Sunday, November 25, 2012

11/23 & 24 - Trout Mayhem on the Jettywolf!

THIS IS THE BEST TIME OF YEAR, BAR NONE....ACCORDING TO "ME". And if you're reading my reports. That's all that matters.

Many, many years I have been preaching this. And it seems like this year, people have listened. Evidence that I have been booked for the whole week, except for Thanksgiving day.

Yes, the weather isn't always perfect. But FISHING isn't a perfect endevour. Especially, if the winds blowing and it's cold. Well, I say....."suck it up and let's go catch some GATORS!"

Or you can be like Tim and his son Steve that were aboard the Jettywolf on the #1 day of the entire year. THE DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING DAY.

We departed under skies that were lighting up, and SLICK CALM conditions.





 
 




Departing, we went west. I knew the tide wasn't right yet. But gave it a try on the first spot. FIRST DRIFT of the float-rig and live shrimp.....Steve was hooked up and handed his butt, by a big Redbass that went where ever it wanted with the slack current.
After that, the bait stealer drove us crazy, and we only had enough LIVE shrimp for catching what was on the menu of the day, and that was TROUT!
\
So off to the jetties we went....and it was a parking lot of sheepsheaders as usual. And if they only knew what was swimming under their boats. G-A-T-O-R, Trout!
 
As the tide poured eastward. The games began......
Our LIMIT was 18 Trout.....and none were throw-backs, and everyone was in the "sweetheart" catagory.
Trout up to 24 inches were not uncommon.
 

We finished up and had a three person limit of Trout, and our three Trout over 20" that were allowed. Loads of 18-19" fish, by 12:30pm. And also had one Sheepshead.
 
We decided not to push our luck. And end this glorious day on a high note. So we headed back to the dock. Finishing what I called an EPIC day. And I don't use that term loosely. 
 
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11/24 - Could it happen again??????  YEP!
 
Had Ed & Ron aboard the Jettywolf.
 
Wasting no time up in the river, I headed straight for the Jetty rocks. But in the game of fishing around here. NO DAY is ever like the one before. Local anglers get used to that. You have to always be rigidly flexible!
 
We were WAY........to early on the spot. But because of what I saw yesterday with all the rock dabbers lined up, and it being a bit extra cool, with a NW wind blowing quite stiff. I knew I had my flexiblity challenged, for sure. But I was NOT going to deveate from my plan of attack.
 
Anchoring was a royal pain. Close to the rock we'd be too close, and would get sucked into the rocks. To far out, meant that the NW wind would blow us out too far. So before the tide really started to pour. I was a real cussing machine! If there's one thing that I'm totally sick of, is the tides around here......"been there, done that, got the T-shirt!"
 
I had to change anchors and use my 25 pounder and heavy chain to grab. My 26' boat isn't like a little 15 footer. With total comfort comes some anchoring issues.
 
The fish came rather slowly. Ed banged the first 15 at least......"he and his float became one." He had it down pat, and fast!
 

They weren't all big ones. And we did have a few smaller 14-3/4" Trout today. But most were 16 inches up to Ron's 24 incher.....as he said, "I'm waiting on the BIG ONE, and he wasn't kidding."  He caught the largest of the day. And the heaviest, while hooking a Sea Turtle!
I helped out, working for that LIMIT OF 18 TROUT.......
We had to make a few moves around. Nothing was as EZ as it was yesterday. But we had our 3 person limit, and some throw-backs and one Turtle by 12:45pm.
 
At one time, we all drifted our floats behind the boat. 3 floats all heading away from the boat at the same time. All three floats went down at the same time, and we had a TRIPLE HEADER!
 
Now that doesn't happen all that often. But that quickly sealed the deal on having our limits in the fish box.
 
ANOTHER GREAT DAY WITH A GREAT CREW. WHEN WE'RE CATCHING FISH LIKE THIS. I WOULDN'T TRADE MY JOB FOR ANY OTHER.
 
next up:
 
11/25 - Two hour kids trip
11/29 - two adults, mid week
 
 
I'd be thinking real hard about getting your day booked for December.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Thursday, November 22, 2012

11/19 thru 11/21 - Holiday week, "the start"

I had the whole week booked except for actual "turkey day". A few new customers,  and a few regulars. And will finish up the week on Sunday, with a "two hour Kids Trip", on mid-morning on Sunday.

