12/11 - It's not how you start, it's how you finish!

Had Sandra and Shawn aboard  the Jettywolf today. Shawn is in from San Diego, visiting mom before he heads over to Iraq for a year. So the boy deserves some serious fishing time! And that's what I wanted him to have.

We didn't depart till 11am. It was all about the tide, during a Noreaster. High tide around 12-1:00PM made for a tough call. So I figured we'd Trout fish on the last of the rising tide.  I didn't like it, but it was the plan.


We hit a spot and gave the floats and live shrimp a whirl. The current was too fast....I knew it would be. But we'd just have to see what would happen. And not much happened at all. A buddy was anchored near us, and all he caught was one Bluefish. As we caught nothing. Giving it a genuine shot, and enough time for the current to get near anything a trout feeds in would take too long. So after an hour or so, we split. And headed for the big rocks.

As we headed eastward, the frothier the river water got. And by the time we were at the tip of the Jetties Sandra's eye's were getting wide. The big swells were making surfing size waves at the tip of the North Jetty, and Sandra says, "were not going over there are we?" I said, "No, but it's always worth a look out here at the end ."

She was a little timid about anchoring up in the slop-chop. So I backed off and moved to the inside of the jetties and away from the end of the rocks. 

Pitching my concrete block anchor over the side, we stuck into the rocks perfectly. The only problem was the tide was not falling just yet.

I told Sandra and Shawn, that this boat was built with nothing more than these Jetties in mind. And over the last 4 years we've sat in some seriously nasty slop, and we caught them all alone. Because no one else would anchor in what we were anchored in. People can "poo-poo" welded 1/4" plate aluminum all they want, I don't care. But it works for me, anyone who fishes aboard it, soon comes to realize how sweet  it is.

So we sat, waiting on the falling tide. The wind was blowing, the water was all chopped up and the current was about non-existent.

 










Then, as the tide just started to make it's way east, Sandra sticks a nice Sheepie. And I'm thinking were gonna be in the meat now.
















But other than a few small seabastards, the current started moving and we kept going with heavier sinkers. It all just felt wrong. But the current was driving down the chop. Sandra was happy and saw the choppy water, was no biggy. So I drug up my block anchor in one piece and made a 100 foot move. To where I originally wanted to anchor, but didn't.

And that was all she wrote.....

The sloppiness of the water was calming down, and with many times when the tide changes, the wind dropped. We were kicking Black Drum butt, and momma was happy her boy was bending an Ugly Stik, as she was too.

I even caught one and shared a "double-header" with Shawn.

Our "token" Redbass, at 29 inches and full of fight.

The action was HOT! And we kept 4 drum total out of ten. two smaller ones and two at 8-10 pounds, plus the Sheepshead. Which was more than enough. We probably could have filled every cooler on the boat, but that's a waste.

The low sun peered out,from behind the clouds, the river slicked out completely and it was nearing time to head in so I had light to clean fish by.





















Then, Shawn caught the last Drum. And it had the worst case of "bends" I have ever seen. It's intestines blew out a foot! I don't know why Black Drum do this. But I guess it's something to do with them living on the bottom and deep most of their lives. Never seen a creek Drum do this though. But at the Jetties, they get "butt-blow-out" all the time.

I guess, it's a Black Drum thing.

So, we headed in on slick calm waters.

  
As I put the boat on the trailer, I looked west and saw this wonderful deep fall sunset, the perfect ending to a perfect day.

And even thought it was a slow start.....it's all about how you finish.
Remember that Sandra..."cause I got ya covered."

12/8 - It wasn't cold.....It was HOT!

Had Dave C. aboard once again, (the man that let me catch a 10 pound Speckled Trout while he was aboard the Jettywolf back on April 28th of 2008.)  So Dave and I are tight. He brought his buddy Eric, this time.

We didn't leave at 10am because of the air temperature. We left out at 10am, because of the tide. It just so happened to be allot warmer by 10am, that's all. 

So the Jettywolf boat headed due east, with two containers full of mega-jumbo dead shrimp, and 6 dozen live shrimp in case we wanted to float-rig fish for some Speckled Trout later in the day.

