OPEN BOAT SUNDAY (FEB 22) FRIDAY(27TH) SATURDAY (28TH)
We were all looking forward to a great weekend after a nice haul the weekend before! The fish did not let us down one bit!!
SATURDAY
We had our minds set on getting an early start but that did not work out like planned. Capt Troy and I were both running a little late so we decided to team up and run the foggy river together. Two radars are always better than one!
After we hit the gulf Capt Troy and I split up to do a little wahoo hunting, neither having very much luck. After about two hours, we both ended up at the same spot. I started trying to find the tuna while Capt Troy finished up his troll. We were going to be smart and drop the anchor! Not so smart, the current was so fast it looked like our bait was getting on step. After leaving the ball, it didnt take very long before we had fish in the slick. We hooked up and boated two beautiful 25 pound blackfin then the 50 wide started to scream. After I let Capt troy know that we were on the fish, we boated a nice 112 pound yellowfin. It was action all day after that. I had Capt Gray Long aboard the Looney Tuna with me and it was all we could do to keep up. Capt Gray and I looked around one time and it looked like we had butchered a hog on the boat, there was so much blood we could not keep it washed down. We ended the day with five yellowfin, a few amberjack, and four huge blackfin tuna. The bad thing is, we pulled hooks on several big fish, one of them right at the boat. My favorite fish was one that was tail wrapped and as it came in, it looked dead. When the gaff touched this fish, it came back to life and ten mins later we were sticking the fish only to see that the only thing holding was the ine wrapped around the tail then hooked on the hook like a lasso. No hook in the fish! It is a good thing we had great anglers on the boat that kept all slack out or we would have lost this 120 pond yellowfin for sure!!!
SUNDAY
As my clock went off at four, I could hear the rain and wind outside. Not a great way to start a day. After talking with the crew, we decided to let the storm push through and ended up leaving the dock at eight. The fog was not as bad as saturday but we still had to deal with it. We decided to run straight to the tuna grounds and get started right away. We set up to pull baits around three rigs before finding the tuna. First two rigs, nothing!! Third times a charm, first round, boated a 50 pound wahoo. Second round, doubled up. Lost one, the other was about a 70-80 pounder! Nice fish! We made a few more pulls with no luck, moved over to the tuna spot and had bonita in the slick within five mins! We were able to catch some nice tuna before the sharks and storms moved in, so we called it a day and made a run for the pass!
The fishing has really turned on in Venice. If you were waiting on the fish, now is the time to book! I cant promise how long they will hang around, all I know is they are here now!!
We have plenty of open days in March ans till have a few left in February including the weekend of the 28th! We have two boats for the winter so we should be able to get you on the water! Call or email TODAY!
Capt Josh Howard
225-572-7408
deepsouthcharters@cox.net
www.deepsouthcharters.com
