Labor Day aboard the Scalawag

[Bert Rodgers]

OK so we didn't hear of the off the charts bite on the 650 till we got back to the dock But we had a lot of fun and some great memories fishing Poormans all alone(never saw another boat).

The crew was myself, my Dad(Big Harry 81 years old and still willin) my brother Harry, my niece Natalie (Noodles) and my good bud Frank.

Lines in the water at about 8:30 150 f in Poormans. The water was blended greenish 78* kind of unremarkable so we trolled towards the E. After 15 mins or so we have whitey sniffing around the squid chain teaser. Frank swithched him off to the flat but he only followed for a few seconds then fades back into the green. I dump the other flat for a 15 count.Nuthin.

We circle the area for 15 min and another white comes a chasin the right long. I feed him through the clip, Fish ON!
Hand off to Noodles (10 years old, 65# soaking wet), and she does a nice job for a few minutes before giving up and handing it back to me. A clean release follows shortly.

After that we work the area for a good 45 minutes before pointing E again. At about 300f we came across an awesome color change and weed line. Bright blue water with clouds of plankton, flyers and other bait, pilot whales, the real deal. I'm thinking "This is going to go off and we have it all to ourselves"

So we work the line, down the slick side, up the rip side, shaging weed as we go. An occasional bailer nipped the circles and flashed under the dredge(PIA on a weedline) but nothing else WTF?

After 2 hours we decide it's time to pick a a patch and bail dolphin. They cooperated nicely and we soon had the splatter dance going on with Big Harry and Natalie doing most of the pulling. After a while Natilie decides she's caught enough and climbs the ladder to sit with her dad.

Meanwhile my Dad is fighting a bailer on light tackle from the starboard corner and I hear a scream form the bridge "WHAT'S THAT?" Out from the weed patch bolts a blue marlin about 350#!
He misses the dolphin Dad has at the boat by a nose hair and his tail practically scrapes the hull as he went under the boat.

As soon as we boat the bailer we put him on a hook and slide him back out.(the rest of the dolphin skeedadled) After a 1/2 hour of slow trolling along the weed line he dies without another sign of the blue. But we tried.

SO lines back in and we work the weed line for another hour or so before trolling west towards where we started. One mistery knock down and a few more bailers from a ball finished the day.

1 for 2 on whitey, a box of bailers and a life time Labor Day memory aboard Scalawag.

Bert

[snowranger]

Great report Bert. Thanks for sharing.

[buy design]

Nice action Bert. That blue had to be a sight! You will get em next time.

Jim
Magic Moment
35 CC

[gradywhite273]

Wow, outstanding read and day. congrats bert.

[tags11]

that sounds like a great day capt. truly one for the memories!

[Hroonk]

Cool report, Bert...those are some good family memories...hope you got some pics.

Oh and don't worry, if we would have fished Monday, we'd have been with you in the poorman's b/c we're always out to lunch as far as the bite goes.