Cubera... Think it's easy?

I have received several phone calls wondering why I haven’t been reporting on the Cubera fishing! The answer is simple! We haven’t been fishing! The economy has taken it’s toll on the charter fishermen for some time now. I can’t write a report on Cubera fishing when I’m tied fast to the dock. Well… I guess I could fake it, but that’s not how The BEAST rolls!

Our last 3 trips we had 2 returns and 1 new client from N.Carolina.

Harry brought his son and 2 other guests with him. The day started off with threatening thunder boomers over the Glades. We headed out and collected plenty of fin fish real quick and then proceeded to the cricket patches. Devon was working his magic as the storms were growing seaward. These storms coupled with a few other cells coming in from the East, and began stacking up. Finally, the lightning got too close for comfort and I pulled Devon from the water and ran back into the shelter of the islands to wait for the storms to blow through.

We were never threatened directly by these systems but it is better to be safe than sorry. After everything blew threw and expended its energy, we headed off for some Yellowtail fishing. The current was flowing strong and the easterly winds were even stronger, giving us a less than advantageous lay. This time spent for the ‘Tails’ was fruitless, although we always manage to catch a few Cero’s and other fish. We headed out for Nasty Town.

As we arrived the current was ripping about 3 - 3.5 knots and the winds were up. Tough fishing again tonight. I marked plenty of fish in our usual areas and Devon started off the night. We worked over and over, in out, up and down, adjusting drifts and anything else we could think of. We had 4 good bites and hook ups but the fish always managed to come unpinned. We did catch a couple of Barracuda on the fish baits. Whoop-de Doo! Devon and I worked hard drift after drift until Harry finally threw in the towel, accepting his fate that nothing was going to spark up these Red Devils!

The next trip was with the Cubera Princess, Casey, who set an IGFA record with us last year. She brought along Dusty, her Dad and his friend. Devon did his thing again, collecting plenty of Bugs, and we headed for some ‘Tailing. The conditions were all screwed up, yet again! Gimme a break, already! We caught a few undersized Tails which is abnormal for this location. As the sun set we blasted off for some Cubera with hopes of breaking her existing IGFA record. Plenty of fish showing on the sonar but as usual, the current is strong to the North, and the wind is bucking the drift! C’mon!?! What’s a man got to do to get a break out here! We fished late, drift after drift, trying everything we could think of and never got a single bite… NOT ONE! What the *#^%!!! Unfortunately, this night set a record alright. Our first trip, ever, to not even get a look-see!

The last trip out was with Marty Moore from Moorehead City, NC. He drove all the way down, by himself, to get a shot at one of these fish! No pressure here, right? All the conditions looked good for a change! We took off and all 3 of us had some fun collecting fish baits. We curtailed that enjoyment to go search for those patch crickets. Devon worked his magic and quickly got us plenty of legal bugs. He has been the absolutely consistent! We headed out for some ‘tails. Can you guess what happened next? Kinda, sorta! We arrived in the area and set up on the hook. No current at all, just wind! I pulled the anchor and moved deeper. Still no current. Crapola! Just deal with it, Capt. Jim! We let the baits just drift quietly down with the chum and, BAM we started getting hits. Yes sir! Although unorthodox in presentation, we managed to catch a number of good Yellowtail, a Cero, and other fish.

I hauled the hook as the darkness fell. Arriving at our final destination we marked huge numbers of fish, scattered all about the area. I could only hope they were in “feed mode.” Light current to the North at a ½ knot and a SE balmy breeze. WOW! Finally the conditions are looking good. First drop and the drift seems endless. Nothing. Second drift and we passed the normal haunts but I continued the drift since we were headed for some obscure areas that have produced in the past. The aft rods starts to jiggle and then it bends over. I quickly took about 5 cranks on it as the rod doubles over tight. Bottom! I turn around and utter some expletives because we have lost so much terminal gear this year while trying to make things happen, that it is ridiculous. Devon screams, “That’s a fish!” Sure enough! The fish either picked up the cricket as it laid on the bottom, pulling the sinker free, or it was such a “Slob” that it stopped everything dead in its tracks. Marty jumps on the rod and realizes that the latter scenario was the case. This fish is turning him every way but loose! The fish is taking drag at will. Just as we think Marty has the upper hand and gaining significantly on the fish, this “Slob” shows him otherwise and makes a tremendous last ditch run. Pop! No way! Nothing marking on the sonar but bottom! What a heart breaker! Retrieval of the gear showed everything intact but half of the leader is gone. This fish was schooled and took him into something which had cut him off, winning his freedom. Hey… you don’t get big in this ocean by being stupid!

Just as fast as that fish cut us off, the bite quit, again! We worked hard, drift after drift, catching only 2 Barracuda in the interim. Marty tried his hand at night time speed jigging and managed to get a couple of bites and boated a HorseEye Jack.

