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Fishing Reports for Local Area - Location |
    
Ron Schurr (Captronschurr)
New member
Username: Captronschurr
Post Number: 1
Registered: 10-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, October 29, 2009 - 10:44 am: | |
The fall flounder run has kicked into high gear along the inland waters of Northeast Florida. Although the water temperature has only dropped a few degrees flounder are making there yearly October and November migration. Last week, our fishing club, Florida Lure Anglers held a catch and release tournament. The format for the event was 5 flounder per boat, lures only. Catching a couple flounder on artificial lures can be challenging, but landing a 5 fish limit can seem unlikely. When the dust finally cleared, 20 boats out of 60 weighed five flounder, and a total of 145 flatties were released. That's pretty impressive.
Right now the fish are not stacked up as they normally would be along deepwater riprap structures and docks along the Mayport section of the St Johns River. The better numbers and sizes of flounder are being reported in depths less than 8 feet along shallow mudflats, creek mouths and pockets along and off of the river and Intracoastal Waterway. One of the nice things about targeting flounder is that you don't need an assortment of lures. Top flounder lures are spinner baits, buck tail jigs and 1/16th oz to ½ oz jigs with tube lures, or gulp curly tail grubs. Flounder lay on the bottom waiting to ambush a passing mullet or minnow, so constant contact with the bottom is obviously a must. Spinner baits have become one of the "go to" lures with anglers in the last few years. The blades flash and vibration created by the lure trigger reaction strikes and allow one to cover a lot of water.
First place finisher Chuck Delingher scored this doormat on a Slayer Inc spinner bait.
Speckled Trout and Yellowmouth trout are also all over the main waterway's, especially from the Dames Point Bridge to south of downtown Jacksonville. Schools of mullet are on the move which means catching big gator trout on top water plugs. I recently discovered a couple of fantastic top water lures made by Tsunami. Both the Popper and Walking Minnow have accounted for double digit catches of specks each trip along with numerous explosions that will leave your knees shaking.
Redfish, which are my favorite, have pushed into the feeder creeks and backwater bays following the mullet and shrimp. I have been having a blast catching reds on Cajun Thunder popping floats tipped with 3" Berkley Gulp Shrimp on a small jig head. I have found the first few hours of the falling tide, as the mullet start to flush out of creeks, to be the best for slinging these floats. The best locations are bays and pockets with broken patches of Spartina grass and feeder creeks. The loud clack and pop created by the brass beads will draw in redfish from a long distance looking for an easy meal. It becomes somewhat addictive to anticipate the strike and watch the float disappear followed by a drag burning run of a 10lb redfish. It's not uncommon to catch a dozen or more upper slot fish while working one bay or shoreline. As mentioned above spinner baits and top water plugs also are a requirement for this high water fishing which will last through November. The fall and winter months are the best times for outstanding inshore fishing in the Jacksonville, St Augustine and Amelia Island waters. |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 103
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, October 22, 2009 - 12:00 pm: | |
CAPT DAVE SIPLER'S SPORT FISHING
JACKSONVILLE-AMELIA ISLAND FLORIDA
WWW.CAPTDAVES.COM
904-642-9546
10/19 & 20 - WEATHER CHANGE
Left out on Monday with Nick W. and it was "freezing". Don't know how cold it was, But it was cold enough that I had the heavy woolies on all day long. But that's not a bad thing. I wanted it and and I like it, though. Change is GOOD.
THE WIND....now that was another story!
Our faces were beat red, from the suns glare and wind. But we didn't see much sun till almost noon.
By days end it had to be gusting over 20 knots out of the NNE. And made for a serious struggle all day long. Anchoring was a real pain, and staying anchored was even tougher on many hard bottom spots. Then, the current of the New Moon was a real blaster. But we prevailed.
The big fish was a 23 inch Trout, that I caught. We worked from down river to the Mayport area. And later in the day we poked our way close enough to the jetties to see the North rocks being washed over with white water coming from the ocean side.
Here's a few pics of the day.
PHOTO:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_okZdJQGaVBo/St71EZp4NyI/AAAAAAAAFX4/ZQjr6GTQpJw/s320/10-19-1.gif
(yeah, two jackets, fleece pants!!)
We caught lots of "short" Trout, Yellowmouths, Mangroves, and a Flounder. Just enough for two fish fries for Nick and I. So when I got home. I fried up a few pounds of fish.
Not all that bad of a day for the first real cold morning of 2009 fall.
So at the end of the day I called George M. My charter for Tuesday. I wanted to warn him of the possible cold weather. I'd hate to see him show up in shorts and a T-shirt if it was going to be like this.
I didn't know, that on Tuesday the weather would change...more like the temp would change. But the wind was still going to be a factor.
PHOTOS:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_okZdJQGaVBo/St71XQ7_rHI/AAAAAAAAFYA/6zlm1mjf2a8/s320/10-19-22.gif
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_okZdJQGaVBo/St71iASn-hI/AAAAAAAAFYI/B_mu97qiVzE/s320/10-19-33.gif
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_okZdJQGaVBo/St71sIa4XyI/AAAAAAAAFYQ/buOiqJXwP4U/s320/10-19-44.gif
10/20
So George was nice and early at the dock....I like that. And we took off on Tuesday right on time.
Just like Monday, the incoming tide and NE wind made for a real K.O.D - "kiss of death" morning.
We tried all the way past the Dames Point area. Working spots for a bite here and a bite there. On a real old Trout spot that I don't hit very often, I told George. "I come here to get my butt handed to me", it's usually Trout if you have good current. But working dock piling that are really close together mans "Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!!" if a big fish takes your live shrimp.
And that's just what happened to me. I drifted my float-rig up against a concrete piling close to shore and BAM...I was hooked up to something I couldn't stop. My float rod bent in the shape of a horse shoe as I reeled and pulled as hard as I could. Fish off! And when I reeled in to inspect the damage. George and I stared at a straightened out hook. Oh well, it's not like I didn't expect it. No other bites, so we moved on.
We caught a few Mangroves, Croakers and Yellowmouth Trout. Sheepshead. Bottom fished a spot for awhile looking for a Big Red for George, while waiting for the tide to turn.
Then, after it did we got into a few Specks, but they were small. The wind was really blowing now. At least 15-20. But we stuck it out.
Did I mention, it wasn't as cold either. I was back to shorts and a sweatshirt. Now this is what I like. Cooler, without the BURN.
We boxed a few Specks, a Sheepshead, some Mangroves and just before the current sort of died on the spot we were on George hooked into something massive. Drag burning runs, and heavy.
PHOTO:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_okZdJQGaVBo/St8AxbYnSII/AAAAAAAAFZg/mt-CowQI1wM/s320/10-20-1.gif
It was a Redbass. And a big one on the light Ugly Stik Striper rod. I pleaded with George to take it easy on the fish, no heavy drag and reel down and ease up on it. This is the fish of the day, so we don't want to loose it.
George was all smiles!
PHOTO:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_okZdJQGaVBo/St76n15teQI/AAAAAAAAFYY/rsdZatVr8So/s320/10-20-2.gif
And after he finally got it to the boat it turned out to be a super nice fish on Light Tackle.
A 33 inch Redbass. And on the float-rig with a #6 hook and out of deep water!
PHOTO:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_okZdJQGaVBo/St79GmBdOtI/AAAAAAAAFZI/Xm9vJx5Vkgw/s320/10-20-3.gif
I brought some fried Trout with me today, and let George have a few tastes. Even cold the fish is great. I gave him my simple procedure of how to fry fish up, and he was all about wanting to give it a try this evening.
PHOTO:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_okZdJQGaVBo/St8AHy1dOUI/AAAAAAAAFZY/56nHqpWqHH4/s320/10-20-4.gif
So, I got a email from George just before I sat down to write this report and it read:
"Thanks for a great day. We had the most amazingly delicious, epic fish fry tonight - it was awesome!!!"
 |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 102
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, October 22, 2009 - 11:52 am: | |
CAPT DAVE SIPLER'S SPORT FISHING
JACKSONVILLE-AMELIA ISLAND FLORIDA
904-642-9546
WWW.CAPTDAVES.COM
10/13 - deep water T-routz
Had Nick W. on board with me today. We departed at 8am. And tried to float-rig fish within a mile of the boat ramp..."just checking to see if the fish think it's fall yet."
Tried two spots and the only thing we came up with was Nick getting slam dunked along some rocks by a "ass hander" which remained un-seen. And lost hook after hook from vicious strikes, that Nick said, as we started wondering "what the hell...." "Dave could these be Spanish Mac's?"
I said yeah, I bet they are. Because the float would go down with super speed, and no connection. Just lost hooks, via those small razor like teeth of the Spanish Mac's.
Oh did I mention the wind? It was blowing pretty good, overcast, zero sun shine, and yes "a lot more comfortable that the average October 2009 day, so far."
We were after one thing. Okay three things....
A box O' TROUT. We'd certainly take Flounder. And a brawl with a Redbass on the Float rig. Not much to ask for on a iffy weather morning.
But that's why I do what I do. I counted no less than 4-5 boats turn around that were heading offshore. And that included Capt Scott's 70' party boat!
Photo:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_okZdJQGaVBo/StUuZlX1doI/AAAAAAAAFWw/XW2ns5bMhlI/s320/10-13-1.gif
That's why I have zero interest in offshore fishing. I went through all that for years with charters. And didn't care for it. And never looked back. No one has to worry about me crowding them on the reefs, that's for sure. Today, Nick and I were fishing, not catching, but fishing within 5 minutes after letting go the dock lines.
So after finding out that either the tide wasn't low enough, and the only willing fish smiling on our very sprightly live shrimp had too many teeth. I pulled anchor and headed down river.
We worked a real go-to spot, for when the tides low. Nothing. So we moved on one more time. The wind was a huge problem on a good "hard bottom" spot, plus there was another boat near that I didn't want to disturb. But, when I finally got anchored up, both Nick and I caught two good keeper Trout, right away. This is where they usually are, and we were fishing 22 feet of water. And a few Ladyfish. Then, my anchor kept pulling loose with the combined current and wind. "It's a tough place to anchor" I told Nick. "The bottom is like trying to get the anchor to stick into concrete." Many people discount the fact the Trout can be caught on the float-rig in 20 plus feet of water....."why not". That's why I use 2 oz. floats and two ounce leads on my rigs.
Works just as well in shallower water, and perfectly in the deep water too.
We left that zip code and as we pulled up a few miles away at another good spot. The current here was about slack. So we hung out for awhile and the tide then started to come on in. We re-anchored and adjusted our location, so to fish the spot better. The wind seemed to die down as it many times does, when the tide changes.
First drift of the float.......Yellowmouth Trout, second drift.....nice Speckled Trout! We were now in the "MEAT". And we were making our drifts in 20 plus feet of water and actually catching Trout in 26 feet.
Stan Milestone, previous owner of B&M bait and tackle and I were talking about Float-rig fishing one day. He's a master when it came to Trout, and back in the day before he found Pompano to his liking. I remember him saying that he rarely fishes over 12 feet deep. And yeah, that can be the case many times.
But not on these spots, and not today!
Personally, I find that if you want to get away from bait stealers, and them small Mangroves Snappers, many times going deeper on areas that you can, means, you'll find Trout. Where you didn't know they were. I like experimenting. And I liked what Nick and I were doing on this spot!
We soon caught our limit "plus" of really nice Trout, not having to even measure many of the fish.
Especially this one, that I nailed.
Photo:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_okZdJQGaVBo/StXScEDrsfI/AAAAAAAAFW4/n5BxUisYGpE/s400/10-13-3.gif
A sweet 5 pounder, that I was gingerly reeling in as I was talking to my fellow Trout fishing buddy D.O.A. Rob on the cell phone. He was heading south to Guana State Park in pursuit of none other than a big Trout from his Kayak.
Here's a bit of perspective.....for comparison.
PHOTO:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_okZdJQGaVBo/StXTXrvKlbI/AAAAAAAAFXA/lv72FTQRaHg/s400/10-13-5.gif
Damn, I love catching Trout like this one after another and Nick sure did too. We ended up with 7 Yellowmouth Trout also, a few Croakers, then Nick had a deep water pole bender hooked up.
PHOTO:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_okZdJQGaVBo/StXUDlJ2AqI/AAAAAAAAFXI/55UxLP0hIYA/s400/10-13-6.gif
We were hoping for a keeper Redbass, but it turned out to be a 30 incher.
All on one spot, and in 26 feet of water.
The day may have started out slow, and Nick and I were wondering if maybe the weather had the fish off the bite. But as usual, we didn't give up. And just continued hunting around.
The air temp was glorious!! We never broke a sweat, the shrimp were frisky and happy as all hell till they were pinned on the hook, of course. We never saw the sun. And just didn't care.
After all the hot weather. I'd take weeks if not months more of these kinds of days.
And I hear more is on it's way. I can hardly wait!
-MORE REPORTS AND CATCH PHOTOS LOCATED AT:
WWW.JACKSONVILLERFISHINGREPORTS.BLOGSPOT.COM
AND
WWW.CAPTDAVES.COM
 |
Matt Badiali (Badman)
New member
Username: Badman
Post Number: 1
Registered: 10-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, October 01, 2009 - 11:59 am: | |
Bluefish Blitz Fernandina Beach. Wednesday afternoon I netted a few mullet in the surf. Almost as soon as I put one out, I had a bite. I had to quit running 3 rods because I couldn't keep up. I caught about 10 blues in 2 hours and missed twice that many bites. Blues were running 15 to 18 inches. Fun on light tackle. |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 101
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 18, 2009 - 6:56 am: | |
LOTS TO READ.....via
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing Jacksonville Florida, Mayport and the beaches area. 904-642-9546. Deaprting daily from 4870 Ocean street Atlantic beach Fl.
Here's a sampling:
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..........
REST OF REPORT/PHOTOS AT: http://jacksonvillefishingreports.blogspot.com/2009/09/914-blue-monday.html
------------------------
9/17 - Rain, Wind, Current, OH NO!
Had the pleasure of having Doug W. back aboard the Jettywolf again today. His last trip was probably early 2007. So it's been a little while. Doug's a good angler, and I found that out after our first trip. So I was excited about today's well planned trip.
A bit of history first. Last Saturday the bite was slow on the Speckled Trout and float-rig fishing in general. But Nick W. and I pulled it out and put some hard earned fish in the box. Monday, I tried some float rig fishing with John H. and there was NO bite. After trying 5 different areas, we gave way and hit the bottom with heavy lead and pulled on 4 big Reds from 5 blue crabs, in the 20 knot east winds and wacky high and strong tides.
Then there was today with Doug. It was a flash-back...no matter where we went and what we did, there was no bite on the float-rig. We even left out at 10am, so to have a few hours of tide change going before we left the dock. So I thought.
We turned left out of the dock and headed down river a piece. And there wasn't any current. But we tried a spot, anyhow. Have you ever headed out, with a time line to find out that during the whole day, you just knew you were fishing each spot "hours" too early? That was me, today. With the astronomically high tides right now, every where we tried had us there hours early for the "right" time of the tide.
I look at the grass along the bank and know by heart that the best time is when I see the water out of the grass. I look over at a dock, and know by heart, that the best time to fish this dock is when I'm starting to see barnacles on the pilings.
You may say to yourself, then why are you there too early in the tide? Well, if we left the dock today at the right time, we probably would have left at 2pm and that was way to late. And I tried to pick a middle of the road time frame to depart. But it really didn't matter....
As my dad tells me when I take him fishing, "Dave, if you're not catching, how I am supposed too?" Being a very analytical guy. He's usually dead right. I know the spots, I know the fish, I know how to fish better. So yeah, if I'm not catching how is dad supposed to whack them. Since he fishes with me only once a year. That's why I love small group's aboard. I can get the time to at least survey an area every once in awhile myself, so I can see if they're home or not.
So after much struggling, Doug and I gave in and went to PLAN B. Bottom fish for big Reds........
REST OF REPORT/PHOTOS AT:
http://jacksonvillefishingreports.blogspot.com/2009/09/917-rain-wind-current-oh-no.html
-get your daily dose of fishing the First Coast at: www.captdaves.com
 |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 100
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, September 05, 2009 - 6:17 am: | |
9/4 - Target species, Catch species
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
www.captdaves.com
or
www.fish-jacksonville-fishing.com
904-642-9546
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.
PHOTO:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_okZdJQGaVBo/SqHF3D5I16I/AAAAAAAAFLg/g5RIJMRq VCg/s320/9-4-1.gif
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.
PHOTO:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_okZdJQGaVBo/SqHNOyKfAzI/AAAAAAAAFMI/AjI0Ez0p Oq0/s320/9-4-6.gif
"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.
PHOTO:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_okZdJQGaVBo/SqHJTlY1_2I/AAAAAAAAFL4/KR5cktMJ C2A/s320/9-4-4.gif
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 sat 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.
PHOTO: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_okZdJQGaVBo/SqHLAf_eaSI/AAAAAAAAFMA/vso8bb5r HKk/s320/9-4-5.gif
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!" |
Brett Gordon (Snapslap)
New member
Username: Snapslap
Post Number: 1
Registered: 9-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 04, 2009 - 8:48 pm: | |
Bottom fishing continues to be great offshore of Jacksonville anywhere from 6 to 45 miles offshore. For more details check on my fishing blog at http://www.digitalfathom.com/FishingBlog/JacksonvilleOffshoreFishing.h tml |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 99
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, August 22, 2009 - 6:12 pm: | |
CAPT DAVE SIPLER'S SPORT FISHING
JACKSONVILLE-AMELIA ISLAND FLORIDA
WWW.CAPTDAVES.COM
904-642-9546
Looking for a fishing adventure?
PRIVATE 1-4 passenger, light tackle St. Johns River and near-coastal fishing 6 & 8 hr trips aboard 26' custom plate alloy center console.
Local species 12 months a year:
Redfish, Speckled Trout, Flounder, Drum, Tarpon, Shark, Mackerel, and much more.
------------------------------------
Looking for a PRIVATE cruise:
Leave and return when and where you want (advanced notice), Burial at Sea, Photo and Video from the water, Sight Seeing Tour, Lunch on a sand dune, Viewing Real Estate from the water, National Park to Park Tours, Dolphin watching, even Whale watching (during season) or just a relaxing day or evening on the St Johns River or Near shore.
1-6 passengers, very reasonable rates.
--------------------------------
SECURE, GOOGLE CHECK OUT DEPOSITS at:
http://www.captdaves.com/Policy%20Page.html
Call for reservatioms:
904-642-9546 |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 98
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, August 19, 2009 - 9:09 am: | |
WWW.FISH-JACKSONVILLE-FISHING.COM
FISH WITH CAPT. DAVE YOUR FULL-TIME FISHING GUIDE AND SIGHT SEEING BOAT ON THE BIG ST. JOHNS RIVER.
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!!
PHOTOS HERE:
http://jacksonvillefishingreports.blogspot.com/2009/08/818-really-nice -day-on-river.html
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.
PHOTOS HERE:
http://jacksonvillefishingreports.blogspot.com/2009/08/818-really-nice -day-on-river.html
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...
Capt Dave |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 97
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 22, 2009 - 5:12 am: | |
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
Jacksonville - Amelia Island Florida
904-642-9546
www.captdaves.com
www.fish-jacksonville-fishing.com
www.jacksonvillefishingreports.blogspot.com
12 months a year.
6/19 - Beach, Jetties, River......oh no!!
Had Dave C. from Virginia out with me again. Dave always fishes as a solo person. And we always have fun. He enjoys the water and the pursuit of the fish as much as catching.
See photos here:
http://jacksonvillefishingreports.blogspot.com/2009/06/619-beach-jetti es-riveroh-no.html
Thought I'd mix it up a bit. So I took the Kingfish rods with me today. Here's what I figured....
First thing this morning, get some Pogies and run out to the S.E. Hole/Spoil Area/Chum hole and do some of that "el boro" live bait going really slow, trolling. Hey, but it's a change!!
So as we passed the old Sea Turtle Inn from behind the breakers with out seeing a single "flip-n -splat" of a single Pogie, right then were at the extent of my chase for live baits. I usually will not waste any more time. PERIOD. But heck, we were going "slow trolling".....
So we ended up at the Red Tops. Still no Pogies! Yep, good ole Bazaaro World Florida is at it again. How do people put up with this all summer long?? I just do not know.
See photos here:
http://jacksonvillefishingreports.blogspot.com/2009/06/619-beach-jetti es-riveroh-no.html
I KNEW I SHOULD HAVE STOPPED AT THE NORTH JETTY AND JUST JIGGED UP SOME GREENIES (threadfin herrring). I could have just kicked my own ass at this point, but my stubby legs don't go that way.
At the Redtops, I came off plane and rigged up my flimsy King rods with Drone spoons and a 4 oz. trolling lead. On top of it all, I am experimenting with "lead core" line spooled up on Shimano Tekota 500 level wind reels. For the non-down-rigger, trout fisherman (me) I was really wanting to see how well it would work getting the Pogie down deeper. Now you know, the cats outa the bag. I believe it would work great, too bad we had no live baits to try.
So over the side and into my TGT rodriggers (see mine and others here: http://www.tgttackle.com/photo_gallery.php ) the two rigs went, as I bumped the throttle up to about 5 knots.
I pointed the bow back north and away we went, passing plenty of boats that probably were pulling ribbonfish, in the Fernandina Kingfish tournament.
Believe it or not, we received 4 strikes, two were hook-ups and stroked the rods over, buzzed the reel clickers, one was a wimpy bite, and one was a Spanish Mackerel hook-up. The Spanish were chasing small minnows on the surface all over the place.
We got between Hanna Park and the jetties and gave up, packed it in and got up on plane....."the lure of the float-rig was calling this Float-Freak, as it was calling Dave too."
See photos here:
http://jacksonvillefishingreports.blogspot.com/2009/06/619-beach-jetti es-riveroh-no.html
We tried the falling tide dead jetties, with nothing caught. Then tried along the Navy base. Every single live shrimp we drifted on the float-rigs were eaten by a 4" Mangrove Snapper!! This, again
was absolutely futile. Up into the river further. Next spot, Mangrove Snapper futile fishing once again. Then another move, and the game was on......FINALLY!
First drift, 23 inch Speck at 4+ pounds.
See photos here:
http://jacksonvillefishingreports.blogspot.com/2009/06/619-beach-jetti es-riveroh-no.html
Then, an 18 incher!
See photos here:
http://jacksonvillefishingreports.blogspot.com/2009/06/619-beach-jetti es-riveroh-no.html
Then, some smaller Specks at 15-17 inches. Then, I had my hook completely crushed, and lost a good bite. I told Dave, "see this, it's what a Sheepshead can do with those snarly teeth, it happens all the time."
Then, ten minutes later Dave catches the hook crusher!
See photos here:
http://jacksonvillefishingreports.blogspot.com/2009/06/619-beach-jetti es-riveroh-no.html
The current about quit on this spot, and we had 2-3 Ladyfish.
Damn that was some fast and furious action. I know I loved it.
As we call it in the biz, "zero to a hero" real quick.
Dave is so laid back, he's an angler and knows I was trying to do something different with him this time, when looking for the Pogies. We've float-rigged fish many, many times together. And he was with me when I caught my first 10 pound Speckled Trout, April 28th of 2008 near the jetties. We'll always have this day in the record books.
See photos here:
http://jacksonvillefishingreports.blogspot.com/2009/06/619-beach-jetti es-riveroh-no.html
With a slack tide in the river, we headed back to go clean the fish.
Today's take ready for the knife:
See photos here:
http://jacksonvillefishingreports.blogspot.com/2009/06/619-beach-jetti es-riveroh-no.html
Dave says, he'll be back in August and will be bringing a friend with him from Virginia.
I'll have the ole float rig rods rigged and ready, Dave!
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
Jacksonville - Amelia Island Florida
904-642-9546
www.captdaves.com
www.fish-jacksonville-fishing.com
www.jacksonvillefishingreports.blogspot.com
12 months a year. |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 96
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, June 11, 2009 - 5:52 pm: | |
CAPT DAVE SIPLER'S SPORT FISHING
JACKSONVILLE FLORIDA
WWW.CAPTDAVES.COM
904-642-9546
6/11 - Redbass Redbass Redbass, Tarpon....
You may call'em Redfish or even Red Drum....and you are totally correct. But if you're a Jacksonville Cracka' they're Redbass! And Tim A. and I on our second trip together WORE THEM REDBASS, OUT. Is that, THEY WORE US OUT! (or was it the serious heat, that did that. YES, it was hot and humid and Tim and I were whooped.)
Granted, we fished the perfect tide for this type of fishing . Don't expect your day to be exactly like these two days with Tim, unless you planned ahead, and consulted with me about tides.
