"Captain, We Can 'Catch' As Many As We Like" - SJ

Hello everyone.

Here on Florida's Forgotten Coast, it's "Snapper Season".  Last year, snapper season was only open for nine days.  This year, a little longer, but not much: Two weeks - I think.

From Panacea, you have to go a LONG way to get to them.  Apparently, they hang out between V Tower and S Tower (See map).  Two far-away towers, btw, to which I have never been.  Except for bringing the boat back from Pensacola, I have never had the Century out that far.  From Apalachicola, S Tower is not that far, but that is an entirely different story from Panacea.  Bottom line:  S Tower is about 100 nautical miles round-trip from the Rock Landing Marina.  Whew!

We have a choice:  V Tower or S Tower.  V Tower or S Tower.  Well, let's see.  If I go to V Tower, than I have to get a tattoo.  So, S Tower (which is actually farther than V Tower and in a slightly different direction - it is.  :-)

It's Saturday morning.  The dock is rocking with lots of boats.  There is definitely excitement on the dock. ALL boats 24 ft or bigger are icing, fueling, preparing and chatting. I love this part!  I absolutely love being on the dock with all the other boats getting ready to go.  Sure, there is competition in the air - that is part of it - but there is also camaraderie.

The weather forecast is sunny and calls for 0-1 foot waves.  I'll believe the wave part when I see it. Every time we have been out this season, it's been 4-6 foot waves.  The wind is getting old.

Charmaine (Videographer) can't make it, so on the boat today is just the four of us:  Marc, Cameron, Sam and SJ (Sam Jr).

We head out. Sure enough, 0 - 1 foot seas.  Awesome!  Smooth as ice out here.  About time.

One hour and 45 minutes later, we arrive at S Tower.  Holy Crap - this tower is a long way from Panacea. But we're not alone - there are boats everywhere around us.

We start fishing and we catch some small vermilion snappers.  Not exactly what I drove 50 miles for. I start thinking to myself, "You're an idiot, why did you come all the way out here?"  Then, it happens.  SJ does it.  But it starts quite quietly.

Nobody is really paying any attention to him. He states rather calmly from the other side of the boat, "I think I got one".  I look over at him.  The first thing I notice is that his feet are actually leaving the deck.  The fish is so heavy that he is being lifted off the boat.  For some odd reason, I find this site rather humorous. (He does have a PFD on).    While chuckling, I do manage to say to his Dad, "Hey dude, I think he might need your help."

Although Dad assists, he lets SJ do most of the work. The pole stays under SJ's arm the entire time. You gotta earn the right to say you caught a fish that big.  After 4-5 minutes, the fish makes it in the boat.  15 pound snapper!  Wow, an amazing fish, SJ!  

Wanna watch him catch it?

Here he is right after he caught it:

Now you see why his feet were coming off the deck?  The fish is almost as big as he is.

Then, his Dad catches a similar one.  For the record (and we weighed both of them), SJ's is bigger!  "Who's your daddy!":

I don't think the kid stop smiling the rest of the day.  Which brings me to my favorite quote of the day.  SJ asks how many snapper we can catch, and I reply, "We can catch two snapper per person", and he replies, "Actually Captain, we can catch as many as we want, but we can only keep two".

Love this kid!  I name the waypoint where he caught it:  "S Tower - SJ".  Now he has his own spot deep in the Gulf of Mexico.

True, we didn't fill up the board with fish - I'm still learning how to do things out there - and we did go a long, long way, but I'm certain that a 10 year old kid won't forget a snapper that size for many, many years!

Fishing takes practice.  I still have a LOT to learn out there about bottom fishing - okay fishing in general.  Believe it or not, it is more difficult than you might think - especially anchoring EXACTLY on a waypoint in 100 ft of water.  Damn, that is difficult.  I look forward to telling you more about it on my fishing show!  

And kudos to my son, Cameron.  He continues to improve out there on the water. He is pretty humble about being helpful, but he has become extremely handy on the boat.  I couldn't have done it without him. I couldn't ask for a better father/son day. (Well, except for maybe the KC Chiefs game :-).  Cameron heads off to college soon.  He may not be a little kid anymore, but quality time with him now is time I won't forget for many, many years.  I am honored to be his Dad.  I will truly miss him, his energy, and his personality, when he leaves for UNF this fall.

I'm exhausted, but believe it or not, I will be back at S Tower on Monday as I will be taking WCTV Channel 6 News out on the boat, so I have another post to write in a few days.  I'll be back soon!

