# Betty B, 7/24/12---WTF!!!



## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

You know its coming. You've had several good trips in a row and somewhere in the back of your head there is a feeling of "when is it gonna happen", that trip where things just won't go right. Well....

We (Philip,Sam,Ted,Alan and myself) left Barber's around 6:00 and made it to the Nipple around 7ish. Lines were in about 10 minutes before we got hooked up on a Yo-Zuri Bonito. Thinking Wahoo, we were pleasantly surprised to a nice Dolphin. Shortly after, there was a big eruption on the shotgun but missed only to come back a second later and hook up. Ted grabs the rod and after a few minutes the hooks pull. No sweat, theres plenty of action, we'll get him next time. Over the next hour, we get bit 6 more times and lose every fish. 2 were definitely wahoo, judging by the clean cut baits or extremely toothed up leaders, the others were mystery bites. 

About 9:30, we get hooked up to a White Marlin. A nice run and a couple jumps and he is on good. Alan starts working on the White and.....slack line, fish is gone. WTF! About 5 minutes later another White shows up and comes up behind a daisy chain and sticks his whole head out as if to see who's on board and then just fades back. We drop back, reel up, move baits, etc, but she is gone. Oh this is just getting better and better!

Find a shrimper working in 450ft. ALRIGHT! We are gonna have some sort of action right!? WRONG! They're shoveling bycatch and nothing is eating it. No Bonito, no Jacks, no Sharks, nothing. Just a trail of wasted stuff floating without anything eating it besides a few birds.

Working back to the SW, we get a hit on the right flat. This time it sticks and we get a nice wahoo in the box. Is our luck gonna change? We pull for a while longer and nothing happens so we move off into deeper water. We find a weak line and every chicken dolphin in the Gulf decides to follow the boat. We catch a few, but run back up the line to hit some bigger patches. All else fails we will come bak and hit these schoolies. We never get anything off the somewhat bigger patches. We also couldn't find the schoolies. Par for the course. We trolled a little while later and after no bites and worsening conditions, we reel them in and try to beat the ominous weather thats forming around us. We reel in and find my Makaira Lena, which has been a murderer lately, missing almost every bit of skirt. We never even heard a click on the reel. Whatever.

We pulled rubber hooks, rigged a lot of ballyhoo just to give them away, broke an outrigger halyard that luckily I had the riggability to fix in those seas with zero additional halyard line, had many other malfunctions and then got absolutely beat to death coming home. I hope that we got all of the failure out of our systems for a while.

Anyway, we made it home with 10 dolphin and a wahoo. We could've sunk the boat in chickens if we wanted to but then I'd have to clean all of them and after the ride back, I'm afraid I would've just thrown them in the water.

Sorry for the rant


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## sniperpeeps (Mar 5, 2011)

One of those days man.....still got some fish in the box though!


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## Realtor (Oct 1, 2007)

hummmmm strange how the seas can change in a few miles. I was out until about 10PM last night and the seas were GREAT south of pensacola. ran in at 30 without a problem.

sorry to hear about the rubber hooks, but that's fishing..... next time you'll clobber them.


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## JoeyWelch (Sep 25, 2009)

And I thought it was only me.

Just keep on smiling Chris. Some day's that's all you can do.

Next time!!


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## MSViking (Oct 11, 2007)

As you know all to well, it's called "paying your dues" and we all do! Some days you are the rubber and some days you are the road! At least you are due for a run a bills that stay hooked! And besides a day out there losing fish is better than a day inshore working!

I assume the scattered grass is not as bad as it has been?

Robert


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

It wasn't too bad Robert. When I think about, we didn't have to clear lines much at all.

Realtor, the swells weren't a fraction of the size they were once we were inside of 15 miles. Out past that, it was a close-spaced, white-capped, mulit-directional mess.


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## sniperpeeps (Mar 5, 2011)

Chris the sword in your avatar looks really familiar....


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

sniperpeeps said:


> Chris the sword in your avatar looks really familiar....


Yeah, you know him. He said he went to school with you.


