Blue Dragon Crew on the Bill Collector miss state record by 1 1/2 lb

[Capt. kapoc]

Ok guys we decided to do a walk on tip on the blue dragon but it didn't pan out so we axed it at the last minute, One of the guys that was scheduled to go said wel....how about i charter you and your mate to run my boat....that sounded good to us so the following is the report as seen through the charters eyes........and NO names were changed to protect the innocent!!!!!

had the opportunity to talk Mike Beane (captain of the Blue Dragon) into taking a few of us deep dropping Saturday on my boat and it turned out to be a great time. When I spoke with Mike on the phone the night before he asked what type of fish box I had and would it hold all our fish. I told him that if we managed to fill that fish box up with fish, we were probably headed to jail because we would be WAY over our limit! Well, Mike put us on the fish and proved me wrong. No jail time, but a full fish box and only the legal limit to do it.
We headed out of Rudee at 5:00am and pointed east for a long run. Hit the tile grounds a few hours later and started catching really nice tiles. A few dogs mixed in, but within an hour or so, we had our limit of tiles and a few nice sea bass. This was too easy for Mike so I threw him a challenge and said let's go catch something interesting and BIG. Mike smiled and pointed us further east. Next spot we drop down with the big baits and start the drift. One of the guys gets a bite, but no solid pull. Reel al the way back up (seemed like 5 minutes at least) and the bait comes back with only the head. I would have liked to have seen that one. We catch a few Black Bellie Rose Fish and Mike says lets move again. Next spot, we drop down and one of the guys feels a bite so he sets the hook and snags. Or so we thought.... After a few seconds the "snag" comes up a about 20 cranks and then rips drag back to the bottom. This goes on for about 10 minutes and then he finally starts gaining line, but whatever he has hooked into, its heavy. Mike's smile has now turned into laughter. 30 minutes later we gaff a giant Golden Tile. The fish would barely fit into the box and Mike looks at me, laughs, and says "I thought you said we would go to jail if we filled your box!" Sometimes its nice to be wrong. By now I can hear the wind whistling through the rigger wires and the waves are starting to break so we picked up and headed home at 16 knots. Snotty! Back at Rudee at 6:30pm.
Weighed the tile at the Fishing Center and it weighed 55lbs. I am told the state record is 56lbs. Bottom line, if you get the chance to fish with Mike, you better have a BIG fishbox!
Please ignore the time stamp on the photo, I borrowed my son's camera and did not set the date.

[000's]

PRETTY WORK BRO !!!!!!!!! I wanna know about the headless one.Any other toothy critters that day.

[Capt. kapoc]

I had a rosey or two eaten on the way up ...might have been some blues but it is about that time ......we're waiting for them and the rigs are already made

[knock down]

Way to go Mike & Jared ! Couldn't think of two guy's more Deserving than the both of you ! Way to put the meet in the box ! What other tricks do you have up your sleeves Mike ? That's on hell of a Golden Tile

[Sea Draggin]

Beautiful Fish. Many, Many Conratulations.

[SeaBiscuit]

What a catch! Congratulations!
How far do you have to run for tile fish of Va? How deep are the drops?
SeaBiscuit

[Anders]

next time don't gaff it and you might get the state record, Congrats and thanks for the post and pics

[Capt. kapoc]

Gaffing wasn't the issue it only lost roughly 2 oz of blood. The issue that comes with deep dropping is the stomach vacates when it gets pushed out making them lose more weight as well as the fact he was a male unlike the state record that was slightly smaller but had two intact row sacs that gave extra weight. No worries there are more and with a strict boat limit we can keep fish on spots like that for a long while.

Capt. Mike

[Capt. kapoc]

Seabiscut, our drops are around 700-1200ft for goldens and bluelines start around 280

[johnseafood]

Congrats on the fish but I think the record is alittle bigger then 56 we had three one day all over 50 lbs with one being just shy of the record. I might be wrong but i thought it was heavier. Either way thats some nice fish and good eats