After we left the river we picked up 5 dozen pinfish out of the trap and headed to our first number. The wind was whipping out of the NE and our first number was almost due south. While Greg was driving I noticed we were a little off course because it was just easier running that way. When we ended up we were 1 mile west of our intended spot, so we decide to put out the trolling baits and troll.
As we get closer to the number we start to notice good bottom. About a quarter mile out we get our first hit. As I am reeling the fish comes to the surface. Not a huge gag, but a keeper. Frank is reeling his bait in and gets one on as well. As my fish get closer we notice there are 5-6 more gags trying to take the bait away. When I get my fish in the boat I punched 'mark' on the GPS.
We continued trolling back and forth over this spot and ended up catching 10 gags in about an hour.
The trolling bite has stopped but we continue to mark good fish. We set up a drift with pinfish and Frank pulls up this beauty.
Then I get hung up in the ledge and tell Greg to back the boat up. As he is doing that something hits me like a freight train and unhooks me from the ledge. I bring up a nice 10 pound gag.
A couple of more drifts produce nothing. We decide to let the spot rest and come back later. Off to another spot.
At this point the seas are laying down and we can run much faster. We get to the next spot and troll up to it. We catch another gag and this guy. This photo looks staged but I can assure you, this fish was caught in the mouth.
A couple more passes trolling and bottom fishing produce nothing but a nurse shark, so we decide to get wet.
Lots of fish all over. Big gags everywhere but they are skiddish. 2 huge nurse sharks are blocking their entrance to the ledge so they have nowhere to go except the sand. I end up with a couple nice ones at 15 and 20 pounds and a decent trigger.
Frank also got a couple and some triggers.
Frank hit another spot on the way back to the morning honey hole and got a few.
Back at the honey hole I went in with only 500 psi. At 21 feet deep I figured I be ok if I ran out of air.
I descended and watched the bottom start to move. Gags everywhere. Due to my poor shooting and having buck fever I only managed one fish. Frank got 2 and another trigger. This was another nice ledge and was full of fish. But since the tide had kicked in, the vis was only 10 feet or so.
We wanted to round out our limit but decided 18 grouper was plenty.
Back at the dock at 5 and fish cleaned by 6:30.
Water temps offshore were 78°. Seas 2-3 early down to almost flat late. Dove from 21-35 feet with most fish coming in 21 feet.
For those hitting Econfina next weekend. They have put in some very nice markers marking rocks and marking the channel going out so it is very easy to navigate.
