Fishing Report 5/31/11 - Lake Disston

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Lake Disston Fishing Report
Tues.  May 31, 2011
Moon - 1 day to new moon
M.F.=  9:45 pm
Temp.:  Low 80's
wind: E @ 6mph
pressure: 30.14

Humidity: 87%  

Rain: 0

Sunny

I decided to run out to Lake Disston and throw the yak in for a little afternoon top water action. I probably got to fish an hour and a half but you can not cover much ground with these little plugs, particularly the Rebel plug.

I fished a Rapala f5 floating minnow (original) and  a Rebel miniature minnow that's about 1.5"l.

The Rapala seemed to out fish the Rebel as all but the first fish was caught on the Rapala. The Rebel is less of a surface plug as it dives easily and is less visible. The Rapala will cast considerably farther also.

I only put (5) fish in the boat. (3) small bass, (1) bluegill and (1) shell cracker. I had maybe another 1/2 dozen strikes that missed the plug. it was pretty fun but it takes a little getting used to fishing with such a light spinning real and bait.

Most of the strikes as soon as the bait touched the water. Next time I will bring mu fly rod as well.

I don't know what effect being so close to the new moon might have had on the bite but the major feed was not until 10:45pm so I was early from that respect. I did hear a few other strikes here and there.

This is one pretty lake, although it is very shallow and has a hard sand bottom.! The cypress trees are unbelievable. It was a little to late for some pictures of the trees but I did take one.

Larry S.

Fishing Report 5/29/11 - Pellicer Sheepshead (Part Two)

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Pellicer Fishing Report
Sun.  May 29, 2011
Moon - 3 days to new moon
M.F.=  8:55 am
Temp.:  72 L-82 H. (felt hotter to me)
wind: E @ 0-7AM-10-9AM  mph, (light winds early) steady at 10 mph after 9am
pressure: 30.08

Humidity: 73 avg.(60-91)  

Rain: 0

Sunny

I made the mistake of thinking I would go back after some more of that sheepshead action at pellicer this morning. The boat traffic was unbelievable!!! The Palm Coast Navy was out in full force. It was one boat after another, after another, after another.......I've never seen the boat traffic so bad. I decided to leave around 2:30 before they all started back in...best decision I made all day.

Well, I did manage to catch about 8 of those little bait stealer's but it was a struggle and they were smaller than the fish I caught on Friday. I have a little trick I'm gona put on em' next trip....we'll see how that works!

The tide was still comin' up when I got there so I had a little trouble catchin' some crabs but I wrangled up enough to get started. After the tide started out I had to go catch some more and I had one bucket of fine bait. Too bad the fishin' was so slow.

That's fiddler crabs all around the boat!

There has been a bunch of dolphins feeding on mullet here and one of them bastards snuck up behind me and damn near jumped in the boat with me. A little spooky when something moves that much water so close to your plastic boat! I saw another one actually chase a 12" mullet into the air and grab it right out of the air about 30yds in front of my yak as I was paddling back to the hill.

That was pretty much the story....a little slow but I put enough fish in the boat to make a couple messes.

Larry S. 

Fishing Report, Pellicer, 5/27/11

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Pellicer Fishing Report
Fri.  May 27, 2011
Moon - 3 days past Last Quarter
M.F.=  7:35 am
Temp.:  71 L-88 H.
wind: SSE @ 4/7AM-15/2PM  mph, (light winds early)
pressure: 29.95

Humidity: 79 avg.(61-94)  

Rain: Rain started just after 2:00pm

Sunny

I went back to Pellicer this morning. When I arrived the tide was still coming in and never got very high. I don't know just what time it changed as I was on the flat but I believe it was around 7:30-8:00 AM. I pretty much fished the worst tide conditions, very tail end of the outgoing and the slack tide. On top of that there were no less than 5 boats all trying to fish the small flat. By 8:30 the action was so slow I decided to paddle out.

I knew the tide would not be exactly right but I wanted to fish so fish I did. Pretty much all I did was fish, there was little catching involved! I  did pick up a short red in the cut on the way in to the flats. I noticed a small bait leap out of the water in the middle of the shallow cut. It was not a bait you normally see jump so I new something had chased it to the top! I grabbed my jig rod and made a cast to the spot. About 3 seconds later I had the red on the other end of a tight line. It's important when your fishing shallow water to always be paying attention to what is going on around you, ready to capitalize on any opportunities that may present themselves.

That would have been the end of a rather poor trip but for one thing. I had noticed some fiddler crabs on an exposed mud bank on the way in and I stopped and caught a half dozen or so, without any real plan for them.

There are a few pilings that I typically pass on the way to the flats and one day last year with the sun high in the sky I came paddling by real close to the piles and I could see some sheepshead hanging around them. Well, I had a rod rigged for bait so I put a couple crabs on and dropped them in tight to one of the piles. It instantly drew a bite but I missed him. I re-baited and slipped it back in and caught a big pin fish. I put my last two crabs on and they were stolen immediately....never even felt him.

