I have my own spin on this trip and didn’t want it to get buried in another thread so here goes my version with photos. I am going to write this for a few forums, so some of this info may not be needed for you but some folks have never even heard of the Big E, so here goes.
The Big E is a mini long range boat that sails out of Empire,LA. I made the 11 hour drive from Hilton Head, SC by myelf, as San, the charter master was kind enough to make room for me at the last minute. I knew my buddy Aneil from Dallas would be there and another mutual friend, now lifelong buddy, Racko, from Canada, as well. This is some of Aneil’s gear he had readied for the trip.
We all arrived in stages on Wednesday and spent the night on the boat. A interesting dinner for 13 at the “local” watering hole ensued. For those of you that have not been to Boras, LA, well…let’s just say your not missing much. Super nice local folks that made room for us invaders, but not a place you need to visit unless you are fishing, hunting or drilling. Leave the wife and kids at home.
We eventally shoved off at 6AM on Thursday and fortunately Racko and Shariff, all the way from Egypt, made it on the boat after a few hold ups with tackle and rental cars. We steamed out at a blistering 13kts and hit a rig for some bait near an oil platform in the Green Canyon, some 100 or so miles into the Gulf of Mexico. These little cities of floating technology are a site to behold. The drill ship will sit stationary for weeks at a time setting up wells and capping them for the floaters to hook up to later. There is then a network of pipes that run to land and deliver the oil. All of the rigs are connected to these pipes under water. It is amazing to think of the man power and technology that goes into putting a gallon of gas in your car.
Pretty cool stuff, good story along with the pics.
On another note, I logged into 360 Tuna (your previous post) and saw your son bending that Power Spell into a U shape catching those fish…very cool & proud dad there for sure.
Wow that looks like a awesome trip! Thanks for sharing those pictures. 200 dollars a lure? Thats insane! With 30 guys fishing at once I can only imagine how many you must lose. Nice fish too!
I work on one of the floaters in the first picture the Development Driller 2. Its crazy I always wonder how the boats do when I see them in the distance. I live in Charleston never would have thought i would find a report about it in a local forum. Im on the rig now looks pretty dead not much life out here this week. Got some great yellow fin footage on my phone i will try to figure out how to post it on here.
A lot of effort goes into NOT robbing someone elses designs and patterns, getting the right action and then the finish on the lure. Yo-Zuri and others make great off the shelf products. If you knew the actual costs you would be surprised how cheap they are to build. Most of the stuff that is high dollar is that way because of a combination of quality, heritage and design.
Even if you are a troller there are big difference in gear cost from Zukers feathers to other stuff geared for big fish. This was just a quick search at Melton. I’m sure there are custom manufacturers that are higher.
I do not buy the expensive lures. I have seen them catch fish once or twice when other stuff won’t/didn’t, but in general it is what you have confidence throwing that catches. I do believe it is more mental for the way I fish. I have seen days where color, shape, and size have all made a big impact on what lure the fish were eating but to my knowledge the fish have never questioned the price. When that happens I usually sit back and enjoy the smile of the guy that is on fire that day. I’ve had my days and sometimes it is not your day.
I can’t say I would mind if Santa dropped one or two down the chimney though.
