# Late Sept. Rig Trip Out of OBA



## FishinDoc (Sep 10, 2021)

Weather permitting, we are planning an overnight trip to the rigs 9/24-25. Backup dates are the following weekend if the weather does not cooperate. Anyone else planning on being out that way those dates? 

We are planning to leave Perdido Pass around noon and fish our way out to the rigs by late afternoon. Petronius and Beer Can are first on the agenda with plans to head on further out and maybe even hit the drill ships in the area. We will be fishing my 29 Pro Line.

I'd appreciate any advice that you guys may have to share. This will be my first trip out to the rigs.


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## jack2 (Mar 19, 2010)

petronius is being held hostage by the democratic sharks.
jack


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## iJabo (Jul 6, 2013)

I don't have much experience, so heed other's advice before mine, but here's some low-hanging fruit

A trip to the Ghetto shouldn't be a problem for any 29 foot boat, but auxiliary fuel is always nice to have on board.

Also, it's probably obvious, but make sure you're checking the forecast offshore. The coastal forecasts often tell a different story than the offshore forecasts. I use NOAA to check offshore forecasts: National Weather Service

A lot of people will skip pass the Petronius/Beer Can and go to the Marlin/Ram instead. The former two have a slightly worse reputation than the latter two, but it's definitely worth stopping and checking things out. Last time I was at the Petronius, we found the tuna holding way off the rig without a shark in sight. Now granted, all of them were small, but we did find them


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## Realtor (Oct 1, 2007)

the fish will be holding 2-300 yards up current of the rig. You fish close to the rig, you'll loose you tackle to cudas and sharks... don't be afraid to rome around a while, they'll be there, may be deep, but their most always there.. post up/message here, I may tag along.... 

Oh, don't fish on the way out... you may need your energy once you get there, (if the Tuna are deep, jigging will wear your butt out in a hurry) and you don't want to burn your ice on the trash you may want to keep on the way out... 2 cents...


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## cody&ryand (Oct 3, 2007)

Jack2 my reports from this week said the petronis was absolutely on fire guessing you were out there and saw different?


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## MrFish (Aug 21, 2009)

cody&ryand said:


> Jack2 my reports from this week said the petronis was absolutely on fire guessing you were out there and saw different?


You dang liberals.


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## cody&ryand (Oct 3, 2007)

Mrfish?????


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## MrFish (Aug 21, 2009)

cody&ryand said:


> Mrfish?????


You countered Jack's assumption that there were Democrat sharks, so naturally this thread has turned into a Trump rally and us Librarians are gonna stir up shit.


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## FishinDoc (Sep 10, 2021)

Please correct my logic here if you see any issues with my assumptions or planning. My main tank is 190 gallons and I'll have another 75 gallons in a pillow tank on the front deck. Plan is to empty and stow the pillow tank once we get out to the rigs. Looks like a drill ship is holding near Horn Mountain. I'd like to have the range to keep that in play if necessary. With twin 250 verados, assuming 1.4 mpg at cruise and a 1/3 reserve, maximum range would be ~370 miles with safe range being ~245 miles.

OBA to Petronius - 75 miles
Petronius to Beer Can - 14 miles
Beer Can to Marlin - 5 miles
Marlin to Ram Powell - 10 miles
Ram Powell to Horn Mountain - 13 miles
Horn Mountain to Drill Ship - 5 Miles
Drill Ship to OBA - 100 Miles

Total Mileage - 222 Miles

That leaves about 100 gallons of fuel for idling/trolling/reserve.


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## FishinDoc (Sep 10, 2021)

Realtor,
Hope you can get out there with us. Thanks for the advice on fishing our way out. Sounds like it'd make more sense to try to pick up some bottom fish on the way home if we still have the energy.


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## iJabo (Jul 6, 2013)

FishinDoc said:


> Please correct my logic here if you see any issues with my assumptions or planning. My main tank is 190 gallons and I'll have another 75 gallons in a pillow tank on the front deck. Plan is to empty and stow the pillow tank once we get out to the rigs. Looks like a drill ship is holding near Horn Mountain. I'd like to have the range to keep that in play if necessary. With twin 250 verados, assuming 1.4 mpg at cruise and a 1/3 reserve, maximum range would be ~370 miles with safe range being ~245 miles.
> 
> OBA to Petronius - 75 miles
> Petronius to Beer Can - 14 miles
> ...


