Hurricane season ends today. Hurrah!!! Now the winter fishing season starts. Thanksgiving morning we had fishing at it?s best. Good weather and family out for some fun action with light tackle and fly gear. We anchored on a county wreck in 45 feet of water and caught fish by the dozens on fly and spinning rods rigged with jigs or live bait. Live chumming with small pilchards, we had the blue runners, small amberjacks, juvenile kings and mackerel boiling behind the boat. Everyone had sore arms when we quit to head in for the family dinner and football games on the TV.
Friday it was back to big game fishing. With plans for sails and swordfish, we left the dock with hopes high after hearing about some sails caught between 11 and noon. By the time we caught bait, the bite was over. No action came our way over the afternoon.
The swordfish were a little more active. As the radio hummed with reports of action, we had a couple false starts as bites came better than hook-ups on both squid and runners. Finally around 9:30 we got a solid hook set. The fish jumped twice and charged the boat. My deckhand, Leo leader the fish along side the boat and when the fish offered a shot with the gaff, Leo took it. He now had a 160 pound swordfish, about as tired as a linebacker coming out of the tunnel at the start of a big game, gaffed through the lips with his one gloved hand holding the bill. I sank another gaff into the fish and we pulled it aboard before it knew what happened. Everyone ran for the bow as this enraged gladiator swam around the cockpit breaking it?s bill loose at the eyes and wearing it?s tail lobes off. The anglers were thrilled as it was John?s first swordfish and they were having swordfish steaks for Sunday?s cookout back in South Carolina.
The weekend brought rough weather. We trolled up a few mackerel in the ship channel on Saturday and cancelled Sundays trip.
Monday we fished with Cindy and Jeanne Pemberton. Seas were still rough and we had Government Cut to our selves. We trolled plugs and spoons for a couple hours and caught a dozen Spanish mackerel, a couple dozen small king mackerel and bunches of jack crevalle. We all had a riot of fun. We had to try the ocean for a couple hours. We should have stayed in the bay. It was rough and all we caught outside was a Spanish mackerel and a 14 pound king. We made a quick pass through the action area of the cut, and the fish were still feeding at will.
Sails, dolphin, kings and grouper should be very active through the end of the year. Mackerel should be wearing out anglers near shore and the swordfish will be thick if the weather ever let?s us get out there. LET?S GO FISHING!!!!! Contact me at 305-573-8224 or capt.bouncer@bellsouth.net