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Showing posts from December, 2004

December 28th, 2005 Fishing Trip

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We headed out Tuesday Morning - was unable to fish the end of the North Jetty because of massive swells. We fished a strong outgoing tide. On the day we caught 6 Bull Reds and 10 Big Black Drum. This was the first Red of the day that Dewey Jr. caught.
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This was a beautiful Red that Dewey Jr. caught. He was about 41" long.
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Here is the last of the three Red's Dewey Jr. caught.
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This was the first Red of the day. He was about 38" long. It was a beautiful clear blue day during the morning. But the clouds rolled in a bit after noon.
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This is our Mentor. Our Obi-wan-kanobi. Our great Leader. Our Master Fisher. Ladies and Gentlemen .... I give you the Bill Dance of the Jetties - Dewey Walls .... and the one fish he caught all day long. (laughing) He would have caught more ... but Dewey Jr. and I kept him busy netting our fish and baiting our hooks. (laughing)
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This is one of the four Black Drum I caught. These black drum are fun to catch - they fight well - but I must admit that I am a little disappointed when I see a black drum on the line rather than a Bull Red.
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This is another one of the Big Black Drum that Dewey caught on the trip. These fish are nasty.
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This was one of the three Bull Reds I caught during the day. He was about 40" long. On the day I caught 4 Big Blck Drum and 3 Reds.
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This was Dewey's last Big Black Drum for the day. All together - he caught 3 Reds and 5 Black Drum.
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This was the last of the Bull Reds for the day. He was in the 39" Range. Notice how the clouds had rolled in later in the afternoon.

December 21st, 2004 - Fishing Trip - Nasty Weather

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The weatherman missed today. Our understanding was that the high winds and rain would move in late in the afternoon - however - apparently the weather did not see the forecast. We were blown off the Jetty - we fished the outside of the Jetty for protection from the wind and 6-8 ft swells. Then the rain started. Needless to say - Dewey Sr., Dewey Jr. and myself had the sense not to stay very long. Let me restate that ... Dewey Sr. and Dewey Jr. had the good sense not to stay long - they offered to leave me at the end of the Jetty to continue fishing - but I had the good sense to go in with them. It was quite trechorous at the end of the Jetty - even on the leeward side. So we move far down the Jetty and fished at the sunken concrete ship. We had not fished that spot in a long time.
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The fishing time was quite short - and because of the wind and swells - were not able to fish our normal spots. The only Red of the day was this 32" Red. I also was fortunate to catch a small black drum. Other than that - nada. Hopefully, weather permitting, we will be able to head out again early next year.

December 20th, 2004 Fishing Trip

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We had a great day fishing with Dewey Sr and his son Dewey Jr. Dewey Jr caught 5 Bull Reds and several Whiting.
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Here is another one of the Bull Red's I caught. The water was a chilly 58 degrees. The tide was at the end of an outgoing tide. All 9 Bull Reds were caught before noon. After my disappointment with the Ningbo Reel - I purchased a Mitchell Full Runner 6500 - and was able to take it out today. It preformed tremendously. The drag was smooth and I am very pleased with it. I purchased it off of Ebay for $41.00. I will be getting one or two more for next year.
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Here is another one of the Bull Red's that Dewey Jr. caught. Although he was not in any of the pictures - Dewey Sr. did go - he just didn't catch any fish. The one fish he did hook - he couldn't keep from tangling up in my line - and well .... the line broke. And I didn't have anything ... well much ... well it wasn't totally my fault! 
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This is another one of Dewey Jr's. 
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This is one of the four that I caught. All were between 38 and 42 inches long. 
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This is one of the five Bulls that Dewey Jr. caught. 
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This is one of the Bull Red's we caught that day. 

December 8th, 2004 Fishing Trip

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Well - It finally happened. Dewey outfished me! He caught one red and one drum - - I just caught one red. BUT MY RED WAS BIGGER! (grin) . . . I caught this Bull Red - he was about 44" long. The water was good - but about 65 degrees. We fished the end of the outgoing tide and the beginning of the incoming tide. It was slow slow slow fishing. We caught both reds within about 20 minutes of one another. I keep saying we aren't going back to fish for Bull Reds till next year's run - - but we still go. Ningbo Reel Update - I caught this Red on the new Ningbo Reel I talked about in the last fishing trip. I do not like the drag. It is "jerky" and not smooth like the Shimano's I have. It handled the Red I caught fine - but I just don't like the drag as well. However, it is a good reel for the $25.00 I paid for.
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Here is a nice Bull Red that Dewey caught - he was 42" long. Mine was bigger. (grin)
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Here is the Black Drum Dewey caught - He was about 39" long.
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The last three times we have been at the Jettys - we have seen two people loose their anchor because they couldn't get the anchor off the bottom. Dewey found this anchor rigging in a magazine. "To easily turn a standard Danforth anchor into a breakaway Danforth, drill a hole in the anchor's base plate. (The size of the hole will vary with anchor and chain size.) Remove the anchor chain from the top of the anchor shaft and reattach it to the hole you just drilled. This may require a new shackle. Once the chain is attached to the new location, lay it along side the anchor shaft. Using two heavy duty electrical ties wraps, attach the chain link that lies closest to the top of the shaft to the shaft. If the anchor hands up in a wreck or rock pile, the tri wraps will break under pressure when retrieved and the forks of the anchor will easily pull away from the snag. Be sure your anchor has ample chain. Chain length and anchor rode are critical to successful anchoring. Also, be
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The is how the anchor is attached via the electrical tie strap. It is double looped through - then slides and is locked. It the anchor is stuck on bottom - the electrical strap breaks loose - and pulls from the bottom of the anchor.
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This is how the anchor is attached at the bottom. The chain runs to the top of the anchor shaft and strapped to the to top using an electrical strap.

December 2nd, 2004 Fishing Trip

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Here is the Red that I caught. Kinda awkward - but was about to be pitched over the side of the boat with waves. This Red measured 49" and weighed in at 51 pounds! It is the largest Bull Red to date. Two good things about the trip. We tried out some new leaders with new swivels I made and a bit heavier to stay on the bottom during strong tide - and I was able to try out a new Ningbo BX3000 Baitrunner Fishing Reel I picked up on EBay. I wanted to try this reel out to see if I might pick a couple more up for next years trips when we take people fishing for the Bull Red Run. Unfortunately, I didn't hook a Red on the Reel - but all indications are that it will function well. Not bad for $24.51. This may be the last time for a while we make it out to the Jetties for Bull Reds. I think we are going to concentrate on a few places in the bay for some slot reds between now and when the Bull Red run begins in 2005. However, we may head out for the Spring Drum Run. We will kee

December 2nd 2004 Fishing Trip

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December 2nd, 2004 - Fishing Trip - This was the least effective fishing trip for Reds to date. With the water about 64 degrees - we didn't think we would catch any Reds - but went anyway. We only caught two. This is the one that Dewey caught - about 45" long. We were only able to fish for about 2 1/2 hours - so with the cooler water and the short time - we were only about to catch two reds. We did miss one other one when the hook pulled loose. My fish really was bigger than Dewey's! (laughing)