Captain Hook

It was a long weekend – warning - this will be a relatively long blog.  And please don’t eat anything while you read this.  You'll understand why in a moment.

The “2013 Rock-The-Dock Fishing Tournament” in Panacea, Florida event was this weekend.  Scheduled to be on “Geeks 1” this weekend are:  Nick Sloan, Jeff Paul, Gene Griffin and me.

Gene and I spent the night down there Thursday night so we could get a "practice" day in before the tournament started on Saturday.  You know, just so we wouldn't do anything stupid during the tournament.

Friday morning – 7 a.m.  As soon as we head out, it is clear we won’t be going far.  The wind is HOWLING!  4-5 foot seas.  Ain’t no way we are headed out to the reefs 20 miles offshore in this wind.  So we fish the bays.  We don’t catch much.  As the day goes on though, the wind starts to lay down.  At 1 p.m., the waves subside enough for us to attempt a run out to “Oar Reef”.  I am dying to practice trolling with the big rigs, the new ribbon fish lures, and the new planers.  I can’t wait to see if the Kings have returned.

Although it is still pretty choppy, we make it out to Oar Reef without trouble.  I reach up to grab one of the big rigs that are in the rocket launcher above my head, but I lose my balance and instead of grabbing the pole, I grab the hook on the lure.  The hook goes right through my finger and burrows in.  Now, you may be thinking, big deal, people hook themselves all the time, but have you ever seen the size of a King Mackerel ribbon fish lure hook?  Here it is being removed from my finger at the emergency medical center in Tallahassee Friday afternoon:

  

Ouch. Indeed. 

2.5 hours that damn hook was in my finger.  It was a long boat ride back in.  I was so glad when they finally removed it.  So I get a few stitches, a tetanus shot (which hurt all weekend - and my finger didn't), and we head back to the coast to re-join the festivities.

We all drink a few beers Friday night (I have more than a few).  Hey, I blame my finger.

Saturday morning, we try it again.  Mother Nature says, “No Way”.  4-5 foot seas in the morning, but we know it will get better so we hang out in-shore fishing and biding our time.  Around 1 p.m., we head out again to Oar Reef.  Very, very choppy, but we make it there eventually by doing 10 mph.  My crew tells me I am not allowed to touch anything that has a hook on it.  To be honest, I am perfectly fine with that. 

Here is where the blog starts to get interesting:

We throw out the trolling lines.  We fish for 15-20 minutes – nothing.  Then Jeff says something about eating a banana.  I tell him there better not be a damn banana on my boat.  He asks me why, and I explain that bananas are bad luck on boats.  Honestly, I'm not sure why either. Slipping? So he takes the banana he is holding, and instead of eating it, he throws it in the water.  It isn’t 15 seconds later that – WHHHHHIIIIIIIIZZZZZZZZ, the trolling line goes crazy and we catch our first King of the day.  I’m sorry Jeff that we didn’t take a picture of him, I really should have done that for you.  But he was a nice big fish everyone - trust me.  My family intends to eat him tonight.

We begin trolling again.  Nothing.

Jeff finds another damn banana.  “Get that f*cking thing off my boat”, I yell.  He throws it in the water.  15 seconds later: WHHHHHIIIIIIIIZZZZZZZZ, the trolling line goes crazy.  Gene hooks into an 18 pound grouper.  Here is that picture:

We are in Federal waters though, so we have to throw him back. That sucks!  Don't even get me started on fishing regulations these days.  You know, come to think of it, I think I will dedicate an entire blog to that subject sometime in the near future - just to vent.

We start trolling again.  Nothing.

I know you aren’t going to believe me, but Jeff finds another f*cking banana hidden in a different cooler.  Was he a monkey in a previous life?  You know where this is headed right?  He throws it overboard.  You guessed it, 15 seconds later: WHHHHHIIIIIIIIZZZZZZZZ, the trolling line goes crazy.  Nick reels in a 13 pound grouper.  Here it is:

Sorry for the fuzzy pictures, but my cell phone lens apparently, is coated with salt water.  We got very wet headed offshore due to the waves.

Fishermen, by nature, are a superstitious bunch.  Now I understand why.  If you fish with me, please do not bring bananas on my boat! Or if you do, please prepare to throw them overboard. Chumming with bananas.  Who knew?

