I lucked out and somehow managed to convince folks at my firm that taking clients out on a bluewater fishing trip is a legitimate "client marketing activity." So, last year we chartered a trip on the "Hattitude" out of St. Augustine, a 50-foot Hatteras. This was not the kind of fishing that I'm accustomed to (or can afford) --- these guys were serious, big fish, blue water types and all they do is troll, troll, troll. So, we headed out 50 miles to the continental shelf (the Ledge) and, you guessed it, trolled. We had at least 6 lines out with outriggers and such along with three sets of teasers and it was interesting to watch the mate set and work the lines. Also interesting to see that many Penn Internationals in one place -- that tackle cost more than my truck! However, after several hours of this with no action, things do get a little boring.

We finally catch a couple of dolphin and a sailfish to end the day which was pretty cool since I've never caught either type of fish plus it at least gave a taste of how things could be on a good day with more action. So, I decided to give it another try this year with hopes of more action. Well, it was not to be. Pretty much a repeat of last year except the weather gods decided to throw in an overcast day with rough seas. After several hours of trolling the Ledge with no luck the captain decides to move in to the "shallows" (about 140 feet) and break out more of the "light" gear (Penn 30's and 50's, we had been using 50's and 80's). Soon after, we hooked up with a small dolphin and things were looking up. A little later and one line goes off and then another but nothing on them -- cut leaders. Then the shotgun line goes off and the hook is set. This fish fights a little deeper than the dolphin. "Wahoo" says the captain. The bad news -- the shotgun line also had a flouro leader since we weren't expecting wahoo in this area. Everybody was keeping their fingers crossed and the mate kept yelling "take it easy, don't horse him". First pass by the boat, the captain says "40 pounds, good fish". The next pass I'm thinking that doesn't look like a 40-pounder to me but I'm not going to argue with the captain. Finally, after about 20 more minutes of tug-a-war the fish is boatside and worn out and the mate sets the gaff but can't get the fish up over the gunnel. The captain comes over to help and between the two of them they boat the fish. It was no 40-pounder, that's for sure. Turned out to be 87 pounds. The cedar plug was right in the corner of his mouth which is the only way we could have landed him. Wish I had been the one to catch it but it wasn't my turn when he hit so congrats to my partner (the guy in the picture) who landed the fish. He did a great job on the fish to be able to land him on 50-pound test with a flouro leader. Anyway, we caught another small dolphin and that was it, time to head in. The wahoo really saved the day and the wahoo steaks were great the next day. I haven't decided yet whether to try it again next year or maybe just go with a little old fashioned bottom fishing.
Just for the record though, I'm not at all critical of the captain, he knew what he was doing (just won a billfish tournament in the Bahamas a few weeks ago) and the mate was one of the best and hardest working I have ever had the pleasure to fish with. They did everything they could to put us on fish on a day when no one was catching much of anything on the Ledge. If you're interested in trying this type of fishing, I highly recommend the Hattitude and Captain Rob.