Just for fun, here are a few closing pictures:

                         

Oh, and for the three of you who DO read my blog, we are making progress with the actual Capt'n Hook website.  The site has a LONG way to go to be ready for prime-time (we are just getting started), but if you would like a "sneak peak" at it, here it is:

www.captnhook.fish

As always, thank you for taking the time to7 read this post.

Be back soon.

Captain Marc Paul

Wife is a blog hacker.

Hey Capt’n Hook:
This is your wife.....
It took us forever to get to the coast.  The girls needed matching outfits, special hair stuff, only certain foods for lunch and, of course, a Starbucks stop. It was almost lunch before we actually got on the boat.

The boat is huge! It is so much bigger than I thought it would be. I had just stepped on when Marc – sorry - “Captain Hook” told me what to grab in case of emergency; which buttons to push; which station to use for the emergency radio; the first aid kit; and which bags to inflate in case he was incapacitated. The first thing he showed me was all the emergency rules. Remember, it's just me and two twelve-year old girls.  The emergency instructions are taped to the dash:
We get a few miles out, "Steer the boat" he says. You gotta be kidding me. Thankfully, Delaney says she can do it.
He then tries to show me how to fix “inriggers” or “outriggers” or whatever all that nonsense is on the back of the boat. 

Since I won't drive the boat I, apparently, have to do all the bits with the poles. I don't really fish either, btw. He taught me early in our marriage how to put a shrimp on a hook and cast my little line on my little pole into the water. I never progressed from there and -I'm okay with that! He's telling me to listen for the “zing” of the line so then I can set it, pull it in, pay out the line etc. "And you can help the girls do theirs too," he assures me. You gotta be kidding me.

About this time Delaney’s friend get seasick and is puking over the side. I view this as a sign from God that we should go back. But the little girl rallies and the Captain is determined we should continue to troll and catch something. Little does he know I'm frantically bargaining with God not to catch anything and nor for the Captain to become incapacitated. Thankfully, she pukes again and he makes the decision to go in. Whew, after three hours of getting out to the coast and 30 minutes of actually fishing - we return safely to the dock. 

But NOOOO - the drama doesn't end there. Marc disappears somewhere and the “water police” hook onto the boat (at the dock) and start asking all these questions. I keep telling them, "I know nothing about anything on this boat" but they refuse to leave. I figure that sounds suspicious as heck and I’m pretty sure they are going to impound this new boat.
So my lesson of the day was.....Never step on the boat again unless there are several other people already on it (i.e. Gene, Sam, Mike, Ryan) who know way more about boats than I do. My next boat ride - I will be sitting in the co-pilots seat with a good book.

I just read your “smiling” post; I know your blog login credentials, so I feel compelled to give my view/perspective to your followers.  Here goes:

 

I kinda wanted to step back out. You have to understand, I know NOTHING about boats – nor about anything electronic. I can't even turn on our TV at home – no really, I can’t. The electronics console looks like an airplane dashboard:

Marc finally returns. 

You gotta be kidding me! Who would have guessed they were just there to harass Capt’n Hook because they knew him!

The next "fish I catch" will be at Mad Anthony's restaurant, preferably grilled, and with a chilled glass of wine.



Dude, Why aren't you fishing?

Blog posts are usually comprised of "words", but in this post, these simple "videos" easily explain why I am/we are NOT fishing today. 

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Here they are.  Enjoy!

Capt'n Hook - not fishing:

Cameron - not fishing:

Thanks for "watching".  Come fish (or skydive) with Capt'n Hook soon.

Happy Memorial Day and THANK YOU to all our veterans. (That includes you Russell)

Captain Marc Paul

Smiling, smiling, kind of smiling, no longer smiling, smiling

I have owned the boat for eight months now and Terri (who is a fan of boats) has not yet been out on it.  Ooops. 

It is past time to take the wife on a fishing trip.

And as long as I'm taking the wife, I might as well take the daughter. (Delaney)

And as long as I'm taking the daughter, I might as well take the daughter's friend (Lexi).

Still windy here.  Have I mentioned that I am not a fan of wind?  Conditions are rough, but it is sunny.

Lexi tells us that she has been out on boats before so I decide to take them all about 15 miles offshore. (What I consider inshore). For the first part of the trip, they decide to hang out near the bow because they are enjoying the large waves and the crashing of the bow up and down. 

They are really laughing, smiling and enjoying themselves.