After yesterday's encounter with at least 17 Redbass up to 30 or so inches. Today, turned out to be even better. Tim bested himself early, and caught a 32 incher. Then, there's all those Tarpon out rolling around taunting us. Well, we just hoped to get a hook-up and maybe a catch yesterday. But today I had a plan. While we float-rigged with our live shrimp for the Reds, I would take a designated rod, with a fluorocarbon leader, a strong hook and have a big live shrimp under a small cork. I let it out, engaged the reel and stuck it in the rod holder and Tim and I just fished.
Well, I was walking to the back of the boat and the rod doubled over, so I was there and grabbed it. The "crowd pleaser" perfect size Tarpon launched airborne. Man, can them SOB's pull!!!!!!
Even a small 3-4 foot fish. When you enter into Tarpon land, be prepared to loose the fight due to fatigue, making a rookie mistake, or just being taken advantage of by these fish. I've caught plenty and lost plenty and had my back muscles feel as if they seized up, all because of these fish.
This one gave Tim and I two big tail over head jumps as it immediately attempted to round the jetty rocks. They just know what to do to take advantage of the situation. I have never seen many Tarpon who make mistakes around structure.....some do, and get caught. But then again when hooked next to a pile of 10 ton granite boulders, they have many chances to "go for it".
The hook pulled as the fish really went for the shallows of the end of the jetty....oh that was a sneaky tactic. No bent hook, not even a chafed leader. Just the thrown hook.
The red bite started early and ended kinda early compared to yesterdayon one spot. So we tried a few other locales. Then came back near spot number one and got into a slam fest of 18-22" Reds. It was great, Tim and I were just piling in the numbers as fast as we could. And at the same time caught two 14-16" Mangrove Snappers for the cooler.
What sticks in my mind is the word PLANNING. I know, not many come here to just fish. They fish, because they are here. But Tim came to fish, which he has done before. All the way from Tampa!
I get lots of emails. And I remember years ago I used to get lots of phone calls. I cannot tell you the details of a charter in an email. If you're looking for a date inside of two week, just call me, instead. Tim, calls and we talk, over the details.
I believe besides being two perfect weather days and fishing two good tides. The fresh water "Flush" (after our 5-days of heavy rain during Memorial day week) has finally pushed or brought these fish back to the jetties, in force. I thought it may never happen there for awhile.
But it did come back, and we were these the days it did.
The jetties in the summer can be very hot-cold or in between. Inconsistency is very common, during the summer months. And now all the talk is a thermocline of cold water up on the beach to the south. Oh, that's all we need......last year we had 73-74 degree water, all summer. When July's water temps along the coast should have been 80-83.
"it's always something" Ya just got to roll with it.
Here's today's photo's, by now means photos of all the action:
PHOTOS AT: WWW.JACKSONVILLEFISHINGREPORTS.BLOGSPOT.COM
PHOTOS AT: WWW.JACKSONVILLEFISHINGREPORTS.BLOGSPOT.COM
PHOTOS AT: WWW.JACKSONVILLEFISHINGREPORTS.BLOGSPOT.COM
PHOTOS AT: WWW.JACKSONVILLEFISHINGREPORTS.BLOGSPOT.COM
PHOTOS AT: WWW.JACKSONVILLEFISHINGREPORTS.BLOGSPOT.COM
PHOTOS AT: WWW.JACKSONVILLEFISHINGREPORTS.BLOGSPOT.COM
PHOTOS AT: WWW.JACKSONVILLEFISHINGREPORTS.BLOGSPOT.COM
PHOTOS AT: WWW.JACKSONVILLEFISHINGREPORTS.BLOGSPOT.COM
PHOTOS AT: WWW.JACKSONVILLEFISHINGREPORTS.BLOGSPOT.COM
CALL TO RESERVE YOUR DATE
-----------------------------------------------
6/10 - Fishing in a Aquarium!
Had Tim A. from Tampa back on board the "JETTYWOLF" today, and he'll be back on board again Thursday too.
We have so much fun....it's almost like I thought this "guiding gig" was supposed to be. One angler and me, out huntin' them up, fishing together, learning and looking for that pattern. But solo passenger charters are not the norm.
Yes, I do a single passenger charter for those who really want to get versatile, flexible and experimental, or just learn one on one. I believe for what you get, my solo charter rate is really a good deal. And Tim always does two days!
We fished in an Aquarium today. Had Tarpon all around us for a few hours, Manatees, schools of big Jack Crevalle, Sea Turtles, bait fish galore, Cow nosed Rays, and Redfish under us, and the water was so clean and clear we could see most of them!
The Tarpon? Well, we hoped for this years first hook up. But being one of the finickiest fish that swim for us here in N.E. Florida. I just keep on float rig fishing and if we hooked one I'll deal with it when it happens. We weren't "chum fishing" or anything. Just plain ole Float-rig fishing with light tackle. I love it!! And today Tim even broke in a new rod for me. They handled the big Reds great. (Broke in.....not Broke in half. That's a change....)
The Redfish? How many did ya want to catch? Tim and I, caught our fair share from 21" to 30 inches. Tim had his butt handed to him a few times and then would bask in the glory when another one came to the net.
Other catches included; Monster Ring-tailed Porgy, Lookdown, baby turtles, big Jack hook-ups that broke off, a Ladyfish and a 16" Mangrove Snapper .
It was W-I-L-D, (and hot as hell!) One of those days that just makes ya feel good to be seeing all this abundant life. After having days of dirty, dark, fresh water. With gamefish species swimming in it, a luxury. From all the rain we've had.
I'll let all the photos tell the rest of the story:
PHOTOS AT: WWW.JACKSONVILLEFISHINGREPORTS.BLOGSPOT.COM
PHOTOS AT: WWW.JACKSONVILLEFISHINGREPORTS.BLOGSPOT.COM
PHOTOS AT: WWW.JACKSONVILLEFISHINGREPORTS.BLOGSPOT.COM
PHOTOS AT: WWW.JACKSONVILLEFISHINGREPORTS.BLOGSPOT.COM
PHOTOS AT: WWW.JACKSONVILLEFISHINGREPORTS.BLOGSPOT.COM
PHOTOS AT: WWW.JACKSONVILLEFISHINGREPORTS.BLOGSPOT.COM
PHOTOS AT: WWW.JACKSONVILLEFISHINGREPORTS.BLOGSPOT.COM
PHOTOS AT: WWW.JACKSONVILLEFISHINGREPORTS.BLOGSPOT.COM
Doing it all over again on Thursday 6/11.....I hope. |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 95
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: 
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 - 9:46 am: | |
IT COST NO MORE TO FISH THE BEST.
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
26' custom Welded Alloy Plate, Safe, High-sided
Fully rigged Center Console 1-4 passengers.
Jacksonville, Florida (904) 642-9546 8am-8pm eastern time.
-Visa-MC-Amex-DinersClub, Accepted
-all the info you need:
WWW.CAPTDAVES.COM
WWW.FISH-JACKSONVILLE-FISHING.COM
WWW.JACKSONVILLEFISHINGREPORTS.BLOGSPOT.COM
---------------------
5/11 - I LOVE A MONDAY???
I swear to you, that the boat ramp parking lot today looked like a Saturday in July!
Actually, I looked at my reservation book after I put the boat in the water, because I thought I may have woke up in bazzaro world, and thought maybe it was Sunday, afterall?
Maybe the big time Dolphin bite offshore, along with the Cobia bite inshore along the beach had something to do with it. Or has unemployment rose to double digits, and like a fishing guide in February, everyone's out subsistence fishing......ya' know, for groceries?
Maybe because today was Slick-Dead-Calm along the beach, and the forecast for the rest of the week, at least till Thursday is very windy, to down right breezy, and cooling off.
Can ya believe I'm saying "cooling off" and it's the 2nd week in May??
Yep, it's been hot and BEAUTIFUL!!!
Well, like everyone else. I had to go check it out too. It was way to nice of a Monday to actually be booked with a charter. And like usual I couldn't even get anyone to be a crew member. My dad wanted to go, then punked out. I called a buddy that should have been off, but he was up to his ass in Alligators with house renovation. So what the hell, I can sight fish alone no problem.
I left out early around 8am. And my plan was to do a bit of trolling with my new TGT rodriggers.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTO:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_okZdJQGaVBo/SgiqOtLyTeI/AAAAAAAAEWk/Fi3OjIhgcwE/s320/5-11-on-the-troll.gif
So I trolled some small Drone spoons with 6oz. weights ahead of them along the rip line outside the jetties, and then turned south to the S.E. Hole area. To let the sun come up, for some sight casting.
I can't say I ever got bit.
Although I did see lots of small Spanish
Mackerel jumping around. And the amount of bait below the surface is unbelievable.
Cloud after cloud of bait fish schools passed across my color scope screen.
I was actually hoping to get bit by a King Mackerel, even a small one would have been fine by me. It maybe a tad early, but you can't catch one inshore on the beach if you don't try.
While dragging the spoons got me to my destination. I was thinking "somewhere around the Jax Beach Pier", I'd turn westward and started looking for the big Manta Rays that usually have Cobia shadowing them.
The boat traffic heading southward was pretty damn heavy as I neared the beach in 40 foot of water. At one point I saw a big swirl and started heading toward it, when a friend coming south ran right over the area. He slowed up and I said "I think I just saw a Ray over there, but you came right across there." Oh well, I'll keep looking.....
I moved around a little bit, but being alone and sight fishing is kinda tough. I'd put the boat into gear and then jump up on the front platform of my console. A great spotting area, good and high up. Only problem is, no one's steering. And inevitably the boat starts to veer in a circle. So I'd jump down and correct my direction, and jump back up on the console.
My plan was if I spotted a Manta Ray or a Cobia, I'd jump down, steer and then go to the bow platform and cast. And then, I saw a small Ray and it had no Cobia with it. Then, I saw another and it sped off so fast I couldn't find it again.
So I took the boat out of gear and just floated in that area. I was standing to the side of the console when I saw two Cobia swim straight at me. If you don't know, they are curious fish and love to hang Manta Rays, and believe it or not.......BOATS. Boats like mine and Shrimp boats. I guess we're like really big Manta Rays. And most fishing boats do exactly what a Cobia loves, provide food!
I provided FOOD alright!
One Cobia was larger than the other. So pitching a rigged squid to them with a big 7/0 Gamakatsu reversed barb short shank hook, I had to try and get the larger fish. Both attacked the squid like it was their last meal....and the smaller fish lost out to the larger fish. So with my 9 foot G. Loomis Pelagic casting rod matched up with my mini Accurate B-197, I reared back and let the larger Cob' have it, hard.
Cobia are great fish. And their fight is similar to a big Redfish, I think. But against this 9 foot Pelagic series rod, not much stands a chance.
The fish made a few runs down deep, but the whole fight only lasted 5 minutes or so. Till I was able to sink the gaff hook in it's lower lip and drag it over the side.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTO: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_okZdJQGaVBo/Sgixu140MNI/AAAAAAAAEWs/9zUCS6JcMVw/s320/5-11-Cobia4.gif
I weighed the fish and it mashed my 30 pound scale past the 30 pound mark, so it was 30 something pounds, which seems to be about the average size of the Cobia being caught.
The limit is one per person per day at 33 inches to the fork in the tail. So my fun was over, I had my limit, and packed the fish into my fish bag with some ice and headed north back to the boat ramp.
I passed huge "muds" in 26 feet of water just south of the south jetty, running over huge pods of Pogies. But using a dead squid was nice for a change. No live bait needed today. Cobia love a squid.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTO: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_okZdJQGaVBo/Sgix_nQC2NI/AAAAAAAAEW0/wLUEk08EwQw/s320/5-11-cobia3.gif
I certainly didn't want all of this fish, so I called my parents and they met me at the dock, so I could clean the fish and give them half, in turn for taking these photos.
Pretty good deal, huh?
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTO:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_okZdJQGaVBo/Sgiz5QnLyLI/AAAAAAAAEW8/ICj6oaIHE8Q/s400/5-11-Cobia.gif
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTO:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_okZdJQGaVBo/Sgi0N5tqXLI/AAAAAAAAEXE/pHqJIid8j14/s400/5-11-Cobia2.gif
-TOO SEE ALL MY DAILY REPORTS VISIT:
www.jacksonvillefishingreports.blogspot.com
-go ahead, "Book Mark" it...loads of info 12 months a year on Jacksonville fishing.
-Plan your day ahead of time!!
-Call me with some dates.
-Make your reservation on my "polices" page.
-I'll call you between 4-8pm the day before with a heads up.
-That's how "you" catch fish.
Are ya ready to get aboard the JETTYWOLF, yet? |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 94
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 10, 2009 - 9:44 am: | |
I BELIEVE IT'S GETTING TO BE THAT TIME THAT WE'LL NEED A LARGER HOOK OR SMALLER BAIT!
CHOMP!!!!!
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_okZdJQGaVBo/SgWH9fySBfI/AAAAAAAAEUg/ce9AJxkq u1k/s320/5-8-1.gif
visit:
www.jacksonvillefishingreports.blogspot.com
for loads of up to date photos & reports DAILY.
See BIG REDS, from the St. Johns river to the Mayport Jetties.
Shark, Tarpon, King Mackerel coming soon.
www.jacksonvillefishingreports.blogspot.com
Everything you need, nothin you don't
www.captdaves.com |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 93
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 28, 2009 - 3:40 pm: | |
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
Jacksonville-Amelia Island Florida
904-642-9546
www.fish-jacksonville-fishing.com
4/25 - a little trollin'.....
Had a unique group today. Four young boys with one dad, for a late 1/2 day.
I believe they were all in the 9 year old catagory of Angler'ship.
And we sure had fun.
What do you do on a Saturday afternoon, that was absolutely gang-busters with people everywhere, as if it was mandatory to be on the water?
STAY MOVING....is what I say.
So I rigged up a few light rods with trolling leads and some small Drone spoons and we trolled the jetties and the rip line.
This is one of those very rare opportunities that Bluefish come in handy.
Normally, I'm not their biggest fan. When they eat all my hooks off, used to target Trout and Reds with live shrimp.
The boys had a ball as every time the rods bent over they ran from goofing around on the bow of the boat, to the stern to see the fish.
PHOTOS:
www.jacksonvillefishingreports.blogspot.com
We also caught our share of Spanish Mackerel, some keepers and some throwbacks.
Saw huge spreads of Pogies, too. And I hope to continue seeing them. Because it'll make the difference between a good summer and a poor one....."no matter what you hear the chamber of commerce Captains say." With out bait along the beach, it sure can be a boring summer.
PHOTOS:
www.jacksonvillefishingreports.blogspot.com
Of course, my camera is really screwed up, and I was lucky to get these two photos. I guess it's time to stop fighting it and ship it in for repairs. I could have used my new phone camera. But can't find one word in the manual about loading the photos on to my computer. (?)
Reports without big time photos for me, is like Summer with no pogies!!!
UPDATE: Redunancy.....like the military! That's now me. I upgraded my cell phone to a phone/ camera with download capability. So while my real "water proof digital camera" is getting fixed I can continue to provide quality fishing reports with photos. It only cost me about $200!!
---------------
I'm ready to get hooked up with some "butt-handers", ya know what I mean, (hopefully).
It's GO-TIME, for some Shrimp boat "Run & Gun" fishing. "Don't knock it-follow it!!"
Many people have told me they read these reports. But at the same time, have never watched the Video's I have running down the right-side-bar of this page.
I have some Shrimp boat sharkin' video from last July during the 74 degree water on that video bar. It was overcast, and really windy. But we caught'em anyhow, and had a great day.
Talk about a good day......Catch the tide right and do some Float-riggin the jetty rocks or river, then as the sun gets overhead and as the shrimpers get things stirred up, just offshore. We can head out and you can maybe join the "100 pounder club". Go from catching Trout/Redfish for dinner, to having you arms ache from big Blacktip sharks. All in the same day, and within eye shot of the shore many times. And maybe even a Cobia or a Tripletail too.
Don't cheat yourself:
-try for a weekday if you can. Less boat traffic equals better fishing.
-You'll want my "after April 1st" deluxe up to 8 hr. charter.
-Plan ahead, so I know your coming. Then, I can plan your day.
-always get the info you need, here at:
www.jacksonvillefishingreports.blogspot.com |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 92
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 17, 2009 - 1:10 pm: | |
www.captdaves.com
www.captdaves.blogspot.com
www.fish-jacksonville-fishing.com
-everything you need.....nothing you don't.
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
Jacksonville, Florida
4/15 - calm & cold after the storm
PHOTOS: http://captdaves.blogspot.com/2009/04/415-calm-cold-after-storm.html
Ended up rescheduling the 14th, because of the obvious 70 MPH winds that hammered the area Tuesday. Spent a good part of the day helping to cut up giant tree limbs that fell in my parents yard.
So Wednesday the 15th at 7am was a whole new set of weather. It was down right C-O-L-D out on the river. Met Keith E. his girlfriend and his mom visiting from Minnesota at 7:30AM.
We had the last few hours of the falling tide to work with so we ran up river. With plans of the jetties later in the day.
The spot only produced one good Speck, and Keith caught it (I think) on his first drift of his float-rig. A nice 20 incher.
Just on Monday afternoon, the same spot yielded many break-offs and big fish hook-ups for Bob and I, with a 4 pound Trout and a 28" Redfish that came to the boat on the same tide.
But today was also the Ladyfish arrival day for me. Day 1 of Ladyfish catching. As if they sneak in under the cover of darkness, all in one day.
But that's okay, Keith's Mom caught the first one, along with a big Jack that kicked her butt pretty bad. She said to me, "this is alot different that Mil lac's fishing, back home." And she was right.
We stayed till the tide slowed, hoping to get a big Redfish or more Trout, till it was time to head toward the jetties.
The jetties haven't been big time Speckled Trout lately. But the large Yellowmouth Trout fishing has been through the roof. And Keith's mom was gonna love this.
So we got on them rather quickly, and started filling the cooler full with nice ones. Great fun, and so much ACTION, it's incredible.
No one goes with out bites, and catching fish.
And in between the yellers, we picked up some small Speckled Trout, Jacks, and a Ladyfish or two. But did manage to box a few more keeper Specks. No Sheepshead or Reds for us though.
The action was very consistant, and lots of fun.
Keith's mom was having a ball, as she sat on one of my livewells in the stern of the boat. At one point she was leaning back on a fish and reeling and almost fell completely backwards off the livewell, she was so into it. I was right behind her, and caught her as she fought the fish. As if it was an "ole man of the sea" battle.
As you can see, it finally warmed up for us, heck it is Florida and mid April and should be warm anyhow. The forecast was actually a bit wrong.
They called for 15 knots, and as we sat at the jetties wackin them, the ocean was slick calm and it warmed up nicely.
The water was a bit stirred up, naturally it should have after belly washer rain storms and 65 MPH winds in the last few days.
Talk about a transitional time of year!
I have fished through or around some wacky weather so far this month.
The goal is to book as many trips as I can, and if I can get out 2/3rds of them, I really doing good!
I've rescheduled trips all the way back from January till now, and then have moved a few all the way forward till July,
when the folks can come
back to J-ville again.
It's the nature of the beast. But the fishing is worth it.
Coming up next week is some great morning tides.
And I have some days open.
Your full-time guide:
904-642-9546
8am-8pm everyday. |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 91
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, March 29, 2009 - 4:18 pm: | |
Jacksonville's Best Inshore Fishing
www.fish-jacksonville-fishing.com
3/23 - Gloomy Day Trout
The first day in a week that the wind wasn't blowing hard, was this morning.
It was so calm that the bugs were chewing on me. There must have been a big hatch, because between the gnats and the biting flies I stayed in my hooded jacket and fleece pants all morning.
Was heading to the north. Way north, but got distracted and ended up stopping short. The water was clean, green and dead calm as the tide started to flow east.
On the way, I thought "call the National Guard...we have an invasion on our hands!" The small Bluefish and Spanish Mackerel are everywhere. I mean everywhere.
Popping the surface like rain drops as far as the eye can see in the ICW, river and even back in the creeks.
With the arrival of the Spanish Macs, it is truly spring time. Sometimes the calender says Spring, but without the Spaniards in the river. It doesn't always feel like it.
Next up will be the Jacks and Ladyfish.
You can either like this invasion, or not. I'm not all that crazy about it, myself. Because they make catching my target species (trophy spring time Trout) many times alot tougher. Because these Blues, Jacks, and Ladyfish are so aggressive. And next comes the 6" Mangrove Snappers. My bait bill will double by mid April. Because I'll have to bring twice the amount of live shrimp on a given day. Because these fish can be ferocious!
I hadn't float fished this area in a long time. The last time I was here and spent the day was back when I had the Bay boats. And I used to lure fish it a lot with top water plugs. Plus the tide was seriously high, and I needed some bank to show before the fishing got right. So I spent some time looking around.
I was all alone for 3 hours till I had the first boat pass by me. I told you the best days are Monday's & Tuesdays!! It was tranquil and dead still. Nothing but the birds singing and the crows squawking, in the woods adjacent the water.
I finally anchored up. And the fishing was really slow. The only bites I had while float-rig fishing were the Pinfish, which are now back in full force along any hard bottom, and the occasional Bluefish biting my hook off. The only way to stay away from the "pinners" is to fish deeper. So that's what I had to do.
My float finally went down and I had a big fish. Far back behind the boat on a long range drift.
It was a big Trout.
Good fish, at 22 inches. So I dropped it in the cooler and continued on.
I certainly didn't find the "nest" by any means because the next "take down" wasn't for another 30 minutes. I was on the phone, and my float took a dive. The drag pulled hard. I ended the phone call quickly while thinking I had a decent Redfish.
Which would be nice, since lately all I'm finding is small puppers.
The fish ran down the back and almost ahead of the anchored boat. Then I saw it. Another Trout!
I always tell people who say Trout don't fight, "it's because they haven't caught any large ones."
Boiling on the surface and shaking it head was truly big Trout antics. But you can't yank and crank. These are fish you must "finesse". This isn't shark fishing! That's why so many big Trout are lost at boat side. You have to take it easy on them, they have tender mouths.
I slipped the Trout into the net, and couldn't believe it. This fish was the exact same size as the first one. 22 inches.....a twin! But with a whole different attitude.
Just my luck. I had to release this one.
Only one over 20" per person is allowed.
But before doing that I had to check , real quick.
Yep, these two fish were identical.
One with a mean streak, the other a bit more passive on the hook.
I kept trying to see if there was a nest of large Trout hanging around behind the boat, but they were the only two I got on this spot.
The weather was going to hell, it started drizzling and the clouds got thicker, and with that came a cool easterly breeze.
I worked a few more spots, and only caught more Bluefish, Pinfish, and several really small Trout. So I left out.
I hit 2 more spots, as the tide started to rise. And couldn't catch anything but Bluefish, and small 15-16" Redfish. My last spot was a tricky one. I had to put the boat practically up on the bank to fish behind a shell bar that was flooding over with the incoming tide.
But the Trout were there, and that's where I finally boxed my limit of (5) fish. I caught a few more small Reds too.
It was getting late and the weather had really deteriorated compared to this morning.
I had no more shrimp, so I left for the boat ramp, cleaned my fish, and headed home.
If it wasn't for the East wind, that I know was coming. I would have just preferred to hit the jetties. The Pinfish in the creeks around the oyster bars are just intolerable sometimes, in my opinion.
Water temp: 63 degrees about everywhere.
But, I tried it and caught myself another 10 Trout fillets for the freezer....."hell, 5 fillets never made it to the freezer when I got home. But rather hit the frying pan!!"
Mmm, Mmm, good!
COME JOIN ME! |
Bob Cosby (Captain_bob_cosby)
New member
Username: Captain_bob_cosby
Post Number: 30
Registered: 11-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 27, 2009 - 12:45 pm: | |
Late March/early April is a good time to wet a line in the salt waters of northeast Florida.
The spanish mackerel arrived last week and showed up throughout the St Johns River system east of the Dames Point bridge all in one day! This seems a little early for them, but they follow thier own calendar.They varied in size and hit anything that moved.
There are plenty of "snapper" blues mixed in with the mackerel. Larger blues could show any day at the St Augustine jetties. Durable topwater plugs or live baitfish thrown tight to the rocks will catch them once they arrive. Be careful! Jacks and ladyfish are also due to make an appearance soon.
Sheepshead and yellowmouth trout are spawning over sand and shell bottoms. Some are good size. Speckled trout are starting to hit lipped diving and topwater lures. Of course, you can also catch them on the traditional sliding float rigs and plastic jigs,Gulps,Fishbites, etc.
There are some nice reds cruising the back country on the mud flats and around the oyster beds. The "teenager" reds(8-15lbs are showing up at the jetties. I had one day last week when we caught seven on a half day charter.
Good fishing!
CAPT Bob Cosby
www.captainbobsfishingcharters.com |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 90
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 21, 2009 - 9:47 am: | |
Article, I found and dusted off..since the wind won't stop blowing!
