Yankee Capts take 2

     What a long road it has been........It all started some 20+ years ago with an article in Florida Sportsman describing a fishing trip that really resembled more of an adventure. Load up with 30 other guys for 36 hours and travel some 75 miles offshore to the famed and mysterious Middle Grounds to fish for Grouper, Amberjack and Snapper. The hard bottom of the grounds made for some tough fishing. Hanging bottom was common and so was getting "rocked up" by some fish to big to stop.
     It sounded easy enough.......let your line down to the bottom and wait for a bite. But at the end of the trip there was fellows who had literally wheelbarrows of fish and then some guys that had 2 or 3. I was one of the guys with 2 fish on my first trip. But I kept at it and went at least 2 or 3 times a year. The best bottom fisherman I ever knew took me under his wing........the gentle giant Tom Nickels. Tom helped me immensely and my catch started to go up a little bit each year. I continually upgraded my equipment and tactics and finally some 20 years later I can say with some confidence that I can be in the same league as the regulars of long ago that I so admired. From my perspective there is no other type of fishing that I am aware of that demands such a unique combination of skill, knowledge, strength, specialized equipment  and the all important ability to concentrate for long periods of time.

     I eventually left the Middle Grounds and so did the majority of the regulars. The boat left the Hubbard families hands and went commercial and the trips declined rapidly in popularity. But the hook was set and the bottom fishing bug had bitten me pretty hard. I had heard about the Dry Tortugas multi day trips and of course had to give them a go. A whole new set of species and new environment, back to square 1and another tough learning curve. Enter the Yankee Capts........

Did lousy catching bait at channel 5 but ran across some guys that had a 5 gallon bucket of 15" jacks that they had caught. I knew a thing or two about making small jacks good table fare and when I found out that the lads didn't even know how to filet fish I couldn't help but lend a hand. In 15 minutes I had disposed of their catch into nice little strips, discarding the foul tasting parts. In appreciation they gave me 4 jacks to use for bait. Nice kids.........but here is the rub, they had caught about 6 or 8 Spanish Macks on live shrimp fished below a chum block. I think next trip I might be bringing some live shrimp when I make a bait stop. Onward to No Name bridge where I had a tough time finding anything. Eventually I found a rockpile a long cast out and cleaned up on big grunts.

I made the boat a little late but still everything worked out well for me. Decent place for my bait cooler and I even managed a few rods down below. Weather had been windy but by the time we left at 10 P.M. it was subsiding. The following seas made for a very comfortable ride out and I slept like a baby. First stop was awesome and I just knew that this was going to be the best Yankee trip ever. I popped 2 dandy Muttons and one fire truck red grouper that went 17lbs. Nice fish and a nice job getting him out of some coral.

But all good things come to an end and our good start ended all to quickly with the rising of the sun. It became calm and hot and the bite was over just like that! I had thought that it would pick back up again come nightfall but no dice.........a front was piling through and the weather went downhill. Still I kept at it but could never really develop any momentum. For every fish I caught it seemed I lost 2. I had sharks take 2 (I reeled in a 1/2 mutton that still went 8lbs), I broke fish off, I missed or I had other people pull fish off the hook for me when my line would tangle in theirs (thank you very much!). It was all sort of frustrating on many different levels but I kept at it. Had a couple hour nap the first full night but hung in there the rest of the trip fishing all night on night 2.

Three big blacks were caught. The Jackpot winner was 46lbs.......nice fish. When I seen the second one come up I purposed to catch one. Down went my sabiki rod and up came a 12" yellowtail. I promptly pinned him to 150lb braid and sent him back down to await his doom. It was not long in coming. I set up perfectly on the bite and them was slammed up against the rail. Even though my drag was all but locked down the big fish powered plenty of line off. Unfortunately the fish had decided to go under the boat to the other side where someone promptly yanked the big boy off the hook. When I reeled my line in I had someone elses line around my hook. Not to hard to figure out what happened. Fish of a lifetime? Perhaps, perhaps........

I also got into a couple of 11ft nurse sharks which took quite a bit out of me. Don't they make those in any other size? Why are they always 11ft long? I don't get it..........

The grunts did OK for me. My new wrinkle may of helped a bit but it sure wasn't a silver bullet. Check this out > Open the mouth of the grunt, stuff a cotton ball down his mouth and fill the cotton ball with some pogy oil. Insert hook to close everything up. Sort of a slick little set-up. I might try it again.

Bottom line? I ended up with 11 muttons, 2 grouper and 6 very nice yellowtails (one taping out at 22"). I generally thought I was just another guy on the boat but when the numbers were called and the fish divided up it was pretty obvious I was high hook. That was a big surprise because I basically thought I stunk on this trip. Add in that the bite was as slow as the mate had seen it all year and I guess I should actually be fairly pleased. The biggest Mutton was 14 lbs and 1/2 my Muttons were 10lbs and over. I almost put it together but missed the mark. I really enjoyed this batch of guys.......most of them didn't really know what to do and I helped where I could.

So that about does it. Par for the course for the Yankee. One day the Yankee and I will put it together. I joked with Capt Greg about the curse finally being over.........We finally didn't get blown off. When I asked the 250lb crusty Capt for a celebratory hug he never missed a beat and said "get away from me". Everyone cracked up over the exchange. Capt Greg, you gotta love him.

