Tigress 5/23 Conservation/Marine Boater Educ (pix)

Saltwater Offshore Reports
1

Fishing report is below, but please take 15 seconds of your time and do this or reports like these will never happen again:

Please sign onto this petition and share with others to avoid closure of huge areas offshore to fishing and diving. Fight the special interests that are rushing our federal fishery management process so the real science can’t come to the surface before their agenda to get us off the water has been advanced. http://www.petitiononline.com/SAFMC17A/petition.html

Over 2,500 view hits on this thread, but the petition I’m asking everyone to sign to ensure we can even fish where I did in this report all day long has less than 1,000 signitures.

Come on folks… please let’s help one another out here.

www.JoinRFA.org
Luke 8:22-25

2

This is going to be a good one…

…because everything is a conspiracy!!!

3

I can’t wait!!! Hurry up!

quote:
Originally posted by Plan C

my boat won’t even run without fried chicken and cold beer

4

Sorry for typos and gramatical errors. I’m pretty tired, and I don’t have much time to type all this and throw in the pictures!

After having a long day of dolphin fishing Saturday, I decided to take the skinneeJ approach to bottom fishing on Sunday. Left after sunrise, ate breakfast while looking for some crickets, teach some guys new to offshore fishing some stuff, so on and so forth.

I had no idea it’d be a trip for them to learn as much as they would though.

Josh and Matt are quick studies, and they absorbed things I was showing them and the reasoning behind it all rapidly.

This is how I learned to fish offshore, afterall. I like fishing and hunting with people like this, because what happens soon is these folks will get “good” at things all on their own, and you’ll begin hearing tips and pointers from them regarding stuff they’ve figured out how to do better or how to have more fun in the outdoors basically. I am all for that, you know!

So we rolled out to have a low stress kind of fishing trip and not really go for high numbers of fish killed despite some folks sort of encouraging me to do that for these guys. I was told, “these guys are hard core like you- they just need to be shown what to do because they have just started offshore fishing- you will like fishing with them.”

So… I figured instead of avoiding red snapper like I have been lately I’d intentionally target them because those are my favorite fish to catch out of all that my boat is capable of going after.

First though, we stopped at a reef that usually has some c bass and small snapper mixed together this time of year. This was to let these guys learn and practice some technique. They picked up quick- true to what I was told…

[IMG]ht

5

I’m glad you get it! Good job on the saftey equipment!

.

NMFS = No More Fishing Season

“Back home we got a taxidermy man. He gonna have a heart attack when he see what I brung him”

6

Ran in through the little slop at 27kts behind SeaTow, and got to the ramp at 11. Trimmed the motor to get onto the trailer, and the batts were just about dead again.

Haven’t had time to isolate whether it’s my batteries or an issue in my electrical connections under the cowling or a charging system issue on the engine.

Fishing offshore takes so much time and money. I’ll stop now before I get into fisheries management issues once again and how more people should care (think coastal economy) who do not.

www.JoinRFA.org
Luke 8:22-25

7

Did you SOS on the Spot or was Seatow one of your contacts for the help message?

“Rasta don’t work for no CIA”…Bob Marley

8
quote:
Originally posted by Lowcountryboy

Did you SOS on the Spot or was Seatow one of your contacts for the help message?

“Rasta don’t work for no CIA”…Bob Marley

I have never pressed the 911/SOS button on my SPOT. I use the OK button every time I go offshore, and I have used the “help” button twice. My message to my contacts is
“Non-life threatening emergency. Please relay my position to seatow. -Wes”

You could put seatow or towboat as your contacts of course. Just need their cell number and/or email address.

www.JoinRFA.org
Luke 8:22-25

9

Good going on the fish and showing the guys proper venting and release technique Phin. Sorry to hear ya had elec probs, but at least you were prepared, which makes a huge difference!! It’s one thing to say to crew “well, we’re gonna just keep fishing untill the tow gets here in x hours vs, um, I think we’re drifting towards Cape Hatteras!”
Great pics, then sculpins are nasty! Dad stepped on one once while diving, not good!

