Fishing Log

Crafted from junk lying around on the piers,
all of these on-the-spot lures caught fish.*

 

toothy jack crevalle

*I'm surprised that the big schools of jack crevalle never showed up this year in the same numbers that I saw in the first two weeks of last November.  They'd destroy any kind of artificial lures offered to them.  I used jig heads fitted with ear plugs, gasket material, rope, rags, electrical tape, wire, etc. and made spoons cut from soft drink cans.  All of them caught fish.  If one fish spit a plug, another would pick it up immediately.  Often it took longer to dislodge a lure from a toothy mouth than the hook-up had taken.  During one 45 minute lunch period, I caught enough jacks to later fill a 38 quart cooler with cleaned filets.

 

Smoker full of mullet filets

Nov. 24, 1997 - Spoke to Wally today, who said that his neighbor Mat Roland, had dropped by while Wally was smoking mullet.  Mat reported that an 18 wheeler left from Mayport last week, filled exclusively with mullet roe and headed for New Orleans, the final destination to be Japan.  This year's harvest has been remarkable.  Some of the locals are going out at night with seine nets to slay even more of them.  Rusty said that one guy had made more than $8,000 in one day.

 

The finger mullet, and with them, the flounder run seems to have ended, but it's hard to get upset with the bonanza of roe mullet that is keeping anyone with a castnet busy.  The weather has been windy and brisk.

 

 



Fishing Log

 

 

Friday, Nov. 14, 1997 - A long slow week.  Took a spot on a jig yesterday, bait is scarce.  The annual Fall mullet run has begun.  Lots of small mullet boats in the river and encroaching into the Naval basin, all throwing the big cast nets.  Jacks and yellow mouth trout are showing up.  I saw a cooler full of medium to large (2 to 8-lb) flounder, taken along C-1 today.  I was skunked.

 

Nov. 15, 1997 - Turned 49 today.  No gamefish, but I threw the big net twice to fill the cooler with medium sized (17-18-in) roe mullet, 2.25 to 2.5-lb. each.

 

Nov. 16, 1997 - Kathy took me to dinner for my birthday, then to a sporting goods store to buy me a new fishing rod, any rod in the store; but the catch was, that I only 6-min. to make my selection.  I settled on a 6-ft. 6-in. Fenwick Falcon spinning rod, with a fast action and a little nose heavy.*

• The tip on that model is very sensitive but a brittle.  I snapped it off playing a ribbon fish, but Fenwick has a good warranty and will replace any of its rods that break, but you have to pay for the shipping.  Mitchell makes a 'Fulcrum' model, that is cheaper, more resilient, and has much better balance, but it is less sensitive than the Fenwick.

 

Nov. 20, 1997 -  Nailed the big mullet today.  Took over 100 pounds, one was 22 inches long and weighed over 5 pounds, a big female.  Smoked a few and gave the rest away.  Most were in the 2.5 to 3 pound weight bracket.  Traded a mess to Stoddard for a bag of hickory nuts.  Also gave some to Dave Fisher and some cleaned fish, to one-armed Bill Williams.  Gave Wally a mess too.

 

Nov. 22, 1997 - Bought a new Mitchell 'Fulcrum' spinning rod and a $100.00 smoker today.  Modified the smoker by cutting a small access hatch in the bottom to stoke the coals or to add water to the steaming pan.

Also hit the mullet hard again today along F-Pier.  Filled the cooler, but missed on a few throws that would have doubled my catch for the day.  Spent the evening cleaning fish to smoke for Thanksgiving. 



Fishing Log

 

Nov. 5, 1997 - Landed a 31-inch, 10-lb. 6-oz. redfish at the western notch of C-1 Pier, on a live finger mullet, low tide, dusk, with a slight NE breeze.  The fish was hooked between a moored barge and the seawall and made at least seven 30 yard runs, pulling drag.  I had to pass the rod under mooring lines as he made 4 or 5 more runs in a bid for open water, then surfaced long enough to be identified.  Clear of the mooring lines, the fish made several more surface runs before it could be picked up in a long handled landing net.  WHAT A FISH !!!