So the appetizers are over. Good Lord willing I will see 5 of you in less than a month on Yuris boat. Should be fun as always.

Tight lines

MT

Yankee T/R 3/2013

     I'm not superstitious but you have to wonder.........even Captain Greg has noticed.........If I'm on the Yankee it's going to be windy and probably cold and the bite is going to be slow. Bingo! Par for the course.......

I started out at channel 5 hoping to stock up on grunts since I opted out on biting the big dollar bullet for Gogs. So a big gamble......just one type of bait to start with. It is easy to talk yourself into believing you will catch a boney or a king to steak up later in the trip. I slid down the pier to my favored spot and caught exactly zip! Nada! As in zero grunts. My spidey sense started tingling and I kept telling myself I needed to leave and pronto and hit no-name bridge. I finally started dollying back when I came across a family from North Carolina who had settled in while I was set up further down. As I was passing one of them pulled in a grunt. "How many of those have you caught," I inquired. "probably about 50" was the response..........nice family, they loaded me up within an hour or so. Sorta funny in that good way.

I arrived at the boat early since I had the bow pulpit and wanted to take full advantage of the forward rod holders to store my weapons and my bait cooler. That reminds me........new bait cooler fellas. Yup, I picked up an Engel 30 qt........ Primo! No more fretting about your ice melting 1/2 way through the trip and your bait no longer being fresh. I am impressed.

Captain Greg decided to delay our departure until 4 A.M.. I wasn't especially happy but I can see his point. It was 5 to 7 seas and the boat and the people get beat up. On the other hand the hardcore guys don't care if it is marginally rough or not as long as it is fishable. So I amused myself in the infamous Hogfish bar and grill. What an odd place. A total mix of people, from the homeless to the well to do (I heard Jimmy Buffet makes the occasional appearance). It's the food of course which is the draw along with the eclectic atmosphere. I had blackened tuna tacos......super! Then I hung out at the pool table where I got beat around 11 P.M. by a Cuban local. I am reminded of a popular country song.........something about not being as good as I once was.

!st stop was pretty decent setting up around 10 A.M.. I think I caught 2 pretty good muttons and thought, Oh good they are on. But it was not to be the case. A slow pick throughout the day. I did pop a good bonehead on a jig/hoo combo however and that helped me quite a bit in the bait department. Night time is the right time and I had a good first night although the size could of been better. Looks like my iron man rep is going to take a hit.........Yup, I went down around 5 A.M...........bite was a bit slow and I was getting tired. Took way to long a nap and missed the decent morning bite. Big mistake. I started fishing again after it was all over.

Day 2 was a little less windy but still blowing. Bite was a bit better but not much. Greg decided to try and change our luck and headed back south toward the Fort. In my mind he was already waving the white flag and we were heading back. That night we set up in 70 ft of water. Not a big fan of fishing shallow and wished we were still in the 120. I made the best of it but it was not good. Plenty of sharks kept us busy with the stray mutton thrown in to keep your interest. About 2 A.M. the new Captain (Matt is gone) put us in some deeper water. Hurrah! 150 sounds good to me.........Here is a good tale > There was a guy set up near my bait cooler and I chatted and got to know him a bit. He had just purchased a med/lg high dollar Penn spinner and had filled it with braid. Nice reel, but heavy as all get out. He had not done especially well........short leader, big weight and fished mostly squid balled up on a hook. The sharks had just about wore him out, spinning equipment not being all that conducive to reeling fish in. While I was baiting up he hooked up and started bellyaching about having to fight another shark. I looked at his rod for a few seconds and told him to get serious as he had a big mutton on the line and to quit trying to break it off. No one believed me but I insisted several times that he ease the fish up. Sure enough it was a whopper......probably between 15 and 17lbs. This guy went ballistic and was yelling at the top of his lungs. I was happy for him. He went on an hour later to catch another pig. All on a rolled up ball of squid with an 18 inch leader! HA!!

The 150 depths were not especially kind to me and I got sharked a few times by some big ones that had put my hopes up before shredding my line. I only made it to 5:30 in the morning before crashing (Looks like Father time is going to remain undefeated). The morning bite was again decent and I missed it once again. We left early and got back to the dock around noon which was fine by me.

I ended up with 13 muttons which I'm pretty sure was most on the boat.........A few of the guys mentioned that I "kicked as@" which made me feel pretty good but perhaps my catch was not the best catch as I had quite a few small ones. My biggest was maybe 13.......not the usual nice ones. In spite of it all >  the cold, the wind, the lousy bite.........feeling like you have been run over by a truck etc........I still loved it and can't wait to get back out. Next trip is again with the Yankee in a little over 2 weeks. Time for fresh line and some new rigs. I have a new wrinkle I intend to trot out and I am pretty excited by it. I'll have the port corner in the stern this next trip........a very sweet spot (best?). Maybe it is time for my luck on the Yankee to change? We will see.......(Maybe a little more time on my knees requesting  some help and a little less time on the computer looking at the marine forecast for the Dry Tortugas!)

MT