12/4 - Rain??? Ba-hum-bug!!!

Yeah, like I'm gonna go with what the weather man says.... No, Dave goes by what Dave says!! And Dave's usually right. Sure the forecast called for rain and turning much colder. But I knew it was going to be a good looking morning. "So why not go." I called Dr. Dick. He was out yesterday and did well. And was easily talked into going again.

So around 8:00am we departed. We knew just where to go, too.

It was chilly. But not like we weren't dressed for it. People who are #1 unprepared and #2 are whimpy, are the people that don't want to, catch any fish....RIGHT NOW.

And again, NO you're not doing what we did this morning in the summer. IT'S NOW....WHEN IT'S WINTER, IS WHEN IT'S GO-TIME!

Actually the bite was a tad slow. Boxing some small to medium size yellermouths, right off. But as the tide got better so did the bites and so did the Speckled Trout.

So, we went back and forth between the two kinds of Trout. Filling the cooler, with what I call "Fishing Guides subsistance fish". Because "WE" have to eat too.
Then the Specks got alot better as we fished. NOW, we're talking my kind of fishing!

Let's talk a solid 6 pounder!! Yeah, one that'll feed this poor "Indian" for a couple meals. "Chief Wacka'trouta", that's who I was. Hooked up to a drag burning, side winding, beautiful Trout. And I needed it, too.

Our tide went dead eventually, so we moved on to happier hunting grounds. But not really, because the tide was slack there too. But Dick nailed another Speck as I tried for a Big RB or Sheepshead while tight-lining a live shrimp.

Then, finally the drizzle of rain started. What the heck, let's call it a day. So we went on back and filled two big ole bags full of prime Trout fillets.

Let's see.....we fished only 2-spots. About 2 miles from the boat ramp. Filled 2 bags full of skinned, deboned and filleted fish. And I was home before 2pm.

Let me ask, YOU. Do you think it gets much better than that, here in N.E. Florida?

Well, I'm here to tell........IT DOESN'T.

CALL: 904-642-9546 to book your private light tackle charter. Dress per the weather, and have the frying pan ready in "go" mode, waiting at home.

- Let's review.

The last time I was out with Dick, he caught a "tailess" 5 pounder. Then, I was out with D.O.A. Rob and he caught a pretty 4 pounder. Do you think I could have had you catching big Trout too? Yes, I could.

So, it was my turn.... As a veteran member of the fishing guide tribe of Jacksonville, big Trout like this sure come in handy.

charter@captdaves.com

It cost no more to fish with the best

12/3 - Winter Fishing/Marine Garage Sale:

First on the list are:


4- Ugly Stik Tiger Lites Casting rods.

LIKE NEW....used a few times.


6'9" casting, EVA & Cork grips makes these rods "LITES". All Fugi reelseats and guides. Ugly Stik "howald process" mixc of graphite and glass. Rods can handle up to 4 ounces and 25 pound line.


Good St. Johns river Redbass, Black Drum, Sheepshead Rods. I hardly use them after purchasing 4. I have many Ugly Stiks, but don't do much bottom fishing and these are perfect for that.

They have caught Redfish to 25 pounds........(see photo Dr. Doug with lite tackle big Red)

Take all four or just one or two for $45, retails $60.00. 7 year warrenty via Shakespeare. And no shipping or sales tax. Casholla on the barrel. "Ugly Back 60-day/5-year limited warranty."   No wear, no nothing, These rods look and fish as NEW!  (I take primo care of my tackle)

2nd:

(2) - Brand New, 7' Daiwa one piece graphite spinning rods, with matching used but primo Daiwa Capricorn reels, with spare spools. $40 each........A STEAL!! (rods retail for $40!!)
Look at the cork, they've never even had hands on them.

