12 Dec 2007

My good friend Chirs is in town from Tennessee and we decided to spend a few hours bending rods while he's here. It took us some time to finally sync our schedules and find the time to go, but we did it. We left out of 17th street at 1600 and fished until around 1815. The Three Mile Bridge is currently LOADED with nice White Trout and we capitalized on it. During the beautiful sunset we caught around 30 fish and had a great time telling each other stories of the times since we last saw each other.

11 Dec 2007

I called my sister to see if she wanted to fish this afternoon, and she jumped at the opportunity. We caught 4 reds, 3 slot fish and one just over. Not bad for the whopping hour and a half we fished(from dock to dock). This was Kappie's best fish.

09 Dec 2007

My wife, son and I headed out for a morning of family fishing this morning. We were on the search for redfish ...and we found them! A great time was had by all. Here are some of our highlights.

17 Nov 2007

Well my regulars Ben and Jim are back again for another, laugh a minute, fishing trip. 0630 at Galvez and we're off to catch some white trout. Once on location the catching began. We were looking for smaller fish to use for bait, and finding them.

A dozen trout in the well and a few more for the frying pan into the day and my phone rings. It's my friend Mike, who tells me about a school of reds moving down the beach, just a short run away. We quickly pick up and haul over there just in time to get set up on the school, they were moving FAST. With seconds to go before the school over-took us we fired or lures into them. Ben immediately hooks up, then as quickly as they came, they were gone. Ben's fish makes a blistering run while Jim and I are dumbfounded that we only hooked one fish out of a school of 50 or better. As we loudly voice our opinion of the situation, Ben's line goes slack! All of those fish, swimming away, and three fishermen standing there in awe at the run of misfortune.

We decide to head for the Pass, trying to chase down the good luck. Thankfully we found bucket-fulls of luck in the Pass. The first drop of our first drift turned into a double hook-up for both Ben and Jim.

This is the standard expression on every trip with these guys!!!

Nearly every subsequent drift produced fish of one description or another. We even completed a triple (2 reds and a Drum; wish I could have been in the picture). Our live-well of shrimp went dry and the Reds continued to eat the small, live, White Trout we had to offer.

We caught a total of 9 Redfish (2 in the slot), 2 Black Drum, a couple of catfish and a small School Master Snapper.

Thanks Ben and Jim, I'll see you guys at New Years.

16 Nov 2007

I met Mr. Beck, his daughter, Donna, and her boyfriend, Mike at 1600 for a sunset/ early evening trip. It was straight for the Pass to find the redfish.

We started drifting and within 10 minutes Donna was hooked up. She was so excited; and so was her Dad.


I know seeing the look on her face was the whole reason he wanted to take her.

The rest of our drifts were unproductive so we settled onto the anchor to soak some baits. Forty five minutes on anchor was worth no more than 2 catfish; time to move. The Reds didn't want to cooperate, and Mike wanted Donna to try some lure fishing, so off to the Trout hole. As has been usual (fortunately) when we pulled up the fish started biting...and didn't stop until we left. 50 or more white trout fell victim to our offerings over the hour we fished there.

By 1930 it had gotten plenty enough cold for us and we packed it in and headed for home.

Thanks again, Mr. Beck, Donna, and Mike, I hope we get to do it again soon.

Capt. Josh

11 Nov 2007 Reds/ King

Most of last nights crew (Me, Dad, Roby, and Scoot) along with Cam, got up this morning for a little rod and reel fishing. We met at 0700, bound for the White Trout Hole.

Once we got set and started fishing, the catching began. We really just wanted enough Trout to use for King bait, so we were keeping only the smaller ones for bait (and a few of the biggest ones for lunch). In all I guess we kept 12-15 out of the 30 or so we caught. After 45 min of the white trout we were ready to try our luck for the Reds and Kings.

We got in the gulf and found it fishable, barely. East-southeast winds at 15 kts and about a 2-3ft swell. We kept the run short (around a mile) and set out two Trout to find us some bigger fish. 30 min pass and the rod on the down-rigger starts screaming. Roby grabs it...and the second rod sounds into chorus. Cam gets the second fish and the fight begins.


Roby is 5 min in to his battle and the line goes slack, he reels in to find a single solitary redfish scale on one of his hooks! You can't catch them all. Cam is still doing an outstanding job on his fish, and 10 more minutes pass. Dad looks at me and says, "Most kids his age would've given up five minutes ago!" Yeah well...not this kid. A solid 20 min into the fight we finally get a look at Cam's fish, a nice king. I guess seeing that fish really motivated Cam and in a few more minutes we had him in the boat.


