mixed bag in 80 ft -11/29

[secretspot]

got the call from craig to see if i was up for some gag/cobia hunting. only one answer to that, YES.

so the crew was craig, me, redfishbrian, and his friend charles. it was cold in the am,wind was a little more than we expected on the way out but nothing crazy. it laid down perfect for the ride in, but it was still cold.

first stop was for some cobia charles landed a nice red grouper , i got hossed by a big boy on the 30lb set up, didnt break me, just pulled off. we also hooked a few short cobia. i got one on the butterfly jig and lost a nice fish i nerver saw on it too.

stop 2-5 were all for gags and it wasnt meant to be. bottom machine was lit up, but no quality takers. aj's seemed to be following the boat, schools of the had us surrounded at most stops. we all caught some by accident trying to punch a bait through them to the bottom. some of the fish were nice 20lb plus, others schoolies. we put a few keeper scamp in the boat and a nice mango :thumbup:

we then hit a spot where 3 out of 5 fish landed had tags, 2 red grouper and a gag. time to move.

next stop ars were hitting and i got a few nice ones, but back they went.

next stop was a wreck and rfb get a nice 30lb cobia right away, the rest up us get ajs and i went back to dead bait and got broke off by a big bottom dweller. i also got a almaco jack and another scamp.

move to the last spot and anchor up-let the madness begin. craig gets owned by a beast fishing a sardine, the charles gets pinned to the rail and broke off, the my big rod almost gets snapped its doubled over so bad( i had a big bait on and put it in the rod holder) then charles gets hossed again, then craig, then rfb, then rfb again, then i get cut off, we are getting double hook ups and no one can stop the fish. rfb has one almost beat and it just exploded back to its hole.

we dont know if its giant gags or what. finallt craig gets one off the bottom and after beating it half way hands off to rfb who finishes it off-nice warsaw pup of 150lbs or so

called it a day and began the cold ride back to the dock.

big variety on this trip we hooked cobia,amberjack,almaco jack,spanish mackeral,red grouper, gag grouper,scamp, goliath grouper, ars, mango,and a shark.

no keeper gags, and we could of limited out on the endangered aj, ars, and goliaths, but was still a great time fishing with the guys. cant wait till the next trip...

rfb with his cobe





a few ars







one of the breakoff beast (i guess for a $150 fine we could of kept it and called it a warsaw, worked for the other guy)

[exudedude]

Good catching day, maybe move in a little closer for the gags next trip. Alot of fish lately caught in 30-50'

[futch13]

Sounds like a fun trip

Friend of mine limited on gags shallow up in Crystal River, trolling hard baits

[Fins0003]

Nice fish!

[Playing Hooky]

Nice report! It's always great to have a variety catch on a trip