# RECESS over in St Augistine



## user6993 (Feb 15, 2009)

The crew trailered over to St Augistine to try and brake the ice for a wahoo there. On the first day we headed out to the tuna patch thatwas located 42 miles east of the St.Augistine Pass in 145 feet. The sargasso grass was scattered, but did make a somewhat line heading to the NE with flying fish a plenty on it. With-in a few minutes the knock downs started. I think that our ration wasfive Atlantic great barracuda to one dolphin. Mid-day on one of the pushes we were working. Our largest dolpin of the trip hit anaked ballyhoo I am told,on the right rigger. Rob worked the 38 pound dolphin to the boat andthe bull was put on the ice to join his buddiesthere. We picked awayatsmaller dolphin but did nothave the first wahoo bite all day. We ended up out 56 miles in 1000 feet with only a boxof dolphin and one blackfin to show for our efforts this day. The water color was a true cobalt bluewith a gentle brezze of 5 knots all day. On our way back in we stopped at the weather bouy 38 miles out and again did battle with barracuda,dolphin and a cobia with lock jaw. After about 20 minutes there.A school of 30 pound cubera snapper surfaced but would not eat anything. A friend of ours had caught one weighing 38 pounds a few weeks ago there. On the second day we ran out to deeper water looking again for that magic wahoo. But again luck would have it that,it was not to be. While out past the edge in 900 feet we saw several different blues marlin free jumping in the area with a spearfish and one sail also. Again we only caught dolphin,barracuda with a nice 20# or so black fin. The weather was great, it was a safe trip for the most part.Five guys in a room with 2 doublebeds,a fold out couch,2 air mattress and ONE bathroom. That's how bad we want to fish.Here is a few pictures of the trip.Gene,Tim,Rob,Cliff and Brad




























This guy pop up behind our spread. We all had to take a double look of the submarine. RECESS raises the big boys. But I guess it was not in the mood to eat.










We also had these guys coming by every hour or so. I guess that's why they call it the shipping lanes.










Headed east in the morning for a day offshore. What a beautiful sunrise. Good times.


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## Fiver (Nov 6, 2008)

Yeah, we definitely proved we will do just about anything to get offshore, and we had a great time. The bull that Rob caught on a naked horse balleyhoo and Tim's stud blackfin tuna were the two best fish of the weekend. We ended up catchig a lot of dolphin but a lot of them were schoolies. Fresh tuna and dorado will be on the menu for the next couple of days, and I look forward to the next one guys! wherever that may be....I think Cliffmay havea picture or two to post...


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## hogdogs (Apr 19, 2010)

Have you guys tried a purple and black or orange and black lure in front of a hoo with at least one on a d-rigger down DEEEEEPPPPP? Have you tired pointed nose lures at high (12+ knots or so) speed?

Seems those 2 things were our wahoo aces in the hole... It takes a bit further back on all lines and slightly smoother seas for the high speed work to look right on the spread... Nothin' says "BITE ME!" to a wahoo like a screamin' lure throwin' a rooster tail...

The catches you did muster a very respectable anyway!!!

Brent


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## ironman172 (Sep 28, 2007)

I was wondering if the Recess was going to be getting wet!! Thanks for the report, and I should have known....... you always will go, because you never know....I look forward to the pic's and Thanks


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## Pinksnappertrapper (Dec 7, 2007)

Good Job guys. COME ON WITH THE PICS CLIFF.


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## miss mai (Oct 7, 2007)

Glad you got to go get wet! There will be a next time I know!!!!:toast


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## lobsterman (Sep 30, 2007)

Sweet, Thanks for sharing with us.


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## cobe killer (Apr 13, 2008)

WE HAD A GREAT TIME FISHING HARD FOR TWO DAYS CAUSE YOU CAN'T CATCH FISH SITTING IN THE LIVING ROOM WATCHING WATCHING SOMEONE ELSE CATCH'EM OR READING A FORUM AND LOOKING AT PICS. THE FISH ARE IN THE WATER SO YOU GOTTA GET ON IT TO GET'EM. I LEFT THE CAMERA IN GENE'S TRUCK, SO IF TIM OR SOMEONE ELSE WANTS TO HOOK IT UP TO THE COMPUTOR EVRYTHING YOU NEED IS IN THE CASE, OR IT WILL HAVE TO WAIT TILL I GET THE CAMERA BACK. I HAVE 10 MINUTES OF THE FIGHT WITH ROB'S PHIN(SOME IS UPSIDE DOWN TILL B-RAD TURNED THE CAMERA RIGHT SIDE UP)BUT IT STILL TURNED OUT PRETTY GOOD.