That doesn't last long as Lexi falls, bangs/cuts her knee and smacks her chin against the metal railing.  She is a trooper though after a little first aid on her knee: 

She is back to smiling.

I had actually intended to take the girls to K Tower, but it simply too rough for that.  After 20-25 minutes, we make it out to the area I want to fish (Camp Reef).  Thanks again Camp.  I show them how to drop the trolling rigs into the water; how to pay out the line; how to set the drag; how to test the drag tension; how to turn on the clicker.  Glazed looks ensue.  :-)

We are fishing a few minutes when Lexi gets that "odd look" on her little cute, teenage face.  I know that look.  It is easily recognizable on the water.  She goes from brown (tan) to green quickly.  Seconds later, yep, she is chumming for fish from her esophagus. Fortunately, I have never been seasick, but I have seen LOTS of people who have.  It really doesn't look like fun.  We give Lexi some water; she says she is feeling better and she is smiling again.

Hmm.  Rarely have I ever known anyone to recover from seasickness until their feet hit the dock.  But maybe, just maybe, Lexi will be different.  Conditions are still rough... 4-5 ft waves.

We fish for 5-10 minutes.  Nothing biting.  Lexi decides to chum for fish again.  Bless her heart. She is only "kind of" smiling now. 

Although we have only been fishing for twenty minutes.  We decide to head back.  It isn't a difficult decision by any means.  Anything else would just be cruel.

On the ride back, Lexi decides to donate to the Gulf of Mexico just a little more of herself.  She is no longer smiling:

Delaney and Terri still are.  They have never been seasick:

I'm just throwing a picture of myself in here from our trip, cause I can:

We return safely to the dock and after only 5-10 minutes with her feet on dry land, Lexi is smiling again, so the girls decide to have a little picnic on the dock next to the boat.

Until.....FWC shows up.

I am returning from the marina store and walking back down the dock when I see they have latched on to my boat sitting at the dock.  One of the dock workers asks me, "Marc, what is up with you and FWC?  They follow you everywhere."

My reply, "They show me attention when I shoot at them".

Anyway, I can hear Terri telling them "I know nothing about this boat, I know nothing about the registration, I know nothing about nothing!".  They are smiling patiently at her.

As I walk up, I see that it is Jason Marlow.  He is an FWC officer who I went to sea school with.  We got our Captain's licenses at the same time.  Jason is a really nice guy (although if you tell him I said that, I will deny it).  Trivia:  Jason knows more about sea life than anybody.  He is obviously enjoying my wife's discomfort.  (I like him even more).

Good to see you Jason (on left).  Let's see if you can catch me on the water next time!  Docks don't count.  I know, it probably isn't wise to challenge the FWC to catch me.  I never said I was the smartest Captain.  Oh yeah, what is the Coast Guard navigation rule again?  "Always speed towards the red and yellow lights and speed away from the blue lights".  Yes, I'm certain that is the Inland and International rule that we studied in sea school.  :-).  In this picture, I'm actually NOT in front of them, I'm just bigger and more muscular.

At Mad Anthony's, it is only fitting that I buy all of us virgin strawberry daiquiris.  Those things are awesome!  Although Lexi has fully recovered, I'm pretty certain it will be a long time before she fishes with Capt'n Hook again.  You're always welcome though Lexi.

I'm pretty sure I still owe my wife a fishing trip. 

Great job on the photos, Terri!

I'll be back very soon everyone.  Thanks for reading.  Come fishing with me soon.

Captain Marc Paul



Is It Worth It?

Caution - this post is rather long.  If you're busy, you may want to read it later.

Another year has passed since the 2014 "Panacea Rock-The-Dock" fishing tournament.  Man, time sure passes quickly.  I hate to see all of you age while I don't.

We entered the tournament again this year, but it will be my last year doing so.  You'll understand as you read.

I arrived at the coast Thursday evening because I had some basic work to do on the boat (changing batteries, entering waypoints, etc.)  I wasn't really expecting anyone to join me Thursday night, but both Mike and Gene said they would meet me down there.  Cool - good friends to hang with!

We rented a house on Alligator Point; very nice place on the beach.  Here is a view from our porch at sunset Thursday night:

The "Forgotten Coast" really is a pretty place.

The weather forecast for the weekend is "iffy" at best.  Like I said in the last post, it has been raining almost every day in Tallahassee the entire month of April.