Time to reset. Minutes later both rods again sound in unison. Scoot's up this time, and Roby picks up the other rod for a little retribution. This time the fish stay attached and we land two BIG Redfish.



Reset again and the wait ensues...30 minutes pass...45...60... not a bite?!?!? The sea state continues to degrade and we decide to call it a day/morning, whatever. Back to the ramp by 1115, load the boat and return to the parent's house to clean the fish (last nights and today's).


Thanks, guys, for a great morning, I'm glad we could do it.

10 Nov 2007 Flounder

Met up with my Dad, Uncle Roby, Dad's good friend Rodney, and Scoot at 1700 at Dad's house. To the ramp and underway by 1715; I got in the boat with Rodney and everyone else got in dads boat. We ran straight to Pickens Beach and split up.


Rodney and I found a nice stretch of beach without any competition and began the hunt! It was maybe 50 yards down that we found our first fish. We worked Pickens for the next 2 1/2 hours, producing fish every 15-20 min. Final tally was 16 between Rodney and I. We had 4 really nice fish, one of which, our biggest of the night, was around 6lbs.

Dad, Roby and Scoot also had success with a total of seven fish for their efforts. All in all a great night 23 fish between 5 fishermen, and home by 2100.

04 Nov 2007

With no customers calling for today I invited my sister (Andrea) and brother-in-law(Aaron) to join myself, my wife(Shawn) and our son(Cameron) for a morning of fishing. We met at GLYC, along with my Dad (who brought Cam from his weekly sleep-over at the grandparents' house, at 0615. Once the boat was floated and loaded we made the short run to the White Trout hole.

Within minutes the catching began. We stayed there for an hour and a half and must have boated 50 or so trout. It was a fish bite that I'm sure my brother-in-law and sister have never before experienced. If we would have gone home right then, it would have been a very successful outing by most anyone's standards, but we pressed on (me vowing to find bigger fish). I spent ten minutes throwing the net to catch some small pinfish to take to the Pass.

We made the run to the Navy turn basin and made a drift for Kings using a few of our White Trout as bait. No luck there, so back to the Pass for a drift with our pinfish in hopes of finding a Bull Red.(For the Dyslexic, it's a fish, not an energy drink)The first drift was a success! Shawn, connects with her first redfish, and it's a brute, 38". Our next drift and my lil' sis hooks into about a 7lb sail cat!



We decide to spend the rest of our time trying to find the reds in the Gulf. We ran down the beach in search of birds; it wasn't long before we found them. The birds were working over a school of small Spanish Mackerel, of which my son caught one, and we moved on.

About a mile further down the beach I saw a nice king sky-rocket so I pulled it back and set out two White Trout to slow troll. Five minutes later and the 12lb rod starts SCREAMING. It was so fast I think it spooked Aaron; who stood there looking at the rod as if it had just come alive. He grabbed it and the fight was on! Five minutes later we had a 20lb king at the boat. We didn't want to kill the fish, so instead of putting the steel to it, I tried to get the fish close enough to grab for a quick pic before release. Unfortunately the hook pulled before I could get a hold of the fish.




We reset and ten more minutes of trolling produced Cameron's first King. He did an excellent job and I really wanted a pic of him with this fish, it was longer then he is tall...literally. But again, I didn't want to kill this fish, and before I could boat him, the hook pulled. this fish was every bit of 25lbs plus.

Right as Cam was bringing his fish boat-side I looked up to see the Redfish turning the water white with froth as they mercilessly pummelled the bait. As soon as Cam's fish was gone we headed that way, still trolling our White Trout. As we neared the crazed school, BOTH of the White Trout get eaten. I turn towards the reels and see one of Pensacola Fishing's greatest sights... the water behind the boat had turned completely RED. There must have been dozens of big Reds SWIMMING ALONG WITH THE BOAT. I start yelling for everyone to get baits in the water. Aaron's first in, and first on, immediately followed by everyone else. By the time I realize what we've done, we have FIVE fish on. Big props here to my son, who at six, handles a fishing rod with expertise. He moves around the boat, following his fish, pumping and winding like a little pro. What a proud father am I.



