What a beautiful day. Eastbound, PJ and OTM joined me for the days adventures. Beautiful conditions and decent fishing made for a truly enjoyable day. The run up the river was jet black this morning and we stopped for bait in 60’ on a reliable spot about 20 miles off, not today, bait was scarce so we made due with what we could find.
We fished about 6 different areas over about 20 square miles and had a good pick in most spots. It seemed that after we got one or two fish the bite shut off. The triggers were the only constant as the boat floor was littered with them on more than one occasion.
OTM broke the ice with a nice eating size gag on his first drop.
I power drifted most of the morning(to avoid anchoring). When the guys were retying or hooked up I would pitch my 6oz. diamond jig out. I got my first fish a snapper on a it, and it was a mad scramble by the crew, rooting through their bags to see what type of jigs they had. The 2 scamp came quickly after, both on jigs. We still couldn’t keep the triggers off, even the jigs. The grouper came from all the spots, not just one. No monsters and only 2 of the gags made the box. I think the scamps were legal but I don’t usually measure fish(if you can’t tell it’s legal by looking at it, it goes back) they were close so they went back. I switched to the only “magic” bait we had(Hey Sellsfish-I told you they worked), OTM tried to steal it from me but PJ was watching and kept him in line. It got crushed on some new #'s on the first drop by this stud.
The picture doesn’t do it justice, it was an absolute pig. I don’t think anyone would say it was under 30#. My largest to date is 29# and this fish was waaaaay fatter, right around 36". It didn’t get weighed so say what you will…We wrapped it up around 2:30 and were
AWESOME! Had some brake problems on my trailer and rebuilt one side yesterday evening. Got up early and thought I’d tear into the other side this morning but the weather looked too good to pass up. I said “heck with it” and loaded up the boat and figured I could get one more trip out before rebuilding the other side, BAD IDEA. I made it half way to the ramp and the side I didn’t rebuild was draggin’ pretty bad (hot as a fire cracker lit at both ends) and had to crawl back home. (brakes were stickin’ and draggin’. Missed a good day. Boo Hoo! Congrats to all that made it.
Where will you be when you get where you’re going?
Thank you for the invite. After yesterdays trip my freezer is now stuffed again. I think your snapper filets took up over half of it. I plan to have a cook out sometime in the next few weeks, so I hope you and the family will be able to make it.
“Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have. The course of history shows us that as a government grows, liberty decreases.”
— Thomas Jefferson
“Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have. The course of history shows us that as a government grows, liberty decreases.”
— Thomas Jefferson
I told you to keep that picture of me in your wallet!
“Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have. The course of history shows us that as a government grows, liberty decreases.”
— Thomas Jefferson
Did you ever weigh the snapper? It’s a true HOG…congratz courtland…Some of you just never disappoint. Do you, sells, skinnee, phin, etc ever have a slow day or a day where you just put a few average fish in the boat? On your worst days I couldn’t compete on my best!!!
quote:Originally posted by Plan C
my boat won’t even run without fried chicken and cold beer
Did you ever weigh the snapper? It’s a true HOG…congratz courtland…Some of you just never disappoint. Do you, sells, skinnee, phin, etc ever have a slow day or a day where you just put a few average fish in the boat? On your worst days I couldn’t compete on my best!!!
quote:Originally posted by Plan C
my boat won’t even run without fried chicken and cold beer
The fish didn’t get weighed, it doesn’t really matter, it was big.
That is nice of you to pump up our ego’s but really it is a matter of time and information. 1200 hours of fishing in under 3 years will give you alot of information if you pay attention. I caught that fish on a bait that Sells once laughed at me for putting on a hook, it caught the biggest ARS of the day that day as well. I’ll try anything, ask OTM what he thought the first time he fished with me, all the trash went in the livewell, got cut up or bloodied and sent back down. The same thing doesn’t work every time.All of those you mentioned have alot of experience and pay attention to the surroundings and conditions. In terms of a bad day, there isn’t one on the water. In terms of a bad fishing, of course we all have them.
Courtland…been wanting to ask you what size contender that is and with the twin 150’s what is ur fuel burn like running mid 30’s and what is ur top speed. Been looking at similar size contenders but rarely see them with under twin 200’s. thanks
Courtland…been wanting to ask you what size contender that is and with the twin 150’s what is ur fuel burn like running mid 30’s and what is ur top speed. Been looking at similar size contenders but rarely see them with under twin 200’s. thanks
I tend to be a bit heavy on the throttles but always average 2 MPG by the time the day is over.
Average top speed is about 47 mph. It will just crack 50 if the tide and wind are right. This setup is very efficient up to 40-42MPH, the last few MPH really suck down the fuel.
Did you ever weigh the snapper? It’s a true HOG…congratz courtland…Some of you just never disappoint. Do you, sells, skinnee, phin, etc ever have a slow day or a day where you just put a few average fish in the boat? On your worst days I couldn’t compete on my best!!!
quote:Originally posted by Plan C
my boat won’t even run without fried chicken and cold beer
The fish didn’t get weighed, it doesn’t really matter, it was big.
That is nice of you to pump up our ego’s but really it is a matter of time and information. 1200 hours of fishing in under 3 years will give you alot of information if you pay attention. I caught that fish on a bait that Sells once laughed at me for putting on a hook, it caught the biggest ARS of the day that day as well. I’ll try anything, ask OTM what he thought the first time he fished with me, all the trash went in the livewell, got cut up or bloodied and sent back down. The same thing doesn’t work every time.All of those you mentioned have alot of experience and pay attention to the surroundings and conditions. In terms of a bad day, there isn’t one on the water. In terms of a bad fishing, of course we all have them.
Congrats to all that made it.
