Taking Joe (JUKES23) and his brother Jim out today. We bundled up for the 40+ degree weather this morning and headed offshore. No baits to be had in the Pocket. Exited the SLI just after 6:00am to beat the flow of the outgoing tide.





Hit the NE bait spot and marked zero baits there. Headed to Bullshark and marked some baits but they were not chewing. Headed to the yellow buoys south of Bullshark and was able to Sabiki up a dozen nice size (6”) Blue Runners.



Ran to the Shrimpers with no baits there then hit my secret spot NE from there with nothing showing there as well. There was a nice color change here with some weeds on it but there was also a pack of porpoises so we pointed the bow east and looked for some fishable conditions.

We hit the edge of the Gulf Stream and the waves were stacked up in 175ft. We put out (2) hoos out deep with and Iland skirt and a Bluewater skirt (from G-Spot) on the outriggers and two new Bluewater lures that Richard G- Spot gave me on the flatline clips.

We continue eastward and make it to the northern tip of the Hill and turn south to go along the ledge. I told the crew we would get a bite along the ledge and minutes later we had a double header on the (2) flatline clips with both lures about 50ft behind the boat.





Jims fish came unglued and Joe catches and releases a small Skipjack.



It is too rough to troll northward so once we hit the southern tip we pull in the lines and headed SE to off of the Loran Tower. We get to 100ft and find a solid color change just loaded up with birds, weeds, debris and fish busting the surface.







I had 15 rods today so it was a quick change to live bait fishing. We dropped in (3) runners and Joe quickly gets hooked up. We get to see the fish and it is about a 30lb Cobia. I clear my line and while Joe is fighting his Cobia, Jims rod goes off.

CLICK PICTURE BELOW TO SEE A QUICK VIDEO OF JIM & JOE FIGHTING THERE FISH



Joe gets his fish close enough for a gaff shot but as soon as his Cobia see the steel he dives beneath the boat and peels off about 50ft of line.



Here is Jim fighting his fish. We still aren’t sure what it is but we think it is a large shark…



Joe is working his large Cobia back to the boat then all heck breaks loose. This massive Bullshark slams his Cobia and the Cobia darts up out of the water with the Shark in close pursuit. It was unfortunate the Joe lost his fish but we all agreed that it was an awesome sight to see nature at work.

I have never seen a 30lb Cobia 5ft in the air before with a shark on its tail. Truly an amazing site to see and one none of us will ever forget. Jim is still fighting his fish. He gets it up and it is a large Bullshark.

CLICK THE PIC BELOW TO SEE AN UNDERWATER VIDEO OF IT



Jim hands the rod off to his brother to enjoy the fight. Jim gets the fish back up just below the boat then the line breaks. We immediately get back up to our starting point and deploy 3 more runners.

We drift to the end of the weeds and start clearing lines. I bring in mine that has the Instant Downrigger on it and just as I clear the weight my line gets nailed.

I immediately flick the reel into freespool and hand off the rod to Jim. I told him it was a Cobia and to let it run & stop before getting tight on it and sure enough, Jim lands a nice 35” cobe.



We head back up and Jim picks up an Atlantic Sharpnose Shark that came unglue right at the boat. We switch back over to trolling and started trolling north along this weedline. We quickly get a hit on a hoo/skirt combo but the fish came unglued.

We pass Blade Runner and they caught 7 fins along this same line trolling south. We give them the heads up on the bite we just had and continue trolling north. We catch a couple of Bonita on the flatline lures then the Bluewater/hoo combo gets nailed by a fin and Joe quickly gets it to the boat an into the box.



After catching 5 more Bonita we get even with the inlet and ran in to a nice color change in 50ft and troll north while I put away the outriggers and picked up the boat.

Back at the Pocket around 2:00pm.



Today’s Tally

1 for 2 – Cobia
1 - Fin
1 – Atlantic Sharpnose Shark
1 – Bullshark
6 – Bonita
1 - Skipjack

As you are well aware, your welcome aboard the AF anytime. I had an awesome time again today. :USA

Happy Holidays to all

How did you all make out today?

Tip of the day

Parrot Shine For those who have used this stuff already knows how good this stuff is. I use it on all my vehicles, not just the boat. My wife found a new thing to use it on. Our shower curtain, Don’t you hate it when those shower curtains that state that they are mildew free get mildew on them.

We hung up a new shower curtain about 8 months ago then proceeded to pray the inside surface of it with Parrot Shine. Instead of rinsing it off we simply let it dry on there. It’s been 8 months now with zero mildew.

As stated above, I use it on the boat, truck & car. I used it well over 10 times in total and still have some left in the bottle. This stuff is a concentrate and one bottle last a long time. What is great about it on my vehicals is when you head out on a rainy day and you get the side of the car dirty from the water that splashes up from road. All you have to do is get out the hose and rinse of the truck/car and then spots rinse right away. No drying is needed.

Great stuff Tom & Mel.

Check the link below to this awesome product developed by our own forum member – M T Pockets

http://www.parrotshine.com/Default.asp

Random pics on the day