COLUMBUS POINT BOUND

We headed out early on Monday to Columbus Point...the infamous Marlin grounds. CTM ran to within 6 miles of the point and we started trolling. Honestly it couldn't have been 15 minutes and I heard the whirrrrr of the shotgun rig. We hooked up a Marlin but in short order the Marlin won and was on his way to freedom :( By the way, it was caught on "Old Reliable". We spent a few hours trolling around Columbus Point along with every other boat from the marina....no more Marlin hookups. We reeled up and headed to Tartar Bank for a pass around the pinnacle on the way back to Hawk's Nest. In short order we had a triple hook up (one got off) so the fight was on for Dr. Dave and Leann....

From 2012-05-29

The fish were gaffer Mahi but since we still had fresh Yellowfin Tuna for dinner we decided to release both fish. Dr. Dave had a nice bull but before I could get a photo CTM tossed him back into the water....I know you are thinking, "that's convenient!" :) We did manage to get this photo of Leann's fish before setting her free...the fish that is!

From 2012-05-29

Since the two fish were the bull and cow naturally CTM thinks the granddaddy was the one that got off :)

In short order we had another fish on and it took Leann quite a while to reel it in. Since we had not seen the fish jump our best guesses were....a big Yellowfin Tuna or perhaps even a small Billfish. Turned out to be a rather large Mr. Barry Cuda :( Time for fresh sushi and cocktails!!!

Catch you on the flip flop....

CJM

GIGI HAS A "BOO BOO"

Sunday we said "goodbye" to Stinsons and headed to Cat Island. We fished the infamous "Bridge" between Eleuthera and Little San Salvador....NOTHING! Continuing south toward Cat we got "up close and personal" with the Carnival Liberty....

From 2012-05-28

With so much fish in the fridge we adopted a "catch and release" policy for the day....Nice "catch and release" Mahi, Dr. Dave!

From 2012-05-28

Our "catch and release" policy quickly changed when Dr. Dave landed this nice Yellowfin Tuna....ahhhhhhhhh sushi!!!! First Yellowfin of the trip....(Sorry about this, Karen, but we thought of you while enjoying our sushi!)

From 2012-05-28

Continuing south toward Cat we spotted a flock of birds. Leann landed another Yellowfin Tuna while CTM engaged in a 35 minute fight for what we were just sure was another huge Yellowfin.

From 2012-05-28

Well, it was a Yellowfin all right but had been gobbled up by this shark! Yikes!!!! Obviously the "catch and release" policy applied to this one :) Don't worry about that Billy Bait, Dr. Dave, just cut the line!!!!!

From 2012-05-28

We made it to Cat around 4:30, cleaned up the boat, checked in, and met Dr. Dave and Leann at the bar for cocktails before being served up fresh sushi and a wad of very lightly seared Yellowfin....DELISH!

A side note....the marina is a good distance from the hotel area so CTM and I assembled our fold up bikes and rode them up to dinner. I made the comment just before heading back to the boat for the night that I wondered if you could get a "BUI" (Biking Under the Influence) in Cat Island. Well, I guess I will blame it on the rum..... I hit a hole in the dark and went flying flat on my face...hence...GIGI HAS A BOO BOO!

From 2012-05-28

I wish Lola Bean could put a bandaid on it for me but thanks to the "captain required" first aid class we just completed prior to the trip, CTM applied his newly acquired skills and bandaged me up and applied ice to my knee and I am happy to report I am up and ready to head out soon on the hunt for a Marlin! The fishing report is...."they're everywhere they're everywhere!" Stay tuned for that fishing report on this Memorial Day holiday.

Catch you on the flip flop....

CJM

LAST DAY IN TOWN SYNDROME....

Saturday was the last day in town for Scott and Karen and FINALLY the sun came out and the winds died down...TIME TO GO FISHING without a raincoat!!!!! What a last day of fishing it was! Two nice Muttons....

From 2012-05-27

From 2012-05-27

Yellowtail out the wazoo topped off with a nice Mahi Mahi just as we were reeling up for the day....

From 2012-05-27

A Feeding Frenzy at the cleaning table!