Fortunately, I stay away from the "red 10% alcohol content beer" at Mad Anthony's Thursday night; that stuff is strong!; we all get a good night's sleep and we wake up early Friday morning at 5:45 a.m. The weather forecast today is calling for sun and 2-3 foot seas.  Wow - great conditions!

Friday:

Morning.  We are almost at the dock.  We hear some profanities from Gene in the back seat. He has forgotten his sunglasses.  "You can buy some cheap glasses at Crum's," Mike and I tell him.   A few minutes pass.  He curses some more.  "I forgot my cell phone charger.  I have GOT to work today", he says.  BTW, Gene is a little stressed from work.   There is nothing open at 6 a.m. so they drop me off at the dock and head all the way back to the house.  An hour round-trip.  Great start to fishing!  Not.

We leave the dock around 8 a.m.  We aren't far offshore when we quickly realize that the seas are NOT 2-3 feet.  More like 6-7 feet and we are only about 7 miles offshore (what I consider inshore fishing).  We are the only boat out here.

Now, in the 32 ft Century, I'm not too worried, from a safety perspective, about the waves, but we are getting pretty beat up.  There is absolutely nothing biting at Rotary Reef; I'm definitely not going farther offshore, so we head inshore to fish "Trout Hole"; take it easy; relax and eat some lunch.  The tournament doesn't start until tomorrow anyway.  Except for a couple of crappy catfish, there is nothing at Trout Hole.  We decide that drinking beer at the marina is a better alternative then catching catfish.

We do that.

What is the old saying, a bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work?

Gene has to work all weekend, so he takes off back to Tallahassee.  (He is not puffing up in this picture).

Charmaine and Sam take his place Friday night.  People are starting to setup their tents for the tournament.

Once again, we don't do anything crazy at the house Friday night and we all get a good night's sleep.

Saturday:

The boats are lined up at the dock; ready to head out.  I talk with Robbie who has a 35 ft Marlago. Robbie's Dad owns Rock Landing Marina.  We decide to head out together to V Tower - if the weather isn't too rough.  I haven't even left the dock yet and I have to acknowledge "Tornado Warnings" and "Severe Thunderstorm" alerts on my electronics.

Now, logic states that if you are being required to acknowledge Tornado Warnings on your boat's electronics prior to leaving the dock, it might make sense to stay connected to said dock, but since it is tournament day, I simply Acknowledge them and we shove off.  I tell Robbie that I will follow him until he does something stupid.

About 3 miles offshore, we hit 4-5 foot seas -and the waves are uncomfortably close together. The wind is howling. Simply said, it is ROUGH!  Robbie calls me on the VHF radio and says he intends to head to V Tower (which is 40 miles offshore).  I deem his decision to be either extremely brave or extremely stupid.  I still can't decide which. What I DO know is that I am NOT following him.  My boat can handle the waves, but I really don't want to be 40-50 miles offshore in a Tornado.  As I learn later, Robbie actually heads 80 miles offshore near the Florida middle grounds.  No way, jose.  There ARE big fish out there though.  Here he is proving it:

That is a 28 pound AmberJack.  Nice fish Robbie!  You definitely earned it.

I refuse to be limited again to Rotary Reef (7 miles offshore) so I head to a location that is about 15 miles offshore.

We start fishing.  ZIZZZ.  (Sound or reel drag :-).  ZIZZZ. King.  ZIZZZ, King.  ZIZZZ, Spanish. ZIZZZ King. ZIZZZ, King. ZIZZZ, King.  Okay, you get the idea.  None of the Kings are very big (we are only in 35 ft of water), but we are having a great time catching them and Charmaine is filming the catches.  We often don't even have a lure deployed all the way before a fish hits it.  Mike and Sam are very busy:

By the way Sam, you are really pissing me off with those ab muscles.

We quickly catch about 12-13 Spanish and Kings (so we actually start throwing them back).  At this pace, we could easily catch 20-25 Kings, but we can't eat that many, and they don't freeze very well, (I don't like wasting fish) so we decide to call it an early day and head back to the dock (to drink beer).  It is only about 1 p.m. when we arrive back at the dock.

Even in a 32 ft boat, as we head in, we are getting soaked in the cockpit.  Not from rain, but from waves crashing over the gunwales: (and I have big gunwales)  pronounced "gunnels", btw.

Terri says that guys over 21 years of age are not allowed to wear puka beads. But when you are approaching 50 and don't give a damn what other people think, the rules start to change again.  Hah!

