All’s Well That Ends Well 3

Well the trip to the middle grounds in the Gulf Of Mexico really paid off.  After suffering through a week of high winds and thunderstorms down in Florida, a quick decision to extend the trip a few days and book a trip to the middle grounds assured me of coming home with a cooler of fish. My dad, brother Derek, myself, and my son Mason were all ready to go and very excited after after a frustrating week. 

My dad, Mason, and my other son Madden had been catching live bait all week so we were stocked and ready to go when we boarded the two Georges on Friday night.  The four of us along with my brother Derek's friend Charlie and 35 other anglers all left aboard the 85ft vessel out of Tarpon Springs a little after 8 pm.  This is one of the trips that I had always wanted to take but had been putting off for one reason or another.  Finally, after pulling the trigger we settled in for what would be a 7 hour boat ride.  At about 3:30 am we finally reached our first stop whick was 107 miles out in the Gulf.  The plan was to hit the furthest spot first and then make stops as we worked our way back home during the day. 

After a frustrating week of rough seas, it was nice to see how flat the water was 100 miles out.

With all of the excitement after the long boat ride, it was more than a little disappointing when the first stop didn't produce much fish.  That's okay because we still had a long day ahead and the captain of the boat didn't waste much time on a spot if it wasn't producing right away and at a steady clip.  I had to laugh quite a few times as the boat slowed to approach spot after spot and all of  the anglers aboard readied the rods so they could be the first one to the bottom.  This laughter quickly stopped when I realized that the first guy down always hooked up immediatley.  It didn't take me long to learn and I found myself racing to be first. 

 Mason wit his first Red Snapper.

While most guys went with either some form of cut bait or live pinfish, I decided to jig most of the day.  My way of thinking was that I would change my  presentation to make it a little different from everyone else.  After boating the first grouper of the day I was thinking that this move on my part just displayed my brilliance but as the day went on I wasn't any more successful than some of the other top producers on the boat and perhaps not as good as some.  The variety of fish that were caught was awesome.  One of the things I love about blue water fishing is the opportunity to catch a variety of fish.  You never know what will hit your line next.  We caught a variety of grouper, our limit of red snapper, aj's, porgies, big mangrove snapper, triggerfish, and a variety of other jacks.  The boat also landed a few tuna, dorado, and plenty of kingfish. 

The fish boxes on the boat were overflowing by the end of the day.

All in all the decision to extend the vacation a cople of days and get my fishing in was a good one.  The last thing you ever want to do is come home with an empty cooler.

My brother Derek and I each display our stringer of fish.