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Fishing Reports for Local Area - Location |
    
Capt. gary Bonanno (Capt_gary_bonanno)
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Username: Capt_gary_bonanno
Post Number: 15
Registered: 6-2009
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 28, 2010 - 2:11 pm: | |
Offshore Fishing Reports from Venice and Guatemala
Venice: Capt Kevin Aderhold had a day trip last Friday but had to run all over the Gulf to find good water with NO SHARKS....They had two Yellowfin and one Blackfin Tuna. The sharks gave them hell, but they had a good group from south Florida and they will be back for a 24hr trip in June on the 55' Strike Zone Too. We guaranteed them a lot of Yellowfin.
Guatemala: I just got back from a wonderful trip to Antigua, Guatemala. My wife is a nurse anesthetist and she goes to Antigua as part of the Knoxville Medical Mission every year. This year the group helped about 60 people get needed operations. My son Christopher and I escorted her and I managed to slip out on Wednesday to fish with a group of guys that were in Guatemala for a wedding. What a bunch of nice guys from Alabama. Justin Schilling, Mike Harlan, Brandon Harlan and a friend. When we got down to the marina the wind was blowing about 25 kts....I didn't think we were going to make the trip...But our new captain, Joel/Hercules said let's go....and off we went.....we were leading the pack of charter boats out of the marina....most of the boats were hugging the coast but our Captain elected to go right into the seas on the Strike Zone.... As we looked back, five boats out of the fleet were heading back...He, like the American captains, just love to fish that boat. It catches a lot of billfish and takes the sea very well. We dropped our lines when we were 15 miles out and after 20 minutes we had our first Sail...The guys could not believe the fight and show that Sailfish preformed for us....We were in nonstop action all day...we ended up going 14 for 19 on Sails and three Bull Dolphin....three times we had two Sails on at one time and one time we had a triple. The group with Scott Hartley had fished the day before for three days on the Strike Zone and they had a total of 58 Sails in three days... Total Sails in four days was 72....The Strike Zone has been out catching the fleet in Guatemala when it is out fishing.
Seth Holl ,the mate on the Strike Zone Too in Venice is heading down to Guatemala for the next few months to mate. He will help a lot knowing a lot of our customers that will be fishing in Guatemala. He doesn't know spanish but he will be sleeping with this fine chic, Rosetta Stone on a regular basis.
I have trips going every month to Guatemala that we can add one to four anglers to the group, or you can get your own group....This is the ultimate fishing trip and adventure of a life time....
Come fish with STRIKE ZONE CHARTERS IN LOUISIANA & GUATEMALA
Celebrating 21 years in the charter business
225-279-3800
www.strikezonecharters.net |
Capt. gary Bonanno (Capt_gary_bonanno)
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Username: Capt_gary_bonanno
Post Number: 12
Registered: 6-2009
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 25, 2009 - 8:48 am: | |
OFFSHORE Fishing Reports for Venice,La and Guatemala
Venice,La~~~Last Saturday we had a 24 hr trip on the Stress Management with a group out of Mobile, Ala ...They wanted Tuna and they got Tuna.....the bite was on all night with the Blackfin....all you wanted ...The Blackfin were so thick that you could not get the bait to the Yellowfin. They did get three Yellowfin in the box.... It was non-stop action all night long. At one point they had a 400+ lb Mako eating their Blackfin as they were bringing them to the boat, but he not take the bait.
I have the 39' open for a day trip or a 24hr trip this Saturday/Sunday. The big 55' is sick at this point....She is at Seabrook getting a new engine and her yearly freshen up...Strike Zone Too will be back in Venice on Oct 1....You need to book her for a 24 hr luxury offshore trip in October.
Guatemala ~~~ We had our first trip today to start the season in Guatemala. The Strike Zone has been getting ready for this year's season and she had her debut today...With a group that had never been blue water fishing, it was a treat. Capt. Edgar, my partner said that the bite started at 9:00am and didn't stop until 2:00 pm. It was non-stop...They had 5 Sails and 16 Dorado's and were back at the marina at 3:00pm. They had a blast....Edgar has our private villa ready for this season with a new 60'' TV. One of the finest clubs in Central America has just opened and is five minutes from our villa. It is open just for gringos and it has swimming pool, jacuzzi, card tables, pool tables, indoor and out door bars, etc....It is a show place...and a great place to go after a great day of fishing. Mike Lane and his crew will be going back to do another TV show and we will have six spots for fishing stars. This is a great time and you can be a part of the show. The date for the trip is somewhere in the first two weeks of November so give us a call and put you name on the list...the spots will go FAST....I think they are going to let me go this time'''''
As you can see we are ready to take you and your group fishing on one of our luxury sportfishing yachts in either the Gulf or the Pacific.
STRIKE ZONE CHARTERS Louisiana & Guatemala
CELEBRATING 21 YEARS IN THE CHARTER BUSINESS
225~279~3800 CAPT GARY OR 225~205~3766 CAPT. DANNY
www.strikezonecharters.net |
Capt. gary Bonanno (Capt_gary_bonanno)
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Username: Capt_gary_bonanno
Post Number: 11
Registered: 6-2009
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 25, 2009 - 10:20 pm: | |
STRIKE ZONE CHARTERS Louisiana & Guatemala
Saturday morning we left out of Cypress Cove Marina around 9am on Strike Zone Too with Charlie and crew from Texas for their “Meat in the Bucket Rodeo 09”. By the way, Happy 40th birthday to Larry. As we headed south to Green Canyon, the color change was gradual with no defined line. After dodging some fairly large thunderstorms full of fire, we arrived at our first stop. The outriggers were dropped into position and the lines were out. It only took ten minutes for the first double knock down. After a few minutes and some fancy boat maneuvering, we landed two Yellowfin Tuna, the first was about 50lbs with the second being around 60lbs. After a few more runs we had a curious Blue Marlin browse the spread but would not eat. About an hour later a White Marlin shows in the spread and hit one of the baits, but all we got was a messed up leader. He lives to fight another day. As we were presented with a beautiful sunset, the grilled was fired up for a steak dinner with all the fixings. We fished a couple of rigs with no surface signs but caught several Blackfin Tuna then moved on to the next spot. Around 2am Yellowfin Tuna started busting and the guys picked off another 4 Yellowfin, a few more Blackfin and 5 Rainbow Runners. With only a few minutes left before heading back north, Charlie hooked up. Thirty minutes later, a 100 pounder was in the box and we headed home.
Saturday’s day trip on Stress Management was not as lucky. They went to the rigs that produced fish on Friday but couldn’t get them to eat. Unfortunately that’s fishing.
We have the 55’ open Wednesday to Friday this week for a 24hr trip and Sunday to Monday next week.
STRIKE ZONE CHARTERS is celebrating 21 years in the charter business.
When you want ACTION & COMFORT....Give us a call to book your next fishing trip @ 225~279~3800 or 225~892~4790
www.strikezonecharters.net |
Capt. gary Bonanno (Capt_gary_bonanno)
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Username: Capt_gary_bonanno
Post Number: 9
Registered: 6-2009
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, August 22, 2009 - 10:55 pm: | |
CAPT. GARY BONANNO/STRIKE ZONE CHARTERS Venice, LA USA
WHAT A TWO MONTH RUN....This has been the best July and August that I have had in the 21 year history of Strike Zone Charters. The weather, the anglers and the fish have been cooperating. We have had to run a lot further than the norm but the reward has been GREAT catches of Yellowfin and Blackfin Tuna. The average 24hr trip on the 55' Strike Zone Too has been 12 to 15 Yellowfin with the largest in the last two months being a 141 pounder that came on the slowest trip of the Two Month RUN. We have tagged eight Blue Marlin with three of them coming in the past three weeks. Lots of Bull Dolphin in the first part of July. And the AJ's have been the big hogs as usual. And let's not forget the red icing on the top of the fish box...THE RED SNAPPERS (Who are in danger..... of killing themselves from over population)
We are now waiting for the Blue Water and the big Yellowfin to move back home. It will be nice to start fishing seven to twenty miles out of the pass. I know this will make the oil companies sad but it will sure help our fishing pocket books.
Guatemala has been slow....Everyone is waiting for the up coming season (Oct to May).....When we have had boats out they have done very good....The last trip was with a local group and they went 5 for 10 on the Sails and had 16 Dorado's. The problem is the same as it was in Venice years ago...It was only a few of us fishing from October to April(Capt Mike Fernett and Capt. Mike Adam's)....Now we have found this is some of our better months as long as the weather stays in tack. Next year we are going to promote the slow months with some great specials on three day fishing trips. to Guatemala...We are getting ready for the Guatemala Run:::Seth Is heading down on Monday to bring some supplies and to make sure the boats are ready for October. Capt. Kevin Aderhold and Seth Holl and going to start running one of the boats in Guatemala the latter part of this year. They are not good on their spanish but they are real good on the Sails and the Spanish ladies.
Get a group and come join us on a fun fishing trip on one of our luxury yachts, either in Louisiana or Guatemala. If you can't find a group give Capt. Danny Pate a call and he will try and get you on one of the trips...WE WANT TO TAKE YOU CATCHING.
STRIKE ZONE CHARTERS LOUISIANA & GUATEMALA~~~~Celebrating 21 years in the charter business
225~279~3800 or Capt. Danny 225~892~4790
www.strikezonecharters.net |
Capt. gary Bonanno (Capt_gary_bonanno)
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Username: Capt_gary_bonanno
Post Number: 8
Registered: 6-2009
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 28, 2009 - 8:34 pm: | |
Well - the Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo is over and my crew and guests had a GREAT TIME! Thanks to Brother Butch at Sand Dollar Marina on the Island for putting up with our groups and taking good care of us...It was a great tournament and the party was out of sight. I got to see a lot of my friends, customers and some of my Ex-captains.
On the fishing side the Strike Zone TOO anglers won four trophy's and had seven large ice chests filled with Tuna, Dolphin and Snapper fillets.
We arrived in Grand Isle on Wednesday afternoon on the Strike Zone TOO and the Stress Management. At 6:00am on Thursday both groups were on the boats and ready for our long journey 125 miles southwest. On the Strike Zone we ran 4 1/2 hours an stopped at our first platform to started trolling...After a short time we had our first 60 lb Yellowfin munching on one of our Islanders. We worked the rig for about an hour and picked up 4 more 60 to 70 Yellowfin....We then put our autopilot on 180 and ran for 25 miles until we got to our home for the night. We began trolling and it started off slow with a few Blackfin and Bonitos. We did get a Marlin to put one of our Bonitos in his mouth - make three jumps and almost hit the drill ship. He gave us a thrill but he never got hooked....After dark the bite was slow until 2:30 am. At that time we started catching some Blackfin along with some 60 to 70 lb Yellowfin until the sun came up...On Friday we picked up two Dolphin and on the way in we stopped and caught a limit of nice Red Snapper....By the time we got to Sand Dollar we had three large carts full of our catch on the Strike Zone.
The Stress Management had a good trip also but things were so crazy I still don't know what they caught. I do know that my crew and anglers had a GOOD TIME..... They had some boat problems but they did have a good time....at one point on Saturday night they had 50 people on the boat....that's when I had to go to sleep.
On Sunday after finding everyone and getting the groups off the boats we had to go back to Venice and get ready for another 24 hr trip. I hate to say it but both my crews looked a little green or should i say a lot GREEN. By the time we got back to Venice and filled the boat up with diesel our new group was at the dock and ready to go fishing. Capt. Kevin Aderhold, Seth Holl and Capt. David Frelich were back on the water again....heading Southwest on another 125 mile run. They got back at 6:00 pm and had another great trip....this time the Marlin didn't get off the hook and they tagged a 250 to 300 lb Blue. Off course the ice chest were full with Yellowfin and Blackfin Tuna....15 Yellowfin and lots of Blackfin. The weather was good but they did have a few bad storms blow through the night...This is when you want to be on a 55' sportfishing vessel.