As the Captain, I catch a LOT of flack from the dock workers about being a "chickenshit" Captain when I return to the dock early during a tournament.  But hey, I really want to live to fish another day.  I learned last year that there is no way we will ever actually compete in this tournament (I'll explain later), so I don't really care.  Anyway, I am used to the dock workers giving me crap about something.  They have goodheartedly been doing it for years.

We clean the fish (well, I don't) and head back to the Alligator Point house, except Charmaine who has had enough and she returns to Tallahassee to finish studying for finals.

Saturday night we are playing poker at the house when more severe storms pass through.  We ask ourselves, "I wonder if Blake ("Reel Smokers" 31' boat) is still out on the water in this weather?"  Turns out - he was.  He was actually 80 miles offshore, at times, enduring some very severe weather.  Like Robby, balls of steel, or brain not working?  I'll let you be the judge.

Now, first place in the tournament, for any category is $750.00.

Is it worth it to win $750.00 while risking your life in a severe thunderstorm or tornado, 80 miles offshore in a boat that has no cabin?  As it turned out, I heard that Blake (who is an awesome fisherman and nice guy) didn't win 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place.  But then, he wasn't competing with locals - he was competing with guys fishing in the Keys.  The weather is very pleasant down there I hear.

Is it worth it to come back early, head to a beautiful, rented house on the beach; cook and eat our extremely fresh fish, lose nine dollars at the house playing poker with Sam and Mike while drinking coconut rum and pineapple juice?

Sunday:

Dock.  9 a.m.  Okay, we woke up late.  I'm looking around for Robby.  You remember him.  He was the guy who went to the middle-grounds yesterday.  I hear from the workers that he is sun-burnt and exhausted today, so he isn't fishing.  I laugh, but I can't blame him.  If I had gone to the middle-grounds yesterday in those waves, I wouldn't fish again for a few more weeks.

But WE are ready to go.  We head out a few miles.  Nothing biting on Rotary.  On radar, we see a big line of storms coming our way (again).  Dammit.  Really?!  I confirm over VHF with the marina.  Yep - big storm.  We head in; drink some coffee. We wait.

Storm passes around 10:30 a.m.  Radar looks clear.  Thank you, God.

We head out - again.

Don't even ask what my fuel costs were this weekend.  If you do ask, don't tell my wife.

This time, we experience 7-8 foot waves, but they are rolling, and farther apart than yesterday, but not breaking.  I have never been in waves this big.  Because they are "rolling", we aren't exactly getting beat up, but they are a little freaky riding up and down.  Sam and Mike are all excited.  Why am I the only one worried?

We arrive at Oar Reef about 18 miles offshore.

Things start happening fast.  Our first bite is a keeper AmberJack.  Then, the Kings start hitting us fast and hard.  In 15 minutes, we bring in 5 Kings.  Just like yesterday, apparently. But then the bite stops as fast as it starts.  Fish are weird.

K Tower is only a few miles away.  We go there.  We are there about 15 minutes when we catch three more keeper Amberjacks.  Maybe we really are getting better at this fishing thing!!  Here is Mike with a decent one:

Yes, we know, it isn't the size of Robby's, but we are on the boat again fishing and Robby is still sleeping.  Admit it Robby - you know you were.

Oh, and apparently, the new bean bag was a big hit.  Since both Mike and Sam fell asleep in it, they want me to buy another one:

We limit out on Amberjacks.  We have a long ride in.  We are tired.  We head home.  This time, we arrive back around 3:00 p.m.  Apparently, we were the only boat out there.  Everyone else is recovering from yesterday, drinking beer and watching the ridiculously large fish being waltzed across the stage.

The Panacea tournament:

Don't let the name fool you.  The Rock-The-Dock tournament might be held in Panacea, but it is a nationwide tournament. That's cool, I'm glad the tournament has grown so big.  Cudos to the organizers!  The recognition is probably great for little ole Panacea, Florida.  But as a Panacea fisherman, it would be nice if someone would explain the rules better to me.  I thought it was mostly for local fishermen - hence the name. Conversely, the name "Big Bend Saltwater Classic" is pretty clear.

Professionals are showing up Sunday from Alabama, Mississippi, New Orleans (and I heard - even the Keys). We (locals) are fishing in 100 feet of water or less.  They are fishing in 2-3 thousand feet of water.  I mean the winning AmberJack was 65 pounds for god's sake! We heard a spectator say that they caught it Thursday afternoon.  Really?  I thought the tournament started on Saturday? Whatever...

