Hey JettyWolf,,,,,

Need a Tackle FIX?, This is the Place
Capt Rick Hiott
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Hey JettyWolf,,,,,

#1

Post by Capt Rick Hiott »

Tell me about this GIANT float you use for trout.........
You must be fishing very deep with a lot of lead out at the jettys for your trout.
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This is what I use for our trout up in the rivers in the shallow water (3-4' deep)
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This is what I use on the hook.
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The Berkley Gulp Alive works great! Do you use it? If not,,,ya gotta get some!
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Capt Rick Hiott
Charleston,SC
www.reelfishhead.com

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JETTYWOLF
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Re: Hey JettyWolf,,,,,

#2

Post by JETTYWOLF »

That's not a giant float. It's a small one compared to the old 14" Balsa trout corks the old timer commercial trout fisherman used to use and still do.

But commecial trout season is limited to June, July, August. The 3 worst trout months.
And no over 20" fish allowed to be sold.

That stuff doesn't cut the mustard here, not versatile enough...Here ya have to be really flexible. The St. Johns river is the wild wild west of inshore fishing in Florida. Takes no prisoners.
I use live bait/natural only. And I too can get all that at 50% off, the berkely stuff. But don't worry about it. I can buy buckets of Gulp, or buckets of live shrimp. Live guarentee, catching all species.
We have really good live shrimp supplies 12 months a year, THANK GOODNESS!!!!! I yet to have found anything better, than a live river cricket.

We have the strongest tide/highest tides of all of Florida.
You can get away with a popping type cork in a creek in the shallows, but the current will keep ya from catching if it gets too strong. All that is kinda "new" age stuff to me. I use the same rig that's been catching trout/everything, for age(s).

Below is a graphic of a standard float rig. Can be fished 2 feet or the deepest I've used on to catch fish is 25 feet. Yeah, and up to 3 ounces of lead. Just move the slip bobber stop.

Every fish that swims in my area I've take on the ole float-rig. From Pompano to sharks, tarpon, Mackerel....sheepshead etc.

Same kinda rig is used in the PacNorwest, they do float fishing there too, just adjusted to the area. I assume our rig is decendent from one of theirs.

It's like stream fly fishing. Knowing your current speed, angles, depth, and "trout drops".
And no casting arm required.
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Plain ole Float-rig
Plain ole Float-rig
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Capt Rick Hiott
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Joined: Thu Oct 30, 2008 8:58 pm
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Location: Charleston,SC
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Re: Hey JettyWolf,,,,,

#3

Post by Capt Rick Hiott »

Ha-Ha-Ha,,,I like the red beads,,,that is "Old School".
Most people say the bead saves the knots,,,but if the hole in the bead is to small,,it slams into the knot anyway. But like you said,,,,it still works.
I use that set-up my self out at the jettys in the deep water, and use a lot of menhaden in the summer for all types of fishing. Its a great bait.
Our tide here moves pretty good also with a 6-7 foot difference from low to high.

Who makes that float?
Capt Rick Hiott
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www.reelfishhead.com

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JETTYWOLF
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Re: Hey JettyWolf,,,,,

#4

Post by JETTYWOLF »

Color of beads don't mean anything...I use super micro green most often.
Premier make the float, its a "salmon stalker" EVA foam w/ a plastic covering. Way better than a Billy bob or float-hi....the old balsa ones. I only use EVA floats...from 3/8's to 2 oz. types.
I also get some West Coast Floats, from Fisherman's Corner in Oregon.

Float-rigging is a way of life for me on the water. It's like being a purist fly fisherman.
It's all I care to do. People catch and fish themselves 100%. If they catch nothing they have no one to blame but themselves....ya know how some people have 10 thumbs....Or set hooks like Bill Dance and Roland Martin, Jimmy Houston, Kevin Van Dam, I think ya get my drift.....

Everything is based around it, reels, rods, line, floats, weights, hooks, leader. Knowing every single deatail about the current and tide. Tweaking, constantly is a hobby and a big expense sometimes. Mixing old school with new technology/materials.

Having old school 8' F'glass, one piece rods built right now, that have EVA foam grips, HD trigger reel seat. Those 5 things; Length, one piece, EVA grips, HD reel seat, and NON ALLOY all together is one thing that is not commercially made anymore.