Capt. Kevin is out on a 24hr trip on the 55' Strike Zone Too today and Capt. Josh is on a day trip on the 39' Stress Management....Pictures and reports will follow tomorrow.
We are now booking for September and October when the Blue water moves in closer and the big Yellowfin start chasing the Mullets. It is also starts the BEST season in Guatemala for the Sailfish RUN....Make plan for one of our exciting fishing trips out of Venice or Guatemala.....you will never forget the fun and the catch you will have'''''''
STRIKE ZONE CHARTERS LOUISIANA & GUATEMALA
225~279~3800 or 985~966~2666
www.strikezonecharters.net |
Capt. gary Bonanno (Capt_gary_bonanno)
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Username: Capt_gary_bonanno
Post Number: 6
Registered: 6-2009
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 13, 2009 - 12:44 am: | |
I would like to share this post with you and give you some update fishing reports on Louisiana and Guatemala::::::
Ryan Dicharry "GUATEMALA with STRIKE ZONE" Baton Rouge, LA USA
Just got back last week from a trip of a lifetime. We chartered a Guatemala sail fishing trip with Captain Gary "Strike Zone Charters". Gary had been talking to me for several months about how great Guatemala was. We decided to go see what all the fuss was about.
All I can say is WOW.
We were treated like kings. We had our own private villa, cook, driver, and cleaning crew. After a long day of fishing we would be greeted with cocktails and finger food as soon as we arrived at our villa. After a relaxing dip in the pool we were summoned for our elegant meal. While we were fishing our maid even cleaned and folded our dirty clothes. (If I could only get my wife to do that).
About the fishing....
We knew up front that it is the slowest time of the year for sails but we managed to catch and release three. This was better then any boat in the marina. Gary always said the the original "Strike zone" raises bill fish. Well he made me a believer. The dorado were non stop. We ended up with 32.
Also included it the package was a night at the Casa Santo domingo in Antigua, Guatemala. Let me tell you that experience alone was worth the price of the whole trip. This is a 5 star hotel created in an old monastery. You have to see it to believe it.
Thanks again Gary.
Don't forget to sign me up for March 2010.
Ryan
Thanks Ryan..we got you on the books....
I just got a email from Capt. Edgar in Guatemala and one of the boats today had 30 Sails and over 20 Dorado's. He was going out on Monday for a fun trip with his family...he will have a report Monday night on his trip...
Venice, Louisiana:::::Thursday/ Friday ~~~Capt. Kevin Aderhold and Seth Holl had a great group of anglers from Baton Rouge on a 24 hr trip that end up being a 36 hr trip....They had to run OFF THE MAP but they found the fish...They had 8 Yellowfin ,over 30 Blackfin and a limit of Red Snappers. Capt Kevin said it was a good group of guys and they FUN TRIP.
I have this weekend open on the 55' because my wife had the boat booked for the Baton Rouge Ladies tournament....the tournament has been moved to August....Get a group and let Capt Kevin put you on some Yellowfin Action.
Give us a call for your next FISHING FIX...we have some dates open for Guatemala trips as well as some 24hr trips on the 55' and 39' luxury sportfishing yachts....
STRIKE ZONE CHARTERS LOUISIANA & GUATEMALA
225~279~3800 OR CAPT. RANDY AT 985~966~2666
www.strikezonecharters.net |
Capt. gary Bonanno (Capt_gary_bonanno)
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Username: Capt_gary_bonanno
Post Number: 5
Registered: 6-2009
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 - 11:44 pm: | |
earl dufrene lockport, LA USA
Overnight trip, 26th/27th, on Strik Zone Charter out of Venice. Went to Marco Polo for yellowfin tuna. Caught 10, the largest 120lbs. Had 6 new-to-deep water fishermen on board. Took all 6 of them to pull that one in. Had Mike Lane with us, filming. Good crew made the trip even better. Everyone went home with their ice chests full.
Uncle Earl Dufrene...Seth had this picture of you and the 120 lb yellowfin that was a joint effort....Thanks for the trip
Strike Zone Charters Louisiana & Guatemala 225~279~3800
www.Strikezonecharters.Net |
Capt. gary Bonanno (Capt_gary_bonanno)
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Username: Capt_gary_bonanno
Post Number: 4
Registered: 6-2009
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 29, 2009 - 4:52 pm: | |
Just got this email from Capt. Kevin coming back from a 24 hr trip on the 55' Strike Zone Too: Capt. Gary
Here's the report from the trip.
We left at 2:00 PM after the Stress Management had returned from their trip to the mars area only to find fast moving green water. They had five Blackfin and a limit of Snapper.
We decided to head out to the green canyon area for some sights of blue water.
We came across a line about 35 miles from the canyon. We fished the line for about 15 min when we had a Marlin on. It was a small white Marlin. We released it to continue fishing and caught a 30 Lb Dolphin. We decided to head out further to fish for the night.
After cooking and relaxing for a moment we started jigging for black fin and they were there. We had continuous action with the Yellowfin busting the flyers. We pulled off the rig at 2:30 am to head back towards Venice. Total count 15 Yellowfin 60 to 100Lb 30 Blackfin in the 15 to 25 lb class.
Not A bad trip if you ask me.
Oh I forgot that we stopped and caught a limit of 5 to 10lb snapper on the way out to the canyon. Capt. Kevin
Nice Job Capt. Kevin...I know Jeff Potter and his group from Texas had a great time on the 24hr trip...
NOTHING FROM THE GUATEMALA GROUP~~~~~They Must be having a BALL
I have THE 4 OF jULY open on the 39' and the 55' for your 24hr Tuna Trip.
Give us a call 225~279~3800 OR Capt. Randy 985~966~2666 ~~~
STRIKE ZONE CHARTERS LOUISIANA & GUATEMALA
www.strikezonecharters.net |
Capt. gary Bonanno (Capt_gary_bonanno)
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Username: Capt_gary_bonanno
Post Number: 3
Registered: 6-2009
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 28, 2009 - 9:28 pm: | |
~~~~Fishing Report for Louisiana and Guatemala~~~~
Venice, La:::Strike Zone Too had two back to back 24 hr trips this week.. The first trip was a trip that we donated to the CCA on the North shore. Capt Kevin and Seth took the group out on a 24hr trip on Wednesday/Thursday not to find blue water 65 miles south of South Pass. They stopped on the way out and got a limit of 10 to 15 lb Red Snappers and went south...They got to the first floaters to find the water was a dirty green..and no fish. The 7 mile rigs were in cleaner water. They picked up and ran 10 more miles to the south to the next floater and called it their home for the night. They picked up a few Blackfin and a few Yellowfin....the biggest was 121 lbs. they had fished this rig last weekend and it was in blue water with very little current and had all the Blackfin and Yellowfin you wanted...Now the current was rushing and it was hard to get the bait to the fish. Over all it was a good trip but we have been getting spoiled on the amount and size of the Tuna. On Friday Capt. Kevin took my good friend Earl Dufrene and his clients on the Strike Zone Too for a 24hr trip. They had some other guests on board....Mike Lane and Gino to do some filming. It was Mike's second trip in a month with Strike Zone...first Guatemala and now to Green Canyon. Again I was not able to make the trip....But I knew Capt. Kevin would take good care of the crew....They departed Cypress Cove at 5:30 pm and started their 100 mile journey to Green Canyon. They found green/blue water 80 miles out and Blue water 90 mile out of Tiger Pass. They started fishing at 12:30 am. The bite was slow at the first floater and the noise from the flair was unbearable. The picked up and ran to the next floater to find their home for the night. The 20 lb Blackfin were on and the Yellowfin were right behind them. The first Yellowfin was in the 130 to 140 lb class and he worked over the crew. They were ready to call it a night but Capt. Kevin kept them up to fight four more Yellowfin and 20 to 30 Blackfin. In the morning they began to troll back to the Pass only to find a small 40 lb White Marlin trying to eat one of the baits....Capt. Kevin said it was not as calm as it has been and in fact it got a little gammy. I am sure Mike and Gino got some good tape of the trip and you can see it on rodnreel TV soon.
Guatemala: I am posting the picture of the group this morning from Louisiana loading up on the Strike Zone in Guatemala. I got a call at 5:00pm this afternoon from Ryan Dicharry telling me to book the same group for March 26, 2010. They got to Guatemala yesterday at noon and they was already sold on the trip....They fished today and had 15 Dorado's. two Sails and one Marlin playing with all of their baits...They were going to stay in Antigua tonight at a five star Hotel and will be back at the dock in the morning for another great day of fishing. If you love to fish and have a GREAT TIME ..you have to go on one of our trips to Guatemala....
Tonight the Stress Management with Capt. David and Capt. JW are out on a 24hr trip. They will work some of the rigs to the south east. I will give you a up date on that trip as well as the La. boys in Guatemala.
We had a last minute cancellation for the 4th of July weekend and the 39' and the 55' luxury yachts are open.
Give us a call at 225~279~3800 or Capt Randy at 985~966~2666 for you next FISHING FIX.~~~~~STRIKE ZONE CHARTERS LOUISIANA & GUATEMALA
WWW.STRIKEZONECHARTERS.NET |
Capt. gary Bonanno (Capt_gary_bonanno)
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Username: Capt_gary_bonanno
Post Number: 1
Registered: 6-2009
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, June 05, 2009 - 2:06 pm: | |
Last week was a fun week of fishing ....Everything cooperated with us ...the weather, seas, the fish and most important the anglers. With all that you have to catch a lot of fish...AND WE DID~~~~
We had a cancelation for the weekend and we have the 39' and the 55' open FOR DAY TRIPS OR THE GREAT 24 hr TRIPS until Wednesday...the weather looks great and all reports offshore are showing a good rip and a lot of fish....Come join in on the ACTION~~~~~
STRIKE ZONE CHARTERS LOUISIANA & GUATEMALA
225~279~3800 OR RANDY AT 985~966~2666
WWW.STRIKEZONECHARTERS.NET |
Capt. Allen Welch (Hooked_up_charters)
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Username: Hooked_up_charters
Post Number: 1
Registered: 2-2009
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 01, 2009 - 8:26 pm: | |
Just a little breezy today but still had a good day. The reds wore us out had just one customer today we caught about 60 that were 24” to 29”. We caught them on a Berkley gulp root beer shrimp under a cork about 18” next to the canes one pop that’s all then the race was on. The water was clean for this time of year I could see the trolling motor that is good when the river is at 6’8” and falling. The reds are just about to blow up the bait is moving in if we can get some warm day like last week it will be silly. Deer season is over and have a lot of day open till April the reds are ready to play so let’s go!!
www.Hooked-upcharters.com |
Capt. Scott Avanzino (Paradiseout)
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Username: Paradiseout
Post Number: 42
Registered: 10-2003
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 26, 2007 - 8:15 am: | |
Everyone went in different directions yesterday with great results..I had the Feakes/Floyd crew out on the maiden voyage of the 43 Post..with the Albemarle down we swapped over to the ol' Mail Truck..I was very impressed with the way it took the seas..slow and steady..dont think I could have got it out of the water nor would I have wanted to..I did like the boat though..made 18 knots into the 3-5 headsea with everyone sleeping downstairs..its going to make a decent overnight boat as we expected..given my circumstances with speed or lack of it, I got a gift from above yesterday..bluewater was 2 miles out of the pass and in 75 feet of water..I have always heard of this happening but wish I had taken a picture of the rig just out of south pass sitting a few miles inside bluewater..had planned to geta shot of it but byafternoon it had moved out 3 miles..Talked with Myron Fisher, who once heard it was inside the seabouy..anyway I was glad to have seen it..we put the baits out not long after and missed something decent right off the bait..our plan was to troll from rig to rig with the baits in the water stopping to pick up a snapper here and there..when it was over we had our limit of snapper, 4 wahoo, one dolphin and a tuna not bad for being the last gyout and the first one home..Hunter had Paul Le et al and they decided on bottomfish; Good choice as they got thier limit in 45 minutes as well in addition to 6 grouper..they also ran out to pick up two yellowfins and a dolphin..Paul joked it took less than an hour to catch nearly 30 fish and 5 hours to catch 3 fish....Capt Scot Leger had theNat'l oilwell/Varco crew from Hosetown andthey went straight for the tuna picking up 7 yellowfins a 40 pound wahoo and 3 jacks... ..his crew didnt want anything to do with snapper so they stayed in deepwater all day...all around the weather was fair and it slacked by afternoon..it picked up about 8 last night and hasnt quit since..we are scratched through Friday and it looks to havebeena mistake for tomorrow..still have plenty days open during the "true snapper season"..weekdays are light traffic too..today we plan to put the outriggers back on the boats next maintenance day..had my hands full with turbo today..back to spped and smokeless..will reload the big reels as it appears trolling time has come sooner than later..Paradise Outfitters - 985-845-8006 |
Capt. Scott Avanzino (Paradiseout)
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Username: Paradiseout
Post Number: 41
Registered: 10-2003
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 23, 2007 - 10:29 am: | |
In the words of the imcomparable Otis Day (frontman for Otis Day and the Knights).."It feels so good to be back at the Dexter Lake Club"..the summary for the report is grease, wrenchs, tuna, marlin and snapper!!
