BigBendFishing.Net

I finally was able to get my good friend and great client, Ed Hightower, of Big 10 Tire, back on the water on Sunday. He and three of his employees and Capt. Randle along to give me a hand left the the dock around 7:30. I had heard several reports of folks doing real well trolling SE of 24, so that's where we headed. I decided to not even bother with live bait and punched in one of my good spots in that area. I, like everybody else I'm sure, immediately began by cussing NOAA. We were greeted by steep and stacked 4 footers with whitecaps, and they were straight out of the SE. It took about twice as long to get to the area as I was doing my best to keep everybody comfortable. Once there, we set out the stetch 30's and almost immediately began hooking up in 50 ft, but only 1 keeper out of the first 5. Moved on to one of my better spots a couple of miles away and got the same results. I began to second guess my decision. I was marking fish so I suggested that we anchor up and put some bait on the bottom. It turned out that was the right thing to do. They had a good bite for about an hour and half untill the tide bottomed out. They put some nice gags in the box with the biggest going about 16 lbs. I decided to troll, 4 lines this time, while we took turns eating some lunch and catching fish, still alot of shorts though. Headed for one of my shallow spots in about 37 ft. Picked up one keeper and a couple shorts trolling CD 18's, then dropped a bouy on the spot. As I backed down, the fellas couldn't keep bait on their hooks. As soon as it hit the bottom they either hooked up with a grouper or lost the bait. Only one more keeper in all that action but still, a nice way to end the day.
It had calmed a little and the seas were at our back for the ride in so it was much nicer. Of course it always helps to have a box full of grouper:)
Back at the dock, the tally was 15 grouper to 16 lbs and a mess of key west grunts. Not bad for the conditions and only 3 anglers. One of the guys got seasick on the way out, and stayed that way the whole day. He didn't even touch a rod, let alone catch a fish Anyway, it didn't seem to matter what color stretch 30's we used, they all caught fish, and I lost 2. One to a faulty leader and one to a nice fish that rocked up and we couldn't get out. We had a variety of dead bait, including Ly's, spanish sardines, mackeral and squid. The water temp was about 71 degrees and the seas were kinda rough. Everybody had a great time and we made it back safe and sound, which is THE main objective, as we all were reminded by the tragedy out of Keaton beach recently. Cuda"B" is running great, looking good, and catching fish!
Capt. Jay

Good report, nice catch too..

thanks for the report.

Capt. Jay, that's one nice report. By the way, I have been catching a few mullet behind the Cuda B.

Thanks for a good report.

Its always awkward when somebody on the boat gets seasick.
I have never had seasickness, but I have witnessed strong men suffering.
Their faces can really turn green and they just want to die.
We normally return to the harbour and let them get off.
You only need so much chum.

Hey Ray,
When then tide is in that canal is full of fish. As long as the water temp is above 70, there is usually alot of LY's in there too. If your handy with a cast net and have the time you can catch a freezer full. If you see me around the dock, give me a shout.

Hey Cranfield,
It's always a tough when someone gets seasick, but especially so when it's a charter. Even if they get sick early, it's usually going to be at least an hour or two out of the day to get them back and everybody else is ready to fish. I leave that call up to whoever is paying the bill. If the call is made to go back, I would need more $$ if we turn and go back out because CUDA"B" loves gasoline and if we quit the day I would still need to at least cover my expenses and compensate for my time. Tough choices. The guy was a real trooper in this case. He didn't want to ruin it for everybody else so he just toughed it out all day. I tried to get him to grab a rod and drop some bait because the best remedy for seasickness is catching fish. Anyway, I always recommend that if anyone is unsure about there ability, to take a dramamine or something, one the night before and one the morning of the trip.
Capt. Jay

Sounds like the best was made of a potentially bad day That's great!
Might not be a bad idea to stock some dramamine on the boat, even if they have to pay for it.
I'm not from your area, so I'm curious: What was the Keaton Beach incident?

May the wind be always at your back and the fish at your bait.
Dawn

Here ya go Dawn and WELCOME aboard

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