# AWESOME TRIPLETAIL MASSACRE- PICS & VIDS from mdrobe2



## mdrobe2

My girlfriend is getting ready to go out of town for a while to do some consulting for the military so I was in a bind when Captain William Manci (owner of Eastern Shore Outfitters) called me and told me they were still putting a hurtin' on the tripletail over his way. Angela gave me a kitchen pass and even agreed to spend a little time on the water angling with me and Captain William, so off we went.Let's get this out of the way first...

Captain William Manci (251) 269-7463

http://www.easternshoreoutfitters.org/

He is a great guide- maybe the best I've fished with, and I've been all over LA, FL, AL, etc. Everything from yellowfin tuna to speckled trout to cobia, well you get the idea. *We went 21 for 30 today.*(Meaning we caught 21 fish of 30 we saw- kind of likecobia fishing. I did not mean to be obscure when I made the post)Please allow me a little leeway on the count. We saw so many fish and caught so many that none of us really knew for sure how the count went, We just knew we had the best tripletail trip Captain William has ever had and he is known for tripletail. They call him Captain Tripletail.We broke the previous record of 16 out of 17 that JEC and I set a few weeks ago.I got to meet Gary Finch of Gary Finch Outdoors TV show when we came in. He was taking his little girl out with Captain Williamafter our trip. I called the captain laterand he said they caught ten more, with the little girl fighting and landing 7 of them after her dad hooked them for her. She was maybe 7 and very nice to Angela and I.I thanked him for his TV show because that is where I foundout about the awesome tripletail fishery in Mobile. I called Captain William in Marchafter I saw the show and told him I was coming and he promised to call me back when they started running. That was in 2008 and JEC got a 27 inch fish that weighd 18 lbs. on that trip- we went 5 for 7- not bad, and some fatties in the mix. Without further ado, here are some pics...










Angela has a big smile on her face in this picture. For a non-angler she sure did seem to enjoy the fishing!










Angela and the captain pose with a fish.I promise not to post duplicate pics. We took a pic of every fish we released so we have more fish pics of released fish than we do of caught/kept fish.










Another fattie...










Angela shows the spines on a smaller fish...










Captain and angler...










Stringer...










Better shot of massive stringer...










Another shot of stringer with me and my better half...










Me with 2 of our larger fish...










We caught a fish with a tag in it that Gary Finch told us was released in MS. We would have let it go had we seen the tag when we caught it. In one of the videos you see us with the fish and the tag is clearly displayed but we did not notice it. Really bothered us that we didn't notice the tag and killed the fish. Had we known we would have taken the tag number and released the fish...

Captain William is going to call the number on the tag and report the fish was caught. Cool that he made it all the way to Mobile from MS.










Angela and the captain with a STUD we released...










Stud pic...










Everyone catches a small one once in a while...










Angela catches all the big fish. Hate that we had to let them go since we already had our limit, as many of the fish we released were quite a bit bigger than the fish we kept...










Bad picture of me but nice fish...

as I said, we took a pic of each one we let go and I want you all to see every one. Sorry for the long post!










Better pic of me with a big one...










Close up pic of a tripletail- I like the way their eyes are small and up on top of their heads but they have a big mouth-prompted meto reflect on how they live/feed...










I'm gonna close at this point and hope like hell this post goes through. More pics and vids to be addd later...mdrobe2


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## JoeZ

That's just awesome.

Tripletail are one of the bst fish to fight and land. Absolute beasts.

Y'all did very well.

If you ever get the itch, check out Jekyll Island, Ga for triples in June and July. They've got some honkers around 30 pounds. I think we averaged 12 poundsa fish but nowhere near the numbers y'all did. That's spectacular.


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## FenderBender

Wow, awesome report! I've always wanted to learn to target tripletail but aven't figured it out yet. I've only caught one in my life, probably 7 years ago in the mouth of the pearl river. Anyone have any luck catching them around pensacola?


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## mdrobe2

Thanks so much for the reply Joe Z. Videos are uploading as we speak, and I remembered you guys whooped 'em pretty good in GA...believe you got a stud, if I am not mistaken...


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## mdrobe2

FenderBender- I've been to the mouth of the Pearl but never saw a tripletail. PM me if you find any in our area- I still go to Mobile for mine! Thanks for the reply...Mike


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## JoeZ

I caught the baby -- 16 pounds -- and lost two that were pushing double that.

