Set out on the first run in my boat this season. Brought Kut 08, fish-jitsu, and the_cathcer with me. Had a small electrical kink that kept us in Shem for an additional few minutes, got it figured out and we headed out to really confused seas. The forecast was right on because just outside the rocks the water was all turbulent. We kept going to see what it was like and it turned into nice rolling 3’s and 4’s. We kept hitting patches where there was chop all the way out, so it made for a rough ride out.
Water temp started at 71.5 and dropped to 69.5 on my depth finder all the way out to Edisto Banks. Got about 5 miles past and found 72 - 76 degrees. From 80 to about 200 feet EVERY rip line had weeds and debris it. EVERY ONE. Still a lot of lumber too. We passed all this up feeling the water might be too cool.
Found our temp break, got on the other side of the 75 - 76 degree water between 260 and 280 feet and put lines in. There was nothing there. No weeds, no debris, no flyers, nothing. We trolled for a bit with no hits about 8 miles SSW of EB. Pulled up lines, headed a little more east. Found a nice rip with flyers in it about 3 miles due East of that first position, but still no debris or weeds. We put in lines and picked up 4. Two nice bulls, a small cow, and one we lost at the side of the boat. Had to leave them biting as fuel and time said to head home.
On the way back we found the rips with weeds at about 200 feet again. Water temp was now showing 71.5. Decided to put a few lines back in and troll for a few. Picked up one flip-flop female after a bit. Decided we couldn’t sit any longer because of fuel and headed to the hill.
Running back was nice, about 26 - 28 knots sustained. We even kept that all the way through the mouth of the jetties and through the harbor.
Hot lure for us was a pink/white/silverish Lil’ Bubbler. We had 6 hits total, 4 came from these lures.
Did you take the 22 Sea Pro on this trip? Just curious as to how much fuel and oil you ended up burning. I have the same boat with a 200 2 stroke yamaha on mine, so I hope my burn rate would be a little less at cruise(4,000 rpm). The furthest I have ever taken mine is y73/gardens. Nice work on the dolphins and thanks for the report.
Hey caw caw. Yup, we took my boat. I took three 5 gallon cans out there with me. We had a rough ride out, so not the best for gas consumption. I haven’t filled the boat up yet, so I don’t know what I burned. When we were at our no wake speed, coming through Shem at the end of the trip, the gauge showed 1/4 tank. As we got to the Sea Tow dock, the gauge instantly dropped to E. I hate my gas gauge and I think I need I new float. All this to say that I would guess that I burned something in the neighborhood of 80 gallons out of my tank, plus the 15 I brought top side. But that’s just a guess. I’ll update you later when I fill her up.
Yep, gas gauges suck. My boat is slap full with 105 gallons and the needle is on “E”. I don’t even know if I’ll fix it. I want to know what ya’ll burned in case I ever get the balls to go.
Do you carry an EPIRB or liferaft with you when you go?
Good job Adam and crew! I’m glad that y’all got out and back with some fushies!!
“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.
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Ride was rough out there. Easy coming back in. Had a great day again with Adam and some others CF crew. Great guys, lot of fun. Pics will be up soon. Thanks again for the trip Sirecks.
caw caw - My rule of thumb that seems to get me home safe is to figure for about 2 hours plus on the ride out, about 4 to 5 hours of trolling and 2 hours back. Sticking to this timeline seems to work just fine. Now there is slop in this of course, and I always put at least 10 gallons when I get to the fishing grounds from the 3 cans that I take with me.
G2G - Your gear is the cornerstone of my fishing efforts these days!
Thanks Lynn. Can’t wait to get out there and catch 'em up with ya.
Alex. Can’t wait to see the pictures. Can’t wait to get out there again man!!