 

Tackle:  A light, 6-ft. graphite rod, and a Pen 4400 SS spinning reel, spooled with 24-lb. test
Spider fusion line.

 

Friday, Nov. 7, 1997 - First Quarter Moon.  Kept a nice 17-in. 2-lb. flounder hooked in the east end notch of C-1, during lunch on the high tide.  Brisk NW wind, live bait getting scarce, and temps dropping.  Large yellow mouth trout also showing up at the east end of C-1. 

Fishing Log

 

 

Oct. 30, 1997 - Light wind NNE.  16-in. 1.75-lb flounder taken at C-1-East, on live mullet.

 

Oct. 31, 1997 - HALLOWEEN - Rainy, wind NNE, no bait.  Picked up a 17-in. 2-lb. flounder during lunch at C-1-East.  Gave Conrad Chun a rain jacket.  Flounder totals for October:  15 fish with an aggregate weight of 38-40-lb.

 

 

Nov. 1, 1997 - Caught a nice yellow mouth trout at A/B notch.  Gave it to Stoddard (Andreu).  Wind out of the West, rain stopped, with overcast skies.  Still no live bait to be found.

 

Created a new fish dish, "Georgia/Florida Bombay Flounder" :  2 onions, 1 red bell pepper, half a stalk of celery, 1 leftover cob of corn, 3 small flounder and 2 cups of rice, w/ butter, sherry, curry, garlic & cumin.  Good Stuff.

 

Nov. 3, 1997 - Caught a 12-in. throw-back, gag grouper on live mullet at the East end of C-1.

 

Nov. 4, 1997 - Took a 4-lb. (19-in.) flounder at the East end of C-1 during dead low tide on a live mullet, which are showing up closer to the surface again.  Cleaned the fish and gave it to Dorothy and Travis.  A nice thick fish for this time of year.

 



Fishing Log

 

 

Oct. 26, 1997 - Picked up 3 flounder today on live mullet, two @ C-1 East and one at Fox cove: sizes ranged from 14-in, 16-in. (1.75-lb.), 18-in. (4-lb.), and a black sea bass at A/B corner.  Gave the sea bass and 2 smaller flounder to Stoddard Andreu.  Cleaned the large flounder for Dorothy and Travis.

 

Blackened half of the last flounder (caught Oct. 21) and deglazed the skillet with Sherry, onions and mushrooms, for a sauce - Good Stuff !

 

Also caught a 4-ft conger eel at C-2 East, Thursday.  It was as big around as a baseball and felt like a big flounder coming up.  Very disappointing.

 

Oct. 27, 1997 - Rained all day w/wind out of the SW.  Baitfish showing a spectacular show of activity just aft if a British ship berthed at A-1.  Helped a 'Limey' sailor land two big bluefish, a very excited and happy angler.

Oct. 29, 1997 - 4 flounder taken on live mullet from both ends of C-1.  The J.F. Kennedy berthed there, forms a natural barrier at both ends of the pier, trapping bait fish.  Finger mullet plentiful there now.  Flounder sizes: 15-in., 15.5-in., 17-in. (2-lb.), and 21-in. (5-lb.).  Wind NNE, falling tides.


USS CONOLLY (DD-979)

I had been sent to the Good Ship Connolly at 8:00-am, to work on a galley oven that was in use and couldn't be tagged out (to work on) until 13:00, so with free time on my hands...   PAO (public affairs officer) CDR Conrad Chun had a flounder in his cooler that weighed just over 8-lb.  Rusty of B&M bait store, reported that 32 flounder had been taken just off of the point of the rip-rap (C-2) by two civilian anglers in a boat.  I also saw the base harbor master land a nice red where I was fishing at the end of C-1.  A very busy day.