K Tower isn’t far, and I have an ongoing war with the Barracuda that guard that particular tower, so we head over there.  I am up on the bow throwing a large eel on a spinning rod,  Gene is also on the bow throwing a large silver spoon, with a weight and a triple hook. Jeff and Nick are near the stern bottom fishing.  I get a barracuda to attack, but he immediately bites through the line.  Man those guys have sharp teeth.  Current Score:  Barracuda 4 - Marc 0.

I am minding my own business, when WHACK - something hits me in the side of the head, and I feel something rip through my ear.  I go down hard, hitting the bow face first.  It doesn’t knock me unconscious, but I know I am hurt and I'm pretty damn sure it was Gene’s lure that hit me and sliced through my ear.  The only question I ask myself as I lay there, “How much of my ear is remaining?”   In my head, I visualize the size of the hook that was on the spoon he was whipping through the air.   I get up to my hands and knees.  Blood is dripping from my ear onto the bow - not a good sign.  Gene comes over and very calmly says, “It’s just a scratch!”  But I know how hard it hit me, so I'm not really believing him.  In fact though, it really was just a scratch.  The weight is what hit me in the head, not the hook.  The hook only sliced the very tip of my ear.  In fact, it barely grazed me.  But Gene and I are both thinking, “Thank God”.  At the speed in which he was whipping that large lure off the boat, it could have easily torn my entire ear off, or worse, had it hit me in the back of the head.  Well, let’s not go there either.  For some reason, we decide to immediately stop fishing K Tower.  I’m not sure who is shaking more, Gene or me.  It is one of those moments when you keep thinking to yourself, “What if?”  But that didn’t happen.  Gene apologizes for the umpteenth time.  Time to keep fishing.  

Did we miss a banana somewhere?

Believe it or not, I consider myself to be a very safe Captain.  I don’t drink on the boat, I don’t head out in unsafe conditions, I study the weather, the tides, I keep the boat well maintained, I read.  I do all the things I am supposed to do to make sure that I, and my crew, stay as safe out there as possible.  But guess what, off-shore fishing is inherently dangerous.  Bad things happen out there very quickly.  There are LOTS of sharp things flying around.  If anything, I re-learned that being overly conservative is not just being a wuss, it is a necessary virtue for being an offshore Captain. 

We head into State Waters and catch ANOTHER 13 pound grouper trolling.  This one is legal, so he goes into the cooler.  It is now around 6 p.m.  The weather is beautiful and as we head in, I have my “moment”.  

You know, that moment when it all comes together and everything is just right in your world.  Jeff had taken over the driving for a little bit.  I was relaxing on the back seat.  The sun was setting, the temperature was perfect, we had fish in the cooler, I still had both ears, and I was returning from a productive, yet physically challenging day of offshore fishing with my close friends.  So I said, “Gentleman, I am calling this my moment”.  And it was.  Perfection.   It is why I love to fish.   Thank you gentleman, for your respect, for always asking me if I needed anything, for giving me that moment and for being a great crew:

There isn’t much to write about for our Sunday.  The wind was even worse.  I really did feel for you out there 30 miles offshore Robbie - I don't care how big your boat is.  There was no way my bay boat was going to make it offshore so we headed over to St. Marks for some inshore fishing.  We caught lots of small trout, some catfish, some ladyfish, and some other junk fish, but nothing to write home (or in a blog) about.  Pretty much why I don’t enjoy inshore fishing much anymore.  Still, it was another beautiful day and we caught fish.  I didn't hear any complaints.

We wrapped up the weekend at the bar with a lot of oysters, a few more beers, and here I am back at work Monday morning.  Dammit.

Stay safe out there folks.  Thank you for reading.

Captain Hook. 

(My new nickname at the marina.  I’ve been called worse!)

New Fishing Season

04/01/13

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

So that's what a Cobia looks like!

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Wow!  It’s been a long time since I was fishing on my boat – probably over a month.  I think that is the longest I have been away from it since January.  I have the Panacea withdrawal shakes.  Now, I didn’t say I hadn’t fished in that long as I did make it to Costa Rica two weeks ago where I caught a 120 pound sailfish.  Don’t believe me?

Okay, yes, the guy taking the picture did cut the top of my head off, but yes, that is me with my bucket-list fish!  I suppose it was more important to get the entire fish in the picture than it was to get the top of my head.

But anyway, I digress.

