Jacksonville, FL Fishing Reports
Capt. James Howard
January 17, 2008
Jacksonville - Saltwater Fishing Report
Message in a bottle or Toad fish in a bottle!!!!!
I had the pleasure of meeting a young man the other day who like my self was a native of North Florida and grew up fishing here also. His name is Phil Baker and as you can imagine we started telling some of our fishing stories….
I have been fishing since I was five years old and guiding almost seventeen years so there isn’t much I haven’t seen our heard until now. Phil told me a story about him and his son that I just have to share with all my readers. Here it is in his words.
The story goes like this:
I had been fishing in Clapboard creek for many years and during this time I was catching quite a few nice reds and bringing some home for table fare.
My ten year old son was getting a little upset because he was watching me come home with some fantastic fish stories and fish to prove it. I hadn't taken him in the last few trips and decided it was time for him to join me…..
We headed out the next morning and anchored just off the bank of the main creek and in front of a small feeder creek. Once anchored my son put a shrimp on a jig head and asked where he needed to fish. I pointed in a direction and he put it right where I would have. As I was getting my own line ready he tells me that he is getting bites. I told him to just wait for the pull, and then give a nice tug to hook the fish.
His rod continued to bounce. I asked him to reel in and as he was doing so his rod bent double but no extreme run or anything. At this point I thought he may be hung. I told him to let out some line and try again.
He let out the line and reeled in the slack and the same bouncing of the rod tip continued. I asked him to just reel it in to see what it was. He reels in his line and at the end of it is an old barnacle encrusted pickle jar. As I hold this jar in my hands I am noticing the muddy water inside the jar and his line is going inside this jar also.
I was thinking, "What in the world has eaten his bait and trapped itself in this jar". As we poured the water out we found the culprit. It was a very large toadfish that had apparently lived there so long that he could not get out. My son saw this and immediately told me to break the jar and get him out. I did just that. I was able to remove the toadfish with no harm done. As I removed my sons jig head from the toadfish my son asked me to release him and let him live in freedom once again. Fish released with no harm. This is one fishing story my son will never forget. He is addicted to fishing and it is very seldom I make a trip with out him. Long live the toadfish.
Phil Baker
Thanks for a great story Phil, till next time: Tight Lines
Capt. James Howard (904)651-9557
www.gofishjax.com
You have to wonder how many small baits went into the jar thinking they had found refuge only to become an easy meal....
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