 

 



Fishing Log

 

Oct. 9, 1997 - 1st Qtr. Moon, wind still blowing NE.  Caught a 17.5-in. flounder on a live finger mullet during a falling tide @ C-1.  The fish weighed just under 2-lb.  Blackened two fish last night with a mild Cajun rub.  Took the leftovers to work for lunch & still have 2 uncooked fillets in the reefer.

PS: The civilian fish-boy posse had a 6 pounder they'd taken in the chop at A/B corner.  They're still taking bigger fish than I am #$%!?  Everyone is using live finger mullet now.

Oct. 13, 1997 - Caught a 15-in. yellow mouth trout caught between Charlie 1 & 2, on a live mullet.

Oct. 15, 1997 - Full Moon

Oct. 16, 1997 - Nailed a 14-in. flounder in the notch @ C-1 West, on an incoming tide, using finger mullet for bait.  Gave it to CDR Conrad Chun who was working the East end if C-1, and already had 3 small flounder in his bucket.

I blackened some refrigerated fillets at home and served them with onions and mushrooms in a lemon butter and white wine sauce.  Saved leftovers to microwave at work for lunch.*

Oct. 19, 1997 - Released a 14-in. speckled sea trout, taken on a live mullet @ the N. End of B-Pier, just inside the fence, near B/C corner.

Oct. 21, 1997 - On the low incoming tide, took a 21.5-in. 4-lb. flounder @ the East end of C-1. Wind ESE.

* Recipe for 'Push-Ding' fish: Season and cover fresh (uncooked) fillets with spray butter and lemon (or lime) juice.  Set the timer on the microwave for 2-min.  Cover fillets with a second plate and push the start button.  When the timer goes 'ding' you will be amazed at how good fast fish can be.

 

Fishing Log

 

 

Sept. 24, 1997 - 4-lb. 20-in. flounder and large blue, both taken on live mullet @ A/B corner, near the old aircraft control tower.  Gave the big bluefish to Stoddard Andreu.

 

Sep. 25, 1997 - Had my homemade live bait bucket 'lifted' from the pier @ A/B corner.
 

Oct. 1, 1997 - New Moon.  Lost my landing net @ B/C corner. 

Oct.2, 1997 - 21-in. 4-lb. flounder and a small sea bass, both taken on live mullet @ C-1.  Also found my bait bucket returned to B/C corner.  Wind NE.



USS Enterprise CVN-65 berthing at C-1

Oct. 3, 1997 - A small flounder and a large topsail catfish, both taken (on live mullet) and released @ C-1, in the shadow of the USS Enterprise (CVN-65).

Oct. 5, 1997 - 4-lb. 21-in. flounder taken @ C-1 on live Mullet, during the 3rd Quarter of the Jaguars' game.  Gave the fish to Tyler Greenwell.  Live bait plentiful.

Oct. 6, 1997 - 16-in. 1.5-lb. flounder @ C-1.

Oct. 7, 1997 - 20-in. flounder, almost 4-lb. taken @ C-1 on live mullet.  Steady NE winds since Oct. 1.

  



Fishing Log

 

August 27, 1997 - Caught a 2.5-lb., 18-in. flounder and a small jack at Charlie 2, and was given a barely legal slot red.  Fried the Red and the flounder in peanut/olive oil on the side burner of the gas grill, Delicious!  I threw the jack back.

August 30, 1997 - Picked up and released a nice croaker on the first cast @ Fox Pier cove.  There are rumors that a dry-dock will eventually be located there.

Sept. 2, 1997 - Watched 3 young redneck boys work the entire length of C-Pier, Killing flounder with live finger mullet.  They had at least 13 of them, many in the 4 to 6-lb. range.  They had also taken many large flounder yesterday too.  I WAS SKUNKED, BOTH DAYS !!??!!

Sept. 6, 1997 - Fished with Doug and Rod from a boat, working the creeks behind Oak Harbor, with jigs and finger mullet.  Picked up a small jack, then went to 'C'-Pier on the base, working the seawall with jigs and finger mullet - NOTHING !!!  Also saw a cooler half-full of big flounder, the largest being about 9.5-lb.  Wind still out of the NE, falling tide.  Artificial jigs no longer productive.*

Sept. 9, 1997 - A 14-in. flounder taken at 'C'-Pier and a jack taken at Foxtrot.