For the rest of you with some time read on; it was a pretty interesting week which began and ended with a little drama..everyone made it back to Venice from the shipyard in the nick of time to make thier trips..some cutting it closer than others..I guess the report starts well before the fishing and trying to make a long story short and interesting will be a real challenge..the first part of this report goes out to anyone who has spent time in a shipyard either doing the work themselves or waiting on others to do it..Hunter had significant fiberglass work done to the twin vee and I had both heads and injector sets replaced..aftercooler and heat exchanger tube bundles cleaned..everythign tuned, props and shafts checked, bearings replaced and bottom touched up..finally found the source of the ever nagging vibration and nipped it too..too long a story to tell but suffice it to say we didnt have a good fit in one of the couplings..when we left Seabrooke at Midnight on Wednesday she ran vibration free and turned up all the way clipping along at 30 knots on top..anyway we had to leave late from New Orleans and decided to have two captains share the load..got cleaned up after the test run and departed at 12am Thursday for our Thursday morning charter..Capt Lance and I made it with 2 hours to spare for our charter..Scott L had gone down the night before with our gear, food and clothes..everyone met at the dock to load gear at 5..trip went great..I had Ken Lutgsh et al Scott Leger had the Savant transportation crew; Hunter arrived at the marina later that day from the yard..Fishing and weather was great Thursday and were both in the fish all day..it was great..calmand warm and lots of action too..most fish came on the topwater poppers..when the dust settled we each had 8 and 9 yellowfins 30-60 pounds respectively..
[img]http://www.paradise-outfitters.com/images/2007_04_19tuna1.jpg[/img]it was nice having both Lance Walker and Little Jon to help with the sleeping and driving and fishing..boat ran great for both Scott and I and we are both glad to be out of the yard..wehad one fish spool us ona spinning outfit..looked like an 80-100 pounder at the strike so fish are bad a@#es!!! Thursday..total opposite..rough and cloudy and plagued with minor boat troubles all day..I had a turbo act up on the way out which slowed us down to trolling speed and into a horrific headsea..also had electrical issues, steering issues andan engine that would stall dueto idle setting and all in the same trip..and it was too bumpy to make inspections and repairs difficult so we concetrated on fishing and fishing we did..came up short on the catching..a complete contrast to the day before which everything went right and the boat ran better than ever..the fish were there again, we just couldnt connect..
..We had two groups out today between 4 boats..I had the Miller Welds crew and we managed one decent yellowfin, 2 sharks and a barracuda on the popper..the wind put a stop to the popper bite today..wind complicates things especially when dealing with power pro; accuracy and and sure footing were also scarce..almost too dangerous to try and cost from the bow..seas were 3-5ft..if we did get on top of the busters the popper wouldnt stay in the water with all the waves..Scott Leger had 1/3 of the Mobley bachelor party..they spent the most part of the day fighting a 300 pound blue marlin which hit two live baits before getting stuck on the kite bait..they had it 20 ft from the boat for a half hour before it went nuts..they have some pics boatside..think they got 8 jumps out of him in the last 2 hours..they did not get top pet him though, as he popped off short of the leader..went through 4 guys..they also had a decent tuna for camp meat..Hunter and Josh teamed up with the other 2/3rds of Mobley crew, splitting 7 yellowfins between them..off bite today and not the greatest sea conditions either....after cleaning fish and the boat I spent another 6 hours fine tuning the engine idle, fixing and replacing wiring and hyrdaulic rams..thank God for the stockpile of new parts I keep in my shed..had everything but an exhaust housing for the turbo so we'd have to deal with some smoke on opening day of snapper season..I discussed it ahead of time with John and Alan Mundy and knowing the turbo might hold us back we found we could do anything but run on step in a headsea..the new one is on order..seems things always fail when I dont have a spare and its after 5pm COB on Friday...did our best to make a day and we did..it was a happy sunny day for ther most part..we got our 4 man snapper limit in 45 minutes then decided on wahoo..no real monsters but plenty 2-8 pounders..will fetch the sows on a calmer day when we can get to where we want to and there is no threat of weather or boat issues..also picked up a 65 pound wahoo after hitting every rig on the shelf on a following sea..seas built to 4-6 by mid day so we called it early...happy crew and captain...Capt Scott Leger got left at the dock by a no show no call for opening day..ouch..he got his revenge onthe snapper yesterday..looked like there was no shortage of snapper and tuna at the cleaning table as I left Saturday night..made the most of my first days off in weeks..didnt know what to do with myself other than to sleep it off and write a proper report..shower and food have also been a nice luxury..more fun tomorrow..Paradise Outfitters - 985-845-8006
[img]http://www.paradise-outfitters.com/images/2007_04_21wahoo.jpg[/img] |
Damon McKnight (Super_strike)
New member
Username: Super_strike
Post Number: 28
Registered: 1-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 26, 2007 - 5:30 am: | |
Another good weekend of offshore fishing. The weather was a little on the rough side but not bad. On Friday morning we had the Jared Peranio group down. They were fishing the Venice Winter Invitational so of course they wanted to catch some winning fish. With the conditions we had I was a little worried, I wasn't sure how far we would be able to run and we would be limited as to what we could do. Our first stop was our last stop. We put four lines out for Wahoo, and not 5 minutes after the lines were set we had a quadruple. All four lines went off, one after another. I haven't seen this happen in a long time, so that meant complete chaos. The crew landed 3 out of the 4 and although it looked like an unorganized line twisting mess they did a great job, although I have never seen anyone pass the rod on a wahoo, they did. After another 1.5 hours trolling we put three more wahoo in the boat and missed two more. By then the guys were feeling sea sick and called it a day. It was a quick morning bite and they ended going 6 for 9. Not a bad ratio when it comes to wahoo fishing. They ended up getting 2nd and 3rd place wahoo with a 60lb. and 59lb. hoo. Also, on Friday Capt. Bob had the Robert Nieto crew, they were in the invitational as well. They had a slow day with the tuna but did put the 1st place Amberjack on the board which weighed in at 67lbs. Congrats. to Robert Nieto. On Saturday we had a big crew down to fish with us. Capt. Bob and Capt. Britan took out the Don Cook gang. They were looking to just bend a rod with the kids and that is exactly what they did catching one Yellow fin tuna, plenty of Beeliners, Amberjack, Mackerel, and a few sharks. I took out the James Davis and his wife. With the way the wahoo bit on Friday we all decided that would be the best thing for us to do. As soon as we got to our spot we picked up to nice wahoo right from the start. After that we could have called it a day. We had three more hits which we lost and a barracuda. Called it a day at 2:00 and headed to the dock. Yesterday I had the Jerry Teachout crew from Panama City, Florida and their friends from Georgia. All they wanted to catch was Yellow fin tuna. I told him the tuna fishing had been tough lately but we will do the best we can. The weather cooperated yesterday, the seas were much calmer than the day before and everything was looking good. Once again our first stop would be our last. First two lines out produced two yellow fin tuna, after that it was non-stop and the guys put 18 Yellow fin tuna in the boat by noon. Our largest fish went 60 lbs. and 40lbs., the rest were between 20-30lbs. It was nice to see the tuna bite like this because it doesn't happen very often. We still have some open days in April.
Damon McKnight/Super Strike Charters/1 800 318 1720
WWW.SUPERSTRIKECHARTERS.COM |
Damon McKnight (Super_strike)
New member
Username: Super_strike
Post Number: 27
Registered: 1-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 16, 2007 - 3:37 pm: | |
It has been a while since our last post but we have been fishing steadily. The fishing has gotten tougher than it was about two weeks ago but they are still out there. We had a couple of really tough days last week falling back on spots that we haven't fished in a while, some worked and others didn't. The weather has been cooperating some, but it hasn't been that great. Instead of going to sleep stress free not worried about the fishing the next day, there has been more anxiety than usual. On Sunday, Capt. Bob K had the Van Nguyen Group down. They have been trying to get out since early Jan. and finally made it out. They finished their day with a 137lb. Yellowfin tuna and 5 blackfin. Yesterday, I took out the Dan Fouts group from Michigan. The morning started out slow but they finished the day with 3 blackfin, 1 african pompano, 1 amberjack, and 2 wahoo. Capt. Bob had the Mark Melson group and finished with 1 black fin, 1 yellow fin, and 2 A.J.'s We both canceled today due to the weather. Back at on Friday hopefully. We still have open days this month and next. The fishing will steadily pick up as we move thru March into April.
Damon McKnight/Super Strike Charters/1 800 318 1720
http://www.superstrikecharters.com/images/282.jpg
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Damon McKnight (Super_strike)
New member
Username: Super_strike
Post Number: 26
Registered: 1-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, March 04, 2007 - 6:06 pm: | |
We made it back out again yesterday to perfect conditions once again. Friday was very windy so I cancelled my offshore trip and Capt. Bob took the Ragland group redfishing which was productive for the most part, catching bull reds and a ton of sheephead. Yesterday I took out the Grier party. They booked this trip counting on good weather five months ago and it couldn't have been any better. It was an exciting day and the fish cooperated for the most part. The first fish they had on screamed out the drag and shortly went into circles. After about a 30 minute fight and still no sign of the fish I was sure he was going to be a good one. He circled the boat at least 5 times before we got color, after 1 hour into the fight we stuck a gaff in him and game over. The fish weighed about 70lbs. Yesterday was one of those days that the fish fought a lot harder than they normally do. The current was a factor in the fight. Second fish on was about an 85lber., same tough fight, third fish on, 110lber. this one took almost 1.5 hours, 4th fish on was the big of the day and didn't come in easy. 1st run was almost an immediate spooling but we were able to catch up with him. Then he decided to run straight towards two boats where we had to pass the rod off to them and then come around and grab the rod from the other side of the boat. Luckily the seas allowed us to do this and thanks to the capt's who knew exactly what to do in this situation. We've all been there before so it definitely helped out. After all of that he went down and that is where he stayed for about two hours. The guys were so whipped from the three earlier tuna that deckhand Britan had to fight the fish and did a great job. The fish weighed 170lbs. on the scale at the marina. They wanted no part of this fish. After the first tuna came into the boat he said, "I read reports that capts. were only coming in with 4 or 5 tuna and he said he now knows why." Not many people understand the power of these fish that do not give up. It was a good day of fishing for Capt. Bob as well. They ended their day with 3 Yellowfin and 1 black. Their largest was right at 106lbs. Back at it tommorrow.