These are the first three days of reports:

But starting on Monday 11/19, I had Thomas J. and some family. It was cold, and over-cast. Had all kinds of Mill Cove Trout plans after Moose and I had such a nice day up in the cove on last Thursday. But, first we started off with just some FUN fishing. And as it turned out. A Trophy sized "FUN" fish was the first fish caught.

Anchored up on my "CROAKER HOLE". Hoped to see that they were still around. Sue dropped down with some shrimp and was pounded straight away. Photos may not show it as good as real life, but when the "fairy-wand" rod bowed over in the shape of a horse shoe, and she reeled as hard as she could, I was thinking Black Drum, or Redbass!

But, it turned out to be the LARGEST CROAKER of the year, so far.























Here you can see a "normal" Croak'  compared to her, 18 INCH CROAKER!

We remained in the larger Croakers, as the last of the tide ran under the boat. Most of them were way larger than we've caught earlier in the year. I tossed all the largest, into the fish box. Because this made for a good start.

Then, we went into the Cove. And float-fished live shrimp. But we faced cold wind and hardly any current. It was hard to judge, when the tide would pour in here. Because as I moved around, it just never pushed very hard. The crew caught some Trout, but they were all "DINKERS". So we left out, and made a big circle back towards to Croaker hole. Instead I thought.......YELLOWMOUTH TROUT, let's try for them, and maybe pick up a Black Drum too. So we fished the bottom again. It was slow going, and no yellowmouths or Drum. Just more big Croakers.
 
When graced with alot of lemons.....then, let's make Lemonade!  So we finished the cold day filling the box full of big Croaks'.
 
After filleting, skinning and de-boning. The crew did leave for home with a big bag of fish fry fillets. No, it wasn't perfection. But, no one can say they DID'NT catch loads of fish.  This time of year, there's plenty of Hills & Valley's.
 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
On Tueday 11/20 , I had a super fun crew made up of Mike and Ken. Mike was aboard the Jettywolf earlier this year, when it was still hot. And we fished live Mullet for Reds and Flounder on a 1/2 day. But, I told him, about Float-rigging in the winter and fall months. So he brought Ken, from Atlanta Georgia, out this time.
 
As we headed west on the river, we left what looked like all the nasty behind us. Today was gonna be much nicer than yesterday.
 
It was "clearly" Georgia versus Florida.....and as Ken said, "Georgia's beating Florida again, this year!" 
 
Because, no sooner that I showed the guys th how's and why's of float-rig fishing, then Ken slams dunks a five pounder on his first drift of his live shrimp!
 
OH...HOW MIKE WAS REELING WITH ENVY. THAT KEN SLAM DUNKED A BIG FATTY, RIGHT OFF THE "GIT-GO".
But Ken didn't stop there. His next fish was a 31" Redbass!
 

I'm thinking now that Mike, was wishing he didn't brink Ken along......."Georgia", sealed the deal again this year.
But Florida, isn't going down without a fight. So Mike works hard and strikes back! 
Then, in between a few small Trout that were released. The two score a "DOUBLE-HEADER".
And Mike "Florida", strikes back with a sweetheart Trout of his own! 
 
The fish box was looking pretty damn good, by now. And the banter between these guys was hilarious. Mike's florescent "hunters" orange pointy hat, may not have helped?  The fish may have seen him.
 
As we lost our current we moved off and looked around some more. Catching a few small Trout. And then we went and looked at the Jetties. The ride out was "rollie". But we got out past the tip easily. We rounded the end of the south Jetty. And even though there was hardly any wind to speak of, the water was busting over the rocks, North and South Jetty. The water was all dirty. And the wash was foaming, like a washing machine pouring through the rocks.
 
We tried float-rigging a bit, but we never had a bit. So we headed back in the river and tried a few sports as the tide poured in hard and fast.
 