Sept. 13, 1997 - 3 flounder, 18 to 20 inches (3 to 4.5-lb. range) from A/B corner and Foxtrot cove, all taken on live mullet. Had enough to feed Kathy's workshop guests and take some nice flounder fillets to Dorothy (my mother).



Rigging live finger mullet for flounder

*From early September to about mid November, I've noticed that the flounder, especially the big (breeding?) females are getting bigger, thicker, fatter, and a whole lot pickier about the baits they'll take.  They like the big live finger mullet and do not want to be hurried after they pick one up.



Fishing Log

 

August 5, 1997 - 2-lb. flounder taken at A/B corner, high tide.  Light wind out of the NE, beautiful conditions.  New net still workin' like a champ.

 

August 7, 1997 - NE wind, rising tide.  Netted and landed a 2.33-lb. flounder at Easternmost notch of C-2, then helped a sailor net and land a slightly smaller (18-in.) flounder at the same spot.

 

August 11, 1997 - First Quarter Moon, NE wind.  Caught 1 small, keeper (flounder), 1-hr. after low tide, on leeward side of C-2.  Caught 2 more small flounder in the same place this weekend.  Gave the fish to Stoddard Andreu.

 

August 13, 1997 - 3 flounder, 2-hr. after low tide (no spot recorded):  3-lb (20-in.), 2.5-lb. (19-in.), and 1.5-lb. (14-in.), the largest from C-2, the other 2 from Fox cove.  Light shifting winds, from NE to SE.

 

August 20, 1997 - Yellow mouth trout taken at B-3.

 





Fishing Log

 

 

Aug. 3, 1997 - Lost a 2.5 to 3.0-lb. flounder at Foxtrot cove trying to lift him into the floating landing net, just before high tide.  Also landed a ribbon fish.  I need to create a better landing net, as all hooked flounder seem to berserk the second their heads are lifted out of the water.  I need a long telescoping pole with a wide mouth net to get under them.  Perhaps an aluminum  telescoping paint pole with a large landing net screwed to the end would solve the problem. 

 

A large birthday party scheduled at Connie's (sister) for Michael (nephew), Maggie (daughter) and the family.

 

'Aunt Lil' (Miss Lilly Thomas) of Mayport, turned 105-yr. old yesterday - Nice party for her at La Cruise, gambling boat / restaurant.

 

My counterfeit pier pass and the ice machine at North Florida Shipyards, have been valuable assets to access the piers and to keep my fish fresh.  Before the lay-off, I had come to rely on schmoozing ice from the ice machines aboard the ships I was working on, but with the lay-off, all people no longer authorized to be working aboard the ships, have their names removed from the ships' access lists.

 

Gag grouper

Aug. 4, 1997 - Landed 2 small 14-in. flounder, and a small 14.5-in. gag grouper, all at the Fox cove, on a rising tide.  The new landing net, a big 6-ft. wide-mouth net for landing salmon, screwed onto a telescoping paint pole, worked well.  I am pleased with the new rig.  It should keep me from losing so many fish in the future.  Light wind out of the South today, creating perfect conditions for working the Foxtrot cove.

Telescoping paint pole and wide-mouth landing net



Fishing Log

 

July 29, 1997 - Eleven days since I've had a keeper.  Wind SE to SW today.  Caught a 17-in. 2-lb. flounder during lunch, 45-min. after low tide.  Had hooked and lost another about the same size before work.  Also lost one yesterday morning which I didn't get up high enough to see.  Modified the landing net to just two lifting guides to allow more room to bring a fish into the net.  Dave Burgin of SUPSHIP (surveyor/supervisor of ships' repairs) caught one (17-in. flounder) just after I left yesterday.  All fish above, from Fox cove.

