# Rig Fishing in Venice, LA



## matttheboatman (Aug 25, 2008)

<P align=left>We took the "My Share" 32' Regulator out of Venice yesterday with Capt. Ed, Capt. Steve, and myself from Signature Yacht Shares / Destin, FL. The river was coooold but the winds were from the east and not too bad. <P align=left>We ran down South Pass and trolled around Lena Rig. Just seconds after a crew boat reported no sign of life, our 50wide started screaming - it was on the hot pink Stretch 30. One decent wahoo in the boat. On the next pass, it was even more fun. An estimated 150lb Mako grabs the pink and comes flying out of the water. These things jump higher than a tarpon! It jumped 7 times before he cut the line. This was really an awesome site - most fun ever loosing a fish! We continued toward the Medusa rig, and made a stop by Discover Americas. The drill ship let us know not to get too close so we continued to the Medusa. The water temp was 70 degrees and plenty of bait around the rig. We trolled and hooked up a small yellowfin on the first pass. We switched over to jigging, but with no luck. We tried chucking but got covered up by sharks. So, we set up the troll again and got 2 more small yellowfin - one on red/white Stretch 30 and one on red/white cedar plug. <P align=left>It was getting late so we headed in. We decided to make one more stop at a rig (name withheld) and it was wahoo city. On the first pass, all 3 lines start screaming. The first line got cut off, the second line turned out to be a 40# hooter, and the third line felt like we hooked a submarine. It took 30 minutes on a 50 wide to get the fish to the boat, but it was not a wahoo. It turned out to be a really stubborn 80lb Amberjack! On the next pass, the 50 wide started screaming and didn't slow down with full drag - best bite of the day. Unfortunately, we pulled the hook on this one after he turned toward the boat and the captain failed to throttle up (my mistake!). Darn, but with the sun setting we left the fish biting. Winter conditions make things a little difficult, but it is well worth it!<P align=left><P align=left>







<P align=left>Matt


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

Nice report Matt, shame on the stud AJ but then again I don't know if i'd want to eat one that big anyhow.

Thanks for sharing


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## Lil' Ti (Feb 16, 2009)

Great trip Matt. Glad to hear the Ice pack receded long enough for you guys to get out and catch em'. Wish I could of been there.


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