Big and small boat still busted but that didn't stop me from gettin a half day done for the first time in nearly a month. Borrowed my buddy's Bertram and has a good time with way small black fins... Ok not earth shattering monsters but steady action. A dozen small squiggle backs, ten of the yummy little fins and a rat mahi made its way to the box. We had what I'm pretty sure was a wahoo put a good run on our long rod but it stood up straight. Back near the inlet big schools of mullet were getting hammered by sharks and tarpon but too close to the beach for us to get in on them. The marina also had mullet thick and big jacks blasting them in there.
Not the worlds best but still great to be back out there even if it was a short one...
Blew too hard to get out today so I slid up for an inside run. A few jacks and big cudas blasting the mullet early this morn. Surprisingly we couldn't draw a bite from snook. I think they might have gone outside to play in the surf... Made a short day of it and prepared to launch my monster annual Ebay blow out of everything not nailed down.
Well managed to get out in my little boat today. After a few hours of beating and blow torching her the steering problem you guys saw last year finally came right. Then a couple twist of a screwdriver adjusting the carbs and a fresh fuel filter has her running like a top, We drove through acres of mullet still be ing blasted by mostly cudas and sharks and dropped my fall death spread. Seas were a tad on the sloppy side of 2-4' with a spray chop that makes life in the skiff a tad uncomfortable. Dodged a couple small rain showers but otherwise a picture perfect morning...
We had a quad of bonitos to start then I got a bit deeper where we found a cooperative gaffin size mahi and some small blackfins. Then we bowed up on what we thought was a wahoo on my long rod. Something about the run was different though and had me scratching my head. Twenty minutes later we had a slob sail that had never jumped to the boat. Big bugger for this area!
I have confirmation from the freight company this time that the engine for my other boat is in route and will be here next week late. Hopefully that job gets done and I can get back to really fishing this area hard. Now I need some of you guys to let that silly northern season go and get down here where its gonna get real good from here out!
Wow! Did I have fun today!!!. Woke to sunny skies and gentle southwest breeze. The tropical crap we had on top of us moved a bit north, became a tropical storm and sucked the clouds out with it... My arm showed signs of some mobility so I just couldn't help my self and went fishing. Nobody around to go with so it was just a solo trip. Wasn't gonna be my usual style of hard core blue water stuff . I grabbed a baitcaster outfit and cast net. I wanted to play in the mullet schools for a while.
Got to the marina and fired up... Fuel guage showed empty? Funny she had 15or so gallons left the other day. Topped her off at 43 gallons on a 45 gallon tank? Somebody must have helped them selves to my precious 93 octane. Oh well...
Slipped out and reveled in my newly freed up stering. It was nice to turn the wheel with one hand. Started looking in all my usual spots where the mullet have been for the last couple weeks they were gone...
I looked in the inlet and out side and they were nowhere to be found. I was taking a second pass though when I some spook under passing pelicans. I slid in and loaded the cast net. The crippled arm wasn't much help but managed to bag a few. As I put them ion my transom mounted wells with no lids the all took to the air and escaped one by one... A second throw bagged some more and a plastic bag and couple coke cans in that well prevented their escape by shortening their "head start room".
I stayed with the pacjk as it worked to the inlet mouth. and when it got there it was chaos! First bite was a tarpon that did one jump and went away. Second and third bites were freight train jacks of 25 pounds or better. Then a second tarpon wolfed a fourth bait. I dropped back way long... Perhaps too long. Poked it and it gave a short jump... Ran maybe fifty yards and just kinda wallowed as I cranked it in. The hook was nowhere in sight down its gullet so I just cut it free. Hope it makes it. Didn't look happy as it kind sunk/swam away.
The school moved down the outside of the jetty on the windy side and I had to cast long as it was really choppy up close. I bowed up on a short snook and another jack before they made the beach. The casts were even longer from the back side of the surf break. The cudas showed in force and I pronged a 20lb speciman. My next cas was hit by a cuda as soon as it hit the water. I just let it set. I bowed up this time on a big fish. It took me up sea then back toward the inlet and deeper water... I was hoping a big African Pompano but about forty minutes later I was letting a big black tip shark go...
Decided to call it a short day as I didn't want to get too far from home with the big black clouds closing back in.... Still Wow! I had a good time...
Today surprised us again with sun and south west breeze. Another surprise was how few boats were out beatin the bushes. My people had trolling and sailfish on their minds so we did just that. I was in one of those rare moods to put five naked swimmers out and a couple day saver 3" plastics.
The bonitos responded well to the day savers. As did the tiny blackfins we have had around. Then a sail comes past the hoos and starts doinking the day saver too. I brought a hoo right into his face and it just wouldn't com off the day saver. Eventually something turned the fish off and it swam away.
