END of April: Jacksonville Fishing Reports
Capt. Dave Sipler
April 28, 2009
Jacksonville - Saltwater Fishing Report
4/27 - OCEAN CLOSED
Went out today to just burn a few dozen live shrimp I had left over from Saturday.
Of course I would have loved to be able to fish outside the jetties...But the Ocean was closed!
You cannot tell from this photo (taken with my new phone camera w/ uploading capabilities)
But I hardly wanted to take my hands off the steering wheel, at the end of the south Jetty.
It was kowa'narly out yonder! Heck with the "bunga".
But never fear......the 26' Plate Alloy BlackLab, is here! And we're not afraid of ANY jetty nastiness.
I pointed the Jettywolf over to the south side of the south Jetty, worked my way through the slop sandwich and when I got there I said to myself, "Self, you can't anchor in this, can you??"
Then, I had a flash-back of the last time I was sitting alone in the soup. And went to pull my anchor and over ran it, because I had to do it all myself. Anchor pulling, I mean.
And pretzel'ized my trusty rough water anchor with it's 16' of chain. AKA: "The man-maker!"
So I turned around and came back to the inside of the jetties. Tried a spot or two, caught basically nuthin', and then worked my way up river for more nuthin'.....except one decent spring-time Flounder.
I saw a sad sight as I was heading west of the jetties. I was running down the middle of the channel and saw a dark item in the water with lots of commotion around it. I drove right up to it and saw a baby Dolphin dead on the surface. Looked to be a new born. The commotion was obviosly it's Mother, and she kept coming up to the baby and pushing it with her head. Just not a curious push, but rather trying to move it along. The baby flipped over and I could see the embilical cord still there. I pulled right upside of the baby Dolphin and that didn't make no difference. Mom came right back and was on the side of my boat pushing on the baby.
A large tug was heading in the direction. So I moved on. It was a sad sight for sure.
I float-rigged and tossed my MirrOlure everywhere I could in the 20 knot due east wind. Many areas I tried quickly, I never even lost a shrimp, so I went home.
It was what I refer to as a K.O.D. day....."kiss of death". East wind howling with a flood tide. I knew that!
But damn, I hate to waste good live "river crickets". So I went anyhow.
Hills and valley's, hills and valley's. Really, is that exactly what fishing is like?
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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.
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.
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: 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!!
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FISHING FORECAST:
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, at:
www.jacksonvillefishingreports.blogspot.com
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
Jacksonville, Fl
www.fish-jacksonville-fishing.com
904-642-9546
Jacksonville Fishing Forecast:
FORECAST:
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:
jacksonvillefishingreports.blogspot.com
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