# Elbow/Nipple 14-15



## Kim (Aug 5, 2008)

Another episode in the saga of fishing with Mike and Morgan Tolbert out of San Destin. Once again Mike's fishing buddies bailed out on the fishing trip in favor of golf and cocktails. He decided to go anyway because he loves being on the water and really enjoys watching his son cranking a reel on a bowed up rod. We had a pretty thin crew for a 42 foot Hatteras, Mike, Morgan and myself. We loaded up the boat, food, drinks, ice, rods and tackle and of course coffee and cream for me! the lines were cast off and away we went, heading for Destin Pass and the Gulf of Mexico. After going under the Midbay Bridge the go fast boats started to appear and the closer to Destin we go the thicker they were. personally I just don't get the poker run thing, the best I can figure it's all about gas and ass. Anyway, by the time we got to Destin to make the jog for the pass they were thicker than gnats and you had to thread your way through as best you can with a bunch of boats whose drivers only know two positions on the throttle, wide open and idle. Finally made it out the pass and headed towards the Elbow. We stopped at a spot about 13 miles out and Morgan gave jigging a shot for some AJ's. First drop he hooks up and is bowed up and just short of the surface the fish pulls off. Second drop is deja vu with the fish pulling off. Third drop gets hit by something toothy and Morgan says "there goes a $20 jig." He put a wire leader on the next jig but the fish wouldn't touch it and we continued on our way.









So far the weather looked pretty good and the forecast was for scattered thunder storms, I figured we were in great shape with typical Panhandle weather. We trolled until dark, changed out the lures so often I think Morgan is going to become a mutant with an enormous right arm from cranking in the lures for change out. We did manage one large Bonito but the stink was definitely on us. We stopped for the night just short and East of the Elbow, I figured that we would drift the last few miles that way. Morgan decided to deep drop and try for a Swordfish. Ideally we probably weren't in the best spot but we had more than a 1000 feet of water under us so what the heck. If you aren't trying, you aren't fishing. We had 2 mystery bites that were probably sharks, Morgan brought in a small shark on a jigging rod and the sharks ate everything else we dropped in.









Once again Mike cooked an outstanding dinner. I think it's great to go fishing offshore and have grilled surf and turf with all the trimmings. Mike just got back from Key West and he brought some lobster tails with him and they were sweet tasting for sure. Next trip I have to get pics of Mike making dinner, the man is a master with a grill. 



















Shortly after a tasty dinner Mike and myself caught ourselves a catnap while Morgan did the Swordfish dance to no avail. We passed the night in shifts on the helm and Morgan finally got some sleep. Dawn found us just southeast of the Elbow,the weather and sea state

wasn't bad but the sky looked ominous.


















I knew the weather that was piled up South of us wasn't any better than that was North of us so we decided to trollNorth through the Elbow towards the 131 Hole. Put a spread out and it seemed we couldn't buy a knock down. We found ourselves changing out lures looking for the type and color combination that the fish would hit. All the way to the 131 Hole nothing came into the spread and not a single knock down. 










Heading towards the 131 Hole we could see weather heading our way, so far not too bad and only the occasional white cap to be seen. Looking at the radar screen it was pretty amazing. It looked like a target at a turkey shoot there were so many boats marking the screen at the 131 hole.










There must have been 30 to 40 boats out here!! That's a lot of boats no matter how you look at it. I did manager to raise a PFFer on 68, I hope you did well. We joined the que of boats circling around the 131 Hole and I have to tell you, boat ettiquett is alive and well with the folks that were out there on Saturday!! Everyone held to a loose circular pattern, no crowding, no running over spreads and only a few cocontraries that ran counter to the fleet, but they did so well and it wasn't a problem for anyone. The whites were out there, I heard on the radio of numerous knock downs but only one hookup and release. We trolled around for a few hours and couldn't find a combination of baits or lures that drew a strike. With the weather closing in, we decided to troll North towards the Nipple and then head for home. 










Just south of the Nipple the port short corner pops off to a screaming drag! Mike is on deck and he brings in a nice hoo. At the dock it weighted in at 32 lbs. Ok the stink is off of us now. Mr Hoo hit a green and yellow Ilander Sea Star, rigged with one #10/0 hook behind a daisy chain of small pink birds. Ok now we put out a few different lures with a green color theme. Still south of the Nipple, the starboard short corner pops off with a few pulls of drag. Morgan is on deck and he cranks in another Hoo in short order. This one hit a Williamson El Dingo in the Lumo color combination rigged with double hooks, # 10, 180 out.










I do believe that the smile on that boys face tells the story of that fish better than I can. Anyway lines back in the water and a short while later the port short rigger pops off and I'm on deck. It's a Mahi, biggest chicken Dolphin I've ever seen must be a whopping 3 pounds.The Dophin Hit a Ilander Cruiser, black and plum, rigged with double #10 hooks, 180 out. With Morgans chastisement ringing in my ears about how I might get a sandwich out of that meat fish and that we didn't need more Bonito for bait, we decided to head for the barn. Once again it was a great fishing trip, comraderie, enjoying mother nature out on the Gulf of mexico in the company of friends. The closer we got to shore the worse the weather turned, thunder squalls, solid 4 footers and lots of white caps. God smiled upon us once again and gave us a short 6 mile corridor between two nasty squalls and we slipped through on calmer waters with some rain but no lightning. That was all to the East, West and South of us. Once through that it was just scattered thunder storms that came at regular intervals, some easy to dodge some not.










We made it back to the dock to a beautiful day with sunshine!!










Kim


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## Live4Fish (May 12, 2009)

sounds like you guys had fun cant wait to get out there my self


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## pelagicone (Jul 25, 2008)

Great report.


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