I fished offshore Monday, just ahead of the weather front that was approaching our area. Seas were still fairly calm, at 2-3 feet, but the front line was encroaching, and predictions were for seas to build rapidly Monday afternoon, with 6-8 foot expected late Monday and into Tuesday. Rita Grant and friends headed out to about 40 feet with me, where we caught two keeper hogfish, a few keeper mangrove and lane snapper, and Spanish mackerel to 20 inches. We released two 3-4 foot sharks, yellowtail shorts, triggerfish, and grunts.
Tuesday was too rough to fish anywhere, so I stayed in port, hoping seas would calm down quickly so I could get back out on Wednesday. Wednesday, seas were predicted to be two feet or less, although I knew the chances of it being that calm were slim, after the winds of the prior 24 hours. Rich Ogin and friends fished the near shore reefs with me in 3-4 foot seas. We caught a half dozen keeper mangrove snapper, grunts, and triggerfish, and we released gag grouper shorts and a short mutton snapper. We had our lines broken twice by goliath groupers.
Fishing Thursday in 38 to 40 feet out of New Pass was still pretty rough in the morning, but calmed down a bit later. I fished with Chester Yanik and Jim Basara, and we caught keeper yellowtail; snapper, a keeper scamp grouper, a 15 inch hogfish, porkfish and whitebone porgies. We released lots of 10" and 11" mangrove snapper and short triggerfish.
The photo shown is anglers Bob & Mike Twiss, Brian Wilson, and Dan True, with their catches of yellowtail snapper, from a recent offshore trip.
