When I was in elementary school, my grandfather told me about the time he hooked a big shark while he was fishing with a guide near Naples. The shark pulled and pulled at the line as my grandfather tried to reel it in. At some point, my grandfather became exhausted from the fight and asked, “Can I get some help.” The guide responded, “The shark doesn’t get any help, so neither do you.” Ever since my grandfather told me that story, I’ve felt that there’s something fundamentally wrong with double-teaming a fish. You hooked the fish; man-up and bring it in yourself.
Fast forward to last Friday, we were fishing for red snapper out of Carrabelle. One of my friends, Tim, hooked a big fish on his wife’s fishing rod. (It even has her name on it.) He was straining to lift the rod as the fish bent the rod tip straight down. Every now and then, Tim would pump the rod and crank the reel, but then the fish would take another run pulling out line. Seemed like a shark to me, but Tim said it felt like a keeper-sized amberjack. I’m still thinking it’s a shark because it’s always a shark.
Anyway, Tim’s arms turned to Jello during the fight and he handed the rod to Taz. Taz is stronger than the rest of us, and nothing makes him happier than playing tug-o-war with a big fish. Taz pumped and reeled and pumped and reeled until he brought the fish close enough for it to see the boat. Once that happened, the fish pointed its head straight down and dove back to the bottom. It was like getting that card in Monopoly, “Go Directly to Jail, Do Not Pass Go, Do not Collect $200.” It’s starting over with sore arms.
Fortunately, Tim’s arms recovered somewhat by this point. He grabbed the reel and cranked it while Taz pumped the rod for him. The fish was nearing the surface again. “Get the gaff,” Tim yelled. “But it’s a shark,” I said. “No, it’s an amberjack,” yelled Tim. Still not convinced, I leaned over the gunnel looking for the fish. I saw a big flash of silver from its side and the black stripe over its eye. It was an amberjack, and the biggest one I had ever seen outside of a TV show.
I took two swings of the gaff at the amberjack and couldn’t get the hook to penetrate its gill plates. On the third attempt at the now tired fish, I put the hook underneath a gill plate, and Tim and I hoisted the fish out of the water and onto the boat. It weighed 53 lbs. and was 48” to the fork.
Is it okay to double-team a big fish? When I texted pictures and highlights of the amberjack story to a friend, he replied, “Gosh, you guys need practice lifting, maybe hit the gym?” I agree. It’s not okay to double-team a big fish. You are a sissy if you double-team a fish, but I’m glad we did it anyway.
In addition to catching the keeper amberjack, we caught one mangrove snapper and our limit of red snapper. We released several smaller amberjack and lots of gag grouper and red grouper. The grouper we caught and released adds to the mounting evidence that that the data used to set the gag grouper and red grouper seasons is seriously flawed. Gag grouper and red grouper in the Big Bend Area are not underpopulated nor are they limited to juvenile fish. FWC, please fix the grouper data and the ridiculously short grouper seasons.
Due to the turbidity of the water on Friday and the fact that my underwater light died, I have just these few underwater pictures:
Here are some of the technical details of our fishing day. We caught live pinfish and pigfish using small hooks baited with squid in the grass flats near Dog Island. Baitfish seemed plentiful. The offshore water temperature was about 74 degrees. The water was still turbid and brown from the hurricanes. Snapper and grouper were not picky about baits. They hit our live baits and our frozen baits, which consisted of bonita strips, LYs, and squid strips. The big amberjack took a live pinfish in the mid-afternoon.
Here are the fish piles at the end of the day:
Is it Okay to Double-Team a BIG Fish?—Carrabelle fishing report for October 25, 2024
Moderators: bman, Chalk, Tom Keels
Is it Okay to Double-Team a BIG Fish?—Carrabelle fishing report for October 25, 2024
Last edited by John21:6 on October 30th, 2024, 6:38 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Re: Is it Okay to Double-Team a BIG Fish?—Carrabelle fishing report for October 25, 2024
Is it OK to double team a big fish? Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.
Nice pics as always. I have to agree with you about the flawed science pertaining to our fish populations.
Nice pics as always. I have to agree with you about the flawed science pertaining to our fish populations.
Re: Is it Okay to Double-Team a BIG Fish?—Carrabelle fishing report for October 25, 2024
AJ good on the grill. Great report and thanks for keeping us posted!
Re: Is it Okay to Double-Team a BIG Fish?—Carrabelle fishing report for October 25, 2024
I wish I thought of your line "Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do." It's a good one. Thanks for reading the post and the comment.fishinfool wrote: ↑October 31st, 2024, 8:15 am Is it OK to double team a big fish? Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.
Nice pics as always. I have to agree with you about the flawed science pertaining to our fish populations.