CTF in Empire.

CTFisherman members Chris Med, Farmer Jay, and past member Booty Are here in Empire, La. for a few days. They started the day with a breakfast cooked by my wife Jo-Ann then we went for a short tour of the area and picked up fishing licenses. It was well after 11 before we even wet a line.

Chris started it off with a short redfish.



Jay was next and the bite was on.



Unfortunately after about 20 fish we had nothing in the box. Booty started us off with the first for the box.



A bit later Jay lands a keeper.



Although Chris caught more than anybody he only found 1 keeper today. That one we had to measure and it was just over the legal size. Booty had the keeper record with a flounder, 4 redfish, and this beauty that hit poles length from the boat. There was only 8 feet between the boat and the bank but this hog swam through and inhaled the bait.



After we got the fish cleaned we had 6 pounds of crawfish and 2 fried oyster platters and a grilled shrimp salad at Dad's and then went to Iguana's for a night cap.

Now that they are spoiled I do not know what to do for the rest of the time they are here.

Life is Good!

sweet!

What a day! Breakfast was a feast fit for a king! Joann is amazing. I was really nervous about coming down here and staying with Capt Hoop and Joann. Being in their home was an unknown, and I wasn't sure if I was going to feel like we were putting them out or not. After being here only one night, I feel like family!

Today was a great day! Not only did we catch well over 60 Redfish, but we did it all in pretty much 1/2 a day! Below are a few pictures I took today.

Stopped to get our licenses. One stop shopping. Soda, food, fishing licenses, warm hats, and liquor, all in the same store!



A picture showing that it wasn't a cake walk to be on the water today! It was pretty darn cold!




A couple pics of taking Capt Hoop's inshore boat through the locks that bring us from bay level up to Mississippi River/ Bayou level






Rippin through the Bayou at 40 mph, in as little as 18 inches of water!



Booty with his nice Red!



Dinner was crawfish, fried oysters, and a stop at the drive through daiquiri place! We chose to go in and check the place out, but after a minor mishap Booty had, we also tried out the drive through window! Med has those pics, so I let him share em!

Can't say enough about how nice people are down here! Not only Capt Hoop, Joann, and Macy, but all the local people too!

Off to bed. Tomoorw's a full day of inshore fishing!

Craw some!!! You Po Boys, man do I have a hankerin for Cajun food!!

i hope you guys get some nice weather so you can get offshore for a crack at the yellows and other species available. there is nothing like a fight that puts a hurting on you.

Nice report, sounds like a great time. Neat little store too.

Cool! May the wind gods be favorable to you guys can do a tuna trip!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Looking spiffy there Jay! Haircut and beard trim before heading to Louisiana. You hoping to catch some female tuna? lol.. Hope you guys get some better weather.

Alfonzo

Looks great ! - saw a big pile of crawfish on FB too.

Life is Good !




Well Said Craig - I'll speak to them.

Hell ya guys!

Leeziana yalls...

I have been down a couple times, HOOP and JoAnne are great hosts. Don't miss getting drinks and seafood baked potato at the Venice Marina...

Nice !! One of these years, Hoop !

One heck of a way to start of the trip! Good luck getting off shore.

the fifth picture in Hoop's post makes it look like the bearded guy has a really hairy arm because of the grass in the background. Nice trip guys, I am so jealous.

Back in from the first inshore stop for today. Lots of wind blowing all of the water out. No fish yet, but we're not done trying. Boat is back on the trailer and we're going to another area!

Med doesn't have the pics from last night's dinner on his phone, so I'll post em up.

Here are the pics from the drive through daiquiri shop!

Good times! I miss going to Hoops. Last I was there was 2012 or 2013.

Those frozen double shot drinks creep up on you. Hope you guys can get out.

Tonight SSE wind 25 to 30 kt, with gusts as high as 40 kt. Mostly cloudy. Seas 7 to 9 ft.

Saturday SSE wind around 25 kt, with gusts as high as 40 kt. A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Seas around 10 ft.

Saturday Night S wind 15 to 20 kt, with gusts as high as 30 kt. A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Seas 7 to 9 ft.

Sunday S wind 5 to 10 kt becoming E in the afternoon. A slight chance of showers. Seas 4 to 6 ft.

Sunday Night E wind 5 to 10 kt becoming NE 10 to 15 kt after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 20 kt. A slight chance of showers. Seas around 3 ft.

Monday NNE wind 15 to 20 kt, with gusts as high as 25 kt. A chance of showers. Seas 5 to 6 ft.