I am blessed today to have the honorable Jim Pittman on my Triton.  It is hard to believe that I have had the boat for eight months and he hasn’t fished with me yet.  We remedy that today.

I came down last night, checked my bait trap and found 15-20 live pinfish.  We have live bait!  If you have read earlier blogs, you know that I said I wasn’t going back out again without live bait.

Jim, as usual, is early.  He arrives at 6:30 a.m.  I hate early risers. The boat is already in the water from last night, so we get an early start – leaving the dock at 6:45 a.m.  The sun comes up just as we exit the channel.  Beautiful.  I hate waking up early, but I do love sunrises.

First stop – K Tower.  Nobody else here.  Fantastic.  We drop our live bait down.  I am ready for quick hits.  30 minutes go by.  Nothing!  Well now that is disappointing.  Tyler, at the dock, convinced us to purchase some frozen LYs.  I think he was just upselling us though.  Regardless, we cut one up and put one of them on the line.  Immediately, we get a hit at the bottom.  That doesn’t make a damn bit of sense.  Jim, being the better fisherman, gets the first fish in the boat.  Key West grunt.  Good-sized.  But really, I am not here to catch grunts.  Grouper or Amberjack would be nice. 

Jim catches the next 10 fish.  All Key West grunts.  I catch – not a damn thing.

The water is AMAZINGLY calm today.  As calm as I have seen it since January, so we decide to head into deeper water and proceed to Bryon Reef.  We drop down next to a couple of other boats.  Immediately, we get HUGE hits.  Immediately, our lines break.  What?  I just recently rigged all the grouper rigs to 90 pound test and 90 pound leaders.  NOTHING should be breaking these lines.  The guy from the other boat yells, “Black Tip sharks – fuckers are everywhere.  That is all we are catching when they don’t break the lines with their tails”.  Sure enough, Jim immediately gets another one on the line – except this time, his line isn’t breaking.  These sharks are probably 2-3 hundred pounds and extremely strong.  Good luck with that Jim.  The fish probably weighs 2 times what Jim does and I don’t have a fighting chair on my boat.  He does his best for 15-20 minutes (I am eating a sandwitch watching him kill himself), but eventually the shark breaks the line.  Jim is thankful and exhausted. 

We troll for a little while.  Something big does hit the trolling line and snaps the leader almost immediately.  Goodbye Stretch 25.  Dammit.  Those lures aren't cheap.  Why didn’t somebody tell me the sport of fishing could be expensive!

Since it is directly on the waypoint line back to the marina, we head back to K Tower.  Keep in mind, the fish count is:  Jim:  10.  Marc.  0.

We drop live bait down again next to K Tower.  There are a few boats here but nobody seems to be catching anything, which I have found is usually the case at K Tower.   A few minutes go by and I get a big hit.  I fight this thing for 15 minutes.  As it comes up, we can see it is a Cobia.  That’s cool.  I have never caught one of those.  He is actually way too big to get in the net but Jim and I are so excited we never even consider the fact that I have a gaff on the boat.   Novices.  Anyway, we get him in the net (sort of) and voila, my fish count goes up by 1!   Amazing how your fishing day can go from crappy to happy by just catching one big-ass fish.

We try trolling Oar Reef next but Hurricane Isaac has stirred up all kinds of seaweed making trolling impossible.  We head back to shore relatively early. 

Not a great fishing day, but trust me – I have had much worse than 11-12 fish in the boat.  And it is always good to spend time with Jim.  It probably helps that I am so physically attracted to him.

Here is the fish on the dock and here is the fish on my grill.  How does Cobia taste?  Yum!  Nice job on those filets Jimbo!

Tight lines everyone.

Captain Paul

The Secret

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Want to know the secret to deep-sea fishing? 

Gene Griffin, Cameron Paul, and I spent all day yesterday on the Triton – but not fishing.  It was a “maintenance” day.  If you read one of my earlier blogs, you knew that both my VHF radios died.  Gene installed a new one on the boat, and I purchased a new mobile VHF.  Communications restored.  110 degrees in the marina shed.  It was unbelievably hot!  The three of us spent the night at the Panacea Motel because it was close-by.  Like the teenage girls text:  OMG.  That is the nastiest motel in the U.S.  The shower handles were made from electrical tape.   We were going to head home after our maintenance day but Terri asked, “Why aren’t you guys going fishing on Sunday?”  Excellent question!

