# Just When You Thought....



## bellafishing (Oct 1, 2007)

Just when you thought the perfect day wouldn't happen, it DID! We headed out to the rigs Fri. night. After a few unscheduled pit stops (Witnessed a wreck in Pace and stopped to help out) we managed to finally get on the water and start our trip out. Made it to the rigs just before sunrise. Petronius looked like a parking lot, and we weren't marking much on the bottom machine, so we moved on to a rig just south of there. Got to the rig and there were no boats to be seen. We started marking fish and it looked like a rip was starting to form on the rig. We decided to stay and see what would happen despite the report of YFT at Marlin. Jigged up a bunch of blackfins and started catching skip jack as well. Dano decided to start chunking and we hooked up within 10 minutes of starting our chunk line. Line peels off the 50W, we get it to the boat and Dano yells, "WAHOO!" Not a bad start 40lb'er goes in the box. Circle around and start a drift again, rod hooks up and heads for the bottom. Dano takes the rod and jacks up a nice 75-80lb YFT. Gaff him in the head and he manages to bend my damn gaff. We sling him in the boat and cut his throat. We've now been fishing about an hour and a half and we already have about 120lbs of meat in the boat. Not a bad start. In the mean time my son is throwing a popper off the front of the boat and manages to hook into what looked to be a 40lb YFT. It took off like a bat out of hell, but eventually broke the line. Outta Line showed up and trolled around the rig giving us plenty of room, that was much appreciated. We raised them on the radio and told them what we caught while chunking and told them they were welcome to join in if they liked. They reported catching a few 40-50lb YFT on the troll, so we thought we'd give trolling a shot since the chunk bite started to die off. We picked up several skip jack and blackfin tuna. Then it happened. I was talking to my son and heard the rigger clip pop. I look back to see a 200lb Blue Marlin bill the lure as Dano free-spools it. The fish ate like a pro, turned, ran, and started tail-walking and shaking his head like crazy! I take the rod and the other lines start getting cleared. The reel I was using starts F'ing up, so I'm having to pull the line with my hand and wind it onto the reel. Good times! We then realize that the fish has tangled the line in our shotgun line, so my son takes the other rod and we tag-team the fish boatside. Dano leaders the fish like a pro and gets him by the bill. I take it for a few pictures. We revive the fish and he swims off to fight another day, and I have my first blue marlin....finally!!! After all the excitement, we decide to take a break and eat some lunch. After all, it's only about 10:30. We then decide that it's time to complete the Pelagic slam. We troll towards Marlin and our first pass at Marlin produces a 25lb cow mahi. Un-f'ing believable! Dano fights the fish boatside and I grab the gaff. Remember the tuna f'ing up my gaff? I hit the fish in the shoulder and as I lift herup, the gaff pulls through the back meat and out the dorsal fin. She circles and I straight up miss the 2nd gaff shot and she finally pulls the hook. Oh well, still a slam in my book!! We left the rigs by 1:30 and hit the pass with flags flying! By far the greatest day of fishing I have ever experienced. I couldn't have asked for a better crew and I know it's memories we will be looking back on for years. I told my son that this is one of those trips that he will be telling his kids about one day. Water was blue blue, temp was around 75. 

Bob


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## SUNDAY-FUNDAY (Apr 17, 2008)

great day..... congrats on the late season bill!!!


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## User6882 (Feb 4, 2009)

what a report, first bill ive heard of in quite some time :bowdown


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

Good job and congrats on your first blue. Did you troll that rig (deepwater nautilus?) that is in the picture behind the boat? I wonder if the cow you caught was the one that accompanied the bull I got that night. It looked to be about 25lbs. I think I may have heard you on the radio but I don't remember.

Hopefully we'll get a couple more shots at them before the weather gets real nasty.


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## NaClH2O (Feb 14, 2008)

Congrats on your first Blue. Did you get to take a dip back at the dock? Great report.

Team Recess

Rob


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## Fiver (Nov 6, 2008)

awesome report! glad someone was able tosmack some pelagics here at the end of the season!


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## reel_crazy (Oct 1, 2007)

awesome trip.. sometimes it just works out.. 

rich


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## recess (Oct 8, 2007)

Nice report and some nice pictures also. Congrates on the Blue. Gene


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## Outa Line II (Nov 19, 2007)

Mannfish, great job on the BLUE and your other fish! We chunked for about 30 minutes after talking to you on the radio, but had no takers. Left and went to Marlin and put out the billfish spread. Trolled Marlin and Beercan without any luck. Headed north of Beercan and started running into good bait schoolsin 1200ft of water. Trolled around wads of bait and the reminents ofa weedline (that linewas nw of Petronis on Friday and had wahoo on it) for 2 hourswithout any success. Eventually moved inshore and tried for wahoo around a few of the shallower rigs nw of Beercan but notta. Ended the day with 5 yellowfin to 50#, a mess of blackfin and skipjack.

