Econfina 11-25-2006...This could have been you
Posted: November 26th, 2006, 10:29 am
When Frank Bradfield asked if I wanted to fish and dive on Saturday I said "heck yeh". He said if I knew anyone who wanted to come to invite them. So I put a post out on the forum asking for someone. I got one taker. Redman called me and said he wanted to go. The gameplan was set. It was going to be Me, Frank, my buddy Rick, Frank's son, and Redman. About 8 pm Friday, I got a call from Redman saying he wasn't going to be able to make it after all. I reupped my post asking for someone but had no takers. Oh well, this story could have been you.
Rick and I arrived at Casa de Bradfield at the Econfina about 6. We loaded the boat and got ready to go. Frank's son decided he didn't want to go, so it would just be the 3 of us.
We made our way down the the river, put the boat in and ran down the river towards the mouth. Trout fisherman dotted the river so we had to zig zag them. Hit the mouth and proceeded south at 38 mph. The seas were pretty flat for the first 7 or so miles until we hit some deeper water. The north wind was pretty stiff and had kicked the waves to a solid 2-3. We approached our first spot and put out two stretch 25's and trolled the last mile.
We had nothing to show for it after hitting 2 spots so we kept on trolling to a third spot that Frank found the day before and had limited out on. The seas were now throwing an occasional 4 footer in and it was sloppy. We were about 200 feet out from the spot when we ran over a good show. Frank says "there's fish right there". 10 seconds later both rods double over. I worked my fish to the boat and over the gunnell he came. A fat 29 incher. Rick was having issues with his and it rocked him up. After some boat maneuvering and some coaxing by the captain the fish came out of the rocks and into the boat. Another 29 inch fish that looked like a copy of the first one.
We continued on the spot after setting lines back out. After 2 passes we had another fish at 28" and 2 fish get off. We had a good idea the structure was a ledge of some sort and had a good idea which way it ran. This time we had a plan to hit the ledge down the length of it. it paid off big time for Rick with this slob of a gag. 34" and 20+ pounds.
We trolled a 4 more passes and put 3 more keepers in the box. We then started to get shorts on every pass so we decided to let the spot rest. We picked a direction with the waves and trolled out about 2 miles with nothing but lizard fish to show. We were back to the spot in a little over an hour and picked up right where we left off. It was my turn an I managed this hefty gag.
After a few more passes we had another keeper decided they had tired of the trolling baits so we switched up to bottom fishing since the seas had started to subside. I tied a JamFab jig on and proceeded to put 3 keepers on the deck before Frank and Rick had dropped a bait. When they finally did get a bait down we finished out a limit and began to cull smaller fish with larger fish using the livewell on Frank's boat.
We had 15 fish on board but some were a little light. Plus we hadn't even dove yet and I really wanted to see this spot. We kept 2 23" fish in the livewell in hopes we could spear a couple of bigger ones. By now the seas had calmed to a ripple and it was getting warm. Rick and I suited up and went in.
What I saw before me will haunt my dreams. A small ledge unfolded in front of me and grouper were everywhere. There was a conservative 200 keeper grouper on the spot. Several dozen 15+ pounds and quite a few 20+ fish.
It was obvious these fish had never seen a diver because you could swim right up to them. I can't tell you how hard it is passing up 25" inch fish so stupid you can put the spear to their heads and pull the trigger. But, we were trophy hunting.
I took a shot at big fish and missed over the top. That scattered the fish everywhere. So I made my way down the ledge and came back to spot after a minute or so. The fish were a little more wary this time and several 20 pounders were just out of range in front of me. I counted 5 that went under the ledge on one side and counted 3 that came out on the other. I dumped all my air and went belly to sand to look under the ledge. All I could see were eyes and tails stacked like books on a bookshelf.