Capt. Damon Mcknight/Super Strike Charters/1 800 318 1720
www.superstrikecharters.com |
Capt. Scott Avanzino (Paradiseout)
New member
Username: Paradiseout
Post Number: 40
Registered: 10-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 15, 2007 - 5:44 am: | |
Last two weeks have been a blurr once again..each day melting into the next..up at 4am, down the river with an excited crew fishing all day and getting to bed at 11am after returnign calls and emails..still beats the grind of a desk job I think..weather ranging from downright snotty to pleasently etherial..Fishing has been worth the beating most of the rough days as expected.we did cut two trips early due to seasickness...the crowds are down from previous years nad the yields on yellowfin/blackfin tuna and wahoo have been bountiful..Highlights include a 10 wahoo day with the Cocacola team which put two fish over 70 pounds on ice, also watching first time anglers land thier first bluewater fish made for great video..I had 8 guys catch thier first ever wahoo or bluewater fish last week including 3 young men of 12 years or less..I cant think of a more rewarding experience for a dad to be a part of..my 8 year old and I are going on a special youth doe management hunt this weekend ..I havent told him yet but its near abut a sure thing..just like the tuna fishing right now..we had another week of big fish..highlights there included a 190 pound fish brought to gaff in 37 minutes this past Monday by the Group Insurance team..Capt Hunter had the best daily double of the week landing a 150 pound yellowfin and 250 pound mako shark at the same time..I got some great videoo of that..we also had Jaun from Miami for 2 days of spear fishing..his best fish were a 80 pound wahoo, 177 and 174 pound yellowfin while free diving..most days we have been averaging 2-4 yellows- one jumbo, pile of jackfish and small snappers and half dozen plump blackfins; which on penn 965 reels and bass rods, make for good sport..4 yellowfins per trip had been the norm until late last week it went down to 2 fish..mostly due to the size of the fish and having to drop anchor gear and leave the slick to give chase..we also saw a drop in wahoo ativity going skunk on Monday which was the first trip in 10 when we didnt come home with at least 2..we did lose a fish boatside that day so they are still out there, just more wiley..I have individual reports for each of the days along with the catches on the homesite..we did have a guy fallout of the bat while fighting a fish but he was Ok and hiung on the the rod climbed back into the boat to land it..also had a wahoo cut off our top producing downrigger bait (balck and orange islander/swimming mullet) then hit a long blue and white blackhole with a ballyhoo..we got both the fish and the bait back..the pic is pretty telling..we had it rigged for tuna on light flouro as no wahoo had been seen at that point in the day and we pretty much shifted to split tail mullet on mono/flouro for tuna..Expect great fishing on the Lump to continue with the expectation of even larger fish through the end of March..Paradise Outfitters - 985-845-8006
[img]http://www.paradise-outfitters.com/images/2007_02_12tuna190.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.paradise-outfitters.com/images/2007_02_07wahoo.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.paradise-outfitters.com/images/2007_02_07juan.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.paradise-outfitters.com/images/2007_02_06bob.jpg[/img] |
Damon McKnight (Super_strike)
New member
Username: Super_strike
Post Number: 25
Registered: 1-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, February 12, 2007 - 5:49 am: | |
It has been another few days of good offshore fishing. The weather has been a little more cooperative in the past few days and the fish have been as well. On Friday 2/9 we had the Al Brown group from Florida down. We had to reschedule the first trip because of weather but this time we got out and it was flat calm. It was definitely the calmest day of the year for me. The bite started out fast with our first fish being a black fin tuna. Put him in the boat and our second fish was a decent yellow fin at 79lbs. After that the black fin and small yellow fin action was good and ended about 10:00 a.m. That was it for the day. We couldn't buy another bite. The day ended good with 7 blacks and 5 yellowfin. Saturday morning we cancelled at the dock due to 25-30 knot winds. On Sunday we had the David Schlappy crew from Tennessee. It was very nice yesterday but the fishing was a little tougher. They finished the day with 10 tuna. 7 blackfin and 3 yellow fin. All of the yellow fin were about as big as the black fin. We did get one good fish on and he steam rolled the spool down quick and then for no reason, the line broke. Not a bad day but it took all day of constantly working the lines with sometimes up to an hour with no bite. The fishing has been as good as it gets.
Damon McKnight/Super Strike Charters/1 800 318 1720 |
Capt. Scott Avanzino (Paradiseout)
New member
Username: Paradiseout
Post Number: 38
Registered: 10-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 28, 2006 - 3:07 pm: | |
What a great day..both Hunter and I were out today..I had a group of outdoor writers for a wahoo trip on the Albemarle, while Hunter was with the Perrone group on the Rennaisance cat out for tuna..hadn't been out on a while and didn't know what to expect..Bob and I were readying the boat yesterday re-rigging baits in case we got on a wahoo blitz and what a blitz it was..got our first baits over about 9am with a double header starting it off..thought we had some huge wahoo but both fish turned out to be 60 pound yellowfins..ahh not a bad start but that opened the door for wahoo..we got into them too..doubles and singles as fast as we could get the baits over..put 7 fish from 30-75 pounds in the next hour while releasing 3 boatside after taking some great pics..we left at 11:00am with no room to spare had to cut the heads off the bigger fish to get them to fit in the box..got home about 1pm..Hunter did well on the yellowfins with 6 80-100 pound fish..They hit a few spots but endind up covering a little water..Hunter said the mullet were getting run upo even well offshore..too bad we had to cancel tomorrow..weather looks messy the next few days..I heard the bite went off on the Lump today..we may go give that a try next trip..Fish are biting...Paradise Outfitters - 985-845-8006
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Capt. Scott Avanzino (Paradiseout)
New member
Username: Paradiseout
Post Number: 37
Registered: 10-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 19, 2006 - 4:02 pm: | |
More good offshore reports coming and no one is complaining about the indian summer either..On Thursday, Capt. Hunter went out with Roger, Frank, Manley and Wayne from TN and mopped up on the yellowfin..live mulet ws key to 8 yellowfins from 50-110 pounds in 3 hours and Friday was about the same..Hunter had the same crew from Chatanooga and they decided to go wahoo fishing because they had nearly maxed out cooler space from Thursday\'s adventure..It was a great plan but it backfired..they went wahoo catching and had to go to walmart to buy extra coolers to pack the fish they couldnt give away..hilarious..nice wahoo\'s too..8 wahoo out of 14 bites with 2 fish under 40 pounds and 4 fish between 60-80 pounds..I took a great picture of Hunter laying down next to his biggest fish and posted it in the pictures page..
Friday I had a crew from Kurz-Hebert in Baton Rouge and we had a ball with the tuna in the 4 hours we fished for them..we used up our only 2 hardtails on an immediate double then went to chumming...this produced 8 fish from 30-100 pounds..last fish came off a live flyer we netted boatside..it didnt last 2 minutes and yieled our best fish of the day a solid 110..we had one fish take two peices of chum and two anglers battled it to the boat with two rods..pretty funny..heard of that happening before but this as my first experience. Caught 11 and went home early; kept 7 fish and gave away 4..Wentto the same areas Saturday but the ammount of pressure fnally caught up with the resource and the bite was off..We picked up 3 fish in 8 drifts early on before the flotilla arrived..had a fourth fish hooked up and on for 20 minutes before loosing it; this a 130-150 class fish we cut off in the rudder while making a do or die effort to gaff a green fish..first big fish we\'ve lost this month and it still hurts today..bite shut off shortly after and by 1130am we ended up leaving for the wahoo grounds..saw 7 boats come an go to the rig we were fishing..never got another bite all day and wished we\'d stayed at tuna fishing in hindsight..Hunter\'s crew caught 11 yellowfin and 5 blackfin all but one fish on butterfly jigs..4 fish were 80-100 pounds the rest schoolies; fishing is great right now..everyone has been off the last 2 days and we\'ll have a crew out tomorrow with handlines..ought to be pretty funny..last time they came the fish were only 40-60 pounds..they are hoping to bag a 100# plus fish.
We are strarting to book alot of winter tuna and wahoo trips..now is the time to get a prime date..Paradise Outfitters - 985-845-8006 |
Damon McKnight (Super_strike)
New member
Username: Super_strike
Post Number: 24
Registered: 1-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, December 02, 2006 - 7:05 am: | |
The weather has been keeping us at the dock lately. This has been a very windy season so far, but not any more than usual. It has mostly been strong north winds with all the cold fronts we've been getting. The fall/winter fishing this year has been somewhat tough. We are use to catching big tuna and wahoo in close this time of year but the fish never really moved in. They are still mostly out about 50-60 miles offshore. When they were in close we would only have to run about 15-25 miles out which was doable in the winds we've been having, but since they are still out there a good ways our fishing has been limited to non-windy days only. The good news is that about mid- December it seems to hit a plateau for about a month, the wind settles down, which gives us plenty of opportunity to take advantage of the huge tuna and wahoo on the lump and surrounding areas. Then about mid-January the wind picks up again and we will have more days at the dock than on the water. The after affects of hurricane Katrina are mostly memories now. Life has returned to normal for the most part. Although I would have chosen not to go thru a devastating storm such as this one. It has taught manhy of us a valuable lesson. We now know what to do if this ever happens again. It looks like we will be back out again on Monday and Tuesday. I will try and report shortly afterwards. We still have dates available to fish in January and February. If you are after trophy size fish this is the time of year.
Damon McKnight/Super Strike Charters |
Capt. Scott Avanzino (Paradiseout)
New member
Username: Paradiseout
Post Number: 36
Registered: 10-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 20, 2006 - 8:20 am: | |
Lots of action on the surface this weekend..jhad a crew of marines in the Ledbetter/Pearson party.. We saw alot of fish blowing up but couldnt set up on them..bait and birds all over the green water on the shelf but so are the sharks..made a quick stop in familiar territory on Friday and were eaten alive by sharks..I think they were following the humm of the engines because we couldnt shake them..lost 4 baits and 2 jigs before bailing..bluewater moved out about 5-10 miles from earlier in the week..took a while to get in the rhythm but when we connected the first fish of the day was a stud..fought it for 20 minutes when expecting a 60 pound fish we werent prepared for the 150 pound fish that swam right to the boat and stuck its chin up for the gaff..I wasnt running a deckhand at customers request..so when my biggest guy hit the fish perfectly in the head with my favorite gaff - guess what happened..lost my favorite "Rod Shop of OBx" gaff..we would spend another 55 minutes chasing it down until the death spirals brouhgt in to the surface again and ending with two of us dragging it through the door..its been a while before we have had a fish to be nervous over but we were rewarded for our patience in the end..
great weather too..managed another 3 smaller fish but none of the same caliber..Capt Scott Leger had 4 yellows as well, he was fishing right next to us..and all his action it would seem took place while we were fooling with the big boy..Did alot of running Saturday with the Rahman's Andy, Dwight and Carolyn from ATL..This crew are regulars and no strangers to fishing trips..we had a fishing trip today..target species was amberjack/tuna and with a hot tip on a hot bite we ran out of the normal beaten path only to bust..should have been there yesterday kind of deal...set up behind a trawl boat and yep got sharked!..had a heck of a time finding bait too - we wouldnt really get down to fishing until 11am..made 4 stops before we finally put a decent 60 pound yellowfin in the boat..Bite wasnt insane but steady..we were too far and it was too late for jacks so we hung in on the yellowfins..added 2 more fish, these a 20 and 40 pound fish to with the 60 pounder in the box before quitting time: also lost a wahoo at the transom..pulled out all the stops Saturday..live bait, kite fishing, chumming and trolling..its was one of those days and in comparison to alot of other fishing trips we heard about on the VHF, we were pleased with our result..was looking to make a run of trips before the holday but it looks like goose hunting instead..never been before so I am bringing my kids to share the newness of it..guess were having goose on Thursday, and hoping to watch Tigers eating Hog roast Friday...Paradise Outfitters - 985-845-8006
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Capt. Scott Avanzino (Paradiseout)
New member
Username: Paradiseout
Post Number: 35
Registered: 10-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, November 16, 2006 - 10:51 am: | |
Pretty good week of fishing this week..we were able to get out 5 times and experienced some increadible yellowfin tuna fishing..I had the crew from Capital Valve and fitting a week to the day ..did alot of boat riding until we got on a bite - no fish in the boat until 2pm..it was frustrating but we never know what to expect after a week of weather cancellations..wasnt for lack of trying..but we were able to pull off the 4th quarter win and save the day with had fast action, finding 5 yellowfins on 8 bites..the largest 75 pounds..we tried to bag a jack or two early in tha day before making the run but were eaten alive by jacks and cudas..in fact we had caught 2 big sharks and several baracudas earlier in the day while tuna fishing and just as many slimey cudas on wahoo baits.. Crew consisted of..Savoie, Boudreaux. Gravouia (there's got to be "T" on the end., Rogers (Reaujeure), and Thibodeaux..
