Freeport 8/1 - AJs and Shrimp Boat Tuna!

[Red Tuna]

We had a great trip out of Freeport yesterday with Capt Leaf Potter. The goal was to celebrate reopening of AJ season by tugging on some reef donkeys, and to hopefully find some shrimp boats. Mission accomplished.

We started out by running straight out to a small wreck 55 miles south. We almost immediately hooked up to a nice AJ:










We lined up for another drift, and immediately hooked into our second:









We tried a few more drifts, but no more bites. We decided to head to the nearby 42019 to troll a little, but no one was home. Luckily, there were a few shrimp boats anchored nearby so we trolled that way.

At the first boat, we were immediately greeted by swarms of bonito, with some blackfin mixed in.

We caught around a thousand bonito, and 10 jumbo Blackfin:







It turned out there were 4 shrimp boats, all part of the same fleet, and all loaded with fish. They were in around 220' of water, not far from the 42019 buoy.

Also managed two bonus ling, with one being just a few inches short.







Seas only got better throughout the day and were almost as smooth as can be, with some gentle rollers.

Thanks to Capt Leaf Potter for a great job and a fun day on the water!