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We continued on. Finally we had another suspected bite which resulted in a crawdad torn in half. I didn’t count this as a bite since there were no fang punctures evident on the bait anywhere. A few more drifts and another bite for sure this time but, once again, it lasted only 15 seconds and the hook pulled. Good grief! What is the deal? I guess it is better to be lucky than good, but we are having no luck at all! We worked hard into the wee hours of the morning, extending his trip significantly, especially since he drove so far. I just couldn’t believe that with this slow current and the extended look that these fish were having at those scrumptious baits, the action was so few and far between. Marty told us he figured it would be akin to fishing for Marlin and he had only hoped for 1 or 2 bites. WOW! That’s a refreshing twist to those who think any type of offshore fishing, is hands over fist continuous action. Now, the current begins to get faster and faster and the winds changed, once again delivering the problems we have incurred over the previous 2 weeks. We finally threw in the towel, dejected and tired! The only high point to these slow nights is that the customers get to take home the Yellowtail, etc, that were caught, as well as all the left over Lobsters.

All of these trips were lackluster to say the least. Those who think Cubera fishing is a no-brainer… think again! If you spend enough time chasing them, other than the occasional optimum nights, you will find the opposite to be true. We’ve tried to perfect our techniques and just when we think we have the handle on this, our grip begins to slip! Each trip seems to raise additional questions! It is my experience that either they are doing the mating thing or they are eating, and you better be there when the latter occurs. It seems the feeding window is usually short and intense, when it happens. This season has been challenging in the respect that not only are there the normal pitfalls, there has been none of the normal summer patterns to offset them. Full moon? New moon? El Nino? High pressure fronts? Strong winds? Ripping currents? Extreme tides? You name it! We have had to contend with all these conditions as well as the unstable weather patterns. Each seemed to throw that proverbial monkey wrench into the spokes. Go figure! At least we haven’t had any hurricanes parked off our front porch! Hmmm… I wonder if…?

Our trip this weekend with our good customers, Paul, Luis, and their buds, is hopefully, going to be the turn around. Nothing about fishing is guaranteed. BUT… There is one guarantee! Devon and I will do everything humanly possible to try to make our trips successful. The only problem is… “Mother Nature” all too often, will not!

Capt. Jim
The BEAST
305-233-9996
beastcharters@aol.com
www.beastcharters.com

Tough Fish... Tougher Fishing!

Last weekend was a busy one. We had tough conditions while fishing for an even tougher opponent.

Friday we met up with John and Ben Cotrone for their long anticipated Cubera Snapper hunt. These brothers have wanted to catch one of these critters for a long while now and so far have been unsuccessful.

We met at the usual start time and turned The BEAST out! They wanted to do some jigging too, so they brought 4 of their high tech 5’ Chinese, unlimited rating, jigging rods, with Stella, Saltiga, Accurate, and Torsa reels. They also brought along a bag full of the pretty and expensive jigs. I pointed the bow toward the cricket farm and we were off like a herd of turtles. Arriving on Spot 1, we tossed Devon into the water. As we drifted along he collected 4 bugs in short order and we pulled him aboard because the depths were reaching his effective limits. On the next dive, Devon worked his magic and caught 9 more. Dang he’s good! With enough baits for the evening, I headed out for the warm up wreck to test the fancy gear that John and Ben had brought along.

The wreck was active with some very large AJ’s. Each drift resulted in some massive strikes, with 4 fish coming aboard that weighed in the upper 30’s. We had 2 or 3 other fish that freight trained us into the wreck. These fish were totally unstoppable even with the drags maxed out on these strong little bruiser reels. Unbelievable! Time to go after the Nasties!

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Arriving in the area a bit early, we tried some jigging, but no strikes. The drift was humping at almost 4 knots. Not good! Darkness fell and the Nasty’s slowly started to show. Drift #1 was extremely fast but we did have a small fish bite, but no hook up. I had to make some serious adjustments. We had to get down and dirty, only fishing 1 rod per drift. Drift 2... KaBoom! A massive strike on our cricket and Ben is doubled over. After several minutes of tug o’ war a 50# fish thuds on the deck.

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Drift #3 had John at the rod. We weren’t marking a bunch of fish but we did get a nice bite and John scored with a 25#’er.

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I fired back up to the drift point and Ben was up again. The Red Devils were loading up in areas now and Ben gets the nod. BaBoom! He is hooked fast to another good’un! Once again the scenario plays out and a 40# fish comes aboard.

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As quickly as it began, it shut off. We went through a lull for about an hour, when just as quickly as it shut off, they started another feeding binge. Bada Bing! John works a 38# fish to the boat. These brothers are in heaven!

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Each successive drift resulted in a crushing bite. Wham! Bam! Whomp! Catch one, miss one, the story goes. A 38, then the fish of the night, a 55#‘er, and a smaller 20# fish. We even straightened out a hook on a Snapzilla!

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The guys had enough! They threw in the towel and tapped out! We went 6 for 11 and quit in the middle of this heated bite! It was a good night. We kept the 25# fish and a 40# fish that we couldn’t get a good release on. The other 4 fish were vented and released to do their thing. I do believe that John and Ben had a great time.

Saturday was with Paul Storti and his friends, Luis, Brenden, and Craig. A good group of guys who fished with us last year. Of course, we did the usual formalities and took off. We loaded one well with Hardtails and did the lobster thing. Devon was awesome once again and we jerked him out of the water when he had caught enough for the night.