We were all happy to wake up, put salve on our flea bites, brush off the roaches, and get on the water.  Since we were right down the street from the marina, we did get an early start and were on the water at 6:30 a.m.  Leaving the channel, we watch the sunrise.  It is a breathtaking sight and one of those moments that make you feel blessed just to be alive.  It is also a beautiful day and the seas are less than 1 ft.  The smoothest I have ever seen it out here.

Because of the smooth seas, our goal is to get to Bryon’s Reef about 50 miles away from the Marina and ten miles past K Tower.  It is a long way, but there are big fish out there.

Because of the smooth seas, we have no problems getting to the reef an hour and a half later.  There is nobody else out here, so we start trolling first.  Not much luck, so we decide to bottom fish.  We are using frozen squid and ballyhoos for bait.  Not much luck bottom fishing either – which is annoying since we can see fish EVERYWHERE.  And I don’t mean just a few fish:

As we sit on the reef, we see an ENORMOUS variety of fish species.  Floating next to the boat are large Kings, hundreds of AmberJack, 8-10 foot sharks, thousands of Spanish Mackerel and Angelfish.  The water is a crystal clear blue.  It’s kind of like being in an all-natural aquarium.  What are we catching?  Not a damn thing.  We are obviously doing something wrong!  I get a bite. It’s a large shark.  I don’t want shark.

I get frustrated with bottom fishing, so we start trolling again.  Something big hits the line.  Cameron grabs it first.  Cameron fights this thing for 15 minutes.  He has to maneuver around the entire boat.  Don’t lose it dude!  That is the biggest fish you have ever had on the line!  We get it in the boat.  Nice Amberjack Cameron! 

Cameron says he is exhausted.  Of course, like almost ALL fish species, it is closed, so we have to throw him back.  Just for the record, I think the ever-changing Federal fishing regulations are utterly ridiculous.

We continue to troll, without much luck.  Very frustrating since we can see fish everywhere! 

It is still relatively early, so we head back to K Tower and tie up next to it.

Once again – fish EVERYWHERE!  Barracuda (6 ft easily), Cobia (4-6 ft), Mackerel.  Well, pretty much every fish species I have ever heard of is right here under the boat.  Millions of bait fish.  What are we catching?  Nothing.  Wait – I take that back.  I throw a lure about 100 feet.  As it is in the air, a sea bird flies right into it, flips over, and falls 20 feet from mid-air.  Now my lure is attached to the bird’s wing; he is squawking like crazy and I have to slowly reel him into the boat.  Cameron and Gene remove the hook from the wing.  The bird is wounded but after a few attempts, she finds wind under her wings.  I flip him the bird.  (Sorry – but I’m irritated).  So while other people are catching fish, I am flipping birds.  The observation, “I suck at fishing”, really seems to be an under-statement at this point in time.  Stop laughing.

A boat approaches.  They start fishing.  Two minutes later – they have a large slot redfish.  Another two minutes their 7 yr old catches a grouper.  What the hell??!!  I yell over, “Hey, what are you guys fishing with?”  The guy replies like I am an idiot, “Live pinfish, of course!”  Of course, indeed.  I ask him, “Where did you get them?”  His response, “I could tell you, but I would have to kill you”.  Interesting.

Another boat approaches.  They anchor right next to us.  They start catching fish immediately.  I ask, “What are you guys fishing with?”  The guy looks at me like I'm an idiot, “Live pinfish, of course!”  Of course, indeed.  The old guy asks me, “Do you guys have a sabiki rig?”  You mean that thing in my boat that I have never used but Gene just happened to rig up yesterday on maintenance day?  Yep, I got one of those.  The old guy says, “Give it a try”.  So we do. 

A sabiki rig is simply a bunch of small shiny hooks that have no bait on them.  Little fish are attracted to the shiny hooks and they bite them.  It seems silly to fish without bait, but supposedly, it works.  Cameron gives it a shot.  A minute later, viola, he catches a small minnow.   I put that minnow on my hook and drop to the bottom.  Wham!  Gag Grouper.  Nice.  Cameron catches another minnow.  Minnow on hook, Gene drops the bottom.  Wham!  Gag Grouper.  This is cool.  Cameron catches a larger bait fish – some kind of fish I don’t recognize.  I put him on the hook.  Drop to the bottom:

WHAM!  Okay, this is, without a doubt, the largest thing I have ever had on my line bottom fishing.  It takes all my strength to hang onto the pole and to keep my sorry ass from falling out of the boat.  I start moaning and grunting.  My deep-sea rig is bent completely over.  This must be a shark.  SNAP!  Line breaks.  Dammit!  As I am re-rigging a new leader, I see a school of 5-6 ft cobia directly under the boat.  One of them has my hook, leader and weight hanging from his mouth.  He is laughing.  I can see the bubbles.

