On the boat today is just Jim Pittman and me. Everyone else had to work. What's it like to work on Friday anyway? It must suck.
Marine APP calling for 1-2 ft seas today, but as we head out I see the "whoop-de-doos" on the horizon which I now know are white caps past the channel markers. Huh? Those aren't supposed to be there.
We start heading offshore but we stop at a small "tripod" structure just outside of Ochlocknee Bay. We cast several times looking for Cobia. Something is big down there cause it keeps hitting Jim hard. I actually get him on the line - turns out to be a small shark. I hate those damn things. I don't think Jim is a fan either:
While we are at the tripod, the winds pick up considerably. Now, there are white-caps EVERYWHERE. WTF? Supposed to be 1-2 today. These are more like 3-4. Frickin weather.
We go hide in the bay. We catch nothing but stingrays and catfish. Now I remember why I hate inshore fishing.
After a few hours, the wind starts to lay down so we make another attempt. No way dudes (and dudettes if any women read my blog). Waves out here are 5-6 feet. In fact, one comes over the stern and swamps us. Easily a 6 ft wave. Scared the hell out of me. Frickin weather is so unpredictable out here.
As we mosey back in, we notice a few small boats hanging out in an area that is only about 5 miles offshore. Nowhere near the 20 miles where we were originally headed, so we cruise by them slowly. The wind isn't as bad here. As we get close, my fish finder goes crazy with structure. So we drop anchor. I'm pretty sure I have finally found "Rotary Reef."
We spend the next few hours here and Jim catches Cobia after Cobia on frozen squid. The boy is on fire! Who knew Cobia liked squid? I was always told they loved live bait but I have a fresh pinfish sitting on the bottom of one of my rigs and they aren't touching him. Ain't nobody eating live shrimp, gulp shrimp, or gulp squid either - only frozen squid. Fish are weird.
Because the damn government requires Cobia to be something like a minimum length of 139 inches in order for a recreational fisherman to actually keep one (don't get me started), we have to throw all these beautiful fish back. But hey, I had fun watching Jim, and I KNOW Jim had a great time catching them.
Nice fishes Jimbo.
As a Captain, I learned several things on this trip: I learned that the spot where Jim and I were fishing is excellent and not far from shore. There is structure everywhere there. I'm very excited about that. I learned that Cobia love squid. I learned that blue runners love sabiki rods. I learned to trust my gut and not to test mother nature. I learned that being a better Captain REALLY DOES require a lot of time on the water.
We didn't return to the dock with a lot of fish, but it really was a great day fishing.
Hey, taking the family to Italy next week for summer vacation, so no blog for awhile.
Who's next on the boat in July when I return?
Arrivederci!
Cap'n Hook
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