I kept hammering the neighborhood. Hoping to get him back up when two more raised on that same bait. They tapped at it and showed no interest in the hoo. I brought the hoo up and saw a piece of man-o-war tenticle hanging off it. I cleaned it quick and set it between the fish. The couldn't care then i droped it back just past the ones eye. That was the ticket and it was game on... The fish ran inshore and as i chase it I could see why the 3" bait was so hot... Little 3" flyers were getting up all over in there. We let the pretty one go, popped a couple more neeters and called it a trip. They had "parasailing" to do for the afternoon... Yuk!
My mechanic had to take care of some other important things in his world and beforfe he left gave me Hallowwen as completion time on the new mill. We will in the mean time be running the skiff and doing other work on the Deep C getting her as ship shape as possible...
Tomorrows trip will be a different kind... going sail trrolling with 8lb gear... It's been a while since i did that. I really like it... I'll let you know...
Well We had a split up day. The fellow I took this morning had some family things to attend to. we did 7am to 10Am looking for an 8lb test sail. We had some small bonitos and very dirty conditions. When I say dirty like Delaware Bay dirty! Still there ws life. We had a few bonito bites on ballyhoos that we couldn't get the hooks to sink in then we had a Sail that again the hook just wouldn't sink. During the break between halves I raced home and got some smaller hooks. My passenger called as I was heading back to the boat to say he wouldn't be able to make the second half.
I continued anyhow. I had the 8lb rigs ready to rock but decided with the dirty water to pull the plug on the sails and go "midget" fishing with some real small plastics. The water was even worse so I took the monsterous long run to three miles out instead of my usual 1.6 ... After a brutal ten minute run I set the simple spread of 4 behind me. I found clar water starting at about 500' then found a skinny weed line. I picked one bonito before I reached it then started working the edge.
Sometimes its nice fishing alone. You're not on stage. You can take in your surroundings and hear yourself think. I picked a lost houndfish out from one board then started to get a steady pick of pee wee mahi. The eight pound gear made otherwise boring crankings a bit more fun. I had a small wahoo pile and miss a couple times. Something odd was the number of needlefish way out there. Either lost or they had cahones the size of basketballs. Now and then you would see wahoo launch on them... A free floppin sailfish kept my spiits high in anticipation but alas it wasn't meant to be...
The mahi kept pickin and at quittin time I had let a dozen go and kept three "bigger"4lb specimens...
A wee mahi---
Bowed up double on the tiny sticks...
Got a wild hair up my ass this afternoon. Afetr a few calls and iffy looking weather I decided to go it alone. Waited for a line of showers to pass then ran ran from Pbi to 16 due east of Boynton and shut down. I ran only three ( all squids)as the little breeze that there was kept shifting and I was alone...
Just after the sun went down my deep bait got doinked. I brought up a pup that would be hard preessed to make twenty pounds. I reset the trio and my running lights quit. I spent some time trying to fix but I failed at that task. It was about 8:15 and I wondered wether to risk sitting wiithout lights or head for the beach. I had flashlights and red and green sticks in worst case so I deployed them.
Just when I got done, the deep bait sang out and this time it felt like a bit better fish. As I worked it basically straight up and down My mid bait got hammered and the fish went screamin. I could hear it jump and going nuts but I had my hands full with the one. Then bang my high bait gets nailed! Figures, all alone and trippled up! In fact first time I have ever trippled up on sword bites. Short run on that one and seemed to be similar class to the one I was working.
A fair twenty minute slug fest and I stroked the 80lb class fish. I looked at the two other rods and decided to go for the harder one first. This fish stayed up high and had done a little wearing out while I was working the other. Got it to the boat and it was a nice 150 clas fish. I had not readied the flyer yet which would be another chore and I was already puffin. I decided one would be enough. After all it ws just me. I went for the third fish made about three cranks and he was gone...
Oh well I had one of my best nights ever and first time I multi scored solo. I packed it in and caught the rain about three miles into it. Blinding nasty stuff. Then the wind kicked in and the glass turned to a chop to flat out wet and sloppy. That little aquasport does ok in big stuff but hates the slop and it was 10-12knots for the 18 miles back to PBI. Steaks are put up. I'm hungry and tired...
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Reply With Quote
A second throw bagged some more and a plastic bag and couple coke cans in that well prevented their escape by shortening their "head start room". 
Still there ws life. We had a few bonito bites on ballyhoos that we couldn't get the hooks to sink in then we had a Sail that again the hook just wouldn't sink. During the break between halves I raced home and got some smaller hooks. My passenger called as I was heading back to the boat to say he wouldn't be able to make the second half.
