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Date: Just a little more about the Capt'n Style
Title:
Date: 25 Mar 2004
Time: 10:16:48 -0500
I’m a charter boat captain in Steinhatchee, FL. Steinhatchee is located on the Gulf coast due west of Gainesville and about 50 miles north of Cedar Keys. It is a small (no stop lights) fishing community known best for trout fishing on the grass flats. It is becoming known well for the excellent grouper fishing. Most of my business is taking folks offshore in pursuit of grouper. I enjoy bottom fishing for grouper; however, I love fishing for other species using a variety of techniques. During the charter, if the folks are game, I take the opportunity demonstrate that offshore fishing is far more dynamic than dropping a weighted bait to the bottom and waiting for the thump of a grouper. It is a surprise, hands on, ten hour fishing seminar that gives people more than they paid for. On a typical warm weather charter, I start by stopping by the bait traps to fill the live well with pinfish and such. The bait stop turns out to be a fish identification workshop. Kids are especially interested in all the small wiggly fish coming out of the trap. From there it is brief 15 minute sprint offshore (water depth 20-35’) where I set out a trolling spread of spoons and plugs in search of Spanish mackerel, kingfish, and grouper. My mate, Brian Hornsby, and I give a spiel on what we’re fishing for, how the lures work and how we’re all going to work together setting out the baits. At first, a six line set looks complicated for those new to the game but in no time folks catch on. We troll for 30 minutes or so, depending on the action, toward my next offshore destination. After trolling, I’ll run 20-30 minutes to a cobia/amberjack/goliath grouper spot. There we use medium/heavy spinning tackle to free-line live bait and toss bucktails for cobia and amberjack. The visual aspect of swarms of AJ’s and an occasional cobia is awesome. Often to the point that folk are reluctant to move on. During the AJ and cobia show, I’ll take one AJ for bait. The head, back bone and fillets are used to tempt a jewfish encounter. I have twin custom 9/0 rod/reel combo’s I rig together to sink a single large offering down. Two fishermen put on fighting belts and man the rods. The anglers must work together in order to win the epic battle of men against monster. It can turn out to be a wonderful Kodak moment or, at the very least, a funny story. If Goliath is brought to the surface, the fish is quickly photographed, in the water, and released. Most of the time the fish are ‘released’ well beneath the surface. Regardless of where the fish is released, the excitement level is quite high. The experience is worth the time and effort. After that, we take a 20-30 minute boat ride to the grouper reefs 22-30 miles offshore. We’ll anchor and bottom fish with frozen and live baits targeting grouper. The thump of a grouper is an experience. The fun for me is the response of the fishermen. I’ve seen people play out a Tom & Jerry routine doing a hook set. An alternative while some are bouncing the bottom for grouper, especially if children are aboard, is grunt and sea bass. I have a couple of light weight spinning outfits (trout gear) we bait with squid to catch all the pinkmouth grunt and seabass one’s arm can handle. Some of the smaller grunts are used for grouper bait; larger grunts are tossed in the fish box or tossed back, once a personal quota is filled. I keep an eye on how many grunts and sea bass are kept and encourage catch and release. One or two five gallon buckets (~30 lbs/bucket) is plenty. While folks are working the bottom, the mate or I will free-line a live or frozen bait off the stern using a large spinning rod, rigged with wire, in hope of a kingfish. When a king zips line from that rod, it puts a punctuation mark in the fishing trip. I break up the bottom fishing by trolling from time to time for grouper and kingfish. Trolling involves a combination of 2-4 deep running plugs (Stretch 30’s), a shallower running plug and a spoon or two. Many people have never heard of trolling for grouper. Some are quite doubtful. When a grouper plows down a trolling rod or a king squeals line off the reel, people get much excited. I get excited and see it happen frequently. For an additional thrill, if time allows and the folk agree, casting or trolling tube lures over wrecks for 2-6 foot barracuda is a twist of lime to the day. Observing a ‘cuda’ explode on a tube is a memory maker. It looks like God through a rail road timber in the sea behind the boat. About five o’clock I call it a day, time tends to go by so quickly on the water, but most of the time folk have had enough by then. Over the course of the day, I have tried to eliminate a long boat ride, keep the action happening, all the while changing techniques to sustain a freshness to the charter. If they weren’t careful, they learned something. Perhaps it was a new knot, a new way to rig, a new technique, how to use the GPS or interpret the sonar or, at the very least, fishing ain’t boring and the Gulf of Mexico is a dynamic place to offshore fish. I wrote about the typical day to give you scope as to what I do. I realize that all of it can’t be brought to life in a thirty minute program. You are probably interested in doing a segment demonstrating a single topic. May I suggest trolling for grouper, tandem angling for goliath grouper and/or techniques and strategies for catching cobia. Those opportunities are all available during the warm months between May and November. My boat is a 32’ center console Twin Vee Ocean Cat powered by twin Honda 225 hp motors. When the custom canvas work is zipped or rolled up, the boat is completely open for 360 degree fishing. There are 350 square feet of functional deck space which is fantastic room for fishing or, in this case, working a camera. The exceptional ride of the catamaran hull is a blessing all day but most appreciated on ride in when folk plop down in the bean bag chairs. That's me in a nutshell. If you need more information give me a call (352-498-3703 after 8pm or Sunday afternoons) or e-mail/visit my website at www.bigbendcharters.com. Hopefully, things will come together and we can enjoy a day on the water.