we had an early departure Today
and we ended up with an Excellent 6-hour charter. It doesn’t always work, but sometimes if you can get out on the water just after Sunup this time of year, you can get in on a morning bite of Black Fin Tuna. That’s pretty much what we did.
We only had our lines out for a few minutes when we had the First bite. It turned out to be a nice “keeper” Black Fin Tuna. Within 10 minutes of putting our lines back out, We had two more Black Fin on! I was fishing near a wreck by design. Tuna tend to school around the wrecks. So I kept working the area hoping the “bite’ would continue. We had a pretty good fish on the Deep Troll. Unfortunately, it got off. I think it might have been a Wahoo, but we will never know now!
It was enough bites to keep working the area around the wreck, so I kept circling and it paid off. We hooked up 2 fish at once. The first one turned out to be a nice Sailfish, Which we released. The second kept fishing and I was hoping it was another sailfish, but it turned out to be a large Blackfin. I’ll call that a “Win – Win”!
Sailfish alongside the Southbound in Key West Florida just before it’s released
The bite slowed as the morning went on. Some of the boats struggled with no or very few bites. That’s the way it goes some days. I know the captains on the boats that were struggling. They are good fishermen and they have good mates on deck. But some days, one boat will drive around getting bite after bite and another will be right next to it and not get anything. I’ve been on both sides of it. Today, The Southbound had the hot hand! It is definitely more fun!!
My first mate Barbie was doing her “usual” running around like the “Eveready Bunny”. Clearing lines, changing baits, and hooking fish. She was “in the Groove” and just about everything she was trying was working. Our customers were also a Blast. They showed up early with a Great Attitude and we had fun all morning long. I look forward to fishing with them again
We did have another Sailfish on for a while, but unfortunately, it got off. We finished the Day with a few more Black Fin Tuna before heading home. At the end of the trip, we ended up with 8 Black Fins, and a couple of Bonitos and released one Sailfish. In my book, that is an excellent 6-hour charter