July - August - Mixin' it up a bit.
Capt Dave Sipler's Sport Fishing
www.captdaves.com
904-642-9546
SHARK FISHING FOOTAGE:
http://captdaves.blogspot.com/2008/07/doing-my-best.html
Had Phil T. his lovely wife (and a good sport) and son aboard today.
The plan was to hit the shrimp boats, and we did. And man did I ruin some tackle right off the bat. Lines snapping and loosing floats. I thought we might never get a good hook up to stay on.
But we did. But it was the smaller Black nosed Sharks, that speed around and turn fast and change up on you. Okay as starters. But we're here for what would be the ultimate......
Let me describe it.
-way over 100 pounds, (150+ pound Blacktip shark would be perfect. Super Jumper. Super strong, hardly any line left on the reel, afterburners lit .
That's what we (I) want.
Well, we had a few in the 70-90 pound class. And the one that did light the afterburners and took 200 yards of line, boiled the surface, jumped, and went nuts. Unfortunately wore itself slap out, and afterwards swam right up to the boat, I leader'd it. And the shark acted like it was dead! I cut it loose, and I think it freaked out so badly, it may have had a heart attack. It barely swam away.
That's a first, for me!
Well. I had plans as soon as everyone had their fill of the sharks, or if they just weren't up to par. We'd head out offshore and do some trolling real quick.
But as soon as I re-rigged all the gear and headed due east, it was one heck of a wet ride.
The southeast breeze was really blowing. The seas were close, and for every wave we hit, the wind blew it into the boat and right in the face of Phil's wife. Who stood there and took it. Till she lost her hat and we turned around to retrieve it.
I said, "Ya don't have to stand there and get wet, you can move". And after she said the saltwater was burning her eyes, it was time to move away from the spraying water.
I was bone dry behind the console. Yep, I usually am. But going east, into a very choppy SE sea and big wind, someone was gonna get it.
We beat our way out there. And I could just tell this was gonna be interesting. And thank goodness for "pulling the hardware", the trolling bars and Drone spoons, because I sure wasn't gonna look for bait in this sea, for an hour or so of trolling.
I picked up the other day, a MONSTER Drone spoon. This thing has to be almost 12" long.
I looked at it and said to myself, "this will be like a teaser with a hook!"
So I dropped out the regular spoons, on each side of the boat, then ran this monster right down the center out of my leaning post rod holders. The flash I was putting out had to attract something.....
Well, the water's cold again!!!!!!!!!
Here it is 78 degree water, in the middle of the day again. Wednesday the moons were aligned with Venus and I had 83 even, or better. THAT'S WHAT I WANT AND LIKE. Because in no time on Wednesday we had strikes, which ended in 2 kings and a cuda.
Man, this place is really goofy. Wonder if other parts of Florida go through this almost every single summer??
We received one strike. And guess what? The MONSTER spoon got hit, by a small Kingfish.
Everyone said, "that spoon will catch something....." but I never thought the first fish would be a small king. I was thinking, a big Snaggle Toothed Ledge Trout (aka: Cuda)
We slopped, and I mean slopped around in that water for awhile longer, and headed in.
All that for a 6 pound Kingfish...
Oh well. It was an adventure.
I won't be heading out there again till I see that the water temps at least 83 again. A buddy is gonna keep me up on it through his Ocean temp charts.
Look at the size of that spoon it's like a gaff handle and a hook. But they like' em.
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UPDATE:
8/1- Tale of the table....Ocean temps!!!!!
My endless "HOT" button issue in the summer, is....
water temps!
Want to see the "Ocean water temp" story, really easy?
Just go here: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jax/marine.shtml
OR
CLICK ON: St Marys (buoy) because it's close to the beach. and the St Augustine (C-MAN), because it's close to the beach.
Way offshore is where it's still warm.
Damn, what's wrong with this area and these summer time water temps?
What I'd like to see is a table made of years, summer months, and temps. So I can see how many times this happens and how frequently. Because it seems like almost every year during the summer. And a year without, is distinctly different fishing.
The Mayport weather station at the Bar Pilots Assoc. dock is unavailible, because the docks not there anymore...they're rebuilding it. I hope it's done before winter time.
It's my "go-to" Boat Ramp weather, link.
Update:
8/2/08 Now the water temp in the Ocean went to a "high" of 76 degrees!