 

triple tail

Took Kathy with me tonight and nailed two ribbon fish just after dark in the ships' security lights along B-Pier.  I could see them attacking bait fish just below the surface, in the halo of the lights.  Also saw two big (8-ft.) manatees this week in Fox cove, and saw a small triple tail (same location) yesterday.

Manatees

July 31, 1997 - 14-in. flounder @ Charlie Pier.  Gave it to Stoddard.

August 2, 1997 - Lost 2 flounder today and 2 yesterday, all @ Charlie Pier.  Other people are catching them too now.  Dave Burgin was reported to have caught 3 at Fox cove today.  Things are picking up.  Light wind out of the NE, tide seems not to be a factor.

Fishing Log

 

 



West notch at C-2 (top), cove at Foxtrot (bottom)



July 9, 1997 - Flounder,15-inch, 1.5 pounds.  Taken at Foxtrot cove during lunch.

 

July 10, 1997 - Lost 2 flounder at Foxtrot cove: one at lunch, probably 22 to 24-inches long (a nice fish), and one after work, about 14 inches long.  The first fish broke off 12-lb. test line off at the swivel.

 

July 11, 1997 - Fox cove - 2 flounder, lost one and tossed one.  The one I lost of course, would have been a nice keeper.  That's 3 nice flounder lost in 2 days.  I think I'll go back to using a treble trailer hook on the jig.  Also caught a nice blue that I gave away at the bait store.



Jig with a treble hook trailer or 'stinger'

July 12, 1997 - First quarter moon, SKUNKED.

 

July 13, 1997 -  Hooked 8 flounder at Charlie-2:  Lost the 4 biggest fish (snapped line), Kept 2, tossed 2, and gave 2 to Stoddard Andreu (a neighbor).*  I've gone to heavier terminal tackle to eliminate so many break-offs.

* My math doesn't add up in this entry.  I'm guessing that I had only 2 break-offs.

July 14, 1997 - Nothing.  Slight NE to SE winds. Nice conditions but no fish, not even a tap.

July 17, 1997 - 3 flounder at Fox cove: 2.5-lb, 3-lb. and 4-lb. all taken at high tide.  Also lost 2 two others @ same location during lunch.  The 4-lb. fish went 2-ft. in length.

Ladyfish

July 18, 1997 - 22-in. 4.25-lb. flounder before work, and 3 flounder, from 14-in. (1.25-lb.) to 18.5-in. (3-lb.) during lunch, all at Fox cove.  That is 7 flounder landed in 2 days, averaging 3-lb. each, and several more lost at the surface.  Action hottest at high tide.  ESE winds, light.  The Kingfish Tourney in progress, conditions for it are great!  Also picked up a ladyfish and an 18 inch blue that I threw back.

Bluefish

 



Fishing Log

My first trip to Samos, twenty years ago

 



Fishing boats and the rock seawall in
 Agios Konstantinos (St. Constantine), Samos Island, Greece





July 8, 1997 - Just returned from Greece yesterday.  The water there is cold clear and salty.  Even more beautiful than the Caribbean.  Sadly, the waters of Samos have been overfished and much of the seafood eaten there would qualify as bait in Florida: squid, octopus, cigar minnows, Boston Mackerel, and glass minnows (smelt?) which are fried whole in olive oil, and eaten as snack food.

 

The nets the Greeks use for commercial fishing, like their heavy-keeled wooden boats, are hand made.  'Sport' fishing from shore is done with hand lines spooled on a plastic ring, or float fishing is done from the rock seawall, with a gang of little gold hooks (like sabiki rig) wound around a wad of stale bread, then cast into the water with an 8-ft rod.  (The float is round, almost the size of a tennis ball.)  The schooling fish (cigar minnows) are foul hooked by the snatch line as they feed in the floating specks of bread.  'Frank the Fisherman' of Agios Konstantinos, told me he guts them and fries them whole in olive oil for the table.  Seems like a cast net would be a more efficient way to catch them, but I never saw anyone there using them.