We caught 8 Reds total before I realize that it's now 1145 and we're supposed to be providing the fish for our lunch at 1230...time to go. We got back to the ramp, loaded the boat and shot over to my parents house. Once there we cleaned the few White trout we'd kept for lunch, Dad fired up the fryer, Mom added the grits, beans and Cole slaw and we all enjoyed an exceptional meal.



Here's to great fishing, fresh fish lunches, and a family that I can share the experience with. I love you guys.

Capt. Josh

UPDATE from 21 Oct 2007

The show will air this Sat. 3 Nov. at 1730 on BLAB TV

28 Oct 2007

I fished this morning with Mike, his wife Kent, and their good friends John and Marcia. I picked them up at their home on Perdido Bay at 0800 and, with the cool morning temps and the NNE wind at 15 kts, made a quick dash into Big Lagoon.

The White Trout bite has been good lately, and it was great for us today! From the moment we arrived at our destination, until we left, our rods were bent. We were using a 1/4 oz grub head with any number of baits attached, mostly GULP!s and D.O.A. tails.

Along with the White Trout, we caught a couple of Small Blue Fish,and Kent caught 4 or 5 baby Barracuda! We kept having big Bluefish, 5-7lbs, biting our fish in half. No matter what we tried we could not get them to eat any bait all the way to the hook. One bite on the back half of a bait and that was it.

During the course of an hour and a half we probably caught between 75 and 100 White Trout, 12 ended up in the cooler. Everyone caught plenty of fish and a good time was had by all. Finally someone mentioned home and grilled trout for lunch. Mike said, with a big grin on his face, "Just one more and we'll go."

I took them home, cleaned their fish and they had the grill fired up by 1215. What an awesome morning!

Thanks again to Mike, Kent, John and Marcia for today. I hope to see you soon.

21 Oct 2007

I got a call from Claudia last night, wanting to get some footage for Fishin Chix T.V. I'd love to tell you all about it but I don't want to give anything away.

So look for the episode airing on BLAB T.V.

I haven't recieved the airing times/dates but I'll post them as soon as I find out.

14 Oct 2007

I met one of the Fishin' Chix, Jackie, and her husband Fred, at Galvez at 0630 and headed into Big Lagoon in search of Specks and Reds. As we rounded the corner of Big Lagoon state park we were slapped in the face by a stiff east wind at 10-15. Our first drift netted us just 1 blow up and our following two drifts netted us absolutely nothing.

A quick run to the next flat and we score with a small flounder and a few baits cut in half, probably small bluefish. Our next move brings us away from the Specks and to an area that's been holding WhiteTrout. These fish have been pretty reliable for the past 10 days or so. Well... not today. It took us almost a half a dozen wind blown drifts to catch just 4 fish. The bite was definitely off.

We moved again, this time to a dock that has had reds, flounder and snapper on it lately. A few small snappers fell victim to our offerings along with two big croakers. We burned through 3 dozen shrimp in a hurry, losing most of them to pinfish. Never did we see a flounder or redfish.

Still looking for any kind of bite, we made the run back to fish Old River. Near the end of our first drift there we finally encountered our target quarry the Speckled Trout. I think the only trout around for miles! Our time was running short so we hit one last spot on Interrarity Point. But after another 15 min without a bite we decided to call it a day.

Although the fishing was slow, I know it could have been worse...we could have gotten skunked!

Thanks again Jackie and Fred, you guys made an otherwise slow and boring day very enjoyable. I look forward to our next outing together.

Capt Josh

13 Oct 2007

After rescheduling from last weekends endless wind, I met up with Dave and his dad Charlie this morning at 0600 in Bayou Texar. We began the morning catching Menhaden, the baits sure weren't very cooperative. But after 45 min and a little help from a friendly fisherman( who had crushed the baits with one well placed throw and had plenty of baits to spare), we were on our way to the 3-Mile Bridge.


The bay was slightly choppy with a 6-9 kt NE wind, perfect conditions to fly a kite! And fly the kite we did. Our spread consisted of 5 baits: 2 suspended from the kite, 2 flat lines, and one bait deep on the down-rigger. 10 min in to our drift the 12lb outfit on the flat line starts singing! Dave grabs the rod and here we go on our first King of the day. Dave quickly subdued the fish and as he got the fish within gaff range we realized that this was actually the biggest Spanish Mackerel that either of us has ever caught, 8 lbs!