Monday Night NNE wind 15 to 20 kt, with gusts as high as 25 kt. A chance of showers. Seas 5 to 6 ft.

Tuesday NNE wind 10 to 15 kt, with gusts as high as 20 kt. A chance of rain. Seas 3 to 4 ft.

Good eats guys!

BOOOTTTYYYY!!!! Tell Jim I said " hi" for me. Sounds like one heck of a trip ya got going!

Have fun and be careful kids.

WTg Troops ,looks like a great time ...Enjoy

Great reports guys!Hoop and Jo-Ann are the best hosts on the delta!Hope you get some favorable weather.

Damn killjoy!!!! One reason I wont go to the keys this time of year, you get maybe 2 out of 10 days if your lucky....Best of luck guys......

And there you go.......no fishing up here.....you go to the fishing down there. Hope you get offshore and glad your havering some fun!

Looks like a lot of fun, fish and great eats and drinks! Looks like it will be too windy for offshore, but some awesome inshore action to be had! MUCH better open water fishing where you guys are than here in CT now. Have fun and good luck.

Looks like Sunday will be the offshore day. Just lined up the deckhand.

Tough fishing here today boyz. Only 6 inches of tide today, and that was over a 12 hour period! The wind didn't help either, as it blew in a direction that pulled water out of the area! You could see the water line on the weeds along the shore, and it showed we were at least 12/18 inches below the normal level. We gave it our best all day long, but catching bull reds wasn't in the cards for us! Can't thank Capt Hoop enough! He worked his balls off trying to find fish for us! I can't count how many times we moved. We even put the boat back on the trailer and tried a totally different area, but the wind still followed us! Still a great day with good friends!

We may have struck out on the catching side of things today, but we hit it out of the park with dinner! Jeremia was spot on! We went to Venice Marina and had the seafood stuffed potato, with two kinds of gumbo, fried gulf shrimp, more fried oysters, and plenty of cold beer! Hands down, one of my top 5 meals of all times!




We're as far South as one can go in Louisiana!




A few pics for today! Shrimp boats everywhere!



Bunker, aka pogy boats! Each one takes on average, about a million pounds per day!



We stopped to get fuel on the way back in. How convenient, it's a fuel stop and a bar too. Could have knocked me over with a feather when 3 shots to help us warm up, came to $6! Capt Hoop doesn't drink, so he just had sweet tea, but you can tell how windy it was by the redness in our faces. Later in the day, we stopped to get fuel in Capt Hoop's truck on our way to dinner, and 3 more shots came up to $4.50 because it was Happy Hour! Hahahahaha!!!!



We were cruisin around through the many channels through the bayou, and came across several herds of cattle free ranging on islands out in the middle of nowhere!




The last few are just some random shots of Med and Booty.




Sitting out on the deck before bed, talking about our offshore trip on Sunday. Hope the weather Gods cooperate!

What is "cold" down there right now Jay 50's? $4.50 for 3 shots did I read that right? (Note to self move out of CT ASAP)

Glad to hear you guys are living it up.

That is why I moved here. Tough life but somebody's got to do it!

$2.00 per shot unless it is happy hour then 3 shots cost $4.50 total. That is $1.50 per shot. You can't get a shot glass of air for that price in Connecticut. Will not even attempt to discuss Sewer, water, waste removal or taxes.

John, there were 7 or 8 people in the bar yesterday, and Med bought the bar a round. Cost him $14.25!!! Hahahahahaha!!!!!!!

in ct. you would need more shots to warm up. when i got up it was -7f this morning and snow is on the way around noon. go catch something for all the cold people that wish they were there.

It was 63* at 730 this am....75* today but the wind is blowing 25-30 and gusting ghigher....my best guess is wind chill is 60*

Now that's awesome

Good to hear you guys are having great time......the bar tab @ $14 is a freakin riot! A vodka on the rocks last night at the local bar was $12. Why do I still live here again??

Living the dream....I have to go next winter.

Cheap booze, good fishing, great company = one hell of a vacation!

Oh P.S. It's snowing here again lol.

Who the hell is that guy???? Don and I Ice fished today without one flag, your lover was absent

Why wouldn't you move after a few hours?? Ouch! You guys should come to event, I guarantee you will get a flag

Looks like a best guys, in spite of the weather. Have fun!