[img]http://www.paradise-outfitters.com/images/2006_11_09tuna.jpg[/img]
Acadiana represent!
.....Friday was the legal counsel trip from Leake-Anderson in New Olreans..Another fun day..good weather and crew two days in a row..Had Dean, Stan, Lou and John from Iowa..the action was fast and furious for these young lawyers..we had 15 tuna bites in 3 hours putting 13 yellowfins in the box..we then pulled a while for wahoo then ended the day looking for cobia..found a school of 10 twenty pounders hooking one but losing him to the rig..got home early..
[img]http://www.paradise-outfitters.com/images/2006_11_10tuna.jpg[/img]
Bill had Ted Farmer and crew and ran the seas..they covered some ground today and found a limit fo aj's and 2 nice yellowfins..they lost 2 monsters on mullet..Saturday should have been a weather day but two boats went for it..Scott L had Scott Gautier and Bill had the Francetic family..three guys on each boat..they came in with one yellowfin for each guy, the largets 90 pounds..The Scott's did some deep dropping and landed 3 snowy groupers to go withthier 3 tuna..wind would blow Sunday leaving Monday for us...I had just two guys on the boat that day; Aaron Burris and John from Jersey..we headed out east and found good water about 12 miles out..pretty quick bite today as both of our first two baits were snapped up by school fish seconds after deployment and our guys went to work..action was fast for the next two hours and the schoolies were fatter than normal and about 6 inches longer than previous trips..guess they are growing..avg size was 25-30 pounds and 44"..no real big ones today though we actually thought they these were bigeye tuna..lots of fun on light tackle and they cool quickly making for some increadible sashimi or poki..my kids and I have been tearing them up in the last 2 weeks..Had planned to do alot of running since conditions were nice for it, but there really wasnt any reason to leave these fish and it really didnt take long to make our anglers tired; Capt Scott Leger even reeled in some sushi fish..we kept 9 and tagged and released another 7 before noon..we even deployed the kite for the last three, just to make it sporting..you know you are having a good day when the weather is perfect and you are toying with the fish..it truley makes up for the slower days..It's always exciting to watch a pack of tuna beat the hardtail around like a pin(y)ata..for the afternoon portion of the trip we tried fishing a deep wreck (410ft) and with no current we figured it would be another burner..we never really moved more than a 1/4 knot given wind, current and sea or lack of all three forces..bad news is we didnt get a single bite..but something was down there cleaning the bait off the hooks - we made two drifts before moving on..the next stop would give more action..we were using 15/0 hooks to cut down on bycatch of red snapper but still..we did release 3 red snapper 10-20 pounds..all three swam off but who knows how many made it past the cudas..between the snapper taps we did put decent snowy grouper on ice..and we got owned too..by losing 5 other larger fish..definately not snapper..figured huge jacks, grouper or sharks..we had a good time kidding Scott L about his knots - worth the price of admission to see everyone turn on him even though it wasnt his fault..I grabbed the rod once before a break off to help put the brakes on a bigun but escaped ridicule after the rock off...no luck jigging iron other than one break off..looking forward to the next run of weather later this week..looks real probable that we'll get out tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday..plenty open dates this time of year and fewer fisherman..call us anytime to arrange for a day - Paradise Outfitters - 985-845-8006
[img]http://www.paradise-outfitters.com/images/2006_11_13tuna.jpg[/img] |
Damon McKnight (Super_strike)
New member
Username: Super_strike
Post Number: 23
Registered: 1-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 27, 2006 - 5:27 am: | |
Offshore Fishing Venice, La.
We managed to get out the past couple of days. On Tuesday we took out part of the Crescent Coatings and Service crew. We left out in a little windier conditions than I was hoping for but once we got out there it wasn't bad. This time of year the big tuna should be in close. Well, that was our plan to stick close and wait out the big fish. All the right bait was in the boat, the water looked like it needed to, and our confidence was high. It started out very slow, but when your fishing for big tuna, don't expect to pull up and start catching them right away. Sometimes you can get away with it but for the most part, patience is the key. Our patience started wearing thin about the first hour into it with no sign of life anywhere. We stuck it out and finally we saw some big fish feeding about a 100 yds. from us. A little boat maneuvering and we got the baits on top of the area where they were but nothing. They were feeding on a school of mullets and these were some big fish, probably 150+ and that is guessing on the low end. After another 30 minutes of not a strike we decided to run. This next spot was a little further out but I knew they had fish there, straight into the solid 4 footers we ran. Upon arrival it looked great, flying fish everywhere, a little current and plenty of fish on the fish finder. Well it took about 3 seconds for those fish to come up and it was about 15 porpoises. We put the baits out hoping that they were just passing thru but, NOPE, they decided to hang next to the boat and play with us and tease our bait. There wasn't another fish coming close to the bait we had out. We pulled in close to the rig, hoping the tuna may be hanging in there, and Mr. Barracuda smoked both of our baits. Needless to say, we headed out to another spot with our tail between our legs. Next spot worked out. We put three yellow fin in the boat about 20-25lbs. This spot also had some huge tuna working the area but we could not get the big ones to eat. After spending most of the day fishing for tuna we went snapper fishing and put 14 5-8lb. snapper in the boat. Not a bad day in the end. Yesterday we had the Dr. Cliff Mayasaka crew. We went back to where we saw the big fish the day before but didn't see them again. The conditions were perfect, the mullet were moving thru, but no big tuna anywhere. However, we did put 8 yellow fin in the boat, most were on the smaller side, with a nice 70lber in the mix. Headed in for some more snapper and put about 10 in the boat. There were a lot of bull reds and undersize snapper mixed in. The mullets are definitely moving out of the passes and are in all the right spots for catching the big tuna, but the big ones just don't seem to be in there in any numbers yet. At least not from what I saw. A few busting here and there is not what I call a lot. They should start to show up more and more, could be tomorrow, could be a week from now. Looks like the weather is going to keep us in again for the next several days. It is going to be a wait and see scenario. Open days are still available in November. I will bet that the fishing in November, if we get the right conditions, will be one to remember. If you were to come down and get weathered out for offshore, the trout are biting like crazy, and if your a duck hunter the season opens Nov. 11th.
Capt. Damon McKnight/Super Strike Charters/1 800 318 1720
WWW.SUPERSTRIKECHARTERS.COM
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Capt. Scott Avanzino (Paradiseout)
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Username: Paradiseout
Post Number: 34
Registered: 10-2003
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, October 26, 2006 - 3:14 pm: | |
Both Hunter and I were scheduled for day trips on Wednesday but I planted the seed of a possible nite trip with my crew and lo and behold they showed up early enough to do it.. Not to dissapoint I headed south and 2 hours later, jumped on the boat to meet them..weather was looking iffy for Wednesday afternoon and the thought of taking a shot at a sword also appealed to me..left out about 5pm making two unsuccessful sword drifts..conditions were perfect had squid and bait in the lights but obviously not in the spot..the main target was tuna anyway..thus we headed off the the Matterhorn platform and found it D-E-A-D, I mean dead..couldnt even catch a blackfin tuna on a diamond jig..nothing..decided to make the run south..first stop would be the ticket..arrived at 2am..rods immediately bent with all the action on jigs the guys could stand..which was good because we needed chum..boxed a deckfull of blackfin..Hans, RJ, Ingemar and Butch are from Amelia Island FL and have to run 70-80 miles to their blackfin holes..they got a kick out of the fact that we were going to use them as bait..chunking worked well..after the second drift it was pretty much a single double or triple on yellowfin..mostly 20-30 pound school sized fish but three 60-70 pounders gave bonus fight time..we had 10 by sun-up and we ended up dragging ballyhoo's picking up a couple more schoolies..total take was a boat limit of 12 yellowfin..we had gutted them and packed them with ice..the meat was a high grade purple..hope the Island enjoys them..Hunter had Chad Peltier and a crew of Exxon guys..they were on target for the the same quarry and I radioed Hunter to call him in on the bite..they arrived and made quick work of the school fish before running around the rest of the day..he ended up with 8 yellowfin and 5 bull dolphin..Paradise Outfitters - 985-845-8006 |
Capt. Scott Avanzino (Paradiseout)
New member
Username: Paradiseout
Post Number: 33
Registered: 10-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, October 24, 2006 - 8:18 am: | |
Glad to be on the water again after many days off due to weather..summer is over for sure..but the fishing is still great when we can sneak out between the fronts..Capt Hunter ran an overnight trip with Jody Thornhill and all from Memphis on Wednesday night - they had moved thier trip up a day to take advantage in the recent break in the wind..they filled the box with 8 fish releasing the others they caught..I didnt see him until after he cleaned his boat on Thursday morning but they said all the fish were 100 pounds or better..they came in a few hours early...
I also ran an overnight trip of sorts..I had that same day scheduled as a maintenance day and after everything was done I left out with Capt. Scott Leger and Joe for a shot at swordfish..forecast was too good not to try and there were 3 others gearing up to do the same when we were getting loaded up..we eventually left at sundown and as soon as we got set up the wind picked up..trypical trip for me I thought..and as such, seas built through the night until they were a solid 3-5 ft..we stuck it out going nearly tippy canoe twice and even so we nearly called it early twice..not much action until about 3am when we got into a flurry..
We had 3 fish hooked up pulling hooks..two fish hit baits while we were bringing them in to check them..one sword about 80 pounds swam right to the transom..we tried to bait him but he dissappeared as quick as he came..looked like a baracuda with a bill..eventually I came tight on a good fish which we fought in the slop for roughly an hour..turned out to be a foul hooked 100 pound sword..mission accomplished..
this is the first swordfish I have caught myself in our home waters and I feel for those who pay for the privelege..it was pretty cool..expected alot bigger fish but he still pulled quite well for a little chunker..