We get reset and again, 10 min or so later, the other flat line starts screaming. This battle ends with a 15 lb King shaking around in the ice. The moment the fish hit the ice the flat line gets hit again. This was to be the first of 4 small sharks we caught in the next 30 min, all of them around the 2-3 ft range. Then we got to watch a small mackerel chase one of the kite baits around for about 5 min. The fish just kept chasing the bait, then swimming off then back again to chase some more, then swim away, then back again. It was neat just to get to watch a predator pursuing his quarry.


We finally decided to pick up and run to Navy Point and try our luck there. As the lines were being brought in the small 12lb rod, spooled w/20# power pro, starts really dumping line, what seems like a BIG king. Dave does an excellent job of fighting the beast and manages to bring the fish boat-side in under 10 min. Only when we see the fish it's not the 30+ lb King we were hoping for, but a 40-45lb Black Tip Shark. The shark made several more runs and we got him back to the boat 2 more times before he finally wore through the leader. On that note we hurried along to the base.





We continued drifting once we got to the base, and got the bite we'd been talking about all day. This King got airborne , big time!!! Right on the kite bait, no more than 80 feet from the boat! It was awesome! Another 15lb fish for the grill. Shortly after, the down rigger produced our last bite of the day, resulting in a cut off. Time to head home for some lunch and a nap!


We returned to Bayou Texar around 1130, took a few quick pics and cleaned our catch. Dave had a few nice fillets he'd already picked out for the grill and was itching to go home and get them started.





Thanks again Dave and Charlie, I had a great time, can't wait to do it again!



Capt Josh

PBGFC Inshore 29 Sept 2007

The alarm clock sounded at 0345. Man that's early! I drove to my parents house to pick up my dad, our friend "Scoot", and my boat, that I'd left the night before in preparation for today. We got to the ramp and were in the water by 0445. Lines in at 0500 and the fishing begins.we started by flipping live shrimp under the dock lights until the sun came up. This resulted in 6 or so small Specks and 1 underside redfish. Once the sun was up we moved and began dropping shrimp in a little deeper water that got us into big pinfish and a couple of missed bigger bites. From there it was onto the grass flats where we found our biggest Trout of the day at around 2 lbs.

Another move and, while looking for a redfish, we got into some really nice Mangrove Snapper and a bonus Scamp. Not our target species, but great in the grease anyway. Four snappers later we made a short run and found our flounder, we caught three, all about the same size. Lacking only our redfish for the slam we dedicated the remainder of our time in search of a fish that was as elusive as affordable health care. Well, I pay through the nose for insurance and couldn't find a redfish either! We did manage to find a Spanish mackerel that was around 4.5lbs but no matter how hard we tried we couldn't turn him into a redfish!

In all it was a great day, spent with good people. The target fish didn't exactly cooperate, but we had a lot of fun... which is the important part anyway! Thanks Dad and Scoot, and yes we're on for next year!!

02 September 2007

I received a call from Brian at 1000 this morning for a birthday fishing trip for his wife, Michelle. We decided to meet at noon at Galvez. After a few navigational problems we met; and departed the pier just before 1300. My plan was to look for redfish in the Pass and maybe find a few snappers in the process.

We were fortunate to catch the last of the falling tide and the action was immediate. Thankfully Michelle was with us, she was the only one who was able to hook and land enough good fish for a nice dinner. She caught all three of our keeper Mangrove Snappers, one of which was 15 inches. The overall bite was great; plenty of bent rods to go around! We landed more catfish than I can remember, along with three sharks up to 3 feet long a short Red Snapper and one nice Bluefish that we released in lieu of snapper for dinner.

While the redfish never cooperated we had an outstanding time. Even being fortunate enough to witness a school of jack crevalle laying waste to a school of mullet just inside the pass. No matter what we threw into this swarm of fish, nothing could break their attention away from the fleeing mullet. Although we didn't hook one, they put on a great show for us!

Thanks again Brian and Michelle for sharing the afternoon with me, I hope we get the opportunity to do it again someday soon.

The Captain finally takes the plunge

Well, its taken some time, actually quite a few years, but my long standing fiancee and I finally got married. We had a small ceremony at Johnsons Beach, followed by a great party at my parents house.

Our entertainment was provided by " The Black Elvis", Mr Michael Burnett, who was fantastic! I swear, if you closed your eyes, you'd swear HE'S "The King". Everyone enjoyed the southern seafood buffet with steamed shrimp and fried fish, complete with grits and beans.

We both had a wonderful time. Getting to see our families and friends all at once was terrific. Thank you to everyone; specifically our parents for helping us put this whole thing together and tend to the kids.