So Cameron keeps sabikiing.  (That is not really a word).  Gene and I, and sometimes Cameron, place the bait on our lines, drop and struggle for a while with massive fish until the line snaps.  Keep in mind that we are using 50 pound test with 50 pound monofilament leaders.  It is simply not enough.  Most of the time the leaders are breaking at the hook – not our line.  We keep this up for a couple hours.  I am now completely out of leaders, weights, and circle hooks.   Hey, I get to spend more money on fishing equipment - who knew?

The secret to deep-sea fishing:  Live bait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Granted.  On certain days, the fish won’t bite anything due to conditions, moods, tides, or whatever. But without live bait, I’m certain it is not worth the time and effort to take the boat 40 miles offshore.  As best as I can tell, success revolves around live bait – and heavier tackle.  I will be purchasing 80 pd test and 80 pd leaders, now I just have to figure out where to buy bait traps and how to get them out on the water the night before.

Stay tuned for my next blog – with live bait.

I wonder.  Is fishing like golf?  Just when you think you have it all figured out, you realize you don’t?

Captain Paul

A Tale of Two Trips

Friday, June 29, 2012

This is a tale of two trips. 

Russell Paul, Cameron Paul and I head out.  0% chance of rain, so I’m feeling pretty confident.  We proceed to Oar Reef where we have had success trolling in the past.  This reef is near K Tower about 30 miles from our marina.  I really want to get out to Bryon’s Reef, but it is another 20 miles from Oar Reef and the wind is strong enough to make me chicken out.  Tropical Storm Debby has just passed through two days ago and we are still getting the tail-end of her winds.  Maybe next time.  I need a bigger boat.

Russell has purchased two 20-year-old RAPALA lures.  These things are antiques, but he wants to try them instead of our normal Stretch 20 and 30’s.  “Fine bro”, although I have my doubts.

We start trolling and it isn’t long before something of decent size hits the Rapala.   The fish are probably saying, “Hey, what the hell is that?  We ain’t seen one of them before!”  That last line is funnier if you say it with a southern accent.  Russell starts reeling.  He gets it almost to the boat.  It is silver, big and round.  It definitely isn’t a King.  We’re not sure what it is, but we are excited to get it on the boat.  I grab the gaff.  Poof – fish disappears just as Russell gets it close to the surface.  The hooks on the Rapala lure bent and the fish got off.  Damn.  That was a good-sized fish.  I don’t think the Rapalas were designed for a fish that large.  Whatever.  We start trolling again.  It isn’t long before we get another fish - Cameron’s side of the boat this time.  Cameron fights him for a little while and gets him next to the boat.  I gaff him.  Hey – fish in the boat!  A bonita!  Here he is:

Nice job Cameron.  He is already out-fishing his Uncle Russell.

We spend a few more hours trolling, but we don’t catch anything.  Due to Tropical Storm Debby, the water is muddy, filled with seaweed,  and fresh water.  I’m surprised any fish are here.  We bottom fish for a little while near K Tower.  Cameron catches a few rock bass.  Russell and I catch nothing.  The day is getting late, so we decide to head in.  We return to the dock around 2:30 p.m., clean the fish, wash off the boat, and Russell heads home.

But this is a tale of two trips, and if you are still reading, this is where it gets interesting:

Terri and Delaney are in Carrabelle waiting for us.  It is our goal to take the boat from Panacea to Carrabelle; join them; and boat all weekend heading towards Apalachicola.  Carrabelle (about 35 miles) really isn’t that long of a trip and is about equivalent to heading out to K Tower.  No problem!

