Interesting 2 days

[capt hoop]

Gary from Alabama brought his boat Red Eye over to Venice for the winter season. He had an overnighter with 6 guys and asked me to deck for him. I said ok and hopped aboard. The forecast was not looking good but we ran anyway. We had winds and fog and the promise of thunderstorms in the afternoon. We were skeptical but they wanted to go. We ran the river in the fog but the visibility opened up a little when we hit the gulf. We still has very limited visibility most of the day. Not being able to see the horizon would be a big factor for the sea sickness issues. We also had to bounce around with the seas as we moved out. Most of our live bait was holding up good but we lost a few.



It was all fun and games as we went out but soon things started to change. Our first stop which we were hoping to find clean water was dirty and very cold. Upper fifties. We decided to drop for amberjack before moving on. We found some but nothing big. Actually had to throw one back that was short. Although we took 6 amberjack only 5 guys caught them. One of the customers was already down with sea sickness.



This was our first AJ of the day. This guy did well after he helped with the chum work. The rest of the day he did well but was still on the edge. Once we had our limit we moved on looking for good water color and temps.



Our next place we managed to troll up a blackfin. The water was a bit cleaner although still a bit greenish color. The temp got up to just over 62. We moved on another 15 miles. The storms they had forecasted were heading toward us. We made the rig and the water was a good color. The temp was also up so things were promising except for the storm and sea conditions. We hit a blackfin to start. Conditions were not right for chunking so we tried to get things done trolling.

Now we get our fourth guy sick. This guy was on the verge all day but held it in. He attempts to make it out of the cockpit but in the interest of safety I hand him a bucket. There was no way he could have made the rail. He was holding back but was ready to blow. As soon as he has the bucket the boat lurches and he misses the bucket. I got a bunch of it and the rest went over my shoulder and on Gary's foul weather gear. Good thing I at least had my slicker suit pants on. Made it easier for cleaning up. Wish I had the top on though. We now have 4 down. This overnighter is not going to happen.

I am trying out a proto type swim bait for the Russelure company. They swim well and I have caught amberjack, hardtails, and even a puffer fish. Our only yellowfin was a small one, but still a keeper. It came on this Russelure.



It took me several shots to get a picture because the darn thing would not stop swimming.



We jigged up a few more blackfin. This way Garry could hold the boat in position and the boat was steadier facing into the waves. Soon the guys pulled the plug on the trip. Right after the rain eased up the fog got worse. With the seas we had to come in slow and the fog/rain combination played havoc on our radar.





That is not snow it is the fog.

On the second day only the 2 guys to the right above went with us. The other 4 headed home early. We went in another direction. Not having Hilton's access hurt us on this trip. We went to the west having a following sea for the day as we ran the shelf. The 93's were cold and dirty in front. They were so bad we wasted little time there. Could not mark anything of interest. Moxie was not much better. We attempted to get amberjack but the sharks were hitting the bait on the drop. Next stop Lena. We got them there yesterday. The water was dirtier, colder, and moving fast. The fish were still in the same place but 150 feet deeper. The cold dirty water pushed them down and even dropping on them did not interest a bite. As we moved around the loop the water got better and the temps creeped up a bit. We were planning on just looking for AJ's on the way in but decided to hit one more shelf rig. Things were looking a bit better as we moved around the tip of the river so off we went for one last try.



Our first loop around the rig and we mark one fish. A glimmer of hope. Our longest line goes off and we are blessed with a nice 60-70 pound class yellowfin late in the day. It was a fat fish. Lines back in and on the opposite side we have another hit. Did not mark it but it found our bait. This one is still the same class fish but a bit bigger and meaner. It took a long time to get this one in because we were using light setups and did not want to pull or straighten the hooks on the swim baits.



With this one in the box and the day getting late we head in stopping for some AJ's. Only one undersize one took our bait. It was easy there yesterday but not today. We decided to head in for a photo opp and a fish cleaning party.



An interesting 2 days.

Life is Good!
Fishing is not a matter of life or death. It's more important than that.

CAPT HOOP -- OUR FREEDOM

[jpeff31787]

Nice report!!!

[I make oil]

Those guy's are a lot madder at the fish than I am. No way I would have gone out in that mess. Glad you put some in the box.

[capt hoop]

The first day was a real challenge just standing up and with no horizon visible made the sickness issue much worse.