I'm so pleased with myself. Because I invented what I believe for my purposes, to be the greatest bottom fishing rig since the invention of the swivel! And man does it work fantastic. Which I proudly showed the guys as we slowly peddled our way the 2.5 miles out to the big rocks.

The tide was still coming in, as we were a bit early for the falling. But like age and death, it will come. And it sure did take it's sweet-ass time, too. The bite was deathly slow at first. Not like it has been lately. And the small 4" Seabass were on the feedbag. Dave hates pecker fish, as do I. But you got to take the good with the bad, as with all fishing. So we sat burning bait like cord wood, pissin and moaning about them litl peckers.

Then Eric, slams the hook to a good one.

As usual, a over slot sized Redbass.
I told the guys they've been coming in either real small like 16 inchers, or over slot sized fish in the 28-30 plus inch size. There really isn't many keepers, from what comes aboard my boat. But that didn't really matter, they weren't keeping but a few fish overall. And I'll keep one fish for my momma, to cook up for her and pops.

Then, Eric does it again.

A perfect Black Drum. Now that'll be a keeper fish. And then, he does it again...


































Another fine keeper Drum. Which puts us at almost all the fish we'll be keeping today. While Dave is wondering...."What the hell am I doing wrong."  As the small pecker Seabass continue to pester him. Even as the tide starts to swing.

But that's okay. Everyone gets a chance. And as Dave said, "It's not how you start, it's how you finish." And he couldn't be more right. (remember that.....and keep reading)

 
WHAT'S THIS? Dave is hooked up with a monster of a fish. Smoking line, pulling drag, dumping the reel spool! Oh My Gawd. I believe you sometimes have to watch out for what you wish for. Dave's on this fish for a long time. Torquing the low profile Shimano Cruxis, and horseshoe bending the trusty Ugly Stik Catfish series rod.


As  you can see from this "point of view" photo. Dave's holding on, watching the dumping spool.

It's not a summer Stingray. It's not a spring time shark.
Could it be a massive spring run size Black Drum. Or the plug on the bottom of the river inside the jetties that'll let all the water out?

Dave's starting to hold the rod one handed, and shake out his left gripping arm, is he wearing the fish out or is the fish wearing him out?

We're all standing by, watching for color in the water.
This is taking awhile. But then again, this is LIGHT TACKLE FISHING AT IT'S FINEST.





















It turns out to be a 30 pound Boga Grip smashing Giant Bull Redbass, that I have to pull out the 100 pound scale from my console for. After a few attempts at getting a good grip on such a monster, the fish weighs in at 45 POUNDS.

Just when ya may think most of the Redbass this size have headed offshore for the winter season...They haven't.  This one is a larger Red then we caught during the so called "season", back in October.

Remember, "sometimes ya have to watch out for what you wish for...."  Which is actually what you were wishing for. It's a conundrum.

This Red fought so hard it pulled the anchor out of the jetty rocks half way through the battle. So we were free drifting out into the channel, which may have actually been a better thing for Dave.

So we ran back to the rocks and re-anchored. And commenced to catchin'.


Eric, sticks it to a fish and it gets off. And then says, "I'll get em again" and then sets the hook on this nice Sheepshead on his next drop. I wonder if he wasn't right. And this Sheepie came back for more?

Either way, that's the third one we're gonna keep and call it,  "all we need."

Oh, I forgot to mention all the 16 inch Reds that were not celebrities enough to get their photo taken. But we had a pile of them in between all these fish. Remember they only come in two sizes...too big or too small.

But that's okay...I'll take Drum any day over a Sheepie myself.

Dave's got his confidence back. And the use of his left rod gripping arm. So he's set for another tangle with a brute or two.


The next fish has some kid of funny thing sticking out of it.

 It had a fish tag in it's back. The fish had something like 21 spots. And this is my second tagged fish we've caught this year. I know who tags these fish, and he always does it to fish with loads of spots. The last tagged fish we caught at the Little Jetties had like 30 spots.

So I'll call the number in and see where it was tagged and when. The last tagged fish we caught was tagged right in the same spot we caught it, nine months earlier. Which proves they don't travel very far. Redbass are home-bodies. They have a turf and usually stick around in the same area.

