# Copper bellies and Sows



## Capt. Delynn (Oct 4, 2007)

Got to fish with the Marshalls on their new 42 Viking Saturday out of Destin. We had a few GPS problems that morning but Jerry at Georges Marine Electronics was our life saver. He talked me through a little process and got it rebooted and we were off. Still not perfect but close enough to let us fish for the day. Thanks Jerry i owe you. My crew was James, Helen, Nick, Mary Ann and Dedra. I have fished with them for years and are some of my very best friends. I forgot my camera so we only got a couple of pictures with the cell phone. I made a long run to see if we could find a sow or two. We got our limit pretty easy but never got the giant we were looking for. All the snappers were over 10 pounds but 16 was our biggest. Great day, just not the big one we wanted. Ended up with 
12 snappers
1 cobia
8 almaco jacks
7 scamps
and we threw back way to many gags. 
Still kicking myself for not having my camera because we really had a beautiful catch. 
Here is the only two pictures they sent me from their phones. Come on July 1. Everyone catchem up while we can. Good luck out there.

Capt. Delynn Sigler
Deepsea/Offshore Fishing Guide
(850) 689-3133 Office/Home
(850) 758-2165 Cell


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

Quite a haul and some damn nice groupers


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## cobe killer (Apr 13, 2008)

nice gags delynn!!!you sure know where they live!


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## Capt. Delynn (Oct 4, 2007)

Thanks Hollywood, Sometimes I wish I did not know where they lived. I have been trying to avoid them all summer. We tried everything to get the top fish that Dedra caught to swim off but he just layed there belly up for 15 minutes. He had floated several hundred yard behind the boat when we left that place, so we backed up to him to get a weight. 48 lbs on a digital scale. That is a lot of shark bait. Makes me sick to kill them. I have gone with light leaders so that most of them cut us off but we still kill 5 to 15 a day. I bet we loose 15 hooks a day. Come July i'm going to kill my share and put them in the box this time. I had one client last week, want me to pull a big one with the boat but i just let him fight till he cut him off. At least we did not kill him. Cause, I don't think venting does any good. I think he was a warsaw but who knows. Enough said, i'm being negative. Sorry.


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## jplvr (Mar 7, 2011)

http://www.theseaqualizer.com/SeaQualizer_-_Official_Website/Shop.html

I know we talked about the likelihood of the fish living even if you get him down to swim away, but at least you wouldn't have to watch them float.

I could make my own, and I may tire of using it anyway, but this one releases at depths you preset. Instead of reeling up a heavy weight from the bottom, the device lets go "half way." Granted, as I typed that, I started wondering how I'd know it let go or reached halfway without a line counter, and I'm probably not seeing about 20 other problems besides the process of retrieving the rig and weight after a "successful" release. I guess I could mark the line at some spots where I'd know how deep the line was out.

One problem I already wonder about is: how much weight would it take to get that beast back down? That's another stud for sure! The recommendations I've seen are for 3 pounds of weight for some devices, but they are dealing with much smaller fish in the pictures provided like these:

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fishingSportFishingInfo.rockfishconservation

I can't find the UWF study online, but they report tag/release recaptures of rockfish up to 1.5 years later in this study using rapid recompression methods:

http://www.usc.edu/org/seagrant/Publications/PDFs/Jarvis_Lowe_rockfish_barotrauma.pdf

It's worth a shot anyway. I agree that venting a blown out fish like that isn't going to do anything.

One note: I looked at the recognition and achievement section of that device I was thinking of buying and one article covered two things:

1) they used a 5lb weight to release snapper, and I'm guessing none of them were sows
2) they marked the line at 50 foot intervals

Is there a tagging program in the Gulf for snapper and/or grouper? I've done a web search before and didn't find anything. When we were doing some work on a bass lake we own, thinning out the herd, we bought a tagging kit for ones we release. It's very simple and quick, and with a couple minutes taken to record data, maybe someone would have some re-catch info down the line.


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## k-p (Oct 7, 2009)

Incredible grouper! Too bad they won't let you at least keep one as an incidental keeper.


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## Boondocks (Oct 6, 2007)

No offense at all Capt. Just a suggestion: the private reefs in the areas SW of Pensacola pass are absolutely loaded with 20lb snapper right now and it's shallow water where you hardly ever catch a gag. Why not save the deep water rocks until grouper season? Granted, you won't catch the scamp but with the red and black snapper and trigger (till next week anyway) there are plenty of fish to fill the box. Again, I certainly don't mean any offense I just know you are a good steward of our resources here after reading some of your posts and 5-15 fish killed like that a day (as much as you fish) is an awful strain on our fisheries. Just a thought.


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## BROTHER-N-LAW (Jun 5, 2012)

Man those are some mighty fine fish. Wish i could get invited to go with you sometimes.


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## BROTHER-N-LAW (Jun 5, 2012)

Great job


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## Boondocks (Oct 6, 2007)

Thanks for the PM Captain Delynn. You are a class act. Good Luck this weekend!


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## Captdroot (Jan 18, 2012)

*Dawg gone Capt, I'm happy and sad at the same time. Did that fish top 45lb?*


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## lobsterman (Sep 30, 2007)

Mighty fine CB's there.


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## Death From Above (Sep 28, 2007)

No way I would let a 48lb grouper float to waste. It would get fried up on the way home.


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## Capt. Mickey Locke (Oct 4, 2007)

Fine box as always! As good as it gets!


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