Thanks pirate. I barely have room for three five gallon cans. I have no idea where I’d put a 37 gallon bladder. I do appreciate the offer though.
theepirate is giving you a pro tip there... He is suggesting that you get rid of your 5 gallon cans. The idea is that you put a connector in your fuel line. You run off the bladder on the way out. When you consume all of the fuel in your bladder, then you switch over to your main tank and then you roll the bladder up and put it somewhere out of the way (but well ventilated). The bladder only takes up space when it's full. Just gotta make sure that you don't create a place for fumes to get trapped and have smokers go wild on your boat.
Also, this is probably a better option than what you are doing now. If you keep breaking the “1/3rd” rule, it will eventually catch up to you. You might know what your fuel burn is now and calculate it down to the gallon, but one day you are going to get in some rough weather and fuel economy is going to go out the window. You’ll find yourself floating 10 miles off the jetties with no gas scratching your head wondering why there is no gas left. Rough seas will kill your fuel economy. Make sure you have sea tow (they can do a fuel drop if you need it), and a sea anchor if you are going to risk it like what you are doing. I’m not saying it can’t be done. I’m just telling you what you are possibly up against.
Thanks skinnee. I do have Tow Boat. Had it since day 1. Well, maybe like day 10 or so, but you get the point. I know bladders. I’m a pilot and an aircraft mechanic and we use them in our industry. I have no idea where I’d store (empty or full) a 37 gallon bladder on my boat. That’s my point. I guess the way I’m looking at it, 15 gallons takes up a lot of space already. More than double that . . . . . I honestly have no idea where I could put it on my boat. Then to store it as you are suggesting after use . . . . again, I just can see it.
The idea though, or the pro tip, is well taken. I do appreciate it. That is why I started taking extra gas with me on trips in the first place. I’m by no means experienced and hopefully I’ll never feel comfortable out there. Meaning, I hope I’m always learning and growing as a fisherman and never feeling settled or like “I’ve seen it all.” From the small amount of experinces I’ve had compare to most, I am learning my boat and motor’s limits with gas, how to better calculate it each time I run out and so forth. Trust me, if I find myself floating off the jetties with no gas, I won’t be surprised. I’ll just consider myself a dumb$%*& for being stupid on my calculations for the day and blame no one but myself. After my scare with almost running out of gas, I try to do everything to mitigate that now. If I leave the fishing grounds with 1/2 tank showing on the gauge (even if the fish are biting:wink:) while under power at about 6 knots, then I get to the jetties with about 1/4 tank showing. I generally put in about 80 gallons on a fill up, so this means I have about 20 gallons in the tank left. This is of course on a day where I don’t dodge storms and can run without constantly moving the throttles for waves/chop. I’ve experinced days where it is like glass out there, and I’ve experienced the three plus hour ride just to get to EB. Like I said, I’m learning still.
We try to make the smartest choices when it comes to this stuff. That’s why I appre
Understood. How big is your boat? We used the gas bladder system in a 19’ boat back in the 80’s! We just sat it in the cockpit as far aft as possible. Can’t remember where we put it when it was rolled up, but I remember it being “out of the way”.
Also, remember in a rough sea condition, being without power can be pretty dangerous. Many boats are lost if they get transom first into the sea and take water over the back. Although I’ve never personally used a drift anchor, my understanding is that it would keep your bow pointed in the right direction. In my case, I’ve got something like 600’ of anchor line on the boat, so I would opt to anchor if needed. Flat calm days, no big deal. You likely won’t have any problems (and likely won’t run out of fuel). It’s the nasty days that you have to prepare for.
Again, I am not suggesting that you don’t do it. I’ve done it many times earlier in my life. Nowadays, it’s just too easy to have the “right gear” on board to ignore.
Also in the next few weeks, people will start catching dolphin in 120’-130’ and you won’t have to run out nearly as far.
I know bladders. I’m a pilot and an aircraft mechanic and we use them in our industry. I have no idea where I’d store (empty or full) a 37 gallon bladder on my boat. That’s my point. I guess the way I’m looking at it, 15 gallons takes up a lot of space already. More than double that . . . . . I honestly have no idea where I could put it on my boat. Then to store it as you are suggesting after use . . . . again, I just can see it.