Cameron and I head back out about 3:30 p.m.  We tell Rock Landing Marina to not expect us again until Sunday.  As we exit the channel, we notice that the SW wind has picked up significantly, and we are navigating it head-on.  Under good conditions, I typically run about 35 MPH, but I can only go about 15 MPH in these waves and this persistent wind.   The waves are easily 2-4 feet now, but they are “different” than what I am used to.  They have an angry look to them.  The ride is uncomfortable as we slam into them.  But hey, we tough it out.  An hour later, we approach Buoy 26 (still 3 miles from it) which is about 7 miles off the coast.   We have reduced speed to 8 MPH – just slightly faster than trolling speed.   The 26 buoy marks the SW point of Ochlocknee Shoal.  The Shoal is very shallow.  The waves are so bad at this point that I decide to take my chances and cut across the shoal instead of going around it.  Yes, this is a risk in that the shoal is very shallow, but the idea of heading 7 miles offshore in these angry waves is a little scary.  So - we head across the Shoal.   I tell Cameron, “If we get to 3 feet, we need to turn around.”  He helps me keep a close eye on the depth finder.    8 ft, 7 ft, 6 ft, 5 ft, 3 ft, 2 ft.  That’s it, we are done.  4-6 ft waves are slamming into us and we are only in 2 feet of water!  I have navigated the boat in bigger waves out here, but I guess because of the recent Tropical Storm, the best way I can describe them is, like I said, “angry”.  They aren’t rolling, which is what  I am used to.  There are no “gaps” between them and the white-caps aren’t short, but appear for 8-10 seconds like those crashing on the beach.  The wave peaks are crashing over the bow and actually hitting the T-Top.  Cameron and I have our life jackets on.  We are soaked to the bone.  Remember, we have been fishing all day.  The SW wind is easily 20 MPH with gusts.  We’re acting tough, but we are exhausted.  Honestly, we are also both a little scared. 

You know those tingles you get when you know you are somewhere bad you really shouldn’t be?  Every inch of your body says, “Get out”.  I immediately take a sharp left away from land, towards the buoy, and towards open water.  I pray we don’t go aground – the tide is going out – not in.  If we get stuck, we are here for 6-8 hours, in the dark, because not even Sea Tow can get onto this shoal.  Everyone knows that I want a bigger boat and a deep-V hull, but at this exact moment, because I cut the shoal, I am thanking God that I have a Bay boat and that it only drafts 13 inches.  I have the motor trimmed all the way up.

We make it past the shoal and back into 18 feet of water.  Whew!  One disaster avoided.   Man, these waves are intense!  I still have the tingles because we are still getting the shit beat out of us.  I enter my last waypoint which is the Channel Marker outside of Carabelle.  “17 miles” says my GPS.  Holy Crap!  Cameron looks at me dead in the eye and says, “Really Dad?”  We have just completed 16 miles.  That puts us at least two-three hours away at this speed.  It is 5:00 p.m.  The waves are  punishing the bow (and us) every two seconds.  Executive decision time.  Go for it OR turn tail and run.  All-in or fold.  Forget it.  Safety first.   I fold.  We turn around.  Tropical Storm Debby wins.  We call Rock Landing Marina and let them know we are returning.  Oh, did I mention that both my VHF mounted radio AND my mobile VHF radio are now busted.  We do have cell phone access, but still….My cell phone is all wet.

Going with these waves is much easier.  Cameron and I take large sighs of relief.  I think the boat does also.  I bump the speedometer up to 20 MPH.  It still takes us over an hour and a half to return to the marina, but we make it back safely.  I will state again – we are exhausted.  I drive to Carabelle and sleep 13 hours that night. 

Thank you – Sheila at Rock Landing Marina - for waiting for us to return safely.  That meant a lot to me. 

Moral of the story:  I need a bigger boat!

Stay safe.

Captain Paul

The New King

May 25, 2012

High Temperature:  90.  Winds NE 5 – 10 MPH (says weather).  Seas 1-2 feet.

The sentence above is the weather forecast.  What a bunch of crap.

As we leave the channel this morning, the waves are 6-8 feet.  In fact, I have been heading out since January, and these are the worst seas I have seen in the last five months.

On the boat today are Russell Paul and Vince Capish.  Vince works for TPD.  Let’s see, how do I describe Vince?  I've got it:  He is indescribable.  Let’s leave it at that.  The guy has a heart of gold and you won’t find a better person to count on if you are ever in trouble.  If I say anything more about him, he will want to kiss me, and since there would be no way I could stop him (he is twice my size), I will stop.  The fish is actually huge, but Vince makes him look small.  When we catch a big fish, I need to remember to only take pictures with little guys.

Because of the NE 20 MPH fricking wind, we don’t get more than a mile out of the channel before all three of us are soaked.  I am only cruising at about 10 MPH. 

