Jacksonville August/Sept. Fishing Report
Capt. Dave Sipler
September 2, 2009
Jacksonville - Saltwater Fishing Report
8/31 - Good Bye August!
Yep, another month closer to the "COOOOOOL". And I can't wait. I wish summer was about 2 months and we went right into October or November temps as soon as July was over.
Had John H. and two guests aboard today for a late afternoon 1/2 to 3/4 day trip. So we left the dock around 1:00pm and headed up river. But not before running into Bob a ole customer.
He pulled up to the dock and told me what a great day he had at the jetties. He had Redfish stories, and a nice one in the box, along with "monster river Mangroves". Especially this one, which was a real STUD when looking at it in "person". (the photo isn't doing it justice)
So, I had 10 dozen live shrimp and had plans on float-rig fishing with the three guys on board.
And then maybe trying for a Bull Redbass after some light tackle fishing.
And it all worked out perfectly. On the first stop, and on Johns first drift of his float he nailed a 17 inch Trout. The guys ended up catching some throw-back Trout, a few Ladyfish that were perfect bottom bait for later, and a Jack.
Then the tide slacked, so we ran back closer to the inlet and did some bottom fishing, with cut Ladyfish.
We weren't on anchor more than 15 minutes when the first rod bowed over. Kevin was up and handled it with ease. We were using rather light Ugly Stik's matched up to my Accurate 197 twin drag reels that are so smooth and can produce serious drag pressure on any fish. Smaller than a Abu Garcia 5500, and packed full of bearing, and drag washers. My Accurate's will go into my will. Because they're that well built.
The big Red pulled and the rod bowed real good against the flooding tide. And turned out to be a healthy 22 pounder.
The next bite didn't act like a big Redbass.
I can tell right away.
It was a giant Stingray, and out of all 4 of us aboard came to an agreement......"we all hate them!!!"
So I broke the big Bastard off. And then we called it a day. John was showing his guests a good time, and now it was time for a good dinner.
I was happy. Targeted species in the boat. No problem, on both spots we fished.
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9/1 - George's Hunt for Big Fish
George M. has fished with me several times. All in the hunt for "BIG FISH". His biggest Redbass was around 15 pounds prior to today, from back in the spring. We've tried Tarpon and Shark fishing, caught no Tarpon, but did catch sharks...."just not the super big ones, that I wanted".
So with the Reds starting to fire up in the river, we gave it a try on a quickly deteriorating day, that started out really nice. But as you can see, got nastier as the day went on. That's okay. Because we actually avoided the weather, as the storms passed all around us.
At one point it was raining about 500 yards in front of us, lightning a few miles from us. And all we received was a very light sprinkle that cooled us off nicely.
George wanted to at least double his "best" Redbass, and he did. The "RB's" ranged from 22 pounds to 30 pounds.
The big Reds out in the deep water are something.....But one about 33" hooked up on really light tackle, on a 15# light leader, and a tiny hook burning down the knife edge encrusted jetty rocks is really a thrill. So keep practicing George!
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Solo, personal, private, "one-on-one" charters are reasonably priced for the avid angler. As you can see in the last few reports here on my blog. www.jacksonvillefishingreports.blogspot.com) Many of these trips, set personal records for the anglers as well as records for even my boat. It's two guys, on the hunt!
Jacksonville Fishing Forecast:
Looking, hunting, Reds, Trout.....bigger Reds & Bigger Trout!
Target Species:
Reds, Trout.....bigger Reds & Bigger Trout!
More Fishing Reports:
