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Monday, July 23, 2007

This offshore fishing trip on the Capt. John was headed up by Capt. Johnny Williams. The pieces of the V. A. Fogg wreck, which is about fifty miles to the south of Galveston in 100 ft. of water, was the target for the day's fishing. Also thrown in were drifts at several anchored shrimpboats on the way out and back from the Fogg.

The 41 fishermen and their baits, cut squid or whole sardines, worked throughout the water column, reeled in this catch:

* 82 red snapper to 6 lbs., a boat limit
* 51 vermilion snapper
* 12 lane snapper
* 1 ling
* 2 kingfish
* 101 Atlantic spadefish (tiger snapper)
* 1 wahoo, 50 lbs.

Kevin Christ was out on his fifth Capt. John trip, this one as a birthday present and what a trip it was, not only did he have a red snapper limit, but also a kingfish and five Atlantic spadefish. His highlight catch, and the boat's, was his fish of a lifetime, a wahoo that was estimated to weigh 50-55#! It hit a freelined sardine, after a solid hookup it ran him around the boat four times before coming to the gaff. That's a hard day to beat, a birthday trip and a catch that included a drag-burning wahoo that had him doing a Capt. John marathon – four laps around the boat.

Today's shrimpboat drift, about 40 miles offshore, wasn't very productive, but it's one of those tactics that can be, most of the time - it's always worth a shot. The wahoo was a bit of a surprise, but not all that unusual. Give the office a call at 409-762-8808 or 713-223-4853, get on the list to go fishing on the partyboat Capt. John and see what you can run across out there. Oh yeah...the wahoo came from the area of the Fogg.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Today's shrimpboat drift, about 40 miles offshore, wasn't very productive, but it's one of those tactics that can be, most of the time - it's always worth a shot. The wahoo was a bit of a surprise, but not all that unusual. Give the office a call at 409-762-8808 or 713-223-4853, get on the list to go fishing on the partyboat Capt. John and see what you can run across out there. Oh yeah...the wahoo came from the area of the Fogg.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

With wave heights of only one to two feet awaiting the partyboat Capt. John, the turn south at the end of Galveston's jetties brought a smooth run through the open Gulf. Capt. Tony Langston had seemingly evicted "Bumpy & Breezy", at least for a while, which was good news for all 61 fishermen aboard today.

The run to about 50 miles offshore was to a series of wrecks in around 100 ft. of water. Working the standard partyboat baits of Spanish sardines or cut squid throughout the water column, this catch joined the fishermen on deck:

* 122 red snapper to 7 lbs., many of 5-6 lbs. - a boat limit
* 50 vermilion snapper
* 6 mangrove snapper
* 10 lane snapper
* 272 Atlantic spadefish, a.k.a. tiger snapper
* 1 amberjack
* 1 kingfish

Sam Rosas, Sugarland, Jerry McCullin, (Texas City), Jamie McCullin, (Kemah) and Ray Yarbrough, (Texas City), all with red snapper limits that topped out at 6-7 lbs.

Not only did today's trip have great weather and Gulf conditions, but also another of those multi-species catches everyone looks for. Give the office a call at 409-762-8808 or 713-223-4853 to make your reservations on the partyboat Capt. John. It's blue water fishing at a bargain price, so come out soon and get your exposure to the Capt. John experience.

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Having wave heights of only two to three feet forecast for the first part of the day and becoming smaller later, the ride was going to be a smooth one. Shortly after leaving Galveston's Pier 19 with 83 of us fishermen aboard the Capt. John, that ride offshore began. With the twin hulls splitting what little wave action there was, Capt. Tony Langston had them pointed in sort of a southerly direction.

Our first stops were at a wreck about 30 miles out in 70 feet of water. Although some red snapper and Atlantic spadefish, also known locally as "tiger snapper", were caught, fishing was a bit on the slow side. Running farther offshore with hopes of better fishing there and later stopping about twenty miles farther out at another wreck, fishing resumed. This stop produced the majority of the trip's red snapper catch, along with numerous "tiger snapper", plus vermilion snapper and gray triggerfish.

When we left the last wreck, a boat limit of red snapper to 8 lbs. had been decked and iced. Next on the plan of the day was stops and drifts by anchored shrimpboats while sort of fishing our way home. Names such as "Dr. Bill", "Provider", Rene Lynn" and "Miss Cindy" provided four drift fishing opportunities. These fish magnets can range from great to nothing, though. The thought is always ling, kingfish, dorado, bonito, sharks, etc. Well the first two produced nothing, but the third a bonito and a shark, while the "Miss Cindy" was Bonito City with a ling hookup thrown in. First, the estimated 50 lb. ling unfortunately was lost; second, the numerous bonito hookups had the folks on the rod end scurrying in all directions and back. No bonito alive seems to be able to run in one direction when hooked; they run in any and all directions, as if on some illegal drug. In spite of the over-and-under passing of rods, inevitable tangles and resulting lost fish, twenty were caught in about fifteen minutes. These offshore torpedoes are definitely string-pullers and excitement generators...a couple of things that offshore partyboat fishing is all about. Some of the others mentioned earlier would have been a good thing too, but as usual, the fish have at least fifty-one percent of the vote and today they voted to be elsewhere. Capt. Langston's decision to make these drifts on the way back did at least give us a shot at those others being there along with that group of bonito...you don't know what's there until you try, he gave us that.