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## MissKristy (Dec 1, 2007)

It was definatley rough out there at least u hooked a marlin all we had was a couple wahoo bites with one to show for and 20 small dolphin. We found them on a small busted weed line north west of the nipple


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

I found that same line. At one point on that line, we had what seriously looked like 1000 chickens around the boat. We were still trolling at 7 knots and they just kept tight and followed us. I would drop a popper down next to the boat and about 50 of them would try to pile on it before I lifted it back out. It was cool, but we didn't feel like dealing with the mess.


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## stevespy (Aug 8, 2010)

You,re bad day sounds like a good day for me.


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## Downtime2 (Sep 27, 2007)

We were 10-12 miles south of the Spur at 2pm. Needless to say, a rather enjoyable ride in. It got down to under 4 foot about the 131 hole headed in. Nasty...


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## Bodupp (Oct 3, 2007)

You do a thorough nanner check?


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## skram (Dec 25, 2007)

No bananas for sure, I don't think it would've mattered either way though. The bite was on, but we might as well have just pulled teasers all day. Good day, just terrible hook up ratio. Ride in did suck though, got five gallons of water in my lap every 15 seconds.

Cant complain much though....Any day on the water that you don't use a life raft is a good day to me.

Heres a gaff shot pic of the hoo


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## J rod (Sep 21, 2010)

So chris is human too, i was begining to think you never had a bad day of fishing or at least you never talked about it  well it's still quite obvious you know your stuff and the rest of us appreciate the pointers, I'm sure the stars will line up for you again soon! tight lines


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## skram (Dec 25, 2007)

Mahi pic from yesterday...


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

The banana rule never seems to affect us on Betty B and I eat them quite regularly. CRAP! Thats it! I forgot to bring a banana :bangin:


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## Bodupp (Oct 3, 2007)

Googans On Holiday will be down from the North Country this weekend. Plan on hitting the Edge somewhere around the 131 hole, but we don't know why. We won't be hard to miss. Hope we don't mess up everybody's fishing.

BTW, we would be very happy with a day like you had.


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

I'm sure there is enough room around the Gulf for you Bodupp.

Oh yeah, we still had fun but there were certainly some things to get aggravated over.


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## Xiphius (Oct 10, 2007)

Thanks for the post,hope to get after them Sunday/monday. You still going Sunday?


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

I was supposed to have a Tarpon trip on Sunday morning but that had to be postponed. What time you coming back Monday Craig? I have an overnighter Monday night.


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## 52fish (Feb 27, 2008)

Chris,

Did you move the Betty B to Barber marina? 
I bet your next trip will be game on!:thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

Its not in storage there, but its on the trailer now vs being at Sportsmans. We kinda like the $1.25 less per gallon on the road. 

Barber's is a top notch place and very clean and quiet. Everyone there is very nice and we usually get a slip for the night on our trips.


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## Captain Mickey O'Reilly (Dec 18, 2008)

Well hell Chris! That post has me as frustrated as y'all must have been! I chuckle to think of all of the Marlin we have hooked and lost over the past thirty or so years for no good reason, but the memories always remain. Get ready now, good karma always seems to follow an
off trip!


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## JMB (Jan 2, 2009)

Good to see that there was action actually, based on what I can gather from Hilton's - the nipple is green water latley. 

What was the water color like? Obviously, there was life tin that water. 

I feel your pain, like others said gotta pay our dues. Some of us pay more than others, but we all pay! Damn fish must be Democrats! LOL.


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

JMB said:


> Good to see that there was action actually, based on what I can gather from Hilton's - the nipple is green water latley.
> 
> What was the water color like? Obviously, there was life tin that water.
> 
> I feel your pain, like others said gotta pay our dues. Some of us pay more than others, but we all pay! Damn fish must be Democrats! LOL.


The water was a very clean blue/green. I usually pay my dues all at once on trips like this one.

Like I said above, I should have brought a banana. Then I would've had better luck.


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## Skillet (Dec 26, 2011)

*All had those days*

You know we on the gulf are spoiled when this is a bad trip. I would not live anywhere else.


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## knot @ Work (Apr 18, 2012)

Chris,
If you think this was a bad trip, I want to fish with you all..
How do people get in touch, and schedule a trip?

Calm Sea's and Tight Lines


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