Excellent

Too windy to even go inshore fishing this morning. We had another breakfast of Eggs, Sausage, and French toast. After that we dragged our asses and got the boat ready for offshore tomorrow. We went down and renewed their fishing licenses. $10.00 for 3 days. After noon the wind let up a bit so I told them we were going fishing. One of the guys I talked to told me he was out there all morning and was heading in. He caught about 30 rat reds and only 3 keepers. The run down the river was a bit bouncy but when I got back in the bayou we had all protected water. We had a lot more water today so I was able to get where I wanted to go. I did dig some mud and scratched a few oysters but all was well.

We spent most of the day getting rats.



We all had our share of them but only 2 that made it over 16 inches. It was beautiful and the winds were dying down. I moved to several places and our last place we also found shorts. It was getting late and I was pushing it to make dark. Jay hooks up to a good fish across the canal and we get another in a small pond off the side on the other side of the boat. The one Booty is fighting decides to go around a gas pipe line but found it's way back into the small cut leading to the boat. The 2 guys have a pair of nice fish for the box. Chris has not had a chance to fight anything that big in 3 days. It shows in the picture. Look at the bright orange color of the fins on the red.



I was ready to head it in but this nice double just kept me pushing the envelope a bit more. It is not long after that I am watching Chris fight a good one. I was able to get this one in the net and Chris had his first ever good redfish. This beauty went just over 7 pounds.



By this time the bugs were getting a bit thick so it was easy to say lets head to the barn and every body agree.



We made it in just in time to witness a beautiful sun set. Red at night sailors delight.



Lets hope so.

Life is Good!

Hope you guys were able to make it offshore today!

quite the trip guys... hoop you really make me miss the south

Report? Its blowing 30 here and temps in free fall. Report ?

Capt Hoop tried to keep his eyes open long enough to put a report together last night, but he was running on empty. I'm sure he'll be right on it this morning if he isn't already. I want to leave the initial report up to him, but I will say we made it offshore, the weather was gorgeous, we had a great day together, and we caught!

AAwwwwwweSSSSSoMMMMe!!!!

i really like the warm weather fishing reports this year. my son sen't me a picture from pws sound alaska with no snow on the ground taken on 2/18/15 asking how ct. was doing with that snow thing. what a ball buster.

I've seen the Pics, they done well!!! Nice job Capt putting these guys in fish during the tough week of weather.... Take care of that sunburn Med...

*51 here and cold north wind......it was 79* and FAC yesterday.....hoops report is in progress....I think we actually tired that crazy sob out lol.....the man never......ever....stops....it is amazing.....had a great Great trip

Your Welcome !

Anxious to see photos !

Todd should be jealous, correct?

Yesterday was the only window for us to get out. We were at the dock waiting for them to open. After fuel and ice we headed out under very foggy conditions. A short way up tiger pass to the river my radar goes out. I have been having trouble with it and the new HDX one is sitting in my shed. This was my last trip before I get a new top and radar put on all at once. Did not have the time to change things out. I got behind another boat and was able to keep up with it to the river but he soon disappeared. Another boat came down and I slipped in behind him for a bit then I was on my own again. By this time to say I was tense was an understatement. I made it to the head of passes and to the edge of Pass A Loutre when Jordan comes by. I slipped behind him but there is no way I was going to keep up with a Freeman even though he was going slower than normal in the fog. I got on the radio and asked him to drop back a bit so I could follow him. We ran the rest of the way to the gulf at 28 to 30 mph. There was still very thick fog in the gulf but I was able to run on my GPS from there. About 3 to 4 miles out the conditions cleared up a bit to where I could relax the pucker factor a bit.



A wahoo has been nothing but a shadow for Chris. He fishes a lot but up north and they never use wire because a wahoo is never targeted. The main catch up there is Tuna and Mahi. He has hooked several of them but never was able to put one in the boat. This has been going on for 27 years. It was my job to put him on a wahoo today.

I get to my first stop and put out three lines. Other boats had already been there so the wahoo were already boat shy. Nothing on our first rig. The second rig yielded nothing on the first couple of passes but we suddenly get a hit on the long one. Chris jumps for the rod and the fish comes unbuttoned. The look on his face was one of utter defeat. Before he could even process that thought the short rod goes off and he jumps and the expression goes back to fish on fighting mode. The fight is on. My mind was praying for this hog not to rip off the hook. The fish put up a good fight. Once we had color and saw the size of this 50 pounder all of us were watching it make last hope desperation dives and runs to get free. It soon found my gaff and the fight was over. My original Russelure with the slightly rusty hooks did the job again.




Chris was like a kid jumping, yelling "27 years, 27 years" He was hugging the fish and rolling around on the deck with it. That fish had no idea how loved it was.



