Fall Bonus Fishing
Capt. Larry Pentel
October 6, 2008
Destin - Saltwater Fishing Report
Too blowy to be fun today but the fishing has been as good as the weather the past 10 days.
Lots (and lots) of Red Snappers around, probably as good a bite as I have ever seen. Plenty of fish in the 6-8# class if you run a bait big enough to slow down all the 2-4#'s! While I don't understand fishery management it sure is nice to throw back a 5# Snapper 'cause you know you can catch a bigger one!
Plenty of other species around too. The old saying about you never what's going to bite next got played out a couple times the past few days. I had regular client dangling a grouper bait over the side as I rounded up on a spot. He starts yelling at me "What's this, a big cobia?" I looked over the side to see a 6' long dark purple shape casually eying his bait. I grabbed a rigged mackerel rod and a live cigar minnow and flipped it over the stern. The sailfish lit up like a neon sign and chased that minnow all over the place before he was finally able to catch it. I handed the rod to my angler got to yell "Set The hook!" about a spilt second before he started yankin' down. The fish put on a wonderful show, jumping over 20 times before making some great runs on the little TLD. We got him up to the boat, I grabbed his bill and we made some pictures before releasing him. As great a catch as this was it was actually the second time this angler had a caught a sail with me in the exact same way! This one was smaller than the first (and had broken bill) but we got pictures of this one having had camera (man) issues the first time!
Always a beautiful sight!
Proof of the Catch
The "Rest of the Story"
As much fun as the sail was a first time couple with me 2 days later had as a big a time with a more regular bonus. We were still weeding through the snapper when I saw a pair of chocolate shapes swim by the side of the boat. I yelled at my folks to wind up their baits to right under the boat but the bigger cobia of the pair had already seen the minnow I had out on the flypole and crashed it. My angler did a great job of running in circles around the boat and keeping the line clear as the fish put him through a fire drill. At about 25# it was a perfect 1st time cobia. The 2nd fish didn't appear to quite be legal so we didn't mess with him and saved the chance of losing the nicer one. A limit of snappers, a king, a trigger and a grouper rounded out our catch.
They don't have fishing like this in New Jersey !
While most of my folks get big fishitis on a trip I sometimes have anglers who will spend the time to catch Triggers. While they don't photograph like a Grouper or King I still say they are the best table fare in the Gulf. This group from Alabama had a couple folks stick with a 2 hook rig while the other 2 ran grouper baits after we had our snappers. It paid off with 15 nice triggers to fill the board (and freezer).
A little time triggerin'!
It looks to be a little bouncy for the next couple days. While I hate to miss more than a day with fishing this good it may make things even better. The only species that hasn't had a good showing lately is the Kings. While we have caught a few they could show up in force after a good East blow. It's that time of year when the smokers start to show up in close and a 40# King will rock your world every time.
See you on reef!
Capt Larry Pentel
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