I would not usually post a trip report on a trip that got blown off (again!) but some interesting things happened as well as some fishing wrinkles I thought I would share.
Bait catching went well at channel 5 and with some hoo and squid I thought I was set......wrong! But more on that later. I thought I got there early, 5;30, but there was already 20 or so guys waiting. Soon as the call to load went out I wasted no time in grabbing 7 rod holders in the bow............nice to not have to go topside to get an outfit. After that I hung out at the Hogfish......place was packed out with the usual eclectic bunch of key west locals and those in the know. I had a barbecue pulled pork sandwich which I couldn't finish while a reggae duo played. Both were excellent.
10 P.M. and away we went with the weather looking iffy at best. I crawled into my new favorite bunk (24) with the air conditioning blowing just below me......nice. 6 hours later I sensed the boat slowing. I stayed put as it seemed bouncy already and let them set anchor before I donned my battle attire.
I was greeted by rain and was quite happy I had just picked up some Helly Hansen raingear. It did well for the 24 hours I lived in it but I digress. As I went out to the bow pulpit to take my position a sight and experience I will never forget greeted me. What must of been literally thousands of tiny birds, wrens I believe, were on a mass migration. The sky was filled with them and they were totally unafraid. They landed on peoples heads and their rods and flicked inside the boat. As they flitted about, all pointed in the same direction, they kept up a constant refrain of sound. I imagined in my mind they were saying "keep flying, keep flying, we are almost there"...........It was a marvel to me that such a small bird would be so far offshore and be able to survive. In addition to the tiny wrens there was also big flocks of white egret adorning the sky, all heading the same way. Now picture if you will, all of this happening under a severe lightening storm with flashes going on all around us and the wind and driving rain as a backdrop. This went on for a couple of hours and I was satisfied with the trip already having experienced something I would never forget and would not likely ever witness again. Suddenly a big blast of frontline winds came up and when it was over the sky was clear..........I couldn't help but wonder what happened to the tiny birds, were they driven before the wind or did they perish?
The night bite was slow but as dawn came they fired briefly. I put 3 muttons in the boat with one dandy, all on grunts while the guys fishing Gogs went hitless. So much for $100 bait that morning. I had high hopes as I had a decent start (for me anyway) but I was to be let down. The bite slowed and the wind cranked and the rain came in sheets. But oh how I loved it. There are few things in life I enjoy more than being out there wrestling with those fish.
Mid morning and I went down for a snooze.........a rarity for me. I actually slept for one whole stop. Didn't miss much but by afternoon the bite had picked up some. Low pressure equals a poor bite but we were making the best of it. I shared the pulpit with a young gun who had some skill and picked up a few tricks that may interest some of you.........they were certainly instructive for me. My grunts had, for the most part gone cold and Bobby (apparently a regular as the mates knew him by name) had more types of bait than you could shake a stick at. The winning combo was a big threadfin. I commented to him how I had always had rather poor luck with them and he replied likewise but I thought it noteworthy that he still had a nice supply of them. I watched as he put 4 nice muttons in a row on the deck. The rigging was especially instructive and I will pass it on. It was a "reverse" butterfly. Instead of coming from the tail he would insert his cutters into the baits mouth and work towards the stomach repeating the process on both sides. The head was left on but the belly was trimmed, probably to keep the bait from spinning. The hook was inserted into the tail after the tail fin was clipped. Lastly he stepped on the cut head section slightly.
Another thing I learned from him was to vacuum seal frozen bait. I watched as he took a round kingfish steak from an airtight bag and brought up another nice mutton. So, frozen just might work after all. Great, something else I have to get.
In the afternoon I broke out the butterfly jigs and popped one dandy red grouper. Very satisfying. After dinner the Captain came on and said the winds were supposed to increase to 30 knots and we were done. That was the bad news...........the good news is he gave everyone another 3 day trip on the house. Is there is a better Captain around? I could see giving us a 2 day trip, that would of been more than fair......but a free 3 day? How cool is that. A big cheer went up from our group after the announcement.
Bobby (the young guy) was high hook with 8 muttons. I enjoyed fishing with him. I was probably second with 5 muttons and 2 grouper. One big mutton and one big grouper. A decent start.........if we could of kept it up we might of come off pretty good. On the other hand after the front went through the bite might of fell apart but who knows for sure.
I slept hard on the way back in. After unloading I went topside to talk with Capt Greg. "every time you show up it blows" he said........"I know, what's up with that" I replied. We shared a smile and a handshake and then I gave him an "I love you man" (miller lite commercial) for the free trip and he said that I had better.........Capt Matt is leaving soon BTW.......another guy I liked.
Bottom line.........no regrets. Had a good time and would of done it again. I have to change my bait philosophy. Maybe my new handle will be Bait whore instead of MasterTangler. Anybody know of a sale on Vacuum sealers?
Ok.......in a few weeks is the main attraction.......Capt Yuri. I'm very much looking forward to it. Please, drive safe........I'll see some of you guys soon.
Tight lines......MT
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| Capt Matt |