I thought that was pretty interesting and I might be on to something. I paddled over to a sand beach that was exposed from the falling tide and had an oyster bar beside it. There was an army of fiddler crabs there and I chased down about 3 dozen or so in the oysters. I paid for them in blood however.... I cut the heck out of my fingers flipping oysters.

I paddled back over to the pilings and it was on. It was difficult to keep the yak in position and fish so close to the pile. Who knows how many I ran off when the wind or boat wake pushed me in to close to the piles. However, before it was over I put 8 or 10 stripped bandits and one real nice 24" redfish in the boat. I lost at least 3 real nice ones also.  A couple pulled so hard on my medium action Ugly stick it felt like they were going to break it.

The fiddler crab idea turned a sows ear into a silk purse and I came home with some nice fish. Had I started off fishing like this I feel like I would have had a limit.

My gear today was an Okuma Epixor 30 spinning reel, 6'6" medium action UglyStick rod, 30lb power pro with a 17lb mono leader and 2/0 eagle claw bait hook. I was using a small cork as well due to the kayak and difficulty trying to hold a position. Had I been in a regular boat or maybe if I had brought my anchor I would probably have just free lined straight down, no cork. I think I would like to use a bronze hook but I have to look into what is available. Sheepshead can be shy to bite. A bronze hook would blend in to the crab legs though the shinny silver Eagle Claws did not seem to bother them this day.

The Okuma is a great little reel for the money. Here's a link with more info. : Okuma Epixor, I also like the low stretch of the power pro for this kind of fishing.: Power Pro, The ugle stick stick rod is also one of my favorite rods for the money and has a great warranty: Ugly Stick rod.

Here's some pictures of em'. Even got a couple action shots for ya!

That's a nice sheepshead there! Look at the stickers on his back!

This 24" red fell to a little fiddler crab!

This one was a little short but he sure was pretty!

Another real nice bait steeler!

I found this stone crab flipping oysters while catching fibbler crabs,

Don't let this guy catch your finger!

Mangrove roots, you don't see many grow this way up here.

Another short one.

Man, that one was stretching my line!

 I had fish everywhere... forgot to bring a stringer!

That's a low tide! I made it out just before the rain.

Fishing Report 5/24/11 - Pellicer Flats

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Pellicer Fishing Report
Tues.  May 24, 2011
Moon - Last Quarter today
M.F.=  5:05 pm
Temp.:  84
wind: SSE @ 10-12  mph, (pretty windy)
pressure: 29.98

humidity:   

rain: 0

sunny

Notes: Barometer was slightly falling thru the day 30.05-29.98! Light chop, water clarity low.

I loaded up and headed for Pellicer flats this afternoon. I got a little later start than I wanted due to a client stopping by. When I got to the launch I couldn't believe how low the water was! There was already 16" of water gone out and many oyster bars were well out of the water. I expect the Southerly wind had help the tide extra low.

The wind was blowing right down the river which made paddling in a little more of a chore. I fished my way in one of the cuts leading to the flats and picked up a nice 16" trout off a point at a tee in the creek. The trout smashed a 5m18 floater on the deeper side of the creek, along the mangrove bushes. He never came up to fan the top of the  water like a trout but it was a good fight and I thought it might be the start of a good afternoon. I have really been wanting to get into some top water trout action. Fooling a big trout into striking a top water plug is as exciting as fishing can get.

Well, I paddled for the flats from there, to a little area with channels and oyster bars that has been good to me in the past. Unfortunately, this day would not be one of those days. I never drew another strike for the rest of the evening. Other than some active bait (mostly mullet) the flat was pretty dead and I never saw any striking activity.

I also fished a curly tail chartreuse jig with no success. After the last trip which I had some trout activity on, I expected to see some action. I will say the tide was pretty low and had been going out for probably and hour and a half by the time I got there.

I had planned to go tomorrow but I may hold off on going back for now. The tide will be better but it has just been so windy it almost takes the fun out of it.

Here's a couple nice pictures anyway,

Larry S.

Fishing Report 5/21/11 - Mosquito Lagoon

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Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report
Sat.  May 21, 2011
Moon - 4days past Full
M.F.=  2:15 am +/- (moon at 2:00 position+/- at daylight)
Temp.: mid 60's to low 80's in afternoon
wind: SW @ 5-7  mph early, built to 10+ and died about noon then switched out of E at 10 mph
pressure: 29.75

humidity: 55%avg.(41-83)   

rain: 0

sunny

I know what everybody's thinking........Larry, where's all the fish, you lost your touch or what? I've been thinking the same thing. I have just recently started fishing for this year since Spring Gobbler season has ended and have not really been able to get on any fish to speak of.