I'd trade for your day in heart beat.

Except for cleaning them, those things are armor plated. I'll take one jumbo on the table vs. a bucket of regulars.

Any tricks Capt. William passed along on that end?


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## Ultralite

that just rocks roberson! congrats to you and angela and good job capt.:bowdown...great report and enjoyed the pics...have your machine call mine...have a safe trip...



mikendale


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## De Anza Jig

awesome report....I've heard of people catching them in p-cola....but I've also only caught one in my life, on a Gulp!(completely by accident).... but i think very soon I'm gonna make a trip scouting any structure in open water withlive shrimp.


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## FenderBender

Mdrobe-

I caught mine right at lake Borgne casting a dead shrimp next to a channel marker. Probably 7 years ago and I haven't forgotten it, amazing fight! And I am embarrassed to say that at the time I dod not know what it was... I thought I had some type of giant prehistoric bream! Released him. One of these days I'm going to hit every channel marker in Pensacola bay with light line and live shrimp and just see what happens...


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## Jhoe

do you just float the shrimpies by the structure? put a light weight and let them fall? how do you even fish for these. i've never caught one or even heard of them till I found this forum.


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## mdrobe2

Captain William went through that stringer like child's play, but I did not watch him fillet them. We were at his Uncle's house- guy has a waterfront home on Fish River thati woulddie for. Looked like the captain went around the rib cage, but IDK. I gave the captain and his uncle 3 of the 9 fish limit we had because I still have fish left from last time, so why be greedy?. I would not have kept a limit again today if not for wanting to feed 8 people between all the families involved and releasing more than we caught!


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## JoeZ

> *Jhoe (7/3/2009)*do you just float the shrimpies by the structure? put a light weight and let them fall? how do you even fish for these. i've never caught one or even heard of them till I found this forum.


Our set up was a slip cork (not a popping cork) and live shrimp. I don't recall a weight but you just pitch to the structure or fish if you find a free ranger and yeah, let it sink.

Oh yeha, then hang on. Pound-for-pound, baddest thing I've set a hook in.


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## mdrobe2

Ultralite- I have a bag of fillets in the freezer with your name on it.I know Dale is the kitchen ninja, but tripletail Mama Deda's at Fisherman's Corner is right up there with the best fish I have ever eaten...


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## Jhoe

sounds like my next kayak trip. is it best to fish for these in the morning like trout?


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## JoeZ

Slakc tide. They're lazy and don't like to fight the current.

MD could best describe it though, more recent, more local.


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## Ultralite

isn't that one (3tail) in your avatar Z?...they are fine catchin' and fine eatin' fish and are of the pelagic family...i'm impressed and envious of your adventures mike with the capt. he knows his stuff fosho....


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## mdrobe2

Jhoe- I would not fish them in the AM. Tripletail like to lay on their side on the surface and act like structure, then when bait comes around to hide near them they pounce! I would fish them when the sun is high,

As an aside note, I wanted to add that Gary Finch gave me a 20 dollar Guy Harvey shirt for free. Custom T from the Red Snapper World Championship. He made an impression on me as a nice guy, for someone that fishes on TV. I drove by Roland Martin one time on the Bay Way in Mobile and theguy wouldn't even wave at me. Kudos to Gary Finch Outdoors for him being a class act and generous to boot!

http://www.garyfinchoutdoors.com/


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## mdrobe2

Yours truly, acting a fool and trying to coach my GF on how to catch a fish, as ifI know...


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## Ultralite

hahaha...good job angela and good technique mike...



gotta love the "ultralite" tackle...


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## mdrobe2

Yours truly gets SMOKED by a tripletail. We found a FAD (fish attracting device) while running and I got schooled by a fish. Not too proud to admit whenI get totally ruled by a 'tail.

Like an idiot, I even talk a little trash before the fish gets off...


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## JoeZ

> *Ultralite (7/3/2009)*isn't that one (3tail) in your avatar Z.


Yep. 

Those are awesome videos. "Child's play" I like it.


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## mdrobe2

Another video from our trip...


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## biggamefishr

you're killing me mike. another great trip, good job


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## mdrobe2

Anyone that has a few hundred bucks to spend on a trip can go with me next time. Hell,I was gonna invite someone from the forum to go with me for free if Angela opted out of the trip. PM me if you want to go on the best sight fishing trip of your life for some hard fighting tripletails.