Russ B.
God is great, Beer is good, People are crazy

10

Thanks for your great (educational) report.

Marsha

Marsha
35 Contender

11

Those portuguese man of wars are nothing 2 be messed with. Got stung by one in the keys one year snorkeling

quote:
Originally posted by Plan C

my boat won’t even run without fried chicken and cold beer

12

Check the stater on the motor.

13

Awesome report.

14

Glad you got home safely Wes. You had Ricky worried sick.

Excellent report by the way. You sure are good at catching rare fish.

xHCFKx

15

Very nice.

oldschool
352 wellcraft
trip E-Tecs

16

My day yesterday:
6:27am Text : “Your boy’s are dragging, stayed up to late. I am almost 10 years older than them can they not hang? lol!”

6:30 Text “Heading out of Shem creek will be back in at 5 to miss the afternoon thunder storms. Staying shallow. Look for SPOTS”

Probably 10 SPOTS
“Everything is okay. -Wes”

4:30 SPOT
“Everything is okay -Wes”
I check computer, he is not in a contender and unless the mako grew wings no way he will be home by 5. Must be catching fish.

5:15 SPOT
“This is a nonlife threatening distress message. Please contact Seatow and give them my coords. -Wes”

Oh crap here we go. I call Circle hook. He scrambles the fighter jets. aka SEA TOW.
Phin’s fiance calls worried. I assure her that everything is fine probably just a small motor issue and the offshore bouy looks nice they are fine. She say WE ARE UNDER A TORNADO WARING IN CHARLESTON!! Oh… I see…

Every 10mins from that point until 9:30 or so I get the same SPOT:
“This is a nonlife threatening distress message. Please contact Seatow and give them my coords. -Wes”
I created a file to track him and make sure he stays anchored

SeaTow Mike does a perfect job relaying messages via other sea tow locations, boats and even a the cruise ship to stay in contact with Phin.

I place calls to my buddy that has a son on the boat and assure him all is well they will just be late getting home.

Finally at 9:30ish I get a SPOT
“Everything is okay. -Wes”

By 11:30 they are back on the hill.

Sea Tow Mike stayed on the case until they were back at the dock. VERY IMPRESSED with him, SEA TOW, and SPOT last night. Phin on the other hand… Should have been more prepared with the battery but I think he learned his lesson did well sharing it in the above novel.

Phin, you do get credit for the longest post of 2010. Congrats… or something…

Is there a total fish count in the post anywhere??

Set the trap boys, we going to pass through them aga

17

Fish landed or leadered:

1 gag grouper
2 strawberry groupers
2 scamp groupers
1 almaco jack
2 sharpnose sharks
1 lemon shark
1 tiger shark
15+ red and/or silk snappers
18 vermillion snapper
30+ blackfish
10+ triggerfish
4 tomtate grunts
10+ red porgy
sculpin

Probably missing something… ???

www.JoinRFA.org
Luke 8:22-25

18

Lots of good stuff on here!!! Awsesome report too! Glad you made it back in ok!!!

19
quote:
Originally posted by Phin

Fish landed or leadered:

1 gag grouper
2 strawberry groupers
2 scamp groupers
1 almaco jack
2 sharpnose sharks
1 lemon shark
1 tiger shark
15+ red and/or silk snappers
18 vermillion snapper
30+ blackfish
10+ triggerfish
4 tomtate grunts
10+ red porgy
sculpin

Probably missing something… ???

www.JoinRFA.org
Luke 8:22-25

:slightly_smiling_face: I told Josh he would be sore after a day fishing with you. Thanks again for hooking them up. Good guys just looking for a chance to get out and fish. Hope you added to the hunger and did not wear them down to much.:smiley: Always nice to have someone to drive down from the upstate with.

Set the trap boys, we going to pass through them again!!

20

One of the best posts - if not THE best post - I’ve veer read on here. Great pics, great story, great education.

Glad you are OK.

Just trying to learn every bit I can about saltwater fishing…

Posting on a message board all the time doesn’t make you smart. Frankly, it just means you probably need to get a life.