Posted by: CAPT. HOOP
Good day and bad. - 02/06/17 10:41 PM
I was asked to guide Allen McLain on his 37 freeman with quads. My job was to show him the area and put the first tuna in his boat. We attempted to find some wahoo first. A few turns around some rigs with nothing to show so we headed to the tuna grounds. The word is out and the fleet was already there. We joined in along with the other 35 to 40 boats and set up our chumming for the day. We had to battle with the hook stealing kingfish but we soon found a nice tuna for the box. This was the first one ever on this beautiful Freeman boat.
A little while later we had our second hookup of the day. It was beginning to be a positive day for us.
After a while the bite slowed down. While we were running lines one of the guys dropped a Striker Tackle flat fall jig looking for maybe a blackfin, bonito, or maybe even a yellowfin tuna. He dropped down and instantly hooked up. Another big fish on the end of the line fighting to avoid the gaff and ice bath that lay ahead for it. To our surprise a nice amberjack came up smiling.
We kept searching for more tuna and were lucky enough to pick up one more. By this time the heard of boats had thinned out. It was obvious the fish had moved or were just not biting any more.
From there we went in to state waters and took advantage of the red snapper season. I would like to remind all people of the recreational landing permit required for every angler. We picked up our limit of red snapper and called it a day. The limit of snapper did not come in easily though.
Back at the dock it was time for pictures and a fish cleaning party.
The next day we headed out again. The winds were up and so were the seas. A front had moved in and conditions had changed. A lot of dirty water had moved in. Even with the 37 Freeman we could only run in the upper to mid 20's once we hit the blue water. Somebody asked where the blue water was and Allen said "Just look for the mountains". That was a very good comment for our conditions. Several of the boats that were headed out turned around and went back to the dock. I know of w 36 contender and a big Yellowfin that called it and went back. As it turned out the fish were shut down due to the front and rough conditions so they did not miss much. It turned out there was a very late bite as conditions calmed down just before dark. We only managed a few snappers for our efforts and never took out the camera the second day. I did show him a new area and several new places to find fish in the future. At least the first day was a good one.
Life is Good!
A little while later we had our second hookup of the day. It was beginning to be a positive day for us.
After a while the bite slowed down. While we were running lines one of the guys dropped a Striker Tackle flat fall jig looking for maybe a blackfin, bonito, or maybe even a yellowfin tuna. He dropped down and instantly hooked up. Another big fish on the end of the line fighting to avoid the gaff and ice bath that lay ahead for it. To our surprise a nice amberjack came up smiling.
We kept searching for more tuna and were lucky enough to pick up one more. By this time the heard of boats had thinned out. It was obvious the fish had moved or were just not biting any more.
From there we went in to state waters and took advantage of the red snapper season. I would like to remind all people of the recreational landing permit required for every angler. We picked up our limit of red snapper and called it a day. The limit of snapper did not come in easily though.
Back at the dock it was time for pictures and a fish cleaning party.
The next day we headed out again. The winds were up and so were the seas. A front had moved in and conditions had changed. A lot of dirty water had moved in. Even with the 37 Freeman we could only run in the upper to mid 20's once we hit the blue water. Somebody asked where the blue water was and Allen said "Just look for the mountains". That was a very good comment for our conditions. Several of the boats that were headed out turned around and went back to the dock. I know of w 36 contender and a big Yellowfin that called it and went back. As it turned out the fish were shut down due to the front and rough conditions so they did not miss much. It turned out there was a very late bite as conditions calmed down just before dark. We only managed a few snappers for our efforts and never took out the camera the second day. I did show him a new area and several new places to find fish in the future. At least the first day was a good one.
Life is Good!
