V-8... Variety = 8 Species

Devon called me on Friday and asked if he/we could take his Uncle, Al Godding, out on Saturday for his 56th birthday. Sure, no problem, Uncle Al is always welcome as long as he brings me a pouch of his dehydrated mangos. Al retired from the Fire Dept. about a year ago and has become a full fledged fishing maniac who is now a permanent member of the “fun trip“ team on The BEAST.

We didn’t want to leave real early, or too late, so we agreed to meet at the dock at 7 AM. After leisurely loading the boat, we finally untied the anxious BEAST. Our first stop was one of our bait spots. We caught a few Hardtails but they weren’t there as good as usual so we pushed on to Spot #2. There we found a few more and had enough in the livewell to satisfy us. OK boys and girls, let’s go see if we can fill the starboard well with some worms! I slowly pushed the throttles down and climbed to cruise speed. We were off like a herd of turtles.

We ran the patch reef waters to one of our favorite spots, only to find a couple of guys diving. NO flag on the boat and only one small dive flag in tow behind one of the guys, that kept turning upside down in the water. Smooth move, Exlax! That‘s a good way to get yourself killed! We idled out of the area and pushed on to another patch.

Arriving at our “dink ‘hoo” spot we set out the chum bag and after a very short while we started to get the bait up. The dinks were there and we caught several on hook and line, then I got out my 10’ Calusa net and whacked ‘em! We topped of the tank with a few more hookers and went on our way. The forecast was for S winds at 5-10 with a 30% chance of rain. Yeah right! So far we have spent the entire morning in light, drizzling rain with winds out of the ENE at 10-15. Occasionally, we could peel off our jackets for a few minutes. The only thing in the forecast that was correct was the seas at 2’ or less. Meteorologists are the only people I know of, that can be wrong 75% of the time and still keep their job!

We deployed our first baits at 10 AM to start our day. I don’t think it was 15 minutes and Bada Bing, we had our first customers. A pair of Dolphin came in and busted up the spread. Al was hooked up to a bull and Amy had the cow on her line. They were not that big but very respectable none the less. After several minutes of playing over/under with the rods the fish came to the boat. This duo fell side by side into our fish box. The bull weighed in at 15 pounds and the cow was 9 pounds. The dinner bell was already ringing and the day had just begun.

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We restored the spread with fresh bait and Al broke out those dried Mangos. Man, they are good! We started talking about what we wanted to catch and someone mentioned Cobia. Well, let’s not get carried away with our wish list. As if on cue, the down rigger blows off and the line makes a short fast run. Amy was almost duped into believing the fish had gotten loose when the line came tight on the surface. What the heck! As if it were summoned, a Cobia comes into view. No way! We were just talking about that! Amy boats the Cobia and although it was a few inches short of legal it was a Cobia on the boards. Uncle Al held the fish overboard for about 5 minutes until it regained its composure and then he let it swim off! Nice job Amy, and pretty work on the release Al.

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The downrigger was reset and began to get a workout. We caught a couple of “Snake” Kingfish and then a Cero Mackerel too. The Kings were all in the 5-6 pound category but that’ll work! We managed to grab a Caribbean Spotted Mackerel (Cuda) during this spree as well. During all of this, Al had broken out a speed jig and managed to jig up a Red Grouper!

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BAM! The downrigger gets rocked and the line is screaming! Alright. What do we have now? Amy grabs the rod and gets a short fast run again, then it suddenly gets that heavy, sluggish feeling. Sharked? She tells us that the line is heavy, but no telltale movement. When the leader arrives at the surface we see a portion of a nice Kingfish. Look at that! Of course the nicest King gets nailed by a Cuda! A dog eat dog world out there, I tell ya! The remaining front end still weighed 10 pounds.

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Once more a bait gets hammered by a nice Dolphin and Devon works the fish. The fish appears to be larger than the other 2 we have in the box. Things are going well and Devon is doing his thing when suddenly, for some unknown reason, the fish comes unpinned and gains his freedom. Tough luck Bro! We can’t catch them all. Right?

