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3/10/10
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Had the pleasure of doing a lil fun fishing with Capt. Charlie Parker today. The morning started off much different than the days of late...relatively mild and mirror glass conditions. Of course the wind picked up to around 15mph by mid day but with high temps in the low 70's no complaints were made. Started off in the creeks catching several nice slot reds up to 26" with a dozen or so 16-18" before moving out to the ditch to chase some schools at low tide. We found a couple nice schools of mid to a bit overslot reds and managed to release several including a fat and angry 33 incher for Capt. Charlie. I haven't seen a red fight like that in quite a while. Back at the ramp I spoke to a guy who showed me a pic of a 29" trout he caught and released the day before along with 15+ keepers also released. I guess I will be doing a bit of trout hunting next week after the front. The bite is really good right now, so come down and see us. Book a trip between now and March 28th and mention this report and get $50 off a half day and $75 off a full day. Lets go catchin! |
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Subpar conditions, but great fishing
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February has been a continuation of January. Really cold weather with lots of wind/rain or both particularly on the weekends with very few "nice" days in the mix. Several trips have been cancelled due to the conditions, but that hasn't kept us off the water. The Amelia Island sight fishing has been fantastic with several 12-15# reds taken the past couple weeks. Also had a few fly trips last week. Carol and Walt fished with me for a couple hours in a frigid rain, but there was no wind and the fish were chewin. These folks never fished in the salt with a fly before, but once we got out of the habit of a trout set it was on. They hooked 11 fish in about 2 hrs landing several each. This weekend was windy and the water was very stirred up but Bill and Dr. Ryan made the most of it north of the border, and we stayed on fish almost all of both days. These guys are excellent fly anglers and we had to work for them but managed some nice fish. Don't let a few of these pics fool you, the wind did lay for all of 20 minutes and we hammered em, but it blew about 20 the other 10 or so hours.
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Jan 15 2010
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Did a little prefishing with Captain Scott for the upcoming HT open in Jax this weekend. Found some nice schools of the proper size reds with quite a few oversize piggys in the mix. Also in near proximity were nice schools of black drum. We ran the new Hells Bay Neptune, and if you haven't heard about this boat check it out on their webpage www.hellsbayboatworks.com
This thing rides incredible, poles silently and effortlessly like all HB models, and she absolutely screams with the 150 on the back. This boat is a true 8 inch boat and at 70 mph you can get to the fish in a hurry!
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2010 update
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This first week of January started out frigid. The good news is the fish don't seem to mind. The last week of December I fished Jacksonville, and found numerous small to lower slot reds up shallow in the creeks eager to eat. The larger fish took a bit more stealth and coaxing but they are bunching up in the shallows as well. Trout were on and off the past 2 weeks, but some we did catch a few yellowmouths in the 5# class as well as some small and lower slot specs. Sheepshead have been steady at the big Rocks with some overslot reds in the mix.
Capt. Charlie and I took a day off to chase the reds north of Vilano. We found a couple nice schools of slot + fish and also numerous fish in the 16-23 inch range in the creek systems. Hopefully it will warm up soon, but don't let the cold keep you off the water, because the bite has been very good. Put on your layers and lets go catch them. Tight lines! |
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Holiday gift certificates
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Get yours today, just give us a call at 904 403 6136. your charter will be $50 off if booked by to Jan. 1st, and $75 off a full day. Also Dec. 19 - 26 I will be in Islamorada, so if you need to speak to me or book a trip please call the above number b/c I will not have email for that week. Happy Holidays! |
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November catchin'
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Late October and the month of November brought us a wide array of weather conditions to deal with. Now that the water temps have dropped off, we can expect some of the best fishing of the year. Trout have invaded area waters to fatten up for the winter, and have proven to be quite consistent from Palm Coast north into SE Georgia with some nice size fish in the mix. Live shrimp, fishbites plastics, and clouser minnows/decievers have been the top producers.