3/21/09........and it has to be 25 knots and howling!!
Jacksonville's best inshore charter fishing:
www.fish-jacksonville-fishing.com
7-striped Jetty Snappers
by Capt. Dave Sipler
The term "seven striped jetty snapper" has become synonymous with the fish called a Sheepshead, here in N.E. Florida.
Many moons ago I wrote articles every month for what was the first local yokal fishing magazine in the Jacksonville, Florida area. Published by Mike Patterson of Atlantic beach, Florida, also an avid fisherman.
Back in those days when I wrote an article about fishing the Mayport Jetties, I'd refer to the Sheepshead that patrol the big jetty boulders as "seven striped Jetty Snappers".
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_okZdJQGaVBo/ScQIdpdFXnI/AAAAAAAAEJk/jmpZCfG3 6Io/s320/sheepshead-10-pound.gif
10 POUND SPAWNER
They have the same broad appearance as a genuine Red Snapper that's a local offshore reef favorite. And they have seven black and white stripes. Which is also something most angler's don't even realize. "It's the ole so close to your nose you can't see it syndrome."
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_okZdJQGaVBo/ScQHIhSwGWI/AAAAAAAAEJM/sdH4QmTO zVY/s320/12-5-3.gif
MAYPORT JETTY RED SNAPPER
The reason I can say that is because, I asked "how many stripes are on a Sheepshead?" As a trivia question when Pelican and myself hosted our radio show on Saturday mornings.
The responses we got were really funny. Many people just didn't know. But one thing we did learn from a caller was, since the colors of the fish are black and white, is that white stripes on a black fish or black stripes on a white fish.
Our two hour fishing show on ESPN sure did fly by that morning, as we joked about the why's, how many, and what for.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_okZdJQGaVBo/ScQHsyFWNoI/AAAAAAAAEJU/6p6jARSK mTE/s320/3-14-08-3.gif
MR. SAWYER WITH HIS 10 POUNDER
Either way, "I coined the phrase!"
And the reason I can say that is because I never heard it till I wrote it myself.
Today, many local outdoors writers are using the term to describe a Sheepshead.
I started to notice this during the week of our last El Cheapo Sheepshead tournament held in Mayport. By the Jacksonville offshore sport fishing club.
The tournament is like any other fishing tournament. But the unique thing about it is, it's the only Sheepshead fishing tournament in the world that we know of.
I have a big time love-hate relationship with seven striped jetty snappers. I love catching them. I love it when my charter customers catch them. But I absolutely hate cleaning them.
There's nothing like navigating giant dorsal spines, heavily scaled skin, and a extra heavy duty rib cage, versus cleaning a nice 3 pound Speckled Trout or Flounder. That's easy and yields twice if not 3 times the fillet, for fish of equal size.
That's right. Sheepshead have one poor yield of filleted meat. I don't care how good of a fish cleaner you are. The yield of fillet versus unusable carcase is probably 20% to 80%. Twenty percent being what you get to eat, out of the whole fish.
Around these parts (N.E. Florida) Sheepshead reign as kings of the winter time fish. And I find it so very funny that regions of the Gulf coast could probably put our little area to shame in sheer numbers. And one of the reasons why is they are junk fish there!
Talk to any Texan, and you won't hear passionate, loosing sleep over thoughts from them, as you will around here. For some reason, N.E. Floridians are obsessed with them.
Take any given fall, winter, or spring day at the Mayport jetties, and you'll see boat after boat lining the jetty rocks all fishing for them. I call these folks the "sheep herders".
And while talking to them they will quickly admit that the yield of meat versus head, backbone, ribcage, and tail is ridicules. But the very next words will be, "but they are so good."
I guess I can't get over the bad taste in my mouth that was brought on by a charter customer I had once.
We went out while the Sheepshead were spawning, and congregated in one area of the river just inside the jetties. Using fresh cut pieces of giant chowder clams the size of softballs, we caught plenty of Sheepshead. The state limit is way out of wack at 15 fish per person, I believe.
We easily boxed 30. Mind you these are not small fish. Spawners range from 5 pounds to 10 pounds. The fish box on my boat at that time was jam packed.
As usual I clean my customers fish for tips. That's how I make back the money for standing and cleaning fish for hours on the boat that isn't part of the agreed charter price. Supposedly.
Well, I cleaned those 30 fish. It took me four hours. I was wore out, cut up and spined. The boat was a mess. I was a mess.
After bagging up all the fillets my customer said, "you want some of these?" I replied, "no, I'm good". They dropped the bags in their cooler, paid me my balance for the day and walked up the dock.
I stood there speachless!
Not a single dime more did they give me for cleaning all those Sheepshead.
I could have gone out and done a 1/2 day charter for the time it took to clean all those nasty Sheepshead. Yeah, I could have made another $300.
I guess the "ya want some of these?" was supposed to be my tip.
So there ya go. "I have learned now." And now we don't keep more than two or three Sheepshead on a days trip, if I'm going to clean them. If you want to clean them, we'll keep as many as you like.
Information on N.E. Florida fishing charters, go to: http://www.fish-jacksonville-fishin.com/
or just call Capt Dave at 904-642-9546 |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 89
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 13, 2009 - 7:41 am: | |
Jacksonville's BEST Inshore fishing:
St. Johns River Inlet and near-coastal waters
12 months a year. www.captdaves.com
904-642-9546
3/12 - SPRING IS HERE....LETS GO FISHIN'
Spring is here. BUT, just last Monday and Tuesday I sat in the river with the Creke group and the wind was 20kts and it was 30 degrees. Wow, how things change quick this time of year!!
I know the first real day of spring is on the 20th. But today, I saw the evidence.
What a huge difference this full moon has made. Right now, literally daily events will happen out there in the big blue and along the coast, and give zero notice. So you have to be paying attention.
Today, I saw a few small Cobia hanging around those "brown" Ray's that come first before the big Manta's. I tried to catch one, but they were skittish, the Cobia, I mean.
Outside the inlet on the color change, I saw millions of baby Needlefish. Not a huge fan of those Needles. But this years crop is already here.
Monster Bluefish were crashing tiny minnow sized baitfish offshore a few miles. A few came out of the water and they sure looked to be about 2 feet long.
Couldn't find a single Speckled Trout this morning at the jetties (the one area I tried) but I had my limit (4) of yellowmouth Trout in a matter of minutes. Which is a good thing.
Ocean surface temp at 2pm was 63 degrees around the jetties.
And I know this ain't no Trout.....but I still caught it on a float and a live shrimp. The best way I believe.
It's my first sight-casted Tripletail.
Yep, and exotic species for me.
Here it is:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_okZdJQGaVBo/SbnH265YXdI/AAAAAAAAEH8/UE2okbtF CrA/s320/3-12-1.gif
I found them and had about 10 shots at several fish I saw laying on the surface as they do.
Mimicking a piece of driftwood, or weed.
The last one I cleaned was one that a customer caught on a Jig-N-Shrimp combo meal back in Greenfield creek, many years ago.
These fish cost a small fortune in fuel. Because they don't come to you. You have to go to them. Hunting them up.
By the afternoon the South Easterly wind really started to blow. And East winds and a falling tide means wind bucking the current. That right there, can shut down any bite, if your into one or hunting one. I still tried to catch a big Trout, but only found small ones.
So I headed back down river, and into the ICW. Where I caught 10 or so small 16-17" pupper Redbass. For some reason, where I often go is a nursery for them, I guess. While I'm actually hunting the ole folks home, for Brutus T. Redbass. But I did pick up a Flounder, too.
The wind was blowing so steadily and hard I gave up and went back to clean my fish and have a visit from some friends.
But this isn't the same "foul" that usually comes to see me for a cheap and easy meal.
Look, this Egret has green around it's eyes.
Isn't that usually Yellow???
(see more photos here:
http://captdaves.blogspot.com/2009/03/312-spring-is-here.html)
This is a new guy if so.
Maybe a reverse snow bird from S. Florida??
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_okZdJQGaVBo/SbnNHZ5-QQI/AAAAAAAAEIM/k3wVhax6 Evo/s320/3-12-2.gif
Next up:
Saturday with three people.
Call (8am-8pm) Eastern time, to reserve your day.
904-642-9546 |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 88
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - 2:28 pm: | |
WWW.CAPTDAVES.COM
904-642-9546
2/17 - Opening Day
2- passengers max. 6 hours of fishing.....Trout fishing that is. MARCH 1st Sunday or March 2nd Monday, as a back up weather day.
Discount: $50 I know times are tuff, you don't have to tell me! But don't deprive yourself from the basics...and that's FISHIN'.
Reservations: http://www.captdaves.com/Policy%20Page.html
** with submission that policies were read & $100 advanced deposit via Google Check out.
SAVE $ and book your trip for the re-opening of Speckled Trout.
From March on out, is the start of some serious fishing. BIG Sheepshead, Black Drum... Boxing some fatties having some fish fries.
(Hopefully) By then you'll be fishing with brand new 8' Biscayne float rig trout rods, squeeky clean, smooth as butta Shimano Citica low-pro reels with fresh Suffix 30# Performance Braid.
(waiting on the rods) A mix of ole school, with high tech.
It's taken awhile to get what I wanted, but the perfectly matched tackle for what I do, has been achieved. From a 20 pound Redbass to a 2 pound Trout. and everything in between.
E-mail me: charter@captdaves.com ASAP, to let me know your interested in the Trout reopening discount. Then, head straight to my polices/reservation page.
here's an oldie but a goodie from early March
in my old boat. What a day this was.
All Jetty -Trout!!
(note: all trip balances are cash. Dollar bills only, no checks)
Posted by Capt. Dave Sipler at 2/17/2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
2/16 - weather guessers were right.
I don't know how it was on a Walmart parking lot on the west side. Which is the usual forecast you get from the TV weather guessers. But NOAA's Marine Forecast was right about today, as I listened at 5am this morning, while I drank my coffee and ate my PB&J.
I distinctly remember the lump in my gut I used to get at 5am, when I listened to forecasts like today's when I used to do offshore charter's. I guess, I either smartened up, got older or too hungry. Because you just can't do offshore charters in a mid size center console boat around here, 12 months a year. As a full-time occupation. Like you can do inshore charters. (If you want to call it a full-time occupation.)
"Morning calm'ish 10-15 kts, cold and as the afternoon comes, expect 20-25 knot winds from the NW switching NE. " -A para-phrased forecast of what I heard on the radio this morning.
Had Steve T. from Reno, Nevada aboard the Jettywolf today. Thought I was supposed to have two passengers, but it ended up just being Steve.
We went float-rig fishing. Steve and I were open for anything. And yes, it was what I'd call cold as hell this morning. But we headed straight down river to a usually great Trout spot, during "other months". And yes, we still caught some Specks. Till the Pinfish ran us out of there!!
Hit a few more spots for a few more Specks and one Yellowmouth Trout. Then, I got this great idea. Run to the Dames Point bridge, and catch those Yellowmouth that I've caught there, in the past.
We had it perfect. Up under the bridge so we were out of the line of fire so we didn't get hit by the bridge workers throwing nuts and bolts off the scaffolding 200' above us. A perfect anchor position. Perfect current....but no bites!
By now the wind had doubled, it was still very cold and clear as a bell.
So we worked our way back east. Picked a Flounder up on one spot, after going out to look at the jetties. We got as far as the Navy Base and I could see it looked nasty. So we hit a high tide incoming spot for hopefully some more Specks a Red or a Black Drum.
We'll we caught more Specks up to 20 inches, and I think Steve lost a small Redbass.
Our largest Specks came from the intracoastal, not the river.
I told Steve, this is about a stereo typical February day. But from where he came from he said it was perfect. He has snow and real cold weather in the mountains of Nevada.
We had a good time chatting and just hopping from spot to spot.
My aching hurt foot, was doing much better than it was this past weekend, I was glad for that.
But by the time I got in my truck and heading home. I was sure glad to sit down.
I thought we did pretty good considering the wind and cold, today. But I still cannot wait till March 1st.
I just hope it's not cold windy and raining. I remember a few years back that the first week of March was unfishable due to weather like that. And just the week before I was at Nassau Sound ripping 4 pounders on MirrOlures.....oh the heart ache, I felt. Knowing where they were, but couldn't get to them, "comfortably".
By the time the weather straightened out, and I went to go get them, and they weren't there any longer. A perfect fisherman's Murphy's law....
But that was only one spot.
I'm ready for them are you?
Call to reserve your Trout trip with the float-freak today.
Let's go target some G-A-T-O-R-S!
www.captdaves.com |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 87
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, January 04, 2009 - 11:09 am: | |
Jacksonville's BEST inshore Fishing
www.captdaves.com
904-642-9546 |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 86
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, January 04, 2009 - 11:03 am: | |
Visit: www.captdaves.com
for daily reports, photos, videos, editorials.
Trout and Redfish blitz, St. Johns River inlet.
-Keeper size redfish 18-27 inches have been steady catches.
-BIG Speckled Trout, smallest of the large fish has been 4 pounds lately with 6-7 pounds being the upper limit size range.
add in Black Drum, Sheepshead and yellowmouth Trout (weakfish) and you'll have a good day.
Reservations made EZ via Google checkout at:
www.captdaves.com
Email me some dates, and lets' talk tides.
2 weeks to 30 days notice advanced reservations highly reccomended.
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
Jacksonville to Amelia Island Florida
904-642-9546
26' Plate Alloy charter boat
1-4 passengers
12 months a year, fishery.
 |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 85
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 23, 2008 - 9:42 am: | |
Fishing Report: Captain Dave Sipler
Jacksonville, Florida - Saltwater Fishing Report
St. Johns River / Near-coastal waters
Limits every day that has good weather conditions.
Went exploring for Speckled the other day and had 40-50 Speckled Trout all by myself.
You can always find the PROOF here, by Visiting: www.captdaves.blogspot.com - to view up to date photos and reports, video, editorials and how-to's.
Put on some "long-johns" and lets get out there!!
Special (2) passenger trip rates for weekdays booked a week in advance.
-just live bait
-quality tackle by G. Loomis & Shimano
-Large dry, stable boat, with actual battling room!
-photos taken and put on my reports
-Coolers, & Fresh ice
-Fish cleaning availible |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 84
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 03, 2008 - 7:34 am: | |
NOTICE: Nov. 3 2008
VETERANS DAY SPECIAL
VETERANS DAY IS: November 11th (over a week away to plan)
BOOK NOW....ASAP via my web site, for November 11th. And even if you are not a veteran you will recieve a special discount.
Call to get discounted price. (904-642-9546 between 8am to 8pm)
(2- anglers only, 6 hr. day, Departing at 8-9am. Advance reservation)
Posted by Capt. Dave Sipler at 11/03/2008
For all recent reports check out:
www.captdaves.blogspot.com
Reports, commentary, photos, tides, weather, video's and more.... |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 83
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, October 08, 2008 - 8:34 am: | |
PHOTOS AT:
WWW.CAPTDAVES.BLOGSPOT.COM
Scary, Inshore fishing
Capt. Dave Sipler
October 8, 2008
Jacksonville - Saltwater Fishing Report
The end of October of course is Halloween...But even scarier than that is what you could catch!
Everyone from the adults to of course, the kids have told me, "that's the biggest fish I've ever seen", when a giant Redbass (Redfish) pops to the surface after a hard fought battle.
It's a big weekend here in J-ville, Fla.
Not only is it all hallow's Eve weekend, but the Gator Bowl game. World's largest tailgate party.
And guess what else is perfect?
The tides, that week. They're strong because of the New moon on the 28th. But at the same time there's really no need to depart the dock at the crack of dawn...either.
It's really a time of year I love.
Not only do we have the big Fish action, but by then the St. Johns River Jetties (inlet) is ready to be my first stop in the morning.
NO - LONG - BOAT - RIDES
2 miles and we're where I want to be.
Here's a few of last fall's Whoppers:
PHOTOS AT:
WWW.CAPTDAVES.BLOGSPOT.COM
Not to forget the "eaters", if your wanting a fresh fish dinner.
PHOTOS AT:
WWW.CAPTDAVES.BLOGSPOT.COM
I had a cancellation for the 31st of October, which is the day everyone usually wants, so at this time I have that Friday open, as of now.
Reasonable rates, large comfortable & safe boat for all ages, absolute top shelf tackle, live bait, and even a comfy easy chair to relax in after you go "toe to toe" with possibly the largest fish you ever seen or caught.
Jacksonville Fishing Forecast:
Start also thinking about Thanksgiving time.
In my book, it's the BEST and most sought after time to go fishing inshore in the whole area.
Cooler weather, plenty of good fish and good eats, friends, family, what could be any better?
I have some days around the holiday open. So plan ahead...so you're not scambling to get a day last minute. You have nothing to loose by planning in advance. Just give me a call to discuss your options. |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 81
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 29, 2008 - 12:45 pm: | |
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
www.captdaves.com
Jacksonville - Amelia Island Florida
904-642-9546
PHOTO LINK:
http://captdaves.blogspot.com/2008/09/926-27-superior-weatherand-no-on e.html
9/26 - 27 Superior Weather.....and no one missed it!
9/26 - Headed out with my buddy Nick in his lil 17' Seachaser boat at high tide.
Never liked dead high tide, other than in the dead of winter. But since his boat goes quite shallow we headed up into a creek off the intra-coastal water way. The tide was really high, so high that I could have easily fished the same creek in my boat.
I threw a rattling cork and live shrimp around, as Nick float-rigged off behind the boat.
I caught a nice 18" Speck, saw 2 Reds.....that was I thought. But after Nick caught a Skate now that I think about it the Redfishes backs are about the same color of a Skates back when sticking out of the water. Plus, how many Redfish do you see totally miss a live shrimp scared out of the grass, while chasing it? Not many. I watched the little shrimp, escape.....across the surface when flushed.
So after not catching but one Trout and one Skate in the flooded grass and not seeing any other fish movement. We moved on. It was deadly BORING!
As you can see I was wearing the fleece vest I've had in my truck since last winter! It was cool out there and boy did it feel good! We gave this "dead ended creek" a good shot, and instead of it's real name, I'll just refer to it as dead-end creek, now. There was no baitfish, and obviously not many fish in there, either.
The falling tide current has been a real pain lately. Way too strong. Then as the morning grew warmer here came the wind. We picked and poked around for what seemed like hours, and then as the tide was rumbling out we made a long run to a spot covered up with people. Boats stacked up in one spot (a good spot) as if it was a holiday........Friday's are just extensions of a weekend anymore. So we had to sit and wait our turn. I absolutely hate this situation, waiting for someone to leave, move, get out of the way...whatever. So we can go in and catch some fish.
While waiting I caught a small Yellowmouth Trout and a Jack on my float-rig. Then all of a sudden, one boat taking up a 100 foot area with lines, left. We motored on in and began float-rigging with DEAD SHRIMP....no need for live bait. And waylayed huge Yellowmouth Trout on after another. Each fish was 18-21 inches, and finally we had some fun. Nick and I easily put our whopping limit of (8) in the cooler and moved on.....We only had maybe 6-8 live shrimp in the well. They all died on us.
(note: when purchasing live shrimp, especially this time of year, after huge salinity swings in the river. Do not recycle the water in your live well. I DON'T. Just get a good amount of water from the bait shop and go with it...keep the bait oxygenated. But do not change the water out of the well as you change locations.)
We headed back to the boat ramp and before doing so we hit a Speckled Trout spot with the few live shrimp we had left. It was tough fishing, but I pulled one 19" Speck out of there and the shrimp were gone.
-------------------
9/27 - Saturday with the Bidwell family....at 7am the boat ramp was quiet. No huge amounts of traffic. Which was surprising. Maybe everyone stayed up late to watch Obama drop kick McCain in the debate the night before. I know I was a bit sleepy-headed myself at 5:00 am.
It was Bob, Tammy, Bobby, and Payton...the boys were 10 and 14 years old. It was of course a high tide again....so I just went to the jetties for a bit of float-rig fishing down the rocks.
I went through all the in's and out's of the technique and everyone gave it a try. The water was soup, pea-soup. Calm, with a small swell. But the water clarity told me about all I needed to know. Bobby, had the only fish on and coming to the boat, but of course remained a mystery fish as it fell off the hook below the surface of the soupy water.
Finally the tide started to move so we went looking around. I wanted ACTION!!!!
I needed ACTION, for the boys.
As I pulled up on a spot, I told Bob "the one thing about Saturday's is that no matter where you want to go, someones already there....." Because, as I came off plane there was a boat exactly anchored up on the spot that's marked on my GPS map plotter. Of course, not one place in this river is sacred. That's why I constantly remind people that given the chance......BOOK A MONDAY, TUESDAY OR WEDNESDAY!!!!
So I anchored up right next to the other boat. The current wasn't all that bad........YET!
The boys were yanking in the Croakers and small yellowmouth trout with Mom's help in the bow. And Bob and I were watching the stern lines baited up with cut Croaker pieces.
All hands on deck! Things got real busy. Now we're talking FUN! The boys were smiling, and I knew something would happen soon. The boat next to us caught an over sized Redfish. And it wasn't 15 minutes later Bob reeled in a big Yellowmouth Trout. Then, the cut bait rods doubled over and Bob was working a bigger fish to the boat as the second rod doubled over, and Tammy grabbed it.........DOUBLE HEADER......Two Keeper Redfish!
I could just tell, this place was on fire, now! And I was sure we could have a ball anchored here.
BUT........Mother Nature too many times doesn't care what "we" want.
The anchor slipped, and we were fishing while going backwards. I re-set it. Then, again, and again. The current started to flow, and the anchor wouldn't hold on this extremely tough hard bottom area. "It's like concrete down there......" I told everyone. It's hard to get a good dig in the bottom, especially in current like this.
So we were forced to move on. But I told my crew that in years past I've caught Black Drum on that spot while fighting the same thing, in November. It's awesome, and like many other areas in the river that an anchor will not set in, because of how hard the bottom is.
So we went looking at other areas in the river. Some with not enough current, and some with still too much. Damn it's frustrating!!!!
I was hoping to find more Reds, and maybe a giant for the boys to tag team. But ended up with just some more Croakers, too many toadfish, a catfish, and a Seabass.
When we have these strong tides, (5 feet and better) it seems that we're on the edge of the good & bad, all day long....is it too much current or not enough?
I tried several spots looking for a big fish. And it didn't happen. So we headed back to clean what we had. The Bidwells went home with some good slabs of Redfish and a bag of Croaker and yellowmouth fillets for our efforts. The big Croakers sure have seemed to fade off a bit, that's for sure. And I've noticed that the high tides have salted up the river a good amount, again.
I liked it when there wasn't any salt of the boat after a days fishing. And the river was good and sweet. It was nice change. |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 80
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 04, 2008 - 11:18 am: | |
Capt. Dave Sipler'S SPORT FISHING
www.captdaves.com
(904) 642-9546
September 4, 2008
Jacksonville - Saltwater Fishing Report
9/3 - Two Guys, Mania.....!
Okay, I read the weather report as I always do the day before (Tuesday). And it read windy!
All week the report was labeled, "SCA" - small craft advisory!
East-Noreast winds. Incoming tide. Usually K.O.D. - "kiss of death", is what I think most of the time.
Well, first thing this morning this is what I saw as I waited at the dock for 7am to arrive.
"red sky in the morning, mariners take warning"
Yeah, I go by all those ole saying. Because too many times they are true. If that sky isn't red, it's at least beautifully PINK.
So just before 7am Paul M. came walking down the dock, my solo angler for the day.
We talked yesterday about the weather report and I said, if nothing else, we'll try it and see.
So off we went left out the boat ramp rather than turning right. Which was a good decision on my part. I was the only Truck and trailer at the whole boat ramp this morning. So I just had to wonder....
We eased along shooting the bull, as I looked around a bit. "Getting the feel of the morning at sunrise." It wasn't windy, and was so damn nice.
I picked a spot to start off that had good current.......hopefully Trout current. And as I showed Paul all about the "float-rig", I caught the first fish of the day. That's funny, I usually do a quick show and tell WITHOUT bait on the hook. Just so I don't catch a fish! But on a bare hook I caught a nice fat Croaker.......on a bare hook!! That's not my first time catching a fish on a bare hook. But usually it's a 'snapper' Bluefish, they bite anything.
Well, as it turned out, that was a good omen. Because we caught fish after fish on this spot to include more Croakers, Ladyfish and some beautiful Speckled Trout. Even a 25", 5 pound GATOR.
Oh, we were on the right track. What a difference a few days can make.
Fish were flying over the gunnel and beautiful "local" live shrimp were getting eaten.
It was a great time, and we were 30 minutes into the fishing.
The tide slowed, so we moved on to catch more trout as I do when the tide shifts.
Next spot, a mere 500 yards away. And the action was steady there too, with a few more trout and keeper and non keeper Mangrove Snappers.
Okay, a few more Trout in the fish box and a few Mangroves.