After this short but sweet feeding spree, we fell into a lull and continued searching for the mysterious 70% of sunshine as predicted by our mistaken forecasters. So far we had only found that 30% chance of rain. Trying to spark up a bite, we dropped the downrigger much deeper. I noticed a bite, but it didn’t trip the clip. Devon picked up the rod to check it, popped the clip, and said there was something on it. When it came to the surface we were surprise to see that a decent Yellowtail had eaten the ‘dink’ ballyhoo. The slow period continued which triggers Devon and Uncle Al to, once again, begin working the speed jigs. A strike here and there and Al manages to catch a couple of Mutton Snapper, almost back to back. Mmmm Mmm! Al is smelling that crab stuffing as he puts the larger Mutton in the fish box. Nothing goes to waste with Devon and Al. They will eat fresh fish 4 times a week, when available to them!

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Time has run out! We needed to quit fishing and head in between 3 and 4 o’clock so Al could get cleaned up for his B’day dinner that night. With plenty of edibles in the box, we pulled lines, stowed gear, and made tracks for the barn. As we harnessed the BEAST to her lair, we recounted the trip. We had a V-8! A variety of fish equaling 8 different species, not counting bait types. We always seem to enjoy our casual, laid back, ‘fun trips’. More often than not, the outcome is catching, not fishing!

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

Darkside... Short & Sweet!

One of my good customers, Jon, called me early in the week and said he needed a mental health day. This means he wanted to go fishing by himself with no clients to entertain. He asked if I was available in 2 days, I was, so we reserved the date. He wanted another shot at some Swordfish because his freezer was empty. The last 2 times he came down for the same purpose, we failed to fill his grocery cart. He told me he was packing one of the many coolers he had bought previously to carry fish home, when his wife stopped him. In her wisdom, she told Jon that every time he comes prepared, we fall short of our mark. If he had to buy another cooler, she would pay for it!

Jon arrived with a severe case of business flight jet lag. Countless hours in airports and on flights throughout the weeks had taken its toll. He arrived with a 6 pack of 20 oz. diet Coke, a 4 pack of Red Bull, and an Italian Sub. When I asked him about that he said he was going to need everything possible to stay awake. Devon wasn’t joining us since he was a bit under the weather. Jon has about 50 or more trips with me in the past 10 years, so I felt he knew the drill and could assist me if need be.

I loaded the boat and Jon iced down our drinks and sandwiches. 5:30 PM and I untied The BEAST and turned her out. I eased the throttles up to cruise and we made way for the Hardtail spots. After collecting 6 big Runners, I eased the throttles up, once again, for a nice leisurely run out to the Sword grounds. We arrived on point just as darkness was beginning to set in. I shut down to neutral and got the floats, baits, and rods, set up as I checked our drift line. OK… 3.5 to the NNE.

I ran back down, passing the drift point to allow more drift time to deploy all the baits. I also adjusted for the drift direction so we would pass over my intended targets. Full darkness has set in and I started putting the baits out at 8:11. First float rod went out with a live Hardtail. Second float bait went out with a Squid. The forward tip rod goes down with another squid. The aft tip rod is going down with a Mackerel and suddenly the forward tip rod begins to walk away. 9 minutes into the drift, not even done setting up, and its FISH ON! Jon grabs the rod as I hurriedly begin to bring the aft tip rod up. Jon says the line is slack but this is not his first rodeo folks. He continues to crank mercilessly as the fish must be rising to the surface. There’s the light about 50’ out! Now the fish is only about 85’ from the boat and it decides to put some pressure on Jon. A meager controlled run to say the least. What do we have? Is it a Sword or one of those Night Sharks? I now have the other tip rod cleared and the fish is trying Jon a bit harder, under the boat. Jon works the fish up and I get the light off, only 25 feet to go until we have the leader! Yeah Boy, it‘s a Sword! Although a bit smaller than I care for, Jon questions its legality. Man, no doubt it’s legal. I leader the fish to boat side and notice that the hook is deeply embedded in the gut. OK, Brother, case closed on this one, he’s going home! Your shopping list is full, and it’s only 8:30. I grabbed the heavy stick gaff and gave him a head shot. The fish came aboard quietly. I broke out the measure and it ruled in at 50” and weighing an estimated 65 pounds. Not a monster by any stretch, but definitely an eater!