The guys caught more Trout, but they were small, and a few good sized Bluefish up in shallow water. But it was clear, the falling tide in the morning is where it's at, this week.  
 
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Wednesday, 11/22, I had a regular customer that has never ever had a bad day with me aboard the Jettywolf. As a matter of fact, we've had some days together that were absolutely amazing. Be it in the fall or the spring time. And I look forward to having Bob "the traveller" Johnson aboard every time he calls or emails me, that he's coming. 
 
We've had days at the jetties and days up in the river that rival some of the most exciting days I have when I'm out by myself, even. Because Bob knows what he's doing. And is a good fisherman.
 
So it was just him and I this morning. Again, fishing the jetties was completely out of the question. No sense fighting that water out there. And like yesterday, we're gonna get a "WINDOW" of opportunity to catch some big fat Trout, and that's gonna be GO-TIME, for us. No messing around. I've seen what it's like this week so far. Time to have all your tricks in one sack!
 
We got on the spot. And had to wait a little....or at least the fish would have us waiting till when they were ready. Of course we were float-rig fishing. For Trout & Redbass.
 
Like yesterday, the Trout were all "sweethearts". Solid fatties. With today's best measuring in at 22 inches. Of course, I fish along with Bob, and I think I put the first Trout in the fish box, at 18 inches. But, I don't take photos of myself. I do plenty of that!
 
But Bob starts the day with a nice Redbass that measures in at exactly 27 inches, tail pinched.
 

 
Perfect "box" Red. And a great fight.
 
We keep fishing.....but the damn bait stealers seem to be a bit more on to us, today. That's one thing no matter what the season, how cold the water can be, we have no lack of. The Pinfish were doing alot of eating....."which is my soul complaint, about the fishing in the St. Johns river. TOO MANY, Pinfish!"  If only they had a "bounty" on their heads. There wouldn't be a pinfish, left in the whole river!  And the little Mangrove Snappers, wouldn't leave our shrimp alone either.
 
Bob caught a Trout that had a big hard thing in it's belly. You can see how thick the belly of the Trout is here in this photo. I told him, "when we clean fish, we'll see whatever that is, it ate."
 

We had a nice box of fatty Trout going.....
And before the current completely died off, I had another spot I wanted to try out. A big Trout spot. So we ran there. We both worked it hard. And never got a Trout bite! Then we moved over to another spot, I picked up a 15 incher. "Hmmmmm, that was depressing!"  I made a decent run, and there was just no action in this area.
 
When the tide turned. Here came the 20 knot North East Winds. It was like a light switch. The tide turned, the atmosphere changed, and the cold wind blew. All the while the green ocean water, high tide poured in.
 
So we looked around and hid against the north bank in shallow water. Literally trying a new to me, spot. We worked a range marker. I was thinking that the vertical structure would have some fish hanging around it. And it did......But they were all small Trout, with maybe one keeper in the mix. I pitched a jig and Bob worked the float-rig. And the litl Trout liked the jig, more.
 
We worked hard at it. Bob never says, NEVER....he stays hard at it all day long. "I LIKE THAT!"
 
So as the tide got high. We went back and cleaned our pile of Trout and Redbass. Bob brought his boat down from N.C. So I'll probably bump into him on my next set of three days......
 
Here's what Bob's big Trout had eaten:
A 6 inch Croaker was in it's stomach.
And it still took the live shrimp...."True Predators"
 
 
I start up again on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. And then, on Thursday.
 
MORE REPORTS COMING!    
 
 

Saturday, November 17, 2012

11/17 - Much going on....

Just an FYI......


"CHECK OUT THE JACKSONVILLE OFFSHORE SPORT FISHING CLUB PAGE "link"


t















The next meeting directions, menu, etc "link".

-as it says you don't have to be a member of the club to enjoy the free dinner at 7'ish pm and the free seminars!
 That's 100% true. So C'mon by.

If you know me, then you know your first member!

Friday, November 16, 2012

11/16 - still out there....

My 40 minutes of fame? And it's still out there...Wow.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bennet-Marine-Inshore-Sportfishing-For-Redfish-/230881941779?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35c1a2d913

 Actually it was 80 plus minutes. Because I did two complete videos.