Time to make a move again.
Well, I think Paul had the most fun here. It was fish, bite, fish, fish, lost shrimp, bite, bite, Croakers and Trout. Fast and furious action.
Now mind you, we were fishing in damn near fresh water. I tested the waters with my hydrometer, as we went along. The scale goes from 0-40 part per thousand of salt water. Zero meaning no salt water, and 40 hyper saline water. At the boat ramp in Mayport this morning the river water was a 6 PPT - parts per thousand. And it was damn near that low where ever we went. The Ocean is usually 36-38 PPT. So as you can see, 6 PPT is low to no saltwater. At least on the surface, where I can get a sample.
But a 6 PPT isn't a bad thing. I've had some of my best Trout days in the river when it was a 6 PPT day in the river. Tropical Storm Fay's effect will be long lasting. The river's high, and very fresh. It's a great thing. The boat and tackle isn't even salty after a days fishing, another neat thing.
After a while of constant bites and fish, we were quickly out of 9 dozen shrimp.
After 12 Trout, too many to count Croakers, a few Mangrove Snappers and Ladyfish. The box was looking good, so heading back wasn't all that bad.
It was a great day. And by the way, the wind never really blew all that hard, certainly not what I'd consider Small Craft Advisories. The sky was blue, and it was never all that hot.
Oh, I can't wait till those cool fall mornings that can't be here soon enough for me.
Because that sweat shirt in the morning, and the bailing of fat Speckled Trout is what I live for......we're on our way.
And not to leave out, Giant Redbass too. Let's go get us some!
Check out http://www.captdaves.com/
for all my charter info, pricing schedule, policies, and frequently asked questions and Map/Directions page.
------------------------------
Jacksonville Fishing Forecast:
Every things on track right now. Monster Redbass in the river along deep edges on a falling tide.
Speckled Trout, Croakers everywhere (Cheap Redbass bait) Tarpon way south on the river and along the inlet jetties.
But each week there's always a new "storm" looming in the distance that can change the weather, and make a tough long range forecast.
That's why you need to stay in good contact with your possible guide. I love it when people call me. And we discuss what's going on.
There's less and less of that these days in this "IMPERSONAL" world we live in today.
Problem is; Fishing, charter fishing especially is a "personal business".
----------------------
Target Species:
TROUT, REDFISH, CROAKER
------------------------
PHOTOS:
http://captdaves.blogspot.com/2008/09/93-two-guys-mania.html |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 79
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - 9:31 am: | |
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
Jacksonville to Amelia Island FL
www.captdaves.com
26' boat - 1 to 4 passengers
Multiple boat charters arranged
904-642-9546
---------------------------------
7/14 - 2 boats - lots of teeth
Had Larry R. call me yesterday and he had 6 or 7 people that wanted to go fishing. Can't say that 2pm was a lot of notice. But I got the J-O-B done and called Cappy Randal, (aka: Sea-Daddy), as my second boat that was needed for that many people.
Shocked off my leaning post, Larry pulled in the parking lot about 30 minutes early!!!!
I never get that, especially on a large group charter, where someone inevitable slows down the morning momentum . But it was 6:30am and they were here! I hardly had time to soup down in sunscreen and fix a few rigs. Really, I was shocked.
I took 4 people, and Capt. Randal took just two. We both had Jr. Anglers aboard at 10-11 years old. And my kid was a machine!
We went behind the shrimp boats and tossed baits behind the nets and caught Sharks. At first they were smaller types. And the action was really good, considering not a whole lot has been going on just off the beach with the cool water temps. via a summer thermocline that is upon us once again. PREDICTION: this 75-78 degree water won't leave here till we have a September Tropical storm, Depression, or Hurricane come by. The water should be 80-83 degrees all day long!
Capt. Randall's crew was hooked up instantly, as he pulled up and made a cast to the back of the shrimp boat.
And then it was my crews turn.
This boy was a fishing machine, and I think he went for at least 3-4 in a row!
At first the sharks were around the 30 pound mark. They are fast! Then, we ran to another spot and found four shrimpers working and this area producing exactly what I was looking for.
MEANER - HEAVIER -JUMPING - BLACKTIP SHARKS.
(There's no way for me to get a photo of what we call a "Spinner". Which is really nothing but a Blacktip Shark that flies through the air cork screwing)
The three adults were there, but the boy just kept going and going......
Then we had a few double headers, two on at the same time. Which is always fun. If they stay apart.
The guys had to of caught at least 8-10 of these toothy dudes. And then wanted to go try something else. And there wasn't much else to try at this point. But I ran out to a "bait spot" and jigged up some tiny little cigar minnows. And slow trolled them around for awhile, with no strikes.
So we headed to the dock.
Capt Randall had the same action, and even got some chum from a shrimper. So he didn't have to chase the boats anymore.
The offshore report from a friend wasn't all that great. Cuda's of course, a Bonita, and one King Mackerel.
Maybe we'll get some warm water soon, some pogies, and the action on the shrimpers to include TARPON!
PHOTOS:
http://captdaves.blogspot.com/2008/07/714-2-boats-lots-of-teeth.html |
Bob Cosby (Captain_bob_cosby)
New member
Username: Captain_bob_cosby
Post Number: 29
Registered: 11-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 30, 2008 - 2:47 pm: | |
Inshore/nearshore report jacksonville area waters
The fishing has been hot at the jetties and along the beach. One afternoon we caught 19 reds, and 18 were oversize. Be extra careful releasing/reviving fish at the jetties. Recently, I had a large red devoured at boatside by a big (I think) black-tip shark. It happened fast. A couple of days later the largest barracuda I've ever seen took a 12-15 lb red in two bites right next to the boat.
Kings are biting along the beach, and the pogie pods are beginning to show up again after a long absence. I'm still jigging greenies and butterfish rather than spending time searching for pogies. You're liable to encounter schools of spanish mackerel anywhere.So far we've caught two tarpon and jumped a third while fishing for redfish. There are lots of good size black tip and spinner sharks behind the shrimp boats, if you need to bend a rod.
There are some flounder in the river and creeks. We haven't caught any over 5lbs yet. The ladyfish and blues are not as plentiful as they were. Jacks are busting finger mullet schools along the river banks. Whiting and pompano are in the surf. Try for trout early and late with topwater lures, or fish deep with sliding corks and live shrimp.
Tight lines!
CAPT Bob Cosby
--
Captain Bob's Fishing Charters,Inc.
http://www.captainbobsfishingcharters.com
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Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 78
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 22, 2008 - 1:05 pm: | |
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
WWW.CAPTDAVES.COM
(904) 642-9546
Jacksonville to Amelia Island, Florida
6/16 - Fishin' with Dad trip
Had Jim & Sophie on board today for a Fathers Day trip. Initially, had to weigh going early and fishing higher water, or go later in the day and possibly fish in heat and wind. I finally came up with, go earlier and deal with the high tide......so we left out at 8:30am.
It was a beautiful morning. The request was for
calm inshore waters, so I started in the ICW, pitching crabs, up along the grass line. Bait stealers were incessant. And although the water was high but falling, as we fished just outside a small Redfish highway that led up into the grass.
We never got bit by anything but bait stealers. Anything on the bottom just doesn't stand a chance in the summer. In the river it's StingRays, and Sharks, at the jetties it's StingRays and Sharks and in the shallows it's Pinfish, Mangrove Snappers and tiny Jacks, that will not leave a bait alone for two seconds.
So we switched to the float rig, and still got bit by Pinfish galore, Sophie quickly learned to strike them fast. End up catching a few Jacks, a Ladyfish, a few Trout, and a few Reds....and even a really small Red for a really "small" Sophie.
It was 1/2 day trip, so there's not much wiggle room. I always give "big fish" a try, before falling back to action. Sophie did real good running her float-rig rod, although her hands were so very tiny.
Photos: http://captdaves.blogspot.com/2008/06/616-fishin-with-dad-trip.html
I get many charters thru-out the summer where I'm takling the children. But remember, many small kids can't even hold one of my rods.
Today, Sophie had a tough time holding the rod, and she was 8 or 9 yrs old. So they'll need help, and that's where mom or dad, or grandpa comes in.
For the real small ones, I also do a 2 hr trip, which involves some fishing and sight seeing.
This charter is being copied by many, as many things I do, so I must be on the right track.
We'll fish, and then possibly go up behind a close in shrimp boat, and see the action and abundance of Dolphins and birds they attract.
Call for this great trip for the kids and the great rate.
But many times we can do a 1/2 day, 4 hr. trip before the kids or Dad and mom get tired.
Weekends and holidays are a must to call 2 weeks at least in advance for reservation, or just inquire at www.captdaves.com
Let's go fishing! |
Bob Cosby (Captain_bob_cosby)
New member
Username: Captain_bob_cosby
Post Number: 28
Registered: 11-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, June 07, 2008 - 6:55 pm: | |
It looks like summer is finally here, afternoon thunder showers and temps in the 90's. Water temps are in the high 70's.The Kingbuster tournament was held this weekend and the big boats were roaring along the beach and, later in the day, crying at the fuel docks. I actually caught a few kings and some huge spanish a couple of days ago off Atlantic Beach. I don't king fish too often. Finding pogies is a hit or miss operation. Be prepared to jig up bait with sabiki rigs.
Some nice size reds are schooling at the jetties. We've caught them up to 17lbs so far. The tarpon have shown up also, and are a real surprise when the redfish you were expecting turns into an airborne tarpon. Most of these jetty tarpon seem to be in the 15 to 50 lb range. A customer caught a 20-30lb tarpon Wed on a greenie(threadfin herring) at the north jetty. It's not unusual for one of them to hit a live shrimp on a float rig. The larger tarpon will be hanging around pogie pods along the beach, or behind shrimp boats.
[img]http://cyberangler.com/photos/med/5066.jpg[/img]
Flounder have moved in from offshore and can be caught along the rocks and around dock pilings in the river. Ladyfish, jacks, and blues are still around. Speckled trout reports continue to come in from the Blount Island, Mill cove, and Dames Point area, though they have slowed some due to the warmer water. Fish topwaters and lipped diving plugs early and late on the higher tide phases. We're getting the larger local shrimp from the bait shops now, and they work well on sliding float rigs.
[img]http://cyberangler.com/photos/med/4693.jpg[/img]
Whiting and the occasional pompano are likely surf and pier catches.
Good fishing!
CAPT Bob Cosby
--
Captain Bob's Fishing Charters,Inc.
http://www.captainbobsfishingcharters.com |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 77
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - 9:35 am: | |
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
www.captdaves.com
www.captdaves.blogspot.com
904-642-9546
5/13 - Relentless winds....but fun none the less!
Had Scott & Markus aboard the "Big Metal" today. And I'm sure glad I have the boat I do. Because that river and inlet on windy days can be a real soup sandwich. It doesn't matter what the water's like....we go through it.
First off, we were supposed to go on the 12th. But the wind was just so bad. So I said, "since your here, lets just try Tuesday instead." When I was at the bait shop at 6am, I said to the guys there, "let's take bets now on when the wind's gonna blow....." Since I live in reality, not fairy dream land. So when Scott & Markus came down to the dock right on time. We left out for the inlet.
I was right. It was blowing pretty damn hard at 7:20am. I looked around for a few minutes for some Greenies (threadfin herring), then went over to the beach side of the jetties and looked around for some Pogies half hearted. If they were there and smacking me in the face, I'd get some and had plans to do some bottom fishing for big Reds or whatever, with them. All we saw were Jacks popping the surface eating tiny minnows.
The wind was constant, and I really felt that we'd be fighting a loosing battle. So I went west.
Tried a few spots, and the wind would just blow the boat in circles. So I picked up and headed west again. Pulling up to every spot I knew, and did a wind check. Needless to say we ended up further and further up river. Then I pulled up to a spot I haven't fished in years.
Markus and Scott drifted back their float-rigs and Markus started scoring on Specks. Not whoppers, but 14 and 15 inchers. While Scott caught the "exotics" as I called them (Jacks, Ladyfish, Mangrove Snappers) I pulled a Flounder out of the spot, not a biggy, but a keeper while trying my hand at it. The guys probably caught 8-10 Trout here. And I was very happy! Because the morning was wearing thin.
As the action slowed, we moved on to where I had plans of monster Trout, coming to the net.
But the first fish was a Sheepshead, Markus caught on his first drift of his float.
We sat there and sat there. Working the area every angle I could figure out.
When we finally started catching some Specks. Good Specks!
It's that time of year, that's for sure. For big fat specks, I mean. And obviously serious winds, too.
I can remember other May's, when the winds were bad. So this isn't all that weird. I can easily look in my Florida Sportsman Tide planners, where I make detailed notes. And see the same thing we're experiencing right now. But I have to go way, way back to research an economy like this. Nothing like this recession has dealt a blow to me like what's going on right now. Not 9/11, a stock market crash, not hurricanes in 2005.......NOTHING!
I finally found a spot where we had everything in our favor. And the bites were good and constant and so were the fish.
Overall the guys probably had 20 Trout total up to 4 pounds, a few 3 pounders, and some other eater sizers. The Sheepshead, a Flounder and Mangroves. While releasing small Trout and a pup drum. And the fish box was looking pretty good, considering.
We laughed after Markus said, "hey should we move and find another spot, Dave""
I said, "yeah, that's what I want to do, leave fish to go find fish." Cardinal rule #1...never do that! Especially if you are happy, not getting blown around, the water's calm, the fish are there, and everything is just hunking dory.
I suppose he liked the "boat ride" version of the day. Heck they both did. Before we started catching, Scott & Markus both mentioned how they liked the cruising we did from spot to spot, in search of a less windy spot. Personally, I can done without the boat ride. But each day I'm out is totally different than the last. So, not every day can be; go to the jetties 2.5 miles away and get into a all out waylay.
We really had a great time. Laughing and cutting up. Markus was getting on Scott about his fish netting techniques. I asked Scott "what will it take for me to put you on a Speckled Trout, today?" Because at first it was all Markus, on the Trout. Teaching Scott the finer details of bait casting. Comparing Manatees to people and telling stories.
But the one thing we didn't encounter was a lot of people fishing. And that was a real pleasure. That's reserved for windy weekends!
The guys left out with a pretty damn big bag of fillets. And I told them as I do many visitors. They can take the fish right over to Singleton's Seafood Shack 200 yards away and for a couple bucks they'll cook them right up for you.
Scott and Markus had more than enough to take the girlfriends, back at the hotel out for a big fish fry dinner that night. Why not eat'em fresh. I would. Plenty of people keep just enough fish to do a lunch or dinner at Singleton's. Just tell 'em Capt Dave sent you.
Since Mayports future is up in the air, we have to keep it the best experience we can. And eating your catch, fresh that day is a good experience in my book. I love fried fish....but you can get baked too.
Next up for me is Friday, and the forecast really sucks. This trip has been in the planning for a long time. So we'll see what happens. Another front coming, with winds and rain. We have Saturday as a backup day.
What is killing me is the need for "backup" days in May! Just like with Scott and Markus, we had to use a backup day on this trip too.
Oh, by the way. It was actually cold this morning as we headed out. And was never hot at all. Just an FYI, we set a record for low temps and high temps all within a few days. Wow, this is some wacky weather!
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*******Here's today photos on my recent catch pages: http://www.captdaves.com/Catch2.htm ******
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
www.captdaves.com
www.captdaves.blogspot.com
904-642-9546 |
Bob Cosby (Captain_bob_cosby)
New member
Username: Captain_bob_cosby
Post Number: 27
Registered: 11-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 07, 2008 - 5:34 am: | |
Inshore/nearshore report Jacksonville area waters
The water has warmed to 70-72 degrees now and fishing has picked up.All we need is for the wind to give us a break. Lots of jacks have moved in so the blues,which are still here, finally have some competition for your expensive baits. Large ladyfish and spanish mackerel are fairly common catches, too. I'm catching smaller spanish trolling and the larger ones on live bait when targeting other species such as trout. All these fish are great fly rod fish.
[img]http://cyberangler.com/photos/med/4684.jpg[/img][img]http://cyberangler.com/photos/med/4456.jpg[/img]
Speaking of trout, I've heard of an 11 and 10 pounder being caught recently, on lures and bait, respectively, They are hitting topwater and diving lures, as well as the always reliable live shrimp. Two to four pounders are common using the sliding float rig. If you catch a big one,which is most certainly a female, consider releasing it after a photo as your contribution to future fishing generations.
[img]http://cyberangler.com/photos/med/4682.jpg[/img]
Redfish are around, though with all the tournaments and every day fishing pressure we have here in northeast Florida, it is sometimes difficult to find any. With the right bait you can usually hook a few at the jetty tips, weather permitting. Black drum are an occasional catch also, along with pompano and flounder. Keep your eyes open for triple tails, also. You just might stumble on to one hovering next to some floating object such as a crab trap float, etc.
[img]http://cyberangler.com/photos/med/4685.jpg[/img]
May is migration time for the big rays and their escorts, the cobia. Recent reports have them south of Matansas, however, several days of south winds may have pushed them further north into our area. Its always wise to have a heavy spinning rig ready to cast a bait or lure to any sighted cobia. Try not to hook the ray!
Pogies were abundant last week between St Augustine and Mayport. Hopefully, they will hang around for awhile as they are the "engine" that fuels much of our nearshore fishing.
Good fishing!
CAPT Bob Cosby |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 76
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 23, 2008 - 12:18 pm: | |
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
Jacksonville-Amelia Island Florida
www.captdaves.com
904-642-9546
26' Plate Alloy boat
1-4 passengers near coastal light tackle fishing
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4/21 - James from the Chesapeake
Since I did my R&D yesterday, and had a nice game plan laid out for James from the Chesapeake area of Maryland, down as a solo passenger. I felt good as we left the dock at 7:30am on a what was surely to be a tranquil MONDAY MORNING....but in the first hour of fishing, I could see the plans I had mapped out needed to be used as toilet paper instead. And Monday morning just might as well be Sunday morning, I guess.
At one point, I was anchored up tight to the rocks with my "cinder block" jetty anchor. I had two boats come in ahead of me, one behind me was already there. Then came one next to me, and then another guide drops with the trolling motor and is fishing off my starboard side 40 feet away.
I'm usually a people person, gregarious, fun loving, kid friendly, joke'ster. But put all these people in boats around me, and I get claustrophobic!! I had zero "wiggle room". And what gets me is no one is catching a damn thing, I know we weren't. So we picked up and went where no one was and caught (2) beautiful Redfish back to back on our Float-rigs. One 27" fish that was a healthy 8.5 pounds, and another at 25".
I knew there were Reds on this spot. But it took a little while to find them. James also had on what we thought was a nice Trout, but lost it. I had in the back of my mind all day that I wanted to go where the Black Drum were. So we tried it a few times even, but only caught one 15" Trout and a Whiting there. Those dang puppy size Drum remind me of Tarpon. Here today by the schools, and then gone tomorrow. Sunday, I saw literally stingers full of Drum but after 2 attempts in the same area James and myself, just figured it wasn't gonna be.
We moved on as the tide started to fall and went to BIG Trout-dom. Again, PEOPLE were the problem but I worked around them. As the tide got perfect I had James working it hard, "details details" I stressed. And when push came to shove, my float went down! As I was fishing along with James. Drag pulling like a red, head thumping back and forth, was this it??
Oh, I was so excited, but also kinda upset that James wasn't on this fish. I could have handed over the rod. But if this was a big Trout I was so afraid we'd loose it on the hand off as so many are. Along the boat, now..... "is it?" " Yes, it's a big Trout!" Jame's grabbed the net and the fish certainly knew it's fate was sealed and made three attempts to pull away. Swoooosh, in the net!
Ahh, what a beauty. If I fish all day without a bite and then catch me a big fat Trout, I'm satisfied. On the Boga-Grip it turned out to be a perfect 6 pounder.
We continued to work the spot, looking for the next GATOR, but as with the whole day.
Things just weren't feeling right.
I kept telling James, this day feels weird. And I'm gonna go with my gut. Because of the wind direction, the current from the full moon, the sea breeze I know it's something, and I'm getting a vibe.
So we moved on looking for some faster action.
The next move I made was as fruitless as a dead tree. Gut said, "get the hell outa here!" So we did, and hit an area where the afternoon wind wasn't all that bad.
Here we had 4 good bites, and boated two small Reds. The low tide on this area was getting oh so perfect. But James had a taxi to catch, I had fish to clean. So we packed it in for the boat ramp.
Overall if I had to classify the day it was just one that we had to work hard for everything we got.
But most importantly, James hadn't fished since last November and got to do it in 83 degree weather, Florida sunshine, on a Big Metal boat.
Which he said he certainly wouldn't be doing back home. And he learned a lot and we had FUN.
Plus he took home with him a nice sack of fillets.
Remember, you always will get the "reel scoop" here at Capt Dave's Sport Fishing Report Blog.
www.captdaves.blogspot.com
Trip photos here:
http://www.captdaves.com/Catch3.htm |
Bob Cosby (Captain_bob_cosby)
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Username: Captain_bob_cosby
Post Number: 26
Registered: 11-2005
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 31, 2008 - 5:22 pm: | |
Inshore/nearshore Report NE Florida
We caught two spanish mackerel on my last charter Saturday, so the season is progressing along.. It won't be long before the water temps approach 70 degrees. I imagine you could pick up some spanish trolling 0/0 Clark spoons on a high tide if you tried. Bluefish have saturated all area waters, and can definitely keep the rods bent when other species slow down.
<img>
Sheephead are still biting well on the rocks, pilings, day markers, and river ledges. Fiddlers, clams, and live shrimp are the ticket here.<img> Redfish and black drum can be found in similar spots. Boat traffic has been heavy on the good weather days, particularly when they fall on a weekend. Savvy anglers are buying thier fiddlers a day or two before the heavy traffic.
<img>
There are also some nice size flounder around, but they have been mainly a by-catch on my charters. Speckled trout and yellowmouth trout (weakfish) are biting fairly well when you can avoid the bluefish. The yellowmouths are usually in the deeper water. It won't be long until the topwater lures start producing with the big specs and redfish. The trout will hit best early and late on the higher tides, however , the reds will hit a topwater all day long if it makes him mad enough. If the topwaters don't work, try a lipped diving lure like the Bite-a-bait, which are made here locally. Also, try the new "Fish-bite" artificials. They seem to work as well or even better than the "Gulp" baits.
<img>
Whiting, blues, black drum, and the occasional pompano are likely catches in the surf and from the piers. You might also pick up a spanish from a pier using the knock-offs from the old sea-hawk lures. I think they're called "Gotchas". Silver would be a good choice. Throw it out, let it sink a bit, and use a whippy underhand retrieve.
Good fishing!
CAPT Bob Cosby
--
Captain Bob's Fishing Charters,Inc.
http://www.captainbobsfishingcharters.com |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
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Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 75
Registered: 7-2005
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 - 6:05 am: | |
It's go time on Florida's First Coast
Capt. Dave Sipler
March 30, 2008
Jacksonville - Saltwater Fishing Report
3/28 & 29 - Busy, Busy, Busy!
Well will I get out all my charters, I have reserved? That's my thoughts right now. I got Friday and Saturday done, and with good success. But as usual when I have booking day after day, I'm rescheduling or cancelling at least a few due to the weather. So Sunday and Monday will be those days.
3/28 - I had regulars Don Hudson and his father-in-law Ralph out to the jetties. The forecast was south wind 5-10 knots. But it wasn't. More like 10-15 knots with mucho residual Southeast swell. We tried doing some Float-rig fishing for Trout first thing, but my gut was telling me it wasn't gonna happen for us. So we packed it up and headed in the river and did some bottom fishing. The action was slow, but did manage 2 big Whiting, a large Seabass, and a 5 pound Black Drum. We kept working the cut clam strips and shrimp combo meals wanting either more Drum, a Sheepshead or Redfish. But it never happened.
But I wasn't out of tricks. Ralph and Don are Float-riggers, so we headed back to a certain area and pitched our floats out with live shrimp and were in an absolute waylay of Yellowmouth Trout. To quote Ralph, a soft spoken man, "I'm all for action!"
And we had action. So much that I never took any photos, because I didn't have any time too.
Plus, we were being "stalked" by another fishing guide too. But that's another story.
The yellowmouths weren't huge, just normal size. There was just so many! We easily boxed out limit of 12 fish, and released just as many. Sometimes it just doesn't matter how big the fish are, it's just so much fun catching them. And Ralph and Don had a good time.
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3/29 - The Mayport boat ramp was an absolute ZOO from 0600 hrs. till whenever...we didn't stick around long enough to see the rest. There were so many boats, so many trucks, and so many people everywhere!
It looked like the opening day of boating season, up north somewhere. And gas was FREE, bait was FREE and the fish were jumping in boats! It's funny, I'm in the people business I know. But crowds make me very nervous and anxious.....I hate them! Because many times my j-o-b gets alot harder with a lot of boats around. But thank goodness most of the masses were heading offshore, so it seemed.
