# AWESOME Tripletail trip with pics



## mdrobe2 (Oct 12, 2007)

Me and JEC crossed the state line this morning with thoughts of tripletail. We met up with our guide around 7:30 and started fishing. We gave away 2 baits at the first stop before I drew first blood but it wasn't what we were hoping for...










It was about a 6 lb. sheepshead (total guess on my part based on one I caught this spring of similar size that I weighed with Capt. Wes's Boca Grip). JEC is a fairly big boy and he refrained from throwing our host overboard when he cussed that it was "only a sheepshead." The captain was of course joking, but he was upset that it wasn't the target species.I however was vindicated as I had already lost 2 baits to that little thief before I finally caught it.

Next stop I actually saw my first tripletail ever. I was wired like I saw a tub club cobia or something- it was fun! I threw to the fish but then thought I had snagged the piling- tripletail are big tough fish. It wasn't the piling I snagged, it was the fish, and here it is...










JEC is holding that small fish on the left- it was 27 inches long and the guide said it was probably 18 lbs. or so, but my fish was definitely larger- must have been a bad camera angle!

Well, I wanted Jamie (JEC) to catch a fish so he took on the next one. Those of you that know Jamie know he is a meat fisherman and does not play. Those of you that know me know that I am out there for fun and don't care if I keep fish or not. Well, JEC hooks that 27 incher in the photo above and it's the biggest fish he's ever caught- he's cupping the spool to keep it from running and the guide is yelling at him to let the fish run before the hook straightens and it's basically pandemonium. I just hang out laughing my arse off and take some photos...





































Well, we are havinga great time and the action gets better- we are finding fish at every spot and marveling at our guide's ability to see fish- I spot a few and JEC even spots some despite his lack of polarized glasses- that boy needs some Costas! I hook up a fish and the fight is on- we can see the fish AND I PULL THE HOOK! [email protected]#$%^&*(). The fish was running drag and I thought it was as good as caught when the hook pulled. Dang it! I caught one more and Jamie got another one (bigger than mine %[email protected]#$&*). I was reminded of the cobias I lost while tournament fishing with Gump- bummer. But we finished out the day with a HUGE heavy bag of pearly white fillets and had a great time. We'll be going again.




























A great day on the water came to an end but we were looking forward to making a post on the forum. Thanks for reading and please reply with any comments. If you want to go contact Captain Will Manci at 251-269-7463. Also at http://www.easternshoreoutfitters.org/.

mdrobe2


----------



## JEC (Oct 2, 2007)

Mike, I had a blast! The guide was a great, and I am ready to do it again.:clap


----------



## GatorBait (May 14, 2008)

Nice catches!!!! :clap Did you guys stick to the South East end of the Bay where you launched, or did you cross over and fish the west side? Those tripletails are quit the fish.... They are definately on my target list in the near future. :letsdrink

Jason


----------



## mdrobe2 (Oct 12, 2007)

Jason- I honestly don't know where we were and if we weren't with our guide we would not have caught half the fish we did- he took us to some spots that only he knows about. He used a GPS to find the honey holes. NO WAY Jamie and I would have found them on our own. Tripletail are a fantastic species and probably underfished before this post. I think they'll be getting some pressure now. Sorry I don't know more about our route- as you know I had to ask the forum members just to get directions to where we were going.


----------



## konz (Oct 1, 2007)

Cool pics and report. A friend of mine caught one by accident once. Using cut bait bottom fishing. It was as big as his cooler lid......probably weight around 10 pounds or so.


----------



## GatorBait (May 14, 2008)

Thought I'd give it a shot. I know they catch them over on the west side of the bay but am unsure about the east side. Next time you'll have to throw me an invite :hungry :toast


----------



## mdrobe2 (Oct 12, 2007)

Thanks konz...your buddy must have a big cooler becasue the 5 we had totally filled Jamie's cooler- the lid wouldn't close!


----------



## konz (Oct 1, 2007)

LOL actually the cooler is there next to him. I think that's all he put in it that night anyway...lol. 

Again, great report man!


----------



## dailysaw (Jan 22, 2008)

those things look like monsters! wow.. i bet they were fun to catch. with so many fins they have to put up a fight. i would love to see those fish in person.all i can say is "beautiful". great job on the fine catch guys. the guide you took, was that your first time with him? his rates look very good. overall how would you rate him as a captain/guide. thanks for the report and pics.