Just thinking about it. I did these before "super braid" lines were popular, I was still using mono. I was fishing my own 23' MayCraft, and the dealer provided 22' Seachaser bay Boats, I ran at 6-9 month intervals before they were sold, and then I picked up a new one. I learned Trolling motors (at least back then) constantly broke! And that no matter what, customers hardly ever stood up on the front deck with me as I ran that trolling motor.....why? I never figured out. No sea-legs I guess.

Now, I look back on it, and have learned alot. And even though it took a year to get both videos I did completed. I would have done it differently today.

I didn't even own or thought I'd have a water-proof video camera on the boat, and didn't even know what having a Youtube channel meant.

Time sure does fly....huh?

11/15 - LOVED IT!

And Moose did too!

Had regular customer Moose C. aboard today, for a impromptu TROUT TRACKIN TRIP....I'm liking those. The weather at the dock wasn't Good by no means this morning. The wind was howling, the air was cold and foggy.












And I had  NO PLANS at all, of fighting the conditions at the Jetties. Moose loves float-rigging the big rocks, as I do. But no sense fighting Momma Nature......"let's co-habitate, while we search for the Speckley Bastards."  The Pilot station flag was at FULL ATTENTION. Which said to me. "Jetties?....no way!"
 

As soon as Moose boots hit the deck, we were off. My plan was to stay out of the wind and use the "astronomical tide height" to my advantage, today. So we started off, with what I called the SHALLOW WATER FISHING TOUR.

First spot. Not 5 minutes away. But the wind direction was hitting us all wrong. So, we kept moving......

And in the next 5 spots we went too, the boat was in nothing more than 2-4 feet, and we were in Trout all day long! Yes, the water was high enough, that the 26' Jettywolf played "flats skiff", as we anchored up in water less deep than my anchor chain is long.

But that's where they were. Plus it was super pleasant. We were out of the North winds. On slick calm waters, fishing flooded grass edges and submerged shell and sand bars.

Not all the Trout were perfect keepers. But between us both there was no less than 20 caught, in the 14" to 22" range.
Had one Redbass on that broke Moose off. Caught a small pupper Red, along with a 23" Red. And a average Flounder.
 

All on the float-rig drifting live shrimp along the natural structures.
 

As the tide turned and headed the other direction finally, we worked a few river spots. And then hit the Croaker hole for some quick bottom fishing with just dead shrimp....."and yep, the B-I-G twelve inch and larger Croaks were still there!"
 
Along with masses of tiny Mangrove Snappers, which are always a pain in the ass. So after a handful of B-I-G Croakers, we packed it in and headed back to the dock for fish cleaning.
It was a fun day, and a different day. I actually enjoy these mega-high tides!! As long as I have one or two people, and we can get real versatile, like today.
 
NEXT UP:
 
Starting Monday-3 people, Tuesday- 2 people, Weds.- one person, Friday-3 people, Saturday-2 people.
 
Only day left open is Next Sunday.
 
-reports will be batched together as I can do them.
 
RIGHT NOW IS TIME TO BOOK DECEMBER DATES... 


Wednesday, November 14, 2012

11/14 - what I did today...



-Needed just two more Shakespeare Ugly Stik 7' Med. Light "Striper rods". Can't find them in all of Jacksonville Florida. So instead of ordering them from Bass Pro, or Shakespeare themselves. I went and got them!

You'd think my arsenal is complete. But it wasn't. I was lacking just two of these. The rods I refer to as my "fairy wand" rods. So much fun fishing with and doubling over on huge fish.

Because.....THEY DON'T BREAK!!! 

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

11/12 - Veterans Day

Skirted the rain all day...."Veterans Day". That was one seriously HIGH Tide. Lumber, branches, grass islands, floating down the river that came off the shoreline.
 
Beloved "JETTIES", a no-go!
But, I had fun with with my litl' fishin' "gem" catching Croakers, Yellowmouth, Whiting, Seabass, a 2' Eel, and a few rocks., along with her Mom Erica and grandpa' Harold.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
No serious gamefish to talk about. But literally a hundred Yellowmouth Trout (small ones) kept everyone catching, on not such of a great moon / tide day.
 
