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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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