We got the lines in and continued but could find no others. At another rig we get a hit and Jay gets on the line. It put up a good fight. Unfortunately it was a Jack Crevalle. This prompted me to decide to head to a spot looking for some tuna.

Once there the guys were getting some blackfin and an occasional yellowfin. We set up and started chunking. It was going slow but we kept at it and was rewarded with a drag burning noise that is always music to my ears. I knew from the beginning this was a good fish. Booty was on the rod and before he could get hurt by the power of the fish I had him belted and harnessed up. It was not long into the fight that I also put the reel in low gear. After 2 good dives the fish came to the top and started running high as a lot of the bigger fish do. With the head shake there was no doubt we had a decent tuna on the line and not a shark. Once near the boat this fish was not ready to give up. We could see the sickle fins on this fat 100 pound class fish circling the boat 30 to 40 feet below. When it got just out of gaff range it decides make a larger circle and ran in back of the boat and right between the motors. Booty could not hold the rod low enough because he was still strapped in. I put the reel almost in free spool and got Booty unhooked so I could take over the rod. I yelled out orders and the guys (I don't know who) did as requested very efficiently. Turn off the motors, lift the port motor. By the time I had the rod around the back my deckhand Jay was in back between the motors to guide the line around the motors and we were back into the fight. It was soon after that we stuck this 93 pound pig and Booty had his first ever yellowfin tuna.



He did the entire fish all by himself. The memories were etched in his mind at that point. I gave him the High Five and he had proof of his trophy from now on. We washed it last night and he asked my to sign it this morning.



We had the only day this week the weather was calm enough to get out and with the temps were in the high 70's. These white boys from the frozen tundra could not take the heat. Chris did not have a tee shirt but had to take his long sleeve shirt off.



I was no longer marking any tuna so we went back to the wahoo rigs. They had been left alone so they may be hungry again. We got there and they were. On our first pass we get a double hookup. As we are fighting them there is a crew boat backing in across our lines to service the rig. I got on the radio and ask him to hold back which he did but it was to no avail because they both came unbuttoned. We continued our trolling and got another double that also did not get the hooks set. Our last was a single miss and ending 1 for 6 is not good but we had a lot of action. Before we left that rig I marked well on one corner. I had them drop down a pair of Anteater jigs. It was almost an instant double hookup. As we got into the fight I realized we did not have amberjack.



The over fished, almost extinct, red snapper. They went back.



I was afraid of getting stuck in the evening fog so I decided to head in. The guys got settled in and we headed to the barn.



Only 2 in the box but a lot of action and both fish were very respectable size fish.



Back at the house we relaxed and talked about the entire weeks adventures. BTW the white boy did keep his bikini top on while fishing. The true meaning of "Man Boobs"



What a wonderful week this has been.

Life is Good!

Well done all around !

Life is Good !

Well add tons of pics tomorrow when we get home as well ....thanks Larry and Joann for a much needed respite from NEW England and some wonderful southern hospitality.....the friggin laughs were non stop.....can't wait til next year

Perfect ending to a great time! Congrat gents!

Wahoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!! awesome except for that last pic

Did you cook up the Wahoo? I had it in Aruba and found it very, very good.

And nice YELLOW that definitely is a good one!!

Really neat to catch that you get get up here like those snappers

HOOOO!!!

Awesome guys! Congrats on a pair of nice fish!

Sorry Bo

Did not mean to get you so excited. Please do not tell me you are taking that picture to bed with you.

Hahahhah bam!!!!.

Nice job guys!
Fun times for sure!

Awesome trip yallz.....

Wait, did I hear HOOP was actually tired ? I am not buying it, he's like the energizer bunny on meth...

Y'all had a great time......and peace has come unto the planet...Great Pics !! Thx for taking care of my son Hoop !! Great Post & Good Times!!

Nice job boys!

Alfonzo

If you look carefully at the fish's eyes, both fish are looking back at their lover and the tuna looks happier....LOL

I see you represented Chasing Mechanics well...

Your right - the eyes tell the whole story. The Wahoo looks nervous.

Great trip guys! Those are some quality fish! Glad you had a great time.

Great ending ! Hoop never fails in finding you fish!!

Nice.

I just got home a little while ago, but I'm way too tired to type all I have to say. I have a ton of pictures to go through as well. Hope to get em up later today along with my recount of the trip.

