# Fat Jax II Rig Report



## Realtor (Oct 1, 2007)

Reel Crazy (Rich) met here at my house along with another friend Monday Morning to head to the rigs.

After a quick stop for Twice the Ice... (Notice the pile of ice at Riches feet?) lol we filled a few coolers and fish box, and were heading to SCM.










We departed Sherman Cove, and was pleasantly met with calm seas heading out the Pass... (Forecast was for 1 Ft or less) Holy Moley this is what I was hoping for...










Take a quick look in the back, and were still in the Pass, and Ken's making Sammiches.... He was making 2, I had my hopes up. lol he was making a double.... ha ha











The new boat did well, I'm liking it more and more.... cruise speed was 27 to 30 MPH @ 1.9 MPG, Not to shabby...










a few hours later, we have the first target in our sights.....



















While at the Petronius a LARGE school of bery small (12 inch) BFT started to feed on the surface. We caught a couple of those when I noticed some BIG in there. There were 2 Whale Sharks in there wallowing around. really cool to see....











After several attempts, the Whale Sharks were proving hard to catch for a photograph. Both were in the 15 - 18 Ft range.. The tiny BFT's were on the surface for sometime. To be honest (Rich states this as well) this is the most action I can remember seeing at the Petronius. We usually do a drive by, and keep going... My Hopes of a great evening were HIGH as can be at this point... "Lift at the Petronius" Cant wait to see what the Marlin and Ram have on their agenda for us... 

While enroute to the Marlin, we cam across a weed patch, Managed a tiny chicken and a coupe little jack looking fish, Ken missed something about 3 feel long, but that was that...










Marlin was D-E-A-D as in zilch, nada, nutton, zero, did I mention it was dead there? Moved on over to the Ram, same as the Marlin.... (we're thinking, "dang, shudda stayed at the Petronius.") We head back to the Marlin for another go at it. This is the Rig that I have had my best rtips to, so we hung in there a while.. Jiggin, Casting, trolling etc. NADA!. The wind is seeming to increase now.... close to dark. (I left Reel Crazy drive... lol)











After we get shamed at the marlin, we did the put put of shame over the 4 miles to the Beer Can. D-E-A-D at the Beer Can... nuff said here...

Through difficult negotiations, we head back to the Petronius, 13 miles, is nothing out there looking for fishes Off we go, seas are about 2, with a few 3's mixed in by now....

Arrive there, there is another Private boat there the size of a Navy Cruiser.... We notice their hooked up, so we het in the rails and start the jigging process.... shortly we have a hook up, but in typical Petronius fashion, we get Sharked. After fighting for several hook ups, (trust me, it was far, far from every drop or cast.... We were working hard for what we got this trip. 










One thing for sure, the Beauty of nature while far off shore is something to share.... Sunset...

Continued, next post..


----------



## specktackler57 (May 15, 2011)

Great report and pics.


----------



## Offcoarse (Feb 5, 2021)

Great write-up good report


----------



## JoeyWelch (Sep 25, 2009)

Very Nice


----------



## jack2 (Mar 19, 2010)

you won't listen cause i have told you many times, about the petro. go to your room. lol
jack


----------



## jwilson1978 (Mar 23, 2021)

Realtor said:


> Reel Crazy (Rich) met here at my house along with another friend Monday Morning to head to the rigs.
> 
> After a quick stop for Twice the Ice... (Notice the pile of ice at Riches feet?) lol we filled a few coolers and fish box, and were heading to SCM.
> 
> ...


Awesome report. Mr Jim hate that ya'll didn't fill the boat. Were they there and not biting or just not there? Meaning seeing them on the sounder or nothing to be seen?


----------



## reel_crazy (Oct 1, 2007)

Jim 
Thanks for doing your civic duty and taking a senior citizen out to the rigs .. awesome ride in an awesome boat .. 
I am impressed you were able to post up so quickly .. i am still feeling a bit groggy .. 

We did see several firsts (for me anyways) on this trip .. main one was seeing sport fishin boats trolling round the pet ...not to mention all the surface activity it had.. one other first for me was actually fishin with rubber hooks .. when i finally realized i had neglected to remove the plastic hook sheaths off of my brand new butterfly jigs .. once that was resolved i did snag one of those hardtail sized blackfin, which might have been good for a couple chunks had the opportunity ever presented itself .. 

the water column around the pet had tons of specks (plankton?) which presumably was what the whale sharks were after .. 

thanks for the pic of me doing my low-rider impersonation as we trolled around the horn .. apparently i suck at low ridin ... note what was not in the pic were jims two bent butt rod outfits dragging a couple mondo sized yozuri bonitas .. 
we did get a knockdown on one, most likely a barracuda .. which was my fault .. as us diesel boat guys only use knots not mph..so for sure we were going a bit slow. ... 

the lack of activity at marlin and horn was very odd for sure .. we had high hopes when running between them as there was a constant stream of flying fish kicked up in our wake .. so there was lots of bait between them but hardly any concentrated at the rigs themselves .. 

rich


----------



## KPTN (May 21, 2009)

Thanks for the invite Jim, it was great getting back on the GOM. I would have offered yo a samich but I'm still trying to figure out what you eat.


----------



## Realtor (Oct 1, 2007)

That's how I keep my figure....


----------



## SurfRidr (Apr 24, 2012)

Great report, Jim! Sorry you guys didn't see a bit more action but at least it sounds like you had a good time!


----------

