Surf Rod Setup Testing

I tested out the Alvey and the Shimano Ultegra-St Croix Tiumph set ups. I used a 2 ounce egg weight and a 4 foot 12# leader. I could consistently get the Triumph out just past where the waves were breaking. I guess all that says is I'm comfortable casting spinning gear. I then put the same set up on the Alvey. It took a few casts to get used to having my right hand up higher on the rod and not managing line release with it, and the opposite with the left hand. Then it took more casts to stop having the line wrap up around the spool handles after the cast was done (this is more me and not the reel/rod). Eventually the line snapped and I don't even know which way the weight went. Bottomline - it's going to take practice to get used to the Alvey, but there is potential. I can see using this in sandy areas where you have time to recover after a bad cast, but if you are casting in rocky or coral areas, the regular spin setup are going to be better. Or you could be an Alvey casting wizard and cast anywhere you want. I'm no where near the latter...

Skunked and Boarded Up

After surfing I ran a bunch of errands and finished up with a session casting the Epic 686. With the winds down, the 6wt was perfect. I got a few follows from what I believe were big humuhumunukunukuapuaa - but didn't get any fish to take the hook (skunk). I waded the eastern end of the flat because the rest of it was fenced off. Mangrove extraction. No fishing the western side of the flat for at least six weeks. Maybe this is the forcing function that makes me explore new fishing grounds. There isn't a flat per se near my house, but there is a ton of surf fishing. Time to change it up for a while!

Surf and Fishing Report 10/4/2014

We took a drive down to Matanzas Inlet to got shelling, surfing and fishing. The coquina is really fine and can get pretty think at this beach (North side of the inlet). La and the kiddoroosters went out the second sand bar to catch the breaking waves. After a little bit, I saw them paddling back in pretty quickly. They said they saw a shark in the lineup and calmly came back in. The tide was coming in at the same time, so the kids found another, even more fun diversion - what they've named the "Lazy River". It's really the trough of the last sandbar before the high tide line. As the tide comes back in, the waves start to fill it back in and as it drains, you get a steady flow back to the low point. The kids ride their boards on the current and I would say have even more fun than they do when surfing. I had the surf gear and was pounding the trough between the second and third sandbars - but I got nothing. I brought out the cast net and made some casts to see what was running just offshore (inside the waves). I caught a bucket full for finger mullet (and let all but seven small ones back in the water - I kept the seven to use as bait later). I asked Noe if she wanted to cast and she caught one!!! Lastly - I saw some fish that were not mullet hanging right where the water and shore met. They were really small pompano. I hope this means their bigger siblings are on their way back down south. Another great beach day in Florida!!!

Fishing Report 9/25/2014

Caught two of these whiting. I switched back to the "spot/kingfish" rig - seems to work. I also switched to this grappling weight - definitely holds place a lot more than a same sized pyramid.

Fishing Report 9/21/2014

Went out twice yesterday. First stop was at the southern end of Little Talbot Island. I brought the St Croix Tide Master spinning rod, the Cabela CGR 7/8wt Fiberglass Flyrod (with an Orvis Redfish line) and the Orvis Hydros 8wt (with intermediate sink line) to be ready for what was there - which was nothing for me. The surf was bigger than I thought it would be, so I figured the catching would be tough. There were finger mullet swimming in the thousands. I kept an eye out for any predatory fish, but the only follow I had was from a needlefish. I did catch a starfish... The last stop was at the Mayport Beach, closer to the 'Poles' side. Full tide, thick surf and no fish - EXCEPT this lone volunteer that stepped in to ward off the ever-present skunking. Thank you catfish - thank you for ensuring my day ended happily and that even though you lost the game of tug o' war (the surf fishing rig is overkill I'll admit), you still got to gum some tasty bait and you proved that fish still live in the ocean when it's "Victory At Sea". I think I'm going to have to start using shrimp for bait - the formulated stuff is not getting the bites it used to...

Fishing Report 9/16/2014

Walked the beach this morning casting for some whiting, but they weren't there. I thought I had arrived with the incoming High tide, but alas I was wrong and I suffered in lack of fish participants in tug-o-war. I shifted gears and started chucking a jig and caught this Needlefish. This guy was so pissed it wanted blood - even it's own (it's biting it's tail). Checkout these chompers. I had several others hit the jig, but they usually don't get hooked because their jaws are so narrow and bony. Oh well - at least I didn't get skunked!!! The surf is supposed to pick up tomorrow....

Fishing Report 9/14/2014

We ran errands in the morning and hit the beach in the mid afternoon. I brought the St Croix Surf Rod out and used up nearly the last of the Fish Bites (in Orange/Clam) bait. I caught this whiting on the first cast. Then I had a dry spell until I caught this Bonnet Head Shark. This guy didn't offer much of a fight, but it did give the kids a great opportunity to see what a bonnet head is like. We all got to see it swim back to the sea unharmed (save the harassing the kids gave it before I told them to respect all life and to not torment it).

Fishing Report 9/13/2014

I went out three times today. First was with an ultralight weight 3wt flyrod - the Scott JS F2 7234. I did not get the attention of anything - first with a small popper and then a subsurface foam fly... not even a look-see-nibble. I did not even bother taking a picture - let's leave that alone (although casting that rod is fun - the more I cast it though, the more I can feel that it needs a perfect casting stroke - this one gives no mercy. I think I need to appease it with some bluegill... stay tuned for that - I've got just the spot). We shifted gears and spent about four hours hanging out at the beach - just North of the 'Poles' surf spot. I brought the St Croix 10' Surf Rod and caught a couple of whiting. As the tide started coming in I also saw a bunch of other animals coming onto the sand flat. This stingray was one of them, as were a live horseshoe crab, a crap ton of mullet (most of which had scars from predatory fish encounters) and several smaller whiting. And late in the afternoon, Marlon and I hit the jetty to see what we could find. We ended up catching a bunch of blennies, some spottail pinfish and a few black sea bass (mind you these are all smaller fish - we're just there having a good time with some ultralight weight spinning rods). We saw a couple of green sea turtles to top it all off. Tomorrow we have a pretty cool expedition planned -

Fishing Report 9/11/2014 Part 2

We went to the beach in the late afternoon. I caught about fifteen of these Gaffstopsail Catfish - at times at every cast. I also caught about five whiting. Fun day fishing!

Fishing Report 8/31/2014 Part 2

We left the Causeway Island Park and make our way to the Lighthouse Beach Park. Lots of shell collecting and playing in the water, even though there were washed up jellies on the shore (Moon Jellies - their nematocysts can't penetrate human skin so no "stinging" problems). Paul and I fished and fished and fished and we didn't catch anything. Except more bait - Paul was throwing the cast net some more. I went out first with surf casting rod. I didn't get a single hit. I did get hung up on some submerged junk and I let the kids pretend thay had a big one on the line. Then Paul and I both saw a bunch of baitfish - and the big Snook tailing the school... Time for the flyrod... Orvis Helios 8wt, Orvis - with a Ziegler "style" Schminnow fly. I chased the Snook in vain - and it actually saw me and it would swim just out of view. But I did cast some mighty fine loops in to the wind - double hauling and good timing gained through practice paid off (I remember before I knew that technique - bird's nest). I saw another Snook and we played the same game of hide and go seek - which mostly involved me sprinting just out of spooking distance to get ahead of the fish, setting up the cast and getting laughed at again - good thing I am still in shape and I am humble. We also found a bunch of cool shells and had a great time. One last thing - we put the whelk back in the water - you're not allowed to collect shells with live animals in them. Nice specimen though and it gave the kids some hands on with a larger gastropod.