# Yankee Capts (Key West Head Boat)



## jim t (Sep 30, 2007)

I got a chance to join a group of buddies and fish from the Yankee Capts out of Stock Island (next island from Key West).






YankeeCapts | YankeeCapts Offshore Fishing







yankeecapts.com





There were 17 of us on a boat that can handle twice that number. We fished "Pulley Ridge" and a couple other spots nearby. 160+ miles Northwest of Key West.

Boat is in good shape. Captain, 3 mates, and a cook.

Started loading rods and stuff at 2:30 pm. Left Stock Island at 5:00 pm on Monday. Arrived back in Stock Island Thursday morning at 6:00 am.

Boat cruises at about 12 knots (?) (a bit too fast for lipped plugs for Wahoo but great for other high speed lures).

We tried for a 3 or 4 hours between spots every evening and morning for Wahoo. No luck. One Barracuda. That's unusual according to the crew.

Played poker and told stories on the first night.

Breakfast served at about 7:30 day 2.

ALL the meals were GREAT. No complaints about quality or quantity.

First lines in the water at about 9:00 am. in 600' to 700' of water. Used Electric reels and 30-50# 8 foot long rods. Fished a few spots, sometimes an hour or so between spots. Some guys were slow jigging in 600' of water. Dead bait worked just as well.

Longer rods help with avoiding tangles. They insist upon a 30' top shot of mono. That makes untangling easier for the mates. Most of the time they could save all lines. Sometimes you'd need to retie a hook or a bottom rig. The mates know their craft.


Plenty of keeper fish from big Queen Snapper, big Yellow Eye Snapper, smallish Blue lined Tile Fish, Scamp, various deep water Grouper. One very nice Kitty Mitchell.

Picked up around 7:00 pm and ran into shallower water. (200'-300') Dropped a drogue anchor around 11:30 pm and we could fish all night long.


I was beat, so I slept. But more snapper, grouper and the Blackfin Tuna bite went hot for an hour or so. A sailfish was cruising around for awhile. Tuna were almost all caught by guys jigging.

Second day, we cruised back to deep water and went back to electric reels. Same story. sometimes the bite was hot. Sometimes it slowed.

We quit fishing at about 6:00 pm on day 2. Played poker, told stories, slept and was dockside at 6:05 am.

Unloaded. I was in line for my fish to be filleted, so I got on the road around 9:00 am.

GREAT trip, I'd do it again in a heartbeat, though probably not in the heat of summer.

It's a bare boned boat for comfort, sleeping cots are okay, headroom worse than USN standards, maybe 18". For some reason they used red lights day and night in the sleeping quarters. Sleeping quarters had very good air conditioning. The common area was not air conditioned.

As you might expect, the boat smells of fish and sweat. No big deal.

Bathrooms are bare boned, but adequate. Fresh water is limited, the shower was turned on Wednesday night. We left the dock on Monday evening, arrived Thursday morning. You learn to use a water bottle to wet and wash your hair, bring a wash cloth and a bar of soap for everything else.

Captain and crew were great. The cook was a nice lady and the food was top notch.

Cost:

$750 (we got a NICE discount because our buddy knew the Captain. Usually it's $900 or so)

Meal plan (HIGHLY recommended): $150 or so.

Tips: $200 or so.

Some pictures...



















































When I got home to Key Largo I spent more than an hour vacuum packing the fish. I weighed it. Over 22 pounds of fillets.

Jim

I did NOT catch the fish in the pictures, just showing the variety. EVERYBODY caught a lot of fish

The Yankee Capts has been on a few TV shows.



https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=yankee+capts


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## halo1 (Oct 4, 2007)

Awesome report!


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## DLo (Oct 2, 2007)

Great report Jim, looks like y'all had a good trip


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## Walton County (Aug 23, 2016)

Been talking about a yankee capt trip for a long time. That’s as far as I have gotten.

congrats! Looks like fun!


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## jwilson1978 (Mar 23, 2021)

Walton County said:


> Been talking about a yankee capt trip for a long time. That’s as far as I have gotten.
> 
> congrats! Looks like fun!