Reds are getting quite active around the lower tides and are beginning to school up in nice groups. Staying on the good schools has been the key for sucess. On the last round of big tides, we had excellent tailing redfish action but the fish are chasing shrimp in the grass now more so than crabs, so you have to get on them quickly to get your shot.
Flounder have been more hit or miss, but should show up thick anyday now. Bull reds are still being caught at the mouth of the St. Johns, along with an impressive bite of Black Drum from 5-50 pounds, as well as sheephead. Keeper size drum are in the creeks, and Capt. Charlie has been wacking them the past week. Charlie also got a nice snook this past weekend for his clients.
Book your trip now to get on some of the more consistent fishing of the year. Tight Lines.
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Mosquito/Indian River Lagoon
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I have been down in the lagoons with Captain Scott prefishing for the IFA tournament in Titusville next weekend and enjoyed some fantastic fishing despite some breezy conditions. We caught numerous trout, black drum, and redfish from 20-50 inches, as well as some nice snook up to 34", and even jumped a couple baby tarpon all on artificial lures with fishbites being the bait of choice. I'm not sure what kind of slam that is but it is a whole lotta fun. The water is really high down there right now, and I was surprised by the quality of the bite. It is quite the thrill to watch a 40 pound red pile on an artificial lure in 2 feet of water or less. Those big fish are all over down there right now. Give us a call and we will set up a multi-day hotel fishing package for you so you can get in on the action. Myself, Scott, and Charlie will guide you to your trophy.....or 2. Tight Lines!
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Fall came early
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reds reds reds.....from flood tide tailers to the Monsters of the deep, the Redfish are out in force. The big Bull Redfish have invaded our area waters a bit ahead of schedule. From Matanzas thru the St. Johns river with fish especially thick around Jacksonville, these bruisers are sure to test your tackle and your back. If deeper water fishing is not your thing, the flood tides are going off as well and will be for the next week. Redfish tailing in the grass are ready to pounce on a well presented fly or lure, and they have been thick from south St. Auggie all the way thru south Georgia. Book your trip today and get in on the action.
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August report
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Fishing has been on fire the past few weeks. The hardest thing right now is deciding what to target. Good numbers of trout with lots of redfish and ever increasing flounder catches inshore. Nice mangrove snapper around structure and should have some nice flood tide fishing in the Jax/Fernandina waters this week. There are still Tarpon on the beaches with plenty of smaller fish inshore. The shrimp boats have lots of big blacktip and spinner sharks behind them, and the bull reds are on the jetties and in certain spots in the St. Johns River. The rays are back on the beaches with alot of smaller sized cobia on them. There are some fat fish out there but you have to weed thru the smaller ones. We are still seeing some monster Jacks as well. Kings and sailfish are regular visitors in the 10-15 mile range, and snapper and grouper fishing has been fantastic. Book your trip today to get in on the action. Tight Lines.
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Hot summertime fishing
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Summertime has officially kicked in here in North Florida. Pogies are on the beaches and they are being blasted by all sorts of preadators. Tarpon and jacks are regular visitors in bait pods and have shown up in good numbers the past week. A mile or 2 farther out the big beach Kingfish are making their presence known with a good number of cobia still showing themselves.
Still further offshore on the wrecks/reefs in 10-20 mi range, we have been having excellent luck with cobia, mid size kings, as well as snapper and grouper. For the sporting angler, large lil tunnys (bonito) and cudas are everywhere in this range and make for a lot of fun on fly or light tackle.
Inshore is also been really hot with good size and numbers of trout available early or late in the day. A solid flounder and redfish bite all over the region with a few baby tarpon and snook for the lucky angler. In the northern area of our region we have had good action on tailing redfish on the flood tides....one of my favorite ways to catch these fish. Until next time, Tight Lines.....
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Cobia are on the beaches!!!!!
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Its that time of year to sight fish the rays for cobia. Call now and book your cobia trip.
