# Fishing Loyds Ridge



## Kim (Aug 5, 2008)

Mike has been frustrated with the lack of blue water around here so he decided to head out far to Loyds Ridge area to see if he could hook up with Mr Blue. We left early Friday afternoon and headed south 183 degrees. Mike Tolbert, his son Morgan and his nephew Chris and myself comprised the crew for this trip. 










We headed out the pass, got past the congested area and put out a three rod spread as we trolled on the way out. Before the third rod was set, fish on! Morgan reeled it in and it was a big Bonito, we kept it for bait. Reset the spread and a few minutes later, fish on again. This time Chris reeled it in and it was a keeper King, it went into the fish box. We continued on our way and about 17 miles out, fish on again! This time the rod was bowed over so Chris took it. This fish was peeling line off in a respectable fashion. About 15 minutes later the gaff sinks in and a serious Hooter is pulled into the boat.










Reset the spread and continue on our way until dark with out anymore knock downs. All in all a good start to a fishing trip. At sunset we pulled in all lines and continued on to Loyds Ridge with speed set to get us there just before sunrise. It was a beautiful sunrise to say the least.










We greeted the sunrise and blue water with a seven rod spread and trolled south southeast of Loyds Ridge. We saw one other boat that morning, no baitfish busting the surface anda few flyers here and there. By the time we were 20 miles south south east of Loyds we decided to head north skirting up near the box. About 2 hours later we were rewarded with a screaming drag. Mr Blue was a whopper, he jumped when he hit the lure and he was head and shoulders out of the water when he put the pedal to the metal. We never saw that fish again. He was heading west like a freight train. Full drag didn't slow down the rate at which he peeled line off the reel so in desperation I tried to clamp down on the spool with my hand in an effort to slow or turn him. Needless to say I should have put my gloves on first because the added friction just gave me some pretty neat line burns on my hand and he just kept taking line until there were a couple layers of line on the spool and the line finally parted. 










Heading north seemed to be working so we continued in that direction. Nothing was happening, no Dolphin, no tuna and no Hoos. Things were slow and we just enjoyed an atmosphere of comraderie and a beautiful day. In the middle of the afternoon we get a knock down and it's fish on again. Morgan is on the rod and doing what he does best, fishing. He just turned 13 and there is not the slightest doubt in my mind that he is going to grow into a world class fisherman. He played this fish like a concert violinist all the way to the boat. It's a big Sailfish and we brought him into the boat for a quick photo before we revived him and sent him on his way. 



















The Sail fish revived pretty quick and he was soon on his way back home. Morgan had a smile plastered on his face that you couldn't have scrubbed off with a brillo pad and we were 1 for 2 on billfish. Later in the afternoon we got another knock down. I saw the hit and it was only a splash at the surface and the fish headed for the bottom. About this time I was thinking, great a tuna. This fish had taken more than half the line off an 80 wide by the time I had him slowed and finally stopped. At that point I was thinking to myself that this has got to be a big yellowfin because he headed straight down and planned on staying there. This is the time that it is good to have a great crew at your back. I was wrapped up in a harness getting line back a few cranks of the handle at a time and Chris was hanging onto the back of me helping me keep my balance and maneuver back and forth across the deck, Morgan would pour water down my throat every time I cried for water like a baby and Mike was busy keeping the line from under the boat where that fishy devil insisted on staying. Every time this fish eased up enough on the rod, Mike would bump us forward and plane him up a bit and make it easier for me to regain a few yards of line. About an hour and bucket of sweat later, the eye of the leader broke the surface and the fish made another run, a short one this time because he tangled the leader in the running gear. I still had no idea what the fish was so i decided to go under the boat and take a look. Turns out it was a nice Blue Marlin, so I popped to the surface and asked for a lure to be dropped to me. I'd hook him with that and cut the fouled line and they could pull him to the surface. It worked out perfect. 










Mr Blue fought hard and we were all worried that he might die. So I stayed on the swim platform as Mike eased us along to keep water moving across his gills, I removed the hooks and stayed with the reviving effort. 





