Tried TWICE, to get near the Jetties. In the morning the headed straight for the Big Rocks, and the tide was flooding over them, creating a super washing machine. Water didn't know what way to go. Slop & chop the whole way out...sort of. Navigating the nastiness to at least see the tips, wasn't good. Then, later in the day on the fsalling tide. "Ya know it's gonna be bad when the 3 foot swell coming in the rocks starts along Hugonaut park on the N. side of the river." We went and looked. And it was a "no-way!"
 
The little Jetty rocks is about the only place we could fish with light tackle. Kept 12 fish all day. Whiting,  two 15" Yellowmouths, and some Croakers. At the little Jetties the small 12-13" Yellomouth Trout were nuts. Hit the bottom with cut bait or shrimp and just set the hook! Hundred of them, No Problem!  They were so thick we saw a guy behind us with a three hook rig catching 3 at a time....like B-liners off-shore!
 
No Super Gamefish, no matter where we fished. Ya' think you'd bump a shrimp past a Drum, a Speck, or a Redbass at least along the structure??? 
 
But that's Bazzaro world Jax! 

Sunday, November 11, 2012

11/10 - One Tough Day

After re-scheduling two times because of winds before Hurricane Sandy, then winds after Hurricane Sandy, Jay and I settled for a Saturday. Originally, we were striving for a Monday. Weekends suck. Then, there's these weekends with tournaments going on, which really double suck!

Went from Thursday's video of a great float-rig Trout fishing day, with lots of action. To today's NO action on the float-rigs and No Trout to speak of.

Except for the one 12 incher I caught showing the guys how to float-rig fish this morning, and then the 4- 14 inchers, and one 16" Yellowmouth, I caught at the last spot of the day. For some reason neither Jay or Justin connected with a single Trout.

We bottom fished at the Jetties too. Inside the rocks the current was so strong a 6 ounce sinker wouldn't touch the bottom. So we went outside the jetties.

It was slow going, but we caught Whiting to 15 inches. I told Jay and Justin, my hardy crew of two that "Elephants Eat Peanuts", and that I don't fish any special baits for big Redfish when it comes November.

















"LANE SNAPPER"

I just use fresh pieces of dead shrimp. Because I want to catch the Whiting, the Yellowmouth Trout, the Black Drum, the Sheepshead when bottom fishing.......along with the BIG REDS!

Yep, I hooked up a big Red, and handed the rod to Jay. The fish ran, but got off!  Then, 20 minutes later Justin hooks up on a big Red....same deal it runs and comes off.

WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THIS DAY?????  IT'S AS IF WE CAN'T WIN A "COLD"!

A few more Whiting, and then Justin hooks up again. This time the fish stays on the 2/0 Matzuo sickle bend deadly sharp hook. With no real current pushing, and vertical fishing with 2 ounces on. These three fish never even knew they were hooked till you start pulling on them, and with no current pushing, they can go any direction they want......

Justins fish ran under the boat. I had him drop 3/4's of the length of his rod into the water and keep it there. Should have gotten a photo of him doubled over, rod down in the water, holding on for all he had. Trying not to loose this one.

Jay pulled the anchor a bit, I started the Honda and swung the boat. Then we finally saw the wild fish. And Justin brought it boatside.





















18 pounder. One of three we hooked up. Finally a big fish, in the boat.

One thing I have learned over the course of my years Jetty fishing on weekends. "Go where it's the roughest, if you don't want people fishing around you. And you won't have to worry about other boats parking on top of you." 

We sat basically by ourselves over on the choppy Northside, which was good. It was "JETTYWOLF" territory. Cause she can handle it, no problem!

We moved and tried to fish the inside the jetties, but there were boats lined up and in the way, so I just anchored and all the bites were Croakers. Then we went back to float-rig fishing......that was futile. Coupled with no current on one spot, and I-95 weekender boat traffic on another. We moved again and that's when I caught 4 small Trout and a yellowmouth, while no one else hooked up anything.

