# Rig Trip 05/04 - 05/05



## TinManMike (Oct 26, 2008)

Long time lurker, not many posts, but know a few guys who post here and wanted to post the results of our trip from Friday afternoon to Saturday evening.

This was our first trip to the rigs and we have gathered tons of info from all of you guys, which is much appreciated!

Left Pensacola pass at 1:00 P.M. and took a nice beating out to about 50-55 miles south heading to Petronus. The ride started improving at that point and the last 20 miles was much better. Arrived at the Petronus at 7:00 P.M. after a few stops on weeds on the way and a lunch break. Nothing but barracudas and dirty water, so we pushed on to the Ram Powell. No fish busting when we arrived, so we set up to start jigging on the leeward side of the rig. Seas were dying by the minute and the moon was lighting up the night like a lantern.

Started jigging and immediately started hooking up to blackfin. 1 fish to the boat, 3 heads to the boat. Sharks were mangling everything we hooked. These fish were decent sized, but still manageable to get to the boat in short order were it not for the sharks. We counted 10-12 sharks in the underwater lights at times.

We sent some 12-14 oz. jigs down deep and had our ass handed to us several times. Broke 80 lb Power Pro 3 different times. I know the Power Pro doesn't have the reputation it once had, but I was amazed at the amount of times it broke. It will be changed after this weekend.

I have read a few reports of guys dropping deep to get past the blacks and sharks to reach the YF, but have no idea what was pinning us to the rail. Jig hit at approximately 400-500', new Terez rod looked like a paper clip, reel screaming for 20-30 seconds, fight over. We confirmed it wasn't knot failure due to the amount of line brought back in.

Fired up the grill to re-evaluate the situation. Seas were flat with a nice swell and attempted to bring in the coveted YF. No such luck. Everything we hooked was destroyed by sharks except for a few small blackfins. Said to heck with this and headed to the Marlin to see if the sharks were less prevalent over there.

Hit the Marlin a couple of hours before daylight and caught a few blackfins trolling just after daylight. The action was good with a 25# wahoo and a few small tuna busting around for a few hours. Nothing big, but plenty of action with triple knockdowns. The sharks were plentiful and nabbed their fair share of the fish caught. Hooked a 2-3# blackfin and couldn't skip it across the water fast enough to get it away from the sharks. It was hit 2-3 times on the surface in 40 yards!

Left the Marlin and headed to the 256 to try for a few amberjack and whatever else would hit. Landed 2 amberjack approx. 30-40 #'s and had a few more fish destroyed by sharks.

Finished off the trip at the 252 with a few more jacks and then headed back to the ramp. Seas laid down nicely for the ride home.

1st rig trip was awesome as far as gaining the experience, just frustrating at the amount of fish we lost due to the sharks. Plenty of line pulling and drag screaming, but not much meat for the freezer.

Saw text book weed lines at 10 miles north of the Petronus, and a couple more between there and the Ram Powell. Water was pretty dirty at the Petronus, but looked much better at the Ram and Marlin. Some of the weed patches were 1/2 acre in size, but covered up in sharks.

Couple of questions for the rig experts. I know the sharks are not always this thick and have read multiple reports talking about the sharks, but was wondering if moon phase played into the equation? There was no distinct light or dark area around the rigs we fished due to the brightness of the moon. How much effect does this have or is a full moon just not ideal to go? I travel from Cumming, GA and have to go when I get the chance, thus the trip this weekend.

Thanks for reading and hope to contribute more in the future!

Will post a few pics when I get them from the crew.


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## straycat (Jul 26, 2008)

Nice trip! You singing the same song as all of us, TITLE: Them dam sharks! Besides that I'm glad you had a good trip.

Straycat


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## Head Kned (Mar 21, 2011)

Great report, those big hits down deep could have been Bigeye tuna. But I doubt they would be breaking you off like that unless you just had to much drag on them. You might of tried running down to Horn Mt. It's 12 miles or so from Ram, I would have to think there are less sharks there.


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## Realtor (Oct 1, 2007)

nice, headed ou that way here in a few hours. I hope the sharks find something to do between now and when we get there. Funny hearing myself say that..... thanks for the report.


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## fish construction (Sep 3, 2009)

we lost at least a hundred bucks in gear to those darn sharks. they are every where.


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## TinManMike (Oct 26, 2008)

Head Kned said:


> Great report, those big hits down deep could have been Bigeye tuna. But I doubt they would be breaking you off like that unless you just had to much drag on them. You might of tried running down to Horn Mt. It's 12 miles or so from Ram, I would have to think there are less sharks there.


Kned, I know what you mean about the drag. It was start tightening the drag and risk breaking the line, or get spooled. Line was dumping to quickly to wait too long for a solution. Again, I felt like we brought a knife to a gun fight!

As far as running to Horn Mt., it was our 1st trip and we were monitoring the fuel closely on the Cape Horn. Next trip, which will be soon after our Keys trip next week, the Horn Mt. may fit into the equation.


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## TinManMike (Oct 26, 2008)

fish construction said:


> we lost at least a hundred bucks in gear to those darn sharks. they are every where.


Fish,
I know what you mean. I think our number might have been closer to $250. It became a joke on the boat. There's another $20! Seemed like we were saying that more than get the gaff!


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## Head Kned (Mar 21, 2011)

TinManMike said:


> As far as running to Horn Mt., it was our 1st trip and we were monitoring the fuel closely on the Cape Horn. Next trip, which will be soon after our Keys trip next week, the Horn Mt. may fit into the equation.


When are you heading out again. We're going in 3 weeks. Our plan is run south of all these sharks.


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## amarcafina (Aug 24, 2008)

Why not gear up and catch the shark a big one puts alot of meat in the freezer, and taste good to !


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## TinManMike (Oct 26, 2008)

Head Kned said:


> When are you heading out again. We're going in 3 weeks. Our plan is run south of all these sharks.


It'll probably be more than 3 weeks before I am able to head back down. We're dragging the boat to the Keys next Thursday and will be down there for 10 days. I'll give you a shout when we get back in town.


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