----------



## dailysaw (Jan 22, 2008)

oh yea mike, did you see any of them on the top of the water on their side. if so is that how you caught yours. thats how i would want to target them. but any method that produces will work for me:letsdrink


----------



## mdrobe2 (Oct 12, 2007)

dailysaw- that was our first trip with that guide, and it was great. and yes, this is a sight fishing adventure. i even saw one of my fish eat, and jamie saw some of his eat too. it was great! we found out about the fishery from a TV show I watched- gary finch outdoors. tight lines...


----------



## JoeZ (Sep 30, 2007)

Those things aregreat ot fight on light tackle like that.

Awesome eating too. Did you get the throats out?

My firt triple is my new avatar. 16 pounds out of Jekyll Island Ga.


----------



## dailysaw (Jan 22, 2008)

good stuff thanks! let us no how they eat.


----------



## mdrobe2 (Oct 12, 2007)

We did not know about the throats, so sadly we did not get them out. Our guide was sick but did not want to cancel on us so we cleaned the fish for him so he could get home and rest up. JEC brought the fillets home- he'll be sure to make a post about how they cook up. If you know anyone that works at Solutia I think he usually brings them out there to cook them up, so somebody ought to let us know!


----------



## Ultralite (Oct 1, 2007)

great report mike!:bowdown glad ya'll got into them and congrats...caught some out in the gulf on some weeds...cool looking fish in the water...excellent table fare and with three tails (so to speak), they pull hard...thanks for sharing...jamie, get with scott (LITECATCH) and get him to "green egg" those fillets...

i hope i get to use the skidoo and i appreciate the gesture...youdaman...i'll try my best not to "mess up" any fisherman while running it...have a good/safe trip offshore and see you when you get back...


----------



## bamasam (Sep 27, 2007)

Mike just curious , how deep of water were you guys fishing in? 

I have been wanting to venture out that way since my boat is in Gulf Shores.


----------



## bamachem (Oct 2, 2007)

they're awesome to catch! great pics.

they hit small crabs and live shrimp under a cork, fished near structure like pilings and gas rigs in Mobile Bay. they're fun, but they'll break you off in nothing-flat.

if you want to get REAL serious about catching them, get a 15' ex-heavy action cane pole, top it with about 15-17' of 50# line, and present a live shrimp to them on it. lol... better hang on, and put on your PFD too!


----------



## JimS (Oct 3, 2007)

What a trip, made me want to go, too. My wife caught one years ago in the surf, we did not know what it was at the time so let it go. That one was about six pounds, nothing like your monsters. 

Jim


----------



## msagro1 (Oct 11, 2007)

<P align=right>Great looking triple tails.Glad you guys had a good day!What were you using for bait?<P align=right>:usaflag:usaflag:usaflag:usaflag:usaflag:usaflag


----------



## Murphy's Law (Sep 27, 2007)

Nice catch guys :bowdown


----------



## wrightackle (Oct 29, 2007)

Man what a great report! Tripletails are neat fish and unbelievable eating. The last one I caught was on a shad assassin jerkbait on a jighead. Thought for sure I was hung up on the bouy chain but the chain started moving. They are a challenging fish to catch.


----------



## fishallyear (Oct 24, 2007)

those are awesome! they look like giant, saltwater crappie to me.


----------



## gulfdreamin (Jul 7, 2008)

Man I bet that was a blast!! Nice fish and thanks for the pics.:clap:bowdown:clap


----------



## JEC (Oct 2, 2007)

Me and my co workers had a fish fry last night, with the fishme and Mdrobecaught, and they loved them, they were all asking what kind of fish they were eating, I said Tripletail, and none of them had never heard of tripletail. So to say the least, they are ready for some more.They are some good tasting fish.:hungry


----------



## mdrobe2 (Oct 12, 2007)

Here are the answers to the questions in the replies- we were using live shrimp for bait and the only time I asked the guide how deep it was he said about 12 feet. Thanks for the feedback everyone.


----------



## SemperFi-sh (Apr 26, 2008)

what's the best way to cook up some triple tail filets?


----------



## mdrobe2 (Oct 12, 2007)

JEC? How did you guys cook up the tripletails? I know the fillets looked good- at least an inch thick and firm white meat...come on JEC. I gave you the fish so you better post for these folks that want to know how to cook 'em up...


----------



## mdrobe2 (Oct 12, 2007)

Release your tripletails guys. I had no idea the pressure the fish would get when I posted. They can not take it. release them if you want to catch another!


----------



## Buckethead (Sep 2, 2008)

Nice catch, tasty fish, but none of those were 18 pounds.


----------



## mdrobe2 (Oct 12, 2007)

Glad you were able to weigh the fish with your computer buckethead. I apologize if it offends you that the guide's estimated weight on the largest fish was a bit generous. He is, after all, a fisherman.


----------