Did find a small oil slick in around 400' of water. Probably an acre in size. It stunk, smelled like crude. Never run into anything like that before.

Again congrats on the bill and thanks for letting us in to try our hand at chunking. What a beautiful day we were blessed with!

See ya on the rip,

Rick

'OUTA LINE' 36' Albemarle


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## bellafishing (Oct 1, 2007)

Thanks again guys! I didn't take a dip just because it was so damn cold. Outta Line, it was nice to talk with yall on the water. Glad you caught some nice fish! Gene, I tried to raise yall on the water. Heard you had some beef with a deepwater grouper? Hope you got him! The rig we trolled was actually the ocean America. It's a floater that I've never seen before, but it had white lights on it and it was only about 10 miles south of Petronius. Seeing that marlin pop up was the greatest late season surprise ever!! Can't wait to get out there again!!! Outta line, that's a nice ride you guys have! I think if I ever get another sport fisher, it will be an Albermarle. 



Bob


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## cobe killer (Apr 13, 2008)

greta job on your first blue!!!:clap:clap that sure does sound like a day for the book of top memories. i will get out there soon and get my first YFT. hopefully this weekend. again greta job!:clap


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## Kim (Aug 5, 2008)

Great report on a great trip. You got yourself a late season Blue Marlin and it sounded like he fought like the champ he is. Don't be a wuss, cold or not it's a rite of passage to take a dip at the dock. You still owe the billfish one!!!

Kim


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## user6993 (Feb 15, 2009)

> *Kim (11/16/2009)*Great report on a great trip. You got yourself a late season Blue Marlin and it sounded like he fought like the champ he is. Don't be a wuss, cold or not it's a rite of passage to take a dip at the dock. You still owe the billfish one!!!
> 
> Kim


+1 Bob Take the swim . There was a young lady that did not take the swim a few months ago.After catching a sailfish.And look what happen. We had a TS hit us. Moved the blue water out. And Lord knows what else will happen if you don't take the swim. 

Bob, Tim did battle with a big gag. We were able to limit on Snowy's and a few yellow's with a kitty mitchell also.We were just to the east of you about 20 miles. I just never heardyourcall on 68. Gene Team Recess


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## Captain Woody Woods (Oct 2, 2007)

> *bellafishing (11/16/2009)*Thanks again guys! I didn't take a dip just because it was so damn cold.



oh man....you've done it now, bob. that's like breaking a whole truckload of mirrors, and stopping to let 100 black cats cross the road in front of you.


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## Captain Woody Woods (Oct 2, 2007)

> *tunapopper (11/16/2009)*Good job and congrats on your first blue. Did you troll that rig (deepwater nautilus?) that is in the picture behind the boat? I wonder if the cow you caught was the one that accompanied the bull I got that night.



Chris, it's hard to tell from that picture, but that rig (Ocean America) is that orange one not far from Petronius. I may be wrong. nautilus is grey

and as for the dolphin, it's probably the same fish. i mean after all, there's probably only two dolphin between petronius and horn mountain. :shedevil


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

Did ya'll pull anything off the O.A? I thought about swinging over there the next morning but said the hell with it and went home. 

That rig looks pretty gray in the pic to me and the dolphin questionwas more of a humorous thing Woods.


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## bellafishing (Oct 1, 2007)

We caught all the fish except the Mahi at O.A. It is due south of petronius. It is the rig in the background of the picture. I will take a swim this weekend just to make sure that I don't jinx myself forever!! Wish it would lay down to make it back out there this weekend!! Sure would like some more YFT in the freezer! Gene, you guys need to get out there! Next thing we'll be seeing is, " Five man limit of grouper AND YFT" !

Bob


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## Magic236 (Oct 1, 2007)

Congrats one your first Blue. Glad y'all had a great day on the water, especially this late in the season.


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## lobsterman (Sep 30, 2007)

Good job on the Blue.


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## Eastern Tackle (Jul 6, 2009)

I would count it as slam also. Pretty work on the trip.


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## Heller High Water (Nov 1, 2007)

Bob great work son! Looks like we missed out, I heard you a few times on the radio, I am sure everyone in S LA waters heard me call. I bet Dano was lovin that spread! Captain good work and we will have to run two boats out there soon. Great pics and the boy is getting big! He must have grown a foot in the last year, all that pelagic meat is making him big. Thanks for posting.


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## Matt09 (Jun 6, 2008)

Great report.


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## Travis Gill (Oct 6, 2007)

Great Report! You better go take that swim or you will never catch another!


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