Right on time, Martin Combs and his mother Joan and son Bradly came down to the ramp, and we quickly left. We went float-rig fishing and caught plenty of yellowmouth Trout, but many were small, so we didn't keep them. But they were quickly getting acquainted with the ways and means of what I do. So we left that spot and headed to where I hoped to find some Speckled Trout. And Joan was the first to hook up a really nice one.
Then after that it was pretty much.......GAME ON!
More Trout, 18-20" and some small ones too. Then Sheepshead, then a Bluefish, then more Trout. Just where, and just what my GUT FEELING, told me. We sat in one spot for a long time, having a ball. And Bradly even hooked a Sea Turtle. Not all that uncommon, they like shrimp too. So we unhooked it, no worse for the wear.
As the tide slowed, we moved to the end of the
jetties and tried some quick jigging for Redfish,
but never had a bite. Then moved again and tried for some more Yellowmouth trout, but the current wasn't correct for that either. We had a really slow incoming tide this weekend, less than 4 feet. So it was the falling tide or nothing for us Float freaks.
The weather was so perfect, that the tide conditions almost didn't matter. Martin, Joan and Bradly went home with a big bag of fillets, stories to tell, and I saw myself in 14 year old Bradly. He was a fisherman! So I referred to him as a "mini-me".
It seems so long ago, when I was just like him. Ate up with catching fish. learning, casting, and everything else that comes with becoming an accomplished angler. And I'm lucky to be able to take a young man like him and remember back when I was just like him.
***See the rest of todays catch pics on my "recent catches" pages: http://www.captdaves.com/Catch8.htm
Jacksonville Fishing Forecast:
Found the Speckled trout within a short distance of all the Yellowmouth Trout anyone would want, and Sheepshead on the float-rig too.
Now some weather blew in on Sunday 3/30 and looks to be here till at least Tuesday 4/1.
I have a bug to get out to where I found those Red reef fish (Red Snappers) and try it again.
I have the 2nd, 4th, 7 th & 8th, and 11th and 12th pre-reserved, for the start of April. But there's still a few good tides, open.
Target Species:
Speckled Trout, Redfish, Drum, Pompano |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
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Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 74
Registered: 7-2005
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, March 16, 2008 - 8:21 am: | |
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
Jacksonville-Amelia Island Florida
www.captdaves.com
904-642-9546
----------------------------------
3/14 - Matthew the BIG fish Birthday boy!
WOW! What a difference a day can make. A complete 180 from yesterday's weather, huh?
Left out this morning at 7:30am with Rick and Matthew Sawyer, it was Matt's Birthday fishing trip.
So when ya have the last of the falling tide in the morning, the Sheepshead spawn going on, a live well full of river crickets (shrimp), a light wind SW wind, and over cast skies. I decided to bottom fish. Because it sure worked on Wednesday when I had Don Zagorski on board. "If it ain't broke don't fix it", RIGHT?
Well, as we sat there anchored up in the river waiting for the bite, the wind would pick up, the skies would darken, and the air temp would grow cooler. Here comes a FRONT. I could just tell, this isn't like Wednesday, and it surely isn't Thursdays weather. So we sat patiently and waited.
Remember the only reason I'll "bait-n-wait" fish, is because it's been very worth it. And now I'm second guessing myself.....rule #1, go with the gut feeling, and never second guess the gut.
I knew something had to happen, and as I was checking one of the baits I felt a tug, and handed Matt the rod. SHEEPSHEAD, and it was a big momma!
For photos: go to www.captdaves.blogspot.com
RIVER MULES!
(up to 9.5 pounds)
But the bites were far and few between, and the between were small whiting.
So we just stayed with the plan and kept waiting, changing out baits, paying attention to the current, talked on the phone, and watched Matt fight a queasy stomach. And like a real Trooper, he hung in there.
We then went and did some Float-rig fishing as the tide started to flood on the surface.
The water was choppy with the SW wind which is usually a good thing. And Rick hung the first nice Speck, but it came off at boat side.
And the little bitty Bluefish were everywhere, also know as the scourge of spring time. And were eating all the shrimp. But Rick ended up nailing a nice keeper Speckled Trout.
We kept at it, but the blues were incessant. And I went a pulled my anchor and bent the hell out of it, rendering it pretty useless. We looked around in the river, and there was no current, and now was high tide. So we headed in to clean fish.
This time of year, even on a kinda crappy weather day, there's still some whopper fish to be had.
And that's why I love the transitional times, Thanksgiving in the fall and Easter in the spring.
Those two holidays....(opps, can't forget good ole St. Patricks Day!) are my favorites.
Least favorite: July 4th, too hot, too many people around.
Jacksonville Fishing Forecast:
This week is going to be a busy one. And the forecast as of now is for not much less than 15 knots of wind ever single day.
Not exactly what I want. But we'll see what the out come is after 5 days in a row of full day trips. Challenging, will be the word.
Target Species:
Speckled Trout, Redfish, Drum, Sheepshead
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
Jacksonville-Amelia Island Florida
www.captdaves.com
904-642-9546 |
Bob Cosby (Captain_bob_cosby)
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Username: Captain_bob_cosby
Post Number: 25
Registered: 11-2005
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 8:24 am: | |
NE Florida inshore/nearshore report
March, the transition month, is here and we'll be steadily moving from our winter patterns into spring as the water warms. In fact, a customer caught a jack crevalle and a spanish mackerel a couple days ago in St. Augustine, which is a sure sign fish are moving north. There continue to be large numbers of bluefish throughout our area. Sometimes they can be a nuisance when you are targeting other species.
Sheephead are biting very well right now at area jetties and are averaging 3-4lbs with 5-6lb fish mixed in. These normally elusive fish fight hard and are excellent table fare. Fiddlers on a 1/8 oz. jighead work for me. Sometimes a redfish or black drum will eat your fiddler, too.
Redfish can be found in all their normal haunts:edges of the ICW, jetty rocks, creeks, and around dock pilings. Some larger fish may be moving up the river channels. Several redfish tournaments , including the locally famous "spot" tournament, are coming up and boats "pre-fishing" are pretty much everywhere. On one of my recent trips we caught six reds from 20 to 30lbs in 70' of water on a nearshore reef.
[img]http://www.fish-tails.net/photopost/data/500/medium/MRred.jpg[/img]
The speckled trout can be found in the creeks , ICW, and river with some fish large enough to keep. With the water temps rising try a topwater plug early and late on high water. A few weakfish are biting also, when you can find them, usually on high incoming water.
The whiting action has improved on the pier and in the surf. I caught a dozen today surf fishing and left them biting. It won't be long until pompano and schools of spanish mackerel move into our area. A couple of years ago I hooked two large black drum (in the 50lb class) while whiting fishing in the surf. That was quite a surprise!
This and next month provide opportunities to catch a giant black drum in our area. These fish are real bruisers and grow to over 100lbs. Fish deep around the jetty tips and area inlets and ICW holes with crab and clam baits. Use heavy tackle to subdue the fish quickly and release them carefully. There's not much sense in killing these large breeder fish.
Tight lines!
CAPT Bob Cosby
http://www.captainbobsfishingcharters.com |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
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Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 73
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 - 4:26 pm: | |
-ripped from the headlines of: www.captdaves.blogspot.com
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
The JETTYWOLF
Jacksonville, Fla.
904-642-9546
www.captdaves.com
3/10 - R&D, before big week
Monday mornings....ahhh the serenity! It's about the only day of the week where I can go anywhere, and do anything and not be waked, anchored next too, or bothered. Because any more, the weekend seem to start on Wednesday's these days.
So Nick and I went out for some "Research and Development". As I like to refer to as "by the numbers" we left out at a perfect time, hit one spot, and began the assault on fishdom. I believe I had Trout #1 on cast #1....and when it was Redbass time, I had #1 Redbass on #1 cast! I was HOT!
That 40 MPH wind on Saturday, matched up to the new moon low tide, did me such a favor. On the falling tide, with a west gale wind behind it, flushed the river like an ole Ferguson toilet. So given the first opportunity to get out there, I was more than ready to take a big bite out of my favorite place....ya know, it's a Jettywolf thang.
I'll pretty much let the photos say a thousand words...(www.captdaves.blogspot.com)
Nick and I wore out the Speckled Trout & Yellowmouth Trout. And had a whole bunch of small 14-1/2" Specks, while I was just waiting on that 7 or 8 pounder. But I never found any "Gators", just Specks to 19 inches. But, 2 weeks ago there wasn't any Specks around out here. So I was glad to get'em any size for the fish box. And the fat bellied Yellowmouth were ferocious!
Compared to our last trip to the jetties, today was very workable. The winds were light, and I had no plans of bottom fishing until low tide. And it was so nice only dropping anchor maybe 2-3 times. Once for all the trout, and the second for numerous Reds from 27" to 33". I said to Nick, "what will it take for me to put you on a Redfish , today?" , because I was ripping them and we were fishing in the exact same spot. And we figured it was the same reason that on our last trip he caught the big Reds, and I didn't!
I really wanted Nick to get a big Red, so I kept saying "I'll back off", so I'd pitch to a different area, but managed to keep on catching them! Like I said, I was hot, for some reason. But then again, I was feeling a little "wolfie".
The water temp was between 62 and 63 degrees, and I was hoping to see it warmer. But things are really starting to heat-up, anyhow. We saw small Sharks give the boat a swim by. And of course there's plenty of those Cow nosed Rays swimming the clean water.
Like many days I experience after a big weather event, if ya just let it settle you can bet the next clear day they'll be on the feed bag, big time.
After our tide was over and the bluefish took over we purposely caught some Blues for cut bait and ran up river and tried bottom fishing for a really Big Redbass, but ran out of time.
So we actually fished a normal day. Rather than our usual marathon. Which was good, Nick was feeling tired and I had things to take care of back at the Ranchero Delux. So we hit the dock and I cleaned all the fish....we had limits of Yellowmouths and Specks, one Sheepshead and one 27" Red. And we both went home with giant bags of fresh fillets.
It was one sweet day! and the fish fry will be just as good!
I'm jam-up from here on out till the 21st of the month. So lots of reports coming. I may combine days, if I'm whooped at 8:00pm. So multiple days maybe in one post. Either way, STAY TUNED!
------
12 months a year, 7 days a week, 25 years experience, 12 years as a full-time guide. And the only one with a life time boat!Toughest, beefiest, meanest.
G.loomis - Accurate twin drag reels- Shimano - Abu Garcia - Biscayne rod co. - Quality tackle you can depend on.
_________________
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
www.captdaves.com
www.captdaves.blogspot.com - for daily reports
(904) 642-9546
-Light tackle coastal fishing the Jacksonville to Amelia Island, Florida area. |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 72
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 17, 2008 - 10:59 am: | |
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport fishing
Jacksonville - Amelia Island Florida
www.captdaves.com
www.captdaves.blogspot.com
904-642-9546
------------------------------
2/16 - Better but not great, it's still Feb.
Had Don B. with his Brother-in-law Buddy, and his son Dan aboard. It was one beautiful day, and Jacksonville knew it. The boat ramp was packed in the morning. Lot's of people heading offshore.
I told the three well versed fisherman, I wanted to try a bit of "slower" fishing today. Something different. So we bottom fished the ICW for some Sheepshead, on a spot where I've caught as many as 5 just messing around. But Dan caught the only one, and Bud picked up a Yellowmouth Trout, that also frequent the spot. "They're down there somewhere...", I told the guys. But of course in the hauling butt current it was tough fishing on just the right spot.
We then went south and studied the shore. It was real low tide. All the creek mouths were empty, so the Redfish should be just off the banks. And as we approached a very likely spot, there they were up on a flat spot that dropped off to an 18' hole right up tight to the bank. What a perfect spot to anchor up and fish the deep, along the bank.
As I idled up, the Reds were waking huge V's in the water as they came off the flat and dropped into the deep hole. I slipped the anchor over the side, grabbed three bottom rigged rods and pitched into the deep. If any more come down the bank, they'll have to swim through this hole to continue down the bank. We never caught a Red! We sat there staring at the shallows waiting for more to come. But they never did. But the boats came....waked us, and it felt like trying to catch a Red off the end of the boat ramp this morning. Because of the traffic.
By then the tide was ultra-low, and there was no more current pushing. So we either just had to wait or run back towards the river to get some kind of water movement. Then the phone rang....it was a friend, out fishing with his brother, son and friend. "Dave, we've been at the jetties all morning and caught one Sheepshead and one small Trout, where are you?"
I said...."I'm south on the ICW and we've caught the exact same thing!"
So we worked our way back to the river, pulled out the float-rigs caught some Pinfish and a nice Speck that got off in hardly any current, while I contemplated the jetties myself. We end up passing my buddy, as he went into the ICW, and we headed toward the big rocks.
Remember; "IF EVERY INSTINCT YOU HAVE IS WRONG....THAN THE OPPOSITE MUST BE RIGHT."
Every year, when the Specks are closed for harvest, and the February fish bite is damn near dead, friends and I used to say; "Well, there's always the yellowmouth Trout at the jetties....A winter time Day Saver!"
But lately, they have even been hard to come by. But today seemed to be too warm and sunny for them not to be there. So we headed towards that particular rock, where I find them.
But of course, there was boats everywhere, as I pulled up and dropped my 1/2 block economy jetty anchor over the side. One boat was pitching jigs and shrimp and caught a few.
So...they're here! But are they as I like them? Like a pack of hungry Wolves?
I use my scope a lot this time of year, when looking for the tightly packed schools of yellermouths. And as we sat, I marked them in 14' under the boat. But as we pitched float's up close to the rocks, and out off the rocks. They were hard to find. Then I caught one, and found where they were.
We all caught some, not all that big, but they were FISH! And since we were fishing, it was just what I was looking for! I of course caught the largest one, and we had a throw back or two, a few get off the hook under the boat, but action insued. And as we fished, these damn Yellermouths couldn't be any harder to catch. Because we needed to re-anchor to get on them better. But couldn't because of all the boats around. Unlike some people, I attempted to give some relative space to others, not park on top of them.
We had 6 in the box now, and the Sheepshead from earlier. And were wittling down the live shrimp in the well. But Dan wasn't looking all too good. He said, "Hmmm...I'm not feeling all that great", as he took off the piles of clothes he had on, now in the heat of the bright sun. He looked sea-sick, and then hung over the side to relieve himself of that nagging feeling.
Come to find out, the warmth of all the clothes, and his car-sick abilities, the small swell at the jetties as the tide changed, sent him into a sea-sickness state. Ut-Oh.
So we packed it in and headed to the boat ramp to clean our fish.
Those yellowmouth were sort of day savers really, and I was relieved to go to the jetties. Back where the JettyWolf boat belongs and feels at home. But they were way to hard to catch for some reason. They were only on a small spot, we had to cast to get our float's drifting over that exact spot. Par for the course though. The largest one caught was 18 inches and pulled like (2)-15" Specks tied together. That's what I like about them.
Lesson learned, I should have went and just done what I usually do, instead of expierementing around in the ICW. We probably would have caught the same "one" sheepshead at the jetties, too.
Didn't take any photo's, although I should have. I'm gonna buy one of these though, before spring. I'm gonna have it attached to my windshield, so I can just snap group photo's, and even get in a photo once in awhile.
I'll be able to suck that mount onto about anywhere on my boat, leave it and just use my camera's timer or video capabilities and not have to hold it. Or sit the camera on a flat spot, as I usually do.
-------------------------------------------
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport fishing
Jacksonville - Amelia Island Florida
www.captdaves.com
www.captdaves.blogspot.com
904-642-9546 |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 71
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 17, 2008 - 10:53 am: | |
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
www.captdaves.com
www.captdaves.blogspot.com
Jacksonville - Amelia Island Florida
(Winter rates still effective till March 1st)
Call to reserve your day 904-642-9546
------------------------------------------
2/7&8 - Winter wackiness.....
Had "regular" Kirk M. and his buddy Bill that was visiting from N. Dakota on board Thursday.
Man was it a nice morning. We left early to go fish a different zip code. I needed a scenery change, and just a day to be left alone. No Cone-heads driving over my lines, no FWC bothering me, no Coasties, and no rent-a-cops, or noise pollution.
But the story was "no bites = no fish", where we went, except for two scrawny specks. And not long after the tide finally turned so we could fish the falling. The wind started to blow, the air temp fell 20 degrees, and it clouded up. Our nice sunny day was over.
But here's an FYI.... I marked 68 degree water on one spot, at low tide. Haven't seen 68 degree water in 2 months. But it didn't matter. The front came. And our day was just practice in futility. If ya can't get bit anywhere; shallow, deep, river, or creek. What can you do?
So we went home.
Then today, on Friday. I had Jason M. on board. Just he and I, out on what promised to be as super nice winter day. By no means the same as on land, when the temp is concerned, it was chilly. But at least I was in my Aftco shorts, with just a jacket, and was perfectly comfortable all day till the late afternoon. Water temps back at the "hub" are on the rise....so why is fishing still so dang tough? I marked 60-66 degrees, from the jetties to the backwaters today. We fished the falling tide all day.
Started out at the jetties.....No more "world tours" for me. I got that out of my system, real quick, yesterday. We jigged the rocks and had a some Seabass, and a couple cold water sharks at the high water. Then, we went float-rig fishing the rocks for one small Speckled Trout.
There was 3-6" what looked like mullet everywhere, 12 feet deep. I marked knots of them stirring up the sandy bottom on my scope at 12 feet. Then they started flipping the surface.
As one fella yelled to us, "the birds sure are eating better then me!" I agreed. They had all the dinner they could catch.
So we left the jetties as the tide started to fall good and fast. Jason wanted a Redfish, I would have settled for a Drum or at least some fast Yellowmouth Trout action, to keep us busy. But they are not even there.
We ran for awhile, and went into some shallows.
Where Jason and I both caught some nice fat Specks, with no current just plenty of due East wind...which was forecasted to be a west wind.
(could they have gotten that any more WRONG?)
Then, as the baitstealers arrived, the Trout bites stopped as fast as they started. So we moved on up in the river.
My first drift at the next spot was another nice "would be fishbox" size Speck. Then a monster of a ship passed us and we drug anchor off the spot a little, and couldn't get another Trout bite.
So we went back to jigging. And then scored on a Sheepshead. And not long after the current died there too, and we swung around as the east wind pushed the incoming tide in quick on us.
So we packed it in and headed to the dock.
Not much different than I thought the day would be, really. We weren't keeping any fish. So I just wanted "action" and we had a little. But it could have been worse. Thank goodness it wasn't.
Gander Mountain Outdoor store in the new City Square shopping center off Duval Rd. up near the Airport is having a "Meet your Maker" event this weekend.
Factory tackle Reps, tackle sales, seminar speakers, various Pro Anglers...and ME. I'll be there too. Hopefully answering questions about
Trout and Float-rigging techniques, and maybe a seminar??
I'm unsure exactly what I'll be doing exactly.
But a meet and greet is cool too.....I'll be bringing loads of photos and my favorite float-rigging tackle, to help show the technique.
If you aren't out chasing the illusive fish in the river.....come on up and see us.
------------------------------------------
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
Jacksonville - Amelia Island Florida
www.captdaves.com
www.captdaves.blogspot.com
Call to reserve your day 904-642-9546 |
Bob Cosby (Captain_bob_cosby)
New member
Username: Captain_bob_cosby
Post Number: 24
Registered: 11-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, February 04, 2008 - 6:28 pm: | |
Inshore/nearshore report NE Florida
The robins flew through last week headed north, hopefully, spring isn't too far away! Water temps are in the low 50's. Speckled trout are closed here in NE Florida this month, but can still be caught on a catch and release basis. Just be extra careful releasing them. I've had the best luck along the ICW drop-offs with live shrimp, plastics, and Gulp baits fished on 1/4 oz. jigs. Try to shake them off without touching them.
Sheephead are a good cold water fish and are also exceptional tablefare. Additiomally, ringtail porgies are congregating near the jetty tips to spawn. I like to toss 1/8 oz. jigs tipped with fiddlers or small live shrimp up close to the rocks. Just try to maintain sensory contact with your jig, ie., don't actively jig it. Just slowly raise the rod tip a few inches every now and then, or when you feel something different happening like a subtle pressure on the line. Don't jerk hard, just raise the rod. Of course, sharp hooks are a must. Often they will be hooked in the lip outside their teeth.
Whiting are congregating off the beach in 20 to 30 feet of water, or in area inlets and sounds. Surf fishing for them has been lousy since the water temps have hit the low 50's. Fresh dead peeled shrimp works best. I have experimentally caught them on small pieces of white cut Gulp baits.
Bluefish like the cold water and are in the river and coastal waters. They are fun on light tackle and will hit most anything that is moving. Keep in mind they will destroy your expensive soft baits and cut your light leaders, so rig accordingly. They will also eat cut bait fished dead on the bottom with a fish-finder rig.
Another good cold water fish is the black sea bass. Inshore they like rocky structure, and the great majority are too small to keep. The new size and bag limit for our area is 12 inches and 15 per person. Weather permitting, reefs and wrecks 5 to 15 miles offshore are the best bet for keepers. Drifting with squid or cut bait works well. You also might try jigging the bottom with plastic or Gulp baits. Light tackle makes it more fun.
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Redfish are a real challenge in cold water. They are reluctant to eat and are extremely spooky in the creeks. The big breeders are offshore and may be unpredictably encountered on any of our artificial or natural reefs. Slot size fish can be caught around the jetty tips on occasion. The best results follow a few days of warming air temperatures.
Good fishing!
CAPT Bob Cosby
http://www.captainbobsfishingcharters.com |
Bob Cosby (Captain_bob_cosby)
New member
Username: Captain_bob_cosby
Post Number: 23
Registered: 11-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 - 4:59 pm: | |
Florida Fishing Report for:
Intracoastal Waterway, St Johns River and Nearshore Waters from Fernandina to Saint Augustine
Updated: January 15, 2008.
Inshore/nearshore report NE Florida waters
Despite winter conditions, there are still good fish to be caught if you were willing to brave the elements. An ideal situation for the creeks is a low incoming tide in the early afternoon which will create relatively warm water over the dark mud flats. The reds will often cruise these flats seeking comfort as well as food. Due to the algae kill-off, the water is clear and often the reds and sheephead can be sight fished.
<img>
The sheepshead bite has been steadily improving at the jetties and in the rivers. Many anglers are targeting these hard fighting, good eating fish. Fiddlers or live shrimp are the bait of choice, fished either on a jighead or with a fishfinder rig. I like the lower halves of the tide. Another fish that isn't affected by the cold is the bluefish, which is available in the surf, around the jetties, and in area inlets. Most of these fish are small, but the occasional 4 to 5lb fish is caught. They will hit most any lure, live baitfish, or cut bait. Don't forget thier teeth when rigging your terminal tackle or extracting your hooks. Some legal size sea bass are being caught at the big and little jetties, as well as black drum and ringtail porgies.
<img>
Speckled trout and yellowmouth trout are being caught in the rivers, ICW and feeder creeks, as well as area jetties and inlets. A lot of the specs are undersize, so release them carefully. The tried and true sliding float rigs are very effective, as well as the DOA "deadly combo", the Gulp baits, bucktail jigs, jig and shrimp, plastic grubs, and even shrimp imitating flies. You'll also catch a sheepshead or a red every now and then.
Rat reds and slot size fish are in the creeks and ICW. This time of year they congregate in larger schools. They bite best in the afternoons after the water has warmed up a little. Remember to slow your bait presentations down and downsize your lures and flies due to the slower metabolisms of the fish.. There are still some oversize reds with a few slots mixed in around area jetties.
The surf and piers are giving up whiting, bluefish, and the occasional black drum. Fresh dead shrimp is the best bait for the whiting and drum. Try cut or finger mullet or any cut bait for the blues.
Tight lines! Captain Bob Cosby http://www.captainbobsfishingcharters.com |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 70
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, January 13, 2008 - 3:44 pm: | |
1/10 - Quick Trip....
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
Jacksonville - Amelia Island Florida
www.captdaves.com
904-642-9546
Was sitting checking emails this morning drinkin' coffee and the phone rang, It was Ernie, "Hey Dave, let's go......" "What, now?", I replied. "Yeah, If you can......" "I was thinking about going, because today is supposed to be last great weather day...." I said to Ernie.
Ernie and I have talked over the last few months via emails. And he's a faithful blog reader.
And obviously read my last report when I said, "hell, just call me. I'll let ya know when it's a good day to go, if you're local" Of course, I meant weather wise. Because so many people even locals have no idea of what our weather is doing. But Ernie does, he's an avid fisherman! So when I said that, it sparked him to give me a call.
So at 10:30am, I finally got to meet him as we were heading out to do our best. Ernie uses the Float-rig as a LBA - "Land Based Angler" and fishes a lot up in the Ft. George area.