From 2012-05-27

From 2012-05-27

We once again called Friendly Bob's taxi service to take us up to Sharil's for our "Last Supper" with Stinsons. A side note about Friendly Bob....he has 13 children with 5 different women and 21 grandchildren! They don't call him "Friendly" for nothing!!!! And...we are pretty sure he would have blown "Our Bob's" breathalizer on the ride home :)

Catch you on the flip flop....

CJM

WHAM BAM THANK YOU MA'AM!

Friday started out blustery and rainy AGAIN! One thunderstorm after another rolled through. Thanks to Dr. Dave and Leann we now had a new VHF radio so CTM did manage to install it while we were waiting for the weather to pass. Finally at around 2:00 we couldn't take it any longer so off we went. We decided to troll the edge close to home in case we needed to make a run for it. To make a long story short we boated one Mahi and then it was "WHAM BAM THANK YOU MA'AM!" We hooked up on 3 Mahi at the same time! With another thunderstorm bearing down on us we boated all 3 and headed in. Unfortunately the storm beat us there :( We made it to the harbor and could see our slip but we just couldn't get in it due to strong winds and rain. CTM did an excellent job of keeping FF III's bow into the wind until the winds subsided and we were able to tie up. If it hadn't been for the storm delay we would have been out and back in with 4 Mahi in the box in less than 2 hours!!!!

Nice Bull, Dr. Dave!!!

From 2012-05-26

No bologna sandwiches....

From 2012-05-26

We took a cab up to Sharil's, a little local place in Deep Creek, and she cooked what I would call a "gob" of fish. It was DELISH!!!!

A sign at Sharil's....

From 2012-05-26

We had a discussion about what "Hustling" meant. This morning I discovered one of the meanings has to do with soliciting as in prostitution so I guess it was a good thing we never said, "WHAM BAM THANK YOU MA'AM" at Sharil's!!!!!

Catch you on the flip flop....

CJM

MORE PIDDLE DICKIN'

Wednesday and Thursday ended up being gusty and rainy as a tropical "situation" sat right down on top of us...hence NO fishing so piddle dickin' as my good friend Lynda always says. Wednesday we spent getting caught up on laundry and doing a few boat chores. We couldn't take the piddle dickin' another day so for our sanity Thursday we rented a car and decided to run up to Rock Sound and spend the day eating, drinking, and shopping while we were waiting on Dave and Leann to arrive :) Not sure what this means but as soon as Scott walked into Pascals, a little beachside bar and grill, this little baby doll said, "Daddy!" :)

From 2012-05-25

Next stop was the "blue hole." Will let you read about it for yourself....

From 2012-05-25

Sharkman Stinson got a closer look....

From 2012-05-25

We barely made it back to Cape Eleuthera when Dr. Dave and Leann arrived! Cocktail time!!!! We cooked fished and once again frogged our sides :) Even though the forecast for Friday wasn't looking too good we had now polished off our stores of fresh fish. Stay tuned to see if Friday's dinner is a bologna sandwich or fresh fish :)

Catch you on the flip flop....

CJM

"Mahi Squared"

After a great day of fishing with Leon and all the Snapper we could eat that night, thanks to Sharkman Stinson a/k/a the Galloping Gourmet, we decided to go it alone on Tuesday. We had gotten some tips from a guy and his niece who have been here for a month or so and staying all summer about fishing for Yellowfin Tuna. Actually the niece gave us all their secrets. Basically troll Cedar plugs and small feathers along the steep dropoffs along the southern shore of Eleuthera. So, we deployed our Cedar Plug Daisy Chain, a black & red feather, another feather with a black Tuna Worm and then put a naked Ballyhoo on the wire line with a 4 pound trolling lead in front of it. That seemed like the perfect YF Tuna spread. Well it might have been, but we noticed a Friggit Bird circling and diving a bit farther offshore so we ran out to check it out. We chased that bird around for 30 minutes or so and got nothing. We switched to a rigged Hoo and a couple (old dependable) Billy Baits and ran by the birds again and it was ON! Each time around we hooked up a nice Dolphin. We had all we could possibly need for a few days so began releasing them. Here is one of the ones we released compliments of Sharkman's contraption...a Boga Grip. It was a handy tool that makes catching and releasing much easier.

