the trip deserves along report but for those of you who just want to see totals just look at bottom*
Mdde the 12 hour drive to venice on wednesday…fished thursday friday and returned home saturday…
Venice truely is a fishing town as there is absolutely nothing else there with the expection of all the oil stuff. The whole trip was set up through Captain Rimmer Covington who runs a private operation down there which includes his house boat and 4 captains who run 36 yellowfins and 39 seavees. We stayed on his house boat which is right in the heart of the marina and you literally open the back door and hop on the boat at 6am each morning.
Day One started off slow as we had to make the 20 mile run down the chilly mississippi in heavy fog. Once we made it out of the southeast pass it was a 24 mile run to the first set of rigs called the " 24 milers" This is one of their prime wahoo destinations, within a 1/2 stretch there were roughly 4 standing rigs and 2 submerged rigs that had been blown over in the hurricane all in about 150ft of water…
We trolled around for the first 3 hours without a knock down. Then we decided to make the 10 mile run south to the tuna grounds… not the midnight lump but somethign very similar, a salt lump which went from 300 ft on the edges up to 190 ft in the middle.
we started chunking and within 5 minutes had the whole ocean up in the slick feeding… First couple fish were boneheads , then came the black fins, sharks, and yellowfin. We started out using chunks of pogies, but switched to larger chunks of bft and bonitos to help get past the smaller fish. We ended the first day with keeping a dozen bft(up to 33) and 7 yft up to 120 lbs.(and several smoker kings about 40-45.)
Day two started out just like day one…we were on the hunt for a monster wahoo but just did not get bit. While trolling there were acres of bft busting ballyhoo on the survice which we were able to cast top water plugs too for a bit and there is nothing cooler than watching a tuna explode on the plug.(
awesome trip. I cant wait to go down there to try my hand on those tuna.
50lb tackle I am guessing?
take any pictures?
either way, good work on all that fish
Really nice trip! Looks like the weather and seas were favorable. Went there bout 5 years ago and seas were 5 to 7 feet but still caught over 600lbs of tuna largest 145lbs. Yoour right if you go to Venice you better be fishing cause there is nothing else. Congratulations on a great adventure>:smiley:
Same old story with Capt. Rimmer. Only man to go with in Venice in my opinion. Fished with him last year with similar #'s. Came back to Carolina with several 180qt Igloo’s full o tunafush. Good on y’all.
MMMMM, Sashimi. Pass the wasabi please. Nice catch.
Mark
Mako 262 Twin Yammaha F200s
Yeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal? I wouldn’t go so far as to call a dog filthy but they’re definitely dirty. But, a dog’s got personality. Personality goes a long way.
“Life’s tough…It’s even tougher if you’re stupid” John Wayne
Nice look’n trip/catch ! That rivers spooky as hell if you get the fog going. Blew out the tires on a rental about a mile from the marina there one mourning. Had to go most of the way back to New Orleans to get’r fixed. What a place.
Try that place in late Jan.- 2nd week in Febuary on the lump and the fishing is more redicoulus. Many tuna in the 175-225 range stacked…
Taking the boys to Kauai this summer before they get to old and don’t won’t to hang out with their old man… Will be back at Fripp the following summer.
If what they tell me is true there. No limits on yellowfin and the billfish just eat enough accidentally you really don’t have to rig much for em. I know I might be dreaming this up but If they are even partially true I will be happy. 6000’ of water 2 1/2 miles out of the marina. pretty freaky… They chunk bait and sometimes troll lures, no ballyhoo is the reports i am getting. I will post some photos here this summer.
