# Back up plans



## capthoop (Oct 28, 2007)

Our goal was tuna plan A, mahi plan B, and amberjack plan C.

We started our running around some nasty storms. My XM weather was a great help. It was a bit rough due the winds and we did get a small bit of the rain but I was able to avoid the worst of it. After getting away from the mouth of the river the sea eased up a bit and we hit some rigs looking for bait. Not much but I did get this beauty on the sabiki rig. The blue spots and line around the top of the fin were almost luminous.










Nothing more at that place so I continued. We found a small weed patch and the right bait was almost jumping in the boat. Now full of bait I thought of the old jinx I have, A lot of bait = no fish.

Once at the tuna rig everybody was hooked up. Everything was small. We got some skip jacks and only one small yellow. We lost several baits without any yellowfin in the box so around noon I went to plan B. 

I had noticed Josh sitting about 5 miles away and figured he was on weeds and mahi. Once I got there I could see he was on a big fish. He was fighting a big marlin. I continued on searching for the weeds and maybe mahi. I followed my electronics to where I found the bait earlier. The small patch of grass had moved a bit and it did not take long to find a few mahi.










We got 3 of the 5 there and moved on looking for some more weeds. It was not long before we found an acre of weeds and mahi everywhere. Game on!










We all had a bloody hectic couple of hours on the boat. This was the high spot of the trip. Too much action to get any more pictures. From there we went to plan C. I pulled up to a rig in 380 feet of water where I had gotten amberjack and very good almaco jacks recently. Things were a lot different today. Their sun burned cousins were visiting and got to the bait before any other fish could.










They went back and I went into another area closer to home. There were a lot of heavy storms around the area I was heading so I did not desire to run back in too quickly. I hit another rig just outside of state waters in 260 feet of water but the results were still the same. 










I waited just enough for the storms to give me a shot back to the marina and headed in praying that another cell would not form above us before we made the dock. I was monitoring them building and dying out all around. The one to the left was just starting to build and the others were getting together. At this moment I wished I had a faster boat. I had to get to the squares above the 017 on the chart.










We got in and hung the fish just before the rain started. Fortunately we only got the edge of the rain and it was not much.










Another long but successful day at the office.

Life is Good! 
Fishing is not a matter of life or death. It's more important than that.

CAPT HOOP -- OUR FREEDOM


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