So we packed it in to go clean a dozen Whiting and two Yellowmouth Trout.

I believe, the difference between THURSDAY and TODAY was this:
NEW MOON - 11/13/2012
 
The tides were a bit wacky.....

Friday, November 9, 2012

11/9 - Really Dumb...and I'm putting it nicely.

A Basketball game on a aircraft carrier on Mayport Navy Base, and open to the public.















Navy-Marine Corps Classic
11/9/2012
Naval Station Mayport
Witness the University of Florida Gators take on the Georgetown Hoyas on November 9, 2012 at Naval Station Mayport. The nationally televised basketball game, organized by the City of Jacksonville, will be held in conjunction with the Thursday, November 8 Jacksonville Jaguars football game against the Indianapolis Colts as a part of Military Appreciation Week on November 5-12, 2012.

Are you kidding me????

And at the same exact time. You and I CAN'T fish along the rocks that are along the bank of "OUR" St. Johns River. Not the Navy's St. Johns River.  We have to remain 380' off the bank, which puts you in the channel to get run over by a 500 plus foot ship or giant Tug Boat.

I've had the link on the sidebar of this blog for at least a year now. Discribing what the Navy has done to YOU and ME as local anglers. Personally, I feel as if they came to my house and literally stole tackle from me. Because it effected my Charter Business. The more "shoreline" I loose, the less places I have to find my clients fish.

Yep, here's where we can't fish any longer, and where the public can watch a B-ball game......"stupid". 
 


 Really.....as the ole Military saying goes, "Do as I say not as I do"

11/8 - GREAT DAY, two float freaks at it again.



IT'S "GO-TIME"....904-642-9546 8am-8pm eastern time to reserve.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

11/6 - Weathered OUT!

Got to boat ramp this morning and the rain was falling pretty damn good. And the wind was blowing pretty damn good too.

SMALL CRAFT EXERCISE CAUTION
TODAY
NORTH WINDS 15 TO 20 KNOTS. SEAS 3 TO 5 FEET. INLAND
WATERS A MODERATE CHOP. SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS.

Knew Dave and his two sons who I had yesterday and was supoosed to have today didn't have complete foul weather gear. And we were just doing a 1/2 day trip, so they could get to the airport this afternoon.

So we cancelled it.

BUT. Of course by 9:30-10:00am it was back to really nice again.

Open this week till Saturday. The Drum are a chewin.....14"-24"  (5) per person!

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

Everything is usually perspective, especially on ELECTION DAY. Well, here's some perspective for ya!

Some people think the Mayport Jetties, is rough fishing. I believe the girl hanging on for dear life is saying to herself,
"Oh I think I jus' stained my new Bikini bottom"


















Reminders:

When reserving any charter from Oct. 1 till at least April 30th.

I reccomend, very strongly:

* of course a $100 deposit has to be made in advance.
* cash balances are near mandatory....unless you want to loose 10% if I have to credit you due to a cancellation.
* remember, "charters over!" when I throw a dock-line around the dock cleat.
* so...."any fish cleaning is done on a gratuity basis" 10% of charter fee is good, for cleaning alot. Fish cleaning is NOT included in charter rates.
* Typically boat and I receive $50 an hour. And fish cleaning has to be done on the boat = a mess!
* always READ my policies, and they are even posted here along the right "side bar". 
* ALWAYS be 15 minutes early, stated time of departure means pulling away from dock, not into the parking lot.
* Bring foul weather clothing, just incase! And leave a cooler in vehicle, if you choose to clean your own fish.
* "less is more" when it comes to light tackle Float-rigging. Best day is (2) persons, because I have two sides of the boat.


Monday, November 5, 2012

11/5 - Back again.....

Had Dave Z. aboard the Jettywolf  spring of 2011. And he came back again, and brought his two sons from Los Angeles California.

We departed at 7am and headed straight to the Jetties. I was rigged and ready for Float-rig fishing, and  bottom fishing. Well the bottom fishing was what worked.



















Yellowmouth Trout, Croakers, Whiting, a small Blacktip Shark, and a just over sized Redbass were caught at first...not to forget a monster Toadfish, and even a 2 foot long eel!