Airport security cut our cooler open and pawed through our vacuum packed fish! I hope the other guys made out better than I did. Being I helped package the meat this morning, I knew what had my name on it. We had a huge tuna loin that we cut in 1/2. It came out looking like a 2" thick prime rib. Booty got one, and I got one. Well, that bag is missing! BASTARDS!!!!!

I warned Med in a text yesterday, I told him several times to buy a soft cooler freeze the meat overnight, because you can't bring ice onboard and Check as a carry on.... Capt50 is never wrong.. Sorry for your loss, that sucks

They should have had a hard cooler. A lot of people are using the thick foam coolers because of the weight restrictions. I am not a fan of that but there is no way you can stop a person from stealing unless you catch them.

Airport Security ????? I keep hearing about stuff like this.

We did not have time to freeze every bit of the meat and they wanted some of it without being frozen.

My guess as to what happened is, we had the cooler packed right to the tip top with no room to spare. I think once they pawed through it, to inspect it, it didn't all fit again without fussing, so they tossed what they needed to get the cooler to close again. It's too bad it happened, but it's all good.

On a side note, the cooler was way over weight. Needed to be under 50#'s and it was 73 or 77. It was going to be $100 fine for the overweight, plus the $25 to check it, $25 for my checked bag, $25 for Booty's checked bag. That was $175 for our luggage. I was able to upgrade to first class for $110, and check three bags, including the overweight, for free. So, if anyone was gonna get beat out of a bag of fish, it may as well be the guy that drank the 3 beers, and ate well, while the other two sat back in the po boy section!

did you eat any po boys while you were down that way before flying back in first class? some of those fried sammys are so good.

Trip of a lifetime!!!

You're the best Hoop!!

Nope, we passed on the po boys and overdosed on oysters, shrimp, Gator bites, fresh fish, crawdads, and seafood stuffed baked potatos!

Nice Wahoo and Yellerfin!

It was a great trip Jon! Med and I have a bunch to post when we get time. I got home and to bed by 3:45am, and I already have work related emails this morning, so there's no sleepin in, or fussing with reports for me yet! I'm off to the shop! I

A po boy would have been going down the food chain from what they were eating.

Fresh Fried oysters, Over stuffed Seafood baked potato, Grilled Gulf shrimp salad, fresh caught grilled Wahoo, Fresh Boiled Crawfish with sausage, corn, and potatoes, and a full hot breakfast made by Jo-Ann every morning.

Life was Good! for them.

what kind of sausage do they throw into the crawfish boil?

hahahaha what a way to end the trip.

Congrats boys Epic trip. . . well done . . . . Hoop delivers again.

Life is Good !

[/quote] what kind of sausage do they throw into the crawfish boil? [/quote]

They all do different ones.

Good Job Mr Hooper putting those northerners on fishes....

1st class...what a fig!

I didn't see it last night, but when I emptied the cooler today, I found this on the bottom, so they must have had all the meat out of it at some point!

That's why you fedex that shizz and be done with it!

It was on the top.....I threw it in after sorting everything...hoop check the freezer in the shed....

Great trip but this is getting boring....I got bigger problems, my IPA is freezing...

Great Trip - Minus the wind part
Great Report - Although wish I could unsee Meds bikini top burn line though
Wahoo
Booty -

TSA ate well today

My router died and then threw sparks when I plugged it back in......ho figure I just downloaded all my kids and pics and now have no interweb.......I'll get a new one tomorrow...

Don't everyone go crazy looking for the fish. It's not a big deal...... I'm pretty sure tsa lost it

I have my pics downloaded onto my computer, so I'll try to start posting some of them tomorrow if things go well at work.

Tsa will return to you after it sits in a hot office for a few days, great trip guys

Too Funny.

they probably thinly sliced the loin and dunked it in soy ginger sauce for lube to fit it in down their gullet. i mean in your cooler.

At least with Med shirtless the other boats had no trouble picking you guys up on radar...

OK, I'll try to post pics in the order of the trip....Bear with me.... I'll have to do it in pieces as I get time at my desk.

Started by getting to the airport way early. After getting through security, we ended up in Travel-Tini, drinkin beers with a cool bartender and a couple girls waiting out a delayed flight to Florida. What a Hoot! Lots of laughs before even leaving the airport!



When we were leaving, the Bartender wanted in on the pic action too!



First morning at Hoop's house, we took a walk outside with our coffee to feel good ol sunshine on our face, and grass under our feet. Found a bunch of gear left by the canal out behind the house, and cleaned it all up while we were out there.

