With school start right around the corner it was time for Wes (Pogey) & his pal Jason (Lil' Biscuit) to say good bye to summer '08 in style. The boys have been saving all summer to spend a weekend on the Extreme Measures boat with captain Brian.
Saturday was captain B's birthday. He celebrated by taking an early morning shark fishing trip after fishing in the river until 9 PM the evening before. When we met him at the dock at 6:00 AM the boat was clean and ready for a day of "mixin' it up" offshore. He said he had a nap! Oh to be young and strong!
Tried for a morning troll bite which never came, so by mid morning we went to the bottom. The two young anglers never stopped! They ate and drank only when the boat was moving from spot to spot. They did their dads and captain proud crankin' in a colorful variety of critters
Before long the extreme box looked like a rainbow
We bailed mahis, triggers, groupers, snappers and sea bass until well into the afternoon. Both boys got bruises on their hips from the rod butts. Captain B assured them that Saturday's crankin' was just a warm up in preparation for Sunday's fishing adventure!
Highlight of the day was when a good sized tiger shark tried to eat one of Wes' triggerfish. He crossed the line which no fish should ever cross, coming too close to captain B. A mullet head and blue & white wahoo rig later that shark realized his mistake
I was "assisting" during the release, thus was unable to get a good picture of the very pretty yet understandably upset tiger. Although the fish was well over 200 lbs, he still had the leopard like markings of a juvenile. His good looks will be augmented for a bit by an extreme boat 9/O mustad !
Day two started leisurely at mid morning. The search for fresh bait was fun as it took us to some beautiful spots between Beaufort and Oriental. Being bait fishermen, we all appreciate the value of fresh, fresh bait, so when our long search finally paid off with two cast nets full of large shad, we celebrated the days' first victory. There wasn't to be a lot of action during this full moon Sunday. Brian stayed on the radio and phone with the rest of the river rats and at 5 PM no one had reported a drum bite yet. The two boys were not deterred as they proceeded to "thin" out the rivers' healthy populations of bluefish, croakers and pinfish and add them to the bait cooler.
With the clock nearing 6PM captain B looked at me and said: "I'm not going anywhere until these boys catch a drum". Having seen that side of the man before, I started minding baits better and praying for a bite. I'm an old, ADD man and after a long day in the river, I was thinking chow and sleep.
Like clockwork they came as the sun was setting. First bite resulted on a lost fish when the big circle hook "turned" into the mullet head bait and failed to catch.
My praying intensified just as two "left" handed rigs went down. Both Wes and Jason are left handed so they had no problem dealing with these very nice mid forty inch fish
A couple of smaller male fish followed, contributing copious amounts of "buck juice" to soak the boys and combine with the pogie and mullet blood and guts on the boat and turn the deck into a slippery mess.
The good captain looked at me and said "I'm not gonna stop until every inch of this boat is all jacked up" He brought on board a cow nose ray we hooked next and laid him on deck. That darn thing went to flapping its wings and gliding on the slick deck rounding the console and sending boys up on the gunnels!
Next bite was on one of Wes' rigs. I saw the fish surface as soon as it was hooked and she looked special to me. Wes fought her hard around the boat with B on his side
When the captain asked me for a hand to get her in the boat, I knew she was special.
A beautiful big lady of 55 or so pounds. We handled her with care and sent her back to play with all those drummin' boy fish!
It was midnight before we got back home last night, sleepwalking and smelling of fish. Just as we were hitting the sack exhausted, the "Extreme one" was on his way to pick up his shark charter on his freshly scrubbed, fueled and iced Contender.
Thank you captain Brian for making this weekend an unforgettable one for our boys
Every time I read one of these reports it reminds me of all of the good in the world- good on the boys for saving their money to put a trip like this together, good of Captain Brian to go that extra mile to give them a trip that they will never forget, and good on you Nick for raising and mentoring so well. Very cool all around
Well said Shoe. We could all learn a thing or ten from Nick. Sounds like the boys had a great end to a great summer. Is there a fish that Lil'Biscuit hasn't caught this summer? I bet you were glad those drum bit. The last pic is just right by the way...that drum is a hoss!
Holwachagot
Great report and pic's Nick. Catching Drum up tp 55lbs is awesome. Spending time on the water with your son.............Priceless. We all look foward to more 'Biscuit Sr and Jr reports in the future.
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