EFs third paragraph is correct.
Decline began when folks started toting hand held GPS units on chartered vessels, IMO.
No, Mixed, we always had a stand by rod with live bait rig ready, a short come up, no matter species , would go right back down, either a grouper or a shark would follow.
I was kidding…
We were out last year, and had a 20#+ ARS come unbuttoned from the descending device, only a few yards from the bote, and was floundering on the surface.
Had a Cobia on another line. Heard a huge splash, and commotion, as a huge shark devoured it in one bite. You could hear the ARS being crushed in the shark’s jaws.
Plenty of giant ARS, fillet and release that thing man.