So with grouper mostly still out quite deep, we decided to take a 4 man crew of Myself, Jimmy, Jonas, and Gary out to try and scout some new numbers in 80 feet. We were planning on cleaning up on a cooler full of lion fish but there was plenty more down there to keep us busy. Relying on topo maps and good sonar on the boat we found some nice spots that produced very well. So well that in fact we barely made a dent in some of these lobster caves. You can tell by the pictures that every ledge was just loaded with big bugs and so we carefully took our time and selected the ones we wanted. It was a great day and we are certainly going to keep finding new areas and not hit these again for a good while.
Zero thermocline and the viz was quite nice at 30 to 40’. Awesome, awesome time and great crew as usual. Lobster stuffed lionfish is on the menu tonight!
Total catch
Mixed cooler of lobster ~60lbs (all within regs.)
3 Flounder
1 25lb Gag
3 lionfish
Thanks Phinn. Forgot to add that not any single female was gravid. Just a few months ago most females were holding a clutch of eggs so maybe they are getting ready for round two of breeding if they do that. Some of the lobsters were soft shell which made holding onto them pretty hard and kinda freaky. Fried soft-shell lobster sandwich? Or maybe a sub of some type.
Very nice guys, didn’t know Gary was into harvesting! Good to know, always looking for hungry divers! nice haul, looks like the boat upgrade is working for you guys.Homework, homework and homework!
Here are a few more pictures from the Saturday Trip. On Sunday, I wasn’t on the boat but I saw the catch at the dock and it looks like we knocked it out of the park again today with 5 tuna, a stud wahoo, and plenty of spanish caught on the way in. Didn’t even make it to the ledge. Awesome weekend for the new boat.
Weird jellyfish air plane things… They were everywhere.
It was a great day and we are certainly going to keep finding new areas and not hit these again for a good while.
Just now having this revelation? It's common sense! :smiley:
<public service announcement>
Most people don’t understand that it’s hard to pressure a fish stock in SC, but it’s pretty easy to pressure a “spot”. Look no further than artificial reefs for proof… Hit your spot 1 to 2 times a year max and move on to something else!
</public service announcement>
That being said… Nice work. You guys definitely have a nice looking cooler of bugs there!
Yeah we are very responsible. Like I said in my first post, we left plenty of bugs on the ledge to do their buggy thing. I’m all about harvest and not reaping.
