Carrabelle 6/21

[micci_man]

I got a call at 9:30 Thursday night about going fishing the next morning. A quick call to the boss and it was a go :hail My buddy told me his friend has a pretty nice little boat and usually gets on them. We pull up to the dock at 9am.

The boat, 36' Cabo




However things didn't look quite right....There were tools and new gaskets on the deck and the hatch was lifted?? My buddy called the owner which was pulling up and he was unaware of the tools and parts. Well kind of. He had a leaking gasket and it was supposed to be fixed the day before...A call to the mechanic and they were onsite within 15 minutes and get to work. Apparently the rain interrupted their progress the day before.




They get it fixed and we were on our way at 10:45. A quick stop at the Moorings for fuel, ice and bait and we were off. The plan was to go deep but with fresh repairs we wer kind of hesitant. The boat ran great at 2100 rpm's and cruising at 23 knots and once we hit 80' with no problems the owner made the call to keep going. Not much further and a over heating alarm came on for the #2 engine, the one that was worked on. We couldn't see any leaking fluid so we limped on with 1 engine. we reached our destination and the first baits were dropped at 1pm. Right off the bat everyone was bent and 5 snapper came over the side and hit the deck. The show on the bottom machine was unreal but as soon as we got there lightening appeared from nowhere. Everybody jumped in the cabin and the radar was pulled up. There was a storm a few miles S of us and it was growing rather fast. As much as we hated to leave that mark we moved on. We stopped 2 more times (a total of 3 stops) and we were headed N. By this time the engine had cooled enough to get the cap off of the radiator and we couldn't see any coolant.

We added about 3 gallons (it holds 4) of water, started the emgine, looked for leaks which we didn't see and headed on in. The cap was not real tight and we're not sure where the fluid went or even if it was topped off after being worked on. I'm thinking with us sitting around waiting on them to fix it coolant was not put back in but not really sure. The engine ran great with no alarms all the way back in. Other than a couple of setbacks it was a great trip. 10 Red snapper, 3 Lane snapper, 1 red grouper and 1 king was the catch for the day. The seas were great at 1-2' the entire day.





This is the 27"er that the Tiger Lite dug up. I really like that little rod.

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[WolfeMan]

Not a bad "little" boat! Nice snapper!

What reel/line combo rides on that Tiger Lite rod?

[micci_man]

The reel belongs to a friend. All I know is it's a Daiwa, sll the lettering is worn off. It's a small reel, about the size of a abu garcia 7000. The line on it is 30lb "camo line", the tri colored line and he can't remember what brand. I was using a 60lb leader. Not much help, I know.....I did catch a 4' shark on it Saturday. I really like the rod. I'm going to get a speedmaster 4 to put on it. From everything I've read about the rod the 5' 8" is the one you want and what I have. It is extra heavy action 100-200lb braid and 6-14oz jig weight...

[Ifishtoo]

Thanks for taking the time to post. Glad the trip worked out. Sure not the way it was intended, but "stuff" happens. Nice mess of fishes. How far from Miccosukee? Approx how deep?

[micci_man]

100' and not sure about the Miccosukee comment. That's where I live.

[MarkM]

Micci, seems like you're doing more fishing this year. I see you posting more. Good for you.

[micci_man]

I have fished more this year (saltwater) so far than the last 2 years combined. Glad to be out there for sure

[wevans]

Someone has ta take up my slack "I've fished twice in the salt this year"
That's a sweet boat and a sweeter catch