OUTSTANDING!!!! really enjoyed this entire thread.... glad you all had such a good time.

I swore for a second at first glance Todd and Pete went on a romantic crappie getaway.......nope!!!
















Captains are so close down there as they should be while in a fairly daunting environment...As for Captain Jordan slowing down to let us follow after Hoops Radar shitthe bed, to Here Captain Andy coming over offering up a25 lb fresh Blackfin tuna just for some fresh bait......they all work as a team out there and no one bullshitz eachother...that was one of the neatest things.....from Pulling up to a rig and reporting their catch over the radio to seeing someone in the distance headed to a rig full of Jack Crevalles and to get away lol.....










One of the last standing fish camp structures in the entire area of what used to be hundreds..... pilings are left ....thats it










heres a neat picture from after Katrina with 2 of those Pogy Boats....180' long 700 tons each boat......up over and onto to Rt.23....... crazy...

Hard to remember what I posted on FB vs here.

First day, we needed to stop for our out of State licenses, and some bait that looked good enough to eat! Med kept saying he was getting hungry looking at, and using 16/20 shrimp for bait!



One stop shopping.....






First trip, and it was effin cold! Different cold than up here. Up here, the layers I dress in help. Down there, the 40 degree weather hits ya much harder than the zero degree weather up here! The only thing that helped was a our foul weather gear, and gloves! Thanks to Med for bringing extra, because I never thought we would need gloves down there, so I left mine home. There were times that day, while we were running, that I couldn't feel my fingers!



Pictures of the locks and the first day are on page one. So is the big red Booty caught. Later in the day, it laid down a little, and Capt Hoop took us out to an open water spot looking for larger fish. They must have been cold too because there was plenty of structure for them, but nobody was home!

Back at the house, taking a pic of me next to Hoop's large boat in the garage.



Fish table at Capt Hoop's house works out great! Better than what we have at the marina!

Picture from the crawfish dinner are on the first couple pages too.

The next day, we went out of Venice. There were a chit ton of fish camp type house boats and cabins.



Shrimp boats were everywhere, at every marina we went to!

There were Islands out in the bayou that had free range beef cows just running free. It was odd flying along through the marsh, looking to the side, and seeing beef cows standing there!




Cool looking boat.....



Coming back in from this spot, gonna load up and move back up to Empire

All the bunker boats sitting out in front of the processing plant. Each one does a million pounds a day!




Booty




Empire didn't produce for us this day either. Stopping to fuel up the boat, we hit the Ugly Duck. That's the bar with the boat fueling station out back, and the auto fueling station in front. This is the place with the $2 shots, and the place where Med bought the bar a round for $14.25. As you can tell, we got wind burned pretty good out there!

uhhhhhhhh huuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhh!!!!! My favorite fish in the ocean and have said that forever........it just took 27 years and many heartbreaks to be able to cook my own......here's meal #1 back home...... blackened and seared with a homemade remoulade(which came out killer) carmelized red onions and the rest.....deeeeeeelicious!!!!!

This is the night we went back to Venice for dinner, and had the famous seafood stuffed potato! Trust me, it's way better than it looks in pictures! Couldn't walk past the famous fish station without snapping a pic either! We were hoping at that point that we were going to be able to get offshore and have something to hang on it!





Back at the ranch, shootin the chit with Hoop

The next day, it was blowin like a mf'r. As soon as I came out of my room, Capt Hoop says, no fishing today. It's crazy rough out there. His call to make, and nobody knows better than he does, so we had breakfast, and went to work getting the big boat ready for the offshore trip the next day.





All the time we were working, Capt Hoop kept checking the weather. He never let up, he wanted to fish! By noon, you could feel it was starting to lay down. We needed licenses for the next day anyway, so we loaded up and headed for the store. By the time we were done, Capt Hoop made the call we were going, so we hit the bait store, shot home, and loaded up.

We left so quick, he forgot to tell Jo Ann we were going! Good thing we caught fish, because we never told her what to take out for dinner either!

To say it laid down was an understatement. It was FAC calm out there! We got into rat reds fairly quick, but everything was short, so we moved. tried several locations, but didn't find anything bigger. Just as the day was winding down, we decided to fish the spot we were getting the shorts earlier, but to fish the opposite side of the rock pile. It worked, and gave up a few really decent fish. As the sun got lower, the bugs got thicker. It got to the point hwere they were killing us, so we headed for the barn!





