Hey guys (and ladies?):
My brother Russell says he actually reads these blogs, so I will continue with them!
Fishing season is coming, fishing season is coming! I can't wait. I got sooo tired this winter staring at my fishing poles in my garage wishing I was actually using them. Yes, I admit, I casted out into the yard several times.
Jim Pittman and I went out on Saturday. We spent the night at the coast - we bonded. I hadn't taken the boat out in a couple of months. It was filthy. A couple of people gave me crap about cleaning it BEFORE I took it out. But hey, I am used to getting crap at the dock. This is my 2nd year as an offshore Captain. Things are gonna be a little different this year - I'll explain exactly what I mean towards the end of the blog.
Last year, about this time, I thought the end of the channel was a long way. This year, not so much. In fact, my GPS was acting up on Saturday, but I still had every intention of heading to K Tower without it. I have both my phone as a backup and even if that didn't work, I am now very comfortable using my compass to guide me offshore and back. Who's your Daddy!
So Jim and I headed out Saturday morning. Not very windy heading out - that is cool. I really want to see if the Kings are running on Oar Reef. Oar Reef is 5 miles short of K Tower. I caught several Kings there last year so I am pretty confident of my waypoints.
We troll for 45 minutes there, nothing up or down that reef. Hmm. Perhaps I am pushing fishing season a bit here in late March. I am on my boat though! That rocks. We can see K Tower (5 miles away) from where we are so we head over there.
There were live pinfish in my bait trap next to the dock (another small trick I learned last year), so Jim starts fishing the bottom, next to K Tower, with live bait. For months, I have been anxiously waiting to see if these new huge spinning reels and the plastic eel I have on the end of the line attracts Cobia. So, I start casting the eel. After 15 minutes, both Jim and I are fishless. Eventually, he attracts some odd looking fish (let's call it a crapfish), and he throws it back. I have a bottom line down but I am also still casting the eel. I am about to give up, when you guessed it, WHAM! I set the hook. At first, he doesn't seem very big, but as he gets closer to the boat he decides to run. Fish never like the sight of the boat do they? Holy crap, he starts taking line fast. I tighten the drag even more. 80 pound test on a spinning reel bitch, you ain't breaking this! I fight him for 15 minutes; Jim helps me with the net and we get him in the boat. Amberjack. What a great fight! My first AJ.
Not huge as Amberjacks go, but still a decent-sized fish. I had no idea the AJ would hit the eel. Good to know. I was expecting a cobia. Nonetheless, in the cooler he goes. At this point, the wind is really starting to howl and the swells are running about 4 feet. Time to go. I have learned that, just because the sun is shining and the weather is warm, the wind can still get very scary out there 20 miles offshore. I have also learned that the DIRECTION of the wind is very important. I knew when we were heading offshore that we were going INTO a SW wind. On the way back, I knew the wind would be at our backs and therefore, the ride would be much smoother. It was. Swells hitting your stern are much more desired than swells hitting your bow.
So what do I mean about being a better Captain? Well, on Saturday, when Captain Vic returned to the dock, we discussed how much the wind was a factor. Captain Vic is the most experienced in-shore charter Captain in these parts. That boy knows how to catch fish. Because of the wind though, he had "no keepers" for the day - not even a single rock bass. Geeks 1 - one keeper AmberJack. I beat him, albeit by one fish. First time that has ever happened! Go me.
So that's pretty much it for today's blog. Rock-the-Dock is April 27. I'm getting ready. The Kings should be running by then. Let's go catch em boys!
Captain Paul
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