The news does an interview with a guy on stage with a HUGE Amberjack.  The cameraman asks him where he caught it and he replies, "We were in 500 feet of water".  Really?  500 feet!  You don't say?  Okay, let's think about that folks.  From Panacea, I wouldn't reach 500 feet of water if I drove my boat all the way to Tampa. Whatever...

Remember Robby's huge Amberjack from up above?  It was only (only) 28 pounds and leaving "Panacea" (he actually "rocked-the-dock" as his foot left it), risked his life going all the way to the Middle Grounds for it. (He is a little competitive).  So just imagine what a 65 pound Amberjack looks like.  More than likely, it was caught in 1000 feet of water near an Oil Rig in the deep gulf.  Then, like all the rest of the winners, they drove their fish to Panacea.  I saw at least two trucks with New Orleans license tags.  The boats were 40 foot with quads on the back!  The guys all had matching shirts.  (Well, we did also, I suppose.)

It is just my opinion (which isn't worth much), but the "Panacea Rock-the-Dock" tournament needs to be renamed to the "Gulf of Mexico Rock-the-Dock" tournament.  With the footnote:  "Fish weighing in Panacea, Florida."  Apparently, if you own a truck or are willing to pay someone to fly your fish to Panacea by 4 p.m. on the final Sunday - you also can win.  So if you live in the Keys, or in Texas or Mexico, give me a call next year on Thursday.  I will pay to have your huge fish Fedx'd to me.  I'll split the profit with you.  For $750.00 (1st prize), I will still make money.  And if you caught your fish LAST year and it has been frozen all year - no problem - just make sure you give it enough time to unfreeze before you ship it to me.  I don't think they care if the fish has been speared either.  So, that's okay, also.  It's all done on the "honor" system.

But Capt'n Hook digresses...  :-)

Did we have fun?  You betcha.  Did we fish all weekend in seriously rough weather?  Most definitely.  Did we return safely?  Yes.  Was I smiling at work Monday morning telling stories about fishing?  Of course.

But I wonder............

• Should Capt'n Hook consider starting a small tournament for just locals on the Forgotten Coast between St. Marks and Carrabelle?  
• Any profits would be donated to the "Gulf Specimen Marine Lab" in Panacea? 
• For fun, participants must donate one fish and we all eat our catches and drink beer together as locals at Mad Anthony's in Panacea?  
• All boats must leave at the same time from one of the local marinas?  
• Your boat must be registered at one of the local marinas to prove you are local? 
• Your fish must be physically removed from your boat and weighed at one of the local marinas by a tournament official?
• We put the whole party on the Capt'n Hook fishing show?  

Hmm....

Speaking of which, The Capt'n Hook Fishing Show website is coming along.  It still needs a lot of work so we aren't publishing the domain just yet.  Charmaine is doing a great job filming, editing and posting.  I think the crew liked the new Cap'n Hook fishing shirts and hats we just got in.  Even Macon had one on yesterday!  We still have LOTS to do this summer to prepare for a fishing show, but we ARE still moving forward.

Thanks everyone for reading!  (all 3 of you).

Captain Marc Paul

Steve's Birthday

Good morning everyone.

It's not always about the fish - or the fishing.  It's also about quality time with family.

My sister Lorraine and her husband Steve came up from Tampa recently.  It was Steve's birthday.  His 39th, I think. :-).  Hard to tell with Steve as he is such an avid P90X fan.

The weather in Tallahassee has been pretty crappy for weeks now.  Lots and lots of rain.  If April showers bring May flowers then every square inch of Tallahassee should be blooming next month.

Even though it was pouring down rain, we decided to head down to the coast.  There is a restaurant at the marina called "Mad Anthony's".  Oysters at the restaurant sounded pretty good on Sunday.

Pouring down rain as we head to the coast.  Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea.

The grouper sandwiches are good.  Pouring down rain as we eat at the restaurant.  Can't it just stop raining for a little while?  Give me a break!

And then we get one.  I wouldn't exactly call it "sunny", but it does stop raining briefly.

Put the damn boat in the water, boys.

They do.

We don't/can't go far because there is obviously more rain and lightning on the way, but it isn't always the "destination" that counts, it is the "journey".

So we take an easy cruise out of the channel with Delaney riding on the bow.  I got a picture of Delaney on the bow, but I can't seem to find it.  Sorry about that Delaney.  It is probably a good thing since bow riding IS illegal.  We take a pleasant trip out to the last channel marker and slowly turn around.