We moved around a bit looking for an even  better bite. So with that said, we found the Black Drum, and a 20 pound Redbass.
Perfect eater sized Black Drum.
Second Redbass on just a piece of dead shrimp! No special baits needed. Not this time of year!
Smoked the Shimano TRN-100G reel and bent the Ugly Stik "stiper rod". Jessies arm was hurting.
We ended the bottom fishing (so I thought) on a good note and a big azz fish. So we packed up the bottom rods and tried a few float-rig spots for Trout. Between the 2 areas, all that was caught was one Jack Crevalle, by Dad, Dave.
 
It was a rising tide and it was flooding in pretty fast, and I didn't want to waste time searching around especially at high water, for a trout bite. So we packed in the Float-rigs and live shrimp and went back to bottom fishing. A few more small fish were caught, and then another Black Drum came aboard (no photo). With the high water, a box of good eater fish, we packed it in so I could clean up the fish and the guys could head over to Singleton's Seafood Shack for a late lunch.
 
It was nice and cool out there. The winds weren't light,  out of the north. But work'able.
 
Now I have the same crew tomarrow. I still have a livewell full of shrimp. So we may have to head into the river and hunt up some Trout and Reds float-rig fishing.
 
The Marine forecast is:
 
TUESDAY
NORTH WINDS 15 TO 20 KNOTS. SEAS 3 TO 5 FEET. INLAND
WATERS A MODERATE CHOP. SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS.
 
The "could be 20 knots" is a good reason to head in the river and look for a Trout bite, with an early morning falling tide. 

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Let's Re-interate, once again



Its that time of year again. And I'm getting e-mails "again", about Float-rig set up.
Well, this video has been on my YOUTUBE channel a long time....Yes, I even used YOUTUBE to learn how to fix my dryer a few months ago. USE IT. Its a great resource!

MY CHANNEL- link

From 11/1 - short & messy, Solo Redbass mayhem



11/1/2012 -  My camera battery was low, my memory card was full, the camera angle was too low. I got Trout footage, but it was crap. This is all I could salvage from Thursday, after 7 days of Sandy's wind! In the midst of all out Jetty fishing mayhem, and being out solo. Video'ing wasn't easy. This is all I could salvage.

SEE REPORT BELOW FROM 11/1

Saturday, November 3, 2012

11/2- Two "float freaks" at it

My buddy and fellow float fishing freak is back in town, for the winter, Doc Miller. After yesterday's solo trip I called him and said "Doc, where are you because if you're not here in J-ville you need to be!"

He said, "I'm here. I'm getting my boat bottom painted and maintenance done." I tell him that we have to go tomarrow. I was just out float-rig fishing and it was a blast, plus I dropped to the bottom and had massive action on just dead shrimp and cut mullet.

Well, he couldn't say no. So we headed out around 8:00am and worked the same area I had fished the day before.
That right there was a Jacksonville fishing, "too much to ask" situation going on!



It was also, "In and out" constant Navy traffic all day long!

































After all my years fishing the Jetties I should always know better. NOTHING around here can be repeated the next day. Especially when Trout are concerned!  It's a J-ville phenomenom.

But, we did pull a pupper Redbass and one really nice Trout out of the same spot......"But certainly not 30 Trout and 2 limits in an hour and a half!"

But we tried....and tried.



 
So we moved on, because when fishing around here. You fish "windows of opportunity". Because that's all you get. If you fish here and haven't realized that yet. Oh boy, you need to put more water under your boat.

-SAY HELLO TO MY LITL REDBASS.......

Moving quickly and with purpose we dropped anchor on a different spot but in the same zip code. First drift of the float Doc sweeps his float-rog rod and sets the hook on a good fish. A Redbass!
My turn, and I come back with the seasons first float-rig caught Sheepshead.

We repeated the hook-ups back and forth for about an hour (the window) catching Reds and Trout back and forth. Big Red, small Reds, but sweetheart sized trout. (it's always about the Trout.....the thinkin man's perfect fish)

After the first hour though, it all quit. (Window over!) But it was amazing. The current was still running, but all of a sudden, the reds quit and the Trout went to 14 inches, versus 17-20 inches. I caught a left-over Jack Crevalle too.

