2 LB 9 OZ Channel Catfish @ Mullet Lake Park

With my new job it's been hard to find time to fish during the day, so I figured I'd try a little catfishing at night. Last night was very foggy though, almost zero visibility in some areas on SR44 in Geneva. I headed out anyway, I never had too much sense! I wasn't planning on staying very long and only fished for maybe an hour. Also I just stayed at the boat launch ramp and casted out far into the river. I was able to cast out pretty far actually.
I got a good bite on my first cast and it was a fighting catfish. Had some fun reeling it in, though it was only 2 lb 9 oz. I'm not complaining at least it's a fish that made the trip worthwhile. The fog was setting in thicker so I figured I'd better head home before there's any road closures. No pictures tonight, I didn't bring my headlamp and the lighting wasn't very bright at the parking lot.

Location: Mullet Lake Park boat ramp, Geneva FL
Tackle: 3/0 Owners Light Mutu hook on carolina rig - 3 oz no-roll sinker

Species: Channel Catfish
Weight: 2 LB 9 OZ
Bait: frozen cut shad

Windy Presidents Day @ Sleepy Hollow

Presidents Day was this Monday and my son was out of school. So with his day off I took him to New Smyrna to show him my new favorite fishing spot in Sleepy Hollow. The skies were partly cloudy, with a high in the upper 60's. The North winds were pretty strong around 14-15mph though. We arrived around 10:30am and setup on the far leftside point where I caught my last flounder. The tide was just starting to go out so the water levels were still high. But the winds were a problem today, it was blowing in our face the whole time as we're facing the north. I also brought my castnet which was useless since there were no baitfish, even if there were baitfish it would be difficult to see them in the turned up water.

So instead of jigging for flounder and instead of fishing with live bait, I focused on fishing with dead shrimp on a pompano rig. I know there's no pompano in this river but it's a good rig for bottom fishing. The only thing biting today were the pinfish, those pesky bait stealers. Cody and I managed to catch 1 pinfish each. After we were done fishing I took Cody down to my favorite baitshop, 38 Live Bait in New Smyrna. I asked if they had any live fiddler crabs and they sure did, they had ALOT! I bought a dozen for only $1.30 and gave them to Cody. He wanted to keep them as pets LOL. I would much rather fish for sheepshead with them but Cody really liked them so I said okay, you can keep them. After the baitshop we stopped by the North Causeway to look around. There were two guys out there fishing with live fiddlers and they were catching a few sheepshead. In the few minutes we visited, one guy actually caught a small one that was released. So the sheepshead bite is definitly on right now, especially around the bridges. The lady at 38 Live Bait even said there have been fishermen coming in and out asking for fiddlers, and that they are catching them pretty consistantly right now. I hear sheepshead are difficult to catch and perhaps one day I'll give it a try. But not today, Cody wouldn't let me use his "fiddler pets" for bait so we left to grab some lunch. lol

16" Flounder @ Sleepy Hollow

Took the hour drive to Sleepy Hollow this morning and arrived around 10am. It was low tide and very shallow, I could see all the oyster bars that are usually underwater during high tide. I could also see fiddler crabs everywhere but they were too fast to catch! Next time during low tide, I need to remember to bring a small shovel to dig them out of their burrows.
The fishing was very slow during low tide. I tried several spots with no luck. Fortunately the tide turned and the water started rising. With the higher water levels came the baitfish which were all over. Another thing I need to bring is my castnet so I can fish live bait.
Today I fished with gulp products, 3" white gulp shrimp and 4" white gulp swimming mullet. I tried both, the shrimp didn't catch anything today. I did catch a nice 16" flounder on a white gulp swimming mullet though! It's the only fish today but well worth the trip. The flounder is one of my favorites to eat and I have a great blackened cajun recipe. It's so delicious!

Mix the following and sprinkle on the fish. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Chili Powder

Location: Sleepy Hollow, New Smyrna
Tackle: 1/4th oz jighead - 20lb test leader

Species: Flounder
Size: 16"
Bait: 4" white Gulp! Swimming Mullet

Crappie Masters Kids Rodeo - Wooten Park, Tavares, FL

The Crappie Masters tournament returned to Florida in the Harris Chain this year. During each tournament they hold a free Kids Fishing Rodeo, where kids can fish for fun and prizes. This event was held at Wooten Park in Tavares, FL on Lake Dora. First time visiting this area. We arrived shortly after 8am for registration and fished from 9-11am. The fishing was tough though. Strong NW winds and cold weather seemed to effect the bite unfortunately. Not many kids were able to catch anything today, however, one boy did catch 4 fish (2 specks, 1 bass, 1 bream) using grass shrimp for bait. The other kids were using minnows and worms, no fish. Me and Cody used live minnows and cut shad, no fish either. Even with the poor fishing conditions, the kids still had fun and each were rewarded with a goodie bag full of fishing lures. Each kid also received a free prize during a raffle event where the hosts pulled a random ticket, and a kid would come up and choose a prize from the table. They had rod & reel combos, small tackle boxes, shirts, hats. Every kid got to win something so nobody was left out. When it was Cody's turn, he went up to the table and picked a Bass Pro Shop hat. :)





