Hey all. As many of you parents know, finding baby sitters can be tough sometimes. Finding one who can stay overnight so both the parents can go out fishing together is even tougher. Finding one who will stay over night on a day that is forecasted to be a good day . . . almost impossible. Well, the Lord blessed me and my wife on Tuesday. We were finally able to find a day to fish together on the open ocean with a good forecast and willing babysitter. We headed out with Kut08 to do some trolling.
We went out to a point between the EB and SWB that a buddy told me he’d been doing well at lately. Got up early, hooked the boat up, pulled it out of the yard only to notice the trailer lights were not working at all. After about an hour of fiddling I found two bad grounds. Did some fancy wiring work out in the street, called Kut08 who I’m sure was asleep waiting for us at Shem, and we were on our way.
We left the dock sometime after 4 and were met with heavier seas than I had thought. Not a bad ride, but the chop made for a slower ride than I wanted. About 18 knots steady all the way out. Got to a point short of our spot about 7, and started putting lines in about 110 feet of water. The plan was to troll Easterly to deeper water. One line in. Two lines in . . . BAM, we get a strike on the first line; our planer line. My wife reels in her first offshore fish of the season; a 32" King. We get that line reset, put it back out start putting out the rest of the rods, BAM, another hit. She then reels in another King. This one about 36". We let him go. We then proceed to get a series of knockdowns which prevents us from putting the full spread out. It takes about an hour to get all the poles going. After we are all set up, we pick up a slinger which we let my wife reel in.
The knockdowns ruled the day. I stopped counting after 10 or 12 or so. ALL of them were short strikes, or mutilated bait. Saw dolphin hit the lines many times, but not enough to get a hook in the mouth. One even came scre
SIRECKS You and i have the same boat mine is an 05 with 225 4 stroke:smiley: great pics looks like moma had a good time, best friend too that is what it is all about a day of enjoyment like that will feed you for a while (for the soul).
LOVE TO FISH, LOVE MY COUNTRY,LOVE MY WIFE, LORD I DO LOVED THAT DAM DOG
TAKE A KID FISHING AND YOU WILL FEED HIM FOR A LIFE TIME"
Well, MFIREFISH, that makes three of us. Capt Tom on this forum also has the same boat. Some days, like every boat owner I guess, I wish I had a hull that is a bit bigger and of course a four stroke but this boat has been a real blessing to us, hence the name, and I’ve got a lot of enjoyment out of it so far.
I’m now living vicariously through you and Fish Jitsu til I get my butt back to Charleston. However, I did inquire a fishing charter out here in Turkey… wonder if the Med has any big fish that need catching ; )
Kut08 is a good man indeed. And you’ve got a good wife indeed.
Try trimming your sea witches shorter when you are having lots of short strikes.
Another thing I have done when they are biting like that is pull chugger or bubbler head baits with small strips of meat or no meat at all on them to weed out the smaller fish a bit.
Also, an easy bait to pull when in king territory is something like a stretch 25 jawbreaker plug or large spoon with a little planer in front of it. You can get by for a little while tying mono straight to them, and if one gets cut off you are out only 7 or 8 bucks tops. The mono instead of wire just makes things that much easier, and dolphin will eat them too…
“Miss Amanda”
-KeyWest
-Bluewater 2020CC
-Yammy F-150 www.joinrfa.orgGod is GOOD!! ALL the time!!
The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor.
The one who kneels to the Lord can stand up to anything.
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First off…Thanks for the kind words, and to Adam for a fun trip yet again.
It was a great day, not so much for the dinner table, but we had fun and made it back in safe and had a good time. The Marlin show was amazing when it was bustin bait, and the fish we caught were fun as well. Just a few pics this time, but I know next time we will get back in the Dolphin, or Mahi, or Phins, or whatever those green and yellow critter are called.
Thanks so much for those shots Alex. That’s so great. I love the one of Keri holding her King.
@Phin - It’s so funny you mentioned cutting the skirts. A good friend from my church was out there within radio range and he was having a worse day than us. He only had a few knock downs and nothing in the boat. He said he was going to start cutting his skirts three inches shorter and in my complete ignorance I thought he was kidding. I had no idea that this was an actual technique.
My question is not one of doubting you, but how does it work? Why does cutting the skirt allow them to hook up better? I’m going to start cutting skirts for my next run because you and Lynn both said it does work, not to mention my friend out on the water, I’m just wanting to learn something more about this sport and understand why it works.
I couldn’t be more proud of you guys if you were my own family! GREAT post! And, thank you so very much for sharing such a worthy informative report as well as a good time had by all!
Thanks Fish-jitsu and Andy. I do appreciate it. Fish-jitsu, tear 'em up tomorrow and be sure to call me with the details when you are done.
I did just learn something that I was doing wrong, and I have to thank Fish-jitsu. I’ve been told, and actually saw it on Lynnmcd’s boat that when you get a knock down and it seems like the fish missed to let the line out and see if it comes back for seconds. We did this all day yesterday and never had one come back. What I learned today was that I need to do this with the clicker disengaged. Make it a true free spool. This way the bait sinks better and allows it not to be pulled by the boat as much. So, I’m going to add that to my bag of tricks and give it a whirl next time.
I have to admit that I DETEST the sound of a clicker engaged when a fish is ON! I flip the clicker at the same time I set the hook (or try when there’s a short strike…)and fuss at whomever has the rod who doesn’t cut it off! Doesn’t take but a few seconds to realize the fish isn’t on to immediately let line back… And, HOPE to feel he’s ON!
Second that on the clicker!! Flip the dern thing off after the fish is on!!!
Agree as well with the shorter skirts (fishing now, think fishing!! Maybe it has to do with the hook being more clear and free for a hookup or the fish hitting a shorter bait further to the head, strictly conjecture there, but it does seem to work when the short strikes are prevelant. Sometimes tho a lot of short strikes in a row is small schoolies nibbling at the bait sort of.
Drop back, once, if no go, drop back again, and again if needed! Seems like I’ve had fish take it on as many as the 4th or 5th drop back in total free spool many a time. Sometimes I’ll even take motors out of gear for a few seconds to slow down even more and let all the baits sink then speed up and as they rocket back up to surface that will sometimes induce a strike.
Russ B. www.joinrfa.org
God is great, Beer is good, People are crazy
Yeah I’ve known about the drop back, and have practiced it in my short tenure of this sport, but I’ve always left the clicker engaged. Now I know, and knowing is half the battle (for all you 30 somethings out there:stuck_out_tongue:). I just have to let the fish do the rest.
Thanks again for all the advice and help. This is one of the reasons I stick around the forum. I learn so many things and from some pretty great people.
Thanks Fish-jitsu and Andy. I do appreciate it. Fish-jitsu, tear 'em up tomorrow and be sure to call me with the details when you are done.
I did just learn something that I was doing wrong, and I have to thank Fish-jitsu. I’ve been told, and actually saw it on Lynnmcd’s boat that when you get a knock down and it seems like the fish missed to let the line out and see if it comes back for seconds. We did this all day yesterday and never had one come back. What I learned today was that I need to do this with the clicker disengaged. Make it a true free spool. This way the bait sinks better and allows it not to be pulled by the boat as much. So, I’m going to add that to my bag of tricks and give it a whirl next time.
I’m gonna give it a shot tomorrow. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Maybe it has to do with the hook being more clear and free for a hookup or the fish hitting a shorter bait further to the head, strictly conjecture there, but it does seem to work when the short strikes are prevelant. Sometimes tho a lot of short strikes in a row is small schoolies nibbling at the bait sort of.
). I just have to let the fish do the rest.