3rd:

(3) - Abu Garcia Bait casting reel Power Handles (retail $14 each) take each for $7.00

4th

"used" adjustable Pole Holder 20 inch cutting/fillet table. Retails for $80+ add a bait cutting board, fish cleaning table to your existing pole holder for: $25.00
SOLD*************

5th

assortment of fabricated "jetty-anchors", heavy cold rolled steel, one is rebar with lead filled pipe....Take them all for $20.00 SOLD*************

6th

a "5 pound coffee can" full of at least 300 or more, 3/8th oz. "live bait" style long shank hook, jig heads. A few blems, I'm sure. But who cares when jigs heads like these are lost to the jetty rocks. And at this price, take'em for $25.00....compare that to a bait shop???? 

7th

A box of brand new 2/0 VMC 4X strong - permasteel Treble hooks. "What the heck", you ask? These are for Tarpon Fishing.
Yep, all legal and will grab that iron mouthed Gladiator. This box has at least 150 or more in it. $20...gets you 'poon fishing this summer.

8th

Need a VHF radio, or a spare radio? How about an oldie but a goodie. A Standard Horizon......with your choice of a 4' or 8' VHF antenna too? For $40? Yes, just $40 bucks. The antenna's alone are worth double that. SOLD*********



















9th

Have a small boat and need some out-rigger style rod holders, for trolling the creeks. These babies aren't new, but what the heck they're made out of Stainless Steel. So it doesn't matter, right? Rod holders go into plates that are fastened to boat. All that needs to be mounted is the "thin plates". $20.00

It's the time of year that I turn over tackle and other stuff. And the time of year for you to get bargains.

-other items not listed but are availible for checking out:
 2 - 8'  one piece "custom" casting rods
 1- Motorcycle Jack Stand, fits Harley Davidson and others
 2 -Trailer Hitch recievers with 2" trailer ball

ALSO - Book two private fishing charters in advance, and get $50 off the second charter. (for two passenger charters only, all holiday weeks excluded. ) Gift certificates availible.

call: 904-642-9546
e-mail: charter@captdaves.com

Items located just west of Mayport, north of Atlantic Blvd. Jacksonville, Florida

12/2 - I FOUND ONE......at ABT.

After a search around town, via the phone numbers in my cell phone I found a Florida Sportsman 2010 Tide Planner. After one quick call to Carmen over at ARLINGTON BAIT AND TACKLE, confirmed the availibility of the book, I was hunting for.

I MUST HAVE ONE!

And boy, it sure was nice talking to Carmen again. I told her, "Hang on...I'll be right there to come get it." But she stopped me quickly and said, "Now Dave, we're in a new store. Over in the Town & Country shopping center at University and Arlington Xpressway." "Wow", I said. Being that it's been a very long time since I've even been on University Blvd.

Carmen & Bill of "ABT" were sponsors of my Saturday morning radio show when Pelican and I were on ESPN 1460, years ago. And to chat with them is to quickly like them both. Carmen will likely be the most bubblie gal in a bait shop, you'll ever meet. And as usual, when I went to pick up the F.S. Tide Planner I was there for hours, talking to Carmen and Bill.

The new store is just only a month or so old. And it's NOT going to be your average bait shop. Carmen is going to make her sandwiches!! Besides being a full service tackle shop, with every concievable plug, soft bait and hook. They have rods and a impressive selection of reels. The new store has a "sitting room", that will be utilized as an area to just relax and BS and will also work as a future seminar room. They also have a full blown kitchen. So before, after, or during your fishing day, you'll be able to enjoy one of Carmen's special sandwiches..."Empanada's", mmmmmm.....
And as Bill put it, "they'll be just like home made. You'll bite into them and stuff's gonna fall out of them!"  

(well...like Fishin' sometimes the best laid plans get a bit fuzzy. This is a cell phone photo of Carmen and her new shop, that I attempted to take.)

My new motto you'll be reading here, after turning up the volume and intently watching President Obama's message on TV last night, is a very old one we just don't hear enough of anymore.

KEEP AMERICANS WORKING!
We have to patronize our local neighborhood establishments, and Fishing guides too, don't forget! They're the fabric of our town, and our local fishing communitee.

