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Wednesday, August 05, 2009
With Capt. Johnny Williams and Capt. Martin Scott heading up this 36 hour tuna safari by the partyboat Capt. John, their offshore run began on Tuesday morning. Having a literally flat calm Gulf forecast for the trip, two things were for sure - it was going to be a smooth ride and it was going to be hot.
First stops Tuesday afternoon had the 35 fishermen working their baits at rock outcroppings in 130 to 180 ft. of water, about 75 to 85 miles SSW of Galveston's South Jetty. At the first stop, John McCracken caught the trip's only Warsaw grouper, and these bottom fishing stops also produced the allowable double red snapper limit.
Leaving the rock outcroppings, a run was begun to the Boom Vang Spar platform. This production platform is located about 135 statute miles to the south of Galveston in 3,450 ft. of clear, cobalt blue water. The anticipated catch during the overnight period was yellowfin and blackfin tuna. Topwater artificials, blackfin chunk baits and butterfly type jigs, which normally account for a lot of the action didn't do as well as usual. The star performers were chrome diamond jigs. That's not unusual, since they generally do well on these trips. The difference this time is that the majority of blackfin tuna came on 4 and 6 ox. sizes as well as did all four of the yellowfin tuna that were taken. The heaviest, a 65 pounder by Lee Bull hit a 4 oz. chrome diamond jig. A 55 pound yellowfin by another fisherman hit a 2 oz. diamond jig. Rita Baumann had the trip's one wahoo, a 19 pound version that also hit a chrome diamond jig while at Boom Vang. This just shows that, at times, "Better" is the enemy of "Good enough", as an old saying goes. Diamond jigs have been around seemingly forever, those big topwaters and butterfly types are relatively new on the scene. Don't forget that most times, those other methods are heavy producers too. At times, small pods or balls of small "glass minnows" can be seen out there, this might have been the case on this trip and the finish on the smaller diamond jigs may have mirrored that look. I didn't hear a report of any of the tunas' stomach contents, but it's a favorable bet that some of these small, silvery fish were part of the mix. The multiple drifts in the area of the platform and down current overnight resulted in 88 blackfin tuna, 2 skipjack tuna, 4 yellowfin tuna and a wahoo being decked and iced down in the fish boxes.
Shortly after daybreak Wednesday, the trip back began with stops made along the way. Those fishing spots from 75 to 85 miles offshore, in around 135 ft. of water, produced vermilion snapper, lane snapper, shark and triggerfish.
Gulf waters remained calm to near slack for the entire trip, and it was hot-hot-hot! Those last three words made the air conditiones cabin of the Capt. John a popular spot on the boat for everyone at some time those two days.
The multi-species catch totals were:
4 yellowfin tuna of 50 to 65#
88 blackfin tuna to 19#
4 skipjack tuna to 16#
140 red snapper to 14#
14 lane snapper
198 vermilion snapper to 4#
6 sharpnose shark
2 ling of 30# each
1 wahoo - 19#
3 gray triggerfish
1 Warsaw grouper - 12#
Rita Baumann, Texas City, Randy & Mark Baumann and Johny Davis, all from Dallas - Rita, her son, nephew and Mark's friend all had double red snapper limits, a total of 7 blackfin tuna, 7 kingfish and 27 vermilion snapper to go along with Rita's 19# wahoo.
Alvin Calloway, Katy, with a double red snapper limit to 11# and 19 vermilion snapper.
John McCracken, San Leon, had 4 blackfin tuna, 12 vermilion snapper, double red snapper limit to 12# and the 12# Warsaw grouper.
Lee Bull, Conroe, with a double red snapper limit to 10#, a kingfish, 20 vermilion snapper, 12 blackfin tuna and the trip's heaviest yellowfin tuna, a nice 65 pounder.
This was the last of the scheduled 36 hour tuna safaris for the Capt. John at this time. More dates are coming shortly. The next trip of extended length is a 15 hour trip on Saturday Sept. 5. The scheduled leave time is 4:30 AM with return to Galveston, Pier 19 at 7:30 PM. Cost is $110 per fisherman. Target species for this trip to deep structure in the 70-80 mile range will include vermilion snapper, amberjack, wahoo, grouper, ling, kingfish, etc.
Give the Capt. John's office at Galveston's Pier 19 a call - 409-762-8808 or 713-223-4853 to make your reservations or drop by the office. Either way, the office staff is there to get it done. Watch the website for the soon to be announced dates for those upcoming 36 hour tuna safaris. Make your reservations, get out there for some of this great bluewater fishing. You're virtually assured to get your string pulled and your knots tightened screaming tight...watch for the dates!
Patrick
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Monday, August 03, 2009
With 56 fishermen aboard, the partyboat Capt John Capt. Johnny Williams pointed the twin hulls in a southerly direction, where, after a run of about 65 miles thru the open Gulf, they were at the area for today's fishing, with its rock formations in 125-130 ft. of water.
Bait choices for the locals in the water column to respond to were either Spanish sardines, whole or cut squid - the following answered the call:
112 red snapper to 17#, boat limit
4 vermilion snapper
2 bluerunner
1 ling
1 warsaw grouper
32 sharpnose sharks
With a 36 hour trip being run Tuesday and Wednesday, there's only 9 more days for the red snapper fishery in Federal waters to be open for 2009. Call the office soon before the red snapper clock runs down, 409-762-8808 or 713-223-4853 gets you in touch with the office at Galveston's Pier 19.
Patrick
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