Blue Water Blackfins

    It's been a busy week, but luckily everything has worked out well enough to lead to an amazing day on the water today. The deadline for an honors thesis was coming up, and while lots of family was coming to Miami this week for a holiday, I didn't think I'd be able to make it. However, a friend of mine offered me a ride back home last minute, and I took it as a sign. Also, Dod Shlome had tried to convince me to come with the prospect of fishing, so that was in the back of my mind on the way down to South Florida. I completed my thesis, submitted it, and went straight to planning for another epic fishing trip my uncle and brother. We got in contact with Captain Josh of Chasin Finz again, and booked an outing.

    We had expected it to be windy and rainy, but the forecast turned out to be wrong. We arrived at the dock in Hollywood to see clear skies and Capt. Josh and the deckhand Nick prepping the boat and gear. After some greetings and a welcome back on the boat, we set out through the intercostal. There were a few times when we had to stop and wait for bridges to open up to let us pass through; they operate on a schedule, but Josh had to call the operators when we showed up to ensure that they would open for us. They only open on the schedule when a captain calls to let them know. As we drove through to the inlet, we went over the gameplan. We would troll mostly over a ledge and also the edges of wrecks and reefs that would hold fish. We went through the inlet and set out the lines on outriggers and with diving planers to keep our spread from tangling and with baits at different depths.

    Not too long after putting the lines out, Dod Shlome sees a bump on one of the rods. Nick reeled up on it a little bit to check whether a fish was on, and sure enough he declared that there was. Shlome took the rod and reeled it in. He said it didn't fight too hard, which is especially true with the fact that the trolling gear is strong and the boat was still moving as he was reeling it in. But he pulled up the fish over the transom and we had one on board, a Blackfin Tuna. Jakes had been wanting to catch a Blackfin for very long, even once giving a presentation in school about the species. Seeing one in person was surreal for him. It wasn't the last Blackfin Tuna we'd bring on board either.

    At one point, as we were trolling, Captain Josh pointed out a Mahi he saw from the flybridge that we went after. Nick pitched a freelined bonita strip on a spinning rod to it around the structure it was hiding under, but it didn't work. That being said, I respect the dedication to doing what we can to get on the fish. While we did not catch that fish, we did however see some flying fish, which was a good sign. Anxiously watching the rods, I saw a rod pop and Josh called it. I went up to it and reeled in another Blackfin Tuna, this time a little bigger.

    The next fish to be hooked came a few minutes later, and it was Jakes' turn. He went to the rod and reeled in like a pro. It was a huge Blackfin Tuna - the biggest one of the day - and it got everyone on the boat hype and excited. Jakes called it "the catch of my life" as he held his fish in disbelief at having finally caught one himself. Dod Shlome doubled up with another fish at the same time, but that one unfortunately came off.

    As we were driving over the reefs and ledges, waiting for another bite, Nick explained why the rod tips seem to pop whenever a fish bites. The divers attached to the line are at angle when thy are trolled. However, when a fish bites, it rotates around due to the pull to then go straight. That quick rotation of the diver makes the rod tip pop and notifies us when we have a strike. Speaking of, we soon saw another rod pop and Dod Shlome took it. He reeled in a new species, a False Albacore. Similar looking to to the Blackfin Tuna and a type of tuna on its own right (although technically closer related to Mackerels than Tunas), they are not as well regarded for their table fare. We kept the fish for the sake of using its meat for bait.

    As we were trolling we saw a floating pallet, and any kind of structure you see out on the open wall er likely holds fish. We stopped to check it out and unsurprisingly Nick saw a small Mahi under it. We pitched more strips of false albacore to it but in the end we couldn't get a bite. We kept on trolling to see what else was out there. When we got the next bite, I manned the rod and reeled in another Tuna. We were really on a roll today, and while we were having a great time catching fish and enjoying the water, we kept at it.

    We saw frigate birds diving in the distance near floating sargassum. Nick and I were joking about how the conditions were actually ideal; we had weed lines for structure, baitfish as we saw with the flying fish, birds as a sign of life, and blue water. Blue water is good, as opposed to green water, because the bluer looking saltwater is cleaner. The fish tend to prefer the blue and can also be found on the edges of green and blue water, since the greener water is more murky and they can use the cover to their advantage while hunting. The depth at which the green water ends and the blue water starts changes daily. For example, yesterday the water was green as far out as where it was 450 ft deep. Today it was blue where we were fishing in about 400 ft of water depth. Nick also told me that in his experience, wind coming out of the east was good. Wind is helpful because it churns the water for oxygen and, as he suspected, the extra effort the fish need to put in to swim means they have to eat more.

    The last fish of the day was a final Tuna that Jakes reeled in. Right before that, one of our outrigger lines had gotten hit, but the fish came off. Needless to say, we were satisfied with our catch. We got everything filleted, including the false albacore, and we headed for home. We asked my mom to prepare some sushi, as we were getting ready for a feast. Dod Shlome, ever the chef, put together some great marinades and sauces so that we could make sashimi, poke bowls (with some ingredients we picked up at publix), seared tuna steaks, and more. The food was truly delicious, and we were glad to share it with the family. After the meal we were very full, but we still had the False Albacore for bait. Dod Shlome's itch for more hands on fishing wasn't satiated yet, and I'll never complain about an opportunity to do some more fishing, so we went over to North Bayshore Park to fish off the dock/pier they have there. I set up the rigs while Jakes and Dod Shlome went fishing. Admittedly, the tide looked low, and nothing much was working for them. But I used a three way swivel to make a traditional dropper rig and gave it to Dod Shlome. We baited it up and he cast it out, only for him to get a bite almost immediately. Sometimes it really feels like he has the magic touch. He reeled in a nice sized Pinfish. Jakes was busy that afternoon so we left shortly after, but it was a nice end to a fantastic day of fishing.