I 've mostly been trying new places but today I decided to go back to a spot I fished a few times last year that seemed to always have a good number of fish on the east side of Mosquito Lagoon. I dubbed the spot the "Sink Hole" after my friend Lou flipped his yak there on its maiden voyage last summer. He would have got a kick out of seeing me go over today. I was polling with the paddle standing when I thought I saw fish lying in a sand hole. I grabbed a rod and made a cast but the wind pushed me on. I twisted around and next thing I know I'm in the water. Good thing it was real shallow or I would have got real wet. As it was I was only half wet and was back in the boat before anyone saw it!

As far as the report, I should have just taken a picture of my shirt at the end of the day.  I was covered in fish blood and poop. That would have told the whole story and I could have forgone all the rest. I thought my professional fishing shirt was ruined! A wash in cold water followed by a liberal amount of hydrogen peroxide with a follow up wash, pretty much got all the stains out. It's a good thing half the lady fish get off before you have to handle them. Man those things get nasty. I had them hooked every way possible, even had one hooked in the mouth and tail at the same time! That was was wantin' some relief!

There were some Redfish there but not in the numbers I expected. What was there in numbers were Ladyfish!! I fished some sand pot holes where every cast brought a strike. I know I caught over 45 of them before the day was over. As for the redfish I caught 4 or 5 fish in the low end of the slot, 18-19" range.

I had four rods on the boat, (2) plug rods and to spinning outfits. I had a Mirrolure "Top Pup" on one and a "MirrOdine twitch bait on the other. On the spinners had an Assassin Jerk Shad in pearl and the other had a "Tsunami bucktail flats jig."  Nothing would touch the top water plug. The MirrOdine however, killed the ladyfish, they loved that thing. Watch the hooks on these things, they are the sharpest treble hooks I have ever seen.  I
had ladyfish hooked every way possible, even had one hooked in the mouth and tail at the same time! That was was wantin' some relief! I caught one of the reds on the soft jerk bait and the others on the jig. The ladyfish loved the jerk bait but had trouble getting it in their mouth so I couldn't hardly hook one on it but I could see them knocking the crap out of it. I have had no luck at all in this clear water with a top water plug.

Well, I pushed off from the hill before sun up but I wanted to have actually made the mile plus paddle to the flat I wanted to fish, in the dark. I couldn't get into the park before 6 AM however.

I stopped on the way at a little point that looked fishy. It had a few dead mangrove stumps and some slick water next to some 2-3 feet deep stuff. The first cast with the jerk bait drew a strike from a ladyfish. Just after that I noticed a redfish tail pop up between me and the bank. I pitched to him but nothing. That one and another fish were moving down the bank and disappeared. I moved around the point and saw them again. I made a cast at the one I could see. As the bait got to him he spooked off but instantly I felt a hard thump and my Okuma started giving up line. Apparently, the second fish saw the bait and rushed it, spooking the first fish as it was right beside him. He was a nice 19" fish.

Since I was only a few casts into the trip and I was fixin' to really spank'um I decided to turn that red back and hold out for a bigger fish that was sure to come. A couple hours later with no big redfish on the stringer I was question that decision.

I finally caught a replacement for him on a little bucktail flats jig tipped with a piece of ladyfish in one of my favorite sand holes. I had paddled over a mile to get to this spot and there was a boat anchored, fishing the very hole I wanted to fish, out of all the others around! I never saw him catch a fish out of it but I felt there had to be something there. A while after they poled off, I paddled over and caught that red on the first cast! That was some pretty good justice!

The wind was a little troublesome. It was around 10 mph on up in the morning but died around noon and the water slicked off. In about a half hour it changed directions and started coming off the ocean. I mostly used the stake pole  to hold my position but that made for a few poor pictures with the sun at my back. It was just to much trouble to  re-position the boat so I just did the best I could.

I had my camera remote quit on me when I caught that first red and ended up paddling back to the truck for a spare since I was not that far away. There were 3 other yaks putting in as I paddled away. They headed south behind me but stayed further out. I kept to shallower water looking for a tailing fish. I got into a decent group of reds tailing past that same point I had caught the first at. They were filtering by a few at a time so I staked down and casted to them as they came by. I could not get one of them to eat anything I offered though they were actively feeding.

I did see one more small school of reds at mid day that were moving south and I could see some tails but They were not really feeding they had just pushed up into some shallow grass. They were moving along pretty good actually. I couldn't do anything with them either.

Later, when I got back to the launch, two of the trio of yak fishermen showed up and one of the guys came over and said "what were you catchin', ladyfish? Every time I looked over at you, you were fight another one!"

They had not caught no where the numbers I had but each had caught a red or two that were 24-26" and one had caught about 5 or 6 trout that were all short except one 15"er. I had not seen a trout all morning myself. They had caught the trout in deeper water.

There's probably more ladyfish pictures here than necessary but you get the idea a pile of fish!

Larry S.