Pretty interesting run of overnight trips would follow in the coming days..weather is a funny thing this time of year and I will say it again..summer is over..I had the Junio/Pastor bunch in from Atlanta..Originally they were scheduled for two consecutive day trips but with the narrow weather window and recent overnight fishing results I was able to talk them into cramming their two-day fishing trip into 24 hours..We waited for the break Friday and it came by afternoon; so we loaded up and rode the following sea south..goal was to cover all the bases..one tuna for each of the guys, then a swordfish and then wahoo, grouper, amberjack and finally cobia ..all this and returning home bfore dark Saturday..everything was going to plan by 11pm winds had died completely and we had 4 yellowfins in the boat and enough blackfin for grouper bait..all fish coming off chum no surface activity aside from a few blackfins boiling mullet..we needed one more yellowfin leaving half the night to try and add a sword to the mix..about 11:05 an enourmous mako showed in the slick and by the time I was halfway down the tower to fetch a shark leader one of the guys hooked him on a tuna chunk..figured it would cut off and return to the chum but instead it took off.. not sure how we survived that run..this was a huge mako..as long as my boat was wide, ice blue and a pointy nose Posetive ID but not sure how big..it looked massive..I figured it over 600#..none the less we not only survived the 200 yard run but even a birdsnest which occured while my angler was tryng to reel with two hands..anyway we survived getting it out by backing down imediately and still it took me a minute to get out..this only to break off 15 minutes later and about 1 mile from the rig where we hooked it..we had backed off the drag consideing the leader chasing with two engiones most of the time anyway..needless to say we never saw it again..ended up getting eaten alive by blackfins for the next hour so we hooked it up for the shelf..winds had died and seas were a perfect slow rolling 2 ft swell..clear as a bell..too nice to go to sleep..got set up about 2am waiting 30 minutes for our first bite..fish on..then a second bite and fish on again..picked up the spread and chased both fish..30 minutes later hammerhead one was released followed in short order by hammerhead number 2..
Reset and waited another hour for fish number three to hit..which resuted in yet another hammerhead..we were using live bait off the transom and the hammerheads were loving them..we must have seen a 100 mullet in the lights during the night..then finally with an hour to sunup we got the bite we wanted on a deep squid..fish took the bait made a good run out and away.had it on for a few minutes before it jumped about 100 yards away with the line going slack afterwards..fish on fish off, but the right fish this time..made another set picking up nothing..on to plan C..couldnt find an amberjack or grouper so we hit about a dozen rigs looking for wahoo..not one bite..very odd..nothing despite great conditons..In between stops I saw a few frigate birds circling above a large school of nervous mullet in about 300 ft of water..looked to be about a dozen huge yelowfins balling them up taking well timed turns at knocking a few around...got to within 30 yards and launched a popper..the bait was picked up immediately by a beast of a yellow..it made a huge run, sizzling the reel..then slack..hoped it had changed dirtection but it actually spit the bait..popper was crushed and hooks mangled..not sure if we would have landed it anyway but we were wiling to put man and tackle to the test..would have been a boat record for sure..we have yet to land one over 120 on a spinning rod..tried to get back on the mullet but the tuna would spook before we could get in range..we set out two live mullets and waited..nothing..same story when we tried to jump the school for a third time..spooky tuna..first time is always the best shot..but it didnt pan out for us..about 11am now and wind now picking to at least 15 knots..made another attempt a wahoo with everyone getting a nap...decided to head north and look for cobia..first stop had two willing fish but we werent ready with the pitch baits and they disappeared after charging a jig..never saw them again..now its officially rough and wind and rain bands hitting with regular frequency..made three more stops finding 4 short fish and breaking off three keepers..
We would hit half a dozen more spots finding two 40 inch fish and calling it by early afternoon..think we caught one legal red snaper and an amberjack while cobia fishing..plenty bluefish and bull reds as well...Capt Bill left out as we were coming in having an equally frustrating night with the Floyd crew from Halliburton..I talked to Joe this evening he said the captain put them on the fish when they were bitng but they had some trouble keepng them hooked up..he said they had 4 nice yellows and a handfull of barley legals and all the blackfin they could stand..the bite was off for the most part..Capt Hunter actually took my Sunday crew out last night coming in by morning with 6 yellowfins..it was a good call as the weather was tolerable last night and the bite fair....bad weather hit Venice about mid morning and its supposed to crank up to 40 knots by tomorrow with temp cranked down to the 50's as well..might be a few cobia around after this cooloff but I have offcially written off the wahoo for now..have to make our trips when the weaher allows..looks like Wednesday will be the next and only window this week ..Paradise Outfitters - 985-845-8006
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Damon McKnight (Super_strike)
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Username: Super_strike
Post Number: 22
Registered: 1-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, October 10, 2006 - 10:34 am: | |
Another good weekend of fishing down here in Venice, La. This past Friday we had the David Hyde Group. They had been down here before, they wanted tuna, and knew what to expect. Sometimes no matter how much you prepare for a day of fishing things don't always go as expected. The night before I changed all the line on the reels. 80lb. clear Momoi diamond line. This is some strong line. I knew the fishing was going to be good and the big boys were out there so I did not want to have any tackle issues. Our early morning started out slow, the first couple of spots we went to produced nothing. One thing you can always count on in Venice is that the fish are biting somewhere 90% of the time. You just have to be in the right place at the right time. Here is a very good example: About 20 miles from us another capt. fished all day with tuna all around him and could not buy a bite. He said they were rolling all over and just wouldn't eat. Right place, right time. Finally around 10:00 a.m. we found them and they were biting. First line out 65lber. No problems, got him in the boat. Then the unexpected started. 2nd fish on, fought him for a while and the line broke. The line looked like it was popped by tuna teeth. It is unusual to lose a tuna because his teeth(which are tiny) hit the line in just the right spot, but it does happen. 3rd fish on, fought him to the boat, about a 70lber. and the hook just came right out. Nice and easy, almost as if it was planned. 4th fish, ran drag, got him in the fighting belt, line broke. Lever drag was pushed to far forward. 5th fish, clobbered the bait and this was a big one. Had him on just long enough to break the line. Lever drag pushed to full again. We lost a few more fish but we did manage to get 3 more in the boat. One was about an 85lber. and the other about 70lbs. We ended the day going 4 for ? Some days this happens and it seems to be going around right now. I talked to two other capt.'s that had the same problem. One that day, and one two days before. Wasn't the first time and won't be the last. There was a lot of action, tuna busting everywhere and we didn't go very long without a bite. You can't ask for much more than that. On Saturday the wind was howling so we opted to go snapper fishing with the Benoit crew from New Orleans. The snapper bite was steady but there were a lot of throw backs. I think we managed to get 14 keepers in the boat and then concentrated on cobia fishing. The cobia weren't as thick as last week but they were there. We went three for five. Nothing real big, the big ones wouldn't bite although we did see them mixed in with the others. Looks like the wind will keep us in towards the middle of the week. We still have some days open in Oct. and Nov. The big tuna are here, not like they will be after this front though. This is the one we need to push the mullet out. The tuna should be on them very soon. The offshore fishing will remain very good for a while. Just need the right weather to get'em.
Capt. Damon McKnight/Super Strike Charters/1 800 318 1720
WWW.SUPERSTRIKECHARTERS.COM
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Damon McKnight (Super_strike)
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Username: Super_strike
Post Number: 21
Registered: 1-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 26, 2006 - 2:23 pm: | |
Offshore Fishing Venice, La.
The offshore fishing out of Venice, La. has been on fire. This time of year we catch a lot of Yellow fin Tuna, Black fin Tuna, Snapper, and Cobia. It has been a while since our last post so I am going to give it a recap. This past July and August was incredible as far as tuna, dolphin, and the wahoo catch went. There were more wahoo caught this summer than in a long time. The tuna fishing was outstanding also with plenty of 100+lbers. caught in some of what are supposed to be the hardest months to catch fish this size. Our largest went 193lbs., caught by John Potts, on a live herring. The Bull dolphin (mahi-mahi) fishing started out strong and ended strong. One day we smoked them and the next they seemed to disappear. There were a few days we managed to get a few pairs and singles in the boat but towards the end of July it got slow for dolphin. Right now we are catching as many snapper as you want. One day it is nothing but 10-15lbers. the next all 5-6lbers. all depends on the day. Any day now the 100+lb. yellow fin will start to move back in to eat the mullets that will start moving out of the passes. This is a very exciting time of the year. Along with the Tuna you get the big Wahoo as well. It is very common to catch huge wahoo in close during October and November. They will eat just about anything but live bait is definitely the best. We will be out fishing the next few days and our report will follow shortly after. Venice is back in business and has been for a while since Katrina hit. Plenty of lodging in cabins, hotels, and houseboats. If your looking to get in on an exciting charter check out or Website Pics to see what you can possibly have a shot at catching down here.
Capt. Damon McKnight/Super Strike Charters/1 800 318 1720 |
Damon McKnight (Super_strike)
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Username: Super_strike
Post Number: 20
Registered: 1-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, August 31, 2006 - 4:05 pm: | |
Offshore Fishing Venice, La.
It has been a while since our last post. We have been busy fishing and it has been another excellent August. Usually August is the slow month, but for the past two years it has been on fire tuna fishing. The tuna fishing really can't get much better. Of course some days you see them and you can barely get a bite, but go back out the next and they are feeding like they haven't eaten in week. We had an encounter with some huge Tiger Sharks which I was beginning to think were very rare in the Gulf. All of them were over 500lbs., I am not sure how big the biggest one was but he was able to cleanly bite a 100lb. yellowfin tuna in half and still had room between the corners of his mouth. We also caught our biggest yellowfin to date during the summer months which weighed in at 193lbs. and won first place in the tournament we were fishing. Our most recent fishing fishing day was on Tuesday with the Zen Noh Grain Group. The morning started out a little tough but by 11:00 the tuna were biting non stop. We put 7 Yellowfin in the boat and called it a day by 1:30 which was just in time to miss a huge storm that built up and was heading our way. The largest tuna went about 80lbs. with the majority of them going 50-60lbs. The rig fishing is on fire as well. Plenty of Snapper, Grouper, Amberjack, and Cobia. The cobia should start to show up thick as they always do this time of year. We will be back at it tommorow.
Damon McKnight/Super Strike Charters/1 800 318 1720
www.superstrikecharters.com
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 17, 2006 - 7:31 am: | |
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Damon McKnight (Super_strike)
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Username: Super_strike
Post Number: 19
Registered: 1-2005
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 03, 2006 - 6:17 am: | |
The offshore fishing has been outstanding. Mainly tuna fishing. On Friday we had the guys from Premier concrete services out of Baton Rouge. They wanted to target yellowfin tuna and that is exactly what they got. The first stop actually produced nothing at all but we didn't stay very long. Second stop you could see the fish busting from almost a mile a way. That is always a good sign. First line out 65lber., got him in the boat quick. Second line 122lber. It took about an hour and 15 minutes but we got him in the boat. After that 6 more yellowfin 2 30 lbers and the rest 40-60lbs, and a couple of dolphin. We only lost one at the boat throughout the day and we headed in with plenty of meat. The tuna fishing can't be beat right now, and they are everywhere. Bull Dolphin and Wahoo are still showing up but there has not been a very good rip to speak of. Snapper are still at almost every stop but nothing real big. Most are 16-20 inchers. Cobia are starting to show up more and more as well. Looks like the weather will get a little rainy the next few days but we need it. We have open days next week and it should be very good.
