SeaBiscuit Report---Nov. 29, 2009......You Won't Believe This!

[Squid]

Sometimes things work out just as planned and it's all great....but sometimes things work out and everything turns magical. Yesterday was one of those days.......

Started out just like normal...myself and Miss Squid stopped at McDonalds to get biscuits for the crew and met Matt and Nick at the Wrightsville Beach ramp around 7:15. Matt had seen very large pogies just outside the breakers a few days ago so we rode down Masonboro Island to see if we could find some. No flips so we headed offshore to make bait.

On the way out, Matt spots a VERY large polyball floating a couple hundred yards away. We drove over to it and dragged it in the boat but didn't know what we were going to do with a polyball this big. Little did we know that this might have been our good fortune of the day.

Ran through some new grounds and marked a nice scratch that produced some salami sized cigars. This spot was also holding some quality seabass which found their way into the cooler.

Next stop was on another nice mark. Matt immediately hooked up on the drift but pulled the fish off right at the boat thanks to a broken hook. Anchored up here but couldn't get them going.

The next stop proved to be the first productive one of the day. Miss Squid was the first to catch her gag and the three of us quickly followed. Matt decked a nice puddin' head while I hooked the first of my 2 seamonsters of the day:



These 5 critters joined the bass in the box:



It was still early so we made a run offshore to find some scamps. First stop didn't look too promising so it was on to the next one. In between the two, we ran over a large mark.

Miss Squid was the first to the bottom and was immediately hooked up to her first keeper snapper:



While fighting it, she got tangled in my line and I had to give mine slack so she could boat the fish. After clearing the tangle, it was apparent that I was also hooked up but my fish was in the rock since it had so much slack line. We pulled the boat ahead of the fish and I pulled this guy from his hiding place:



He was quite scratched up from getting pulled through the rock:



Already having our limit of 4 in the box, he was released.

What happens next is the magical part.....while I replaced my rig, the three others drop again and 3 more snappers hit the deck! Miss Squid decked her second keeper, Nick decks a keeper, and Matt threw over another 28" fish. We had drifted off the original marks a bit by now but were still marking good. I dropped again but halfway down Nick tells me to reel up because we're going back to the original mark. While he's saying this, my bait hits bottom and I'm immediately hooked up on another snapper, although a short. Catch a few more shorts then it's back to the original spot.

The floor after the first drift:




The next drift produces 2 more keepers and a number of shorts.

For months we have talked and dreamed about a limit of snappers off the coast of southeast NC on the Biscuit boat and now we were just 2 snappers away from a 4 man limit of them! Even when we talked about it, we figured that we would catch one here, one there, and end up with our limit by days end.......but we were sitting here in a wide open snapper bite and were about to finish our limit off in less than 10 minutes!

Nick makes the call to anchor on the spot to finish them off. Didn't take long for Matt to sling another nice one over the rail and Nick soon followed suit. As Nick's fish cleared the gunnel, Miss Squid was also hooked up on a real nice one. Her last one was aroune 27" so Nick's 21"er was released. So there we had it......a 4 man limit of red snapper (8 fish) between 22"-28" laying on the deck of the SeaBiscuit.



Matt holding a couple of nice ones:



By now the fishbox lid won't close:



During this, we were all like a bunch of 10 year old kids....laughing, giggling, cutting up. Couldn't believe what was actually happening.

In the midst of this snapper bite, a couple of gags managed to beat out the snappers to the bait but were released, although the lone puddin' head was not released.

It was still a little early and we were in scamp territory so we had to try and catch a couple of them. Hit a few spots and found the current screaming which made fishing difficult. Finally found a concentration of them and found room for 3 in the box. Lots of shorts and barely legals released to see another day.

In the middle of our scamps, I caught this rascal which had to be released since we were at our limit:



Called it a day and Matt had to sit on the fishbox to keep it closed on the way home:



Miss Squid on the other hand was passed out in the stern corner catching some zzzzzz's on the way in:



Back in the no wake zone it was time for a picture of the good luck polyball:



And a bow shot of the massive destruction that took place earlier in the day:



I'm sure I speak for the whole crew when I say that this day was something I'll never forget. Thanks Nick for another memory on the little skiff!

[Robja]

Great report Squid. Looks like ya'll will be eating good for a while. Are we going to see Miss Squid on the cover of Fishermens Post again?

[WAHOONBOX]

AW GEEEZZZ....WHAT A POLYBALL! GREAT MONDAY MORNING READ SQUID!! AND FANTASTIC FISHING!! JUST IN TIME FOR THIS COMING SATURDAY TOO!!!

[clt_capt]

Congrats Miss Squid on your first keeper "rare" Snapper. Many more to come I'm sure. Quite a fish box there - Awesome

and a big orange pilates ball to boot...

[merry marlin]

21 Century fishing in the promised land.... Couldn't have been much better in the time of Colombus!!!!
What a way to finish off a Thanks-giving-of-the-sea weekend.
That mix of Seabiscuit Crew / Polyball / soon to be Nov. full moon brings out a World Class report...
You guys for sure ROCK!
MM

[cravertosu]

Awesome report!! Definitely an awesome way to spend the Thanksgiving weekend!!

Great work!!

Tim

[Tenacious]

One hell of a report!!! Congrats to the A team!!!

[Sea Draggin]

Jumping Crickets, thats a nice box of fish. Pretty work.

[Ponce]

Man, now that is what I call a great day of fishing. Fantastic report and pictures.

[Ace1st]

Way to go guys! Nice mess of fish!