What do UFO’s, Fishing and Drones have in common?

[tacklejunkie]

Tacklejunkie. That’s what!
A video is worth a million words. Hell, at 20 minutes it’s almost a TV show.
Angry Snook, snipping snapper, floppy ladyfish, keeper redfish, sea trout, mystery fish, rigging tips and a whole lot more!
Merry Christmas 2019 from the Tacklemeister!!

https://youtu.be/2fXWdgF4X6U

[tacklejunkie]

Last two days have been bad.
Big storm front rolled through and had some coastal flooding. Turned off the inland estuary bite.
Maybe the fish will be backnon again this week if I’m lucky.

I did get a new cast new because those are a legal thing out here. Practice throwing that a few times in the direction of some predictable bait nibblers to see what they looked like. Landed two different species. One, no idea. Returned it to the sea. Another was this colorful little guy here. Believe they are Pinfish which is yet another new species for me. Returned it to the sea after a short swim in my bait bucket with my shrimp. Now I’m learning how to make bigger baitfishes to hopefully catch even larger redfish and snook.
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While practicing the cast net, I had the chance to learn that the shrimp like the grass from the grass bed that I pulled the pinfish off of. Lots of learning every day.

I also want to stop using shrimp eventually. I’m only using it because I’m new here and learning how these fish work, while combating tides and invisible mosquitos called no see ums that randomly eat you alive and ruin your trips. Lol.
Every fish here is literally hard earned, and I’ll say it again. Things were A bit more simple back in LA, in some ways. Not so much in others.

I think i saw shrimp busting the surface in Crystal River today, as if they were some shad running from bait. Of course my cast net wasn’t ready at that time. That’s the whole reason I bought it, to be honest. To hopefully net a scoop of shrimp off the shore one day. I think that would be really cool!

Anyway. Artificials eventually.
Heres my three main contenders. I’ve been watching their action on YouTube and it’s time to invest in all three.
Should only set me back $20 and then I don’t have to buy shrimp anymore. I can either fish plastic shrimp or use my cast net to get some off thendocks before dawn cause they be splashing all over like crackheads like you wouldn’t believe.
https://www.doalures.com/category-s-1924-htm-s/1924.htm
https://livetargetlures.com/collections/shrimp
http://egretbaits.com/egret_vudushrimp.html

[tacklejunkie]

Have to keep in mind... the fish can tell the difference between live and dead shrimp from the sound they make.
So each one of those dead plastic shrimp above needs a tiny brass on glass worm rattle stuffed inside to help simulate shells clicking and scraping along :Cool:
..and of course... some Shrimp smelly Jelly.


Did i mention I found some crystal clear freshwater ponds less than a mile away from where I caught the keeper redfish on the video from the original post in this thread?
Oh baby...

look out for a mixed fresh/salt bag report here pretty soon!!!
Imma be onnnnnn fiiiiiii

[tacklejunkie]

Christmas!
Today I think I’ll go try the FW ponds I found to see if any Christmas bass are hiding in there. I have no idea what kind of fish these four ponds hold. One of them is almost the size of Jenks lake. Lol
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Hopefully that goes well.
At any rate.. I still have a legal Snook on my mind. My biggest so far was 24” or so. I’d like to fight that 28” or better snook! Would be a battle from hell. The 24” almost broke both my wrists and I couldn’t breath by the time I was done fighting him around the dock pilings. I can’t even imagine fighting a 28”. It will probably work me no problem.

Those things hit hard and rip right back into the hole they jumped out of. You have to be ready and hanging on tight to your rod or you will lose your whole combo in the drink lol. When I say the fish almost broke my wrists I’m not kidding.
Here.. take it from the pros. They’re like bass on steroids. They aren’t fat and over weight like bass and they fight current all day.

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https://www.saltstrong.com/articles/how-to-catch-snook-in-florida/

Since I caught a good chunk of the sport fishes from the warm waters of Crystal River, I’ll be back when I find some winter bass or a legal Snook that will probably rock my world lol

[WARRIORMIKE]

TJ

I may need to visit Florida soon!

[tacklejunkie]

Bring the “calgon morning glory spray”. I just found out this perfume stuff might work for no see ums. I bought some, gonna test today. I’m being eaten alive. Things itch for days in the middle of the night.