Inside the goodie bag was a very nice selection of artificial lures and fishing gear. Some of the stuff included roadrunner lures, artificial worms, fishing line, sample pack of hooks, and much more. The artificials were good well known name brands too like Blakemore Roadrunner, Gary Yamamoto, & Bobby Garland. Here's a picture showing everything Cody received during the event ceremony. After the ceremony, they also offered free pizza and soda for lunch so it was a great way to spend the day. Both Cody and I look forward to returning to the next event in 2013 :)

17" American Shad, Crappie & Catfish

With the shad run nearing it's end, I wanted to see how they were biting today and possibly catch a few crappie. Alot of clouds in the sky with a chance of rain in the forecast, but all we got was a slight sprinkle for a few minutes. When I arrived I noticed some vultures next to the river bank so I knew something dead was laying there. When I looked it was a BIG fat catfish, it to have been about 20lb. It was really fat and I don't know what happened to it. It's likely someone caught it and didn't release it properly. Such a shame to see a big fish like that fall victim to careless fishermen.

I used 1/8th oz jigheads today for casting distance and to stay near the bottom. A couple boats were trolling back and forth, but only catching small crappie. The bite was slow, which kinda surprises me with the upcoming cold front this weekend. My friend David came out for a little while but didn't have any luck. All my fish today came between 10am-noon, but after noon the bite stopped with no fish.

First fish I hooked into was a small shad but it got off close to the bank so it doesn't count towards my season total. My next fish was a small crappie on a black/chartreuse tail Strike King Slab Hammer grub. It was too small to keep so it was released. Next was a 17" American Shad caught on a pink/chartreuse tail Strike King Slab Hammer grub. This is one of the longer shad I've caught this year but it looked skinny so maybe she already laid her eggs. I already have enough frozen shad in the freezer anyway so this one was released after measuring the length. Next and final fish for the day was a 1-2 lb catfish that I had accidently snagged on the tail. When I first felt the fish on my line I really thought it was a big shad. It pulled hard but I did notice the vigorous "shaking" of the line that catfish normally do when they know they're hooked. I removed the hook from it's tail and let it go. The wound wasn't too bad so the fish should be okay. Catfish are pretty resilient anyway.

Sorry no pictures today. I wasn't trying to keep anymore fish since I already have that flounder from yesterday. But with the 17" shad I caught today, my season total is now 27! I don't know if I'll break the 30-mark since this is usually when the shad fishing really slows down at Mullet Lake. Can't complain though, last year I only caught 10 shad and this year I almost tripled that amount.

17" Flounder (Personal Best) @ Sleepy Hollow

First time in Sleepy Hollow! Needed a break from the St Johns river so decided to switch it up and try a new spot. A cloudy late morning with some north winds made it a little challenging. Spent a few minutes scouting the area first, noticed the park is open from 7:30am-5:30pm. When I arrived around 10:15am, there were a couple of guys walking out on the dirt path on the right side, so I took the left side. First setup was the white gulp shrimp on a 1/4oz chartreuse jighead (tried looking for 1/8th chartreuse jigheads but Walmart didn't have any).
Within the first 30 minutes I caught a 17" flounder! This is my first flounder besides the one I snagged on the belly from the surf at CNS last year. I was jacked up on Mountain Dew and ready for some more! lol Unfortunately I didn't catch anymore flounder but I did a few short strikes. I also got snagged a couple times and lost 2 jigheads.
So I moved to another spot and tried some gulp swimming mullet in chartreuse. Again, several bites but no hookups. Finially caught a huge pinfish on the swimming mullet. It chewed the tail right off! Also out in the water I could see something busting the baitfish but it was too far out to cast.

Location: Sleepy Hollow, New Smyrna
Tackle: 1/4th oz jighead - 20lb test leader

Species: Flounder
Size: 17"
Bait: 3" white Gulp! Shrimp





I came across this Sleepy Hollow area when I started hearing reports on another website. There's a guy who fishes there often and almost always catches flounder/blues/trout. He has the most luck with white gulp shrimp too. So I asked him for some pointers since I was unfamiliar with the area. This is what he replied...

Sleepy Hollow is huge! Where the old bridge was is a good place but has a bunch of snags/rocks right next to the bulkheads. You can fish on either side. If you go in the south side - that's the county park - the gate opens at 7:30am. On either end of the parking lot there is a dirt path out the river. The paths connect. It's a long walk but plenty of fishing places out there. You can also fish just outside the entrance to the park - you'll see a path to the beach. A lot of kayakers launch there. Another spot is either side of US1 at the culvert. You will need boots on either side - the mud is awful! Several spots to fish there. They also catch a lot of sheephead from the culvert. The only bad part about the culvert is the cars and trucks whizzing by right on your back! There's a couple more small spots south of the park entrance on US1. There's another large spot north of the old bridge road. One of the many channels flow through there. Good luck!