After spending our wedding night in a luxurious condo over-looking Big Lagoon we woke early the next morning and grabbed our bags for 5 fun filled, kid free, nights in St. John, USVI.

The honeymoon was action packed. We searched for Blue Marlin for 10 hours one day. Trolling teasers, ready to pitch a bait back to a hungry Blue..and didn't see a thing! Oh well, that's fishing!The bite had slowed over the previous few days and more than just our boat came home empty handed. Still, we had a great time; and I got to take a nap on-board, something I've missed for a very long time. Thanks again Capt. Don and Capt. Kevin.

One day we decided to take a cab to some of the local ruins..and found that most people "just walk" after all it's "not that far". Beware, in the islands, the term "not that far" has an entirely different meaning than it does to most of us non-long-distance-runners here on the mainland. We walked probably 2 miles , mostly downhill, at a pretty steep angle, to reach the ruins.

There we found a sign showing other ruins ahead another .25 miles; we figure , ok it'll be just around the bend...let's go see. Immediately we notice how beautiful the water was and elected to snorkel for a while. The first part of the swim was spectacular, huge amounts of life flourish around these beach-side reefs. The second part of the swim was directly against the 2 knot current, we got back to the beach and were on our way to being tired.

We took a break, ate an orange and had some water. Well it's not far now, surely, before we find those ruins. Sure enough, it was just around the bend and, what felt like straight up, for .24 miles. So we see these ruins, the one remaining room, and are ready to go back and see the first set of ruins.

These ruins at Annaberg were really cool. The skeleton of the wind mill, used for extracting the sugar from the cane, was built using many coral blocks along with the native rock and was stunning. There, in the center of the ruins, covered in brilliant red flowers, stood the largest Mimosa tree I'd ever seen. The scenery was gorgeous, over-looking the British VI to the north. We spent the better part of an hour walking around and taking pictures. Finally it's time for the walk, 2 mi, UP-HILL this time, back to the camp ground at Maho Bay.

Along the way we ran into Lance, an employee at Maho, who is from nearby Fort Walton Beach (small world) and we shared company on the walk back. It wasn't long into our journey back before Shawn and I were huffing and puffing at the climb. We must have stopped 6 or 8 times before we reached the bottom of the really steep section, and looked lovingly into one anothers eyes and told each other how much we really didn't think we were going to make it!

Fortune smiled on us and from around the corner appears a Jeep, ... A JEEP!, A JEEP! I think it was the forlorn look on our faces that actually made the driver stop. Whatever it was, he stopped and offered us a ride, finding his Jeep full before he could even finish his offer! Once back at the room we took quick showers and collapsed.

Later that evening we attended a glass blowing demonstration, offered twice a week at Maho Bay. The demo was awesome. Those guys stayed busy making intricate and colorful bowls, plates and vases, all from recycled glass used at the camp.

We spent a lot of time snorkeling around the bay and watching wildlife from our second story balcony. We had Iguanas walk by in the trees and birds that stayed around constantly, waiting for you to walk away from your food so they could swoop in for a bite.

The whole trip was excellent, we loved every minute of it, even the hikes.

Thank you again to everyone that was involved in this with us.

Capt. Josh

I've heard from numerous people that if they would have known, they would have come. I apologize to anyone who was not notified. We put this whole thing together in less than 2 weeks and weren't able to notify everyone that we would have liked to.

Maho Bay: http://www.maho.org/

Capt. Don "Blue Fin II": http://www.bluefin2.com/

Michael Burnett, "Black Evlis" : 2917 Selma St. Pensacola, Florida 32507 #(850) 456-5045

St. John USVI: http://www.usvitourism.vi/en/stjohn/sj_Home.html

21 July 2007

Met David, Skylar, Samantha, and Tatianna at Galvez at 0600. It's hard for me to believe that a whole year has passed since I saw these guys last! My objective for today was to prove to Skylar (the "fisherman" of the bunch) that the girls could fish just as good as he could. Boy did I ever drive that home today.

We first stopped for Pinfish to turn into Redfish, then proceeded to the Pass, where we found a serious lack of current. With the neap tide yesterday the fishing should have been on fire, but without current you can just about hang it up. We made a few drifts with no success and finally decided to spend our time chasing Kings instead.

After getting bait we ran to the Sea Buoy and began a drift for the kings. I was just about to put the kite up when my phone rang, it was Capt. D.P. His first words were, "Get back in here". Dusty was a little behind me this morning, he stopped to trout fish Big Lagoon. By the time he got to the Pass the current had started moving and sure enough the fish were biting.