The same will probably be with this fish. I'll report back when get the data.

But, another whopper sizer for Dave.Who still lacks a Black Drum. But I do have to say. The Drum bite wasn't the same today as it has been as you can read and see in previous reports. But that's okay. We're still having great days out at the inlet.

I had the 6 dozen live shrimp in the well. And was thinking about heading off to go do some float-rig fishing for Trout. But then there's the oldest saying in the book, "Don't go looking for fish, when you're into fish already." And I wanted Dave to catch a black Drum still. So we stayed at it.

So Dave slam dunks another one, is it a drum?

It's a Drum alright. Just not a Black Drum....but rather another Red Drum, aka: Redbass. Afterwards the current got really strong, the anchor kept slipping, so we packed it in and headed for the dock.

Another successful "cool weather", slick calm weekday at the inlet aboard the Jettywolf boat. With a great pair of anglers. Tight lines, bent rods and lots of laughs.

It just doesn't get much better in N.E. Florida, light tackle near-coastal fishing.

Hurry up and book your day.
It's cost no more to fish the best.....     

12/4 - WHAT CAN I SAY.....

What can I say.....the fishing has been pure insane! I recieved an email today asking how the fishing was. And I replied, "just go to my fishing reports page and see the proof, of how crazy great it is."

As usual. I meet the 4 guys at 7am and we headed to the jetties (inlet). Booked by Ken H. he wanted the guys he was taking to have a good day. In the back of my mind. I knew it would be a great day! Being Saturday the boats that hunkered in at the jetties was 10 times what it was yesterday.

But that's a weekend for ya. Having tro deal with people who anchor right next to ya, and give you no wiggle room. Yes it's really inconsiderate, but that inlet on weekends is the home of the inconsiderates. I call weekends, "the Me, Me, Me, days, hell with YOU."

Again, we weren't on anchor 15 minutes and here comes the fish. My economy anchor: my rigged up concrete cinder block.  It held us so good today that I was amazed. And it never even broke when I pulled it up. I actually got it back 100% intact. What a great Jetty anchor idea that is.

Here comes the fish.....From Trout to Reds, Drum, giant Seabass, and even a spot and piggy perch or two.

BLACK DRUM.....they were thick and we released so many, but kept only a few as eaters, today.

Yep, even a nice Speckled Trout off the bottom in 36' of water on a piece of dead shrimp. The fish are on FIRE!

One BEAUTIFUL Redbass. They came again in two sizes; BIG & SMALL, no slot size fish at all.

You can easily see "who" was in contention as the "Hot Rod".
But he had contenders on his heels.

These Black Drum are so sweet. The guys caught them all sizes. From small to large. But ones just like this are perfect eaters. Grill, Blacken, Fry.....it just doesn't matter with such a versatile fish.





















This one here is about  10 pounds and just above "perfect eater" in my book. We let most of them go. If we want bites like this to continue.

Here's Ken the fella that booked the charter. If Ken wants to catch more fish, then he should have not brought such good fisherman with him.  But that's a great lookin' Drum, Ken!


















Many of the large Redbass today were seriously "spotty" ones. Also known as "beauty marks".

Right when you think the 30 plus inchers fight hard. Here comes a big "spawner" size Redfish that whooped up one heck of a light tackle, deep water battle. This one weighed in at 25 pounds...on a small 1/0 Eagle Claw 042 wide bend hook, that due to angler skill wasn't even bent when I pulled it out of the fishes lip. Big fish on light tackle is something that the Mayport Jetty Rocks, specializes in. That's why the Jettywolf boat loves to be there. And my regular customers have grown acustom too.

















Again today, as soon as the current wouldn't let us fish 3 oz. sinkers at the jetties any longer. That's my cue to say thanks and move on down the river for a treat.....I.G. - instantaneous gratification, Speckled Trout fishing to finish off the day. The guys took turns on just two rods, and easily boxed a 1/2 dozen nice fat Trout. And then it was time to head back to the dock.

Everything is chewin' there is no doubt. Big fish to small fish. Super grillers to super fryers!