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## mdrobe2

We saw some cool stuff on our trip. Tripletail are such a weird and wonderful fish- like cobia. We saw several free jump, and some of them were very large. We also saw them strike aggressivelyat a cork. Too bad the cork did nothave a hook in it. I was flat out amazed at times by the numbers of triples we saw/caught at a single spot.We worked some of the spots hard, and whileI was waiting to move on I would hook up- taught me a lot about work ethic and patience when it comes to fishing. I was also glad I had a guide- I could have done well on the 'tails in my boat fishing that area but having a guide makes all the difference when it comes to hooking a stubborn fish or just out and out knowledge and casting accuracy. Captain William whooped some arse and we caught several fish we would not have caught had we been on our own.


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## born2fizh

are these fish here in pensacola and no one fishes for them or what ?? makes me want to hook to the boat and head to mobile bay


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## mdrobe2

One more video link for you all. Thanks for all the replies and KEEP THEM COMING! I appreciate them all and love sharing my adventures with my forum brethren...Mike






This video is kind of funny to me. Also, anyone that gets on a good tripletail bite in Pensacola that shares info with me is in for a free trip with Captain William courtesy of me. I know they are probably here. Someone needs to man up and post a report. I know what it means to post reports as far as secrets getting out. I've posted 3 on the fishery in Mobile Bay and the fish are getting way more pressure now.


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## mdrobe2

> *JoeZ (7/3/2009)*I caught the baby -- 16 pounds -- and lost two that were pushing double that.
> 
> I'd trade for your day in heart beat.
> 
> Except for cleaning them, those things are armor plated. I'll take one jumbo on the table vs. a bucket of regulars.
> 
> Any tricks Capt. William passed along on that end?


Joe Z- The best part of the guided trip is when you get back to the dock and the guide cleans the fish! I had a set of Dexter Russels in the car but Captain William just sharpened up his fillet knife and went to work. Cleaned them quick! We had 3 HEAVY gallon freezerbags of fillets.I gave one of them to Captain William's uncle. I think the captain got a few out of the bag later, so it was all good. Everyone is eating tasty tripletail.


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## 2_Much_Time

:bowdown Great post! I probably spent a good 15 minutes on this one post between the dialogue, pics, and vids. I enjoyed it... great job on your trip; looked like loads of fun!


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## Ultralite

> *mdrobe2 (7/4/2009)*One more video link for you all. Thanks for all the replies and KEEP THEM COMING! I appreciate them all and love sharing my adventures with my forum brethren...Mike
> 
> 
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIPoSUYGsrY




dang mike! that's the best video of all...a very nice fish! funny stuff..."14lbs? more like 10...16 it is...he'll be 25 when it hits the forum" funny and so true when it come to fisherman...thanks again for the thread...



that last video kinda got to me a little...like, i need to go fishing...bad!


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## mdrobe2

> *Ultralite (7/3/2009)*hahaha...good job angela and good technique mike...
> 
> gotta love the "ultralite" tackle...


Leave it to the master angler and dock lightking M. Kirkland (Ultralite)to notice thatI was fishing for 10 pound fish with 10 pound line. That a boy! A lot goes unsaid in many posts, but the intuitive angler reads between the lines, so to speak!


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## mdrobe2

Kirkland- (Ultralite) I hate to tell you this, but I was gonna call you and see if you wanted to go on the trp with me Friday, but I was thinking you are off on Mondays and not Fridays, so I brought Angela. We need to go soon! I promise to drop some fillets off if you promise to have Dale cook them like she did those pompano you caught or else take them to The Corner for Mama Deda's...awesome...


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## Ultralite

yep mike, i've been off since last thursday...well, "off for a while"...we'll hook up soon...i enjoy the triple tail and rig reports very much...videos too...you are living the life there bro...back to work on tuesday so, come spend some dock time and share a beer or six...



mikendale


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## mdrobe2

> *FenderBender (7/3/2009)*Mdrobe-
> 
> I caught mine right at lake Borgne casting a dead shrimp next to a channel marker. Probably 7 years ago and I haven't forgotten it, amazing fight! And I am embarrassed to say that at the time I dod not know what it was... I thought I had some type of giant prehistoric bream! Released him. One of these days I'm going to hit every channel marker in Pensacola bay with light line and live shrimp and just see what happens...