I struggled to make the decision to run the 3.5 miles BACK to where I was unsuccessful just a half hour ago. It looked so good out there at the buoy, but I have great faith in Dusty's abilities and his advice. So I pulled in our lines and made the run, I'm glad that I did. It took us just a few minutes to find the reds and Samantha was the first to put a hook in one.

After a great battle, we landed Samanthas fish, a nice 28 1/2" red that we released. A few drifts later and it was Tatiannas turn to feel the power that these fish pull with. When all the grunts, groans and strains were over Tatianna held up her fish for a photo. Notice how I haven't mentioned Skylar yet??? Well he was having some troubles getting a bite. So after Samantha caught another fish, this time a catfish, we decided to go back after the kings and give Skylar another opportunity to redeem himself.

We drifted and slow-trolled to no avail, 40 min had passed without a single knock-down. I picked up and ran to a close snapper hole in hopes of finding a few kings hanging out over the reef. Upon arriving we noticed Flipper putting on a heck of a show, jumping around and slapping the water with its tail.

Although the Dolphin exhibit was great, it sure put a damper on the fishing. After slow-trolling around the wreck several times, we finally got a bite and Skylar jumped at the chance for his redemption. The drag sounded and the rod bent, Skylar had the fish coming his way and ... the hook pulled. What a day this kid is having!!! Upon further inspection it seems that he was foul-hooked into a Snapper and it just didn't hold long enough. A couple more circles around and again another bite, this time Skylar hangs on to him and boats a nice King for the grill.

On that note we head for the ramp and all the boat traffic along the way. With the Blue Angles show today the boats were out in force and the ride back to the ramp was a little bumpier than usual. We returned and cleaned our catch, shook hands and said our good-byes ... until next year.

Thank you again David, Skylar, Samantha and Tatianna for a wonderful morning.

Capt Josh

20 July 2007

I met Ben, Jim, Sandy, and Carlton at Galvez at 0600 for a morning of Kingfishing. We first stopped for some Pinfish, then headed for the Pass to try the reds. The tide was neap and without any current the bite was non-existent. A short run to the bait boat for some live Cigar Minnows and off to the Sea Buoy.

Once we stopped by the buoy, I put the kite up and set out two flat lines. As I was attempting to get the down-rigger set, disaster struck. I finished getting everything ready to deploy the 'rigger and stood up... right into a hook that quickly found it's way into the top of my ear, to the barb. It took several minutes to assess the problem and attempt to remove the hook. Thankfully I had a few Docs on board who weren't freaked out at the sight of my blood, and with their help, and a good pair of pliers, we safely removed the hook and went right on fishing.

The bite was slow, but we still managed to boat a few nice fish, like this one that Carlton caught.


























As the morning wore on the wind died and I was forced to take the kite down before it came down by itself. At that point we began slow-trolling our way back towards the Pass. Our time was drawing to a close and the boat traffic was increasing dramatically. I asked the fish gods for just one more fish ( a nice 20 pounder would do!), and was prepared to give it another 20 min or so to happen.

A 40' boat passed us just about the same time that the 12lb spinning outfit started screaming out line... and I mean SCREAMING. Jim grabbed the rod and held on with everything he had. He looked over to me and asked as seriously as humanly possible "Are you sure I'm not caught on that boat ?!?" I told him that I was as sure as could be!

The initial run was around 200 yards and it took a long time to put it all back on the reel. The fight lasted about 25-30 min before we finally got a look at what had eaten our live cigar minnow. A BIG King. Another 10 min passed before we could subdue this monster and introduce him to the gaff. We boated the fish to high fives all around and shouts of congratulations to and from everyone. I attempted to get a weight with the Boga Grip, but my 30lb model immediately bottomed out. The big scale was brought out and we got a reading of 35 lbs, what a fish on a 12lb outfit!!! Congrats Jim on a job well done.







We unanimously agreed that that fish would be hard to top, so we set off for the ramp.



Thanks again Ben, Jim, Sandy, And Carlton for a seriously adventurous morning (nothing I haven't come to expect from this bunch).

Capt. Josh

15 July 2007

Met Dave and Brian at Shoreline at 0600 and to the Pass we went. Our first twenty minutes or so were fairly uneventful except for watching the show as Capt D.P. slayed them right next to us. A little further adjusting and we started catching too.

