Doin' What Works
Capt. Larry Pentel
February 22, 2010
Destin - Saltwater Fishing Report
Spring seems to be starting to look at the calender! We had 3 nice warm dry days in a row and today ain't bad at all- just a little wet first thing.
I took the offer of a warm calm day from nature to take out a group of locals to put some Jacks in the boat. That's my usual "target" species this time of year and they have treated me well so far this winter. My crew was in no hurry and the gulf was flat so I ran to a couple wrecks I hadn't fished yet this year just to explore a little. We lucked out and found fish on both spots but had to work a little to get 'em fired up. One of my crew had a brand new jigging rod he was dying to try out. It worked well and after he got tired he handed it around for everyone else to try. I got to catch a couple fish on it and was very impressed. John at Yellowfin had shown me the same rod the week before and was pushing it hard. They ain't cheep but quality rarely is these days! I can vouch that they hold up well to 100# braid and Amberjacks !
Everybody gets a freezer full!
We managed to catch about 10 Vermilion snappers as well and 1 big trigger to go with the jacks. My crew was kind enough to let me keep the "small" fish. I've said it before and I'll say it again " Aint nothing wrong with a Red Snapper but I'd rather eat a vermilion any day". My wife cooked 4 of 'em up whole with olive oil, lemon and rosemary the next night, mighty tasty!
I mentioned that it took us a while to get the fish going. As the weather gets nicer these fish are going to be hit harder and more often, especially as they are the only "big" fish legal to keep till grouper re-open in April. We hit both spots after other boats had already been there getting the "easy" bite. While most folks know about long light leaders one of the biggest things with jacks is just to keep 'em going once they start . Like a school of Mahi around the boat in summer, a hooked fish will have a lot of other fish right with him fired up and ready to eat-- as long as you have a fresh wiggler right in there with 'em !
He lost 6 but landed a nice one!
The water temp was actually up form the last time I was out. It was 60-61 on the beach and 63 out about 18 miles. I talked to a couple of divers that went the same day and they said it was 60 on the bottom in 100 feet of water. Things are looking up!
Capt Larry (can't wait till cobia season)Pentel
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