 KC.com:
What terminal tackle do you use over there in Northeast
Florida?
Randy Nader: We use 7 foot Dave Workman Jr.
series Penn Slammer Rods, which are set up for 10 to
25 pound class. My rods have Aftco light roller guides.
For reels, we exclusively use Shimano Trinidad 30's.
In my opinion these are the smoothest reels available
and they hold 600 yards of 15 pound class high impact
Stren line. Regarding line color, I use both clear and
green.
How do you rig your leader for those Division 5 smokers?
For small baits I almost always use 31 pound (#3) wire
as dark as I can get it. The leader is no longer than
18 inches and the main hook is a Owner Flyliner # 1
which is about as small as you can go. For the trailer
hook we use 3 to 4 inches of wire with a # 6 Eagle Claw
treble hook. The swivels I use are SPRO power swivels,
which are tiny, strong and they are usually 50 pound.
As you can see, I rig very light but strong.
Blue Runner rigs are 44lb (#4) wire with one size larger
hooks for the lead. Finally, a 4x #4 treble and are
the same brands as mentioned above.
If you could have one bait in your live well for a tournament
up there which would it be?
My favorite bait any where is a large Blue
Runner. I also make sure we have Goggle Eyes in the
well though as well. I always buy bait in advance from
Eric Wetterman (a.k.a. Mr. Sportsman).
Eric travels all over the East coast, from Miami to
Georgia and we are able to meet up with him right at
the boat ramp whereever we are fishing. We have caught
many a top 5 fish right beside people who have been
trolling all day and I think it is because of my rigs
and Eric's bait.
I
don't spend my time locating baits, but rather locating
fish as that is the best way to use my time and fuel.
We always have fresh ribbon fish and my fellow team
member Jerry Moulton hand catches them and brines them
correctly. That makes a huge difference. I always catch
pogies and greenies when they are available as it does
not take much time and they are fresh and then we have
a great variety of bait. We will also bait up again
before lunch if the bite is real slow.
Do you ever scale down your equipment?
I always start off small, but in some cases for instance,
Mississippi or Louisiana, I move up to # 5 wire and
bigger hooks and 30 pound class line. The fish over
their are far less finicky. So, to answer your question,
I rarely scale down in Northeast Florida for kings.
Are you a big believer in using skirts to enhance
your bait’s presentation?
Most of our big fish are caught naked, but we certainly
use a variety of skirts, and turbo rattlers. I love
skirts when using ribbon rigs and anything pearl or
green works great.
C&H
Lures, out of Jacksonville, have a great selection and
we usually fish a variety of Steve and Thomas's newest
selection before they are in mass production. We have
also made up spinner baits that have been very successful.
How does your team prepare for each tournament?
We always prefish for any tournament that we fish. It
is a major mistake not to and if you share information
with a few special people it better be accurate. Most
really don't appreciate someone who just shows up and
expects information. We always know our entire game
plan for each day before we are in the weigh in line.
I usually don't say any thing to the crew until we are
in the check out line so our information stays in the
boat.
What would be the one tip that you would give
to an angler fishing your area for the first time?
I believe you need to make a few friends in all of the
areas you fish and share information with each other.
You need numbers to inlets, just incase of weather problems.
You also need off shore and beach numbers. Anyone coming
to fish Division 5 needs to prefish and know their way
around.
For
example at the Greater Jacksonville tournament you can
check out of three inlets and they are 68 miles apart.
Some also check out faster then others and you almost
always run the Intercoastal Waterway in the dark, which
is well marked but can be dangerous.
What one aspect of the fishing in your area
do you think most people will find to be different when
they compare this fishery to others?
Our water is dirty compared to down South and you have
to run further than you are used to. For the last couple
of years we have had to run 60 to 125 miles down the
beach or 35 to 50 miles offshore.
There
can be, however times when the fish are right here on
the beach and the water is clear.
Does your team like to "run and gun" or wait
for the one big smoker?
I have seen time and time again, people running all
over the place and spending their valuable fishing time
on plane. But you also can't stay at a place when there
are no fish there. I try to stick it out if I know they
are there. There could be several things that could
turn on the fish. Maybe the tide needs to change or
a major bite is a little later in the afternoon.
I
may go bait up and come back, but our team always throws
out alternatives and I listen. I don't like chasing
radio fish and I will not make a move via hearsay.
Which areas would you recommend an out of town team
look up to try to get into a good king mackerel bite
during these Northeast Florida tournaments?
We have so many areas but the local hot spots include
the
Red Tops , Shanty Town and the Captain's
House. Offshore areas within 65 miles are Gray's
Reef in Georgia, Elton Bottom out of Jacksonville,
The Pipes out of Jacksonville and various reefs
between Georgia and Flagler.
Usually a bite will be in a certain depth so keep your
ears open as far as depth is concerned. You can pick
up live bait on a reef on your way out if pogies are
not on the beach. Winning fish have been caught at all
of those spots.
|