Better than kingfish anyway.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
Good info by Larry, but I think the permit is actually $20.00. The other clarification is that it does not allow you to remove it from the water unless you kill it and report it. The law says (paraphrase) that the fish MUST be left in the water, unless it is to be harvested. That does NOT translate into “you need a permit to pull it out of the water for pictures”…
You are correct Skinneej, it is $20. To me that’s free as far as fishing expenses go 
Also correct on removing it from the water. If you hold it up for a picture you have to harvest it by law, which seems crazy to me. But a lot of things seem crazy to me.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
quote:
Originally posted by Cracker LarryYou are correct Skinneej, it is $20. To me that’s free as far as fishing expenses go
Agree with you 100%. The only thing that sucks about that $20 is because the feds collect it, it goes into the general treasury. That pretty much means Obama is using the money to vacation with. In CONTRAST, our state fishing license goes back into the SW fishing program. I would GLADLY pay more money for my SW fishing license knowing that it goes towards artificial reef program, waddell center, etc. I’m not happy about paying for Obama’s margaritas though…
quote:Well, it's a matter of semantics. The intent is to increase the survival rate of the fish. The law does NOT say, "if you take it out of the water you must kill it". The law says "the fish must be left in the water unless it is to be harvested". It's pretty obvious that the law was written to maximize survivorship of the fish. Fishermen just twist the words around to imply the opposite which is not true. They are not encouraging kill. They are encouraging you to leave it in the water. The caveat is that if you DO remove it from the water, you had better make sure it is at least 63" jaw length or you are in violation no matter what you decide to do.
Also correct on removing it from the water. If you hold it up for a picture you have to harvest it by law, which seems crazy to me. But a lot of things seem crazy to me.Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
People want to wiggle around this law because they are tr
Remember to ask me the million dollar question: Skinnee, have you ever taken a billfish out of the water for pictures?
ok thats great info guys. still curious as the dredge ??? and what baits/depths
Talk to the guys at the tackle shops. They’ll set you up straight, you can only read so much online
14’ Skiff-“Redfish Reaper”
Do a search for “dredge” on here. There are several good posts with a lot of information.
Naked ballyhoos are your best bet dredge fishing, but we caught one last trip out on our Ilander Wahoo way-back.
Watch your teasers closely, usually you can see them swimming behind the chains before they attack a bait. You want to beat them to the punch and have the rod in hand ready to feed them. Don’t get caught off guard when they start knocking baits out of the clip.
First off don’t kill sails. They taste like **** and it feels better to release one. IN fact don’t even take them out of the water, research shows it takes 8 days for a proper recovery.
I run a daisy chain off each of my out riggers (you will need a dual pulley system), and keep them short, like 20 yards. At the end of the chain I have a mid size mold craft teaser. I like dark colors, like black and yellow for example. You also run a long ballyhoo with a circle hook and 1/2 egg weigh flossed to its mouth on the rigger clip, for that ‘‘lazy bite’’. Remember a good 5 seconds before striking.
I also have one teasrer up the middle, sometimes another daisy chain, on a boat rod. So the capt manages the out rigger teasers and mate or buddy teases the center.
In addition I keep two pitch rods ready for the close bite on the teaser. So if you get a bite on the right rigger long, just make a half turn without slowing down towards the bite. Clear that teaser, and keep trolling while you fight the fish. You will get a chance at a 2nd and 3rd hook up. THat’s how I do it in Guatemala.
www.thesailfishcapital.com
Come down this winter and I will show you whats up.
CHEERS!!!
Capt Starrs
Capt Chris Starrs
Blue Bayou Lodge
Iztapa, Guatemala
www.thesailfishcapital.com
Man I would absolutely love to! Maybe one day