Carrabelle offshore report by Capt. Bob
Posted: July 23rd, 2002, 1:00 am
Hot weather this weekend didn't slow down the Grouper bite offshore as Capt. Jimmy had another banner day with his party of 4 on Saturday. I sat out this trip because I had a late afternoon inshore trip with John and Amy Harper from Amherst, MA, which I'll tell you about later. First, I'll brief you on the offshore trip.
Capt. Jimmy left the dock at the Moorings Marina around 7:30 AM on Saturday with light winds and 1 to 2 foot seas. His party of 4 are repeat customers from GA and were ready to tackle a few big Grouper.
Jimmy decided to keep close to shore due to the threat of early afternoon thunderstorms so he hit a few holes in 45 to 50 feet of water to the SW of Dog Island. They picked up a few keepers on the first 2 stops before the morning bite ended.
Around noon, they arrived on the third spot in 50 feet of water to the west of "O" Tower and picked up some big Gags pushing 20 lbs. In addition, a lone King around 15 lbs hit a flat line rigged with a stinger and a live Blue Runner.
Their final stop of the day in 48 foot of water roughly 8 miles to the SW of the East pass (between Dog and St. George Island). They picked up a few more keepers to make a total of 13 Grouper (4 Reds and 9 Gags) with the biggest weighing in at 19 lbs. Most of the fish were around the 12 to 15 LB range.
From what we have been experiencing, I believe that this fall is going to be outstanding for Grouper. We are seeing a lot of bait out there and big Grouper are clustered in holes and drop-offs in 45 to 50 feet of water. Live bait or fresh LY's rigged on long leaders are working well. The water is hot so the fish are a little slow to bite at first, but once you pull a few in is seems to invoke a brief feeding frenzy. I am expecting the Grouper to begin moving close to shore around the middle of August. In addition, big kings will likely move in close with the Grouper.
Capt. Jimmy left the dock at the Moorings Marina around 7:30 AM on Saturday with light winds and 1 to 2 foot seas. His party of 4 are repeat customers from GA and were ready to tackle a few big Grouper.
Jimmy decided to keep close to shore due to the threat of early afternoon thunderstorms so he hit a few holes in 45 to 50 feet of water to the SW of Dog Island. They picked up a few keepers on the first 2 stops before the morning bite ended.
Around noon, they arrived on the third spot in 50 feet of water to the west of "O" Tower and picked up some big Gags pushing 20 lbs. In addition, a lone King around 15 lbs hit a flat line rigged with a stinger and a live Blue Runner.
Their final stop of the day in 48 foot of water roughly 8 miles to the SW of the East pass (between Dog and St. George Island). They picked up a few more keepers to make a total of 13 Grouper (4 Reds and 9 Gags) with the biggest weighing in at 19 lbs. Most of the fish were around the 12 to 15 LB range.
From what we have been experiencing, I believe that this fall is going to be outstanding for Grouper. We are seeing a lot of bait out there and big Grouper are clustered in holes and drop-offs in 45 to 50 feet of water. Live bait or fresh LY's rigged on long leaders are working well. The water is hot so the fish are a little slow to bite at first, but once you pull a few in is seems to invoke a brief feeding frenzy. I am expecting the Grouper to begin moving close to shore around the middle of August. In addition, big kings will likely move in close with the Grouper.