If you haven't booked your Holiday trip aboard the plate alloy Jettywolf yet....I'd get to steppin'.

Thanks Ken and crew, I had a ball too! 

12/3 - It just doesn't get any better.

It almost didn't happen. But it did. And that's one thing about "true" fisherman is, they make it happen. Got a call from George. He's fished aboard the Jettywolf many times. He had some relatives in town. But it took till the last minute before all the moons aligned. But late last night, well after I hit the sack. The guys booked their charter.

When a fisherman says, "I'm going fishing." They do. No tire kickin' around. George read the latest reports here, and passed on the info that the fishing is RED HOT, as Patrick and Mike were able to go.

And as you'll see......it turned out to be an EPIC day at the jetties, and after that we topped it off with even more catching.

  .































































Mike was the "hot rod" right off the bat, as he slam dunked a Big Redbass and some large Black Drum....prime for the fish box.

There's nothing like torqued rod, ripping drag and a.......






















....sweet azz, Black Drum, along the Mayport Jetties. We were all alone, not another soul around at 7am.  It wasn't even that cold. Cold will be coming next week. high 30's, low 40's ain't cold, it's EXCITING!!!!





















The Redbass come in only two sizes for me on my boat. Way too big, out of the slot, or way too small, out of the slot. That's why if you want M-E-A-T, ya better love Black Drum. It's better than Redbass in my book, and I like the slot sizes so much better.

 

A Double-header, one way too big to keep, and one way too small to keep. I say, make the slot size, 16" to 23", sort of like Georgia's Redbass sizes, since we're not Florida, but rather the largest city in SE Georgia, anyhow.

I don't know about you, but this is all I live for. This is the time of year for inshore fishing N.E. Florida. I just put up with the hot, humid, dry, high rain deficit summers, like last summer. I was dreaming of this fishing in July of 2010!






















These guys caught so many Drum it was ridicules. The fish were chewin so fast if you didn't get slammed in 2 minutes of being down on the bottom, ya thought you were doing something wrong, like fishing with no bait. After this weeks big winds and front passing through it did nothing but fire the fish up like an inferno.

Here's a stereo typical "Navy Town" photo from the inlet. What would a day of fishing the jetties be like without Navy ships passing by constantly, along with those nonsense seatractor tugs throwing massive wakes?

About 15 or more Black Drum, a bunch of small Reds, and bunch of large Reds. Add in some good sized Yellowmouth Trout, and some Whiting. It was one hell of a morning. The NEW moon tide started to scream hard. Both coolers on the boat were slap full of fish. And I get to go out again tomorrow and do it all over again, with four people on Saturday.

It was time to run up into the river and do some Float-rig fishing for Speckled Trout. And they were chewin' too! Boxing 12 nice 16-20" keepers, while catching 15 in an hour and a half on just one drop of the anchor.

George said they had 12 mouths to feed tonight. Well, they better get busy. That's allot of fish to cook!






















-Are you missing out on this? If so, don't think like the others, by thinking the chilly mornings are too much to bare. By 10am it was off with the woolies and back to the sweatshirts and shorts for me. IT'S CALLED NO SWEAT FISHING!
-Ya know, it cost no more to fish the best...call the JETTYWOLF, and get a few for your grill.

12/2 - The evolution...is going "soft".

I'm the kind of angler that's always looking for the edge. Not satisfied with what I find at the corner bait shop.(except really good bait) With the help of the Internet, the whole world is an open catalog. Sometimes, seeing how other's do things, is easily adaptable to my fishing style.

I'll tell you a story.....

When super Braid line first came out. Spiderwire, as many still call the line. As if a single brand name is the generic name for the entire industry...."sorry folks, there's hundred's of brand names out there."

But yes, Spiderwire was one of the first, if not the first super braid line out on the market. It's just called "braid" today. I'm a bit ole school and still call it "super" Braid. To discern it from Dacron Braided line. Which today, most young fisherman have never used.

But to make a long story short. I told friends, "I'll never ever use that stuff." And on a local fishing forum it was a running joke that a fella named Don was using it. And we all gave him grief, about it. Calling him, Professor gadget. But the whole time, I had it on a reel and I was using it too. I quickly saw the advantages of no stretch, the feel, and how it doesn't break. I also loved the idea that I could have it on a reel for years and years, versus monofilament.


