While many in the second wave of our New York corporate group were snowed in and stranded on the tarmac at the airport, Mike from Missouri made it to New Orelans.
He told me he wanted to experience his first offshore fishing trip, although the seas forecast looked a bit rough. Over dinner at the Sportsmans' Lodge, he shared with Capt. Kevin Beach and Capt. Bill Delabar and I that he had never landed a fish larger than an 8-pound largemouth bass, and that he would be happpy with "anything that pulls hard.".
We just smiled and nodded, knowing full well he was going to get his moneys worth. Thursday dawned cold and windy with temps hovering in the low 30's and wind chill in the 20's. We bundled up in gear that looked more like Alaska than south Louisiana. The decision was made to take Kevin's 30-Gravois "Pale Horse" -- a virtial aluminum tank with high sides and rough water fish-ability. We headed out South Pass and turned towards to East to target bottom fish around the East Bay rigs Mike didn't want to keep any fish, so we tied up to a wellhead in 40 feet of water and Mike dropped to the bottom. Soon his rod arched and he reeled up what would be his FIRST of more than 100 red snapper we caught/released that day. It just so happens that a grouper closure went into effect today as well, so all the gags that we caught also were returned to the water. We specifically chose shallow water and used circle hooks to facilitate safe release of all the snapper, since the season is currently closed.
We added half a dozen lane snapper to the fish box and a couple of mangroves to be fried up for dinner.
Mike also got to fight his share of bull redfish and was quick to tell us "Man you are right...these DO pull harder than a bass." His largest redfish was a 17-pounder which was released to fight again.
Thanks to the efforts of what Mike referred to as his "Dream Team" - Capt. Kevin & Capt. Bill -- Mike experienced an outstanding day of action even though the seas did not cooperate to make it out to the Lump. Mike and all the guys from the firm can't wait to get another group together to come back to Venice for a "catching" trip!
It just goes to show, no matter the conditions, there is always SOMETHING biting in Venice...
