Slept in and put the boat in the water around 8 planning on doing a relaxing bottomfishing trip. Got plenty of menhadden in the first cast. Perfect fishing size too.
Set our course for an area around the gardens. The ocean was slick calm. No wind all day long. First thing we saw as we got offshore was some spanish up on the surface all worked up and hungry. Probably 30 to 50 birds working on top of them. It was the largest school I’ve seen in a while. We decided to stop and throw a few lures at them. After trying one or two lures, we finally found the ones they were after. Caught four or five spanish and the school sounded. We waited about five minutes and decided that it wasn’t what we were truly after, so we set our course again for the gardens.
We saw several “fins” on the surface heading out and as we were passing another one that I assumed was a sunfish, Paul yelled to slow down. It was on his side of the boat and he got to see him about 15’ away in the water. It was a lit up sailfish feeding on small bait on the surface. Really cool. Since we pratically ran him over, we decided there was no chance in trying to catch him. Continued on another three miles or so to the gardens area. Fished some drifts for about an hour or so with not much luck. A few triggers, some big BSB and that was about it. Also had between a 7’ and 8’ hammerhead come up to the boat and freak out when he touched by braid on my bottom rig. Cool sight to see in that calm of conditions.
Picked up and headed out to another “undisclosed” location. Started drifting there and marking great fish on the sounder. I was educated in sounder reading by a master. I cannot look at a sounder and determine species yet, but I learned a lot to say the least. We stayed at this spot the rest of the day catching the biggest beeliners I’ve ever seen. Several were over 5 lbs. Edisto Fisher would have sharted in his jorts. Caught a limit of beeliners, 8 or 10 triggers, Ringtails, the ever so elusive endangered red porgies, big
I’m sorry that I can’t live up to your expectations…I’ll try harder next time. As far as free gaffing a big cobia, I would have if the shot presented itself. it would have been OOC*
NMFS = No More Fishing Season
“Back home we got a taxidermy man. He gonna have a heart attack when he see what I brung him”
Still perplexed as to why NO GROUPER yesterday…ringtails, moray eels, triggers, should have had grouper. Only one bite that I am 90% sure was a grouper (rocked up and scaled B-liner). We even had live pogies. I probally should have ran to the ledge, but no polyball, and no mighty mite anchor, changed my mind.
thanks 23 we had fun.
NMFS = No More Fishing Season
“Back home we got a taxidermy man. He gonna have a heart attack when he see what I brung him”
Thanks for the email SF 23, I do not need any new 50’s however and that antenna in the pic is actually my old one, I do not need it back. Sounds like y’all had quite the haul out there…
sure was. I let the boy play hookie (I didn’t want to pull the anchor), and we just cruised around and had a good time. No electric reels, no trolling, most all the fish were taken on spinning tackle. Mike slept on the way out, Ricky on the way in. I liked hearing Ricky say “Thats the biggest one of (insert fish name here) I have ever seen”. I sure wish the B-liners weren’t so overfished… I had a great time! I hope we can do it again next week.
NMFS = No More Fishing Season
“Back home we got a taxidermy man. He gonna have a heart attack when he see what I brung him”