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April and May
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The weather is hot and summer time fishing is right around the corner. The name of the game is variety. Jacks, blues, spanish, and ladyfish have infiltrated our inshore waters providing fun light tackle action. Reds, trout, and flounder are around, it just takes a little looking around to find good numbers. Cobia are beginning to move down the beaches shadowing the giant rays, and we even spotted some nice tripletail off St. Augustine beach this past weekend. When the wind cooperates offshore fishing is excellent as well with snapper biting very well, and kingfish due to show up in good numbers any day now. |
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February report
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The water in northeast Florida has been super clear the past month and the redfish schools have been tightly balled and consistently available. Lighten and lengthen your flourocarbon leaders in this clear water and you will definitely get more bites. The speckled trout fishing is heating up as well with larger fish being caught. We had a 6 pounder last week, and it's just a matter of days before double digit trout will be a real possibility. Black drum and sheepshead are still readily available on certain flats, jetty rocks and other hard structure as well as in deep holes and troughs around oyster mounds. This is also the time for giant drum in excess of 100#! It's been a great month for fishing so don't miss out.
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Windy fishin
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The weather has been warmer but another cold front is on the way. Fishing this week with Fish Bites jerk baits and shrimp has produced nice trout, big redfish and a couple flatties. It takes a lot of work but the fish are eating. Winds yesterday blew to 30kts and it was tought but with work we had trout, and reds up to 7 pounds! Water conditions remain very clear so tie on that extra foot of fluoro carbon to fool the smart ones. We even have stepped back from 25 to 15 pound. The jetties should start to produce big redfish and trout over the next few weeks as spring gets closer. A float rig or jig head tipped with shrimp will do the trick and remember to tighten that drag or the big boys will break you off in the rocks. Tight Lines and until next time
Capt Scott
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Late January Report
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I may have jinxed myself with the title of the last report. It is definitely January. The weather may be cold but the fish don't seem to mind. Cold temps and clear water mean MUDFLATS. Low tide fishing for reds has been excellent whether you fish bait, artificials, or fly. Stealthy boat handling is key, but the reds have been eager to eat and for the most part, the low tide fish have been large. There are also some nice black drum to be had around the lower tide stages. My dad and brother stopped in on fri the 23rd and bagged 15 big fish with most in the 8 - 11 # range.
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Is it really January???
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The inshore bite for most of the new year has been quite hot for the most part with warm temps and bluebird skys most days. The fish have been a little tougher to get to eat just after the cold fronts or on the windier days, but if you are willing to adjust your tactics or targeted species, there are still some great catches to be had.
Reds are schooling nicely on the flats and in the creeks on the lower parts of the tide, with some nice flounder mixed in around oyster bed dropoffs. Deeper holes in the creeks are giving up nice trout as well as numerous smaller reds. When the weather permits, from the St. Johns out towards the jetties you can find a variety of species including large speckled trout, reds, sheephead, as well as black drum and yellowmouth trout.
The offshore scene has been red hot as well with a strong snapper bite still pretty close to the beach. Working out a little deeper, vermillion snapper, grouper, flounder, lane, and red snapper are still in abundance with seabass nearly everywhere you stop. Take advantage of this great whether while it lasts and come stretch your line.
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Jax bite in fall
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Well the fall is here and actually the last few days have felt more like winter than fall. The fishing however is as hot as summer. Redfish, trout, flounder, and a mess of other fish are eating just about everything you through in front of them. fishing the outgoing tides have been most productive for us and soft plastics and live bait are working best. Tuesday I had the pleasure of fishing Nick and his father and after going over our options of sitting at home in the 25kt cold weather or fishing they went for fishing and I'm glad they did. We headed to a creek where Captain Charlie Parker told me there should be some redfish and he was dead on. We never left the creek and caught 4 redfish all over 7 pounds and one 10 and a few nice trout. The fish were like us cold and enjoying the sun. We were able to sight cast all the redfish and missed a few more. It turned out to be a great day on the water.
