# The rigs with Mike 7-17/18



## Kim (Aug 5, 2008)

Once again we made a trip out to the rigs with Mike. Looking at Hiltons I kind of thought we would have some decent water South of Petronius and that fishing around Beer Can, Marlin and ram Powell might be good.

We left SCM a couple hours earlier than usual so we could get some live bait into the bait well and then trolled a little while for some Bonito for chunking. Once we had that laid to rest we head South to the rigs. The water was pretty dirty all the way there. We didn't see any rips, lots of Hard Tails busting on small surface bait here and the all the way out to the rigs and the only weed line we saw was a few miles North of Petronius.

Two big schools of Hard Tails busting the surface on small bait was the welcome sign at Beer Can, or so we thought. We spent most of the afternoon chunking and live baiting. We did a good bit of catching but unfortunately the YFT were all in the 18" range so no keepers. We brought in some more Bonita for chunking, enough big Hard Tails to supply a bait boat for a Marlin tournament and even a few Almaco Jacks for the fish box. I'm not sure if anyone kept count but we probably jigged up about 20 of those schoolie YFT.

We decided to troll some small lures with Ballyhoo for the sunset bite. I forgot to rig up the baits earlier so it was a rush to get them into the water but we managed. Not a single strike on the trolled lures, not even a Hard Tail and we were having a serious fishing experience by then. All we could do is watch the spread and the pretty girls on the RV that was out there when we went past them doing laps around the rig. The bite didn't happen, the sun did finally set and it was a glorious sight.

As dusk deepened into night we dropped a few jigs prospecting for Black Fin and talked about what to do next. Based on the conditions, catching and fishing we had done it was decided to head to Petronius and give it a shot for Black fin. Lots of activity at Petronius, a couple service vessels there and couple standing off a ways from the rig as well. The first thing we noticed was the pod of about 30 feeding Dolphins and we all know what that means.

Since we were there we went ahead and dropped some Jigs to see how we would do. No surprise that we started bringing up big Hard Tails and schoolie YFT. The Tax Men were ready and waiting to add to their collections of Salt Life jewelry and they did. It didn't take long for us to decide our best course of action would be to point the boat North at a nice easy speed, set the watch and let everyone else bunk down for a little sleep.

No box full of fish to show for the trip but we did have some fun and did share our time in good company. This was a great crew and I enjoyed fishing with them and look forward to the next trip out. With a little luck next time we will get to do a little keeping to go along with the catching that we do!

Right now it's like Captain Woody and the long leg range guys are saying. If you really want to put some fish in the box you need to be able to run that extra 40 - 60 miles SE to where the water and bait conditions are holding fish.


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## Mikvi (Mar 11, 2008)

Kim

Thanks for posting. I'm still bummed out from the trip  Good crew even though I was in a crappy mood. Just waiting for better water.


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## Cant.Git.Enuf (Jan 21, 2013)

I think I was the one in a CRAPPY mood. Had a blast fellas.


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## WhyMe (Apr 21, 2013)

Great report, sorry to hear about not filling the box 
Maybe next time things will change.
WhyMe 
Mako My Dayo


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## kiefersdad (Apr 26, 2013)

*Fishing for fun*

The water was flat and the sun was hot the wind was not and the fish was not got. Oh well. That's fishing. If the tax man stayed away from the door and we did exactly the same thing we would have had some fish. That ole taxman cometh. So we go eth. If it wasn't for no fish it would have been a day to brag about. So close. My new jigs came in today by FEDEX so watch out next time.


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## Captain Woody Woods (Oct 2, 2007)

Did yall not get to see my report before yall left about those rigs being in dirty water? Not sure if yall left before I posted it..


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## Mikvi (Mar 11, 2008)

Captain Woody Woods said:


> Did yall not get to see my report before yall left about those rigs being in dirty water? Not sure if yall left before I posted it..


We were on the water 2 hours before you posted.


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## SnapperSlapper (Feb 13, 2009)

Do you have any pictures of the schoolie yellowfins? I've never seen them at 18", just curious what they look like. Sounds like there were some big ones in open water, and some down around the hub. We went on down past thunderhorse and never found the yellowfins, but we spent most of our time trolling for billfish and not really tuna fishing. By the way, bluewater was just south of blind faith and heading away fast.


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## bcahn (Jan 10, 2013)

Well that sucks, glad to hear you guys are safe in port!


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