 

 


Greek hand line

The grilled octopus, fried squid, and the shrimp there were all surprisingly good, but he best finned fish I ate on Samos was what looked like a pink snapper.  They are weighed whole in the restaurant, then either grilled on a brazier, or scored vertically, fried on the bone, and served with the head on.

Fishing Log

 

 



C-2 notch (top right) B-C corner (top right)
cove at Foxtrot (bottom)

June 8, 1997 - The past few days have been cloudy, windy (out of the NE), and rainy.  The wind shifted to the NW today.  At Charlie-2, I released a small flounder, lost a flounder I estimate would have gone 2 to 3 pounds, and caught  bluefish that measured 17.5 inches to the fork, which I gave to a sailor who already had two flounder that looked to weigh about 1.5 to 2.0 pounds each (also @ C-2).

 

Later same day, I landed a 17.5 inch, 2.25 pound flounder at B-C corner, and lost another flounder about the same size, at C-2.

 

June 9, 1997 -  Wind out of the NE, overcast. Caught 5 flounder today, 13 to 18 inches long (averaged in the  2-lb. rage) all keepers. Three were taken during lunch at C-2 and two were taken after work: one at the C-2 notch, and the other from the cove at the east end of Foxtrot Pier.

June, Friday 13th, 1997 -  Fishing poor since Monday.  Sold 2 ribbon fish to the bait store for $2.00 each.  

Fishing Log



USS JOHN F. KENNEDY CV-67 berthed at Charlie-2
and the wooden fish dock on the riprap, east of C-2

 

May 23, 1997 - Wind still out of the ENE.  I hit the wooden fishing dock on the Riprap (East of C-2), the wind sheltered notch at the west end of C-2, looking for flat water to fish in.  Also fished the SE corner at the bottom of Echo Pier, NOTHING.

May 27, 1997 - Last quarter moon.  Caught seven trout and a small flounder, all taken between C-2 and Bravo, working the seawall in the lee of the wind.  Also picked up 2 medium sized croakers @ the Trout Hole (SE corner of E-Pier), working dead shrimp along the bottom.  Kept the 4 largest trout, from 15.5-in. long.

May 29, 1997 - Wind ENE, on an incoming tide.  Took a 14.5-in. flounder from the west end of the fishing dock on the Riprap.

June 4, 1997 - Caught ribbon fish yesterday and today in the Trout Hole (bottom of Echo) and sold them to B&M Bait and Tackle for kingfish bait.  Got $6.00 for 3 of them yesterday, and $7.00 for 6 of them today.



Ribbon fish sold for kingfish bait

                              

\

Fishing Log

 

Spanish mackerel

 

May 22, 1997 - A Spanish mackerel, 14-in. nose to the fork of the tail, taken @ 'C' Pier fishing dock, while an East wind and an outgoing tide were in conflict.





Fishing dock (top right), C-2, West (top left),
 E-pier (bottom)

Afternoon - Wind still out of the ENE w/ an incoming tide.  Found a protected piece of flat water on the West end of C-2.  First cast yielded 16-in. yellow mouth trout, the second cast brought a 15-in. trout, and the third brought a 14-in. flounder.  Moved over to the bottom of Echo Pier, just at sunset and had several blues and Spanish break off terminal tackle up to the swivel.  They were slammin' bait fish hard, despite wind chop on the surface.

 

Bluefish

My last fish of the day was a big blue (16-in. to the fork).  I cast a into a school if rolling bait fish, and a bluefish slammed me.  He tail walked through the baitfish on the surface, and made two nice airborne leaps.  When the fish was on the pier I noticed that it had kinked the stainless steel leader, mangled the terminal end if a snap swivel, destroyed the soft plastic jig body, and left deep teeth marks in the painted metal head.  I kept almost everything I landed today: 2 trout, a flounder, a Spanish mackerel, and one bad bluefish.  Never stick your fingers into the mouth of a bluefish to dislodge a hook.