Before I completely blame it on the weatherman, let me say this:  “I think weather forecasts, in general, aren’t supposed to be for those of us who fish.  I think the weather forecast is for people who are sitting on their back porch reading the paper and drinking coffee.  I will also say this, the weather in the Gulf changes hour-by-hour so it really would be impossible to predict if from morning to afternoon.  Still, 6-8 foot waves and a 20 MPH NE wind is “quite” different than 5 MPH and 1-2 ft seas.  Okay, enough about the damn weather.

We are heading to Oar Reef this morning.  Oar Reef is just inside K Tower so I feel right at home.  I remember when I was scared to death to go "all the way" to K Tower.  Now, it seems like a close friend.  Russell loves to troll.  He isn’t a big bottom fisher.  And like Mike Wilson pointed out a few weeks ago, “Marc, let’s compare all the fish you have caught trolling, versus bottom fishing.  Any fish worth noting has always been trolling and not bottom fishing.”  Interesting perspective and entirely correct.  So we will troll.  Besides, it is really starting to get hot out here on the water and “always moving” is better than sitting still.  No longer do I need a jacket heading out in the morning.

We are trolling with a Green Stretch 25. I also have a new Blue Stretch 30 that Mike Wilson picked up at Bass Pro Shop last week.  Although the greens have been very dependable, I’m looking forward to trying something different.

It takes us awhile because of the waves, but we finally make it to Oar Reef in about an hour.  Everything on the boat is wet.  Vince is two Natural Lights in, but he still has 34 left, so we are good.

We only troll for a few minutes when we hear the sweet music of drag.  Something small.  A Spanish Mackerel.  The Stretch is at least half his size.  He must have had delusions of grandeur.  We throw him back.  Not interested in him.  We aren’t trolling long before something hits the rig in the rocket launcher right above my head.  I will take a moment to apologize to the deckhands here (especially to Vince since he is a guest), but I really didn’t think when I grabbed the rod.  Besides, the fish didn’t hit it that hard so I kind of figured he was another Spanish Mackerel.  And, in fact, as I start reeling, I can tell he is on the line, but he isn’t giving up much of a fight.  I get him close to the boat and then all hell breaks out. 

He does NOT like the look of the boat.  He runs.  He runs hard and fast away.  Damn, this fish is much bigger than I thought.  Definitely not a Spanish Mackerel.  I already know he isn’t a shark because they don’t hit Stretches.  He is either a King or an Amberjack.  I get him close to the boat again, he runs again.  I am moving all around the boat by this time cause this son-of-a-bitch is going every direction and pulling my drag.  Russell and Vince are both staying out of my way and are getting the gig ready.  I will apologize to Vince here again.  I had no idea the fish was this big, otherwise I would have let Vince take the pole.  Still, as the Captain, I am having a fantastic time fighting this monster.  I know how Ryan feels now.

I get him close enough to the boat where Vince can gig him.  Damn Vince, I’ve never seen anybody gaff a fish that effectively.  Anytime you are on my boat, you are the official “gaffer”.

King Mackerel.  25 pounds.  Biggest fish on Geeks 1 up to this point.  Sorry Ryan, you had the biggest King, but this thing is bigger.  There is a new KING in town!  I suppose the contest between you and I has now officially begun.

We place the King in the cooler.  Well, we put ¾ of him in the cooler.  He won’t fit.  He doesn't even fit into the above picture. That’s kind of funny.  We start trolling again.  Vince catches a large Jack Cravelle.  21 inches.  Is there a minimum size on Jack Cravelle?  We’re not sure, so we throw him back.  In hindsight, we should have kept him.  He was a pretty fish.  We troll towards K Tower.  When we get there we can see Cobia all around the tower.  Bait fish are also everywhere.  Another boat approaches and fishes with live bait. They catch nothing and move on quickly.  One thing I am learning about K Tower:  Everybody fishes it and the fish seem immune to both fake and live bait.  These large cobia swimming around us are not idiots.  So there are always a lot of fish at K Tower but I have yet to see anybody catch one.

Its getting late in the day so I head to shallower water around Ochlocknee Shoal.  We head to my waypoint called “Shark Shelf”.  Guess what we catch?  Yep, shark.  Damn, there are lot of sharks here.  Interesting that during the summer time everybody swims here.

