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Jacksonville Fishing Report for Amelia Island & Mayport
Capt. Dave Sipler
April 1, 2004
Jacksonville - Saltwater Fishing Report
FISHIN'IS GREAT IN N.E. FLORIDA - The tale of Big Reds
Rescheduled today APRIL 1, I guess the weather is even in on this game of April fools!
It sure did fool my charter today at 7am, 40 degree temps and 25 kt winds had them standing at the boat ramp in t-shirts and flimsy jackets shivering...and that was the two adults!
The two kids never got outa the car!!!!!!
Cause yesterday it was BALLS TO THE WALL! (And fish in the net.)
Took a mom and son yesterday, and what a great PRE-COLD-FRONT, day it was.
Although the tides were a tad on the lazy side with a high low and a low high, we raced to the end of the north Jetty to catch us a drum or a sheepshead, and after I had the feel while on anchor I knew nothing much was gonna come out of this. But we had instaneous gratification while landing a 8 pound Sheepshead in a matter of minutes.
But that was about all, no current means no fish catching to me as a deep water dropper.
So I raced down river to a spot thats been really hot. The current was moving at the right speed and instantly after tossing the first cut bait out, it hit the bottom and we were hooked up to a nice Red. But it broke us off!
I am fishing a Velcro piece of bottom, which has a snaggy ledge. An obvious fish magnet, but also a fish and rig grabber. The next instant hook up was a 16 pound Redfish that smoked my angler, "Dan". He'd caught a few Reds here in J-ville before, near where we were fishing, but didn't realize what what he's been missing just a few yards out in deeper water.....BIG FISH!
His mom and him caught and lost 5 big Redfish. I told them that comes with the area were fishing. I've lost some here before too. Plus, I think it's time to bust out the BIG Accurate Reels and the Mega-Magnum G. Loomis sticks too. Cause a few of these fish probably were well over the 10-16 pound catagory.
Mary Ann, Dan's Momma, landed a beautiful 10 pound Redfish with at least 100 spots, then her next Redfish, never had a one......."Go figure", I said. But the sweet as Cherry Pie, Mary Ann, said that "one fish just gave all his spots to the other, is what happened there". She kept me laughing all day!
After our tug of war session dwindled I promised them some flakey Trout fillets for dinner, so we ran to another hot spot and float-rig fished. But by this time the wind had switched around and the front and chill was on it's way. The seas where we parked were about 2-3 foot, and there wasn't a single boat in sight. (NOTE: "I fish from a boat that can handle anything", I told Dan after he said he wanted a 17' Carolina Skiff to fish from. I told him I had one and if we were out in it, we wouldn't be fishing HERE for Trout!)
But just as the rest of the day went......Instantaneous Gratification struck Mary Ann, again!
Her float went out and Bam..it went down. 2-seconds and a 2-pound Trout! This was shaping up to be the theme of the day. And that was okay with us. We landed one after another of 2-4 pound Speckled Sea Trout, and one 4 pound Yellowmouth, and even tossed back a 15" Yellowmouth. Then Dan hit a homer.....the float twitched in the bobbing seas as the boat flopped around making standing up-right a chore, and he made quick contact with a pretty little 22" Redfish for the take-home box. They also caught this years first Jack Crevalle, and a few 2 pound Bluefish.
We ended this round of fishing with 10 trout and a Redfish, in the box.
I love two passenger trips......Quality is the name of the game.
I was glad to see Dan catch the Redfish cause we had to let go all the soon to be mega-whopper Redfish we caught earlier. And that's what I'm waiting for. I can't help thinking "who will be the first this year to land that 45+ pound Redfish?? Will it be this week or next??
Last year on April 24th, I did a two boat charter with my partner and the tide was all wrong
because we could'nt leave till after 1:00 pm. So I tried my best to hook my two guys up with something they'd remember. We only had a 1/2 day trip and the minutes seemed like hours as we waited for a big red to bite. Then all hell broke loose, on the 3rd hour. One of my magnum Loomis rods bowed over in the shape of a fairy wand making a huge wish! The drag screamed as a giant Redfish burned line off the spool. Ken Colyers jumped up from his daze of waiting and manned the rod. Just getting it out of the rod holder was tough, I helped him cause the pressure was intense. The fish ran around the boat in the slack tide. One loop around the boat, then twice, then a third time......each time Ken eased the fish closer. Ken was from Montana, so he never has seen or caught a big Redfish. And when the fish was finally whopped, I almost jumped over the side to grab the fish, cause it was immense. I streached out with the Boga-Grip in one hand, and holding on with the other. Like with super human strength generated from the excitement, I lipped the fish and snatched it out of the water in one swoop!
The 30 pound boga-grip was straining, the scale was maxed out! And I couldn't believe it. This Redfish was a submarine! I grabbed my Tarpon scale that I calibrated just days before that will weigh up to 100 pounds and attempted to get the fish on it. I needed help.
And when the dust and scale settled the Redfish weighed an even 50 pounds!!!!!
Not bad for a one fish 1/2 day on a bad tide in the middle of the afternoon, sitting in the hot sun, doing all I could to keep my two anglers spirits up. I'll never forget that. I'll never forget the look on Kens face when he said, "What is that!"
So who's up this year?? Who will it be?? Will it be this week, or will it be next week.
Other than re-scheduling todays trip, I'm reserved every day through the 12th of this month. Thats a lot of anglers I'll be taking. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, though"
Yeah, these fish may not be able to go home with you. That's okay! You don't have to take a Redfish home. There's other smaller fish to catch. These big Redfish are protected, and I love it. They are my life blood, they are the reason I fish. They are "Memory Makers".
When it comes to pursueing the St. Johns River "Giants" from now till November, not just in the fall when any one can catch them, you called the right Fishing Guide.
Reserve your trips 2 weeks to 30 days in advance, this time of year.
Hunting your "Memory Makers",
Capt. Dave
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