A Pirate Looks at 40 J
BY CAPTAIN JASON DUBOSE
immy Buffet’s “A Pirate Looks at 40” has always been one of my favorite songs. You know ence it firsthand, you can use that information to help predict good days in the future. Make a note in the one, “Mother, Mother Ocean..I have heard your call..Been wanting to sail upon your waters your fishing log, “Johnny had a great day with the grouper on September 24th, 5 days before the full since I was three feet tall.” In a nutshell, the song is a sort of autobiographical reflection of Buf- moon, very moderate tides with light current flow, sunny, 79 degrees and a stable barometer.” Now fet’s own life as he approaches that biggest of milestones on the highway of life , the big “40”. you’ll have this information to pair with that from your own outings to help identify productive fishing This year, as I quickly close in on that mile-marker myself, this song speaks to me more patterns and days in the future. than ever. Now, I’m not one to get hung up on, or worry about age. You’re as young as you Don’t be lazy! feel..right? But, as my 40th birthday looms on the horizon, I can’t help but reflect back on all If you fish just to relax and actually catching something is a bonus and somewhat of a surprise and those opportunities, challenges, successes and failures of my first 39 years that have ultimately shaped you are perfectly content with that, then disregard what I am about to say. However, if you want to be a my life into what it is today. I consider myself very fortunate to be where I am and what I am. I have a successful and as productive as possible when you fish, it’s going to take some hard work. From catchgreat family, I live in one of the most beautiful areas of the world, I have managed to make a living doing ing the best live baits, to maintaining the boat, what I love and I get to be on the water almost every day. I really don’t know what more I could ask for tackle, and gear, to putting the time in to learn in life. a specific area, fishing can be labor intensive if The journey that got me here was filled with countdone right. Let’s take anchoring for example. I less twists and turns. Some were don’t know anyone who enjoys retrieving an anwell planned and thought out. Many chor, but sometimes it’s necessary, especially were simply the result of being in the while wreck or bottom fishing. Often you have right place at the right time and some of to pull and reset an anchor several times to what appeared to be disastrous “wrong get positioned exactly where you want to be. turns”, ended up working out and leadMany times, being set up right on your mark ing to new opportunities in the end. I’ve can make the difference between incredible come to find out that all you can do is learn action and just sitting and staring at rod tips. from both the good and bad and keep On too many occasions, I’ve witnessed pushing forward. boats pull up in the general vicinity of an The same can be said for fishing. Over artificial reef, quickly toss their anchor the last thirteen years of working as a sportover and when their anchor line comes fishing mate and captain, the most important tight they are hundreds of feet away from thing I have come to know is each day is a the structure. They then seem surprised new lesson and there is always something and frustrated when the boats that are new to learn. Here are a few fishing tips that anchored precisely on the structure are I picked up over the years and now take as catching fish and they are not. Don’t h s fi d gospel. say to yourself, “It would probably be Re Fall Bull h it w e s There is no excuse for not being prebetter if I moved over 75ft, but I’ll just lia Dubo son & De a J pared when you leave the dock. stick it out here so I don’t have to reset the anchor.” Unin ta p Ca I am an absolute fanatic about this one. It’s less you are willing to accept a slow day of fishing, pull it up and move DUDE. been said, “Luck is when opportunity and preTake a kid fishing! paredness meet” and I believe this to be especially No matter how focused I get on trying to be a more productive fisherman, whenever I take kids fishing true in the world of fishing. When I am preparing for a fishing trip, I try to think through all the possible and witness the look of excitement on their face when they reel in their first fish, it helps me to remember scenarios and be ready for each one. There is nothing more frustrating than missing out on a quickly why I developed such a love of fishing in the first place. Some of my earliest and best memories are fleeting opportunity because you are not prepared for it. This means having your rods & reels rigged, fishing with my dad in a tiny mountain creeks and ponds catching bluegill. It did not matter that they ready to go before heading out and having any gear and tackle that you might need organized, easily were only 4 inches long. To me, they were the greatest fish in the world! Taking kids fishing not only accessible in a seconds notice. Many of my most exciting and memorable days on the water have been introduces the sport to a new generation but helps put it all in perspective for those of us who have been made by capitalizing on a sudden and unexpected opportunity! doing it for a while. Keep a fishing log. These are just a few general tips, picked up over the years by a “pirate looking at 40”, which will If you want to increase your fishing success, every trip out should be considered a learning experi- improve your fishing success if followed. Remember, fishing, like life, is a journey. Learn from both the ence. Keep records of what you caught, where you caught it, what you caught it on, water temp, water successes and failures and keep pushing forward! I hope y’all have a great Fall fishing season DUDES! clarity, tide stage, etc. Even unproductive trips can yield very valuable information. For example, if you fail to catch fish at a spot that normally produces, ask yourself “What is different today?” Maybe it’s the DUDE PROFILE: Capt. Jason wind direction, maybe it’s the tide stage or water clarity. Whatever the reason, if you can identify it, you’ll DuBose is a tournament and charter know to avoid that spot on similar conditions in the future. captain aboard Lucky Hooker, a 42’ Learn not only from your own time on the water but also from the success and failures Yellowfin sportfishing boat. Lucky of others. Hooker is based out of Hilton Head It is well known that fishermen are tight lipped and will guard the location of their “honey holes” with Island in the spring, summer and their life; however, many won’t hesitate to tell you what they caught, even if they won’t tell you where fall months and south Florida during they caught it. This information can be extremely useful, provided of course that the source is reliable. the winter months. Capt. Jason specializes in bluewater trolling and Fishermen have also been known to stretch the truth on occasion, but, for the sake of argument, let’s say offshore bottom and wreck fishing. a couple of reliable sources told you they had really good days of grouper fishing last Saturday. Now, you He can be contacted at 843-304may not know exactly where they caught those fish, but you can easily find out under what conditions 4834 or jjdubose@aol.com. they caught them. Variables such as moon phase, tide height, current flow, water and air temperature and weather conditions all play a big part in fishing success. Even though you were not there to experi-
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Fall 2013