FenderBender- Thanks for replying to my post. Wanted to let you know two things about the 'tails- don't use light line when you go on your outing. They will break you off in structure in nothing flat. Also, for years many people thought tripletails were not good to eat because of their habit of laying on their side on the surface. People thought they were sick. This is true. Please bring all the tripletails you catch to my house soI can dispose of them properly.


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## SolarFlare

That's an awesome report, thanks for the post and the report, and especially the pics!


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## mdrobe2

You trying to say Angela is more photogenic than Captain William and I Bay Pirate? Surely you jest! Glad you enjoyed the post and thanks for the reply. I don't think this report is going to get close to 3000 views like the one from a few weeks ago did. Too bad, cuz this was a better trip. At any rate I love the replies from everyone. It's whyI post, knowing full well the fish will getmore pressure.


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## SemperFi-sh

That's a whole lotta tail!!! Triple tail that is. Congrats on the haul. That's some good eating right there. :clap


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## bond007

<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">

Wow,,,,nice....:clap:clap:clap</BLOCKQUOTE>


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## ScullsMcNasty

now that is a great report!! i reallyenjoyed reading it! nice pics too


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## SCH

mdrob.....congrats on your great trips and your tagged fish!. Y'all should become part of the tagging program. It was started several years ago by the biologists at the Gulf Coast Research Lab over in Ocean Springs. There is a lot of concern about this fishery because fishing for triple tails has become the new "en vogue" thing and they are receiving a huge amount of pressure all up and down the Gulf Coast. In the old days, there was very little attention on this sport. Now, they are getting hammered. These fish are not very prolific reproducers and most of the fish under 18" aren't even sexually mature. These are the ones being kept....and most of them haven't even had a chance to breed. This is happening from Texas all the way to Florida.

The state regulations were all put in place when there was very little knowledge about these fish. Unfortunately, they want to have some science before they make any adjustments to limits. MS and LA don't have any regs on them at all!

The tagged fish you caught was probably tagged right there in that immediate area by any number of people that are over here participating in the program. The tagging and releasing of the fish becomes very addictive....it is very cool to actually get feedback on released fish. Nobody is saying that you shouldn't fish for them or that guides can't make a living fishing for them. If you really enjoy doing this so much....help us all protect the viability of the triple tails. Keep one or two to eat, but try to release as many as possible so that we can enjoy this in the future. There are a lot of guides that are participating in this program.....they find that their customers enjoy the tagging, and they don't have to keep (kill) full limits to have a great trip. They also aren't keeping the guide's limit as well.

Congrats again on your success.....please consider contacting Read Hendon at the Gulf Coast Research Lab and joining the program.


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## mdrobe2

I will likely contact him today. I had more to say in my previous post about conservation. Check it out. We released 12 fish on the trip discussed above.


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## SCH

mdrob.....I've read all of your posts.....once again, I'm happy for your success. 

Your posts have stirred up a lot of local discussion over here.......simply put, there are a lot of people that have been involved in this fisheryover here for many years. All I was trying to get across is that there really isn't any need to harvest (kill) so many of these fish because of the fact that they don't reproduce in large numbers. I really don't care if you catch 100 in a day.....just don't keep them all. Join the tagging program and be part of the solution. Keep a few to eat, and enjoy catching and releasing the rest. The limits aren't a true indicator of the health of the fishery....hopefully, we'll get that changed soon. Most people that enjoy this type of fishing will tell you that keeping full limits is not a good thing.

I'm gonna close out with saying that "it's all good"......I'm just asking for your help in protecting what we all enjoy!

And by the way, there are plenty of them over in your area if you will go looking for them.....good ones too!


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## mdrobe2

SCH- I talked to Read Hendon for about a half an hour yesterday. My tagging kit is on the way and he is sending one to Captain William too. I am glad my post has people talking just wish more of you would join the forum and post like you have. It's hard to release a fish you know is good to eat when you are paying 500 bucks for a trip and get to go maybe once or twice a year. That being said I believe my posts have shown me to be conservation minded and thatI have demonstrated a commitment to following the legal limits and learning as much about the fishery asI can so thatI can adopt angling practices that encourage sustainability within the fishery. There is a PM function on this forum that I would encourage you and your fellow anglers to use to contact me if you like, especially if you have any tips you can pass along on the tripletail fishery in my area. Perhaps the word "massacre" in my post title was chosen poorly,butI stand by my decision to keep a lawful limit and point to my first post as a better example of encouraging conservation. It is highly likely thatI will adopt a more conservation minded approach on future trips, but I reserve the right to keep a lawful limit should I so choose. That being said, I learned from Mr. Hendon that spawning sized female tripletails are 20" at the smallest, and not all the 20" fish are at sexual maturity, soI am following his advice and adopting a personal 18" minimum size for my creel on future trips, should one occur before the end of the season. In addition,I will think long and hard before keeping any fish over 20". Mr. Hendon did say that he personally did not feel that keeping a limit would negatively impact the fishery, but was more concerned about the size fish anglers keep. My personal tally for 3 trips I've taken over there is 23 tripletail kept, and 19 released. That is over the last 2 years (3 trips total), which is as long as I have known of the fishery. I was not going to post of my success at all, had Captain William not encouraged me to do so for the advertisement.Welcome to the forum.