Coming back into the Empire launch, we were treated to a magnificient sunset. You can see the swingin draw bridge letting us through

Into the Ugly Duck again for another round of warm up shots. This is the night Med tries to buy a guy a beer, but the guy says, no thank you, I gave it up for lent. Med says something like, come on, you know you're not gonna make it anyway, just have a beer. Hahahahaha! So the guy does! Capt Hoop held a bill next to the cups to give you all an idea what they consider a shor down there.




The sunset got even better when we came back out!



When we got home, Med jumped in and helped Capt Hoop get the fish ready for JoAnn to cook.



Before heading in for the night, we hooked up the big boat and got it all set to go in the am.

5 am came early. JoAnn wasn't getting up to make us breakfast this early, but she was kind enough to set up the coffee, and leave travel mugs out for us. This was the day we were waiting for. We were offshore bound out of Venice!



A trip to the fuel dock, meeting the mate, Jay, AKA Uhhh Huhhh, and we were off like a prom dress!






The fog doesn't look bad in the next few pictures, but it sure was thick on the river!

Not many pictures on the way down the river. Capt Hoop's radar crapped out on the way. We tried to follow a few of the boats from his marina, but they were haulin ass and much faster than we were. They couldn't stay up on plane at our speed, so all we could do was follow them for as long as we couldn't keep up. While doing this, we jumped in behind one of the boats, just as he was making a quick move to go around something. Med got to see me move as fast as I had the entire trip. Problem was, my feel weren't on the deck! Hahahahaha!!! Good thing I knew better than to let go of the grab bar I had! We all planted our asses on the bean bags for the rest of the river trip!

Eventaully, this great Captain in front of us, Jordan, saw us struggling on his radar, so he slowed up. Once Capt Hoop saw who it was, he asked Jordan to kick it back enough to let us follow him. In a class act move, Jordan slowed up and took us the rest of the way down the river. All 24 miles of it!

I didn't say anything, and neither did Med, but we were both thinking the same thing. The Cat boat was a difficult ride on smooth water following in another boat's wake. It seemed to want to swerve from side to side a lot. Both of us were thinking to ourselves, why would someone want one of these? Well, we found out as soon as we got out of the river. We cruised through a 4 to 5 foot chop with ease before got got into water deep enough to where it laid down. For the rest of the day, that boat prooved itself over and over in the swells while fishing.

Open water, lines in, and the last shot I have of Med with his Wahoo cherry still intact!



I think at this point, Med handed me his camera because I don't have any pictures of him fighting his fish. Next one I have is Capt Hoop haulin it over the side!

Congrats on a great time... just went through the whole thread and enjoyed all of it.
Now I want to go setup a group trip with Capt Hoop!

We stopped and did some jigging. I hooked up with what felt like a freight train, way down deep. At about 50 feet down, we had color and my excitement level dropped. It was only a Jack Crevalle!

Not wanting to waste time with them, we headed over and did some chunking. It didn't take long drifting, and Uh Huh Jay lost his lunch over the side. He said Capt Hoop's boat is the only boat he ever gets sick on. Well, as we watched pieces of cold cuts and cheese float in the slick, we joked about it being chum. I guess it works, because pretty quick, the line got ripped from Booty's fingers, the drag was set, and the rod was doubled over!





At one point, Capt Hoop was second guessing himself and wondering if maybe his first guess was wrong, and could we have a shark on? That thought was soon gone as Med was standing up on the bow as the fish circled past. He saw color, sickle fins, and yelled out, big yellow! That got everyone moving and excited again!

I didn't get any pics of it coming over the side, because it ran back at one point and got into the motors, so it was a little chaotic for a monment, with everyone doing something. I did get pics once it hit the deck though!




That was it. We had another fish on just long enough to come tight, and it cut the leader, so we never saw it. I guess if that's gonna happen, it's best it happens in the first minute rather than after fighting it for 15 minutes and leaving you guessing as to what it was!

We went back and hit the rigs again looking for a Hooter for me, but it wasn't in the cards this time. They were there, and they had settled down with no boat traffic. We hooked up several times, but each time it came unbuttoned. Scary part of one hook up? It hit on the turn and the line was ripping across the stern at face level.

As Capt Hoop said, we did mark some fish on a corner of the rig, and we jigged them, hooked up, but it didn't take long to realize they were Red Snapper and had to go back.

That was it, we headed for the barn!

Back at the marina, it was like a summer picnic. People all over, all wanting to see what each boat had as they pulled up to the dock!

Several boats were already in, and there were fish racks everywhere. Even though we only had two fish, we were by no means light weights. Both of our fish, compared to the others we saw, were big! We had nothing to feel bad about!

