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