Me to and at this point and time It would be cheaper for me living in Tuscaloosa to load my gear up in one of the wife's cars and make and pay for the trip there. Than to drag and fill my boat up and go to O.B.. And I get to fish and not drive the boat.LOL


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## jim t (Sep 30, 2007)

I was lucky in that we had only 17 fishermen. We all fished from one side of the boat (we were all fishing down current). If you have more, they will fish from both sides. The guys up current will be fishing way under the boat. That causes a lot of tangles.

Hence the need for longer rods when on the wrong side of the boat.

Jim


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## Corpsman (Oct 3, 2007)

Great trip! Thanks for the report!


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## FishnLane (Oct 1, 2007)

AWESOME report Jim T. Very detailed, I could almost smell the fish and sweat! Great Opportunity!


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## H2OMARK (Oct 2, 2007)

Enjoyed the post and pictures Jim. Were all 17 in your circle or was there another group of guys involved?


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## jim t (Sep 30, 2007)

H2OMARK said:


> Enjoyed the post and pictures Jim. Were all 17 in your circle or was there another group of guys involved?


I knew a few of the guys. We were all friends of Jon Hettel who used to be a member here. He is retired Navy Senior Chief, now lives in Key West.

Jim


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## H2OMARK (Oct 2, 2007)

jim t said:


> I knew a few of the guys. We were all friends of Jon Hettel who used to be a member here. He is retired Navy Senior Chief, now lives in Key West.
> 
> Jim


You're in Largo right? Didn't you first go to Jacksonville after you retired?


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## jim t (Sep 30, 2007)

Yep, Key Largo. I also have a place in Jacksonville Beach.

Jim


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## specktackler57 (May 15, 2011)

Very nice report and pics. Looks like a blast.


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## Sea-r-cy (Oct 3, 2007)

I went on the same trip a few years ago, enjoyed, lots of fish, don't think I'd do it again. Sleeping quarters are spooky and hard to get into and out of the bunks, I saw first hand a fist fight break out between a deck hand and a customer.


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## reel_crazy (Oct 1, 2007)

nice .. rho ya had me worried with the "out of stock island" .. part .. 

rich


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## Fargo007 (Jun 2, 2020)

I used to go out on that boat to George's bank and Cashes ledge out of Gloucester with my grandfather. Some of the best memories I have.


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## jim t (Sep 30, 2007)

Sea-r-cy said:


> I went on the same trip a few years ago, enjoyed, lots of fish, don't think I'd do it again. Sleeping quarters are spooky and hard to get into and out of the bunks, I saw first hand a fist fight break out between a deck hand and a customer.


I agree, the bunks are very clumsy to get in and out.

Jim


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## TheBeeDeeGee (Oct 3, 2017)

Sea-r-cy said:


> I went on the same trip a few years ago, enjoyed, lots of fish, don't think I'd do it again. Sleeping quarters are spooky and hard to get into and out of the bunks, I saw first hand a fist fight break out between a deck hand and a customer.


I watched a walk-through of the boat on YouTube, man that brought back memories of being on shitty "research vessels" back in my younger days. I wouldn't do it again, but glad y'all caught fish. Looked like the bunks didn't even have curtains how the hell do you sleep with that red light on all night?


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## jim t (Sep 30, 2007)

TheBeeDeeGee said:


> I watched a walk-through of the boat on YouTube, man that brought back memories of being on shitty "research vessels" back in my younger days. I wouldn't do it again, but glad y'all caught fish. Looked like the bunks didn't even have curtains how the hell do you sleep with that red light on all night?


Well nobody slept well the first night. Everybody was exhausted the second night so it was easy. Third night I was still tired so I slept a bit, but not great and was up at 5:00 am to watch us go back into the keys.

When I got home I slept 12 hours without getting up to pee, so I was deep in sleep debt for sure.

I used to fly internationally, with random sleep patterns so I got used to using a sleep mask.

This is the best, most comfortable, mask I've found.









Amazon.com : Earth Therapeutics Mind/Body Therapy Sleep Mask, Cotton, Silk, 1 mask (Pack of 2) : Health & Household


Amazon.com : Earth Therapeutics Mind/Body Therapy Sleep Mask, Cotton, Silk, 1 mask (Pack of 2) : Health & Household



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Jim


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