That's all I have boys and girls!

This was the best fishing vacation I have taken to date. Capt Hoop and JoAnn show you an amazing time!

Miss you and Joann both already Capt Hoop!

if you do I let me know Im going back jsut a matter of when....I shoulda brought home 50 lbs of shrimps.......

after watching the video i finally figured out how you made the yellowfin tee shirt. thats classic

I'm ready to go back!

Nice trip Guys. I'm afraid to to go down there, cause like Larry I may never want to leave.

Exit 6 crew? When ?

Great report and pics guys Once you go there and experience the fishing and hospitality you can't wait to get back. Looking forward to my 5th trip with Capt Hoop this October

Paul D. I did not stay here. I went back long enough to close things up in Connecticut.

PDONA One of these days. Maybe!

Bart O Looking forward to it.

In a nutshell......

I did. What did you leave? Everything was closed up and light was out.

see if I left a hunk of yellowfin during the packing process.......its all a blur to me

Jay,

Did JoAnn give you motivational tips on weight control??

My first trip to Hoops I was in the +400 range and did get an earful.

Nope, Capt Hoop said you make me look small, so I actually felt better about myself!


.

Great trip guys. A trip down there is on my list!!

You guys didn't party with strippers in New Orleans ?

I knew this would be a great trip when I heard you were going Med. Looks like you guys had a blast.

Take the rod Quick.

No you can have it.

Take the f---in rod.

No I'll catch my own.

Take the F---in rod now! as I pushed it into his hands.

The next day same but different.

Let me have the rod.

I got it.

Give me the F---in rod now. As put it in free spool while going to the back with him and the rod while trying to disconnect him.

When all was over we laughed. I had him confused. One day it was "Take the f---in rod Now" and the next day was "Give me the F---in rod Now!" He wished I would make up my mind.

Another time, after a few cocktails, we hear a casual voice slowly saying "I think I put a lit cigar in my pocket."

The laughs were endless.

Life is Good!

yes................yes they were........

Hahahahahaha!!! That post just brought it all back to me again Hoop! Aaaahahaha!!! So many comments to remember and laugh over!

Chit, the bottom just fell out of my cup!

You what?

The effin bottom just fell out of my cup!

Oh Chit!

Hahahaha!!!!

Hahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!

What kind of dressing on ur salad?

Um, mvjfh fkgjhthdbcf gkh kfdjgfjutuf fmghng

Med, Hoop and I all look at each other with a blank face!

Med says, Booty, what the eff did you just say?

I said fjshr want iobjfd vfdjbvg honeymoon salad with rfvfrhr naked lettuce sgjtu alone

Waitress.... You want just lettuce naked, does that mean no dressing?

Hahahahahaha!!!!

Booty finally got it out that he was trying to be funny. He wanted a honeymoon salad....... naked, no dressing and let us alone.

Its good someone feels better!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just teasin ya a little Craig! No harm meant.......

No worries Jay. So glad you got that one day offshore and made the best of it!

Well that looks very fine. Congrats

Nice going !

3,371 Views 142 comments and a Freakin license plate take the Header....... CTF is turning Liberal

This post is better than RB on the jazz flute!

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!LICENSE PLATE TOMFOOLERY!!!!!!!!!

Hahaha! Better get a "wahoo" vanity plate for the new ride Med!

Maybe if we catch a few wahoo and tuna through the ice next time?

A duck, a licence plate and a 2lb green carp walk into a bar...

what a trip! we needed this post... life stinks weather wise here!

Empire replaced License Plate

Daddddgum'

Header?



HOMEPAGE!!!

Nice job guys!
Love the photos!
What a fun time for sure!
Tim

Also made the local paper. I have 3 copies (one for each guy) to send up to Chris along with his hat.

Interesting articles this time with a lot of duck hunting Violations and oyster violations.

way cool!!!!!!! I send ya back something!!!!

now thats worthy

That's pretty cool Hoop! Lookin forward to seeing it!

Looks like a fun trip. Nice seeing you Booty.

Nice going boys.

Hoop, you're a class act!

Thanks for the compliment Mitch.

Took a little time and read through this thread again. What I wouldn't give to be back down there right now! You don't know how many times I considered getting a crew, driving down the week before the game dinner, doin an offshore trip with Capt Hoop, and driving back home with fresh fish for the game dinner!

Capt Hoop, Medski, and Booty, if you don't have a lot of time, at least read page 14 of this thread! The laughs will come right back to you!