A little trivia. Before US1 was four laned from Daytona Beach to NSB in the early 60s, Sleepy Hollow was a large restuarant. US1 went right by the place. The old bridge was wooden back then. When the road was four laned, DOT straightened the curve out and left Sleepy Hollow behind.

3 Crappie and 2 Shad @ Mullet Lake Park

Hit the banks today from 9:45am to around 12:30pm. I noticed alot of boats on the river this morning, they were trolling back and forth catching small shad and crappie. Yesterday morning my buddy David reported he fished for 90 mins and caught 12 crappie and 5 shad all on chartreuse. Once a steady line of boats started moving through the bite suddenly stopped for him.

Today my first catch was a 13.75" american shad on chartreuse metalflake. Next fish was a 10.75" crappie on chartreuse also. Then the bite stopped for awhile. I changed colors but couldn't buy a bite for the longest time. I switched to 1/8th oz jigheads so I could cast further and then caught a small hickory shad around 11" on a white grub tail. My next two fish were crappies, both caught on chartreuse metalflake. Noticed some darker clouds moving into the area so called it a day.

2 Shad (1 american on chartreuse and 1 hickory on white)
3 Crappie (all on chartreuse)

With the two shad I caught today, my season total is now 26!

3 Crappie and 1 Catfish @ Mullet Lake Park

Stepped out to the river bank again this morning at the usual time around 10am. Normally I'm fishing for shad but today I was going for crappie instead. With a slow retrieve and random twitch, I caught a nice 11" crappie. Shortly after I caught another smaller crappie. The last crappie I caught today was the biggest of them all almost 12" long. All crappies were caught on the new Strike King Rage Tail Slab Hammer Crappie Grub in black/chartreuse tail. The tails on these grubs really move! They are so impressive that I plan on buying more color combinations. Each pack contains 10 grubs but the only problem is they are pretty expensive. Fortunately I can order them from Amazon.com where I use gift cards I've earned from online surveys.

Here's the Strike King Rage Tail Slab Hammer Crappie Grub
Black / Chartreuse Tail



And here's the 3 crappies I caught today using the above grub on a chartreuse jighead 1/16th. The two big ones were about 11-12" long! Slab Hammer!



I also fished with live minnows on a crappie rig and caught a catfish. It hit hard and took alot of drag before I could even get to my rod. The fight was fun on my light rod, and for awhile I thought it was a shad the way it raced and didn't stop. I haven't weighed the catfish yet but my guess it's around 1.5 lb

EZ Double Jig Rig - Favorite Shad & Crappie Colors

Here I'll explain the double jig rig I've been using this year. It doesn't require any swivels or snaps and it's super easy to make. All you need is some Spiderwire EZ Mono fishing line in Low-Viz Green. I like to use 10lb test for these rigs.



Pull out about 4-1/2 to 5 ft of line and fold in half. Now with the folded end, loop it around two fingers twice and then pull the tag through the loops you just made around your fingers. Pull the tag tight and now you basically have a loop at the top of the rig with two lines hanging down. Tie on the bottom jig to the end of one line. For the second jig, you want it about 10-12" above the bottom jig so you'll have to trim the other line before you tie on the second jig. Your finished rig should look something like this....



The loop at the top of the rig allows you to change rigs easily. I simply tie a snap-swivel to my mainline and thats all you need to change rigs! I always have pre-tied rigs available in different colors in my tackle bag so I'm ready to change lure colors within seconds. I keep each one in a separate ziplock bag to prevent tangles and to organize them better. Each ziplock bag contains a rig with different color combinations. One bag has a chartreuse grub rig, one has pink grub rig, one has white grub rig, etc.

Choosing the right lure color is very important. There are alot of factors that will determine what color is successful but it all greatly depends on what the fish want. There are a ton of colors and color combinations available on the market, so it doesn't hurt to have a variety of colors available so the fish can tell you what they want.

With shad and crappie, I normally fish these with 2" grub tails on a 1/16th oz jighead. When fishing from the shore, I always use the double jig rig I described in the beginning. It offers you the flexibility of using two different colors and it adds more attraction to your lures. I fish this rig slow with a twitch here and there to make it look like wounded baitfish. Here's the colors I've had the most success with this year on both shad and crappie.

black/chartreuse tail on chartreuse jighead
white/chartreuse tail on pink jighead
bubblegum pink on white jighead
chartreuse metalflake on pink jighead

For crappie, I like to start with the black/chartreuse tail and if I'm not getting any bites I'll switch to either pink or white. For shad, I've busted most of them on chartreuse metalflake but some days they prefer pink or white.

One shad / Two Catfish

Another day another report. The winds today were better but still gusty at times. My morning started with a small shad caught on a black/chartreuse grub tail. So thats number 24 for the year. I also fished with live minnows on a crappie rig and caught a couple catfish. As far as jigging, no luck except for the one shad early in the day. It sure was a slow day fishing so I left around 12:30. I'll probably try again in a few days and hope the bite picks up. I'm predicting this weekend will be good for crappie since Feb 7th is the full moon spawn.