I hope you will go on over to ABT the next time you need some fishing equipment, live-dead bait, a home made sandwich, for your fishing trip. Or just to have a good ole time chatting with Carmen and Bill. Remember, when the local barber shop was the place to meet all your freinds? Well, that barber shop is a "bait shop" for us fisherman.

ABT is located just down the street from Arlington road boat ramp, and the Lion's Club boat ramp north of Ft. Caroline rd. on University Blvd North, past J.U.

Presently, they have two more Florida Sportsman Tide Planners left.  (Carmen said a quick order of one is not a problem either.)

They make great stocking stuffers.

Tell 'em Capt Dave sent ya. And you'll be in there for awhile, if you're anything like me.

There's plenty of parking, plus you can pull up behind the shop too, to load up a baitwell easily with live bait. The store is located in the "court yard area" of the Town & Country Shopping Center.


Visit: http://www.abtfishing.com/
The phone number is: 743-3200
983 University Blvd. N.
Jacksonville, Fl. 32211

12/1 - That time of year again.

I know I'm still looking locally. And yeah, waiting for them to come in. But, it's that time of year again to get your Florida Sportsman Tide planner book.

As I say in my quote on the inside front cover, "I don't book a single charter without refering to it."

The story started when I was doing seminars at the Florida Sportsman Fishing show at the Prime Osborne Convention Center in down town Jacksonville. And Dave Blackwell of Florida Sportsman Magazine walked by my booth. He saw me on the phone with my FS tide planner open. He stood there till I was off the phone, introduced himself and asked to look at my planner.

He was amazed by what it looked like. Tattered,  with stickers and tape holding it together, I had notes all over it. And had stapled papers to the pages with all my charter dates/names and telephone numbers written down.

He told me he was incharge of the book at Florida Sportsman, and that I was the only one he had ever met that used the book like this. I told him, I don't take a single charter call without refering to it so I can see the tides-moons etc for my customers.

That's when he flipped me his card, and said "send me a quote about the book for the inside cover", and I'll make sure you get new books each year. He was impressed, as I told him I've been using them as my reservation book and fishing log book since the day the first one came out.

Plus how many of you have been on my boat, and I broke out the FS planner to show you how to read the tides in N.E. Florida? When I did a Saturday morning radio show on WNNR & ESPN 1460, myself and co-host Ken "Pelican" Hubbard, used to pull out the book to get trivia question when giving away prizes. Because the back of the F.S. planner has some really great articles about tides, weather, along with state size and bag limits, records, and solar/luner charts.

It's my fishing bible!

I can go back ten years and read my notes and tell you who was on my boat, what we were catching, and when. Now, I realize you may not use it that extensively. But let me tell ya.....you should! Knowing the tides and studying them is one part of being a successful fisherman in this area. Because we have the highest tides of the state. I have learned as a Float-rig fisherman, if we don't have at least 4 foot of water movement in the St. Johns River, then fishing will be tougher. Picking up on small details, rather than just looking for that one big reason you are not "catching", makes you a better angler. Because we all should know. It's all in the details, not that statement I hear from folks all the time......"Oh well, we're just unlucky fisherman I guess."        

Don't let that be you. Know your tides.

https://store.intermediaoutdoors.com/shop/ItemDetail.aspx?item=10FP

They make a great stocking stuffer!

11/29 - It just doesn't get no better!!

It's really too bad that these Holidays get in the way of fishing. (Not for me.) I'm talking the rest of the world.
People come here to J-ville, wanting primo fishing. And miss the primo fishing most of the time. They can't go fishing! It's the holidays!!!!  bla,bla,bla,bla,bla,bla,bla,bla,bla,bla

These over commercialized, keeping China rich, American holidays could just vanish off the calender and I'd not loose a second of sleep at night. Because fishing, this time of year is all I care about. While the rest has their Turkey dinners from Publix, black FRIDAY'S, and crowded car filled streets and parking lots of J-ville. I'll just get up at dawn, have a cup of coffee, and head out to breathe the cool crisp salty air, and catch my own dinner. It's why I'm in this business. Because I love my job, because it's not like a job.All I want to do is get you into lots of fish. If you'd let me.