We ran to our favorite jigging wreck and the current was again moving out to the North. A few drifts before sunset resulted in a 41 and a 50 pound Amberjack and a small Almaco Jack. The AJ’s were vented and released.

As the sun set, I headed The BEAST for our intended target. Conditions were less than favorable with a westerly wind and a 3.5 knot current. I tried everything possible to work my drifts, to no avail. With each adjustment, the boat would just get out of shape. Fishing in this was extremely tough, almost impossible. We joked around a lot but as time passed the mood got a bit somber. So far we had managed to lose 3 rigs without a bite. Then one of the live wells went down. Great! With 1 crowded live well, I kept hunting for better conditions and willing fish. Finally! A small bunch of fish that would bite in an area that had slightly better conditions. We missed the first bite and then several drifts later, Craig got hooked up on a nice 29 pound fish.

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A few more passes and another missed bite. Another drift or two and Brenden gets the hook up! Good deal! After several minutes of grunting, we boat a decent 34 pounder!

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The wind turned out of the North and the bite, if you want to call it that, turned off again. We worked overtime trying to get Paul and Luis a fish. It just wasn’t going to happen so we finally packed it in for the night. 2 for 4, we tucked our tails and headed for home. You can’t win them all and that’s why Paul had scheduled another trip.

Sunday, Devon and I met with Seth Ebel and his group, Randy, Chris, and General. Yes, that’s really his name, General! And yes, jokes were just too easy! All were attempting to get their first Cubera except General who had caught one years ago. The same scenario played out at the bait shops. We caught our Runners and Crickets in a little over an hour. Devon is good!

The guys wanted to do some Yellowtail fishing before dark. We went to a wreck and did a few drifts for some speed jigging first. It was a bit slow, but they managed to catch a small Almaco, a Bonito, and a large Barracuda. Enough of this, let’s go ‘Tailing. The current on the edge was “ripping”! I put out the chum bag, and chummed out a half a bag of old Silversides. These guys were Head Boat Yellowtail Pros! 3 at the stern drifting bait back and one on the gunnel bottom fishing. The best bottom bite was a small Coney Grouper and Blue Parrotfish. Man, it is beautiful but what a standout freak of nature. What was the Lord thinking when he made that one?

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DUCK! WATCH OUT! General and Seth had some exaggerated hook sets for Yellowtail, even running halfway up the deck while doing so. They said it was necessary in that current. I had no argument there as they pulled in 20 nice ’Tails. Yeah, Randy caught a few too with more normalcy in his fishing. We almost had to pry their hands of the light rods when darkness arrived. I pulled anchor and headed out for the evening “Nasty” hunt.

Arriving, in the area, we found conditions a slight bit better than the last 2 trips. The current was still moving along at 3 mph but the winds were lazy and following the current. This should be more workable. The bite was a bit slow in coming but when it did, Kaboom, it was game on. We missed 2 bites on the crickets and then Randy gets the first hook up. He manages to bring his to the boat and we are on the boards with a respectable 35 pound fish.

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A couple more drifts and we locate another biter and Seth gets the nod. This fish comes aboard a little bit easier, not that easy, and Seth gets a 25 pound notch on his belt. We were going to release this fish until we saw one of its gills was broken loose from the throat latch. We weren’t sure whether this was a previous injury that had healed (not bleeding) but we didn’t want to turn this fish out to die and go to waste!

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We worked a bit more and hooked up again, to a Barracuda! That‘s a bit unusual. Things slowed down a little when finally Chris gets the nod! Fish on… and it’s a good one! Chris has a bad elbow and a bad finger (severed and reattached) and the Blue Runners had already whooped his butt! This fish was doing a number on him. He finally gets it boatside and Devon pulls it over the side. Chris admits he almost handed the rod off several times after successive runs by this fish. NICE! A 56 pound fish lays on the deck as we hurry to get the pics, authenticate the weight, and vent it for a good release. Hold up! Not so fast! The fish refuses to sound so we back down on it and bring it aboard again and reinsert the venting tool. Eliminating all the air completely, Devon puts the fish on the lipper and we tow it around for several minutes until it gives us the tail stroke signal that it’s ready to go home. Devon opens the lipper and he/she beats a hasty retreat to the depths. A few hoots and hollers filled the air as well as some high 5’s for a job well done!

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The night slowed to a crawl with General missing 1 or 2 bites. We are way past time now, it’s getting late, real late, and their 36 beverages are gone! General didn’t get his fish but he was good with that. I pointed the bow for the barn and hauled butt. I was flushing engines and cleaning gear while Devon was cleaning fish. The guys broke out another 1 ½ cases of beer left behind in the cooler. You see, they had a method to their madness. Devon and I had a couple of beers with the guys as they showed us the true meaning of “Pounding Brewski’s”! We finally had to almost run them out of there at 6 AM so we could finish our work and go home to bed. WOW! What a crew this was! We all had a really good time catching pounds of eating fish and having tons of fun! Yes, they are welcomed back on The BEAST, anytime!

Capt. Jim
The BEAST
305-233-9996
beastcharters@aol.com
www.beastcharters.com