On Monday 8/3, left the dock @ 6:30 with a crew of roughnecks! Four of my friends were celebrating one's retirement from the PO!
We followed my usual pattern, stopping at DI Reef to fill the livewell with bait and then pointing Cuda"B" SSW to the live bottom near S-Tower to try for some Red Snapper while we still can 
. I.5 hours later we were 33 miles out and marking fish in 105ft. We fished steady all day hitting 6-7 holes working our way to the East. Nothing spectacular, but a slow steady bite 
The grouper came on live pinfish and most of the snapper came on squid or spanish sardines. We kept moving to avoid catching sharks. 
The visibility was great, being able to spot the fish as they were coming up about 40ft below the boat and the surface temp a balmy 86/87 and way hotter standing in the back of the boat 
. Back at the dock @ 6:00. The fish box contained our limit of Red Snapper (10) and seven grouper (2 Gag & 5 Red) and about 15 nice size Lane Snapper. Had a great time with some old friends and Cuda"B" ran great.
- Charlie's winning Grouper!
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- Brett"s Red Snapper!
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- The Catch:)
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- A Great Day!!!
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On Sunday 8/9, the crew included the owner, Scott and his 5 year old son Landon for his first time out on Cuda"B". Also on board were my "first mate", Amy and our friends Ron & Janet. The plan was to try a repeat of the last trip, but when we rounded the point, I knew that we would have to change plans. The wind had picked up overnight and left us with some swells out of the South. Nothing too bad but it made for a slower ride and of course some rockin & rollin at anchor
We filled the livewell at the reef and decided to try some numbers closer in and see what happens. Stopped in 60ft south of K-Tower and the bottom machine was lit up with bottom hugging fish. 
I figuered we would have fun catching short grouper and we did. We enjoyed watching Landon catch Key West Grunts and his first Triggerfish! 
The anchor had slipped, so I pulled up and repositioned over the hole and got the anchor to stick. That is when it happened, my "better half" became a bonafide Grouper Digger!! 
She hooked into a nice fish the instant her pinfish hit the bottom and I could tell that she was in a real fight. I offered to help but was promptly told to back off, it was her against the monster 
After 2 attempts by the big grouper to get back in it's rocky home, she brought it to the surface and I had it on the gaff for her!! The "Fire Truck" Red Grouper was just over 30" and went at least 16lbs! It was tough to get an accurate read on the Boga as the boat was rolling in the swells.- Amy's Big Fish!
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- Janet's Gag Grouper!
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As I said the swells were making for a rocking boat and that is usually what causes the seasick bug. We decided to take it back to the hill and make it an enjoyable first trip for Landon instead of a bad memory. We were back at the dock by 10:30 and enjoyed the afternoon at the beach. Landon can't wait to go again! - Landon's Triggerfish
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- Landon with a Grouper:)
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