From 2012-05-23

Here is a little insight into the life of a Dolphin. They spend most of their time eating. They reach sexual maturity within 3 to 5 months old and are about 22 inches long. They can reach an amazing 40 pounds in one year. In captivity they have been documented to eat 20 percent of their body weight in a single day. Sounds like a great life huh? The only catch (in more ways than one) is that 99.7 percent of them do not make it to their first birthday and the oldest on record was only four. So, in a Dolphin's life as it should be in our own, you better live it up because it will be over before you know it. Another interesting fact is they are real travelers. There was a fish that was tagged off Key West that wound up more than 1100 miles north in Cape May, New Jersey after just 23 days. No wonder they have to eat all the time to have that much energy.

So, you can see these nice Dolphin we caught are less than a year old. But, at least they have been having sex for a while already :)

From 2012-05-23

Scott made a deal with one of our neighbors on the marina to exchange a bag of fresh "Mahi Squared" for a bag of fresh basil. After a lot of discussion on what we should do with the basil(CJM thought we should roll it and smoke it) the Galloping Gourmet prepared fresh "Mahi Squared" with fresh basil.

From 2012-05-23

CTM

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?????

From 2012-05-25

Catch you on the flip flop....hopefully!

CJM

SHARK MAN STINSON....

We met up with Cleveland Sunday evening, a contact Scott had made prior to arrival, about guiding us on Monday. After visiting with Cleveland we ventured over to Scott and Karen's townhouse and enjoyed cocktails and this beautiful rainbow on the horizon. We decided it would not lead us to a pot of gold but a buttload of fish :)

From 2012-05-23

Monday morning, Cleveland brought over the Dockmaster, Leon, and we ended up hiring Leon for the day. Soon we were on our way to one of the best reef spots in the Bahamas! Fishing report....between trolling to and from the reef spot and anchoring up on the reef and thanks to that beautiful rainbow we caught a buttload of really nice sized Yellowtail Snapper, Gray Triggerfish, Queen Triggerfish, Cero Mackerel, Barracuda, Grunt, Dolphin, and about a 200 pound Shark! "Shark Man Stinson" sounds like a good name for a blues singer or a football player but is now Scott's nickname! We at some point decided to put a chunk of Cuda belly meat on a larger rod and reel to try and snag a Grouper. We first had a broken line, then a couple of small wires chewed in two, so we fixed up a laser sharp hook on a heavy wire and soon hooked into the huge Shark. Leon told us it was a Mako and estimated it at 200 pounds. Scott, aka "Shark Man Stinson", successfully landed the Mako and we, thankfully, were able to release him.

We had another first time experience. Scott had one of the bigger Ocean Triggers on so CTM decided to wait to throw his free lined chunk of Squid so that it didn't get in the way so he left it dangling barely in the water. All at once something grabbed it and took off like a rocket. It was a Dolphin!...or Mahi Mahi! It hit in 65 feet of water while we were anchored up on the reef!

We were so busy catching fish I honestly didn't pick up the camera even one time :( But, I was able to download a pic from Scott's camera and here is a sampling of our day's work....

From 2012-05-23

It was an awesome fishing day and we frogged our sides with fresh Yellowtail Snapper and Mahi Mahi for dinner :) Catch you on the flip flop.....

CJM

Navigation 102...Sailfish 102

We have completed Navigation 101, so this must be Navigation 102. We pulled out of Nassau Harbor Sunday morning, fueled up and headed west across Great Bahama Bank towards Exuma Sound.

From 2012-05-21

This crossing is a little shorter, 25 NM or so. The water is shallow but a little deeper than before, maybe 20 or 25 feet. The catch is, it is loaded with coral heads. Coral heads can jut up shallow enough to wreak havoc with your running gear. They are extremely hard and can cause lots of damage and destruction. We conservatives from the US like to call them "Obama Heads". (What looks like a + with dots around it is a coral head.)

From 2012-05-21

We made the crossing and maneuvered through the cuts and made our way out into Exuma Sound. Exuma Sound is a large body of water similar to the Tongue. It is bounded by The Exumas on the west and Eleuthera and Cat Island on the east. It is also very deep. I, of course, had a couple of fishing spots picked out and was hoping CJM was in the mood to let me try them. Immediately after entering the Sound we found some massive weedbeds. There were a few other boats trolling around so we trolled around the weeds as well. Neither we nor any other boats that we saw did any good. The beds were so large that by the time the fish could swim out from under them, we had already trolled by.