I BAKED ME SOME PHIN IN BUTTER,LEMON SLICES,ONOIN SLICES,RANCH DRESSING AND TONY'S CREOLE.AHHHHHHHHH IT WAS SOOOOOOOOOO GOOD THAT I'M GOING TO MAKE IT AGAIN TOMMORROW.


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## user6993 (Feb 15, 2009)

> *hogdogs (20/06/2010)*Have you guys tried a purple and black or orange and black lure in front of a hoo with at least one on a d-rigger down DEEEEEPPPPP? Have you tired pointed nose lures at high (12+ knots or so) speed?
> 
> Seems those 2 things were our wahoo aces in the hole... It takes a bit further back on all lines and slightly smoother seas for the high speed work to look right on the spread... Nothin' says "BITE ME!" to a wahoo like a screamin' lure throwin' a rooster tail...
> 
> ...


 Brent , Yes we had red/black,red/purple,blue/white,green/yellow,pink/white,red/white, and some colors I have never seen. Swimming mullets,naked ballyhoos. We trolled downrigger deep.and a host of deep divers. Normaly we do fairly well with the hoo. But not this time no hoos. Some times you go to the party and met a pretty girl. This time we didn't even get the chance for a dance. We did not high speedat all,maybe that would have done the trick. Gene


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## Eastern Tackle (Jul 6, 2009)

> *ironman172 (20/06/2010)*I was wondering if the Recess was going to be getting wet!! T


Me too. 

Thanks for the update. Wont be long before a 400lb blue slurps down that naked horse. I love leadering big fish.


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## NaClH2O (Feb 14, 2008)

Great trip as always anytime we get a chance to get together. We did a bunch of fishing but the catching was just not in the cards on this trip, unless you count the endless supply of barracuda. We went through almost four dozen ballyhoo on the first day. Water was beautiful over there, but it sure does make you appreciate our GOM over here. The bull mahi put up one heck of a fight don't think I've ever caught a Mahi that was that stubborn before. I am extremely grateful that we have a group of guys that are willing to go to just about any measure to get a line wet. Had a great time and I'm looking forward to the next one as always.

Team Recess

Rob


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## hogdogs (Apr 19, 2010)

BTW... the reels have to be in top notch condition (especially the drag components) for the high speed trolling... you have to tighten the drag tighter so it don't feed off and when a south bound hoo hits a north bound high speed lure, that reel is going to go from zero RPM's to redline so freakin' fast... it is awesome to hear too!!! 
Also I don't think I would try high speed without full roller rods also well maintained...

Brent


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## Fiver (Nov 6, 2008)

> *hogdogs (21/06/2010)*BTW... the reels have to be in top notch condition (especially the drag components) for the high speed trolling... you have to tighten the drag tighter so it don't feed off and when a south bound hoo hits a north bound high speed lure, that reel is going to go from zero RPM's to redline so freakin' fast... it is awesome to hear too!!!
> Also I don't think I would try high speed without full roller rods also well maintained...
> 
> Brent


Gene and Tim keep the trolling gear, all gear in fact, in tip top condition. We've pulled high speed for wahoo before...wahoo wasn't the only target species, so we didn't employ that methodology this trip. I hear what you are saying though....love me some wahoo.


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## hogdogs (Apr 19, 2010)

Yeah, I wasn't trying to imply it ain't kept up but I know far too many guys with some real nice gear that has never had so much as a cleaning... I took a set of 4 International 30's and 4 50's on matching rods and found 6 reels with severely pitted drag wells and spools, gummed and/or burned fiber washers and in general disrepair... The VAST majority of rollers were seized up tighter than a frog's ass...

