Port A next weekend?

[Bret]

Are any of you guys going to be fishing out of Port A next weekend???
I am finally getting a chance to get my boat offshore...

[Gunsmoke]

Be careful on that first trip offshore. Your old fuel from last year isn't in good burning condition even if you treated it. I'd suggest a short inshore trip. Burn some fuel and make sure everything is working. Come back in after burning 30% of your fuel and top it off for the next day.

Also beware of the weed problem offshore. There is a mess of seaweed out there. It's a big problem. One the worst years I've seen recently.

Your intakes (if outboard) will suck in those little round balls and clog up past the impeller. Take a coat hanger with you. If your engine stops pissing, ram that coat hanger down to the impeller and clear it out. If you have inboards, watch the temperature gage. If your engines start heating up, stop and run in reverse to clear out the intakes. It will also clear all the junk caught up on your drive shaft and wheels. That seaweed is full of trash bags. 55 Gallon size bags.

Trolling sucks right now. The seaweed is in the bays and out to Cuba. It's a mother keeping the lures clean. I do something to my lures to help, but it's not enough to stop those huge clunks. On the rougher days its lure jerking time all day long. Three feet or under the weed does gather in acre size pods, but there is still a ton of loose seaweed in between the pods.

Here's some suggestions on a short inshore trip. The kingfish are still scarce but there are some big ones mixed up with the babies. We caught a 54 pound King on a jig a couple of weeks ago just messing around on an inshore trip. The kings wouldn't hit bait or long jigs. The best jig was the little 70 to 110 gram butterfly style from shimano. Any bigger didn't work. Make sure you use a wire leader or kiss your jigs goodbye. All our big kings were caught when we were coming back home about a quarter mile from the end of the jetties on an outgoing tide.

The ling are big this year. You will find them in very close. We caught four at the anchorage. .(Where the tanker's park waiting to come into port). Three on live crabs, and one on a little popper style chugger. There are also some chicken size dolphin hanging around the tankers and the farewell buoy. They will take spec rigs for a couple minutes, but dead shrimp with a popping cork is bloody murder. Release most of them so they can grow up.

Just rig hop either North or South. Don't even bother trolling between rigs. Too much seaweed. Your wasting your time. Use light tackle and just bend some rods. There are also some Jacks still hanging around so be prepared to pump for twenty minutes with light tackle.

Last word of advise: Look through your tackle and find the one reel that doesn't talk to you. Toss it over at the end of the jetties and you will have a safe and fun fishing year. The years I didn't do it, it was boat problems, bad weather and just overall bad luck. Maybe I'm superstitious but it now a rule.

Good luck and have great year fishing.

[txseadog]

Originally Posted by Gunsmoke

.. Look through your tackle and find the one reel that doesn't talk to you. Toss it over at the end of the jetties and you will have a safe and fun fishing year.

The ole sacrifice to the sea gods...

[Bret]

GS, I ran it about a month and a half ago.. then topped it off. I will drain the racors before I start.. I was hoping that this calm wind midweek would allow the weed to pile up somewhere before it starts blowing again this weekend.. I really just need to burn this gas out before the roundup in three weeks..
Is anyone catching any hoos in numbers out there?????

[Gunsmoke]

Hoos are plentiful if you find a line of weed that is holding them. To much grass makes finding a rip that is holding bait difficult. The hoos are now in 40 fathoms and deeper. Good blue water can be found South of Port A in 40 fathoms. North it's around 55 fathoms. Three weeks ago I found them at 90 fathoms. Lot's of little ones around 15 pounds with a few 40-50 pounders mixed in. They were hungry for bally's (no skirt), but the big boys were hitting the heavy pointed skirted lures. Big dolphin all also showing up but they are difficult to target with all the seaweed. All that grass is one big PITA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's even piling up in the some of the marina's on the incoming tide. That smell of dying organisms on the beached grass gets old.

I once had a prank pulled on me. A guy put some shrimp in my hubcaps. I couldn't figure out where that awful smell was coming from. I finally took the vehicle to a detail shop to get rid of it. They saw a cat smelling my tires and figured it out.

When I found out who did it, I got him back by filling up his suburban with fresh seaweed. I filled it up solid from the dashboard to the rear. Two pickup truck loads of fresh washed up seaweed. He tried to sue me as it was his wife's carpool machine. He pissed me off so bad that I told my lawyer to keep screwing with him until he gives up. After he spent over 9 grand in attorney fees, he called me up and wanted to settle it with a good old fashion fist fight.

I agreed. I took boxing as a teenager. The fight was short. We don't speak anymore but I do give him a finger gesture if I ever see him.

[Bret]

Thanks for the info.. and the story.... I'll let you know how we do...

[shanker]

Gunsmoke, are you for real? about the prank?

[Uncle Russ]

shanker: Never ask Gunsmoke if he is for real. Even if any of his stories were untrue (which I am not willing to believe,) they tell the way it ought to have happened, and that is good enough for me.

Russ

[TOO]

Originally Posted by Gunsmoke

We caught a 54 pound King on a jig a couple of weeks ago just messing around on an inshore trip.

For what's worth, the Kingfish leader for the CCA STAR is currently 52 lbs, 4 oz. Winner receives:
21' Contender Open Fish with a Mercury 150 Optimax and McClain trailer.
I'd figure that would be a nice bonus to fishing.
Got a question, in the past, it seems that the weeds start to clear out as the current shifts, usuallly around early July..., right? Any comment on if this heavy of a weed problem will go on longer this summer than usual? It seems like two years ago the weeds lasted into mid-July, while last year the weed was clear by then. On track or off-track on this from anyone?

[jaredchasteen]

Originally Posted by TOO

For what's worth, the Kingfish leader for the CCA STAR is currently 52 lbs, 4 oz. Winner receives:
21' Contender Open Fish with a Mercury 150 Optimax and McClain trailer.
I'd figure that would be a nice bonus to fishing.

the only thing gunsmoke will do with a 21ft contender is set it on fire.