Lorraine even drove the boat for a while.  Great job Lorraine!  She kept saying, "It is huge, it is huge".  I agree.  But then again, I am used to hearing that from women.  (About the boat, of course).

I could be wrong, but I think they enjoyed themselves:

In my opinion, anytime you find yourself in a picture with white wake and nothing but a water horizon behind you, it is a good day!

Happy Birthday, Steve!

Glad you guys could come up and visit.  You are welcome back anytime.

Stay tuned everyone.  My next blog will be a long one as "Rock-the-Dock" fishing tournament is next.

Thanks for reading.  (all 3 of you)

Captain Marc Paul

Confession

Fishing season is here!  Thank you God.  It seemed like this winter went on forever.

For those of you who actually read my blog, I know it says, “Panacea Fishing on the Triton” when you receive your email.  And yes, it's true, I do not have a Triton any longer –  I have a Century.  However, the method in which this blog was created doesn't allow me to change the email title.  Apparently, the only way I can change the email title is to create an entirely new blog.  Of course, if I do that, the three of you who have signed up for this blog will no longer automatically receive an email when I write a new post - unless you sign up for the new post.  

I don't want to lose any readers, but since we are working towards a fishing show, I also can’t live with the title being wrong.  So, sometime in the next few months, I will be changing over to a new blog.  I promise to let you know when I do that so that you can sign up for the new one.  (We also have a new website coming).  For now though, please tolerate the incorrect title.  I loved the Triton, so let’s just think of it that way.

Easter is only two days away. 

On the boat today – three of us:

·         “One Last Cast” Sam

·         “She needs a nickname” Charmaine

·         Capt’n Hook

Early start.  Up at 5 a.m. Out of house by 5:40 a.m.  At the dock by 6:45 a.m.

This is what the morning looks like leaving the dock:

I have taken the boat out of the channel using just electronics before, but it definitely isn’t easy.  On the very first turn, I screw up and almost run us aground on an oyster bar.  There is a delay between the GPS and the actual direction of the bow.  On a clear day, I am used to that delay, but trying to stay in a 60 ft wide channel that is only 1 foot deep – just outside the channel – is quite challenging on a 32 ft boat when you can’t see the channel markers. If you don’t believe me, I will happily pass the driving over to you.  

We proceed VERY slowly and eventually, we clear the last channel marker. 

Whew.  In the clear right?

Heck no.  Now we have three miles of crab traps in front of us.  These things are like little land mines scattered about just waiting to blow up your propeller.  My windshield is completely useless (hmm. windshield wipers would be nice on a boat).  Sam takes lookout duty on the bow.  It is very wet and cold up there, but he never complains - great to have dedicated crew on board.  We clear the land mines, but we are still 17 miles from K Tower.  We still can’t see a damn thing – like for instance another boat that might be 20 feet in front of us. 

We finally arrive at K Tower, but we can’t really see it.  Still, I know it is there because my electronics say it is.  The fog is lifting – somewhat.  Funny, just a year ago, there isn’t a chance in hell that I would have navigated all the way to K Tower in heavy fog.  I probably shouldn't have done it this time either.  Oh well, we are here.  Time to fish!

Through the fog, we can see another boat near us.  They are jigging hard for AJs. Every few minutes, they are successful as we see their rods bend. There are five people on this other boat.  Sam and I remind ourselves of that as they keep catching fish and we don't catch anything.  This goes on for at least a ½ hour.  Pretty soon, the math ceases to work for two versus five people.  Very frustrating.

Copying is the sincerest form of flattery so we begin jigging like them – still nothing.  We even have live bait floating off the back of the boat – nothing.

But if there is one thing experience has taught me – when you aren’t catching fish – keep changing something.  So, I put a large egg weight on one of the rigs that had live bait, and I drop it to the bottom.  Wham!  AJ.  28”.  Not big enough.  Big enough for Charmaine to finally get some video of us catching a fish though. 

By the way, for those of you who aren’t following, we are producing an offshore fishing show this year.  Charmaine is the videographer and editor.  She is out of the FSU Communications school. Today is her first day on the boat fishing offshore.  I don’t think she was really awake until that first AJ hit the deck. But after that, she videotaped just about everything, all day, including some really strange shots of a little green frog that hitched a ride with us.  In fact, throughout the day, we often forgot she was taping.  So she will have LOTS of editing to do to remove all the stupid stuff we did.  I'm just kidding - our goal is to actually SHOW the stupid stuff.  So prepare for some laughs this year (on video).