I asked my buddy how could let $8K plus worth of gear get in such bad shape... His reply... "I didn't think $45 per reel plus new line and $30 bucks per rod was worth it..."

well I was doing the labor for free as a fishin' buddy but I told him he had drastically harmed the overall life and performance of the reels and the required parts was quite a sizable cost... And I told him that he had reduced the value of the reels to an experienced buyer to $200 or less at best if he chose to sell them.

The reason I offered to tear them all down was we were getting broke off at the rod tip on strikes while high speed draggin'... 3 in one trip actually, and I knew there had to be a mechanical reason for this...

Brent


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## user6993 (Feb 15, 2009)

> *Eastern Tackle (21/06/2010)*
> 
> 
> > *ironman172 (20/06/2010)*I was wondering if the Recess was going to be getting wet!! T
> ...


 Jim I hope so also. We need to dance real bad. And the ole' girl is calling us. Gene


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## recess (Oct 8, 2007)

> *hogdogs (21/06/2010)*BTW... the reels have to be in top notch condition (especially the drag components) for the high speed trolling... you have to tighten the drag tighter so it don't feed off and when a south bound hoo hits a north bound high speed lure, that reel is going to go from zero RPM's to redline so freakin' fast... it is awesome to hear too!!!
> Also I don't think I would try high speed without full roller rods also well maintained...
> 
> Brent


Brent i appreciate all the info about your knowledge on wahoo ,but rest assure many many many wahoo have died and continue to die because of the name RECESS , i do agree with the dark colors, i run mine under a cigar weight and plain until the sun gets up say around 8:00. After that i will send one around 60-75ft running depth if i am still targeting wahoo. For around the gulf coast we have done very well with black and purple , and for St. Augustine whichmy fathersbiggest wahoo topped 137 pounds was taken on a black and red and black and redhas beenthe more consistant color over there . As for high speeding it has never been my game because it rules out most every other species, we do it from time to time but we like to run and gun most days. I love your passion about wahoo and know this right now, i can hear a penn international screaming drag heading south. Just hope we can clear up all this mess so we can enjoy what we have here. But until then we will continue to travel .Thanks for the positive comments.


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## recess (Oct 8, 2007)

> *PURPLE HAZE (22/06/2010)*
> 
> 
> > *Eastern Tackle (21/06/2010)*
> ...


It definalty isn't for lack of effort. Just a matter of time.

TIM


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## ironman172 (Sep 28, 2007)

Thanks for the pictures!!!! It sounds like it was kinda cramped in the room, I bet it was a tough start to the day, with out Nona's fine breakfast's!!! nothing like roughing it....I'm glad you guys are still getting out!!! I am very impressed with your passion to be on the water no matter what and how far:bowdown


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## hogdogs (Apr 19, 2010)

YEAH MAN!!! I have never gotten out on the GOM yet.. All my trollin' experience is from the Cape to St. aug...

As for the reel noise... I am quick to try to tell a guy who hasn't really tried high speed work... If you want to tear up a Senator, put it out for high speed, the clicker will wear off in 2 fish...

And the nick-name "Clicker" gets changed to "Zinger"...

And one of the reasons we really tried the high speed stuff was hearing a guy say "It rules out pretty much all the other fish." and we really wanted a "target specific" approach in our grab bag o' tricks for just the 'hoo,s... 

I actually did some machine work and designed a trolling lure (really i made mini lures of known design) setup that allowed me to troll up to 20-22 knots on 20# line class gear for those of us who like the light gear thrills... 

I also love all other forms of trolling but being a cheap *******, I like to experiment.

I love to hear of folks with the enthusiasm ya'll got but also have the available funds to keep your lines wet and tight!

And yes I await the day that folks of the water can say "Remember when we had that oil mess..." while hookin' and cookin' coolers full of pristine fresh seafood caught in our "Blue Playground"...

Brent


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## cobe killer (Apr 13, 2008)

HEY BILL, IT WAS CRAMPED FUR SHUR AND WITHOUT NONA THERE I'M KINDA GLAD IT WAS ONLY FOR 2 NIGHTS. BUT WE'LL DO IT AGAIN WHEN WE HAVE TO GET OUR FIX!!


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