A very calm start to the day ended with a splash/wet ride home with the increasing wind and waves. Two guest were with me today, and we were doing a loop, hitting all the main spots. First was a run to 8A, with the primary goal of picking up some AJ bait. Not much activity there, except smaller Sea Bass and plenty of Red Snapper. Little Tuny were on the reef, and we made a few pass's along the reef and was able to hookup a few on spinning rods, for a good battle.
We moved out to the 21 fathom reef and nothing but Red Snapper and Lizardfish were caught in a couple of drifts across. We stopped at the 20 mile bouy to see if any fish were holding on it, and a couple pass's by and baits cast resulted in no returns.
Heading out for AJ's's, we went south-east along the 27 fathom ridge, with not a lot marking. The first activity was seen at wreck, but unfortunately 2 boats were already working it, and appeared to be in a "turf-war", maneuvering dangerously close to one another in an attempt to push the other off the spot. We did not feel like adding any more testosterone to the water, and with the other stops we had in mind showing boats on the radar at them, and sea's getting choppy, we headed to Pelican Flats to finish the day bottom fishing.
The bite was not as active as recent trips, though getting there after lunch time, we likely missed the more active part of the day. Triggers and Sea Bass as well as Yellowtail Snapper went in the icebox. Yes, more Red Snapper were caught and released, often hitting the bait before reaching our targeted fish on the bottom.
With the Red Snapper and Grouper being off limits, AJ's are the lone big fish that can be retained, and they are being fished hard as a result. The poorly managed decision to pile these closures up on each other will only produce bad results, both for anglers and the fishery itself. When the government and environmental groups work together to write rules, the results typically show the combined lack of forethought that we have come to expect out of them.
Captain Henry
"Wile E. Coyote"
ACME Ventures Fishing
www.ACME-Ventures-Fishing.com
321-794-7955 |
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