BigBendFishing.Net

We headed out to some numbers in roughly 40' and hit serious paydirt. The water temp is rising and was nearing 63 degrees. I think the biggest problem we were having was keeping treble hooks on the stretch plugs. It seemed like every other fish was ripping one off or mangling the split rings. I never left a 1 square mile area, the fish were biting when we quit, ending with a double hook up that put us at 21 fish, one over the limit. Tossed one back, drank a beer and made for the dock. Stellar Day.


There were several really nice fish in that mess. I never took the time to weigh them, but I know there were at least 8 over 15 lbs. Hope everyone else had a great weekend too!

Nautigator,
That is one nice haul on the grouper. It is time TROLL!
Fish Finder

Very nice.

Wow You got some freezer fillings there

What color stretch were you using? We trolled saturday with only one sea bass. Maybe the water just needed to be a little warmer. Good catch.

DANG that's more Grouper than I've caught in my lifetime and some pretty ones ta boot

We started off using Black and Silver & Black and Gold. It wasn't long before the fish had destroyed them and I was busy repairing plugs as quick as I could. I think several were caught on this awful pink headed, green/blue/yellow thing I bought on clearance last year at Wally World, just to see if they would hit it. It really didn't seem to matter to them, I did notice that they liked it at 5.8 mph or 5.2 knots. Faster didn't do so great and slower did nothing either.

Very nice catch. Good report and information, especially your followup on the colors and speed. We appreciate it

MMMMMMM, I been trollin at 4 ta 4.5 mph me thinks an increase in speed may be in my plans next trip

You may have something with the speed. I stayed around 3.5-4 and caught nothing. There was one boat that was almost on plane and he was getting hit every pass. He was using planers with a big Rapla type lure. I'm going to try that next time...Speed trollin ohhhhh yeah.

Glad you had a great day on the water. Sounds like you’ve got the trolling figured out. How many lines in the water did you manage at one time? Your observation on speed is an interesting one Nauti. Thanks for being nice enough to note it.
Brian

Nice report and pictures, Gator. Ya stars musta all lined up with a catch like that. Way ta go.

I have trouble when I try to use more than two lures at once. My crew usually has a bit of trouble making wide sweeping turns, so I keep them far apart. I use power pro on one line and regular mono on the other. Power Pro cuts the water and the lure will dive deeper than the mono. I have managed to stick a stretch 30 in the dirt in 65' of water @ 6 mph with . The trick with the braided line is to have a 5-6 ft leader that will easily wind through the tip and first few guides. Swivels work when the Kings/macks are gone, but they will surely get clipped by the toothy critters and there goes your $12+ lure. I learned a knot that works just fine and doesn't let the braid slip-IF TIGHTENED PROPERLY. It's called the Yucatan knot seen at- http://www.leadertec.com/fishing_knots/ ... catan.html. I have heard it called a bunch of different names since finding it at that website, reverse albright, etc, but I have had no problems with it. Remember to use a towel and or gloves as it requires ALOT of pressure and spit to get it right and that braid is akin to a razor blade. When the Macks are in town I like to send a feather down the center a country mile back to add to my spread. It can usually be kept out of the way, and can add some variety on slow days. I hate having to clear a bunch of lines to get a fish in, so if the bite is on, simple is the way to go.

I also troll at 5.2-5.4 and do very well

Nice Haul!!!!!
-Chris