Dave hooked the first one and that's when I reached for my camera... and realized I'd left it at home! Oh well, no pics for today! We caught a total of five Redfish before deciding to do something else. Three of those fish were 15-20lbs and the other two were in the slot.

A stop at the bait boat and a run to the snapper hole and the fishing resumed amid red snappers, small ones. We must have thrown back 8 before landing one big enough, but that fish was 7-8lbs. Dave and I really wanted Brian to catch a King and the ones that had been hanging around this wreck for the past week just weren't here today. Another move was in order. We trolled live baits around three different wrecks before the weather and the time both forced us home, without our Kingfish. Although the Kings evaded us the day was a success, a FUN one.

Thank you Dave and Brian, I look forward to fishing with you again.

14 July 2007 Fishin' Chix PRB Orange Beach

The alarm clock went off at 0400, time for another Fishin Chix adventure. I launched the boat and arrived at The Wharf in Orange Beach, Al at 0520. By 0545 Roxanne, Allyson, and Sara were on board awaiting the go signal from Capt Wes. 0600 and were off, a quick stop to get the freshest of live shrimp straight out of the net (Thanks Chris!!), and straight to the trout flat.

Our drift across the grass flat yielded no strikes, bites, or looks, so to the pass we went. Finding the right fish on tournament day is never easy. The legal size reds were nowhere to be found today, by anybody, save the one boat that brought back both of the tourneys legal fish (Congrats Alissa and Bruce). But we did find SOME redfish, just not ones small enough by tournament rules. The first of these fish was quite a battle for Allyson; lasting 35 min and torturing the rest of us with laughter (to the point our cheeks hurt!).

As the fish neared the boat I noticed that it was tail-wrapped; and upon further inspection we found that Allyson had NOT hooked the fish. Rather she had lassoed the fish by the tail, the hook never stuck in the fish!!! And again the boat explodes in laughter.

Sara was up next and looked like a pro on the bow with a BIG bend in the rod. She had taken some lessons from Allysons fiasco and hooked her fish in the mouth, the proper way. 10 min later she had her fish boat side.

I pulled up one last time and again Sara hooks another big bull which we land and release. With the reds not working like we needed them to we decide to change gears and try for a King Mackerel. To the bait boat !!

After some telephone recon we head for a local wreck that the Kings have been inhabiting these last few weeks. It only took us minutes to get the first bite, but 20 min or so to hook one. Roxanne landed this one, our first King of the day, on about our 5th bite.

Running out of time I quickly reset and within 15 min we had put two more Kings in the boat. One of them a nice 10.5lb fish that was just out of contention for third place. It was lines out at 1100 per tournament rules and a beautiful ride back to The Wharf for food, drinks, and awards.

Thank you so much ladies for my best Fishin Chix event yet. Sara , Roxanne and Allyson you guys were awesome!!

And thank you very much, Claudia, Capt. Wes and all the Fishin Chix crew that makes these tournaments possible and thanks to Covenant Hospice for all the work they do, we are glad to help raise money in any way we can.

Capt Josh

13 July 2007

I met John, Jon, Cal, and Zack at Galvez at 0600 for a 5hr excursion. Our first stop was for bait; and after a couple of throws with the net we had what we needed and proceeded to the Pass. When we got there we found boiling current and loads of jellyfish, not condusive for fishing. On to plan "B", Mackerel.

A short stop at the bait boat, and a couple dozen Cigar Minnows later, we were on to the Sea Buoy. We set up a drift with five live baits; One on the downrigger at 35', two flatlines to the windward side, and two more on the kite. Fifteen minutes into the drift we get our first King Mackerel, a nice fish in the 7lb range, off the downrigger. Another 10 min pass and John sees a fish messing with the far kite bait. He grabs everyones attention just in time for us all to watch in awe as an8-10lb fish sky-rockets 15 feet out of the water after the Cig hanging from the kite. Immediately, the closer kite bait gets eaten and Cal fights this fish to the boat.

The wind began to die so we decided to go try our luck with the Snapper. Our first spot produced the best with all three of our legal Reds and the nice Schoolmaster. Then, on our last stop of the day, John sees two fish swimming by the boat, Barracuda. They ate three or four baits before a hook finally found its mark and Zack brought him boatside for a quick photo op and a release.

Thanks again John, Jon, Cal and Zack for joining me today, it was great.