Enjoy
Captain Scott Owens
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November brings crazy weather and hot fishing to Jacksonville
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It's that time of the year again in North Florida. One week it's shorts and flipflops, the next you might have to deal with frost on the boat at dawn. Despite the changing weather conditions and windy days, fishing in the greater Jacksonville area north to Amelia Island has been red hot.
Large Flounder have been stacked up in the St Johns from Dames Point out to Mayport with doormats up to 13# a real possibility. When the tides are larger we have been catching fish in the 3-7# class in creek mouths and dropoffs around the oyster bars.
On the warmer days and low tides redfish up to 10 pounds have been in shallow water on mudflats or patrolling the oysters. These fish get active on the warmer afternoons and are blasting mullet in the shallows. The cooler temps encourage these fish to school up so when you find the reds, there are generally quite a few in that immediate area. Earlier in the day and when it's colder, these fish are laid up over mud, or hanging just a bit deeper.
Speckled trout are on a rampage throughout the region in the main river from downtown to mayport as well as creekmouths off the intracoastal wherever there is a good current. The trout get particularly active after a good cold front passes by.
The cooler temps have also turned the sheephead bite on. 20+ fish days are not uncommon with most fish up to 7 pounds. Any good structure in the river or around jettys is an excellent place to start.
In a short trip on Thursday, we racked up a dozen reds to 8 pounds, 4 trout and a 6 pound flounder in just over an hour fishing white weighted fishbites jerkbaits down about a 200 yard stetch of oyster littered creekbank. Now is the time to get in on the action.
Capt. Rob
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Fall and Winter
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Fishing had made a full turn around since the red tide hit our area in last summer. Trout are pleantyful and are eager to take soft plastics, hard baits and live shrimp. Early in the am and in the pm we are catching them on top water plugs. The redfish and black drum are in the flats, creeks, and intercoastal which meens they are everywhere. The only fish that has made itseft scarce is the flounder. I have not seen but a hand full since the red tide however the giggers are reporting they are finding them. Anyway it on so come down and get warm in florida or if you are hear already lits go fishing. |
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capt charlie:St Augustine
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Spring time has arrived.Spring & fall are my favorite times of the year for fishing.We have had some stable weather the last two weeks with tempetures in the 80s & light winds.Today started at 6:30 am leaving the dock well before daylight. I knew with the forcast for bright sun , light wind & a high outgoing tide we should have a good daylight trout bite.By 9:30am we had 14 trout between 18 & 22 inches on tbs jiggs & bass assasin plastic grubs in the pinfish pattern.In between about every third fish was a blue fish.We finished the mourning off with 2 nice flounder in the 3 & 4 pound range & were back at the dock at 11:00.The intercoastal has started filling up with plenty of finger mullet ,wich means that the big flounder,redfish & trout will be all over them.,
Captain Charlie Parker |
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Redfish Cup 07
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DAY 1
Team Hooters Captains Chris Wittman from Ft. Myers Fl. and owner of Still Water Charters and Scott Owens from St. Augustine FL./ Brunswick GA. and Co owner ofOldest City Guide Service had a great 1st day with a 2 fish limit of 12.23 pounds. The weather was tough in the morning with pouring down rain and winds out of the North at 15knts which made the fast 65+ mile per hour boat ride miserable but, by 10am the clouds and rain had diminished
and the winds layed down. They had fish working a grass line and managed to put several fish over the 27 inch limit in the boat before Chris brought in a 6.5 pound fish to start the day. Not long after that they put another fish over 6 pounds in the boat and felt they could upgrade those fish to slightly heavier fish but only manadged to bring in a few over slot fish and one small fish. Team Redline Captain Jason Keating another Co Owner of Oldest City Fishing Guides and his partner Keith McBride had similar results with over size fish and only managed to bring in one monster that tipped the scales at 7 pounds. Conditions were tough but even tougher was trying to stay focused after Capt. Jason recieved a call just before the tournament start to find out his long time friend Steve Senecal, 34, of St. Augustine had went missing offshore the night before. Steve a great guy who was like by everyone he met was also an avid offshore fisherman and had ventured out the day before to fish offshore. His brother reported him missing the day night before when he didn't return back to the ramp by 9pm. His boat was found the next day 27 miles offshore with no sign of him. Please say a prayer for Steves Family and Friends. He was never found. He was a great guy and a huge loss to the fishing community. We will miss Steve here in St.. Augustine.