It's all graphite, max 7'6" most of the time, for ship'ability, cork, skinny wimpy reel seats, and fast action, thats too stiff.

I use mostly all G. loomis rods and have been for a decade. And they just discontinued for 2009 my present float rods, 8' Bucara's, because of lack of demand. So I had to load up on them, so I have some spares. These are even too stiff, but the lightness made up for it all, to a point. Even loomis doesn't "get it". I use Zero spinning tackle, and don't even want that stuff on my boat, and loomis is all about longer spin rods versus Casting for saltwater, which pisses me off......Damn unskilled tackle! So then I've had to go to Loomis loner one piece Salmon rods many times.

I had to go to who made my 8' F'glass Shark & Tarpon rods, to get a "prototype" Ole School Float Rig rod(s) built, sort of custom built.
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Plus people beat the crap out of everything I own, and F'glass rods are much more durable. Since 75% of the time, we're float-rig fishing.
Capt Rick Hiott
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Re: Hey JettyWolf,,,,,

#5

Post by Capt Rick Hiott »

Do you have a link to the salmon stalker?
Capt Rick Hiott
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JETTYWOLF
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Re: Hey JettyWolf,,,,,

#6

Post by JETTYWOLF »

Oh yeah, sorry:

http://www.cabelas.com - search "Floats"

Or Premier: http://www.premierplasticsinc.com/bobbers/default.asp

Have ya ever noticed that all those Billybobs and others give no proper weight to use?

I have, cause people ask me all the time. And then it's preference. Float high or float low.
I like about 1/2 way in the water.

Well, I talked to the designer for Premier floats.....can ya believe that's a guys j-o-b?
He told me someone has to do it. And of course has alot of computer work involved so the machines can make them.

These floats tell you and you order them by weight needed to float them correctly up right.
1 oz thru 5 oz.

We talked till my cell phone went dead, about designs. I think he recieved alot of "free" info out of me. But what the hell. And he was supposed to send a bunch of prototype pole float designs he had laying around, but of course never did...screwed again!

I used to use Lindy lil' Joe's, but still the Premier's have it all over every other pole float by a mile! If you want to know the difference, try a balsa float for a few weeks and then go to a Premier EVA float for awhile then switch back.

I did and was shocked!! Friends told me there's no difference. But to this master "flotteur", man it was night and day.

Sheepshead, there ya go. I can watch my float and tell ya, "there's a shethead on that bait", and there will be a "shethead" on the hook after you reel, reel, reel, then lift...No hook setting like Roland or Hank, or Bill. Flounder, that's another fish that acts totally different than a Trout when they bite. They seem to drag the float down, and many times on an angle versus say a Red that's like Jaws pulling down the beer kegs.

But 7-striped Jetty Snappers are always said to be so hard to catch...yeah maybe if you dangling a fiddler over a rock pile. But on a slow current, slow cause they do not have a predator attitude, but rather graze around like a sheep will not chase a shrimp very far at all. So when someone say's; "Hey, I'd like to catch a sheepshead?" I say just wait, when the current slows, you get bit by one. While they think I'm going somewhere else and we're gonna dangle fiddlers over the rail.

Does this woman from North Georgia look like she could feel a sheepshead "tick-tick" real easy of a bite while dangling a fidd over the side vertically..... being a complete non-fisherwoman? Probably not.

But on the float-rig, during a slow current, that float-rig went under while baited with a tiny 2" live shrimp and BINGO. 7-1/2 pound"King-Pinfish" kicked her butt up and down the side of the boat. Thats the way I like it.

I'm rambling on, because this is my favorite subject besides talking about how an alloy boat can be your very last boat. So maybe someone else is interested, too in the techniques of a pro-flotteur.

I had my 26 Pacific designed for float-rigging....all open deck in the stern for up to 5 people to be back there. Openess, wideness, man I can't begin to tell ya how well this boat of mine fishes. And I've had 4 Navy Guys and me, making 5 up in a shallow creek at low tide fishing and catching Trout. They asked how the hell are we getting out here, when they saw that my RayMarine C-120 wouldn't even read that shallow and they saw mud over the side. It was 2 feet deep!
I trimmed up a tad and we backed out to a wide spot, and then wipped the bow around and left.
Truely a bay boat, just 26 foot and oysterbad proof too.
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Snaggly ole jetty snappa caught off small rock pile
Snaggly ole jetty snappa caught off small rock pile
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