Going offshore to SW banks tomorrow, I will let y’all know how the fishing is. Its been awfully quiet around here lately. If anyone else is going out tomorrow and wants a buddy boat, let me know!
266 SF World Cat
266 SF World Cat
Good luck to you out there. Yeah let us know what you find.
How’d ya do out there?
If you still out there fishing…you got hot water south and inside the 100 fathom curve:
I want to hear how the cat does…and the fush.
The ENTER-NET Fisherman
Dude…you must have a fuel barge tied to your boat if you still out there.
Check this out:
Stream gonna be early…again.
The ENTER-NET Fisherman
Sorry for the delay, been busy. Ended up going out yesterday morning instead due to some boat issues. She’s definitely not the fastest cat out there but we cruised out there at 30. Trolled the morning with not much luck, caught a 50lb wahoo in 220ft of water at a good temp break. Lost four other fish on the troll to line breaks which was extremely frustrating, using 140lb leader 20ft long and all broke on the leader. One was a nice sail that got bill wrapped and broke the leader before we could get him to the boat. Need some advice on what to do about all those lines breaking. Heavier test, or lower drag? Ended up calling it early to do some bottom fishing, had some success there in 160-180 ft drifting. Got a lot of nice queen triggerfish, 3 cobia, vermillion, porgies, and AJs. Good day on the boat in some beautiful sunny weather. Cruised in at 40. Any specific questions, feel free to ask! I’ll be back out early next week.
266 SF World Cat
Good catching. Should have been nice still. Too bad about the leader. I use 200 to 400 leader. Double crimp. You sure the leader material is good? You can see if it is parting or chafe. I don’t use wire cause I wrap. Some do. It breaks too due to kinks. That’s fishing. As Far as drag, I set em with a drag scale years ago. Don’t fish tournaments anymore so not as anal about it.
I got questions about the cat. I got a 26 Grady White tiger cat with 150 Suzuki 4 strokes and carry 200 gal fuel. I typically run 80-90 miles out (160-180 round trip). South/triple ledge. What are you getting for fuel mileage and what size motors/props and what is your round trip distance? You said if we had any questions…I got a million of them.
How long you been running a cat boat? You ever been in bad seas in it? I fished a 25 Bertram for almost 30 years out of here so it was a big change to the cat. Excellent ride out but the following sea in can get gamey coming in if I go too fast.
Making a mistake 80 miles offshore can be deadly. I’m slowly coming to understand the dynamics of the hull after BRYSON explained it to me. The Market crashing gonna cut my trips down unless it turns around…I’ll be fishing off the bank.
The hot water is in right now. I also wondered if you saw any weed stacked up or was it scattered like most of last year? Rarely do you see 78-80* water over south/triple ledge. You guys got beautiful water up there. Prettiest place I ever fished around here was Bubble rock…the rip was beautiful and loaded with life. Hope to do it again.
Be safe an good fishing to you.
The ENTER-NET Fisherman
I would start with throwing away in if that leader material you have left and get some new leader. Make sure you are using the right size crimps. On my rods I run a 10-15 foot double line leader straight to a snap swivel. Then I can attach wire or mono rigs. For ballyhoo trolling for dolphin I don’t use anything over 100lb test leaders. On my 30s I like the drag to be around 5-6 lbs at strike with 10-12 lbs at full. On my 50s I set them at 7-8 lbs at strike with 14-16 lbs at full. I adjust them for pulling planners or high speeding but that is where I like to keep them.
Thanks for the advice. I have twin 200hp Yamaha’s with 19 inch props(I think, I just changed them out and can’t recall what the new ones are) we usually get about 1.7 if we are cruising at 35 . I’ve only had her for a year and a half but I’ve definitely been out in some rough seas, she handles it well but in
Thanks for the reply. 1.7 at 35 mph not knots…correct? How much fuel do you carry? Do you have trim tabs? That’s my $20 worth of questions. Good luck and be safe.
The ENTER-NET Fisherman
Yeah 35mph, we normally go out with a full tank (240 gallons), most of our trips we leave the dock at 4a.m. and come back either at night or the next day so I like being safe on the gas front. I don’t have trim tabs, just trim with the engines.
266 SF World Cat
Sorry, I been busy getting something off my chest. 35mph is 30 Knots. That’s great speed to fuel burn… 1.7 x 240= 400 miles…mine is half that. Your hull(what year) is a semi/displacement hull. The Grady is a planning hull. The 150’s push me tops at 32-36 knots… I changed to 4 blades. Plenty of discussion on here. Bigger motors would increase my numbers I believe.
What I worry about is pitch-polling due to speed…coming in. The only other thing I don’t like is the whip roll. The only time I ever tied myself to a boat when I wasn’t sleeping offshore…(I used to sleep walk}…was bottom fishing by myself in 2-3’s . That beam drift is like drunk dancing. I tied a rope to the roof and a looong kill switch. Caught some huge black bass and White grunts…and a king …in the winter.
I love the boat otherwise. I cruise 20-25 knots and am shocked every time. I’ll take a 3.5 hour ride 72 miles and still have what teeth I got left. Even better is quick blasts to the banks(40 miles) in about anything. The ride back…you got to be alert…the hull can get away from you. You dig a bow and you’ll be pulling boat cushion out your rectum.
I’m interested in your experiences with you hull. Different hulls but are there common attributes?
Good luck and have a safe trip.
The ENTER-NET Fisherman
Thanks for the report. I don’t have a “Cat” but it’s nice to see reports and conversation on this site. Look forward to seeing how you all do this week.
Sorry, didn
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