Gulf of Mexico # 4

Post time 4:15 pm central

This time we choose a rig to tie to .

This ones in 280 feet of water and not far from The West Gardens .

This is where the fishing really started to get up and going .

The time was 2:00pm or so .

We had already hit a shrimp boat and caught a few bonitos part of the tuna family. also some other bait fish for the larger amber jacks, blue runners and a few rainbow runners.

Barry's finger was holding up pretty well at this point of the day ,we had decided to go ahead and stay another day , we just weren't on the fish as we like !

This is the rig we choose , We caught another snapper 14 pounder , respectable and this was dinner for tonight as the seas were dying back to 1 to 2 footers. Making cooking much safer in the boat !

These guys from Louisiana were watching our every move , They where pointing to fish in the water for us to target. As it turned out they agreed to fry the snapper for us and join them for dinner ,Great deal for us, so we exchanged the snapper and a few cold ones and was excited that we could keep fishing with dinner being served @ 6:00pm sharp !

Here is a fight !

I had run short on large live bait and had rigged to go deep with a small hook for a runner or bonita when something took my sardine and started to spool me !

For the next 40 minutes I fought hard on my light top water pole with 30 lb test and # 6 hook.

The battle seamed like it only took 10 minutes , but try 40 !

This is what changed the entire trip . Your looking at a 86 pound Wahoo ,his measurements are 73 inches long with a girth of 30 inches ,This is a fish of a lifetime and probable for myself a personal best on light tackle !

The reason it changed the trip was because he would not fit into any of the fish boxes on the boat. The time now around 4:00pm. Tied him to the back of the transom extension and went back down , the camera has been put up and it's just fishing for now ,

The next time I went down on my bottom pole I hooked a 35" amber jack .landed and iced him down ,Barry on at the same time with one that broke him off, I'm going back down again for more bait on my light top pole and hooked on to another AJ , 20 minutes landed and iced down , man I m talking Fast and Furious action for another hour, Now its getting close to 5:45 pm Knowing we got a Great Fish tied to the boat and need to get him back to shore to ice him down

After some hard decisions we had to call it . we missed out on dinner , untied and started to head back in leaving some extra dinner for the guys on the rig , But its still 110 miles home at 5:45 pm .So as we make our way back towards the claypiles and north toward Galveston Barry spots a buoy and we have to stop and try for some Mia Mia .

And we got one on the boat . and when there is one there's more .So we troll around the buoy for about 20 minutes and land 3 more.

We fished to the very last minute of daylight on the way back in .

Here is the wahoo tied to the transom for his ride back to shore !

Here is another buoy and we fished it also ,both of us got broke-off here , so we marked it on the chart plotter and" We Will Be Back " !!!

Barry's determination and his love of the deep water is truly admiral .

I have been fishing with him for 6 years now and always catch fish for the table .We are not out here to rob the sea , but to harvest mother natures bounty for our family's tables and those of our friends ,This a God given right that no one can take from us !

Well , that's a deep thought , for a shallow mind !

Ok time to travel , according to our electronics we are 102 miles from the ship channel and the sun was falling fast with no moon .

This is the most dangerous part of the trip , 30 mph on what is now less than 1 footers in pitch black. flying on instruments back home over 3 1/2 hours @ 28 to 30 mph

There is more for tomorrow so come on back for the ending back in Seabrook.

and that's the way it is !

cheers,

.bb