Chris Crowe and the crew from Magnolia Steel called me on short notice wanting to know if there were any openings for a quick Lump trip. They got lucky as Capt. Hunter Caballero had Wednesday open, so I set them up with lodging with Ms. Charlotte and told them to meet us at 5:15 a.m. at Venice Marina.
Wednesday morning dawned with a bit of fog, but it burned off quickly as we headed out Tante Phine Pass on the 32-Twin Vee "Tail Whipped" towards the famed Sackett Banks. You couldn't ask for better sea conditions, although the lack of current and cold, green river water pushing from the East would make for challenging fishing.
Hunter eased the anchor over the side and got us on the hook as I commenced slicing and dicing to form a chum slick. Bonita were quick to appear behind the boat and the guys had a ball warming up their biceps with these hard fighters. We boated half a dozen bonita, then deployed the red meat chunks on circle hooks. There were a couple of quick hookups and screaming drags which ended in cut offs most likely from a toothy wahoo.
There was little to no action on the Lump, and the radio chatter non-existent, so Hunter decided a change of plan was in order. We pulled the hook and idled around until we found some good marks, then drifed over the fish drawing even more bonita, and then blackfin into our slick.
Jason Perry was first up and is pictured with his first ever tuna. He got the usual dose of "warpaint" and like most folks who fight their first tuna exclaimed "I can't beleive how HARD those tuna can pull!"
Next in the batting order was Wes Brent, who after a bit of ribbing from the guys, boated a 20-pound blackfin tuna. Chris, an experienced offshore angler, ran the lines all day and enjoying watching his buddies take a "whupping" from these powerful fish.
Don "PapPaw" Bounds was along for the ride and couldn't fish due to a recent surgery on his forearm. He did an excellent job of keeping an eye on the bottom finder to let us know at what depth the tuna were marking. Each time we would mark a group of tuna, a few minutes later the line would scream and we would boat a blackfin. This action continued most of the afternoon which made for a great day with a fun group of guys.
Back at Venice Marina, Capt. Hunter cleaned and bagged their tuna and Chris and his group headed back to the real world with ice chests brimming with tuna steaks. They plan a return trip soon with a day of inshore fishing tacked on to their adventure.
Chris, Perry, Wes and Don it was a PLEASURE to spend the day with you. I enjoyed serving as your deckhand and I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a day on the Lump as much as I did on Wednesday.
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If you are ready to get away from the hustle and bustle, go out and pull on a few fish - maybe even a 100-pounder - give me a call and I'll customize the trip of your dreams.
There are a few weekdays left in March, and I am booking summer trips in May-June-July now.
It won't be long before the open water tuna show up, so if you need a weekend (Fri-Sat-Sun) better get a trip on the books soon or you may be left at the dock!
REEL LOUISIANA ADVENTURES ~ 504-329-7335 ~ SUSAN GROS
FISHING ADVENTURES WITH SOUTH LOUISIANA'S MOST PRODUCTIVE & PROFESSIONAL GUIDES
OFFSHORE ~ LIGHT TACKLE ~ FLY ~ MARSH FISHING