But, one of the nicest things about it was, it "FLOATED". Unlike Mono, that sinks. Gets water logged, heavy and then breaks. (or at least it used too.) Even mono has come a long way over the years. But, for me. All my reels eventually ended up being spooled with the very thin, strong, no stretch, waterproof, floating, super line!    (remember those qualities....I'll be getting back to them.) 


Then, as the years went by I knew there had to be a better Float-rig system out there in the world. So I went to the source. "The Pacific Northwest."  Yes, the home of the float-riggers....where I believe it all came to be. Using large and small specialty floats, to present small baits/lures in raging water to giant Salmon. Using long rods, making long casts. Hooking up, really big strong fish.

"Hmmm. That's what we do." The St. Johns river has strong currents, and big fish. The real difference is that sometimes I set my float 20 deep! At first I found funky looking clear plastic, stealthy looking, shallow water type floats, to be used with a small plastic worm or jig for fish like, Steelhead. But as I looked further. I found floats that were WEIGHT rated!!

What? Weight rated???
(remember that "term".)

In Jacksonville (the largest of the back woods cities back then, with no tackle outlets, outside the usual bait shop) all we used was big, clumsy, long, and heavy balsa wood floats that  never had a weight rating. Meaning; what "trout lead" (sinker) weight would you use with what float? It was totally experimental. Unless you knew through trial and error, which weight went with which size float. 

My buddy, Pelican. Who co-hosted with me on our radio show "All about Fishing" and was a constant fishing companion was damn near blind....he wasn't, but he acted like it. Pelican, would use a 20" long pole float made from balsa wood. I used to call it his telephone pole, rather than his float. But he loved a two ounce trout lead. And said, "I can see that float way behind the boat." He actually convinced me of it's overall qualities. While float-rigging the open river and jetties. But to carry and stand up properly with two ounces of lead, the float had to be MASSIVE.

Seriously, old school. Pelican could, and would kick my ass, sometimes. With his slower drifting, perfectly vertically presented float-rig, to a pack of Trout hunkered down, in deeper water. His two ounce trout lead (sinker) on his float-rig really worked, great. While I was using a one ounce weight, and a float that I "trialed and error'd" with, till I got it exactly right. Because I wanted a smaller float. And didn't like that telephone pole. It took away from the fight of the fish, I felt.

So what's the correct weight? It's actually a personal preference. But, according to today's high tech float manufactures, and those super float-riggers in the Pac-Norwest. The float, should be held at least half way under water, if not three quarters underwater when perfectly weighted. It's all about presentation of the bait, really. No matter if it's a half ounce, one ounce or a 2 ounce trout lead you're using.

So what did I find as I started to look outside of J-ville, for something better than ole Pelican's Telephone pole floats?

I found the Salmon Stalker float, made by Premier Plastics. And distributed by Cabela's.

I eventually even talked to the designer on the phone a few times.  While Premier just makes them. They contract a designer/engineer, to come up with all the particulars. And this is the man I talked too. Interesting fella, with a really cool job.

R&D, is what he did with tackle, lures and of course floats. I love R&D. It's also what I like to do. And I thought I found my "end all" to the telephone pole and two ounce float problem.

So what was so great about the Salmon Stalker floats? 

First of all, they're EVA foam. Not balsa. With that, they are smaller, not as long as Pelican telephone pole floats. BUT...can hold a two ounce Trout lead (sinker), and are less than, half the size. Not something Pelican approved of. He liked being able to see his float easily. Which I could understand for a "blind man". But really all he needed was GLASSES!

Foam, floats higher than balsa wood. PLUS, they come "weight rated". YES, weight rated. No more experimenting, with a handful of Trout leads to find the best weight for a particular float. Or more like, which is the actual way of doing it; finding the right float size for a particular size weight.

I wanted to use a two ounce, like Pelican. But refused to use a float so big and clumsy.

And NOW, I found the answer. Just order a two ounce Salmon Stalker, and it's ready to go with my two ounce trout lead. No more fussing around.

