Marker 24 ..... 12/29/04

Post by **mjsigns** » December 30th, 2004, 12:58 am

It was an uneventful day on the water. The plan was to meet up with my neighbor out past Rotary Reef and head out toward marker 24 and try some bottom fishing at the barge and some trolling. Two boats are safer than one and can cover more area and work as a team. On the way out we ran through 2â€™s and 3â€™s and should have worn a wet suit. Around 11 am the gulf finally calmed down. Water temp around 54 degrees and visibility was at 6.5 feet. Caught and released one gag 18â€

dstockwell · Post by **dstockwell** » December 30th, 2004, 7:39 am

Sure looks nice out there.

BKTomblin Jr · Post by **BKTomblin Jr** » December 30th, 2004, 8:12 am

mj was that 18"gag off the bottom, ord ya cath him trollin? Isnt marker 24 out by where we had fished that day

Post by **Reel Fun** » December 30th, 2004, 9:01 am

Thanks for the report..

.. I can't wait to get back out there.....

Post by **mjsigns** » December 30th, 2004, 9:08 am

It sure was bice once the gulf calmed. By 3:00 it was close to "pond" conditions. It sure was nice once the gulf calmed. By 3:00 it was close to "pond" conditions. Caught the little guy trolling over live bottom. There is a lot of that out there. I could see fish on the bottom, but they just werenâ€™t feeding. It must have had something to do with the full moon we had the past couple of days. The fish were probably full from the moon light feedings. Talking to others at the ramp the fish were scarce.

Ben- The last time we were out there, one of our trolling runs took us to within 1.5 miles north of marker 24. On this trip, I went 1.82 miles SSE of the marker. The GPS indicated I traveled a total of 43.2 miles. 28 of those miles were headed out and back 15 were trolling.

BTW- I used that extra gas tank to make the trip out, and some trolling around Rotary. I learned you have to 1- follow the arrow on the primer bulb to hook the right end to the engine. 2- Open that breather valve on the tank so it doesnâ€™t create a vacuum in the tank.
It still beat a good day sitting in my office.

Post by **Chalk** » December 30th, 2004, 9:23 am

You should of stopped and bottom fished the area you caught the small gag......Good try at'm.....

Post by **mjsigns** » December 30th, 2004, 11:50 am

Chalk-

I didn't even stop to think of that, or even mark the spot on my GPS

I was really caught up in the sheer thrill of the moment

Oh well , maybe next time.....

Thanks

Post by **qoutrage** » December 31st, 2004, 12:39 pm

Well MJ, as always, a bad day fishing is better than, like Chalk sez, 'cutting the grass'.
Like you guys, we saw lots of fish- Just couldn't get much action from the big boys.
We all know the moon phases have much to do with the feeding of animals and for sure, fish.
I always liked to go cat fishing on a full moon night as a kid- Seems our luck usually ran pretty good.
I hope to get in some night fishing in the next year..

Happy new year to you and your family.