I picked out the biggest fish of the bunch and put the spear to the side of his head and pulled the trigger. The fish went crazy and the fight was on. All this time Rick was watching me and when that fish came out of the ledge all I could think to do was bear hug him and hold the spear in him. That fish beat the crap out of me and I wasn't sure what was going to happen. I think Rick was getting a kick out of all this and was just watching me. But when he saw how wide my eyes got he came over to help. I had him put his stringer through the fishes eyes so we had a better hold on him.
Rick had a hold of the stringer while I did the spear extraction. About the time I pulled the spear out, somehow the stringer comes out of Rick's hand and the fish goes swimming off. Later Rick would say he could clearly hear the cuss word I said through my regulator. I hauled ass after the fish and finally caught him down the ledge a ways. I looked back at Rick and told him I was going to the boat and for him to get the guns and spears. I was exhausted. I swam the fish to the boat and Frank snapped a pic.
After a brief respite I went back down to round out the limit. Virtually the same scenario played out again with the fish under the ledge. Rick had shot a big fish under the same ledge but could not get him out and after the silt cleared could not find him. We looked and looked, finding all manner of creature in the ledge, highlighted by some huge stone crabs. I then found 2 more fish holed up under the ledge and shot the bigger of the 2. This fish was a little easier to handle and not nearly the drama of the first. Back on the boat I held both fish for a pic. The Left one is 33" and 17 pounds the right one was almost 35" and weighed 21.
It was only noon and we had 15 fish on the boat and couldn't get back up the river until the tide came back at 4. So we had time to kill. Took off in a direction toward the hill and through the stretches back out looking for new numbers. We hadn't been trolling but 5 minutes when Frank got this beauty to the boat. But since we had our limit, this was a throwback.
We messed around doing this and that, listening to the ball game, estimating our catch weight, and reminiscing about the day that was. But mostly I was talking about how bad Redmann was going to feel about not getting to go and partake in a box of fish like this...
When 4 pm rolled around we flew in at 35 on flat calm seas. Back at Casa de Bradfield we surveyed the damage.
We cleaned fish for 2 hours and weighed each fish individually. Total for the day was 15 fish that weighed 180 lbs. The smallest fish was 25", the largest almost 35". We had 8 gallons of fillets. All these fish came from 25 feet of water.
I cannot remember when I have had so much fun on a trip. I don't know how the day could have been any better. Much thanks go to Frank for putting us on the fish, and Rick for being a good partner and dive buddy as always.
The next time you see a post from me asking for riders, just remember this post.
Rick and I arrived at Casa de Bradfield at the Econfina about 6. We loaded the boat and got ready to go. Frank's son decided he didn't want to go, so it would just be the 3 of us.
We made our way down the the river, put the boat in and ran down the river towards the mouth. Trout fisherman dotted the river so we had to zig zag them. Hit the mouth and proceeded south at 38 mph. The seas were pretty flat for the first 7 or so miles until we hit some deeper water. The north wind was pretty stiff and had kicked the waves to a solid 2-3. We approached our first spot and put out two stretch 25's and trolled the last mile.
We had nothing to show for it after hitting 2 spots so we kept on trolling to a third spot that Frank found the day before and had limited out on. The seas were now throwing an occasional 4 footer in and it was sloppy. We were about 200 feet out from the spot when we ran over a good show. Frank says "there's fish right there". 10 seconds later both rods double over. I worked my fish to the boat and over the gunnell he came. A fat 29 incher. Rick was having issues with his and it rocked him up. After some boat maneuvering and some coaxing by the captain the fish came out of the rocks and into the boat. Another 29 inch fish that looked like a copy of the first one.
We continued on the spot after setting lines back out. After 2 passes we had another fish at 28" and 2 fish get off. We had a good idea the structure was a ledge of some sort and had a good idea which way it ran. This time we had a plan to hit the ledge down the length of it. it paid off big time for Rick with this slob of a gag. 34" and 20+ pounds.
We trolled a 4 more passes and put 3 more keepers in the box. We then started to get shorts on every pass so we decided to let the spot rest. We picked a direction with the waves and trolled out about 2 miles with nothing but lizard fish to show. We were back to the spot in a little over an hour and picked up right where we left off. It was my turn an I managed this hefty gag.