I saw my third Tripletail swim by in the last two days, never stopping just swimming straight south.

We made a few more moves and all the windows of this tide were over, so we caught a Piggy Perch on the bottom and used it for cut bait and filled the cracks in the fish box with Yellowmouth Trout. And then we headed in. I had fish to clean and get ready for Saturday morning.

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I had a Saturday charter 11/3

Had regular customer Erica with her two daughters out today and her daughters best friend. We fished the jetties and the kids had a ball catching Croakers, Whiting, Yellowmouth Trout, and they had two big Reds hooked up, that eventually pulled the hook. Yes, the big Reds usually aren't for the first timers, that are young girls. But heck they had the feel of them. We filled the box with fish fry fish and everyone by days end was laying down sleeping, while Erica and I did some drifts for Whiting far from the jetties. But most were really small. 

NEXT UP: 3 guys on Monday & Tuesday. Same crew for 2 days. 

BOOK YOUR DAY NOW!

Friday, November 2, 2012

NOVEMBER 1 - INSANITY

I received a comment posted from someone....."no name was given", about Trout in Mayport. On the post I did about being stir crazy with this weather.

OH YEAH!
I'M ON TOP OF IT.

It was pure insanity today. Upon the Jettywolf, doing R&D for up coming charters. I did make a video, but have no time to spend hours editing it till maybe Weds.......or Sunday.

So I'll just throw up this report:

West winds were quite HARD (15 kts) and in my book WEST is the worst! I hate a west wind....and can't even fish a east wind, most of the time. But I faired okay.

Trout limit to 4 pounds by 9:30am, started fishing around 8:00am. Had to find them first, but once I did, easily caught 30- 40 fish, a 27" Redbass, and a 17-3/4" Redbass, and had a few Yellowmouth Trout too. And one Mangrove Snapper at 11".

Then, as the tide turned I moved locales. Got in position for some EZ drop shrimp (dead) to the bottom. Yellowmouth Trout, Croakers, more Specks, and even had a nice pupper Black Drum. The bite was crazy, fun.

Then it happened, the anchor slipped. So I pulled it and looked carefully around where I was fishing. "I could mark the giant Reds on the bottom, they were all over!"

I re-positioned, fired down a piece of dead shrimp and that's when a 20+ pound Redbass sucked it up. I was fishing my super Fairy Wand rod, it doubled over and of course, this wasn't what I was wanting, by no means.

Afterwards, waves of Mullet and pods of Pogies were all around me. I caught some Mullet super easily, and tried a few.

Two Thursdays ago it was wild fishing in this same spot, with Yellowmouths 12-14" eating 3-4" Mullet, along with small 14" Specks, and of course hundreds of pounds of Redbass.....Hurricane Sandy didn't change any of that!

I caught small Specks and Yellowmouth Trout on the live Mullet, again. And then, FOUR more 20-25 pound Reds on the ole Fairy-wand Ugly Stik. What an ass kicking it was on the mega-light rod.

(SEE VIDEO ABOVE IN 11/4 REPORT)

It was insane, light tackle "solo" fishing.

I was all alone, not a soul around and I was wacking fish like crazy! Filling the fish box, and having a ball.

UP COMING PRE-BOOKED, CHARTERS:

Saturday, and then a "double day" with the same folks on Monday and Tuesday.

Just wish I took photos rather than doing a video. Video's take forever to edit and get done. And after reviewing what I had, the camera angle was wrong 1/2 the time and doing video's in the midst of a EPIC bite of fish had me loose some, too.

I'M ADDICTED TO TROUT. So, this morning Doc Miller, who's back in town and myself are heading out to go wack us a few limits of Specks and come home. He's been up in N.C. all summer, so he's ready. Another limit for the freezer is what I have in mind.

BOOK YOUR DAYS NOW. I have some days left in the middle of the month, and the very end.

NOVEMBER IS THE #1 MONTH OF THE YEAR IN MY BOOK. NO SWEATING, JUST FISHING.