Monthly Archive

When I told them to hold up their tunas, I had no idea they’d start firing their guns off like that! What a pose-down. Terry Duke and crew from the Baton Rouge area had a great trip this past week, catching several nice tunas. We had a great streak of fishing here to end an awesome summer. We’re off for the annual Colorado elk hunt, but we’ll be back on the water Sept 2nd. 

Kane, Ben, Scott, the man-grabber and the mouthy new guy had a great trip this past week with four yellowfins between 90# and 100# and a nice limit of snappers.

Sleeves, that is. When Kane Murphy showed up to the dock with a rip-sleeved shirt almost as trashy as my own, I knew there were good things in store for his crew. Despite the fact that some of his underlings haven’t been the most faithful charter clients, these guys had yet another great offshore trip aboard the KRAKEN. Mid-August has been hot this year, but at least the fishing has been hot enough itself to make it worth it. Kane’s crew was the 7th in a row to finish up with tunas early enough to catch some nice snappers on the way in. For the record, Kane it not actually in a trance; he just doesn’t smile in pictures.

Doug Williams and crew from Panama City were back at it again this past week. The customers are supposed to catch more tunas than me, but when they beat me with the sabiki rod, that hurts my feelings. Like several other groups this month, Doug and Co. pulled off the tuna/snapper combo with plenty time to spare. Thanks to Steve, yet another successful trip for a crew from Panama City.

Which would you choose? I think I’d go with the tunas, since a 2 man limit of red snapper is pretty pathetic. What’s not pathetic is catching both by midday, and that’s what Mark and Mark from TN did yesterday. Despite showing up as novices, these guys were quick learners and were pretty competent by the end of the trip.

Some crews get all the luck. Kosmoski here has been on a roll for the last few years. Despite being a dirty canceller earlier in the year, his crew came back this week to make a big rip on the tunas. With 8 nice tunas in the box by 11AM, it was time to head to the house. Most of the fish were in the 65-75# range, except the one below. This tuna had the length of a 75#er, but the girth of a 150# fish. I’m sure it was over 100#, and it felt it when Kosmo dropped it on my ankle. Nice fish, though I’m going to have to talk to the photographer about the focus.

What do you get when you take 5 lawyers and a welder offshore? Well, other than 5 potential plantiffs, it looks like you get a boat load of tunas too. Don Burelson and his Dallas crew made another big rip in Venice with a 2 day trip that yielded 8 nice tunas on day 1 and some AJs, snapper, redfish, bluefish, trout, croaker, etc. on day 2. Part of the crew went on from Venice to a WY antelope hunt that was to be followed by a BC mountain goat hunt, while the rest of the crew went back to work to help pick up the slack. How about it.

When the ice is still clean at 3PM, it is time to worry. Honeyhole after honeyhole was turning up dry, and with almost family and my brother’s co-worker aboard, the pressure was on. Fortunately these guys knew when to bring their A-game. They turned 4 late afternoon bites into 3 nice yellowfin and a 33# blackfin. And while Philippe’s french version of “Latino Heat” might not have been that impressive, the trip went from near disaster to a great success in just a matter of minutes. That’s tuna fishing for you.  

Mrs. Paula got a tuna trip for Christmas, but she must not like cool weather since she waited for the blistering August heat for her offshore trip. After waiting all day long for a tuna bite, she was all focus while cranking in this nice 65# yellowfin. Good work Paula.

Yep, that’s right where where Dr. Harry hooked Doug. But being a skilled physician, he was able to both hook and unhook in the same motion. Doug didn’t seem to mind, but Dr. Harry felt awful, and as a result he lost focus and ultimately lost the 2007 offshore limerick contest to Inga. While this was going on, the rest of the crew was catching fish, assembling yet another record-book catch for the Marascalco Marauders from Meridian, MS.

What’s the best way to catch tunas if you live on the east coast of Florida? Get your butt to Venice. Seven tunas early including four between 85# and 110#, then snappers, redfish, and even a bull croaker on the way in. I wish it was like that every day.

John Roach made it look easy, catching this 110# yellowfin in no time at all. Too bad he didn’t seem to be able to get any respect from his crew. John set the whole trip up and apparently feeds his friends for free all the time, but his buddies were on his back the whole time. Not only did the guys from St. Augustine have a great tuna trip, but they caught a quick limit of snappers on the way in both days as well. With the red snapper minimum size set at 20-something inches by the Southeastern Atl. Council, these guys were insisting on killing the 16-18″ snappers given the chance.

Despite some serious huffing and puffing, Det. James Jackson dug deep into his bag of tricks to land this feisty 115# yellowfin. In doing so, he barely edged out John Roach’s 110# tuna in their 2 day tournament, winning James the $20 pot. These guys from St. Augustine, FL had a great 2 day trip, and had several tunas over 90#. Here’s James with his tuna that really stretched him to his limits.

Joseph Tate and crew were one of our few groups from the Corpus Cristi boat show earlier this year. Though rumor has it that some members of the crew complained about the drive, no one was complaining after a full day of tuna, dolphin, and snapper. Not only did Joseph, Jimmy, Michelle, and Scarlet put it on the fish, they also did a pretty impressive job on the beer cooler too.