I sound like a broken record to myself. Because I don't know how many times I've wrote this exact same statement, year after year.

"Don't come to J-ville in the 99 degree heat and look to have the action DOA Rob, and I had today. Because even though we're about a month late, as far as the normal fishing schedule goes."

It just doesn't get no better.

- departed at 8:30 am
- anchor down and on location by 8:35am (1/4 mile from dock)
- first Trout in the box, 8:45am
- two limits, (10-Trout) in the box by 9:30am

Stick a fork in me (and Rob).....cuz we're D-O-N-E!!!

Rob and I, when out together set our own boat size limit of 16 inches. An inch larger than a legal Speckled Trout.  Got to protect the resource, right? Well, I don't under stand why limits can't be regional, like Trout closures. Take away the commercial hook & line sale of Trout in June through August, and raise the Trout limit in N. Florida to 10 fish per person 15-20", with one over 20" as a trophy. That would be really make fishing for them a bit more worth it.

(DOUBLE-HEADERS WERE COMMON) 

It's funny all the contemplating you can do when fishing. Converstation when out fishing is part of the enjoyment. And Rob and I talked, plenty. And talked about.......Sheepshead, too. Also, a cooler time of year fish at 15 per person which is, rediculas! No one needs fifteen Sheepshead and like Speckled Trout, the average "weekend fisherman" never catches 15 per person, either. So regionally, it's wouldn't be a give away program.

Just think, if you were with me on this BEAUTIFUL weekend. What fish tales you'd have, and what the cooler would have looked like......Stuffed like a Christmas stocking?  Rob and I had so much fun putting on a clinic, on this clear, cool, blue skied, winter day.

I also caught two Sheepshead. Which is about my personal limit of what I'll clean. They just don't fillet as easy as a nice fat Trout. And since I have to do all my cleaning on the boat at the dock. I make the rules.

We had no less than 50 Specks. Because after our limit of 10 was caught, I just had too many live shrimp left in the livewell from yesterday's solo trout slaughter, with the "no show" charters shrimp. So Rob and I made a move.....a whopping 200 feet and anchored up again and continued the whackin' & stackin'. Till every last shrimp was gone. And we were still back and done cleaning the fish at 1:00pm.

(ROB'S BIG FATTIE....ONE SWEET FISH)

Hate to say it. But you sure did miss one heck of a weekend.

It just doesn't get no better!

 

Keep American's working!!

Let's s go fishing for the Holidays. Aboard Capt Dave's "Jettywolf" Comfort & Extreme safety in plate alloy.

11/28 - NO SHOW....

For only the second time in 13 years, today I had a "no-show charter". I even called to see what the deal was, and even waited around for an extra hour. So....I went fishing on their deposit. I had loads of sprightly live shrimp in the well, so I hit the closest spot I could, (just in case I got a call in return).

Yep, I went a whopping 1/4 mile from the dock. And in 30 minutes had my limit of Speckled Trout from 16-19 inches. I weeded through some 14-15 inchers. But at this point in the morning after being at the bait shop by 6am, waiting in the cold at the boat ramp for that 8am departure. It was all about "speed" and "closeness", and catchin' "dinner!"













I caught overall about 10-15 Trout friends, and even tangled with a monster Redbass, that ate my lunch!
I had been catching fish about 50-100 feet behind the boat on the ole float-rig. Completely a surprise to me, because they normally would have been right behind the boat. And when I hooked what looked like and fought like about a 33" Red, from that far away. The odds were agaist me.

I tell my customers the same thing.....but in a funny way. When their floats out behind the boat 150 feet, I always say, "Ya know, when that Blue Marlin takes that shrimp, you ain't getting it to the boat being that far away, on that light tackle."  Most know I'm joking about the Blue Marlin, but then again every once in awhile I do get asked if there really is Blue Marlin in the river.