Capt. Damon McKnight/Super Strike Charaters/1 800 318 1720
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Damon McKnight (Super_strike)
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Username: Super_strike
Post Number: 18
Registered: 1-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 09, 2006 - 9:08 am: | |
The offshore fishing has been about average for us lately. The yellowfin tuna are out there but they have been somewhat finicky and a lot stronger than usual. Yesterday we fought a 97lb. yellowfin for 1.5 hours and went through 6 six anglers twice. I've talked about this before. When their stomachs are empty they fight 100 times harder than when they have a full belly. We cut the 97lber open and as I thought, nothing in it. A week ago we put a 120lber. in the boat in 10 minutes and you couldn't fit anymore in his stomach it was so blown out. The rip lines are starting to come together. On Friday we fished the almost perfect rip and pulled a few dolphin off of it. The weather is also starting to cooperate more and more. The rig fishing has been decent but there has been a little current problem. Shouldn't last but a couple of more days. The dolphin, marlin, small wahoo and tuna are definitely showing up in the usual places for this time of year and the snapper are at almost every rig you fish. Most of the snapper are 16-20 inches so you will have to search for the hogs if that is what you want. The Cobia fishing has been much better than average around the close in rigs. Back at it tomorrow. www.superstrikecharters.com
Damon Mcknight/Super Strike Charters/1 800 318 1720
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Damon McKnight (Super_strike)
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Username: Super_strike
Post Number: 17
Registered: 1-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 01, 2006 - 5:46 am: | |
We managed to get a couple of days in between the last of the spring to summer weather transition days. The wind is cranking today and will probably keep us in for the next several days. Hopefully not but we will see. Our week started on Thursday with a group of regulars from New Orleans. The morning started out windy so we snapper fished for a little while with hardly any results, strong current was our main enemy. At about 10:00 a.m. the wind started to lay and we headed offshore to see if we could find a few Tuna. We fished for about two hours without a bite and then it happened. Out of nowhere they were crashing and busting flying fish all around the boat and we had our first tuna of the day on. After that it just got crazy. We went 3 for 7 on tuna(120lber, 90lber, and a 45lber.). Busted lines, backlashes, and mystery loses. Yes, sometimes these things happen. The guys each wanted a tuna and they all caught their personal best so far. On Friday we had the Dana Jeandron and family. We went right back to the same spot to see if we could have a repeat of Thurs. if not better and we did. This time we went 4 for 6 on Yellowfin (65lber. 60lber. 50lber. and a 45lber.) and had a little blue playing around in the baits but wouldn't eat anything. Then he swam right up behind the boat, I pitched him a bait and he seemed more interested in the propellers than eating. The rougher the water got, the more the bite slowed down and we headed in early due to the building seas. Everything is biting good right now. Snapper, Grouper, Amberjack, Cobia, Tuna, take your pick. We are filling up fast for May and June. Two very good all around months to offshore fish. If your interested in fishing during this time I wouldn't wait to long to make your reservations. The Venice Marina is coming along nicely and will be the nicest facility Venice has ever seen. For those of you who haven't been down since the storm you won't believe your eyes. www.superstrikecharters.com
Damon McKnight/Super Strike Charters/1 800 318 1720 |
Damon McKnight (Super_strike)
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Username: Super_strike
Post Number: 16
Registered: 1-2005
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 06, 2006 - 4:18 am: | |
It has been a while since our last post. Things are finally getting back on track since Hurricane Katrina.
The weather has finally cooperated enough this past week (except for yesterday)so we could get out and make up for last week when the fishing was not so good. On Monday we had the Raul Perez gang. Raul talked about wanting a wahoo, he had never caught one before and wouldn't you know our first big fish in the boat was about a 98lber. give or take a couple of pounds. Definitely the biggest wahoo I have ever put in the boat. Caught him on mono which is very lucky, then he went to the worst place on the boat for the gaff which is between the engines. If we wouldn't have gaffed him when we did he would have definitely been a goner. I guess it was just meant to be. We had a couple of more blackfin, some big sharks, and that was about it for the day. On Wednesday we had the Tony Valenti group. They ended the day with 3 yellowfin(20, 60, and 80lbs.) and 8 blackfin tuna. Scott the coroner had the big fish of the day. It was the last fish of the day and I called it the Holy S#%$ fish! because he finally got one in the boat. His luck definitely changed on this fish. Unfortunately Scott lost more fish than usual. Not from doing anything wrong, that is just the way it happens sometimes. Two of the fish were definite heart breakers, but he made up for it in the end. Congrats. On Friday we took out Randy Chase and friends. Ended the day with two yellas(65 & a 67lber), 1 blackfin tuna, 1 amberjack, and 1 beeliner. The fishing is definitely getting back on track and the weather seems to be cooperating a little more than it had been. We'll see what this week looks like though. I saw a post earlier that will confuse some people about tuna season. There is no last of the tuna season, we catch tuna year round. When the lump season ends we go to our spring time area and catch just as many tuna if not more than right now. The only thing that changes is the technique.
Things are starting to feel a lot more normal now since Hurricane Katrina. Lodging is available at the Venice Marina which is certainly a sign that things are finally coming together. Emotions by everyone were up and down and I think I heard the words "It never ends" more in the past three months than ever. The work is still far from over but the overwhelming factor seems to have lifted for the most part.
We will be fishing all week weather permitting. Damon McKnight/Super Strike Charters/1 800 318 1720 www.superstrikecharters.com
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Capt. Scott Avanzino (Paradiseout)
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Username: Paradiseout
Post Number: 32
Registered: 10-2003
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 05, 2006 - 10:18 pm: | |
We have been running hard in all sea conditions in fact we have been out all but 6 days in the last 3 and a half weeks with anywhere from 1-4 of our boats..this leaves just enough time restock, repair, make a dozen or two phone calls and little time for posting results let along complete reports...suffice it to say that the fishing has been very consitent for us all but early part of last week when the fish dissapeared from our wakes and fishboxes for two days. I got my first skunk of '06 not counitng kingfish or bonita..We are still very excited abpout the 229 pound yellowfin we caught 2 weeks ago and the big fish still abound..in the last stretch we have had at least one fish over 150 pounds each day between the three of us; still after 4 weeks of messy cockpit and infected lump related cuts; chumming, despite its obvious effectiveness is quickly losing appeal among the Paradise faithful..I have been opting to sell my customers on a tuna hunt instead..we are bypassing the stand overlooking the cornfeeder on the lease with high fences for a more rewarding and challenging 8 hours..we are learning that it is much more fulfilling to blaze our own trail and look for sign..last two trips we hiked a good distance from the pack and it has paid off handsomely..in fact Darryl and I were doubled up last trip out on two slobs with all strikes coming off the kite bait at close range; his best was 181 and my best was 179..still with great tuna bites, I am readily awaiting a wahoo resurgence..I have included the highlight reel in the photo section and for the sake of repetition and space reserved the daily reports for our homepage...Island life is still great as well..its going to be hard to leave this spring..who knows maybe we wont..Until Tuesday..Paradise Outfitters - 888-FISHWUS (1-888-347-4987)[img]http://www.paradise-outfitters.com/images/2_3_06tuna.jpg[/IMG] |
Jerry LaBella (Agl01)
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Post Number: 23
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, January 25, 2006 - 5:19 pm: | |
plenty fish in Point A La hache
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Capt. Scott Avanzino (Paradiseout)
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Username: Paradiseout
Post Number: 31
Registered: 10-2003
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 05, 2006 - 7:32 pm: | |
Been lacking on my report duties..I spent the early part of the week after Christmas in the shipyard and Atlanta to watch LSU Tigers roll the Miami Hurricaines in the Peach Bowl....Darryl and Leon ran 3 trips during the weekdays before New Year's..They managed to boat at least one wahoo 40 pounds a limit of amberjack each day and blackfin tuna and yellowfin tuna of various sizes and quantities..I finally have the Albemalre and Twin vee out of the yard.. We will be running out of Pirates Cove Marina in Grand Isle for the next 3 weeks; long enough for Venice Marina to be functional again..After nearly two weeks in the yard and a brief vacation I was super anxious to get back to fishing..all the posetive reports had me foaming, especially wahoo in slicks at the Lump over the weekend..so when the weather was marginal for Monday we went to the Lump with Eddie Claycombe and his boys....real pretty blue water but no bait and no fish at WD 143..on to the Lump and a comfortable speed for a change..we were the only boat..WOW!..Made a few laps fishing over each angle of thelump and across the drop offs..not one bite..so on the the anchor..which wasnt too bad since winds laid for an hour or two to about 15 knots SW from 20 knots South..took about 45 minutes for the first bonita to show up ad then blackfin aplenty..then sharks aplenty but no yellowfin..never saw one..kept 6 blackfin and released the rest along with all the sharks..put out a spread agian and resumed trolling..hit 143, 122 and 133 and headed in..not one wahoo seen or missed..Tuesday Jan 3rd was a new day..left the dock with tuna on our minds and ended up with wahoo... alot of wahoo..they were coming in so fast we actually lost count..thought we had 10 but it was actually 14..we did release one small one and allowed two others to shake off boatside..after a little while out goes the anchor, chum and hooks at the Lump..nothing but bonita and sharks..with current running opposite the what little wind there was we broke loose and made two drifts..still no blackfin or yellowfin seen..so we bailed after an hour to go looking for grouper..hit all the same rigs as before finding sharks thick at 143, and few bites elsewhere..managed one scamp for all the work and misses..headed in a few hours early..On Jan 4th..we had hoped for things to repeat themselves and it was even better..weather was gorgeous and the fish were hungry, stupid and plentiful..we put 7 wahoo in the boat in one hour..not much happening on the chum at the Lump..a fish here and a fish there, but nothing fantastic..after beacoup sharks and 4 blackfin we picked up and put out the trolling spread..managed one lone wahoo before running off to other areas..managed to nail 6 more wahoo the last one coming off the bomb as we were picking the bait up out of the water..- 40 pound wahoo went airborne at the transom snatching the bait and making an impressive run..gaffed the fish 10 minutes later after great chase and fight ..didnt have any space in the cooler so we left early..the best wahoo of the day was pushing 80 pounds!..more fun coming this weekend after the front winds chill out and lay..bring on more wahoo, high pressure and mild indian summer ..Paradise Outfitters is OPEN FOR BUSINESS!!! 1-888-FISH-W-US (888-347-4987) |
Capt. Scott Avanzino (Paradiseout)
New member
Username: Paradiseout
Post Number: 30
Registered: 10-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - 8:27 am: | |
Been some time ince the last report..Katrina wrecked our marina and the best summer fishing in some time..Since the storm, we moved our operation to Cocodrie, LA and finished out the remainder of the snapper season with a serious bang..Since the closure on Oct 31st we switched gears..The number of cobia I have seen in the last 4 trips is staggering..well over 300 fish..they are making thier migration back to warm waters south and until we have a major coldfront they will likely stay around..we have nailed well over 30 on our last 4 trips as well as some serious grouper..the tuna have moved up onto the shelf up behind the trawlboats and we have nailed plenty of blackfin on the days we tailed trawlers..We are still planning on opening up our Venice, Louisiana operation on January 1st when Venice Marina re-opens for business with a charterboat friendly and functional marina. We have our full crew ready with all four boats, and a houseboat and quarters lined up to feed and house our guests..Last years best fish were a 101 pound wahoo, 376 pound mako and 198 pound yellowfin. Get erady for your trophy and trip of a lifetime. For information and further details, check us out ONLINE at www.paradise-outfitters.com! or call 1-888-FISH-W-US (888-347-4987 |
Damon McKnight (Super_strike)
New member
Username: Super_strike
Post Number: 15
Registered: 1-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 15, 2005 - 5:19 am: | |
As most people can see by reading the reports the tuna fishing has been, putting in plain and simple, UNBELIEVABLE. Friday was our only somewhat slow day with the Brent Pitre Crew when we went 2 for 4 on Tuna. We made the long run, about 60 miles out only to find a few fish. We got back to the dock and heard that they crushed them at the first stop we went to. Well, Saturday was a whole different story. We pulled up to busting tuna, we went 7 for 12 and left them biting. With everyone worn out and crying mercy we headed in. The tuna are very aggresive right now in certain areas. They are feeding much better than usual for this time of year and the heat. It has been going on for two weeks now and doesn't show any sign of letting up. The rig fishing has been very good as well. We have openings this on Wed. and Thursday. Don't miss this incredible bite happening right now.
