We started the day by heading to the 226 Hole at 5:30 am. On the way out of the jetties, the horizon looked like a vast city with all the nav lights on the boats that had left shortly before us. I’ve never seen that many boats on my way offshore.
The ride out was nice and smooth, it made our breakfast tea time very enjoyable. For most of the way out we were going around 41mph.
We arrived at the 226 around 7:30 without seeing any weeds on the way. I did a rough count, and without squinting or trying hard to see boats on the horizon, I easily counted 59 boats around us. 59! We put 1 Mahi in the boat by 8:30, and a couple more by 11:00, but it was really slow. We tried to find weed lines or current breaks around the Charleston bump, but luck was not on our side. Even after finding a somewhat scattered weed line, it was still slow. Around 2:00 we had 4 Mahi in the boat and decided to go bottom fishing. On the way back to the ledge we found a really nice weed line and trolled few rods around that. Picked up 3 more Mahi and a Skipjack tuna.
It was getting late, so we only dropped a few lines at a couple spots on the way home to pick up a few bottom fish.
The ride home was a little rougher, but wasn’t too bad. Still managed 41mph, and got home before dark.
All in all it was a great day on the water, and a nice escape from the lock down.