I was back out there Christmas Day laying it on the fish.
I cast netted a bunch of mullet for cut bait and caught a bunch of trout and ladyfish. Probably five each. All released as always. Only stuff I really keep now is baitfish

check out these beauties. No keepers but nice looking feesh.
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Caught this healthy and angry blue crab on a Berkeley gulp shrimp twitched on a ball jig head.
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That sucker was a full large adult eating size blue crab!! Those don’t play around lol.

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Dead armadillos

Floridian puffball mushrooms in bloom
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Here’s the stuff you need to keep no see ums away.

Ive also been 3D printing my own bobbers and bobber stops the last few days that I drew in fusion360.
For cork and shrimp presentations.
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Lots of developments occuring over here on the West Side of the East End.

I would definitely encourage ya’ll to come visit the Crystal River and Kings Bay Area to catch a few sport fishes if you are even in the area. Do some googling and YouTubing on your way down, and you can’t go wrong. Water is warm here, fish year round.

[tacklejunkie]

Bring the yada yada yada buncha BS..
I am starting to collect rubber shrimps of various shapes and styles and stuffing them with worm rattles.
Will be back out pounding the salt soon as the large tides switch back to day instead of night. That’s not helping my salt bite right now. They are chowing at midnight and my shore spots are not legal to fish at night. Otherwise I might have a legal Snook under my belt already. Nothing stopping me from foshing all night right now but regulations and lack of spots.
I need to meet some of these people who have docks in kings bay and on crystal river with “snook lights” and I would be in the money. Check out videos of that on YouTube.

The artifical shrimp collection is small for now, but slowly growing.
The bass worm of the coastal inshore.
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Im going to go check out those four freshwater ponds I found today I think. It’s goong to be 80* later and if my no see um spray works I’ll be able to relax and try for a New Year Largemouth.

[tacklejunkie]

Hit them again yesterday real good.
Couldn’t get any interest on my shrimp. That’s because they were keyed on baitfish. Casting to boils with the tsunami shrimp wasn’t working. That’s probably going to be a better bait for docks I’m guessing. I was fishing open water and channels with mild to mid currents. Mostly flylining things a mile on light line.

What i did end ip doing was tossing my cast net at a boil. Boom I nailed like 25 baitfish one well placed 4’ wide net scoop. Got it on video as well. Mullet, Pinfish and I think menhaden or something all in one scoop! No wonder they didn’t care for my shrimp lol.

The slay began after that. It wasn’t WFO but I found three new spots and hooked up five Red Drum ��, One lady fish then I let my dog murder and we used it for cut bait, one speckled sea trout and I broke off an angry �� snook when he SMASHED my Pinfish right at the bank that I was jerking around like a Jerkbait.

All in all, lots more lessons learned. When there is three to five kinds of live bait fish in the water, they don’t want your shrimp. They’re busting all over on baitfish for a reason. Cast net the bait fish and use circle hooks so you hook them in the lip every time so you can release without harm. Practice C&R, guys. Murder all the baitfish instead lol

i learned a trick on YouTube that you can use FRESH mullet cut Into FAT chunks as bait with giant circle hooks. I threw a 2” chunk of fresh cut mullet out flylined and left it on the bottom while flylining manhadden baitfish thingies and hooked the biggest fish of the day. Probably 3lb Drum maybe 18-20” or whatever.
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Almost time to come back home to the west coast soon. Another month or two max here.
I am about to go buy a brand new Toyota Tacoma with cash from the dealership any day now to throw my motorcycle in for the drive home. Kinda excited about that but I’m definitely going to miss fishing here.

I will not, however, miss the No See Ums. �������������������������������������������������� ��������

[tacklejunkie]

I would love to catch a huge bull redfish before I leave. Or a legal Snook..
I think I found the spot for it and I picked up 30lb line, 7/0 circle hooks and 1oz egg sinkers yesterday for $10 at Walmart.

All i I need to do is come up with a live mullet, cut it into a 4” chunk, C-rig it and throw it out to wait.
while I get eaten alive by no see ums.

For what its worth, the blue calgon morning glory spray worked about 75% of the time.
It was 80* yesterday, hot and humid and not a lot of wind. The no see ums were thick.
75% is good. I’ll take that. There might be a potion o can mix up that may work better however. My dog and I smell like perfume from yesterday still. I’m about to hose us both down.

Im tired. The last two weeks I put in serious work on these fish.

