Took the boat down to Ft Lauderdale for the run across to Bimini. Issues started right away. Had a local shop here in Charleston put on a new fuel pump, that ended up making the boat run worse than it did before we took it to the shop. It’s the third time having to take the boat back to this shop for things they did wrong the first time. (Not going to mention names unless they screw up for the forth time)
Installed the back up fuel pump and got under way around 3:00PM with a loaded boat and rough seas. Seas would not allow us to cruise more than 15 knots so it ended up being a long ride.
Finally got to Bimini and unloaded the boat and hung out at the house for the night.
Next morning we woke up and went out for some bottom fishing. Fishing was slow…ended up catching a few strawberry grouper, jacks, and trigger fish. Headed in for lunch and more beer. Went back out for some snorkeling around the concrete ship, which was pretty cool. Water was 50 ft and clear as glass.
Day 2 - Woke up and rigged baits for trolling. Heading 20 miles north to where the sails and dolphin were supposed to be. Trolled for an hour with nothing. Ended up trolling for 3 hours and only caught 3 cudas and a good buzz. Went out that night to Big Johns bar and don’t remember much after that! lol
Day 3 - woke up with pounding heads and headed out for some bottom fishing. Ocean was bumpy and didn’t set well with the hangovers. Fished for about 30 mins and headed back in for Tylenol and water. Ended up laying around and snorkeling the beach until late afternoon.
Headed back out for some more bottom fishing. Chummed the water and here came the queen triggers. Caught one trigger fish, and then we saw the birds. Went towards the birds and saw 100s of blackfin busting the surface. Put out the spread and trolled past then 4-5 times but they were not interested in what we had to offer. Headed in right after sunset and saw the report saying the ocean would be building to 7-8 seas the day we were supposed to head home. D
Thanks for sharing Surf.
When you have time start a new topic in a different section about the trip(non-fishing part). Would like to know more about the drive, the stay etc…
Ha ha…good stuff…
Good report, always nicer when the weather cooperates!
I love the look of the Gen 1 Albemarle 24s, and I’ve been stalking this thread for the pics…pretty please?
Good report… sorry about the crappy weather.
No pics of the embarrassing amount of fish we caught, but here’s a few of the trip
Tuff e Nuff
24 Albemarle Express
Thanks for the pics. Beautiful boat. Looks like a great trip:smiley:.