Capt. Josh

06 July 2007

I met Brent at Shoreline Park at 0600 and we headed for the pinfish trap. We met Capt D.P. at the trap and traded him some pinfish for some live shrimp. Our next stop was the Pass in search of the Redfish. When we got there we found a neap tide and jellyfish galore!!! One drift was enough to send us packing for our next spot.

A quick stop at the bait boat for a few live Cigar Minnows and on to the Sea Buoy. Three lines were set, two on the surface and one on the down-rigger. The bite was slow here as well, but we did find two nice Kings before moving on to the Snapper hole. At one of our many public wrecks we caught a few short snapper; and peering at the bottom machine I noticed a wad of big fish just 20 feet down. A live Cig on a 12lb spinning outfit produced our largest King of the day at around 17lbs.

We moved a few more times, marking fish at each location, few of which wanted to bite, and most those few put our 12 and 20lb tackle to the test, and it failed. At our final stop of the day we boated a nice Lane Snapper and a Mangrove Snapper to go with it. All Brent wanted to take home, just enough for a meal.

Thanks again Brent, I enjoyed our time together today.

05 July 2007

0600 and I'm shaking hands with Dani, Sam, and Robert, all eager to get underway and fishing.

Our first stop is to set the Pinfish trap to do its job while we Trout fish. Well, the trap did it's job, but the Trout didn't do theirs. So after loading the Pinfish we head for the Pass and start Redfishing. It only took two drifts for Sam to catch this one, just oversize.

The very next drift Dani hooks into a nice Red but pulls the hooks before we could get a good look at it. The bite was slow so we decided to head for the Mackerel grounds. I called Capt Corey Maxwell for a report. Corey said that the Mackerel bite was slow for him this morning, and that he had some baits if we needed them ...we did.

After getting the baits from Corey we made a bee-line for the #1 Buoy. We quickly set up a slow troll pattern of live Cigar Minnows. 30 min or so had passed with out a bite, although we could see people around us catching fish. I stopped trolling a started just drifting and the fish started biting. It seemed like they preferred a drifted bait opposed to a trolled one?!? (same baits). We concluded the morning with 4 nice King Mackerel, the biggest being 17lbs.

Thank you again Dani, Sam , Robert, and Gary for making this happen today, I had a great time.

30 June 2007

I met Harris and John at 0530 at Heron Bayou. I had been getting good reports about the mouth of Perdido River and and surrounding areas; so we fished Perdido Bay..and I strongly stress FISHED !!! The fishing was HORRIBLE, the worst day I've seen all year. There were more Dolphins chasing Mullet than I can ever remember seeing in North Perdido Bay. I think that had a lot to do with the fish bite, which was non- existent. Harris pointed out the full moon still glaring at us from just above the horizon. Whatever the cause, it wasn't great.We did, however, manage not to get skunked when Harris boated a Largemouth Bass.

All in all a pretty poor morning, but that's how it happens sometimes. You can't be a hero EVERYDAY!

I got home to a rambunctious 5 year old, begging to go fishing. I relented, and hauled the boat to Galvez for a short trip with Shawn and Cam.

We ran to the Pass and I caught one oversize red while Cam caught a nice Ladyfish and a shell (don't ask me how). Then we headed back to the ramp, back to pick the baby up and on to the house. By the time I got the boat cleaned and things re-stowed I was exhausted..what a long day.

29 June 2007

I met Lloyd, Robin, and their two sons, Alex and Blake this morning at 0600. We departed Galvez Ramp, on the search for Trout. Our first stop held a few fish, we caught three (two shorts and this fish of Blake's).



























The bite was slow and timid so we moved to catch some pinfish for the Pass. Got our baits and made one more drift that proved futile; on to the Pass.

The bite was slow here too, but Alex found a legal Grouper to add to our Trout. I ran into Capt Matt and Capt Chris who told us that the mackerel bite was slow as well; and that's where we were headed next !!! Oh well... we went anyway.



























Sure enough the bite was so slow as not to be a bite at all. We trolled for 30 min. with one hit and a barely scarred bait. Snapper fishing it was ...

On our way we passed a baby Sea Turtle, no bigger than a dinner plate, unfortunately the little booger wouldn't stay still long enough for a pic. We got located on a nice public wreck just 5.5 miles from the Pass. The Snapper bite there was good, just all a bunch of shorts. We did boat a really nice Mangrove (black) Snapper that was just over 6lbs. A nice fish to end the morning and begin the scenic ride back to the dock.












Thank you again Lloyd, Robin, Alex, and Blake for a fun morning. I hope we get to do it again sometime.