Now, I know that it was tougher fishing on Tuesday than it was on Sunday, even though I did have a nice big fattie on my 52M "winter ugly" MirrOlure. But, I had a friend that was out yesterday and he did well on the Redfish and had a 22 pounder on a float, even. But the trout were a tad slow. So I knew going in that it may not be a whirlwind day of floats going down.
But Ernie is a fisherman, I'm a fisherman......Key word: F-i-s-h, that's what we do. So why not go try. But reality was all too in our faces as we fished and fished, and waited and waited for the tide to turn and start to fall. And nothing!! A few bites, but damn it was DEAD!
Then all of a sudden Ernie was shocked back into the fishing world with a slam dunking, big fish. Just as we were talking about how dead it really was. The fish ran under the boat, around the bow, down the side. It was a 28" Redfish. From zero to a hero!! Ernie was up on me big time, all with one fish. As we worked the area together.
Alrighty....nice Red! And it seemed that the tide was starting to finally move too.
So we kept at it as I moved us around a bit and maneuvered us into better positions for our attack.
I my 12" bottom scope, I passed over a huge pile of what looked like Yellowmouth Trout out in deeper water. So I tried out deeper and caught, ONE! And that was it.
"If the eating machines of the inlet are not chewin', what the hell!"
But as we worked our float-rigs, we finally stuck it to a few Specks. The first one I caught on my "winter ugly" MirrOlure, but it was a small fish.
Then Ernie caught what I call a ocean size Trout. One of those solid and fat 18-19 inchers. No measuring needed. That's more like the fish I'm used to this time of year.
So, we're finally cookin'.....and boxed a few more jetty sized Trout. My favorite!
As you could see it was slick dead calm. A serious "bluebird" day. But I wouldn't blame the slow bite on that as much as maybe because just as we thought the current would run hard. It really wouldn't. My theories always are; If you don't have the proper water movement to move bait, then you don't get moving predators. But I wasn't about to give up on where a 7 and a 6 pound Trout just came from this week. Not until I gave it plenty of time.
It's funny how we're catching out there speck-less Speckled Trout. Many of the fish have no body spots, or very few.
Ernie said, "yep, I think this area is about speck-less and spot-less today" because, where were more Reds and where were more Trout?
It's a fine line we travel....We want super weather days. But super fish days aren't always super fish days. But when we have super fish and super weather days at the same time, it's a Monumental thing!!
And the ole saying is, that no one ever thinks about is "want more fish, that go fishing more often". So, I see those days. And as a reader you certainly can tell when they happen, because I'm so excited.
So we ended up moving on, to try another zip code. And that's when the pesky engine temp alarm went off again on my outboard, No biggy. It's a bad sensor, I'm sure. Because the buzzer has been going off so intermittently. So we ided and went slow from spot to spot and found that the current everywhere else was practically unfishable inside the inlet.
So we went a threw some jigs for those Black Drum. But never really had a bite.
Hmmm, I think Mother Ocean is trying to tell us something.
So we went to a spot where the tide and current ought to be right. And it was.
And we caught some Trout, but not an whoppers and 3 big Ringtailed Porgies, and finished up the rest of the shrimp in the livewell.
Today's totals were maybe 10-12 Trout, with 7 in the fish box, the 3 Ringtails and a released 28" Redfish....everything on the float, and live shrimp.
Not a killer day. But a beautiful one for sure.
And that dang sensor in the motor went off enough that I'm taking the boat on it tomorrow morning to Deonas Boat works in Yulee, to have that thing changed out. Just in time for the wind and rainy weather to come in to the area over the weekend.
Ernie and I are gonna go do it again this month. And I'm sure we'll do better. It was a good day, but could have been much better.
And BTW....that cider block anchor anchor????
I'm still using the same one and it works good.
Why the hell have I spent thousands on jetty
anchors that I cared too much about all these
years?
photos:
http://captdaves.blogspot.com/2008/01/110-quick-trip.html |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 69
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 13, 2007 - 5:36 pm: | |
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
Jacksonville to Amelia Island Florida
www.captdaves.com
reports: www.captdaves.blogspot.com
9904-642-9546
12/12 - BIG FISH, ROCK RIOT!
If you read Monday's report (12/10/07) things looked rather dim at the jetties for a float rig freak like me. Yeah, I was all upset, and could tell I was kinda pissy. But as an update to that report, I'd like to add...."I really think the moon had a lot to do with the bite." And since I'm up at 5am-6am, and usually start my fishing days early. I may have not given Monday a full chance. And got disgusted and went home too early.....actually started too early, and gave up too early, is what it was.
I live and breath the tides. Which in turn is also the current. As a float-rig fisherman. Tossing a jig or lure can have its good and bad tides. But basically, you can cast a jig or lure any ole time on any ole tide. But as a float man, I pay close attention to the details of the tide, like current speed, tide height: how low is the low tide, how high is the high? Because I'm kinda locked in to the current flow, even when jetty fishing.
So now that today was 3 days after the New moon, "I saw the tiny sliver of white on the moon tonight". It only made sense to me that when I went out early this morning, that I'd be cussing and moaning till low tide, that seemed to take forever to come. And I caught damn near zero all day n the incoming, and only got into fish, as the tide got really low.....just like I always do on a full moon too.
So I didn't even pay attention to my "own" Full & New Moon rule, these last few days!!
-Only fish the last 4 hours or so of the low tide!!
Why do I forget my own rules? I'll tell ya why.....I go too early, because I like being out there in my boat, but end up kicking myself in the pants, because at the jetties it's all about that low tide on the New & Full moons. And today the tide got really low!
So, I arrived to find a buddy sitting along the rocks after I went and jigged a spot with not a single bite, except Bluefish. I couldn't believe it. But he said he was getting some Yellowmouth trout, so I'll try that too. It was pretty much "I.G." - (Instantaneous Gratification) as I tossed my shrimp up to the jetty rocks. "Okay, things are looking up!" Then came the Speckled Trout.
And this one, too. That had not a spot on its body, just on its fins.
As the tide got lower and lower, I started catching either a Speck or a Yellowmouth on every single pitch up to the rocks!
So I tried, looking for bigger fish. And casting out deeper. BINGO.....bigger Specks out deeper.
And Yellowmouths up tight to the rocks!
By now, I had my limit of yellowmouths 15-18"and 4 Specks from 15-18". And was waiting for a bigger Speck.....and my float went down! The drag peeled, and this fish was what I was hunting for, and it came from out deeper. BIG SPECK....I could see it, so I grabbed the net. Looks to be a 5 pounder at least! BAM...it pulled off the hook right as I was reaching down to dip it up in the net! So, my largest Trout ended up being this exact 20 incher.
Okay....the Trout fishing is on fire. I have my limit. So what do I do now? Go in? NOT!
After Monday's disgusting trip. I'm catching me a lot of fish. So I continued to catch some Trout behind the boat. But things were looking kinda sweet in front of where I was anchored, now.
The rocks were all exposed, and I was learning something very valuable about the Jetty rocks where I was parked, in relation to where the fish were. I could find a distinct edge! Up in too tight, no bites, just outside a bit, a lot of bites, out deeper yet, bigger Trout. Now let's see if the proven area in front of my boat has the same thing going on??
So I jumped up on my bow deck, and made a long bomb cast, right on that same edge. SLAM DUNK!!!!!!! Wheww, my float went down instantly and I just had my name engraved on a silver platter! "That was a BIG fish!"....And it broke me off in the rocks. So I tied on another hook, and made a pitch right to the same spot with a fresh shrimp. Again....INSTANT HOOK-UP! And I'm not using my bigger fish float-rig rod and reel. A long battle gave up a nice big 31" Redbass! Then another, then another, then another.....Can ya see where I'm going with this?
I had Reds, back to back, taking a breather about every two Reds, to catch a Trout off the stern of the boat, till I had caught (15) Reds from 27" to 33". IT WAS A LIGHT-TACKLE FISH RIOT!
And a classic Full or New moon kind of bite. I've been here before and had the same thing happen. ( I had so many I tried holding up the number of fingers of how many fish, I caught)
These weren't lil pup reds either, they were all brusiers, with one that measured 27" exactly., That went in the fish box. And it never entered my mind that I had a heavier rod and reel sitting in my rod rack, that I bought just for these big mean jetty Reds.
I was using a set-up that is really addictive for Float-rig fishing. Its a G. Loomis 8'2" Greenwater rod, matched up with a Shimano Curado DSV 300, a "low profile reel" that has a 6.3:1 gear ratio but holds well over 190 yards of 50# super braid line, if the diameter is that of 14# mono. No other light weight, low profile reel holds that much line. And let me tell ya, this ain't no wimpy Bass reel. It man handles these big Reds as well or better than a Abu Garcia 6500. If I can some day afford more, there will be 4 more in my reel arsenal. I'm that impressed!
I first heard of this high line capacity saltwater/freshwater low profile Shimano reel on my favorite fishing show, Larry Dalhberg's 'Hunt For Big Fish' Where Larry and a Shimano guy where using them for Golden Dorado below a damn in Venezuela. And these fish are a combination of as Redfish, Snook, and Tarpon all rolled into one, and weigh 50-7o pounds! Of course, I fell for the shows "objective", when I had to get me no less than two of them, ASAP. And I'm glad I did. I've fished them now for 6 months without doing a damn thing to either of them....just a wipe with a clean wet rag.
The lightness of my entire Float-rig setup is so nice to fish with all day long. Now, I wish Shimano would come out with a BIG game version, of this reel, just a tad larger, larger counter-balanced handle, and even more line capacity.
As I continued catching these Reds, taking out revenge for having such a crappy day on Monday
it started to take it's toll. I was getting tired!
Can ya believe that. But really the rod was a little light for all this pulling and tugging. But the "burn" did feel good, I'll admit.
As you can see, just holding the fish up like I did in the first few photos wasn't working out as planned. And I was hurrying. But, I wanted some good Reports Blog material, for ya'll.
People ask me all the time, "If your alone, how do you get those pictures?" Never buy a Camera that doesn't come with a timer, if your a fisherman, I tell them. I set the timer and jump in front of the camera. I learned this trick off an ole friend, who always fished alone and always had plenty of self portraits.
I tried to give a "sign" after I took a picture of number 5 because there was no way to hold up 6 or 7 fingers and the fish at the same time.
I certainly hope that potential clients find all this hard work, informative (yeah, it's work doing these reports after fishing all day.) Because I certainly do not see anything nearly as thorough on any other fishing guides web sites. I've tried it all. Doing magazine articles (Jax Fisherman Magazine for 6 years), my own fishing videos (which can be found at the local Gander Mountain and on my tackle shop web page) and Saturday morning radio shows (WNNR AM 970 & WNZS/ESPN SPORTS 1460 AM) I have to say, this daily reports blog is cheapest to do, by far.
I had about a 1/2 dozen shrimp left and could have kept on going.....but after (30-40) Trout, and the (15) big Reds , I felt that enough revenge was sought, so I pitched the shrimp over the side, packed everything up, and headed back to the boat ramp. Feeling like, I never come out here without learning something new, or at least reminded of how I sometimes don't even take my own advise. Which is; "fish the right tides and save yourself a lot of frustration and time" But it was another beautiful day out there. Makes me feel good to be able to appreciate it, even though things are slow now right before Christmas.
Hey, treat yourself! Give me a call and we'll go try and get you into a fish riot of your own. |
Captain James Howard (Gofishjax)
New member
Username: Gofishjax
Post Number: 1
Registered: 12-2007
Rating:
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, December 05, 2007 - 1:05 pm: | |
Well everything is about like it should be this time of year. The water is 64 degrees and the Trout are all bunched up in the river and the Intercoastal. There are plenty of them a lot are small but you can usually get a box of keepers. I have been averaging about 30 to 50 a trip. I use mostly soft plastics the white body and chartreuse curl tail and a quarter ounce jig. You have to work them very very slow this time of year and make sure they are bouncing on the bottom. The Red’s are on fire also a lot of small ones and some nice slot sizes mixed in. My charter on Tuesday Dec. 4th caught 18 Red’s in the 20 to 24 inch range. Needless to say they had a ball. Live Shrimp on a jig head working the oyster mounds. The weather has been great and the fishing also, you need to go. We catch fish thru the whole winter. The Flounder run was off the charts the last 6 weeks and I am still catching some and gigging them also. I have had lots of Flounder this fall from 5 to 9 pounds. I have a few trips the end of the week and I’ll let you know how they go. I know the jetties are on fire also even though I mainly fish the backwaters.
Let’s GoFish, Capt. James Howard
www.gofishjax.com (904)651-9557 |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 68
Registered: 7-2005
Rating:
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 - 2:49 pm: | |
11/26 - The TIME to go is NOW!
Wow, what a great time I had today. It was 80 degrees alright, and sunny and full of fish too...amongst other big things. I had about 5 dozen shrimp living in their "condo" in my boat, so this morning I topped them off with 2 more dozen and also left the ramp with 50 pounds of ice. I had a feeling I'd need it. The full moon high tide, is what I had in mind. And it was a CLASSIC WINTER BITE OF FISH, today. But what wasn't classic, was the SEAS...wrenched & stirred by Mother Nature and the gravitational pull of that big white smiley face in the sky. The moon. That was present almost all day long.
Yep, if ya have one of the
finest "rough water" boats there is; seas, and swells slamming the jetty rocks in excess of 6 foot or better ain't no thang!
If it can take so can I. And that's just what I did, because that's where the fish were at.
Not always are the fish in some comfortable lil' duck pond of water. Remember, that when the seas are stirring the predators are feeding. (see my 11/20 report for another day when the water was stirred up and the fish were going nutz!)
Confident, and safe is what I feel in my boat when in rough water. Stable at rest or at anchored, it's one fantastic fishing platform.
The incoming tide at the jetties had some spots looking like these photos, and other were flat and calm. Guess what? I tried the flat and calm and wasn't catching what I wanted. Only Whiting, and small Bluefish. I was after Speckled Trout, Redfish and a Sheepshead, on the float-rig, of course. Or maybe a jig-n-shrimp combo meal. (preferably the float-rig)
So as the tide got really high I went back to fish the S-L-O-P, and in 4 drifts of the float I had 4 big fat Yellowmouth Trout (weakfish). Hmmm...."no specks?" I thought. They gotta be in here somewhere.
Again, "this looks just too classic, for no specks to be in here with the yellers", I thought.
So I just kept at it. And after I caught my first Speck, I found just where they were...and commenced to whackin' em. It was rock and roll hoochie koo, let me tell ya!
But this is my kinda fishing! I live for this time of year. And I had the entire area to myself, which I loved. T-shirt, shorts and Croc's...in the warm sun, wackin' me some fatties at the jetties in the slop, all by myself. It don't get much better.
And the funny thing is, NOW is the time to reserve a charter, not in July. Especially is ya have a clue about fishing. It felt like June out there, but instead it was a winter day, and I was on my winter bite. I continued to catch Yellowmouths and Specks, sorting through the Specks keeping the largest, of course.
Then I made a slight move just to see what else was going on. So as you can see from the photos, I got closer and closer to the crashing waves on the jetty rocks. That's where I'll pull a Redfish from. So I set my float to the "correct" depth and made a pitch in behind those breakers.
And it didn't take long before my float went down, and with a funny kinda head shake I knew this was no Redfish. It was a Sheepshead. Although I find them a pain to clean, and they hardly have any fillet worth the effort, I'll keep this one, and let go any more I get.
Well, the next cast was up to the same spot. And I saw a huge wave approaching, so I grabbed the camera and put my rod in the rod holder and took a shot at that "comer" heading my way.
And when I looked back at my float, it was GONE. I dropped the camera on the leaning post, grabbed the rod and reeled fast and there it was.....My Redfish. As the boat pitched and rolled in the swell as it past, The fish ran me up to the bow and back to the stern. And then into the net it went. A perfect, 27 incher with the tail pinched. That last wave kicked the anchor free, so I picked up and went back to where the trout were.
I finished up the rest of my live shrimp playing with the Trout, and finished getting my Speck limit, while I was at it. I called a buddy that had a 1/2 day charter, who called me earlier. To tell him it seems to be calming down now, and the frenzy is on. He has a small boat, and I think he could bang a few real quick now....unlike earlier. So he headed my way. And was into some fish for his folks instantly.
There's nothing like going out for a little while and having a box of fish to clean, when you are by yourself. And I almost quit with a 1/2 dozen shrimp left, to go make a few casts for some Black Drum...I'm glad I didn't. I had enough to fillet back at the dock.
By the time me and my buddy left, it was quite calm. That's what I love about the jetties, sometimes.
If ya hang around long enough it's about guaranteed to be way different than when you arrived, out there.
I've heard the saying; "you have to remain rigidly flexible if you want to be successful out there 12 months a year".
That probably goes for all inlets where there's clashing of tides and current along huge amounts of structure and varying depths.
Although the jetties can really make me mad at times. You just cannot fight the "flow". I really feel sorry for the "newbies", with the 1st boat, taking the wife and small child, out there. Because it's so damn easy to get into trouble.
I really think if your a 90% of the time jetty fisherman, you've come up through the school of hard knocks. I know I have.
Here's the fruits of my labor. (aka: FUN)
Almost two one gallon bags of fillets, skinned de-boned and ready to share with mom....So I can come over for dinner. She's a way better cook than I am.
It don't get no fresher than that!
***REPORTS DAILY:
WWW.CAPTDAVES.BLOGSPOT.COM
Call for reservations:
904-642-9546
www.captdaves.com |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 67
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, November 15, 2007 - 1:56 pm: | |
11/14 - PERFECT IN EVERY WAY
Yep, compared to 4 days ago when the wind was HONKIN' 20 knots or better at times and the bite shut down to nearly nothing....here came the WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY. Some take it, some let it go by. Who do you think I am??
And man was it a day that made ya feel good to be an avid angler in North Florida. Cool, light breeze if any, slick calm waters, perfect tides, and some of the best live shrimp I've seen in awhile filled my live well to the rim.
Good company, great conversation, loads of laughs, no bait stealers, perfect water temp, and fish after fish after QUALITY fish!
Nick Watson, Drummer and leader of the band RATHKELTAIR joined me today. Being the kinda of guy that has his days off, and bangs on the pots and pans at night. I've sort of taken him under my wing, and helped him learn the ropes. And he's become a "Float Freak", like me. I'm a fan of the his band, also. He has a boat too, a 17 footer and we swap trips back and forth. Sometimes a smaller boat is just what I need to do a little R&D in, and Nick's always ready to go.
I've been absolutely DIEING to get out to the "big rocks", because it's that time of year that a short drive 2.5 miles out to the inlet and 2.5 miles back can mean a all day adventure, without a long boat ride anywhere else. Plus, the weather had the inlet looking gorgeous today. And so was the ocean, because 90% of the boats at the ramp looked to be heading offshore. They too haven't had it all that easy.
The bite is on out there also. And the weather only gives you a few days of window to take advantage this time of year. Unlike inshore fishing, I can go about anytime. But the bite on the other hand, maybe limited when a "front" pushes through.
We started off on a spot that in my mind is INFAMOUS when it comes to float-rig fishing the jetties, with a live shrimp. Year after year, this is the 'go to' spot for about all I'd ever want. And we sat there for FOUR hours having our float's first drug under by big fat Trout, then Redfish, then a few Sheepshead. Which by the way is a
"here's yer sign" tell tale that it's now the best time of the year for this inshore fisherman. When I start catching Sheepshead on the float-rig and live shrimp....My heart starts to flutter, I get so damn excited. Because that means the water temp is perfect, and it's go time for gamefishing fun.
We fished on this spot all that time and NEVER caught a single junkfish.
To put it plainly, Nick and I put on a "clinic" for all the "Sheepherder fisherman" near by dabbing over the side with fiddler
crabs as they watched us. We banged one fatty after another.
And Nick learned how important the tide was. Besides water clarity, and the water movement around the jetty rocks. Which makes this area special to a float-rigger, like me. I know when it's right...I can just feel it.
After hours past and the tide slowed, the bites dropped off and it was time to make a move. So I pulled anchor and headed to the next spot.
A very short ride to spot #2, I anchored up, grabbed my jigging rod, pinned on a live shrimp and made a cast up to the jetty rocks. My jig sank for about 4 seconds and I felt the distinct tap, tap through my Loomis 8'2" Greenwater rod, and Stren super braid line. I lifted up and there it was another healthy Redfish burning line off my low profile Shimano Curado reel. I was "first cast" lucky all day long. Then it was Nick's turn....I.G. (instantaneous gratification) for him too! We both had Reds from 25-27" long. "We're gonna be in a rally of fish here again", I said to Nick, as I netted his fish then rebaited. It was CLINIC time again. Because on almost every single cast we caught a beautiful slot sized Redfish....many times we got our timing perfect and had double headers, having both of us setting the hook at the exact same time.
Then came the first Black Drum, because I let my jig fall a bit deeper. And that's all she wrote....we wanted the Drum for the fish box. So Redfish actually became the bycatch of the day. We wanted freezer fish. We had our 1 per person per day Redfish limit hours ago. And it wasn't all that hard to entice a Black Drum to the fish box either. They were so schooled up that in a matter of an hour or so we had caught 10 or more Reds (released) and put 10 Black Drum in the fish box.
The Drum ranged from 18" to a hefty 7-8 pounds. I love 'em. I like to Blacken "black" Drum on my iron skillet outside in my summer kitchen. (actually it's my outdoor 12 month a year kitchen) I have not cooked a single meal inside the house since I lived where I do. I have a porch and deck on the back of my detached garage, where I have my double burner fish cooker, and stainless steel gas grill. As a bachelor, I can get away with doing things my way. And I cook outside.
After we boxed our 10th Drum, we pulled up anchor and went in search of more Speckled Trout. And I found them, no problem. But many were just 15 inches (the legal size limit) but Nick and I decided to go ahead and only keep larger ones. So we hit the last spot of the day and that's where we found some fatties again and topped off the second 72 qt. cooler I had in the boat.
Plus, I caught the first Black Margate of the year too, on the float-rig.
We burned about 12 dozen live shrimp between the 2 of us. And the shrimp we got from B&M bait and tackle were superb today. "Wade the shrimp man", from Nassau County must have had a banner day shrimping, as we had fishing. Because these "river crickets" were super lively and fresh besides being the perfect size. It was just a perfect day all the way around.
At the dock, we took the time to take all the fish we kept (our limits of Reds, Drum, Trout, and the two Sheepshead, Margate, and Yellowmouth Trout) out of the cooler for an end of day photo. I put Nick in front of the fish, got ready to snap the picture and thought, "if they bit like this everyday, I'd really have my work cut out for me when it came to fish cleaning".
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
www.captdaves.com
904-642-9546 |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 66
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 06, 2007 - 12:58 pm: | |
11/5 - Too Long, Too Less (Jacksonville Fl)
Well it's been some really beautiful fall weather.......and still the most popular month is JULY!
Why people want to come here and sweat in the stifling heat, I'll never know.
Now.....is the time of year to fish!
It was cool in the morning and oh so pleasant in the afternoon. I live for this time of year. I day dream about it all summer long. I'd like to be somewhere that's like this all the time.
Nick and I hit the water, with our little tiny "shcrimps". An acronym for shrimp and scrimping, combined. (they're obviously running tiny right now)
So small I was thinking....."where the hell did I put my #10 hooks??"
Float rig fishing ONLY, was our game. Looking for piles of Trout in the river, was the plan.
But there's that ole saying you can only do what the tide allows. So we tried variations on some of the same spots, just fishing out deeper rather than shallower. Outside a line of docks rather than up in them. But it produced Croakers and Yellowmouth Trout rather than our target fish...out sized Specks. And where I'd think this time of year the Trout would be stacked up, we'd catch (more like Nick) would catch one good sized fish. And that's all the spot would give up.
This certainly is'nt like "years past", in which we set our standards upon. Because what is fishing anyhow? Learning patterns, habitual traits, and following up on what you may have done days ago, that worked. Well, we'd find fish, alright but they'd be either "one or two" rather than a school, or they'd be "shorts".
And then we had to go get some more shrimp because we were running out, because of all the Mangrove Snappers that are still infesting every trout spot, rock pile, or dock piling. Right there is all the evidence I need to prove too me that the water temp just isn't cold enough down below yet. So when I read a 69-73 degree temp on my machine, it's really just a false reading. Because down below I'm sure it's warmer. Or is it that our livewell eating buddies are growing resistant to the clloer waters, compared to their southern cousins?
We fished all day long, and in my opinion not getting what I came for. Nick on the other hand was Mr. Lucky. He must have ate his Lucky Charms that morning before I met him at the bait shop. "Is that why it took him so long to get there, even though he lives 90 seconds away from B&M?"