DAY 2
Conditions really worsened over night as a cold front dropped tempetures over night to the mid 30s and winds pack a punch to 30knts out of the north northeast. Team Hooters fished the grass as the winds and moon flooded grass flats and had 2 fish over 9 pounds and of course over the 27 inch limit first thing in the morning. They said they fished hard and stuck to thereoriginal game plan all day but only managed to bring in 1 fish to weigh in which was 5.12 pounds and ended up dropping them to 14th place. Team Redline however had a great day and managed to catch a limit of fish which brought them up from 40th into the money as well. Check out live weigh-ins at www.redfishcup.com for future tournaments and see team standing an past results.
Until Next time take a kid fishing and light lines
  
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Inshore report with Capt. Charlie
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Chris Gates and friends has a great day fishing with Capt. Charlie today with 11 redfish several trout and even a few sheepshead. 6 of the reds were over the 27 inch slot!!! We have seen fishing along the intercoastal and around the inlets really picking up and the summer migratory fish like tarpon, cobia, jacks, and others are just around the corner. Come and see us to enjoy some of this exciting action seen.
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Cold Days
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Well after 6 hours of 25knt winds out of the north west Marcos and his girlfriend tuffed it out. I told them how bad it would be but they wanted to go. We left the dock at 8am and the weather was not to bad yet so we hit a few dockss and managed to get a few flounder. By the time we started to move to 3rd dock the winds started to really blow and the clouds moved in and the tempature dropped even more. We were all freezing but kept fishing as hard as we could. The second spot turned over a big zero so we moved on to a smaller creek where we fished some oyster beds that turned out to be loaded up with redfish. After catching a few reds, sheepshead, bluefish, and some small pinfish we decited to call it a day. As for the fish they didn't seem to mind the weather and were eager to bight. As for Mocos and his girlfriend they fished hard all day and would have stayed out longer but were also to see the warm car.
Tight lines until next time.
Capt. Scott
www.oldestcityfishingguides.com
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Slam Time
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If you have never caught a NF Grand Slam now is the time. Here is what it takes. 1 Redfish, 1 Trout, and 1 Flounder. As the waters cool the trout and redfish have become active and plentiful and flounder are stacked up at the inlet and in creek mouths. We have been able to guide anglers to Grand Slams on several of our trips in the last month or so. Capt. Tony was able to guide one angler to a Grand Slam on fly last week and several others with spinning. Come down or up and see what North Florida has to offer! You wont regret it!!!
Tight lines |
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November Reports
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We fished the afternoon tide and it started out a little slow. Once the tide started out though we had several redfish, flounder, and trout. We caught most of the trout the last hour light on Fish Bites Jerk baits. We had about 20 or so up to 18 inches. The redfish came from a variety of baits as did the flounder.
Tight Lines |
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Nov. Reports
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Well the water has cooled off and the fish are starting to really move onto the flats and school. Larger schools of redfish can be found during the next several months schooling on the flats and the flounder have still be everywhere. They should start to move to the beaches to spawn in the next few weeks. The black drums have also started appearing and should get more plentiful.
We had some really cool eats by redfish on the flats south of St Augustine yesterday. The water is very clear and on sunny days you can expect to see lots of fish cruising the shallow waters looking for quick meal. This is my favorite time of year to fish so come and enjoy it with us.
