This was our third trip of the season, and we had yet to add a single new state record to our talley. I was beginning to wonder if our string of record catches had finally come to an end. Boy was I wrong. This trip resulted in 6 more pending state records, including one drop using a two hook bottom rig which resulted in a new state record on each hook.
This weeks crew consisted of Rober Eschenberg Sr and Jr, Mike Luchak, and Matt Chovanec. John Billings used his executive authority to replace Jacob B as masterbaiter. Seas were forecasted to be 1-2 all weekend and the ride out was quite comfortable.
We started bottom fishing at one of the usual waypoints about 145Nm out. We ended up with a quick limit of endangered red snapper, along with a half dozen scamp grouper.
Robert E Sr had an exceptionally strong fish grap his jig about 350 feet down. Unfortunately for Robert, the fish had a black bar over its eye… and weighed about 75lbs.
The next exciting hookup was made by Robert Jr. His catch turned out to be another Kitty Mitchell Grouper (AKA Speckled Hind)… but this one was much larger than the last… 13Lb 6Oz to be exact. This beats the current state record catch by 6 pounds. If approved, this will be state record number 33 for the Possession Limit and its crew. Robert was pretty excited since this was his first ever trip on the Possession Limit. Unlike his Dad’s big catch, we were allowed to keep this one.
By now it was time to head further offshore for a little deep dropping. Just for grins, I decided to try a new spot that I had identified from looking at the bathymetry charts.
We dropped both the Diawa and the Kristal to the bottom and had instant bites. Unfortunately for me, all I brought up on the Diawa was what looked like a spiney cheeked scorpion fish. For John B, the result was similar… one like I caught, and one cuban dogfish. However, the dogfish was larger than the existing electric reel state record, and the other turned out to be a blackbelly rosefish. There was no existing state record for the rosefish. Mine was the state record when it was caught, but I failed to recognize it. Two pending state records, by one angler and just one drop… this new spot was beginning to show some potential.
We also started picking up a few nice size barrelfish at this spot. John B brought in a double of 15 pounders on the Kristal.
We continued to catch some unusual fish from this location. Matt C brought up one that required me to pull out the reference manual to try and identify. Turned out it was a Gulf Hake… and it turned out to be yet another pending state record catch, as there was no entry for this species under the electric reel category.
Not to be outdone, Mike L picked up another cuban dogfish, a pound larger than the one John B caught earlier. So far this new spot had produced 4 pending state records in less than 30 minutes, but the best was yet to come.
It was Robert Sr’s turn on the Diawa Electric Reel. He put the 3lb chunk of lead on the bottom along with a couple of tasty gobs of squid, and someone decided it was time for breakfast.
The rod bent over double, and the reel moaned and groaned, but Robert held his ground and after what seemed like 15 minutes, a golden tile appeared in the crystal blue water… but not just any golden tile.
This one was a pig… and weighed 31lbs 6 Oz… more than a pound larger than the current state record (which was set just a few weeks ago). So there you have it… 6 pending state records, five from just one spot.
Needless to say, my AIS transponder will be turned off whenever I fish that spot. By now it was time to troll on out to Magnolia and see if the tuna were still home.
About 7pm, the Black Bart Pro Jet in the long rigger gets nailed. It was a white marlin, which jumped 3 times before throwing the hook. I could tell the fish was off by the lack of bend in the rod and the lure popping the surface as the boat continued moving forward at 4kts. As usual I told the crew to reel in the lure just to check if it had been damaged.
As Robert Jr cranked on the Tiagra 50W, the rod bent double again as the billfish showed us how bad it really wanted that lure. Ten minutes later, Robert Jr had tagged and released his first ever billfish.
We arrived at Magnolia as the sun went down, and had it all to ourselves. The bite started immediately, with every reel buzzing within 30 seconds of flipping a chunk in the water. Unfortunately most were oversized blackfins. As a result I had to come off the flybridge and show the crew how it was done. They learned quickly and we ended up putting 4 nice YFT in the box by 10PM and released several more.
Saturday we spent most of the day trolling, looking for the man in the blue suit. Instead, we found another white marlin and Robert Sr managed to tag and release his first ever billfish. Note how lit up this white was.
We finished out the day with a little more deep dropping and a few average size tiles. In keeping with tradition, the surly deckhand complained about lack of room in the coolers for any more fish.
So there you have it… Trip 3 of the 2011 Summer Season.
Two billfish tagged and released…first billfish by both father and son
Six pending state records in one trip…
Two pending state records in one drop…
… and a stud Golden Tile, the record catch I have been searching for ever since getting into deep dropping.
Now I have to figure out how to live up to expectations of my next crew.
Till next trip…
Capt. Stout