After a few more passes we had another keeper decided they had tired of the trolling baits so we switched up to bottom fishing since the seas had started to subside. I tied a JamFab jig on and proceeded to put 3 keepers on the deck before Frank and Rick had dropped a bait. When they finally did get a bait down we finished out a limit and began to cull smaller fish with larger fish using the livewell on Frank's boat.
We had 15 fish on board but some were a little light. Plus we hadn't even dove yet and I really wanted to see this spot. We kept 2 23" fish in the livewell in hopes we could spear a couple of bigger ones. By now the seas had calmed to a ripple and it was getting warm. Rick and I suited up and went in.
What I saw before me will haunt my dreams. A small ledge unfolded in front of me and grouper were everywhere. There was a conservative 200 keeper grouper on the spot. Several dozen 15+ pounds and quite a few 20+ fish.
It was obvious these fish had never seen a diver because you could swim right up to them. I can't tell you how hard it is passing up 25" inch fish so stupid you can put the spear to their heads and pull the trigger. But, we were trophy hunting.
I took a shot at big fish and missed over the top. That scattered the fish everywhere. So I made my way down the ledge and came back to spot after a minute or so. The fish were a little more wary this time and several 20 pounders were just out of range in front of me. I counted 5 that went under the ledge on one side and counted 3 that came out on the other. I dumped all my air and went belly to sand to look under the ledge. All I could see were eyes and tails stacked like books on a bookshelf.
I picked out the biggest fish of the bunch and put the spear to the side of his head and pulled the trigger. The fish went crazy and the fight was on. All this time Rick was watching me and when that fish came out of the ledge all I could think to do was bear hug him and hold the spear in him. That fish beat the crap out of me and I wasn't sure what was going to happen. I think Rick was getting a kick out of all this and was just watching me. But when he saw how wide my eyes got he came over to help. I had him put his stringer through the fishes eyes so we had a better hold on him.
Rick had a hold of the stringer while I did the spear extraction. About the time I pulled the spear out, somehow the stringer comes out of Rick's hand and the fish goes swimming off. Later Rick would say he could clearly hear the cuss word I said through my regulator. I hauled ass after the fish and finally caught him down the ledge a ways. I looked back at Rick and told him I was going to the boat and for him to get the guns and spears. I was exhausted. I swam the fish to the boat and Frank snapped a pic.
After a brief respite I went back down to round out the limit. Virtually the same scenario played out again with the fish under the ledge. Rick had shot a big fish under the same ledge but could not get him out and after the silt cleared could not find him. We looked and looked, finding all manner of creature in the ledge, highlighted by some huge stone crabs. I then found 2 more fish holed up under the ledge and shot the bigger of the 2. This fish was a little easier to handle and not nearly the drama of the first. Back on the boat I held both fish for a pic. The Left one is 33" and 17 pounds the right one was almost 35" and weighed 21.
It was only noon and we had 15 fish on the boat and couldn't get back up the river until the tide came back at 4. So we had time to kill. Took off in a direction toward the hill and through the stretches back out looking for new numbers. We hadn't been trolling but 5 minutes when Frank got this beauty to the boat. But since we had our limit, this was a throwback.
We messed around doing this and that, listening to the ball game, estimating our catch weight, and reminiscing about the day that was. But mostly I was talking about how bad Redmann was going to feel about not getting to go and partake in a box of fish like this...
When 4 pm rolled around we flew in at 35 on flat calm seas. Back at Casa de Bradfield we surveyed the damage.
We cleaned fish for 2 hours and weighed each fish individually. Total for the day was 15 fish that weighed 180 lbs. The smallest fish was 25", the largest almost 35". We had 8 gallons of fillets. All these fish came from 25 feet of water.
I cannot remember when I have had so much fun on a trip. I don't know how the day could have been any better. Much thanks go to Frank for putting us on the fish, and Rick for being a good partner and dive buddy as always.
The next time you see a post from me asking for riders, just remember this post.
.