We head in with, yes, you guessed it, one fish.  But damn, he is one large fish.  I am okay with that.  When we get back to the dock we compare notes with the 3 or 4 boats that went out that day.  Nobody caught much – not even Captain Vic.  That wind killed them.  Geeks 1 returned with the largest fish – by far.

Wait, let me repeat that, Geeks 1 returned with the largest fish!  Love it.  Russell says I am adding to my Captain Creds.

 Vince, at his best!

Tight Lines.

Captain Paul

Fishing is Hard

05/11/12

On the boat today:  Russell Paul, Mike Wilson, Marc Paul

I have been dreaming about Bryon’s Reef all week.   After that Rock-the-Dock tournament, I really wanted another shot at that location.   I mean, I like to fish and everything, but the dreams were starting to drive me crazy. 
We headed out at 7:15 a.m. in typical fashion.  The weatherman called for 1-2 foot seas, 5-10 MPH winds, 0% chance of rain.  I’m thinking, "There couldn’t be better fishing conditions".  Weatherman are always “spot on” right?

As we leave the channel we get hit with a rather brisk NE wind 10-15 MPH.  Bryon’s Reef is 40 miles from Rock Landing Channel.  I sure hope this wind dies down throughout the day. 
Typically, I like to cruise at 30 MPH, but today, with this morning wind, I have to run the boat at 18-20 MPH.  It’s going to take us some time to get there.

An hour and a half later, we arrive at the reef.  I haven’t seen another boat out here all day.  Wait, I take that back.  I have seen exactly one boat and he is racing me to the exact location where I want to go.  Really?  He anchors right in front of me.  Bastard.  So, we start trolling.  Immediately, Russell catches a 25” Amberjack.  Great looking fish – not 30”, so not big enough to keep - but still a great looking fish.  We throw the trolling lines back in.  Almost immediately, something extremely large hits Mike’s rig.  This fish, by far, is the largest thing that has ever hit my trolling line.  The fish starts to run – fast and hard.  Then, he changes his mind as he probably doesn't like the way that hook feels in his mouth, and he heads straight back towards the boat - fast.  Mike is reeling as fast as he can.  This fish is big and fast.  The fish gets closer to the boat and just like that, poof, he is gone.  Dammit.  That boy was big.  Hey, who needs bottom fishing.  Let’s do it again.  We throw the trolling lines back out.

The waves are cresting at a solid 5 ft with white caps.  The wind is constant out here at 15-20 MPH.  You’re fricking kidding me!  There was supposed to be no wind today.  Weathermen!  They should just say, "We really have no idea what the weather will be today - now for sports".

We troll for another hour, but no more hits, so we decide to get on this guy’s butt and bottom fish.  As we were trolling around him, we noticed that they had several large fish on the line, but we have yet to see them get one in the boat.  Their lines keep breaking.  Oh, I feel terrible for those guys - yeah right!

Have I mentioned how difficult it is to anchor in 5 ft swells and 20 MPH wind?  We attempt it numerous times.   I know where the tugboats on the bottom are because the butthead in front of me is sitting on them, but trying to get my rock anchor to catch is proving quite difficult.  After numerous attempts, we kind of get the anchor to catch on something although we are not on the reef.  Mike is pretty tired from pulling 80ft of anchor rope so we give it a try.  After 20 minutes or so, I catch a small key west grunt, but other than that, nothing.  We keep bottom fishing for another hour, but – nothing – not even nibbles.

The day is marching forward and we have a LONG drive back.  I tell the boys to drop the trolling lines so we can troll back towards K Tower.  10 miles to K Tower.  We can’t go fast anyway because the waves are crashing over the bow.  We troll for an hour – nothing.  We are definitely running out of day now so we pull in the lines and head towards K Tower – a little faster.  The wind is punishing us.   Due to the wind direction, the waves are crashing over the starboard side.  Mike is soaked.  Thanks Mike – I’m pretty dry - please don't move.   We finally arrive at K Tower, but it is 2:30 p.m. now and we still have another hour to get in.  Nothing to do but keep going.  Since we only have one fish in the boat, I throw him back.  What’s the point.  Seagulls love us.

We arrive at the dock – oh, guess what, "Geeks 1: doesn’t have any fish in the boat – again.  No other boats around today, so big deal.

We are exhausted due to the waves and wind, but at least we are back safe.

Fishing is hard.

Tight lines!

Captain Paul