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Night Time Bite
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The night time dock bite has been great. Lots of trout, blue fish, jacks, ladyfish, and some snook. We fished the brigdes and docks south of St. Augustie on 5/10 and had a great night. We had several big trout in the 5lb range and could not keep the jacks and ladyfish off our Gulp Jerk baits. The pearl glo seemed to be the color of choice. We lso through the fly and a white clouser with some crystal flash and mono eyes worked great. If you are interested in a night time outing we offer 4 hour trips leaving from St. Augustine and Palm Coast. Fly and light tackle welcome
Tight Lines |
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April Action
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The April fishing has really been good. The jacks and ladyfish are chasing schools of bait up and down the intercoastal. We are seeing some big fish as well. Last Week Capt. Charlie Parker had a flounder that went 10++ pounds and I had a 7 pound trout durring a 4 hour trip. Capt. Jason has had some big cobia and Capt. Bill has had lots of big redfish in the 30inch range. The fishing will continue to heat up as summer rolls in so give us a call and lets do some fishing.
Capt. Scott
Oldest City Fishing Guides |
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Cobia Report
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The Cobia fishing is Red Hot !!!!! The Manta Ray's are on the move, and alot of fish have been caught off the beach, double digit catches are the norm over the last few trips. Capt. Jason caught four fish in the 30-50 pound range last week and Friday 4/20 he bagged the 54.6 pound fish shown. Sunday 4/23 He caught 12 fish with 3 of those over 30 pounds. On Monday 4/24 Capt. Jason put Capt. Scott on several manta rays with fish on them. He fished a fly rod all day and bagged 4 fish and one keeper that is shown also. We ended up seeing over 30 rays and catching 8 cobia. What a day !!! Thanks to Capt. Scott for coming down and sharing such an awesome day on the water with me!!! If this sounds like fun to you give us a call and book a trip today . See you next report ...   |
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Palm Coast 3/22 - 3/23 Report
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Fishing in Palm Coast is really starting to heat up. We left from Bings Landing both days and the wind was blowing 15 to 20kts. We started out using several lures including the Bite-A-Bait plug which is definatly the hot new plug to have. We had everything from snook and redfish to trout and flounder. It was a great day of fishing! The areas we fished is full of small river poggies which tells us that the jacks and tarpon are not far behind. Although we did not cast the fly rod there are lots of opportunities for catching fish on the fly. So come and fish with us and enjoy a day out on the water!!
Capt. Scott Owens
Oldest City Guide Service
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Cold weather reds
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Well as I sit here I realize winter is upon us. It is 29 degrees with wind gusts to 30knts. In the last few days however it has been perfect. Cool mornings and warm afternoons. Fishing has Been great as well. Here are a few pics from Jax with Eric Davis and Patrick Galloway on Saturday which incuded a 6.5 pound flounder, 4.5 pound trout, and some very nice redfish!!! Great Job Guys
Tight Lines
Scott
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November brings crazy weather and hot fishing to Jacksonville
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It's that time of the year again in North Florida. One week it's shorts and flipflops, the next you might have to deal with frost on the boat at dawn. Despite the changing weather conditions and windy days, fishing in the greater Jacksonville area north to Amelia Island has been red hot.
Large Flounder have been stacked up in the St Johns from Dames Point out to Mayport with doormats up to 13# a real possibility. When the tides are larger we have been catching fish in the 3-7# class in creek mouths and dropoffs around the oyster bars.
On the warmer days and low tides redfish up to 10 pounds have been in shallow water on mudflats or patrolling the oysters. These fish get active on the warmer afternoons and are blasting mullet in the shallows. The cooler temps encourage these fish to school up so when you find the reds, there are generally quite a few in that immediate area. Earlier in the day and when it's colder, these fish are laid up over mud, or hanging just a bit deeper.
Speckled trout are on a rampage throughout the region in the main river from downtown to mayport as well as creekmouths off the intracoastal wherever there is a good current. The trout get particularly active after a good cold front passes by.
The cooler temps have also turned the sheephead bite on. 20+ fish days are not uncommon with most fish up to 7 pounds. Any good structure in the river or around jettys is an excellent place to start.
In a short trip on Thursday, we racked up a dozen reds to 8 pounds, 4 trout and a 6 pound flounder in just over an hour fishing white weighted fishbites jerkbaits down about a 200 yard stetch of oyster littered creekbank. Now is the time to get in on the action.