There was times we'd drop anchor on a spot, I'd tell him "float your bait thru right there...the Trout should be 18-20 inches, no dinks" and he'd do it and catch one immediately! I'd try and come up with squatola or shorties! Then, he'd do it again. I told him,"see what a good fishing guide I am? I can tell ya everything there is to know about where they are and the size they'll be"....but I couldn't catch one myself!!!!! And this happened time and time again. And if I didn't know that I could be out here doing this all over again the next day, I would have been getting pissed.
Personally, I was keeping big Mangos and Croakers and yellowmouths so I could have something to eat, because it didn't look as if I was gonna catch any good sized Trout.....I was the small Trout guy all day, till the very end. While Nick had no trouble putting fish in the box up to 19 inchers. We didn't find any super studs, which was the days plan, and never even lucked into a Flounder or a Redfish.
I guess I did luck into a big Red on one spot. My float went down fast as it was 70 feet behind the boat, along a set of pilings. And before I could do a thing a very strong fish ran my float threw the pilings and got my line woven into ever barnacle encrusted pillar it could. I was like Larry Dalhberg on that TV show 'HUNT FOR BIG FISH'. I crouched, reared back, almost knocked Nick over, hit him in the head with my rod, and hung over the side of the boat, grunting and groaning.....doing all I could to reel, reel, reel, pull, pull, pull that ass-hander from out of the pilings. But it broke me off, before I knew what happened.
We ended up fishing all the way up to high tide in the late afternoon, being the died hards we are. Till hunger got the best of us and there was no current left. So Nick and I went to Capt. Dave's Club House, the Grand China Buffet on Mayport Rd. Where I spend a lot of lunch and dinner hours, with fellow fisherman.
Well, it's "time to go make the donuts", and clean the fish that Nick was graciously willing to split with me. And do some tidying up of the boat.
So if you're someone wanting a fishing charter, I highly recommend November 1st through June 30th. So what, if sweatshirts and hats are needed in the morning, right now. No passing out from the heat.....yep, I've had a few "Nanook's from the North" about pass-out from the summer's heat on me before. They just ain't used to it.
I'm so looking forward to what winter brings in the river and at the inlet's jetties.
-Jumbo Speckled Trout
-Jumbo Yellowmouth Trout
-Black Drum
-Redfish, on the float up in the rocks
-and NO bait stealers!
LET'S GO!
REPORTS DAILY UPDATED REPORTS AT:
www.captdaves.blogspot.com
Charter info:
www.captdaves.com
Call: 904-642-9546 |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 65
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 02, 2007 - 3:04 pm: | |
Nov. 1st - Enough is enough wind!
Had Kathy and Rick with me today only after calling them real early and saying, "Can we go on Saturday or Sunday? " Kathy said, "Can't go then, we're heading out of town then".
So as I pulled the "Metal Monster"out of it's lair, here came the rain. Oh no!! Can this get any worse? I thought, it was 6am.
Yes, it can. Kathy and Rick are from San Diego, California and are yearly regulars of mine.....SAN DIEGO.......They left forest fires, and a 5.6 Earth Quake back home. Now they're here in Florida, and we have Tropical Storm NOEL!!
I was wishing for weather like we had last year when Kathy and Rick came November 9 & 10th. It was a lot cooler and very nice. Besides we hit what I figured was the EXODUS, in the creeks. Exodus of shrimp and following right behind was LOADS of Trout, BIG TROUT! (here's a snap-shot of last years first trout,of the morning (5 pounds) that Big Rick caught!)
Unfortunately, that didn't happen today.
Kathy caught the only Speckled Trout all day, small ones mostly and just a few 14-7/8th's inchers.
All the while the 20-25 knot winds, over cast skies and noise pollution of all those jets practicing for the Air Show this weekend, were giving us major grief!
The rest of the fish we caught were Bluefish, some tiny Yellowmouths, and a Mangrove Snapper along with the incessant Pinfish when we were up in the shallows.
Damn, was it windy. Most of the places we tried I couldn't even stay anchored. The wind would blow so hard, whipping the boat back and forth snatching it out of the bottom.
And we were supposed to go again tomorrow.
When Rick and Kathy come we always fish two days back to back. And in past years we've really had some great days. Kathy is getting to know what seasons I prefer. Or at least she's getting to know that "Bobber Fishin" as she calls it, is best in the fall, winter, and spring.
She's officially a Float Freak now, because last year she caught he largest Trout she ever tangled with. A solid 6 pounder. She was so proud of it she had the fish mounted here in Jacksonville and shipped to her in California. (that her 6 pounder next to Ricks 4 pounder, they had a double hook up at the same time!)
Last year they caught bunches of 3, 4 and 5 pound Specks, along with Drum and Reds. It was an amazing two days!
But going with this years theme of being one long summer and a really weird fall so far. Today's weather wasn't a real shocker to me. I look so forward to them coming, and even rushed to have some new tackle here and ready for when they arrived. But just felt as today approached, the weather wouldn't cooperate.
Really finishing up my my ultimate arsenal, for deeper water, big fish Float-rigging I made plans to have ready new G. Loomis Bucara 8' rods matched to Shimano Tekota 300 reels.
I wanted these for using a larger float heavier leader, larger hooks and a 2 ounce trout lead. Instead of trying to make work my lighter rods with a small float, lighter leader and a 1 ounce trout lead that's now just reserved for shallower water and slower current. We got the opportunity to use the new rigs, but only caught a few blues, mangrove snappers and small trout.
Actually we did pretty good today considering. We went through 7 and a half dozen live shrimp today. Mostly because of the bait stealers. But I told Kathy, "I bet no out here caught as many Trout as you did today."
Nothing today was worth taking a picture of. It was gloomy and dark all day. Although the water temp was 72-73 degrees 'on the surface', by no means has the water temp really dropped low enough to rid of the river bait snatchers. There's still plenty out there. And have you ever noticed, that no matter how terrible of a day it is, windy, rainy, overcast, a terrible barometer, or even red tide, the bait snatchers always bite?? It's one of those things that makes ya go, Hmmm?
Looks like this weekend "MAY" calm down some, but still things will be really shook-up out there. The VFW Croaker tournament is this weekend, along with the air show at the Navy Base.
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
www.captdaves.com
www.captdaves.blogspot.com
904-642-9546 |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 64
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, October 27, 2007 - 7:19 pm: | |
10/27 - First real day of winter on the water.
Ahhhhh....Cool weather! It started a few days ago, I guess. But today was winter on the water for myself and Nick. And at the same time, unfortunately it was a wet first day.
I met to go on Nicks boat, (his 17 Seachaser) at B&M Bait and Tackle at 8am. Where it looked like rain, and by the time we got our ice and shrimp and were ready to head to the boat ramp, it was raining.
No big deal, I brought a light rain jacket, a really old rain jacket that leaks, and was in shorts wearing of course, my Crocs. Nick was in full Frogg Toggs rain gear. The tide was high as we left with some serious rise still to come. A 6.3' High Tide, which meant a lot of fooling around till it turned, and a lot of Dave getting really wet and cold as the wind blew.
It was actually very cold out on the water. So much that through my leaky jacket, wet shorts and Crocs I needed to do something about this situation. So we headed back to the boat ramp, so I could run home real quick and get my full weather gear, and a fleece shirt for me and one for Nick...and to put on my winter Crocs. As we got to the ramp there was others there who were calling it quits, already.
Home and back in exactly 14 minutes, I was decked out in my serious winter wear, and Nick was warmer in a fleece shirt too. So off to any where different than the first two places we tried at the super flood tide. Although a few bait stealer's, one catfish and one small Trout were caught. So as we headed north from the Oak Harbor boat ramp on our second half of the day, I suggested a spot.
And for the next several hours we sat there having a great time. I mean, ya know it's a good spot when "yours truly" flips out my first live river cricket (shrimp) on the Float-rig and it drifts 10 feet and I have a 4 pound Trout hooked up. That's a "here's yer sign" situation!
(also know as Instantaneous Gratification)
So we got real busy fishing all angles possible, and started hooking up Trout after Trout.
Some were just under 15", but most weren't.
And then of course here comes the FWC. And picking the lowest fruit on the tree is always how they conduct business. Even though just 30 minutes before we watched multitudes of "Ghetto Cruisers" (giant boats that throw enormous wakes) run full speed ahead through the "Minimal Wake Zone" behind the Little Jetties. So we had to go through that routine before commencing our Trout Wackage.
I did get out of one Officer, "Holy Cow, that's a nice Trout"....I told him that's why I fish here.
Back on track now, Nick started to wack'em damn good. Then he caught a Bluefish we thought was another big Trout, then he caught a "chipper" Flounder.....Hmmm, variety?? But as the tide got low in a real hurry. More variety came, as in the Mangrove Snapper, juvenile Grouper category. I said to Nick, "before this current gone we ought to catch a few more Trout", and he caught 2 more, and I caught one.
Expectations Exceeded!
What more could two guys in full winter fishing out wear ask for?
It was a good day as long as the tide was falling.
Because all it took was to choose a good spot, get a little lucky and we were quickly forgetting about the weather.
It's funny how accustomed one can get to having endless amounts of room in a boat. Nick 17' Seachaser is a nice little boat. But as he said, "It sure is different huh? Your always running into something." That maybe, but I have to remember how good I have it when it's just a few of us on my boat. It's all the room you want. I saw a boat ad for a bay boat the other day, that had a slogan, "EVERY THING YOU NEED, AND NOTHING YOU DON'T" Which perfectly describes my boat, I feel. We went no where today in Nick's 17 footer that I couldn't have gone in my 26 footer. And even though it was a tide with 2 feet higher water than normal....shallow was a relative term, today. We tried it, but really didn't catch what we wanted till we got into the main part of the river.
We end up with our Trout limit easily and threw back a few small ones and keepers, kept a big Croaker, and a Bluefish for Redfish cut bait on a later trip.....and I was loving it. And will love these eats, too.
It maybe Flounder time for many, but I'm not gonna throw the cast net for hours at high tide for Mullet. My bait is Live Shrimps! And B&M had some super sweet ones today.
And those lil' bait stealing sand perch in the creeks at high tide convinced me you don't need to gripe if you get bit by a Mangrove Snapper in a creek! The Sand Perch were everywhere in the creeks we fished.
It felt 100% different on the water compared to on land. And that's a sure sign of a wintery type day. But hold on to your hats folks, because the difference "on Land" versus "on the water" for the next few days is gonna be dramatic! We're in for a Big Blow. This time of year the fronts, or Noreasters will start to pass through way more frequently. And even though it's a real pain, when they land on the days I have people reserved for, or on every single weekend. Just don't forget about how hot and miserable it was in July. Unless you like catching more Needlefish than Trout, and more Jacks and Ladyfish than Redfish, in the river around Mayport.
I know I don't. We're finally getting into "MY" time of year.
And it spells, T-R-O-U-T !
-------
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
www.captdaves.com
www.captdaves.blogspot.com
Jacksonville - Amelia island Florida
904-642-9546 |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 63
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, October 24, 2007 - 4:47 am: | |
I make it really easy for people to see what's going on because a picture says a thousand words....
Recent Catch pages 1 thru 8 are filled with what's been going on along the banks of the St. Johns River and out at the inlet near Jacksonville, Florida. Actually, along the coast in the village of Mayport. 2.5 miles from Lake Atlantic.
Check out all 8 pages: http://www.captdaves.com/Catch1.htm
Differences this year:
*Hot & humid in October. (Oct 23rd almost 90 degrees)
*Setting records for the month in high temps.
*Water temp's still near the 80's.
*bait everywhere
*Croakers in river are bigger than past years
*Trout are scattered
*Bull Redfish spawning congregation from river to inlet.
As soon as winter does hit, and river water temps go down to the low 70's, (which may not be till late December), all hell's gonna break loose!!
And fishing is damn good right now, so I can't wait till then too.
Doesn't matter, cause I'm not going anywhere. I'll be here fishing every day I can book.
Let's go catch some Junk Yard Dogs!
On light tackle. G. loomis backbounce rods and Accurate twin drag mini B-197's, circle hooks and a piece of cut mullet or croaker. It's big fun!
---------
Absolute top quality tackle, bait and boat.
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
Jacksonville to Amelia Island Fla.
www.captdaves.com
www.captdaves.blogspot.com
904-642-9546 |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 62
Registered: 7-2005
Rating:
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, October 21, 2007 - 1:28 pm: | |
10/19 - We ended up really WET.
Jacksonville to Amelia Island
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
www.captdaves.com
email: charter@captdaves.com
daily reports: www.captdaves.blogspot.com
Phone 904-642-9546
---------------------
I took John and Dennis today. First off we went to the inlet, for some string stretching' Redbass. It didn't take long for my big mullet chunks to be sniffed out by those "noses with fins and a tail".
But before we threw out the first line, I just had to try and find out, "what is all that carpeting the bottom of the ocean". Remember, I thought they were Pogies in a recent report two days ago??
Well, if they were I probably would have caught some. Because I didn't, and it had me very curious. I threw my net dead on the schools of fish that were huggy the bottom, several times. But came in with an empty cast net. Usually when I put the A-Scope feature on my bottom machine and zoom in real good. I can cast my net dead-on what ever is right under the boat.
And the only thing I came up with was one small lil' Threadfin Herring, aka: "greenies".
Hmmm, is that what is carpeting the bottom out there......Redfish Candy???
So with a tight time line, with the falling tide running out quickly, I baited up one rod with the mini Greenie, and another with a big chunk of Mullet. The Greenie didn't last long at all, and was eaten up right away by a small Blacktip shark. Thank goodness those sharks are not the monster ones that do the arial spinning job on ya. Because I'd really be spending a lot of time re-rigging, not like I'm not doing that 1/2 the time anyhow. But there should be some of those big Sharks around, chasing these spawning Redbass out on the sand. I suppose the small sharks haven't earned their wings yet....they all stay water bound when reeling them in.
I guess since Greenies are fast and not seemingly as stupid and slow as Pogies, I'll have to take the "bait rod" out there with me and jig up some, since the cast net seems futile. Or what the heck just use the cut mullet that really seem to work just as good.
Dennis was on deck, and soon realized, this ain't no small shark! This time as the rod bowed in the shape of a horse shoe, and the circle hook grabbed tight.
I don't get on a soap box about quality tackle making fishing easier and with less headaches as I see other fishing guides do, but when your exited as I am about how good somethings work, you can excuse it a time or two. If you are looking for the Most Top Quality in "smallest reels" that can handle Big Reds, Tarpon, and even sharks, King Mackerel, and probably some bottom fish offshore. I'd HIGHLY reccomend ACCURATE twin Drag reels. In these photo's you can see how big these reels are. Not Very! It's a B-197 Accurate twin drag. Smaller than a Garcia Ambassador 6500, with 300 yard capacity of 50 pound Braided line. BUT...with twin drags. One on each side of the spool, like a brake caliper. They are lever drags on all Accurates. And this tiny reel can drop 20 to 30 pounds of drag pressure on a fish in a single throw of the lever! And do not be mistaken, no other reel made has a "twin drag". The tiny, light weight champion of reels can pack some serious punch. Operate flawlessly with silky smooth operation, year after year. I have owned mine for more than 5 years now and would not trade them for anything else. I have done zero maintenance on them, either. I like aluminum things that are bullet proof, and these reels are like my boat in many aspects. So they fit my style. Machined aluminum, and stainless steel through out. And with multitudes of stainless steel bearings, they cast like rockets and will make your thumb smoke, if your not careful on long high speed casts! Not comparable to any Shimano, Avet, or Penn. Huge amounts of fish-ability in a tiny little package, that kick fish ass. For all inshore species, including the big ones at the jetties. These Lil reels work. I have larger ones, one or two sizes bigger. And do not prefer them, over the versatile smaller ones. Go to: http://www.accuratefishing.com/ - or click on my Pro Staff site links on the upper side bar of this page. And look at what they have to offer if you're in the market for small reels for big fish with a flawless drag system. And tell 'em Capt Dave sent ya. Accurate is a great company and with exceptional products. Locally available at Strike Zone, ask Dave and he'll order them for ya.
You don't see many if any other inshore or offshore charter fishing boats around here using as fine as tackle as I do with my clients. I want them using the best I can obtain, period!
Back to fishin'.....we worked on some more Redfish, and shark bites. And even had a Chinese fire drill around the anchor line with one fish. And these fresh water fisherman, had a new found respect for Brutus T. Redbass!
And best of all, there was not a single other boat out there where we were fishing. We had the whole Ocean to ourselves. I think it was Dennis who said, "where are all the other boats, on a Friday?" I said, "it may actually be that time of year that not everyone is working a 4 day week."
But that all changed when we ran up into the
river to do some Float-rig fishing.
Holy Moly, there was boats all over the Croaker
holes. At the tip of Blount Island alone there
had to be 15 boats all anchored up.
But as we all know.......or do we? Fish don't attract boats, boats attract boats. Or at least that's how some people operate. Personally, I don't like any boats, anywhere near me....I enjoy complete solitude.
Unfortunately, I arrived on my spot and the falling tide was about dead. But as we sat there, it didn't seem to matter. Dennis and John hooked up on monster Croakers, Trout, Flounder and of course some Mangrove snappers and juvenile Grouper. The only part I don't like about "not" having enough current is having to do a crash course in "bait casting" with folks that have only used spinning reels their whole lives. But we worked thru that quickly. Spinning reels and Float-rigging is like oil and water, in my book.
We were busy enough. I got just one shot of our inshore/river fishing. I should have taken a few pics of the other fish, too.
We ended up moving and experimenting at
a spot that I know has some great pup Drum on
it as the tide pushes in and readily bite a shrimp on the float rigs. But the wind had picked up to a steady aggravating gale as dark clouds filled with rain headed our way. So after three leaping Ladyfish with only one making it to the boat. I made the decision that we better "beat feet" outa here, before we get hammered. So we took off to the ramp. Only to head right into a heavy rain storm that drenched us to the bone as everyone else too was heading to the dock.
It was a fun day, and every thing worked out great except the getting seriously wet and the blown around part.
Recent catch page from today: http://www.captdaves.com/Catch8.htm |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 61
Registered: 7-2005
Rating:
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 13, 2007 - 6:02 am: | |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
Jacksonville-Amelia island Florida.
904-642-9546
www.captdaves.com - for charter fishing info
---------------------------------------------
For Daily Reports Blog & photos go check out: WWW.CAPTDAVES.BLOGSPOT.COM
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9/11 - Just the Opposite?
Got a late call yesterday, from Scott Jones. He has a boat, but had some trailer problems. Has a buddy, Bob coming into town. Wanted to take him fishing. But figured out that a charter would be probably work better.
I told him about how good we did on some nice Redbass yesterday, so he signed on for a trip.
BUT since the tide seemed to be an endless incoming in the river yesterday morning. I opted for a 10am departure, instead of a early departure as I usually do in the summer months.
(yes, it's still summer here) So at about 9am Scott met me at the boat ramp. I said, "You sure are early", as was I. But that was okay, we sat in the boat and bullshitted for a while, and found out via a phone call that Bob was running way behind schedule. So Scott and I took off and went fishing while Bob would call us when he got to the ramp, so we could pick him up.
Scott and I ran to a area I've fished since the first days I've lived in J-ville Florida, when I was straight out of the Air Force. And now that, I don't just stand on the dock and fish, have found it to be a great Trout and Flounder spot. I worked it with minimal success yesterday....but that was okay we did great on the Redfish afterwards. So with high hopes I ran Scott there so as to try our luck.
PAY DIRT...right off the "git-go". Five Specks within minutes of anchoring up, up to 5 pounds!
Between the Mangrove Snapper bites it was all about getting the bait past the hungry bait snatchers, and if ya did, Float down and big fat Trout hooked up. Then Bob called and said he was at the boat ramp. So I pulled anchor and we ran all the way back to get him, then back to the same spot again. Tide had changed that quick. So now I had to reposition.
INSTANT SPECKS. Bob and Scott were hooked up. A few shorts, but instead of all big fatties now they were schoolies, but alot of keepers. So It didn't matter. Within minutes it was 5 more good Specks in the box. And then they sort of just shut down.
Time to go bottom fishing for some of those Big Reds!
So we packed up and ran east. But today the wind was strong, about 15 knots from the South East. And that made it a tad more difficult to get on my Redfish hole. But I tried anyhow.
Big cut pieces of Mullet out on two rods with circle hooks. We were on the mark and ready.
And we sat waiting on a bite, and waiting and waiting. The wind was now gusting like crazy and the sky darkened to the west with a dark loop of clouds to the east too. I swear there was Gust of wind that had to push 25 knots at least as the dark skies approached. Still no Redfish bites.
Just hooked one MONSTER Stone Crab........Which is a "Here's yer sign", that this spot has some serious under water ledges and caverns below. Because that's where St. Johns River Stone Crabs lurk. I liked seeing that crab, it confirmed my suspicions, and feel I get of the bottom as I reel in my heavy weights used to fish the this spot.
The winds and approaching weather had me saying....."lets go before something kicks our asses, that is brewing above us."
So we headed to the boat ramp to clean the Trout and Mangrove Snappers we caught earlier.
And just getting to the ramp in that wind was a chore. Man, can the Mayport Boat Ramp be the Mother of all creatures big and small. If you can dock there in a gale, along with that whipping current you can dock anywhere. Scot and Bob were a huge help, too.
We ended up missing, all but the big winds. No rain, and no lightning. Although we saw some far off.
The opposite was that yesterday we caught hardly any Trout, not from a lack of trying though. And did great on the Reds. While today we did great on the Trout with 2 limits kept for supper and no Reds. It was just the opposite!
_______________________________________
Capt. Dave Sipler is a fulltime fishing guide out of Jacksonville's Mayport area, north to Amelia Island. He specializes in St. Johns River,the Mayport Inlet near-coastal waters, and Amelia Island Nassua Sound and Nassua River area for tarpon, shark, pompano, drum, sheepshead, speckled sea trout and trophy redfish. His motto is: No Long Boat Rides! Custom 26' Plate Alloy fishing machine powered by a Honda 225 HP quiet outboard, top of the line tackle from G. Loomis and Accurate reels
Contact Info:
Capt. Dave Sipler
Phone: 904-642-9546
Email The Captain: charter@captdaves.com
Visit His Web Site: www.captdaves.com |
Bob Cosby (Captain_bob_cosby)
New member
Username: Captain_bob_cosby
Post Number: 22
Registered: 11-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 11, 2007 - 8:24 am: | |
Florida Fishing Report for:
Intracoastal Waterway, St Johns River and Nearshore Waters from Fernandina to Saint Augustine
Updated: September 07, 2007.
Inshore/nearshore report Jacksonville area waters
The water is cooling slightly with the current northeaster. The shrimp and mullet should be flowing out of area inlets stimulating tarpon and redfish activity. Loads of mangrove snapper have invaded our waters, although the majority are undersized. They are fun to catch and keep the rods bent. Ladyfish keep them company, along with jack crevalle. Speckled trout are hitting topwater lures early and late, particularly on high tides. Flounder should fire off with the mullet run. Fish the docks and rocks in Mayport and the jetties. Finger mullet, mud minnows, and artificials will all produce results. <img>
Bull redfish are in the river along the channel edges. Fish the turn of the tide, preferably in the late afternoon with crab, cut croaker, cut ladyfish, etc. Use plenty of weight in 35 to 42ft of water. Also, use heavy tackle to subdue the fish quickly and carefully release these valuable spawners. Reds are also at area inlets, both in the rocks and along the channel.
Tight lines! CAPT Bob
--
Captain Bob's Fishing Charters,Inc.
http://www.captainbobsfishingcharters.com |
CaptainIDS (Captainids)
New member
Username: Captainids
Post Number: 12
Registered: 9-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 05, 2007 - 10:00 am: | |
Are you a Licensed Coast Guard Captain?
This is for you
http://www.captainids.com/ |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 60
Registered: 7-2005
Rating:
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, September 02, 2007 - 4:12 pm: | |
From the pages of www.Captdaves.blogspot.com
Daily reports & photos for Jacksonville to Amelia Island Florida.
9/2 - Great Day....was this a "cold spell"??
I can't remember a single day this summer so far as pleasant as today was. Down right "chilly", I'd say. No, it wasn't cold at all, but so dang nice. It just made me feel really good.
See what a completely overcast day, light winds and a weather system of some sort over our neighbors in Georgia can do? Made for one hell of a nice day. Not to mention I had some really good company out there with me.
Thursday, when I went on my long journey north, far far away from the Mayport area to do some exploring and enjoy the serenity. I came back down the Intra-coastal water way and stopped by the ship yard at Sisters creek. In hopes of sending a float rigged with a big fat local river cricket (shrimp) up under the pier at the shipyard, so to catch some Trout. But the current wasn't running right and all I caught was more Jacks. And up on the pier walks Jason, a Captain of a 150 yacht that's up on the dry dock getting some work done. He asked how things were going and asked me what I've been catching. To make a long story short, he gave me a call and brought two crew members.......(Boy, I'm bad with names. Drew and Phil???? If I don't right names down I quickly forget)
I told him I had Sunday open, so he reserved Sunday at 0630 hrs, at the dock for a river charter.
