First for the full moon trip... took coworker Ontilttttt out with my brother, board member "doggymcnuggets." How in the world my brother, a Baptist preacher in Indiana and former FSU alum, came up with "doggymcnuggets" I honestly haven't a clue.
Back to the subject at hand, with my brother having traveled all the way down from IN I was hopeful we would hit it big with the full moon. Species wise, we had a decent day -- trout, mackerel, cobia (short), somewhat rare triggerfish (for us at least), spadefish (snagged on sabiki no less), and a boat load of remora. Truthfully, though, it was a slow day with bites spaced far apart / lots of waiting in between. Only had a couple of bites that truly got our hearts racing... one a drag screaming mystery loss, and THIS one shown in the video. Good news is that my brother so enjoyed the adventure of us pulling it up, he said it made the trip worthwhile. 
Have to add, anyone needs a testimony that Teramar rods are worth the $, just watch the pressure applied in the battle to horse inches up at a time 42 seconds into the clip. Seriously was putting all the muscle on it I could possibly could -- and at least for a few days had a few belly bruises to prove it! 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nxy6dZ5YR8g[/video]
Second trip was with board member Rhettley. Couldn't have fished a more beautiful day. Calmest water of the year for Marine's Dream with a great sunrise launch.
Mission of the day, or so we believed, was to put Rhettley on cobia, preferably keeper sized. First half of that equation was well accomplished. Tagged three or four shorts with a few more spotted boatside. Unfortunately, not a one that cruised within range during the day was over the 33" fork mark. GOOD news is that the rest of the day was anything BUT slow. Bait schools surrounded us the entire day, with aggressive feeding going on nearly non-stop.
Had the biggest jack crevalles go under us that I've ever seen. Threw a topwater at one and it fought so hard it either broke 30 pound wire I had on, or something more toothy joined the fray and cut it off. BEASTLY fight even if short. Caught some nice macks, and again, if we'd focused on chasing nearby bait / feeding, could have caught many, MANY more.
BUT FAR AND AWAY, highlight of the trip with Rhettley took place after he floated a dead cigar minnow behind the boat and had his line take off in less than a minute like it was attached to the Space Shuttle. End result after a long run filled battle? THE VERY FIRST KING MACK BROUGHT ABOARD MARINE'S DREAM EVER!
Saw lots of other amazing activity throughout the day, with at least a dozen or so spotted eagle rays making massive leaps out of the water, a flotilla of the same rays going under the boat at one point, and the biggest goliath I've ever seen rising from the depths like a submarine to weigh whether or not to consume the blacktip pictured below. As Murphy's Law would have it I had just packed the camera away when the goliath surfaced.
Rhettley not only took top honors with the biggest fish of the day but DEFINITELY took the prize for ugliest fish also.
Ended the day with a nice mess of fish for the grill and oven!
Between the nearby red tide, sea grass loss, and hit or miss inshore fishing reported lately, just thought I should share a post with some positive results. Was here for the red tide back in 2005 and while it was depressing to see the carnage it created offshore, it actually seemed to congregate / improve fishing just inside the edge of the kill zone. For those who fish the most northern portion of the big bend St. Marks/Econ region pray it stays southeast of us. If so, may actually make for some great fishing in the coming weeks. Time will tell.