After 10 minutes or so he started getting color back in his stripes and we all cheered! This fish was going to make it just fine. We nursed him along for about another 20 minutes as he regained his strength and finally was able to start putting power in his tail sweeps. He finally lunged forward and I pushed his head down and we watched him swim off back into the depths. It's pretty close to sundown by then and since we were 2 for 3 on billfish we decided to keep heading north towards home. We set our speed so that dawn would find us 15 miles out from the edge to give us a shot at some Dolphin and Hoos. 



















We left our spread out until just about dark and then brought them in. Morgan put a three spread out hoping to snag a Tuna and he asked me if I had any lures that glowed in the dark. I just happened to have one, a Williamson Diablo, so he put it out. About 15 minutes later, a rubberband pops off and it's another fish on. This time Mike takes the rod and tells us " I think it's just a big Bonito". He brings it in and now we have a Blackfin tuna to add to the fishbox. 










After a great day of fishing Mike decided it was time for a little celebration and he put some rib eye steaks on the grill that he marinated in his secret sauce, along with some baked potatoes with all the trimmings and a salad it was the dinner to end a perfect day. We went 2 for 3 on billfish and added a tuna to the fishbox, all in all a pretty good day of fishing. 










Sunrise found us with a seven rod spread out and we were heading north towards home. The water was pretty flat and we had a nice seabreeze to keep us cool as we trolled along. As we trolled north, we watched the boats as they were coming south for their day of fishing and smiled as we enjoyed the day. We didn't get anymore knock downs but it was a beautiful morning and we enjoyed it and each other's company. We got back to San Destin around noon, got the fish off the boat to clean and to cut some Hooter steaks. 



















We didn't come back in with a fishbox packed with meat. That's not what we went out there for, we lost a Marlin, tagged and released another as well as a Sailfish. We did have a lot of fun and it was great to share the company of friends while doing so and we had some fish to share for some great future dinners. 



Kim


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## Magic236 (Oct 1, 2007)

What did the water look like at the Edge and where the 'hoo was caught. Sounds like a good trip, it's a shame to go all the to Lloyds's and not knock it out of the park....


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## Kim (Aug 5, 2008)

Jim, I'm sorry that I didn't finish the post before you read it, but I was too tired to finish it last night. I just finished it on edit and added pics, I hope you enjoy the entire post if you read it again. The water out at the edge is still green, but there is a lot of bait fish out there including flyers. We caught the Hoo exactly 17 miles south of Cb bouy on a heading of 183 degrees. The water there was pretty much dirty green. We checked his stomach contents and found that he had been feasting on baitfish. We also saw some scattered weed lines from 120 miles out up to the north end of the Squiggles. It was too scattered to do anything more than keep you busy clearing weed groupers as far as trolling was concerned. I'm sure there are some bigger patches out there that may be holding some fish but we didn't look for them. the current is stringing the weeds out east to west if that's any help for you.

Kim


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## MSViking (Oct 11, 2007)

Simply outstanding! That report is exactly how it supposed to be! 100% perfect!

MScontender (a yacht wannabe!)


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## Xiphius (Oct 10, 2007)

Wow nice trip and that is a BIG sailfish! Congratulations on the billfish and wahoo


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## bluffman2 (Nov 22, 2007)

GREAT report.....glad you all had a fun and rewarding trip...AND THANK YOU for the extra time and effort to make sure the fish went on to live another day :bowdown


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## Magic236 (Oct 1, 2007)

Awesome, trip and great post. That is a heck ofa way to get the Blue to the boat!


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## lobsterman (Sep 30, 2007)

Yes fantastic story and some great pics as well.


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## curtpcol (Sep 29, 2007)

Good Job- Great Pics & Post

Thanks


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## daddytime (Oct 1, 2007)

Awesome report and pics. Thanks a ton for sharing. Nice job. Can't wait to get out there.:usaflag


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## Fiver (Nov 6, 2008)

awesome post. Thanks!


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## seeryfly (Jul 13, 2009)

Nice report. Glad someone found some blue water


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## big blue (Jun 28, 2008)

Pretty work!


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## T (May 20, 2009)

Great pics!


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