the population of the slimey jumpers.....no pun intended, hahahahahahah)

I read these stupid reports about going and catching 175 Croakers, as if that's some kind of super charter fishing day. Yeah, who's cleaning all them damn things. It's not like they are 15 inches a piece. Your guide isn't.

That's all fine and dandy for some, but I'll catch my larger Croakers on the float-rig and a live shrimp, like I usually do. And be happy with 5-10 big ones up to 17", then move on.

Because all the waiting thru the 99 degree temps, scrounging and putting together new tackle all summer long, is all for the preparation of SEPTEMBER.

The days are shorter, we've usually had some significant storms, the water's cooling off and it's all about.....

The first week of last September Paul M. from New England caught this beautiful 6-1/2 pound Trout.









We're loosing basically a minute a day of daylight. Wish I could speed that up a bit and make fall get here even sooner.

8/10 -Tavern Wisdom

8/3 - No sooner ya turn around......

No sooner ya turn around and it's August!!

Wow, I'm glad days fly by in the summer. Because it's all that shorter of a wait till winter. And I can tell ya right now. I'm ready for shorter days, cooler temps, and BIG FAT TROUT at the jetties.

But, I can not go through a summer without sharing with you a Poem my dad wrote back on December 19, 1992, when I used to troll offshore. The poem is all about a "N.E. Florida summer routine".

I can tell ya honestly I was always a better "dead" bait guy. My dad may have done this Pogie Poem, but I lived by the saying "a 5 pound box of frozen cigar minnows, don't leave the dock without them".

Here ya go.....

Pogie Heaven by Don Sipler

Around the end of the rocks we raced

Back to the beach, warm air in our face.

In the distance we saw the birds fly

we scanned the surface with a keen eye.

There they are! First one then many, other boats are coming, quick get
ready!

They're in front of us! So throw it straight.

A good cast yielded a bounty of bait.

We turned the boat slowly to the open sea.

Happy the Pogies were where we wanted them to be.......

I believe this said it all.