Dog island 7-22-11

Use this area to post diving and spearfishing fishing reports from the area Please try to include relevant information such as:
Location, date, time, water conditions, weather conditions, bottom temp, visibility, species caught, etc.

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boomhauer
Posts: 127
Joined: January 21st, 2002, 8:00 pm

Dog island 7-22-11

Post by boomhauer »

From the looks of the diving threads, we must be the only ones diving..... Hoping to put some nice hogs in the box (thanks to FWC giving our state water gags to the feds) we got a fairly early start and headed out in reasonable seas.. Our hopes were high as the water color looked good and the tides were to slow that day... First stop was our shallowest and a reliable hog hole. I freedove up a noce mango and two solid amputees while my buddy donned a tank. He came back with multiple gag sightings and one dandy hog. We eased a little deeper and it was my buddy's turn to go first. He worked his way through a Forrest of sea fans to get to the small ledge .... Shoving big gags out of the way as he proceeded. His bag had a couple more nice hogs and a keeper red grouper. Now with fish in the box, we ride a few more miles out to a big ledge hoping to spot some bigger red grouper or red snapps. Well, neither were hanging around. The ledge was huge and gorgeous, but bare except for a small Jewf_____......whoops...Hebrew grouper. And a few small gags. What a bust! Back in some where we found a new ledge just off of one of our favorite sites. Gag infested would be an understatement! At multiple points, I had 8-10 25"+ gags hanging around me close enough to grab almost. Awesome too see. Also saw a few small red groups and shot 3 nice hoggies. Last spot was another new ledge near another known spot and produced the largest hog of the day for my buddy....18 or 19 inches. Vis was good all day and better in morning and afternoon. Minimal current. Had one sea bass commit suicide on a stretch, but otherwise didn't fish much. Ate great that evening let me tell you! It's so so sad to see firsthand how endangered the gags are .....I almost cried. Saw a few Spanish, but no kings or cobia and not much bait.

As a side note, we got almost a limit of gags 5-31.... They were far from scarce then too!
fish finder
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Re: Dog island 7-22-11

Post by fish finder »

Interesting. Although I do not dive, I'm glad that I am not the only one reporting as to the "real facts" of the Gag grouper fishery in our neck of the woods. In the last two trips offshore looking for Red Snapper, in depths from 55ft to 105ft, we have caught and released 19 keeper Gags to 27". Of course, in the shallower depths, we have also released many shorts, both Gag & Red grouper. They might be endangered in other areas of the Gulf, but here in the Big Bend, they seem to be not only plentiful, but more populated then have been in a couple of years.


Just my opinion but what do I know??

Capt. Jay

Life is Short! Fish It!
boomhauer
Posts: 127
Joined: January 21st, 2002, 8:00 pm

Re: Dog island 7-22-11

Post by boomhauer »

Spoke to a friend who has had to move while fishing for red grouper to get away from keeper gags....
murk09
Posts: 10
Joined: August 3rd, 2010, 10:25 am
Location: Cairo

Re: Dog island 7-22-11

Post by murk09 »

boomhauer, seem to be the man around here when it comes the spearfishing, so i'm going to reach for some advice, if you don't mind. never been, but i've recently got the bug to start, any suggestions on a gun? any advice at all would be greatly appreciated
boomhauer
Posts: 127
Joined: January 21st, 2002, 8:00 pm

Re: Dog island 7-22-11

Post by boomhauer »

First off........Murk may not be the beat forum name if your moving in to diving, especially around here. As far as guns go....there are several considerations... If you are freedivivng, longer guns with reel attachments are common. If scuba, shorter more rugged types are good.. Many guys around here freeshaft with spearfishing specialties commercial guns....but starting out, a shorter line gun is best. I've had a competition magnum JBL for almost 20 years. JBL is solid for the price. Other reasonable options include AB biller. Go longer after you get used to it. Id suggest a shaft length around 36" to start if you are chasing bottom fish. My gun is mainly for bottom darkness, but
The reel let's me freedive or scuba, and shoot pelagics....hope this helps. Is good out there right now!
DWilliams
Posts: 316
Joined: February 12th, 2002, 8:00 pm

Re: Dog island 7-22-11

Post by DWilliams »

Murk, I've got a 42" biller I'll give you a good deal on. $150. includes one shaft and no bands. $175 with bands. I consider the biller the 870 of shotguns, lots of them out there and consistent. If you want a laser then get an enclosed track gun, like a deathstick, but get ready for some benelli cordoba prices. It is good to have a backup and the biller is a good one. We picked up another backup this weekend.

Boom, thanks for the report. We have been diving, just short on time for reports. 2 weeks ago 50 miles out vis was great in 85'. Lots of gags. The mangroves are hiding behind the gags. You have to push the gags out of the way to shoot mangroves. Vis around V tower is bad. We hit the bottom in 85 and could not see your fins. Lots of fish though, red grouper and red snap. Vis this past Friday was great. Could make out the bottom at 23' and the bottom was 120 in the middlegrounds. We got 1st in a tourney with a hog that was 15.88 gutted 2 days later. Saw some real bruiser gags. One was about 4'. I'm guessing 40-50#. Dropped down to make sure he was not a black and he was not concerned. This past Sat vis was good in 50' out of mashes. The usual 2-5# hogs and went 7 mile west to 65 and it was lights out, some bad vis maybe a hazy 10-15 which makes it bad between the ajs and bait. And the jewfish. I thought the guys on top were dropping fire crackers on us because of the booming. I did not think firecrackers would pop in water but we have some. It is funny when you do it to your buddys but not when they do it to you. Then when we were doing our safety stop trying to see the end of our fins that familiar clicking noise and squeak kept getting louder and louder. It was a stampede of dolphin, close enough to see. Good times.

edit:42"gun
Last edited by DWilliams on June 28th, 2011, 10:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Tom Keels
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Re: Dog island 7-22-11

Post by Tom Keels »

I would say borrow and try as many guns as possible before you buy. That 48 biller is a great starter gun. I started with one but quickly figured out I preferred a longer gun. Now I have a SS 52" Commercial Rhino.
Tom Keels
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murk09
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Joined: August 3rd, 2010, 10:25 am
Location: Cairo

Re: Dog island 7-22-11

Post by murk09 »

thanks for the advice guys, and pm sent dwilliams
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