Offshore fishing

[rrranch]

I'm so done with all the headaches of sailing in corpus Christi and aransas bays! We went offshore last week for about 12 hours fishing the rigs. Several people in the marina, who owned big charter fishing boats or sailboats twice the size of ours were saying don't do it. They kept saying the weather was too rough for a boat like ours. A 74 ranger 29. Well we left the jetties right into a thunderstorm. Not a problem at all other than my son getting sea sick. I told him not to lay down on deck in the rain. It cleared within a couple hours and turned out to be some great fishing. We lost a lot of leaders trying to figure out how to do this on a sailboat rigged for racing. Finally managed to get a real nice sailfish and a yellowfin though. That was worth it. The king fish were just crazy out there! We learned that even slow trolling at 3-4 knots with half the jib unrolled and the main eased way off and reefer all the way was fast enough and just perfect for a comfortable ride. It also made it easy to fight the fish without stopping at that speed. I'm already planning our next trip out and can't wait!!! Anyone in port aransas want to go then send me a message
here. I also learned 3 people on board is bare minimum when the fish get
that big. Two for the boat and one for the rod and reel. 4 would be better. Next trip I'd like to do an overnight to the rigs a little farther out in deeper water.

[atoll]

i have found half a plastic 44 gallon drum for landing fish in saves a lot of mess!

and a quick squirt of isopropol alcohol in the gills sends them to sleep.

generally just use hand trolling lines as a rod can be a pita on a sailboat.

[rrranch]

We have two Penn senator reels on short heavy boat rods but really, the helmsman needs to be on the ball with that back stay in the way. I lost one that went jumping and ran to the other side and it broke off. Almost got smashed in the face on a crash jibe too. My son was busy piling on the bow still and wasn't helping drive. I was setting the preventers after that one. It's easier having two people in the cockpit for the lines though. And safer. We had a giant cooler with 150 pounds of ice on the cabin floor. Right on top of the keel. No other place for it. The cockpit got trashed and I just repainted the entire topside about three weeks ago. A few scratches and lots of blood stains. Those don't come out of shiny white paint too easy. I'm gonna try the barrel if I can find a place to put it. That's a issue with a 29 footer.

[atoll]

+1

another trick i use,with the bucket once they stop moving is to put a loop of line round the tail and hang the fish from the backstay above the bucket.

then take the fillets off,and straight into freezer bags,then chill.
cleaning the bucket is done immediatly after before the blood has a chance to dry,about 5 minutes work from landing to chiller,and a nice clean boat!

[rrranch]

I'm definitely doing that next time! My son can filet even a 100 pound tuna in a couple minutes. He works in a fish market so.... The left overs can go rit back in the water as chum. I need another bucket for wash down too. We only had one but it was full of croakers and mullet for bait. I hang it on a hook under the rear hatch in the cockpit and keep a bubbler in it.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by rrranch

I'm definitely doing that next time! My son can filet even a 100 pound tuna in a couple minutes. He works in a fish market so.... The left overs can go rit back in the water as chum. I need another bucket for wash down too. We only had one but it was full of croakers and mullet for bait. I hang it on a hook under the rear hatch in the cockpit and keep a bubbler in it.

if you have got a bubbler bottom fishing with shrimp or live bait near wrecks or platforms can be quite rewarding.

you will need a fairly big weight 1-2lb,and some 50lb line,with 2 or 3 hooks on traces near the bottom,then fish from the windward side as you drift in water less than 100ft.
good for grouper,snapper and other denzions of the deep!

also having a spray bottle handy with a mix of bleach and fresh water is good for keeping the boat and bucket sweet!

[atoll]

my bucket,and a snapper

[sartorst]

watch out fishing close to the rigs!was abeam once when a large wave rolled the boat heavily and my standing rigging almost hit the rig!!

[micah719]

What, only one bucket? Not even a holdout, the mini folding-bucket in an ankle holster? Tsk tsk...

[noelex 77]

+1 for the bucket and rope around the tail.
Keep the boat moving forward slowly when landing, to reduce the chance of the fish swimming forward and tangling around the rudder etc.

This was a couple of days ago

[Travelnik]

Originally Posted by micah719

What, only one bucket? Not even a holdout, the mini folding-bucket in an ankle holster? Tsk tsk...

[rrranch]

Great ideas! I've got a couple collapsible buckets around here somewhere. Time to dig them out.

[IslandHopper]

Come fishing down this way you better be prepared for the bastards to fight back....

600lb Black Marlin Jumps in Boat and Lands on the Crew! Captured on 4 different cameras! Very Scary - YouTube

.....

[Khagan1227]

Hmmm Liveaboard fishing charters, need to add that to the how to pay for cruising thread.

I honestly suck at fishing, maybe I can buy fish from those blessed with the ability.

[micah719]

Any cruisers used a net for fishing? I'd be keen on combining that with various traditional cooking/preservation methods, so as to make the most of whatever comes up in the net. My Viet and Indo buddies used everything they got, whereas the old pro trawlerman that lived next door to us told us about all the times he had to chuck back loads of injured and dying fish & crabs. Ok, his net was bigger and used differently...