I thought I was gonna set the hook on just another Trout. BUT I WAS WRONG.

But then again, I was really done, I had my limit of Trout in no time. Before I took off, I was minding my own business and two guys have to pick exactly where I'm at, and ride right up my float line. They were totally clueless. And there's a certain kind of fisherman out there, that no sooner they see you catching a fish, they're on you like, stink on shit. That's what these two clueless wonders were doing. They anchored and were catching 3 inch seabass, as I continued to yank Trout after Trout, from next to their boat.

The rest of the day, I just goofed around down river. Because it was so damn beautiful out there. Yeah cool this morning, but it warmed up nicely, the sun was bright and it was a glorious day. Could have been only better if it was a Monday thru Wednesday....(without all the others around)

Let me tell ya. Them fresh fried T-routz sure were goooood! This time I mixed "Zaterains" fish fry mix with "House Autry" fish fry mix. The house Autry is more flour like, while good ole Zaterians is more cornmeal like. Either way, there's not much I like better than a fresh fried Speckled Trout fillets. Maybe Pink Sword Fish steaks, but then again, that's more like fillet mignon from the ocean.

I can't afford Fillet Mignon, very often, so Trout will have to do.  

Maybe out with DOA Rob on Sunday. I still have dozens of live shrimp left.

11/25 bumped to 11/26: with Traveller Bob

Well, talk about L-U-C-K. Bob J. who's fished with me before, books his charter wayyyy in advance, which is great. Because it was the day before Thanksgiving, so he wanted to make sure to get that date.
He comes down with plans to fish with me on the 25th, and then go out in his own boat that he drug down from N.C. on the 26th....to see how much soaked in after our day together. Bob wanted a little bit more confidence with the ole Float-rig.

Ready to rumble, Bob has taken every "hint" I'd put out here on my daily reports, about floats, rigging and tackle. He got himself, the exact same rods I use, for Trout fishing.

Bob's a Kingfisherman, and this past summer won the Fernandina King Mac Tournament with a massive 48+ pounder, out of his 17' Boston Whaler.

So needless to say, we didn't fish on Wednesday, in the rain, dreariness, and high winds. So right there, Bob's best laid plans went askew, due to Momma Nature.

So we went out on Thanksgiving morning at 0730 hrs. And it was beautiful!  I had a real hankering to get into an all out whack'em and stack'em fishing clinic. And that was hard to find, right off.
The falling tide was so damn weak, and I'm sure the weather just 24 hrs before didn't make it any easier on me.

But we eventually found a spot, that produced a bunch of Trout.....some were keepers and many were border-liners. Along with a couple "pup" Drum, which one was a keeper. I pretty much let Bob loose on the area. Since, I was hungry.  I stood ready as net man while eating fried Trout left-overs from the night before.

We had only "so much" falling tide in the morning. And believe me when I tell ya....."you need to pay attention to the tide height"  Because, we tried TWICE the same spot DOA Rob and I fished lures at on Monday. And it didn't produce squat! Cause, there was no current, no "flushing action". Which is imparative at this location. It's the reason the Trout show up at this particular area in the first place

I didn't take any photos. We didn't catch any super whopper Trout. Just some 15-3/4 inchers to around 17" box fish. And the amazing the funny thing  was, all around the area we found these fish at. Produced no other Trout. What?

It was if the fish were in a 20' round circle and no where else. Which is very un-common. Usually if they're on one spot, you can find them along the same bank, 100 yards down too. As the tide goes down.

We also caught a few Mangrove Snappers and kept them also, but the word of the day would have been:
SLUGGISH.
Because that's how the tide was. We never went toward the jetties. We could see the water breaking over the North Rocks, and there was a swell coming in at the carrier basin, in the river. No sense messing with any of that.

Bob is great to fish with, and have aboard. And we had a fun day, as he honed his "inshore" skills.

NEXT UP:
Saturday with Eric and his wife from Savannah. It's her birthday.

The tide will be a bit stronger.