Fishing Log

B-C and D-3 (top left) wall and outside
C-2 fence (top right) D-3 (bottom)

April 16, 1997 - Mild wind out of the N.E.  Released two small trout caught at B-C, before work.  Picked up a blue she-crab at lunch on a jig.  Also released a medium jack from B-C, then moved to the dock on Charlie point at dusk.  Released several small trout, gave 3 or 4 away, gave away a small blue, kept 2 blues (14" to the fork of the tail) and a 15-in. trout.  Also released a small whiting and a small flounder.  Action was medium to brisk from dusk to dark-thirty in the halo of a sodium quartz light, falling tide, using a white bodied, pink tailed jig, molded with shrimp scent (by Gotcha) with a 1/4-oz. white jig head.  The water was flat and protected from the wind.





small whiting

April 18, 1997 - Unseasonably cold, 40 something this morning with a wind chill factor in the 30's, an unproductive morning (3 casts).  Nothing at the ICW, and finally, about dark-thirty, the wall outside the fence @ C-2, gave up some trout and blues.  Left 3 fish for the cats and got run off by Base Security - Falling tide.

USS HUE' CITY (CG-66) 

April 22, 1997 - Full moon, nothing much going on.  Wind out of the West, making B-3 my best bet.  Rumors of 6 pound trout being taken from the deck of USS Hue' City, berthed near B-C.  Small croakers taken on dead shrimp were supposedly being used as live bait for the big trout.  I saw the croakers, but no trout.

April 23, 1997 - Rainy - Working too much to get in much fishing.  A soft rod tip, wind, and current making conditions poor.  The water was flat while it rained, but by knock-off the wind was back.






USS JOHN HANDCOCK (DD-981)

April 24, 1997 - Glued a new tip on the 6-ft. Big Lots rod, put the old reel back on it, and immediately nailed a small croaker and sea trout before work at Delta-1, near the bow of the USS John Handcock.

April 28, 1988 - Blues working on baitfish after dark in the halo of a security light, also @ D-1.  Snagged one medium blue and hooked several others, kept none.  Fleet moving out in the morning.  Too much sailor traffic on the pier.

Fishing Log

April 7, 1997 - Picked up a small yellow mouth trout @ Foxtrot Pier on an incoming tide, just after dark.  YMT and bluefish also turned on at the seawall just outside the fence @ the East end of C-2.  Had a light wind at my back.  Kept 3, but lost or threw back many more small fish.  Was getting a pick-up on about every third cast, but  got chased off by Base Security in the middle of the bite.  I like fishing in a dead calm or with a light breeze at my back.  It makes casting and line management easier.  Flat water produces less vibration 'chaff' and I believe, makes it easier for fish to locate a moving bait.*  The calmer the water, the slower a jig can be worked.


*After catching scores of fish on dark moonless nights, in 30-ft. of water, on unscented artificial lures, I am convinced that fish can target prey using only vibrations picked up by lateral lines (sonar organs) that run along both sides of their bodies.  It may also help explain the quick darting or swirling maneuvers fish can make when schooling in tight formations. 




B-C, seawall and pier outside C-2 fence (top)
Fox cove (middle) D-3 (bottom)

April 8, 1997 - Stiff wind out of the North.  Took one blue @ B-C after work. 


April 11, 1997 - Working night shift, windy with rain.  Caught about 5 trout @ D-3.  Kept only one, about 15.5-in. long.  Wind out of the S.E.


April 12, 1997 - Same as above, one keeper
         
April 14, 1997 - First quarter moon.



Fishing Log



B/C (top), A/B (left), Fox cove (right), E-3 (bottom)

April 1, 1997 - April Fool's Day.  Caught several throw-away blues and jacks at the corner of Alpha and Bravo Piers.  Kept one blue and had a Gotcha Lure on a steel leader cut off by a medium sized blue.

April 2, 1997 - Caught 2 blues and 2 jacks, one about 17-in. to the fork of the tail, gave 'em away.

April 3, 1997 - Jacks and trout @ B/C corner before work.  Kept only one trout.  All taken on a white grub with a pink twisty tail, and a white 1/4-oz. jig head.

April 4, 1997 - One medium jack taken @ B/C corner, taken on a pink and green twisty tailed jig.



Penn Spinfisher 4400 SS**

April 5, 1997 - Saturday.  Bought a Penn spinning reel 4400 SS (saltwater series) for about $60.00 w/tax, and took it to the ICW - no action.  Hooked and lost about a 13-in. flounder in the cove off the end of Foxtrot Pier on an incoming tide and a South wind.  Moved to the trout hole @ E-3, and picked up 6 nice fish (yellow mouth trout) between 13 and 17 inches long, on new pink and white plastic jigs impregnated with shrimp scent.  A Puerto Rican Electrician's Mate from SIMA* was doing just as well using unscented white plastic jigs, and a 1/2" mil-spec. hex nut for a sinker.  The fish were taken on the cresting tide, just before dark, with the wind at our backs.

April 6, 1997 - SKUNKED.  Heavy winds out of the S.E. & lots of Security Police to monitor fishing.  Ran into the P.R. Electrician's Mate again, at the bottom of E-3.  He had 4 small YMT.  I made 3 or 4 quick casts and left.

 * Shore Immediate Maintenance Activity

** This model has a very sloppy anti-reverse gear.  The worst Penn reel I've ever owned.