The last couple of weeks, a friend has been tearing up the grouper by trolling in 45' of water. He gave me his secret number, so I decided that maybe I could sneak up on them before the really cold weather set in. He said he wouldn't go yesterday because it was too cold, and there was not enough room in his freezer for more grouper.
Put the Oh Hell! Mechele in at daylight, Lanark, armed with Stretch 30's out the wazoo and a bag of LY's just in case. Air temp about 37, wind E at 5-10, water temp a bracing 56 degrees. Made the fairly long run to the secret honey hole, into choppy but not bad seas. I continue to bless the design of my boat, which provides a nice setup to reduce wind and spray. The spray shield that goes from the T-top to the windscreen on the console is particularly super, eliminates that icy wind and spray.
Upon arrival, noticed it was indeed great looking bottom, and plunked out the 30's, eagerly awaiting the clickers going off. On the second pass, one anemic click and I pulled in an undersized gag. More runs through the area, and nada. Anchored up, and lots of sea bass, but no grouper. Trolled more, and marked more bottom for later, but no grouper. Decided that the clouds and the wind were going to build, and headed back about noon. By that time, east wind and the chop were pretty stiff, and I had to use the tabs to lessen the spray wanting to come in off my starboard.
At the dock, saw a couple of guys coming in that had gone out the same time as I did. They were in a small, open skiff, maybe 16' long, with I think a 30 hp Nissan outboard. They asked how I did, and I told them, and they told me about the seven big ole grouper in their box. They had gone out deeper than I and cleaned up. I thought of Wevans, because frankly, I wouldn't myself have gone much beyond Dog Island with that boat. Anyhow, goes to show the equipment don't much matter, the skill of the angler does!
Me, I always seem to have a lot to learn! To salve my wounds, I stopped at My Way Seafood in Panacea and bought some Stone Crab claws and some wonderful fresh shrimp to cook last night.
I did cherish the day, though, because I needed the salt water wind to settle the mind, and the Mechele needed a little exercise.
Luck,
EJ
Lanark Skunk - Jan 27
Moderators: bman, Chalk, Tom Keels
qoutrage wrote:Hey Eddie, no big deal bout not catchin much or nothin. Jest don't wanna do it too many trips in a row.
Glad to hear ya gettin ya money's worth outta that new boat. WTG.
Thanks, Q. However, unless something unusual happens I probably will keep the boat in the barn until mid March, except for maybe one trip in February to cycle the gas. Next time I might check out some of my deeper numbers, if the seas are calm. I never have done very well grouper fishing after the water temperature drops much below 60. Some guys claim the grouper are still at those shallow reefs in winter, but if so I don't know how to catch them.
Luck,
EJ
