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
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