8/19 SlipSlidin Report

[JMS-ILM]

when my phone rings at odd hours of the morning and the caller ID says Nick P., i know there is a killing about to happen.

so my phone rings at 7 mins after 7 AM yesterday morning. nick on the other end says that he is over-staffed at the restaraunt (i wonder who made the schedule? ). he asks if i have any plans and if im interested in making a run offshore. duh...silly question. i check the forecast, bumpy but fishable. lets go.

clear CB inlet around 10:00. its a washing machine out there with a stiff SE breeze and very unorganized swell and chop. oh well, put the tabs down and pray the dentist did a good job on those fillings over the years. we stop about 10 or 12 miles off the hill for a breather and a cold drink. nick mumbles something about wanting a 12 pack of beer and says that something, somewhere is going to pay dearly for this ass beating ride we were enduring.

we pound on out another 20 miles or so and begin marking some perfect spots....beatiful ledges with nice relief and good bait. our baits dropped on the drift produced nothing but trash bites. i manage a keeper red on the drift finally and we decide to anchor. once anchored, we were eated up with trash. grunt after grunt comes over the gunnel and the groupers just dont seem interested. nick drops a live bait down and shortly thereafter i hear some struggling and grunting going on and nick is bowed up on a nice fish. i grabbed the gaff and stood ready for it looked like a nice one but maybe nothing great. about halfway up the fish decides to fight a little bit. he surges for the bottom 4 times, pulling locked down drag each time. we both are thinking amberjack. fish is swimming in big circles under the boat. when i first saw color, it was a big white belly and large brown flanks. aww man you got you a big amberja....holy shit what gag! fish is still 10 ft down. and the hook pulls....heartbreaker....a fish well in the 30's, maybe more. silence on the slipslidin.

oh well, we know where he lives. his day will come.

we pick at the trash some more and a pull up a keeper gag. we pull the anchor and move. come across a tiny new spot, another perfect ledge and nick thinks if we can nail the anchor on this tiny mark we can get them good. aye, aye capt. he was right. the box quickly filled right on up with decent fish...nothing special, just fat puddinheads. we got 9 in the box and start getting cocky and culling keeper fish so maybe to polish off our limit with a stud. and of course the bite dies and we are struggling for #10. pull the anchor and drift over some promising spots, and nick finally coaxes a gag to eat. the fishys paid for our rough ride like we said they would....bastards.

as we are tidying up the boat, and prepping for the ride home, U2's "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" comes on the radio.....i should say so!

we had the SE at our back coming home, made for a better ride. back to the dock and a couple cold budwesiers around 7. thanks for taking me fishing Nick. no better way to spend a Bloody Sunday.

and Nick swore he would never wear his Crocs in public......Busted!!!


no complaints....life is good.

[BTH284]

Nice work on the meat JMS and Slip. The ass beating was worth it by the looks of the cooler. Good job.

[mikelpl]

Nice catch you two. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

[gottaflylee]

It's going to be a bad time for the Groupers when the other Nick comes back ...that's right its all ready a bad time for the Groupers!

[HOLWACHAGOT]

Nice Bloody Sunday! Wish you would have boated the big girl. Fine looking cooler full despite the escape. I can hear and feel the silence after the rascal got away. Do you think maybe it was one of Seabiscuit's trained Groupers? He probably sent a telepathic message to that fish to go mess with you guys while he was away. I sent the grunts. Hope you guys enjoyed the day like I am sure you did. See you very soon.
HOLWACHAGOT

[O-SEA-D]

Great report Matt.

Pretty work on the Groupers Nick and Matt as always.

Sounds like a great day of fishing to me fellas.

[SeaBiscuit]

Yes Indeed! Nice grade of fish boys. How I wish I had been with you, ass beating and all.
Hate to hear that the black belly that got away. Just last week, I was wondering if our stuff is up for a bigger class of fish, those 30 -50 pounders. Pulled hook just feet from the gaff would suggest that the tackle can handle it. It's only a matter of time and numbers then. May be next trip.
SeaBiscuit

[gradywhite273]

outstanding work guys, very nice.

[shoefish]

I can just hear the song in my head...picturing the two of you sippin on a beer and grinnin from ear to ear...it's a pretty picture. As always, nicely done.

[mannysmate]

Pretty work!!! Glad you made it off-shore.... we stayed in and found the "nursery" 40+ gag's, just 8 off them barely beeing keepers.