FULL MOON WINTER CHALLENGE // JAX FLA.
Capt. Dave Sipler
January 22, 2011
Jacksonville - Saltwater Fishing Report
1/19 - Challenging But F-U-N day......
Had Erica J. and her cousin Curtis aboard today. Originally, we were supposed to go on Monday. But rescheduled because of the nasty weather all day on Monday. Rain, wind and just plain damp all day, wasn't what any of us were looking for. Erica had off all week, which was great. So we decided on today.
I knew going into it, that the Full Moon could be a butt-kicker.
And since we got started at the last hour or so of the rising tide. I was hoping for a quick Black Drum bite at the high water. Because one week it seems to be high falling tide, then the next week it seems like a low tide bite. These fish in the cool winter water seem to do the opposite, right after you think you have them all figured out.
So the challenges for me this time of year are numerous. People call and as we talk I always feel as if they want me to guarantee what will happen on their day. And honestly, I play it all by my "G-U-'T". There is no rules. And there is no guarantees. All I know is that we will catch fish. We just have to find them, FIRST. And being that TIDES are the number one thing that dictate when, where and how, we'll catch them. Tides are my first concern. Wind direction and speed is the next during the winter months.
Erica was easy to work with. She understood fishing. And it was Custis' first time....a genuine "green horn". But that's okay. That's why I'm here. I'll teach you and help you from start to finish. So it seemed as we sat and sat and sat anchored up, getting not as much as a sniff of our baits, that it was gonna be a day we had to wait on the tide to get to where it makes the Drum happy, not us.
But as I told Erica and Curtis, "The way I look at it is, we're here, and we'll die trying." I may be the most impatient fisherman you'll ever meet. WHY? Because as we fish I have all the days I've fished out there flying through my head. The current, the tides, the wind directions, the seasons. I remember them all. And when I see a "condition", I can easily remember a day that was exactly like this day. And I'll figure it out.
Fishing for me any more isn't a activity. It's a function, a puzzle, that I work on figuring out, for you. Dispite your skill level, or your own personal experiences. This is my puzzle. Without the challenge of each day. It would be a job that's just too easy......."ya know, like the fishing in Louisiana probably is? "
A long time client of mine taught me a great saying. But it's also the dead on truth. "it's not how you start, it's how you finish."
And since he said that one day in December and proved his point with a 45 pound Redbass. I'll never forget it.
I had to change up locales today to get on the Drumat all. The usual area just wasn't doing it for us. But a change in location a mere 75 feet, made the difference and I went from a zero to a hero, right away.
The fish today were smaller than the past few weeks. But actually a whole lot better eater size, in my opinion. The perfect eaters in my book are from 15-20 inchers approx. I call'em "sandwich fish", because they are easy to clean, versus a 12 pounder. And the fillets are just so much nicer. And fit on a big soft roll allot better after blackening! Yeah, allot about fishing to me is the "eating".
Fish....the other white meat! I could eat seafood 7 days a week. I just need someone that's a better cook than I am to make my seafood more apealling. That's my only problem...
.
The morning started out over-cast and looking like more rain could happen. But we watched the dark clouds veer off to the south as we sat under sunny skies, warm temps and slick calm seas.
Video of our day:
http://youtu.be/ywd2cWclhEc?hd=1
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