SWO10152009FL239

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We dropped the fish in the fish box and iced it down. Then we noticed the float lines were astern. WHAT? Someone in the process of boating or moving that fish to the box had bumped the electronic shifters into gear. Yup! Prop wrap! Just wonderful! That is one thing I don’t like about the electronic shift. Too easy to engage. I spent the next 30 minutes trying to unwrap the braid line and ultimately ended up having to pull the prop! Everything back to status quo we set up for another drift with the purpose of a tag and release on the next fish.

We’re set up again and Jon says he learned something new. What’s that? He said, never drink 3 Red Bulls and eat jalapeno peppers on your sandwich. He was still very tired but now had the worst case of heartburn, ever! Heartburn and all, we continued fishing that drift until 10:15 with no bites. We pulled the gear to make a move to my shallow drift and I noticed that the Mackerel had taken a slash hit which gutted it. Neither of us had the slightest hint that it had happened.

I was about to head towards our next drift point when Jon asked how long the run was to get in. I told him our estimated ETA. Jon apologetically stated that he had a very early morning meeting and was way too tired to go past midnight. He didn’t want to fight the fatigue since he already had a fish. Jon said “Let’s go home!“… “No problem, Jon.“ I pushed the fuel to the Zuke 300’s and pointed The BEAST towards the barn. We enjoyed a short, but sweet, night on the Darkside!

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

Night and Day!

It’s been a while since my last report. We had an unusual collapse to the Cubera Snapper season. For some reason they got lockjaw in September and we finally gave up fishing for them around the middle of the month. I had one remaining trip on October 3rd with our return customer, Seth. He called a week before the trip to check in. I explained what was happening out there and suggested we do a trip on the “Darkside” for Swordfish instead. Seth had been following my reports and was appreciative that I was straight up about it. He was “all in” for a Sword trip instead.

Devon and I met Seth and his friends, Dave, Jim, and General at the dock around 5:30 PM. We loaded their gear and blasted off at idle speed through the manatee zone. A typical summer eve with the normal scattered storms over the city.

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We stopped and picked up some Hardtails for live bait on our way out. An easy run offshore and we were at my starting drift point about 7”ish”. Devon had rigged all the baits on the run out and once I checked our drift, we got started. 2 float rods and 2 tip rods with a pitch bait at the ready.

We made a long drift in the deep water and nothing happening. Not a tick or click. No slashed baits. Nothing! Contrary to normal full moon techniques, I decided to try my shallow drift. We headed in to 1000’ and set the baits out again. Nothing! Nada! Zilch! Both drifts were good, although not ideal, at about 1.5 knots with a light easterly breeze. The deep drift had us pushing in and the inside drift had us pushing out. We had time for one more drift and I gave them the option to pick up and try the deep drift again or retry the inside drift. After we discussed the possible adjustments, Seth chose the inside drift. I made the run for a reset on the shallow line. I adjusted by coming way inside of my usual starting point. Seth though I was a bit too shallow but as the drift continued he saw that we actually passed over the good structure. Still not a bite, not even a look! WTH! This is some boring fishing on nights like that. Time was running out, but the moon was overhead, so I extended the trip. The clock ticked away. As we were all looking at each other with that, “It’s not going to happen!”, no one could pull the plug to call the trip. As Devon was beginning to clean things up and put gear away, he walked by the mid depth tip rod. It started to click off, slowly! Devon startled everyone when he screamed, “FISH ON!” I yelled back to feed the fish until Dan got on the rod. OK, push the drag up. Dan feels the fish for a minute then the line goes slack. Gone? NO… The fish broke water at the back of the boat, on the other side. The light is right there! REEL! The line starts to come tight as the fish circles passed us at the edge of our boat lights. Nice fish, no doubt about being legal length. Now the line is dragged around the motor skeg as Dan and Devon work the rod around the bow to the other side. I shut down the port motor and tilted it out of the water to free the line. It worked. REEL! Get all that slack line reeled up, Dan! The fish once again comes to the boat, having no idea that it has eaten a bait with a hook, yet. He passes so close as he goes under the side of the boat towards the bow. A good 100# fish. Jim says “Gaff ‘em!” No way, Bud, that fish is so green we would be fighting him in the boat! The line is finally tight and the drag is running now. SNAFU! Less than a minute and the fish turns and pulls the hook. Dang! If it weren’t for bad luck we wouldn’t have had any luck at all. That’s fishing!