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

   

 

  

  

   

   

  

  

Reel Native Inshore Fishing in Suwannee

    For weeks, a few of my friends and I were floating the idea of fishing near Cedar Key whenever we had the chance. However, the trip didn't leave the groupchat until Marcus started rallying the troops and I called a guide to check for availability. Soon, Jeremy and Chopp were ready to join us on what was sure to be an epic inshore fishing trip out of Suwannee, Florida, a small fishing town on Florida's Big Bend region. I had fished in a town near it, Steinhatchee, but not in a while. After waking up early to get set, it was nice to be back driving through old Florida to get to the town.

    When we got there, we picked up some beer and water and met Captain Brent, who led us onto the boat. It was a beautiful center console boat, perfect for inshore fishing. It was rather cloudy, and the ride out to the spot in the morning reminded us that it was still winter in northwest Florida. That being said, the scenery was beautiful. It was one of the last days of duck hunting season, something I've never tried but knew from other hunters heading out that day. We saw flocks of duck fly across the creeks we were running through to get out to our first spot. Eventually, after about 15 minutes of riding, we made it deep into a creek that Brent had targeted for today.

    Brent told us that today there were negatives tides; this meant that the tides were a little more extreme than usual. The cold weather and the low tides at the time meant that we would be best off casting and retrieving lures and shrimp over deeper potholes as we drifted through the creek. Brent made it clear that while he knew what to look for due to textbook signs, he also knew a lot of where the fish would be and at what spots due to experience. It helps to be out on the water with a seasoned guide.

    The gameplan was to cast with the wind out into the creek, let the jighead hit the ground, and then slowly retrieve. However, we had to do our best to keep from getting stuck on rocks, which happened quote a bit. Sometimes in funny ways, like when Chopp was told explicitly not to reel by the captain at one point before he got stuck because he reeled in.

    While we were casting and retrieving to no avail, I switched from lure to shrimp, taking a small live one and hooking it by the base of the tail up through its body. As I baited the hook, I said "if I was a fish, I'm not saying no to this." Sure enough, I soon felt a hit and set the hook after what felt like a few hits on my line. The fish took drag as I reeled it in. We saw the fish and brought in a solid 18 inch Speckled Seatrout, my personal best. I was really excited to have brought in such a big seatrout, and we were all pretty excited to finally have one on the board, and it opened up the beginning of a great day of catching.

    It wasn't long after until Chopp got two Seatrout of his own. First a barely legal 15 incher, but the next one, on shrimp, was better sized. Now it was more than just me to catch, so we were onto something. But still, the bites came in waves. We weren't catching much more, except one time when I had a few missed hits in a row on one retrive until I hooked a Ladyfish and reeled it in by the boat. As Brent suspected, it probably followed the lure all the way to the boat. That's why you don't give up on your retrieves.

    The next wave was marked more by misses than catches. I had my lure torn up by another Ladyfish or a small trout by the surface at one point, and all four of us around the boat were missing bites here and there. The frustration started to mount until Jeremy broke the ice with a solid keeper Trout. He then followed that up with a catch of our third species of the day, a Redfish. Always a fun fish to catch in these waters, we were all glad to have one on board, even though it was short. Marcus was then the only fisherman on the boat without a fish, but he soon finally ended that slump with a Redfish of his own that he caught on shrimp. This Redfish was unique because it had a noticeable mutation; while Redfish are known for its trademark spot, or "false eye," by its tail, Marcus' fish was of a relatively rare variety that had tons of spots near its tail. It was a cool looking fish to see on the boat. Both Redfish were caught by a pile of rocks in the creek, which made fishing for them both risky but also potentially rewarding.

    Normally, when fishing the area, I had used popping corks over a shrimp or shrimp imitation lure. Brent said that historically those are bad in this area in the winter. Again, good to know from someone with experience on the water. He also said that fishing was generally much better in the springtime around March. Before we left the spot, Brent suggested we try trolling for trout before trying another spot for Redfish. The four of us were buzzed and satisfied at this point, looking forward to the change of technique to see if we could get anything new. Jeremy and I manned the back of the boat, holding rods with lures equipped with diving noses while Brent drove the boat forward. This was one of my first times trolling inshore. At one point, when casting my lure out to begin trolling, my lure got hit but unfortunately did not result in a hookset. Later, as we were trolling, Jeremy thought he was hung up on the rocks and gave his rod to Brent to check out. Brent, however, reeled in the line thinking he would get it unstuck, only to see a Redfish at the end of the line.

    We kept on trolling, missing a few hits when driving slowly forward, but without much more success. We decided to head over to a spot Brent knew to hold Redfish on our way in. We got our rods set and casted out towards a rock pile in the middle of the channel; the way Brent made it seem, we were inevitably bound to get stuck at some point. But it was worth the chance to catch a nice Red. Waiting for our lines to get bit, the five of us were hanging out, telling stories, and enjoying our time on the water. Brent was a great guide, and a fun guy with whom to be on the water. He also knew what he was talking about when it came to fishing. A fish hit my rod relatively hard, and I set the hook. Excitedly, I reeled in the fish which put up a nice fight. I got it to the boat and we landed it, a keeper Redfish of 20-21 inches. Despite getting stuck a lot at this spot, we were all glad to end the day with a keeper Red to end the day.

    Brent cleaned our catch for us and we parted ways, having spent an incredible morning on the water. We took our abundance of fish to one of the only restaurants in Suwannee, overlooking the estuaries we had just fished. They cooked our catches the way we asked - the Redfish and half the trout blackened, and half the trout fried. We prepared for a feast, and sure enough, we got one. The fresh fish was delicious, especially the blackened fish, and we went home happy and satisfied from a great day of inshore fishing.