www.superstrikecharters.com/ 1800 318 1720
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Damon McKnight (Super_strike)
New member
Username: Super_strike
Post Number: 14
Registered: 1-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 26, 2005 - 7:42 am: | |
This past week and weekend has certainly had a lot of ups and downs and a lot of head scratching going on. On Friday I took out Bobby Bolton and family. The weather conditions were close to perfect and it couldn't have been any calmer in the Gulf. We caught our bait very easily and went off to our spot. First line out resulted in a 70lb. Yellowfin Tuna, Next Two lines out, double on Bull Dolphin, then the man showed up. About a 350-400lb. Blue Marlin rolled on our bait and missed. I fed the line back and he came back and got it. This time he was on. I knew what it was because I saw him eat, but he didn't jump for almost the entire fight until the last 20 minutes. Billfish are always an awesome fight and can put it to you when they want to. On Saturday we took out G. Mathen. Everything started out right, great weather, plenty of bait, but we couldn't get anything going. We had 100lbers. jumping around the boat and some smaller ones jumping most of the day, but they weren't eating. We did not get a strike all day, unless you count cudas. It was definitely one of those frustrating summer time tuna days for us. Yesterday we took out Tim and Sherry Alexander. We got an early start and took off to the hot spot. First line out, billfish on, then billfish off. He came back again and just plucked the bait off. Gone for good that time. We managed two get two more tuna strikes and we were done. We didn't get any more bites after that. Like I said, the fishing has been up and down. One day good, the next day slow. The fish are moving around a lot. You just have to move with them. We still have some open days in August and September is still wide open. Be looking for plenty of cobia to start showing up and all of the usual. www.superstrikecharters.com
Capt. Damon McKnight/Super Strike Charters/1 800 318 1720
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Capt. Scott Avanzino (Paradiseout)
New member
Username: Paradiseout
Post Number: 29
Registered: 10-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 20, 2005 - 8:06 pm: | |
The bite for us has been insane the last 4 days..the average take on tuna for our last 4 days triips has been 10 fish at 40-80 pounds with a 120 pound and 179 pound fish also landed..and this is for day trips!!..goes to prove those that blame a full moon for slack fishing are making excuses..we also live baited a 250 pound blue marlin on Monday that spit the entire bait after a brief run.. we were ready for him after we saw him crashing chicken dolphin nearby//the hook point buried itself in the back of the dolphin so when we came tight on him after a 30 second drop the hook never set..made up for a day of dissapointment by landing a 179.05 pound yellowfin..yesterday's bite was wide open..I am still riding the high of what I was part of today, still in disbelief and from all the cokes I drank today and way too wound up to sleep even at 400am..I finally took my first ride on the twin vee cat under less than ideal conditions and I am a believer now..blew away my wildest expectations....It is true what they say about how this boat..correction, how this floating tank handles the sea..I will never look at waves in the marina again as a indication that the day is unfishable..If the rest of you dont beleive me, charter this thing and see for yourself..rough or calm there will be no dissapointment with the ride alothough there is no cure for the spray except to hide or dress appropriately..me I like the slow and steady and dry boats..
Whether you choose to believe the rest, that is for you to decide but bear in mind John took 200 megs of digital pics today for his Septemeber article on the sublject in the Louisiana Sportsman Magazine; further - there are now 18 ultrasonic tags in eighteen 30 to 80 pound Gulf yellowfin tuna ..On to the fishing for those not yet cryng BS..with a hurricaine in the Gulf, myself, Sonny, Casey Forchag, special guest photographer and master netter John McQueen and a rep from MMS/USGS went out in search of yellowfin tuna to hook, fight, net and tag..covered 148 miles today mostly in a 5-8 ft headsea, consiting of a slow long period roll with a 3-4 ft chop on top..I stood flat footed holding on to the t-top leg awaiting the pounding that never came..rougher than yesterday but not by a whole lot..never blew over 20 today but darn close at times..and no rain bands either..arrived offshore about 9:30am and put out the baits..nothing but rainbow runners for the first hours and a few snip offs before we located the hot spot..then for the next 6 hours we went to work on the yellowfin..by the end of the day we had released 26 yellowfin tuna (sixteen from 30-80 pounds - 3 untagged due to them being gut hooked, five 20 pounders too small for the study and 5 juveniles) we also caught 4 bull dolphin.. a man has to eat..Took a little bit of time to get used to the netting of unruly tuna boatside in sloppy seas and with a 3 ft net instead of a gaff..Failed to net the first tagger fish as we had never tried before but after we got to working together we were unstoppable..I think 3 hours went by where no one said a word..just did thier job of driving or hooking or coaching or fighting or netting, and implanting tags ..I drove most of the day and then bullied my way to the rod when Sonny or Casey hooked a tagger/dragger taker..it was awesome being such a selfish bastard.. it's only fair since I never get to fish I always have to drive them then ofcourse periodically fix and maintain them....
Unreal bite too..seems like all the deepwater rigs are hot right now..for us at Location 2 it was doubles and doubles and doubles and a few singles..made for some difficulty in handling doubles but we managed..fishing from a dead boat was a concern but that cat just layed and very stable all day..I know nothing fell of the console all day.
This project is a year in the making and will be quite a newsworthy deal when it is completed over the next 2 years..our role is to assist the USGS through the MMS to tag for a study centering on the behavior of school yellowfin tuna (40-80 pound class) around the deepwater rigs..MMS want to know how long they hang-around a particular site, if they move from rig to rig..if they are the same fish that head to the secret winter spot come February..the tags last a year and cost 1000$ a peice, so they are surgically implanted and sutured into the belly meat so that they dont slip out..if you clean a yellowfin with a 1" scar on its belly, please look for the tag..it resembles a black lipstick case with a number etched on one end..please notify me if you recover one and tell me where you caught the fish, pretty sure there will be a reward for them..the fish range from 30-80 pounds and 60-115 cm in length..it took a year to get this project going and phase one is now a success..will keep you posted on what happens next..good news for bluewater anglers not wanting to run more than 25 miles..it has moved way in from the last few days..and the coming weather break looks to last through Sunday..Paradise Outfitters..985-845-8006 |
Capt. Scott Avanzino (Paradiseout)
New member
Username: Paradiseout
Post Number: 28
Registered: 10-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 11, 2005 - 10:05 am: | |
The fishing before the strom was on fire and we expect more of the same afterward..really no damage in Venice following Dennis just a few raindrops and 25mph winds, I spent the night down in Venice Saturday night and when Dennis was even Latitude with us I decided to head home..we never even lost power, although it got pretty windy Saturday night..the boats banging against the pilings kept me awake most of the night..fishing was increadible before the blow, and no storm to date has ever messed up the tuna fishing..I suspect the water will be all messed up due to the north winds..how it affect the trolling for marlin and dolphin in the short term is anyones guess..where there is bait there is poredators...Prior to Dennis, the overnght tuna trips were yeilding double digit catches and we even had some monsters hit the ice..largest tuna the last two weeks were 130 pounds and 145 pounds..mostly school fish of 40-80 pounds but we have been averaging 12 fish per night..a few marln still being seen and released..my 7 year old son got a turn on one on June 20th..the dolphin bite is also still steady...our trolling trips have been averaging 4 bulls and one wahoo..I had a fly fishing group out Thurdsday night before Dennis and they went 4 for 12 on yellowfins..4 were landed according to the rules with 12 and 14 wt rods..the largest were 60 pounds, 57 pounds and 40 and 25 pounds..any yellowfin on fly tackle is an accomplishment..They also released 75 blackfin..The 36 ft Twin Vee catamaran made its first charter last Friday and Capt. Sonny put the boys on 9 yellowfin from 40-70 pounds..hopefully the start of something increadibe and many more successful trips to follow!..what a boat..plenty room and fast and stable in all sea conditions..Last year following Ivan the bottom fishing was on fire for sow red snapper..since this strom took the same track, we'll be looking for sows this week..cant wait to see how it turns out..PARADISE OUTFITTERS - 985-845-8006
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Jerry LaBella (Agl01)
New member
Username: Agl01
Post Number: 21
Registered: 10-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 03, 2005 - 7:07 pm: | |
Breton Is. Report,
Sat. afternoon Mickey, Chris, and I left out of Venice Marina to head to Breton Island to wade fish. Weather was very nice under partly cloudy skies and light winds. After arriving, we found the tide on the low side but still managed to land some nice sized speckled trout on the backside of the island. Speckulizers seemed to work best but freelined tandem clear sparkle beetles with Saltwater Assassins fire tiger minnows trailing with ¼ oz. jig heads work also. Next morning the tide came in very early and was extremely high. Large speckled trout were caught early morning then slowed midmorning picking up again around 11:00 AM. We managed to land 51 specks and 2 flounders and threw back many undersized trout. Water was very clean the whole trip with light to calm winds.
See pics: http://www.jerrylabella.com/captains_log1.htm
Good fishin’,
Jerry LaBella
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Damon McKnight (Super_strike)
New member
Username: Super_strike
Post Number: 13
Registered: 1-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, June 29, 2005 - 4:50 am: | |
This past week was up and down as far as the fishing goes. We mostly rig fished and had good results until Sunday. Sunday was very tough unless you like catching bull reds(which are hard to explain why you have to throw them back in federal waters), jack crevalle, and sharks. Plenty of snapper and grouper, a few cobia are showing up but not a whole lot. Yesterday we bluewater fished. The seas were flat calm and we were trying to make an early day of it. We were the first ones out to the tuna hole and managed to get one blackfin, two skipjack tuna, and 2 bull dolphin before calling it a day. The yellow fin tuna fishing has been tough the past few days but the backside of a full moon has been proving itself lately of not producing much of a tuna bite. Although I am not much of a follower of the moon because it is to inconsistent, lately the backside has been. But, the night tuna fishing has been very good. Most of the boats fishing at night have been producing fish. The rip lines are starting to form nicely again and it should be on the next couple of weeks. Today it looks like the weather has taken over offshore so I am glad to have a day off. Back at it tomorrow.
When your ready to fish offshore let us know.
www.superstrikecharters.com
Capt. Damon McKnight/Super Strike/800 318 1720 |
Damon McKnight (Super_strike)
New member
Username: Super_strike
Post Number: 12
Registered: 1-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 19, 2005 - 6:54 am: | |
The fishing offshore has been very good this past week. With Friday being the best. The grasslines have been scattered so we haven't caught many dolphin since last Wed. But overall the tuna fishing has made up for it. Yesterday we had Ken Boudreaux and friends from Baton Rouge. When I woke up yesterday morning and checked the radar I figured we might be in for somewhat of a rainy day but the forecast was still calling for 1-2's. The ride out was good and our first stop produced a double hook-up on yellowfin tuna. Both about 60lbs. One was tagged so the angler should be calling it in. If I hear back from him I will post where he was tagged. A double hook up within 15 seconds then turned into a dead zone. Headed further out and immediately once we got to our spot we had another double hook-up. But, it only produced 1 140lb. yellowfin tuna. This brute ate both baits with a hook in it so, he never stood a chance. This is the best way to get a big fish like this in quick. I have seen it happen before and the anglers look like they are in a ballet. One pulls up and the other goes down to take in line in complete synchronization. From the side it looks like they are doing a dance step. I made them stand together and get in rythm, and sure enough they smoked him. But he was green at the gaff which made for a little excitement. But the fish bat took care of that. That was it for the day, the weather turned windy and cloudy, we headed back to north and fished a few more spots and called it a day before the next squall came through. Looks like the weather may turn rough this Mon. or Tues. all depending on the low moving into the Gulf. We do have Wed. and Thurs. of this week open if anyone wants it.
Capt. Damon McKnight/Super Strike Charters/1 800 318 1720 |
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