We packed it in and made the run home as everyone was getting very tired! I guess you can’t win them all.

Friday, my best friends and I decided to head out for a fishing trip. Trollin’ Tom, Uncle Al, and Harry, met me at the dock at the crack of 9. We headed out for a fun day of simply trolling for whatever would bite. I unleashed The BEAST and we made our way out of the channel and blasted off to get some live bait, just in case. With a dozen good sized baits in the well, I powered up the 600 ponies and made the run outside. The winds were up compared to the last week or so. Seas were about 3’ or so as we made our way across the sloppy water on the edge. We ran offshore and the water was clean until we hit about 400’ where there was some scattered weeds. I shut down to trolling speed and we put out the baits. We put down 2 planers rods for Wahoo or whatever, along with 4 surface rods. We trolled and talked, ate sandwiches and talked, and then we talked and trolled, reversing the cycle. The day was slow, so far.

I made it out to 600’ when I decided to bring it back in towards the edge. If nothing else we could end the day live baiting for some Kingfish. Our first fish was one of those dreaded Caribbean Spotted Mackerels, Ol’ Snagglepuss, that nailed a planer bait. Releasing the Cuda, we continued on. Next up was a football sized Blackfin! No release here, that one is going home. I love eating them. As we were bleeding him out I got too close to a lobster marker. Crap. We hung up both deep rods and as we were trying to clear them we had a cluster beginning with the surface rods. All 6 lines in a mess. Systematically, we cleared and recovered them all. OK… let’s not do that again! We exchanged 2 of the baits for some of Trollin’ Toms, handmade daisy rigs. Good choice here! We caught a couple of micro Bonito that Harry boxed to use for Sword bait. It seemed like this was going to be a day of smaller sized fish. BAM! Suddenly the rigger line gets crushed. Harry jumps on the rod and a nice Dolphin takes to the air! Wow… that’s better! On the second jump we get a better look at this fish and it’s a Bull that had grown considerably since the first jump. Al, Tom and I clear lines as Harry works the rod on this drag pulling fish. When we finished clearing the deck, I grabbed the 30# spinner and pinned a Hardtail on it and pitched it out the back as far as I could. Bump! Here Uncle Al, I think we have another. Al takes the rod as I make my way back to the helm. Nope, nothing there! NOW there is! As line peels off the free spool. Al, slams the bail shut and we have a DOUBLE! A decent Cow comes out of the water. Game on Boys! Harry worked his fish to the boat and I got the bigger gaff out. I lined up for a head shot and as I was pulling the gaff, this Bull makes a turn under the boat, to dodge it. Not today! I swiftly sunk the gaff in whatever it hit. The gaff found home about midway in the Bull and I hoisted it over the side, head down. The fish whacked me, upside the head, as I lowered it over the gunnel. I takes more than that to knock out this 250# Salt, and I laughed as I dumped it into the fish box. Let’s get Uncle Al‘s fish now. She comes boat side and Harry wants to show me how to gaff a fish. Go for it. He gets a head shot on this fish that just laid in position waiting to get stuck. Nice job, Harry! We let the Cow join her mate in the fish box. Pretty work, guys! We just scored a pair of nice Dolphin, the Bull weighed 30#’s and the Cow was a respectable 19#‘er. Now we’re all smiles. We opened the box to dump ice on the fish when we saw the beautiful blue color of the Bull. Quick, get a picture of that!

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We added another football Blackfin and 2 more micro Bonito to our list of caught fish. At 5 PM we packed it up and pointed the bow toward the west for the ride home. A good day was had by all, with some really good eating thrown in for good measure!

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