[DarkShadow]

I see you're doing some work on the east coast, TJ.

Keep the reports coming. Living vicariously through them as my time on the water has diminished.

[tacklejunkie]

Was just getting my license again and going after smallmouth before I left Oregon for my six month excursion down heyah. took me a minute when I got here to realize where I was and what I should be doing. But it was too hot When I arrived anyway. Winter here is bad ***! If you don’t mind being eaten by bugs..

i was out again today foshing ahead of a fromt. I think I waited too long and was fishing right up to the rain with no luck.
Either that or the moon has the fish in a tiff. Caught a big skunkola. Lost a lure, no storm front monsters ate my cast net captured and frozen finger mullets cut or whole. Lost lots of tackle fishing the bottom with cutbait for that giant bottom feeding resfish. No bueno. Broke the rod tip on the way home in the back of the new truck lol. Lessons.

At any rate, the new Taco 4x4 rode smoothly down to the redfish hole.
I may try again for a monster here, a time or two, before I escape back up to the PNW.
Once I get back I need to land that fat salmonoid looking thing I saw.
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Until next visit...

[DarkShadow]

Was just getting my license again and going after smallmouth before I left Oregon for my six month excursion down heyah. took me a minute when I got here to realize where I was and what I should be doing. But it was too hot When I arrived anyway. Winter here is bad ***! If you don’t mind being eaten by bugs..

i was out again today foshing ahead of a fromt. I think I waited too long and was fishing right up to the rain with no luck.
Either that or the moon has the fish in a tiff. Caught a big skunkola. Lost a lure, no storm front monsters ate my cast net captured and frozen finger mullets cut or whole. Lost lots of tackle fishing the bottom with cutbait for that giant bottom feeding resfish. No bueno. Broke the rod tip on the way home in the back of the new truck lol. Lessons.

At any rate, the new Taco 4x4 rode smoothly down to the redfish hole.
I may try again for a monster here, a time or two, before I escape back up to the PNW.
Once I get back I need to land that fat salmonoid looking thing I saw.
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Until next visit...


Nice Taco'!

My 2006 has been a work horse. I haven't had to do anything but regular maintenance on it and at 300k, it runs like a champ. People ask me when I'm gonna get a new truck, and at this point, not having a car note and having a reliable car is a pretty good position to be in.

(Although my next vehicle will most likely be an Crosstrek)

Let us know your success (or lack of) there in Florida. Can't wait till you start harassing those bronzebacks and truchas in the PNW.

[tacklejunkie]

Agree completely!
just got rid of my car loan and paid cash for this thing.
if I can somehow find reasonable shelter I’ll be all set.

was just out pillaging fishes again yesterday and maybe again tomorrow or next day.
another video on the burner now, to idolize my little micro catches forever in time.
couple days out..

keep ya’ll updated. Sorry for the phone posts. I know they’re painful.
getting my *** kicked with the artificial shrimps. Have I lost my touch and can only catch with bait now days?!
we will find out soon, I’m sure.

got a new rod, some braid and some shrimpy looking hard baits. Let’s see what it do
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[tacklejunkie]

Sos,

i believe the peeps out here be swinging 20-30lb braid with everything on 20lb fluorocarbon leaders.
I guess it’s because of the toothy abrasive fishes and crappy sharp bottom textures. Mussels and such.
even lighter smaller plastics these guys will throw on 20lb setups. Then they don’t get to fight their fish and basically kinda work them right in. I don’t see much fun in that.. however..

Yesterday I busted off two good fish I could feel pulling really hard and solid head shakes. loosen the drag a bit and they still bust right through the line and the hook is gone. Either snook or big redfish or something. Whatever they are, they are good size fish.

to land these good size fish, I’m going to have to follow suit and go with 20lb braid and 20lb fluorocarbon leaders even on my light baits like paddle tails and popping cork rigged plastic shrimps.
the fish are biting through my 4lb and 6lb rigs and giving me the fin. I may have lost my monster redfish already and possibly my slot snook.. but I’ll never know.

the new rod and power pro should give me a better shot... if the fish will give me a third chance at landing that toad I can feel busting me off on the other end.

I suppose I should go finish this video so I can get to my next outing.
enough yapping.

[tacklejunkie]

You should see the PNW.. the crosstrek and STI are king of cars up there. They’re everywhere.