# Sunday 10/28, nipple/elbow



## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

I figure I’ll throw one out from Sunday too. Fished with some good customers who are new to trolling. It was a gorgeous day for sure.

Left Perdido pass at 6:30 and had lines in just north of the Nipple at 7:30. Started out slow but around 9am had a White batting at the center line. Got hooked up but it was short lived. Didn’t have a bite for an hour after and picked up and ran south. 

Hit a couple broken up lines NE of the elbow. Very difficult to keep lines clean but managed a couple decent Mahi out of it. Around 1pm the center gets hit and after a good run there’s a billfish jumping. Dave gets on it and after some good jumps and a decent fight I grab the bill on his first billfish, a White Marlin. I get everyone in position, haul her out for 10 seconds and back in she goes for a good release.

We pick up a few more nice Mahi along with a couple mystery bites. Got some meat and went 1-2 on bills so not too shabby.

Water definitely cleaner at the elbow but not much temperature difference. Water varied from 77-78.5 through the day. The scattered lines held the fish and the bite picked mid day/afternoon.


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## Jason (Oct 2, 2007)

Dang, great day...glad ya posted it up...has me chomping at the bit to get my sled outta the shop and get out there!!!


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## JoeyWelch (Sep 25, 2009)

Thats Right!!

Thanks for posting Chris. Been missing your fish killing.


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## lastcast (Oct 12, 2007)

Nice, thanks for posting!


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## panhandlephinsphan (Aug 25, 2008)

That is awesome!! Great trip- were you trolling plastics or natural baits? It is apparently not the altimetry but the captain that makes the big difference.

Great day out there and glad you got them on their first bill- nice work!


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## rustybucket (Aug 18, 2011)

Thanks for the report!! Congrats to the angler on his first bill!!


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## Achim2 (Apr 25, 2011)

Very nice ! Congrats Chris!


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## fishen (Dec 13, 2011)

panhandlephinsphan said:


> That is awesome!! Great trip- were you trolling plastics or natural baits? It is apparently not the altimetry but the captain that makes the big difference.
> 
> Great day out there and glad you got them on their first bill- nice work!



Appears to be a blue/white islander in the pic. We were headed out Sunday morning on a recently replaced new powerhead and it began making a weird noise so I turned back. Turns out it was just a missing gasket.


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

panhandlephinsphan said:


> That is awesome!! Great trip- were you trolling plastics or natural baits? It is apparently not the altimetry but the captain that makes the big difference.
> 
> Great day out there and glad you got them on their first bill- nice work!


Hey, we all get lucky at times. Details and certain technique go far but at the end of the day you still need to be in the right place at the right time. 

A few notes/details I'll mention:

- I always notice guys leaving fish to find fish or leaving fishy areas to find fish. If I miss a bite or I'm in a place that certainly should hold fish, I don't make a pass or two and move on, I stay there until I've worked it wih a couple different spreads and at different speeds. Too many times I've fished an area that looked promising, worked it over, switched out a couple baits and got bit. Continued working with the same spread and after no bites, bumped the speed up and got another strike. Keep em entertained. I'm not going to waste the whole day doing this, but I'll give any fishy area a couple hours of my time. I saw boats leaving broken weedlines all day Sunday and have seen it a lot before. I guess they get tired of clearing weeds. I don't. It's annoying but that's where the fish are. 

- If an area is dead I don't troll to the next area, I pick up the spread and I run. Do I possibly miss a fish doing so? Sure, after all you can't catch them if the baits aren't in, but I've logged enough to know that my catch rate is higher if I focus time and effort in concentrated areas, vs trolling from the nipple to the elbow to the steps to the spur. I study the satellite charts, pick my spots and work those spots with honest effort. If I run across something like a rip, weedline, etc, then they go back in. On an overnight trip, I might continue trolling but day trips require time management.

- I pull a variety as does everyone, but I like to pull a lot of small baits and lures and usually only have one or two bigger lures in the spread. This time of year I like to pull a lot of small, naked ballyhoo or small ballyhoo on dusters or very small skirts and as a rule, there is ALWAYS a blue/white islander in there.

Not sure if you wanted all that but maybe that answers some things.


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## Stegmj (Oct 31, 2018)

Chris V said:


> Hey, we all get lucky at times. Details and certain technique go far but at the end of the day you still need to be in the right place at the right time.
> 
> A few notes/details I'll mention:
> 
> ...


TYVM for the pointers..


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## panhandlephinsphan (Aug 25, 2008)

Great advice- exactly what I was looking for! I have put baits in at daylight and trolled all day even in between spots. This is why i enjoy this forum- that is some great advice to help me get to the next level. MUCH appreciated!!!


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## Xiphius (Oct 10, 2007)

Nice ****** there Chris!


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