The day's catch totals were:

* 166 red snapper to 8 lbs, a boat limit
* 21 vermilion snapper
* 4 mangrove snapper
* 1 kingfish
* 2 rockhind grouper
* 12 triggerfish
* 21 bonito to 12 lbs.
* 110 Atlantic spadefish (tiger snapper)

Rob Richardson, Lone Oak, with a red snapper limit to 6# and a bonito taken on a 1 oz., pink/chartreuse Snapper Slapper that was sardine tipped.
Wes Richardson & Keri Pape, Dallas, each with a bonito to go along with their red snapper limits that was topped by Keri's eight pounder (the boat's heaviest today).
Jim Marigliano, Dallas, had bonito and vermilion snapper and a red snapper limit to 5 lbs.
Ronnie Vaughn, Dallas, his red snapper limit went to 4 lbs.
Mike Decuir, Brenham, and his sons, John Michael (13) & Colin (10), along with John Michael's friend John Murphy all had red snapper limits to 4 lbs., 3 mangrove snapper, 8 Atlantic spadefish (tiger snapper), a rockhind grouper and the trip's only kingfish, caught by John Murphy.
Patrick Lemire, Texas City - my red snapper limit went to 6 lbs. and was taken on a 1/2 oz., pink/chartreuse Snapper Slapper Jr., tipped with a Spanish sardine - hits came on the sink at about 40 ft. down.

Today's catch was as good as the ride was smooth, and it was pretty smooth. The memorable part of the week, other than the fishing, was that this past Monday through today was the annual week long fishing get together by various members of the Richardson Family group. They were headed up by brothers, Rob, Mike and Ricky, and have been making this trip in honor of their dad, Weldon, who passed away in 1995. This week of offshore fishing trips with Williams Party Boats started in 1997. They have a commemorative plaque in honor of their dad with engraved nameplates of the family member's name, species and weight of the year's winner with the heaviest fish. This year's winner is Weldon's great granddaughter, 12 year old Sara with her 22.7 lb. kingfish that is also being submitted for the new Texas Saltwater Junior Record. More Richardsons are what our world needs these days. I know I'm proud to have known them all these past ten years.

While it's hard for the rest of us to duplicate that last paragraph, there are a lot of great times and fishing to be had on the Capt. John. Make that call to the office for your reservations at 409-762-8808 or 713-223-4853, there's a lotto-like situation out there on the deck.

Friday, July 20, 2007

Today's trip by the partyboat Capt. John was headed up by Capt. Johnny Williams. Departing Galveston's Pier 19 with 66 fishermen, he headed in a sort of southerly direction with the wreck of the V.A. Fogg as his destination for the start of today's fishing. Forty five miles later they were there and the fishermen began working their baits throughout the 100 ft. water column. The majority of the catch was taken at these wreck pieces. Drifts were made at a weed line and a couple of anchored shrimpboats, with ling, kingfish and dorado as the primary targets. These drifts can be very productive, but not today.

Cut squid, sardine or artificial baits had this catch biting:

* 132 red snapper to 7 lbs., a boat limit
* 1 ling, 25 lbs.
* 146 Atlantic spadefish, known locally as "tiger snapper"
* 43 vermilion snapper
* 2 mangrove snapper
* 1 rainbow runner
* 8 gray triggerfish

Jim Marigliano, Dallas - his red snapper limit went to 5 lbs.
Mike Richardson - Athens, with a red snapper limit to 7 lbs.
Jeff Richardson, Lone Oak, had a red snapper limit to 7 lbs.
Rob Richardson, Lone Oak, wound in his red snapper limit to 7 lbs. after they hit a black/purple, 1 oz. Snapper Slapper that was tipped with a Spanish sardine. Hits came on the sink at about 50 ft.
Roland Garcia, Houston, had a 25 lb. ling to go along with his red snapper limit to 5 lbs.

On this trip, "Bumpy & Breezy" weren't as prevalent as in the past few days, though the water wasn't "mill pond flat" by any means, but it was improved. Six of the past seven days have had red snapper limits – the one that was short even had over 90%. The multi-species description certainly holds on, with a variety catch coming in every day. Give the office a call at 409-762-8808 or 713-223-4853 and see what brand of multi-species catch is out there waiting for you. Call the Pier 19 office today!

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Today's offshore fishing trip by the partyboat Capt. John, out of Galveston's Pier 19, was headed up by Capt. Johnny Williams with squalls offshore. The run out after exiting the jetties was a bit on the bumpy side at times. Those conditions abated greatly by the time the day's fishing area was reached.

The 44 fishermen had their baits working at stops around the remaining underwater pieces of the old Buccaneer Field production platforms, located about 30 miles south of The Island. The pieces of cut squid, whole Spanish sardines plus several artificial baits had this catch biting in the 70 ft. deep water:

* 88 red snapper to 12 lbs., a boat limit
* 1 kingfish
* 4 bluefish
* 1 ling of 33 lbs.
* 8 blue runner
* 1 mangrove snapper
* 1 blacktip shark, estimated 4 ft., released
* numerous Atlantic spadefish (Tiger Snapper), lane snapper and several Atlantic sharpnose shark

Rita Baumann, Texas City - her red snapper limit went to 6 lbs.
Mike Richardson, Athens, with a red snapper limit, several Atlantic spadefish and an Atlantic sharpnose shark that was released at boatside.
Olivia Cruzado, Athens, Mike's step-daughter, had a catch that was made up of a red snapper limit and several Atlantic spadefish.
Sara Richardson, also with several Atlantic spadefish to go along with her red snapper limit to 5 lbs.
Rob Richardson, Lone Oak - his catch included that estimated 4 ft. long blacktip shark that was released at boatside. He also had a mangrove snapper, 2 blue runner and 2 bluefish to go along with his red snapper limit to 8 lbs.

Once again, the weather and sea conditions were not perfect but the state of the art hull design of the Capt. John made up for Mother Nature's faults. The end result, at the direction of Capt. Williams, was another of those multi-species catches going into the iced down fish boxes.

Give that call to make your Capt. John reservations at 409-762-8808 or 713-223-4853. The staff in the Pier 19 office is waiting to hear from you.