You'd think, this would become a tackle trend. When manufactures make their pole/slip floats. All they have to do is one extra step and see what is the best weight is, or max weight for a particular float.

But Noooo, today you'll walk into tackle shops and see a line of floats, usually Billy Boys, by Betts, and a line of different torpedo shaped trout lead sinkers, with a swivel attached on one end, that are used with the float-rig. And still have no clue what weight goes with what float!

But that same company (Betts)  has finally jumped on the band-wagon, and now has float floats, too!

But come on, step out of the dark ages Betts. Not including a weight rating is like building a dump truck, but never telling you how much dirt it can hold. Do I have to fill it up with dirt, measure the yardage, blow out the tires, or spill it all over the highway, when the truck rolls over?

I know, that's a radical comparison, but you get my point.

I have stood in B&M bait and tackle on a Saturday talking to someone about float-rigging for Trout, walked over to the Betts Billy Boy Balsa floats and we had to make an educated guess at what float goes exactly for what trout lead sinker. Everyone agrees, they should tell you on the package!

Pacific North West style floats, DO tell you what weight to use. And even though some have joined in on the foam slip float revolution. Maybe they'll read this and tell their customers what's the best weight to use.......probably, NOT.

I've come along way in my research on floats,  and float-rigging for all fish that eat live shrimp, down yonder here in Jacksonville, Florida.

I don't even use Salmon Stalker floats any more. I've R&D'd myself right on to another style of slip float. Finding an even smaller, more buoyant foam float, than the Salmon Stalkers.

The Salmon Stalker brand floats are EVA foam. The same stuff that the grips are made of on my Shakespeare Ugly Stik Float-rigging rods. Although it floats better than the balsa types, it's still a bit heavy. Because of the EVA density. And when trying my best to "get away" with using the lightest action rods I can with two ounces of lead. I don't want additional weight of any kind, on my rod tips.

Yeah........I'm that ANAL.  But remember, I'm successful also. So being a real picky float fisherman, lead me on another search.

So, now I'm using some "hand-made" floats that weigh, hardly anything. While made out of a different kind of foam, (You'll have to fish aboard the Jettywolf to see and use them.)  They're still a bit of a "trade secret", right now. So don't bother asking.  Maybe later, I can let the "float outa the bag...."

Now, remember I was discussing super braid line? Well another reason to use it for float-rig fishing is because it floats on the surface. Hence, it floats with your float.

Mono eventually sinks. And with today's super braid lines, it makes complete sense, to NOT have line that sinks.

Wanna know another big positive with super braid line and float-rig fishing? You'll never have your reel line break, when busting out of a snag.

Yep, if you use super braid, and get your float-rig hook stuck in structure, just pop it off, and tie on another hook and your back in business. And even when using a heavier leader material off your trout lead sinker, going to your "horn hooked" live shrimp. You'll be able to break the mono off, because the super braid won't snap.

But still, you should be using a sacrificial length of leader. Light in poundage. No more than 20 pound mono. I'm spooled up with 30 pound super braid line, and it's plenty strong. To pop off a hung hook.

Another nice thing about the ultra thin super braid line is that 30 pound braid, is the diameter of 8 pound mono. So it's given me the opportunity to use small, light weight, ultra high speed retrieve, low profile reels.


Holding anywhere from 180 to 220 yards of 30 pound super braid line. No fish, I want to catch will take all that line out! And today's low profile reels like the Shimano's all have easily adjustable weights  on the end of the spool, so I don't have to worry about whicked backlashes anymore, from the beginners on my boat. I have the reels adjusted to not backlash via the wonderful adjustments these reels afford.    

So, there ya have it. That's what I love about float-rig fishing. It's so much more than just blindly casting your junk into the water and hoping for a bite.

It's a science. It's research and constant development. Although, I may have have reached the end of the road, as far as a perfect and complete set-up. But ya never know!

I tell my customers all the time while float-riggin', "there's many similarities to fly fishing especially when float-rig fishing,  in good current." It's just that I didn't make the baits (flies) at home on a table.

Momma Nature makes my bait. And it's always, alive.