It sounds like you'll have plenty for Horn Mtn and even beyond, but its all about personal comfort. Last month we did an overnighter to the Ram and finished near Horn Mtn and only burned 140ish gallons on that trip.


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## 34 trip (Feb 6, 2021)

iJabo said:


> It sounds like you'll have plenty for Horn Mtn and even beyond, but its all about personal comfort. Last month we did an overnighter to the Ram and finished near Horn Mtn and only burned 140ish gallons on that trip.


Sea conditions can affect your mileage significantly. Just something to keep in mind. We can get 1.1 mpg if its flat. 2' to 3' and we'll drop as low as .8 mpg. Wouldn't go in 2 to 3 but sometimes, conditions change while your out there.


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## jack2 (Mar 19, 2010)

i missed this thread for a couple of days but yes, cody, the p was loaded with sharks and always has been the times i was fortunate enough to be asked to go to the rigs. and jim has also noted that the cuda are in the structure. the sharks, just like democrats, probably changed their minds and went somewhere else, i'm guessing.
jack


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## FishinDoc (Sep 10, 2021)

Realtor said:


> the fish will be holding 2-300 yards up current of the rig. You fish close to the rig, you'll loose you tackle to cudas and sharks... don't be afraid to rome around a while, they'll be there, may be deep, but their most always there.. post up/message here, I may tag along....
> 
> Oh, don't fish on the way out... you may need your energy once you get there, (if the Tuna are deep, jigging will wear your butt out in a hurry) and you don't want to burn your ice on the trash you may want to keep on the way out... 2 cents...


If the weather cooperates, our plan is to leave Perdido pass around noon on Friday. Anyone interested in tagging along? It would be nice to have another boat along.


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

Anyone need another on deck? Sounds like a good trip for someone to split gas 👀.


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## Realtor (Oct 1, 2007)

FishinDoc said:


> If the weather cooperates, our plan is to leave Perdido pass around noon on Friday. Anyone interested in tagging along? It would be nice to have another boat along.



I'll watch this this week, right now, the real weather window is looking Sunday - Wednesday next week. right now the windy (windy.com) has it 2-3 ft for the ride out on Friday and 2 for the ride home Saturday. Reefcast only goes through Monday.... 

I'm watching....


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## Realtor (Oct 1, 2007)

It's looking better and better.....


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## panhandlephinsphan (Aug 25, 2008)

How in the world did I miss this string until now?? FishinDoc- would love to see some pics of your sled. I run a 99 251 wa proline. 

great string.

personally petrnious has always been too sharky for me but like iJabo and others have said it is worth a look and the closer you get the more tackle you will lose.

you will need all of your energy at the rigs.

marlin and ram are normally the closest I like to fish and don’t be afraid to move go checkout a drill ship or change to a different rig.

Las trip out started at Appomattox but current was too strong moved to horn Mt but bite was really slow so went to nearby drill ship where we found good action.

be sure to use your bottom machine. Know how long to count to get your jigs or bait to the right spot in the water column. I know what my reel retrieve distance is per crank so with each different jig I do a test drop. Normally we run into black fin at a certain depth and bigger marks below them. You may need to go 300-400 feet down for yellowfin but hopefully not. 

I may be lucky so far but there has not been a night at the rigs that the tuna have not shown up at some point. They may be outside of the shadow line but they show up. 

Hope that helps. I am out on a friend’s boat Saturday trolling or I would buddy boat with you- sounds like it will be a great time- enjoy and be safe.


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## Realtor (Oct 1, 2007)

How did you trip go? we're planning on heading Monday, mid/late morning. post some pics of your trip!!?


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## Bigc2013 (Aug 1, 2016)

0 tunas were weighed in at the KV memorial tournament yesterday. So I’m guessing it’s slow at the rigs as well as everywhere else😐


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## Bigc2013 (Aug 1, 2016)

Maybe it will improve kn the next new moon. 😊
PS they did weigh in a 169# Swordie though so that was good


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