Okay, so putting live bait at the top of the water table doesn’t work, but putting it at the very bottom DOES work.  So, let’s do that again.  Live bait on the bottom.  Wham, Yep.  Another AJ.  We do that a few more times and catch a few more large AJs, but none large enough to keep.  I think they have to be something like 300 inches at the fork, or something ridiculous like that, in order to keep them:

The seas are calm, so I make the decision to head 10 more miles offshore to Bryson Reef.  Maybe the AJs are bigger out there.  But before we go, Sam says, “Let me make one last cast”.  He throws his jig out one last time before we move the boat.  Wham!  HUGE AJ – and a keeper.  33” inches at the fork. 

Nice fish “one last cast” Sam!

So we head into deeper waters - 10 more miles offshore - to Bryson Reef.

The fog FINALLY completely lifts at Bryson Reef.  Wow!  It really is a beautiful day now.  Calm waters, perfect temperature and blue, blue skies like you always see near Easter.  We can see V Tower from here, but we are not at it - so no tattoo for me today.  

From past experience, I know that the first trolling run around Bryson Reef is very important.  Most boats don’t troll – seems like everyone likes to bottom fish.  But I have learned that the 1^st troll over a reef is always the most important because we usually get a big strike.  After that, I think the fish figure it out.  One of them must say something like, “Hey, what happened to Amber?”  And the other answers, “She went after that weird looking red and white minnow and then she got jacked out of the water.  Let’s stay away from those weird red minnows!” For those of you who think my blog isn't very punny, you should re-read this paragraph.  :-)

Okay, so that may not be exactly what the fish say to each other, but I'm sure it's close.

Sure enough, on the first trolling run, a VERY large AJ hits our line.  36” at the fork.  This is a large AJ!  We are only allowed one more because we can only catch three.  Which, by the way, is also frustrating because when we look over the gunwale, we can see thousands of them down there schooling.  But, whatever…..

1:30 in the afternoon now – time for lunch.  And time for my confession.  Sadly, I was told by "one last cast" Sam that if I didn’t confess, I would never be forgiven.  Forgiven by whom? Hmm.  I’m not certain of that, but alas I will go ahead and do it anyway.  But before I do, allow me to say this:   I was just trying to be nice.  It was Charmaine’s first trip out on the boat.  I wanted her to be comfortable.  I was thinking of my crew’s comfort – not my own.  I’ll never do it again.  For the record, as a now certified Coast Guard Captain, I was thinking of my crew first – not me. 

Along with some strawberries and some dried apricots – I brought a banana on board my own boat.

And we actually ate it!

No, you still may not bring a banana if you fish with me - unless you throw it overboard - and sacrifice it.

It probably explains, though, why we couldn’t catch that 3^rd AJ. 

Confession over – Happy Easter - back to fishing.   

My fishfinder is broken – it keeps freezing up.  Gene – you gotta fix it!  At the moment, I can’t see what the bottom looks like, so I don’t know if we are over structure or not.  I know we are close to it though because I am sitting on an old waypoint.  Sam hooks up on something extremely large that fights like a bull.  In fact, I'm pretty sure it is either a bull shark or a black tip shark - lots of them on Bryson Reef.  He fights it for a few minutes, but then the line breaks.  We both look at each other – shark.  I watched Jim Pittman fight those sharks on Bryson once.  Remember that Jim?  It was fun, but he was exhausted after an hour.  Something breaks my line.  I think the sharks are here.  They want the banana.

Anyway, it is getting late in the day and we are far from home – so we pack it up.  It would have been nice to return to the dock with three large AJs, but two huge ones aren't bad either.  Better than zero fish!.

Quick Sam selfie on the very pleasant drive back:

At the dock, Sam is cleaning the fish while I clean the boat.  A gentleman comes up to me from the restaurant and says, “Excuse me, what type of fish were those you took off the boat?” 

I reply, “Amber Jacks”. 

He says, “Wow, those were really big - and nice boat.”

I said, “Thank You”.

Then he asks, “Are you a charter Captain?”

My immediate response is, “No”.  He actually looks disappointed as he walks away.

I smile and then I think to myself, “Hmm.  Am I?”  

Thanks for reading everyone.  (all three of you).  

Happy Easter!!

Captain Marc Paul