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A Fly Fishermans Dream
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Well in most cases. The Lady fish are all over the inlet. Thousands of them from 1 to 5 ++ pounds. Go on incoming or outgoing tide and bring your 4-8wt and hold on. Dont forget to check your leader or you will go though fly's like kids with candy.
Tight Lines
Captain Scott |
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Jacksonville October Report
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Well the fall is here and actually the last few days have felt more like winter than fall. The fishing however is as hot as summer. Redfish, trout, flounder, and a mess of other fish are eating just about everything you through in front of them. fishing the outgoing tides have been most productive for us and soft plastics and live bait are working best. Tuesday I had the pleasure of fishing Nick and his father and after going over our options of sitting at home in the 25kt cold weather or fishing they went for fishing and I'm glad they did. We headed to a creek where Captain Charlie Parker told me there should be some redfish and he was dead on. We never left the creek and caught 4 redfish all over 7 pounds and one 10 and a few nice trout. The fish were like us cold and enjoying the sun. We were able to sight cast all the redfish and missed a few more. It turned out to be a great day on the water.
Enjoy
Captain Scott Owens
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Oldest City Guides take IFA Redfish tournament in Jacksonville
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http://www.inshorefan.com/news_article.asp?id=2835
IFA Jacksonville Winning Pattern
Owens-Aldridge Targeted Protected Docks
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Photo: IFA Redfish Tour/Mike Lott
Scott Owens (left) and Rob Aldridge had plans to make a longer run, but the wind kept them within a few miles of the launch.
Scott Owens and Rob Aldridge weren't supposed to fish last weekend's Jacksonville IFA Redfish Tour event as a team, but they're glad they did. Owens' original partner came down with the flu a couple days before the event, so he placed a last-minute call to Aldridge, a friend and fellow charter captain from the Jacksonville area.
The makeshift team made magic and conjured up the only 14-pound limit of the day to secure a hard-fought victory in windswept Jacksonville. Owens said the win "feels great. I've had a Top 5, a couple Top 10s, a Top 15 - it's nice to finally get a win."
Aldridge said his first professional-level win "took a few days to set in, but it feels great. It couldn't have come at a better time for either of us."
Here's how they beat the wind to get the win.
Practice: Just Looking
Owens made the drive down to Jacksonville (he lives about an hour north of there) the day before the tournament, so practice time for him and Aldridge was pretty much non-existent. They did make it out on the water to do a little scouting, though.
"We mainly just rode around and took a look at some things," Owens said. "We saw some fish and developed a game plan. I'm a die-hard sight fisherman so all the areas we looked at were shallow. If I'm fishing in anything more than a foot of water I'm lost."
Unfortunately, their shallow-water sight-fishing game plan didn't fly for them on tournament day.
Competition: Rock the Docks
> 7.22 + 6.94 = 14.16
The 122 teams fishing the event were greeted by 25 mph winds and gusts over 30 on tournament morning. Owens and Aldridge were fairly certain their shallow spots would be unfishable, but they gave them a look anyway.
"It was bad," Owens said. "I've got a 24-volt 80-pound thrust Minn Kota and even that couldn't keep up with the wind. We were running the boat up on oysters. The hull was making a ton of noise. It was just bad."
They made a couple moves and checked out some more shallow areas near Nassau Sound with zero luck.
Aldridge noted: "We were about to make another move and then I looked across the way and saw this littler area off the Nassau River. I'd been there about 6 months ago on a similar day and caught a few fish off a set of docks.
"You hear guys talk about plan A and plan B. Well, this was like our plan F," he added.
Plan F proved to be the winner. They stuck their first fish off the docks about 9:30. Two hours later they had their limit.
"Those were our only two bites of the day," Owens said. "We caught a few trout and hit some other spots, but it was brutal out there.
"I felt pretty good we were going to get a check with what we had. But I didn't see us winning it. But as it turned out everybody had a tough time out there. There were a few other teams fishing those docks - we just got the two biggest bites."