He mentioned he'd like to Redbass and Trout fish. Perfect because that's what I like to do too.
We talked Tarpon, but with the chances of getting slim to no chum, or at least not enough to do the job. We settled on a river trip.
Armed with 120 live shrimp, and a dozen mullet we left the dock and headed west, then a bit south on the river.
We picked and poked (that's what I call it when we have to hunt up a good spot) But we ended up only fishing 3 spots all day. Catching some Trout, and battling through the too many Mangrove snapper bites as usual.
A big fish probably a large Drum was lost to the anchor line. Wish we could have seen that one. We had to settle for perfect eating size Black Drum rather than Redbass, because they were there and willing.
We went through all 120 shrimp, had maybe a 1/2 dozen or more die, that's all. Which is next to nothing compared to the fatalities I have been getting, because of the hot sun and hot water.
And on the last shrimp of the day, Jason hooked a big strong fish. Acted like a Redbass, and a big one......and even fooled me when it came up and was a about a 7 pound Jack Crevalle.
One of the guys caught a big Mangrove Snapper from under a dock....big figuratively speaking, about 15". Most are 3-4" and are nothing but bait stealers, which is their trade while growing up in the river, before heading offshore. The fella's caught about a dozen Trout, and keeping the solid 15" or better ones. Small Grouper, Ladyfish, Jacks, Needlefish, Pinfish, and a Skate. That's why I take 10 dozen live shrimp for 3 guys!! In December, all I'll need is 6 dozen because all the bait stealers will vacate the river. But the action was relatively constant.
And they went away with a nice big bag of fillets, which is number one in my book. I want to get plenty of "eaters", if I can.
While cleaning fish at the dock, I quickly realized what a zoo it was out there today. People everywhere. But since we started early and finished up early, and went far far away. We never had to deal with the holiday boat traffic.
If "labor day" is the un-official end to summer. I'm going to pay close attention to see if this applies here. Will the weekends get a bit less crowded, or will it stay the same. I always say when the official start of Football season begins is when crowds thin out....and that's just around the corner too.
See more of today's photo's on this link to Recent Catch Page #4:
http://www.captdaves.com/Catch4.htm |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 59
Registered: 7-2005
Rating:
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, September 01, 2007 - 7:56 am: | |
8/30 - Refresher course...in back country Florida
Since this "end of August" is about the same as the end of August last year........D-E-A-D. (where is everyone? I hope ya'll are saving it up for September and October!!)
I decided to treat myself with a road-trip...or is that a boat trip?
I went on about a 30 mile or more one way trip, yesterday. To an area of N.E. Florida I hope to frequent some more as fall approaches.
I headed way NORTH.
I'll give ya'll a clue. I went to where there's no other fisherman, no Helicopters, no wakes from tug boats, no Navy noise pollution. No harassment from the Coasties, no FWC either. A pristine area of our Florida, that 99.999% of those boats "running around like chickens with no heads" on the weekends, don't know exists.
Can ya' believe there is such a place? Yes, there is. And thank goodness they don't know about it.
(sorry no pictures....I was busy looking around and fishing)
But the only problem was, which was a huge one. Is that there was no fish caught, while I was there. No "real" fish that is. Of course I went as an observer, and to clear my head of the Mayport area. It was really nice seeing what real BACKCOUNTRY MARSH LANDS are really like.
The marsh grass was greener, and had a different look to it, even. Probably because of the influence of much more Fresh Water.
The biggest problem is I went there on a Full Moon incoming tide, and man was the tide high too. Kinda the opposite of when I should have been there. All I could scrape up was some Ladyfish and Jacks......about the same thing I'm catching at home. I did catch some big shrimp in a creek with my castnet, and saw a Dolphin way up in a creek whollering around in 2 feet of water. And as I spooked it, the massive animal came rushing within inches of my boat at warp speed. I guess it doesn't see/hear boats very often, way up in there.
The salinity wasn't as high as the St. Johns River, the lowest I recorded on a very high tide was a 23 parts per thousand. Which is pretty damn low considering.
I was pretty upset I didn't find no "real" fish. Although I did see Tarpon rolling in a creek far, far, from where you'd think they'd be. The water was super muddy. A lot darker and stirred up than the St. Johns. The water just plain looked silty. They say that this area gets more rain that does the beaches of Jacksonville.
I did learn that, I will be back. But like everything else, this probably isn't the time of year for up there either. 86 degree water, and a hard E.S.E. 15 knot wind made it feel like just another hot summer day.
I treated myself to some nice scenery. Since I can now see really good after having Lasik surgery, by Dr. Schnipper. It's amazing. The whole process, and what they can do these days, for people that are so sight handicapped, like I "was".
--------------------------------------------------------
BTW, does anyone look at this page of my web site?
http://www.captdaves.com/news.htm - It's where I post tid-bits of info. And of course have all the info about my new boat, too. I have a special offer up on there now, too. Just in case I get some die hards that want to take full advantage of the Fall Season. In which I can't wait for.
I also have a link to a story written by a client on his web site, up there too. Which was nice of him to send to me. Check for News that may not show up here, on that page.
-----------------------------------------------
It's the Labor day holiday this weekend. Last year we had ERNESTO come by or thru. From the 30th of August to the 2nd of September. And I still had four charters that week, and we caught some BIG Redbass at the jetties. If I can get some Pogies I'll be looking to do that again this weekend, maybe.......at the jetties, briefly. I say briefly, because once I hook a 'STINGER', I'm out there!
Some kind of RAIN or STORM action wouldn't hurt the fishing right now, that's for sure. For some reason the local waters, really seem to need a rejuvenation right about now, and if we don't get it. It just means more of the same, till when the "cooling off" starts on it's own. And that's too long of a wait for me.
Posted by Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
www.captdaves.com - for trip info &
www.captdaves.blogspot.com for latest reports and photos. |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 58
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, September 01, 2007 - 7:54 am: | |
8/26 - Diggin' Deep
Ripped from the pages of:
www.captdaves.blogspot.com
Had Maryanne Davenport along with her sister Trish out today. (whens the last time I had two women out fishing without men aboard? About 4 years ago!)
After a long boring week of not much going on. I did go out all by me lonesome on Friday and again fought through Needlefish for a bunch of small Trout getting only 2 keepers at 15 inches.
I live way too far away from where the Trout really are, and that's way down river from the reports I've read, where the salinity isn't PURE SALT WATER (we need a big storm badly). And I just can't muster a night trip, to fish around lighted docks for Trout. Since I can't see very good in the dark, right now. (really bad eyes) Which I hope will get repaired with tomorrows Lasik surgery at 10am with Dr. Schnipper. I'm having a hard time driving at night let alone running down the river at night in my boat, by myself! Plus, I only fish the way I take my charters fishing. And I don't have that many people interested in heading out at 10pm till 4am! I certainly couldn't hack it. I'm a day person.
Today we started early because of the possible threat of storms, that are just now finally forming and I can hear the rubbling outside and it's 6:00pm. So actually we had nothing to worry about, unlike the Big Rains and lightning that happened here yesterday morning. We experienced a beautiful day, with one snag.....the full moon. I won't go into the details in depth when it comes to full moons and current at the inlet. But I'll just say we had NONE this morning at high tide.
We tried float-rigging the jetties for a Flounder, but that didn't work. We hooked up one Jack but it did an ass-handing trick and broke off in the jetty rocks. So I went to go get some Pogies on the beach. They were there, but scattered. Being patient, I wasn't going to push it. So I methodically probed around where we saw a "flip" or two. I studied my scope and really studied my "A-scope" feature on my sounder. And made a pitch with the cast net when they were right under the boat. That's what an "A-scope" feature is, it shows what's directly under the boat, in real time. A valuable tool when searching out bait schools.
I made a throw of the net and actually caught a bunch....and from then on all I could catch was 3 at a time. So not to crowd my small 14 gallon livewells I only put in a dozen or so to make sure they lived.
Here's where things really got interesting, and frustrating, depending who you were. Let's use this phrase as a header for the rest of the story;
"Summer Bottom Fishing.....or is it dumpster lid fishing?"
The reason I don't bottom fish much any more, is because I hate rays...preferably giant Stingrays. The only thing they are good for is ruining tackle, shark baits, and handing my charters their asses on a silver platter! I'm not in the Stingray charter business, and will quit and get a job at Home Depot before I equate stingrays in the sport fish catagory.
So as I dropped down live big fat pogies down to the bottom on 7/0 circle hooks and long 50 pound Mason Hard Type Nylon leaders, with an 8oz. lead, I knew what I was in for.
Instead we had almost instant strikes from not stingrays but most likely really big sharks!
I just didn't start bottom fishing the jetties yesterday. I can tell a Redfish from a Ray and a Ray from a Shark or a Shark from a Jack, and a Jack from a Tarpon. I had the drag pressure on my model 870 Accurate "twin drag" reels, slammed into max drag probably 30-40 pounds of drag pressure at the rod tip, and these sharks were jerking and haulin ass so fast they were un-stoppable in the falling tide current. Both broke off and that was 65 pound Super Braid line. Not broke but rather cut.
"Okay, were outa here!" I said, as the jetty anchor wouldn't hold anyhow. Next spot. Stingray almost instantly.......again anchor wouldn't hold here either.
By now I'm a re-rigging fool.....I re-rigged when float fishing 3-4 times and now, at least twice. And not a single fish to the boat.
So I go to the only place that's very close that my anchor may hold us in the current. Along the Navy Base. Again, instant Stingray hook-up again...I break it off purposely as it spools me against 30 pounds of drag pressure!!!!
Next up, finally I can tell it's a BIG Red. Targeted species. Maryanne, goes to battle.
Big Red's are good fighters and this one gave her a good tussle. But compared to a really big Jack, Shark or Stingray are actually controllable. I guess that's what makes them a good charter fish. Because they are controllable compared to some other large fish in the river and at the inlet.
Maryanne's Red weighed in at 23 pounds although it seemed larger to her and Trish.
After the Red, the tide got down and it was time for the Jacks to start marauding our giant pogies. Too big for the average river Jack to eat, they just chomp them and kill 'em while trying to eat them unsucessfully.
But we got 'em.
Trish reeled in one that ate a pogie and decided to just run ahead of the boat dragging the 8 ounce bank sinker along with it.
It was about 6-7 pounds.
Things cooled off quickly and it was time to head to the end of the jetty rocks because there would finally be some current out there. Which just earlier there was not.
But the Gals had enough fun in the sun and watching me re-rig the rods.
I guess that's my extent of bottom fishing for a long while, or until I see for myself the the Big spawning Reds are in full swing in my own back yard.
Believe me, working the float catching about anything is better that having your tackle ruined by giant dumpster lid sized Stingers!
All I can think about is by this time tomorrow I could be seeing 20/20 or even better, far away.
This Lasik stuff is really something. And I can't believe I'm getting it done. It'll be a new set of eyes.
And easier to watch my customers floats for them because they usually don't.
www.captdaves.com - for trip info.
904-642-9546 |
Bob Cosby (Captain_bob_cosby)
New member
Username: Captain_bob_cosby
Post Number: 21
Registered: 11-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 20, 2007 - 3:53 pm: | |
Florida Fishing Report for:
Intracoastal Waterway, St Johns River and Nearshore Waters from Fernandina to Saint Augustine
Updated: July 20, 2007.
Inshore/nearshore report Jacksonville area waters
We are definitely in our summer weather pattern with fishing early, dodge storms in the afternoon, and maybe fish after they pass through. We are also in the midst of the summer kingfish tournaments, which cause the boat ramp parking lots to fill up early.
The redfish are at the jetty tips, in the creeks, the river, and the ICW. The creeks have slowed some, due to much warmer water, so its best to fish them early.
Jacks and ladyfish, as well as a few blues, are still inshore. Trout can be caught with bait or top water lures early and late. Flounder are fairly common catches, also.
The river banks and channel edges are good areas to focus on during the summer. Some large reds have been caught using fall techniques fishing deep from an anchored boat.
The pogies have showed up, but they are usually scattered. It's time for the tarpon to be harassing the pods. Some tarpon have been caught behind shrimp boats when they dump thier by-catch. Chum fishing techniques rule right now.
Stay safe and tight lines! CAPT Bob Cosby
--
Captain Bob's Fishing Charters,Inc.
http://www.captainbobsfishingcharters.com |
Bob Cosby (Captain_bob_cosby)
New member
Username: Captain_bob_cosby
Post Number: 20
Registered: 11-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 25, 2007 - 4:50 pm: | |
Florida Fishing Report for:
Intracoastal Waterway, St Johns River and Nearshore Waters from Fernandina to Saint Augustine
Updated: June 21, 2007.
Inshore/nearshore report NE Florida
I'm seeing more tarpon around the Mayport jetties, which is encouraging. The pogies are scattered, but you can catch "greenies" on bait rigs at the jetty tips. Some bait size mullet can be cast netted on the outside of the rocks. I'm getting reports of plenty of shark action behind the shrimp boats and kingfish on the nearshore reefs. The jetty reds will hit mud minnows, greenies, mullet and live shrimp on jig heads. <img>
There has been a bit of a flounder run recently around the rocks and docks of the river and inlet. Speckled trout, jacks, ladyfish, and even the occasional snook are being caught in the ICW and river. Redfish and other saltwater species are being caught far up the river near Green Cove Springs, which is unusual.
Recently, I've been busy outfitting my new boat, a 21' Polar/Dynasty bayboat, which should be ready in a couple of days. It will be a little roomier on those four person charters!
Good fishing!
CAPT Bob
--
Captain Bob's Fishing Charters,Inc.
http://www.captainbobsfishingcharters.com |
Bob Cosby (Captain_bob_cosby)
New member
Username: Captain_bob_cosby
Post Number: 19
Registered: 11-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, June 22, 2007 - 3:21 pm: | |
Florida Fishing Report for:
Intracoastal Waterway, St Johns River and Nearshore Waters from Fernandina to Saint Augustine
Updated: June 21, 2007.
Inshore/nearshore report NE Florida
I'm seeing more tarpon around the Mayport jetties, which is encouraging. The pogies are scattered, but you can catch "greenies" on bait rigs at the jetty tips. Some bait size mullet can be cast netted on the outside of the rocks. I'm getting reports of plenty of shark action behind the shrimp boats and kingfish on the nearshore reefs. The jetty reds will hit mud minnows, greenies, mullet and live shrimp on jig heads.
There has been a bit of a flounder run recently around the rocks and docks of the river and inlet. Speckled trout, jacks, ladyfish, and even the occasional snook are being caught in the ICW and river. Redfish and other saltwater species are being caught far up the river near Green Cove Springs, which is unusual. [img]http://www.fish-tails.net/photopost/data/500/medium/McHugh_003.jpg[/img]
Recently, I've been busy outfitting my new boat, a 21' Polar/Dynasty bayboat, which should be ready in a couple of days. It will be a little roomier on those four person charters!
Good fishing!
CAPT Bob
--
Captain Bob's Fishing Charters,Inc.
http://www.captainbobsfishingcharters.com |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 57
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 17, 2007 - 6:19 am: | |
6/15 - Wish you were here, In Jacksonville!
(report taken from: www.captdaves.blogspot.com)
Why am I out whackin them like no tomorrow, by myself ??
Because I can. And no one wanted to go.
I caught them sitting down, relaxing...... yes, even die-hard's like me sit every once in awhile. But not for long. ( I have room for deck chairs!!)
Because things really went NUTZ as that tide got lower.
Before fishing one spot, most of the day. I did try two others.
The first one I pulled up to, I immediately had a nice fattie on
my first drift of the float. Second drift I got my azz handed to me
and lost the fish to a piling encrusted with oysters.
Then on my 3 drift I caught a small Flounder.
Then it was time to move on.....
I need me some better size T-routs, I thought.
And I found them BIG TIME.
It was a New Moon, so nothing was easy about figuring out the tides. But hell, they were strong tides. And I'll take strong current over weak current any day.
Since I'm a "tide runner" in the summer months, when I head up river if I don't have a 4.0' tide or better, you can bet your britches we won't have that great a day, because we won't have enough current/tide. A weak tide doesn't reach very far up river.
-Remember, I don't pick the days, ya'll do. If I could have picked one
for you IT WOULD HAVE BEEN TODAY!!!! But instead I just had two kinda wacky calls. When a woman calls me, it's inevitable, this "possible" charter will never happen. Why is that?
As you can see, I took a lot of photo's of MYSELF. Because I'm the only one I know that does DAILY reports,with photos, trying to convince people, "yes, I'm YOUR man."
All these fish, and no waves, seasickness, or getting beat-up.
Right in my backyard.
Does anyone of the calls I get, that I send here ever look at this Blog? I wish I knew. I do this for potential customers, not for myself.
Yesterday's blog entry was to educate folks that haven't a clue on why we charge what we do. All this (here) I do.....is home work, I do for YOU. I'd love to be sitting in my lazy boy, right now. After a 12 hour day in the sun.
I totaled:
16- Speckled Trout, from 17" to 21"
and half of them were 20-21".....nice fish but no GIANTS.
5- Black Drum from 13" to 21"
perfect eaters, went in the fish box.
1- Flounder
Sorry, no photo. The spot I was on is a double whammy secret
Trout spot. No photos allowed.
6- Redfish 16" to the big dog a 30 incher, which was caught on a super fairy wand of a rod, with a jig and a dead shrimp. No one ever said Redfish or even the black Drum are smart or picky. I kept my one, and it was 21", perfect for the fish box.
1- baby Gag Grouper, these guys are on every rocky
spot in the river.
1- 5 pound Jack Crevalle
2- Bluefish
--------------------
Then there's Mike.....
I'm heading home and pass by one of my favorite Trout areas
and see "Mr. Make Dave Depressed". We chit chat, and he hangs a big ole Red on a jig-n-shrimp combo meal, and then we chit chat, and he hangs another.
FOLKS....If you have any fishing ability at all, you need to call me!
Because a well placed jig-n-shrimp, or a float-rig on some of these areas in the river right now, will mean Hang-On time for you.
Bruisers are out there. But they don't come easy.
Cover, shelter, what ever you like to call it is where they will be hiding. And you have to get in there, and get them OUT.
The reason Mike is "Mr. Make Dave Depressed" is because that guy in that skiff boat caught two giant Snook last week, fishing MONSTER STRUCTURE that's not for the faint of heart or the beginner.
(2)- meaning 12 & 15 pounds!!!!!!!!!!!!
I fish at least every other day or more 12 months a year, and have for at least 11 of the years I've been in the charter biz, and before that I fished 3 days a week when I was a 9-5'er.
And have never even seen a SNOOK in Jacksonville!
People, are catching them. And Mike's in the exclusive Snook Club
and grinning from ear to ear!
I think I've made my mind up, at least for this year. I think I'm gonna stay in the river the rest of the summer, it's my back yard. And I like it, because I know it. I know that on about any given day, I can get into some kind of trouble, be it either attempting to yank a fat Trout from behind a Piling, or pull a Redfish from around a submerged rock. It's the direct opposite of what I do in the winter time, but the more I fish these kinds of places, the more I love'em. You will too.
SO THERE YA HAVE IT......THIS IS WHAT YA'LL MISSED.
I'LL BE SURE TO REMIND YOU NEXT TIME TOO.
CHARTER & RECENT CATCH PICS AT: WWW.CAPTDAVES.COM
REPORTS WITH PHOTOS AT: WWW.CAPTDAVES.BLOGSPOT.COM - my daily reports.
904-842-9546 |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 56
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, May 31, 2007 - 7:28 am: | |
ALL reports come from:
www.captdaves.blogspot.com
where you'll find DAILY reports and photos.
SMILES.........yeah we had us some FUN!
Scott Wiliams and family had a good morning on TROUT, and then a good afternoon on puppy Black Drum.
Although behind the scenes there was a very very weak tide, that will continue through out the weekend, they managed too pull some big GATORS from underneath a dock (Scott's 5 pounder) and a bunch of Black Drum, keeping 4 nice eater sizers out of the schools just carpeting the bottom of the river. We only fished 2 -spots all day! I even caught this years 1st river Mangrove Snapper while showing them how to float-rig fish.
We avoided the heavy duty winds that came up in the afternoon, by fishing sheltered areas. And man was it nice to be out there on a weekeday with no one around to bother us. No wakes, cone-heads or anything.
This is getting to be the time of year that makes weekends a real struggle. Boat traffic WILL affect your trophy sized Trout catches. Trout are not like a Black Drum. They DO NOT bite when boats are running all over making noise on most of my really good trout spots.
If you are serious about catching Trophy sized Trout.......then lets go on a weekday. Period.
Planning is everything. Now that it's gonna be JUNE in another day. We'll be dealing with summer tides. Weaker than in the winter.
Even the full-moon on Thursday isn't going to have an affect on the water movement. Add in having to do just 6+ hr charters because of the run I have to make south to catch these fish, and weaker the current the further south I may have to travel. A bit of planning goes a long way.....if you have extreme expectations as many do then calling me and planning ahead will be what you'd have to do.
Many people are calling for 1/2 day charters. To me that means (4 hours total) with fish cleaning; Dock to Dock. Do not cheat yourself. Most of the 1/2 days I do people don't want to leave anyhow....and I end up fishing longer, for the 1/2 day rate. If I do a 1/2 day trip from now on. Anything over 4 hrs "dock to dock" will be charged $50 an hour after the first 4 hours. So it makes sence to just reserve my standard 6 hour day. Travel time to and from the fishing grounds is longer in the summer especially under drought conditions, in the St. Johns River. And 6 hour trips doesn't have me under the gun. Which makes for a better charter over all.
Just ask Scott!
We were on the first spot, catching Trout. Then, it went dead. No bites. We continued to fish. I said "we could leave, but I'd like to see this spot through till the end." And his son caught a nice 3 pounder right after I said that. 5 minutes later Scott caught the 5 pounder! Plus we picked up 2 more trout, right as the tide/current died. I do not get in a hurry.
I go by gut feelings on a spot that I know, very well. I like to "hang out". That's why I don't like fishing from a trolling motor and moving all the time. The tide is what brings fish to me, and I don't fish by way of counting casts or miles of bank traveled. And I learn a lot by just hanging out for a while. And in this case we wacked some super nice Trout by sticking with it and hanging out long enough to let the fish that I knew were there, come to US.
Here's my "recent catch pics page" link from their trip:
http://www.captdaves.com/Catch1.htm
C'C' mon.....the fishing is great, and so are the good times
aboard the CAPTDAVES.COM-sportfishing boat.
AKA: the USS Speckled Trout
www.captdaves.com - for charter info.
904-642-9546
Jacksonville to Amelia Island Florida |
Capt. Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing (Jettywolf)
New member
Username: Jettywolf
Post Number: 55
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 4:44 pm: | |
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
JACKSONVILLE FLORIDA FISHING
AMELIA ISLAND FLORIDA FISHING
www.captdaves.com - charter info
www.captdaves.blogspot.com - reports blog w/ photos
904-642-9646
5/21 - Finally, a damn near perfect day!!!!!
FINALLY, a windless day. Or at least damn near windless, where we were. This morning the river was S-L-I-C-K. I felt as if I was on another planet.
I keep super records. My logs are as complete as this blog page. And the last day I experienced like this one fish and weather wise was WAY back on April 4th.
Since then I have fought the weather every single day I've been on the river or at the jetties.
I picked up Jerry & Nino Trotti at the Sisters Creek boat ramp at 7am, and when we arrived on the first spot it was pure heaven.
Not a soul around, no wind and the Trout were chewin'.
Nino and Jerry caught Trout after Trout. And I caught a pup Black Drum. And of course amongst all their fish they did have some of the summer scourges. Blues and Ladyfish.
I'm sure these guys had a ball. Nino caught the WHOPPER. A 5+ pounder, while we fished for Flounder, on the incoming tide. They didn't get any Flounder though. But with a big fattie like that ripped from the back-side of a piling and busting the surface. They didn't have to catch a Flounder!
I said to Nino, "man ya better buy a lottery ticket tonight, because you're lucky". The fish smacked the hell out of his live shrimp as his "float-rig" slid through some dock pilings and around the back side. It was an epic battle, as the fish really smoked him and he had to give it all he had to get the fish into clear water.
The Trout are chewin pretty good. But it can always be a lot better also. If we just had about 10 inches of rain at one time, the salinity would go down and the Specks would really go nuts. I'd almost suffer through a flood of some kind to actually bring the fishing to where I wish it was.
The river is still just an extension of the Ocean. The salinity level was better today. But still high.
Go here to see the rest of the pics, and to see the fish they we kept today:
http://www.captdaves.com/Catch5.htm
and some of the other charters I've had lately in May. |
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