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## mdrobe2

Ihave spoken at length with the folks at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory and found them to be personable and knowledgeable. More tripletail reports will be posted by me with the majority of fish being released.


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## Halfmoon

Awesome stuff right there!!!:bowdown


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## SCH

Mike,

The folks at GCRL are solid. They know their stuff. Based on what has been brought into the docks for the last several weeks....it could prove to be a difficult future for blackfish in our area. A lot of publicity of various types has made a lot of people start fishing for them.....and all of these juveniles (-20") are being hammered. Even rodeo officials have noted the number of small blackfish being brought in. I'm just trying to help get the message out about trying to release as many of these smaller fish as possible...that way we all have a chance at catching a true monster blacky like they did in the old days.

I'm happy for your recent success....and glad to hear you are going to help promote tagging and C&R!

BTW.....your tagged fish that youcaught was onethat I had tagged not very far from where you caught it. A lot of tagged fish have been caught and reported......exciting, but discouraging knowing that they are all getting killed before they can generate any good data for the biologists. Anyway, good fishing to you!


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## mdrobe2

> *SCH (7/20/2009)*Mike,
> 
> The folks at GCRL are solid. They know their stuff. Based on what has been brought into the docks for the last several weeks....it could prove to be a difficult future for blackfish in our area. A lot of publicity of various types has made a lot of people start fishing for them.....and all of these juveniles (-20") are being hammered. Even rodeo officials have noted the number of small blackfish being brought in. I'm just trying to help get the message out about trying to release as many of these smaller fish as possible...that way we all have a chance at catching a true monster blacky like they did in the old days.
> 
> I'm happy for your recent success....and glad to hear you are going to help promote tagging and C&R!
> 
> BTW.....your tagged fish that youcaught was onethat I had tagged not very far from where you caught it. A lot of tagged fish have been caught and reported......exciting, but discouraging knowing that they are all getting killed before they can generate any good data for the biologists. Anyway, good fishing to you!


I got the report on our tagged fish. I know you caught it first. AsI said in the post, had we known it was a tagged fish when we caught it we would have released it. We did not see the tag. I hope you get the opportunity to release a lot of tagged fish that have my tags on them in the future.


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## SCH

Mike,

I'm looking forward to recapturing and releasing some with your tags in them. I want you to know that I was only pointing out that that tagged fish you caught was tagged right in the area y'all caught him in....not in Mississippi where Gary Finch indicated....who cares about who caught him first...nothing to brag about anyway since he was only 17".

I was glad to seeWilliam Manciin today's newspaper with Gary Finch....they were ina story about the tagging program.This is good coverage on a hot topic over here right now and it's good to see them participating.

Get back out there and catch some fish and send them off with some jewelry! Good fishing to ya.


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## mdrobe2

Thanks SCH. I won't be making another tail trip this year butI appreciate your good humor about the whole thing.I support releasing fish to sustainthe fishery whole heartedly. Next year's reports will indicate my convictions. I have 5 tags andI want 5T shirts from the folks at the lab. Release posts coming in 2010 I hope!


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## mdrobe2

I talked to Captain William not long ago and he said the tails have pretty much dried up over his way and they only got one 20 pounder this year. That is as clear a sign as I need to tell me I need to release a lot more tails next season. Let's not fish these fine fish out people.


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## mdrobe2

Since this post has almost 3500 views now and I have been reading about the tripletail fishery from Louisiana to FloridaI would like to reiterate that these fish need to be released andI will not keep a limit again. If you like catching tripletails keep one or two and let the rest go or tag them, unless you want to lose the tripletail fishery in your area due to commercial or recreational over fishing.


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