Yankee Capts 6/30 to 7/1 quality pickings
Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 12:40 pm
At the last minute I decided to jump on the 2 day Yankee Capts trip. I did not have much time to go out and catch bait on my own but I did look for Gogs but couldn’t find them so I loaded with white bait, small runners, and dork jacks. Nilson (rare) one of my fishing buddies gave me some more bait including some pinfish and so I went on my way to the Keys.
The boat left at 10pm on a hot night and to hot days to follow. We started fishing about an hour or more before sunrise. First day was slow pickings but some quality fish in 120 feet or so of water showed up which was a great start for some. The current in shallow water was great but as the captain moved to 200 and up it was insane. We were close to the edge of the Gulf Stream I tried up to 18 ounces and would not hold. The Captain did a few attempts on water close to this depth but the current was too much. We had to fish shallow and even in the shallow water the current picked up.
You all know what happens when you are that shallow in the summer, YELLOW TAIL ATTACK! Many switched to catching Flag Yellow Tails, but to those that kept pursuing the muttons and groupers it paid off. Some nice Red Goupers, Black Goupers, and one Scamp were caught. I did ok, I got 11 Muttons 4 of which were 5 to 8 pounds the rest were in the double digits one was 18 pounds and another was 16 pounds which made me glad. I know Jarvis, Dom, and Daniel got some 20 pounders as well as 2 or 3 other people. On the jigs I got 2 kings a keeper AJ and an Almaco that was used for bait. I finished my snapper limit with yellow Tails from 18 to 22 inches.
Here are some of the pics for your enjoyment:
My 18 pounder
My 16 pounder, in the pic this fish looks bigger but it was not heavier on the scale.
I lost two big fish because of hook failure; word to the wise if a deal on the flea market looks too good to be true it might as well be too good to be true. I paid 2 dollars for 200 hooks. These two cause me 2 quality fish lost.
A very nice red
Another quality mutton
This boat came so close it was only a couple of feet above the anchor line; I guess he wanted the GPS location.
Another quality mutton
Here is the NOAA field biologist doing his research.
This is this gentleman’s biggest mutton to date, he wanted a pic with the fish on Yankee Capts location so here it is, congrats on your nice catch!
Until next time!
The boat left at 10pm on a hot night and to hot days to follow. We started fishing about an hour or more before sunrise. First day was slow pickings but some quality fish in 120 feet or so of water showed up which was a great start for some. The current in shallow water was great but as the captain moved to 200 and up it was insane. We were close to the edge of the Gulf Stream I tried up to 18 ounces and would not hold. The Captain did a few attempts on water close to this depth but the current was too much. We had to fish shallow and even in the shallow water the current picked up.
You all know what happens when you are that shallow in the summer, YELLOW TAIL ATTACK! Many switched to catching Flag Yellow Tails, but to those that kept pursuing the muttons and groupers it paid off. Some nice Red Goupers, Black Goupers, and one Scamp were caught. I did ok, I got 11 Muttons 4 of which were 5 to 8 pounds the rest were in the double digits one was 18 pounds and another was 16 pounds which made me glad. I know Jarvis, Dom, and Daniel got some 20 pounders as well as 2 or 3 other people. On the jigs I got 2 kings a keeper AJ and an Almaco that was used for bait. I finished my snapper limit with yellow Tails from 18 to 22 inches.
Here are some of the pics for your enjoyment:
My 18 pounder
My 16 pounder, in the pic this fish looks bigger but it was not heavier on the scale.
I lost two big fish because of hook failure; word to the wise if a deal on the flea market looks too good to be true it might as well be too good to be true. I paid 2 dollars for 200 hooks. These two cause me 2 quality fish lost.
A very nice red
Another quality mutton
This boat came so close it was only a couple of feet above the anchor line; I guess he wanted the GPS location.
Another quality mutton
Here is the NOAA field biologist doing his research.
This is this gentleman’s biggest mutton to date, he wanted a pic with the fish on Yankee Capts location so here it is, congrats on your nice catch!
Until next time!
The best 2 day trips (if not full) are the ones that leave at 5pm and with less than 35 people. The next 2 day trips like that are July 27th (ok moon for the current) and August 17th ( the current should be ripping on this one).
The neighbors were outside & I thought they came to see if I was okay, but they didnt give 3Rats@$$ about me, they tried to get the fish 
That's good, LOL