Winning Presentation
Details:
# They fished an area in the Nassau River just a few miles north of the launch.
# The water off the end of their docks tapered off to over 20-feet deep, but the fish were suspended in the upper part of the water column, only a few feet deep.
# The bank where they were fishing was covered with boulders. "I think those rocks really help to keep the bait in there," Owens said.
# "The current was ripping so strong out of the river that I had to turn my trolling motor up to full blast just to sit still," Ownes noted. "I'd pull up right to the end of the dock, set my trolling motor on AutoPilot and we could work a dock without moving."
# They fished a fairly quick retrieve and Owens said he actually had to speed up his presentation in order to get bit. "The fish are just really active chasing big bait right now," he added.
# They used a Humminbird Side Imaging machine to look under the docks. "One of our docks had a 40-foot boat sunk under it," Aldridge said. "We caught one of our fish off it, too."
# "I think Mother Nature helped us win this event," Owens said. "We were forced to stay close and that turned out to be the reason we won."
Winning Gear
Owens and Aldridge used the same equipment.
> Rod – 7'6" medium-fast St. Croix Legend Inshore Series spinning rod
> Reel – Quantum Cabo 40 and Quantum Catalyst spinning reels
> Line – 20-pound Sufix Performance braid
> Leader – 25-pound Sufix fluorocarbon leader
> Terminal Tackle – 1/16- and 1/8-ounce flutter-style weedless hooks
> Bait – 5-inch Fish Bites Extreme jerkbait (white)
> About the bait, Aldridge said: "We've got a bunch of jumbo mullet around right now. The fish are definitely keying in on those bigger baits. We were just trying to match the hatch."
Winning Rig
They used Owens' boat.
> Boat – 18' Gordon Boatworks Waterman
> Motor – 70hp Yamaha
> Trolling Motor – Minn Kota Riptide ST 80 with AutoPilot
> Electronics – Humminbird 997c SI Side Imaging combo
> Other – Power-Pole
Main Factor In Their Success
> Owens – "Just our knowledge of the area and our experience on the water. I fish 240 days a year and you really take the little things for granted like running a trolling motor in to that current and fighting fish around those dock pilings. That stuff comes naturally to me because I do it just about every day."
> Aldridge – "Confidence and our experience together. We've been fishing for a long time and we know when it's time to make a change."
Performance Edge
> Owens – "The trolling motor and our braided line. I put that trolling motor to the test and it met the challenge. We couldn't have fished that spot without the trolling motor, but we couldn't have landed our fish without that Sufix braid."
> Aldridge – "Picking the right bait. We had some fish spook off from other stuff, but they ate those Fish Bites jerkbaits. The boat was a big part, too. For a poling skiff that Gordon can really handle some rough water."
Notable
> Owens and Aldridge are both full-time guides. Owens: CaptainScottOwens.com or 877-605-FISH (3474), Aldridge: HitNRunfishing.com.com (website currently under construction), hitnrunfishing@yahoo.com or 904-403-6136.
> Owens: "I never take a fish out of the livewell without a Boga Grip now. I lost a 7-pounder over the side before a weigh-in last year and I swore to myself I'd never do that again."
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Well it time for Big trout
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The big trout have shown up and top water at day breat is the time to take them. I find the Lucky Craft Sammy's work best but Skitter Walks are a close second. Try to fish high outgoing tide where water is being pulled from creeks in the intercoastal and start there. Working shell bars and drop offs is also a great way to pick thm up. Docks in salt run are always a sure thing just start early before the boat traffic gets going.
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Spots Specs and flatties
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Well as I sit here I realize winter is upon us. It is 29 degrees with wind gusts to 30knts. In the last few days however it has been perfect. Cool mornings and warm afternoons. Fishing has Been great as well. Here are a few pics from Jax with Eric Davis and Patrick Galloway on Saturday which incuded a 6.5 pound flounder, 4.5 pound trout, and some very nice redfish!!! Great Job Guys
Tight Lines |
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