We ran and trolled, off and on, along the northern edge of the Sound and did manage to hook a nice Dolphin. Dinner:) Then the coolest thing happened. We saw a bunch of birds, mostly on the water and swimming there amongst them was a Billfish of some sort. With some expert maneuvering of the boat, CJM got us in front of our prey. I reeled up the light tackle because I knew I did not want this fish on one of those rigs. We left out the two TLD 50's. One with a green and white skirt over a Ballyhoo and the other, you guessed it, our lucky purple and black Moldcraft Chugger. The fish first hit the Hoo and then we hooked him up on old faithful...the Moldcraft Chugger. The result was one more notch in that skirt....Sailfish number 2 for the Moldcraft Chugger!

From 2012-05-21

From 2012-05-21

From 2012-05-21

It was one of the coolest hookups, catch and releases we have ever had! And...to top off an already perfect day Scott and Karen were just arriving at Cape Eleuthera at the same time we were and were waving to us as we motored into the harbor. Time for Happy Hour.....

CTM

IS THIS PONTIAC COVE?

It doesn't matter how many times we have entered Nassau Harbour it is always a little intimidating to pass these big cruise ships....5 in the harbor this day!

From 2012-05-18

From 2012-05-18

When you enter Nassau Harbor it is a requirement that you ask permission to enter the harbor from Nassau Harbor Control for obvious reasons :) As we were approaching Nassau I mentioned to CTM that I didn't remember hearing any chatter on our VHF in a couple of days. Well, my worst fears came true....we discovered OUR VHF WAS NOT WORKING!!!! Thankfully we have a hand held VHF on board and were close enough to Harbor Control to talk to them on it. We spent most of the day Saturday running up and down the streets of Nassau searching for a new VHF that would work for us. And....the Dockmaster at our marina had a friend of a friend of a friend that had two VHF radios he had "purchased in Fort Lauderdale".....NOT I was thinking......but who cared at this point.....we NEEDED a new VHF and didn't care where it came from. To make a long story short we were not able to find one that would interchange with our Icom on board so Dr. Dave and Leann will be bringing one with them when they arrive on Thursday. There is more than one way to skin a cat!!!! A side note to this story is that when we bought the FF III it had a Raymarine VHF on it and our electronics guru in Miami told us it was "junk" so we opted to replace it with an Icom. In Nassau we found an electronics guru that told us the Icoms were "junk." Guess it depends on where you are in the world :)

Next stop....ELEUTHERA! Scott and Karen will join us there!

Catch you on the flip flop....

CJM

Licked by the Tongue Again!

The weather looked good for heading to Nassau Friday, so we pulled out of Bimini really early, like 6:30, if you can even believe it. Leaving Bimini we ran south to Triangle Rocks and then cut southeast to Cat Cay waypoint before turning east to make the 60 mile run across the Great Bahama Bank to the Tongue of the Ocean. We have made this crossing many times, but it is always a little intimidating as the depth is usually 10 to 15 feet deep and you can't see shore for most of the journey. I guess the good thing is, if our boat sank the tower would be above water so we could sit there until someone came along and we could catch a ride.

Like I said, there was no weather in sight when we left, but there is always a chance of those thunderstorms building during the day and well, they did. So, as some wise old sailor once said, "smooth seas never made a skillful sailor". We studied our charts to see how we could avoid the advancing storms and watched them closely with our XM weather and on board radar and made it safely to the Tongue with only a little rinsing from the rain.

From 2012-05-18

From 2012-05-18

XM radar....

From 2012-05-18

On board radar overlay....

From 2012-05-18

The Tongue was not as generous as Mother Nature. It licked us pretty good. If you have ever read any fishing magazines or seen any fishing shows about this area, they say at times the "Big Dolphin" are so thick they are a nuisance if you are looking for Billfish. It is called "The Pocket", the northwest corner of the Tongue of the Ocean, the area between Andros and New Providence. Well, we were looking for anything but what we caught, Barry Cuda times four. We saw one other boat that was hooked up to a Billfish we thought. We did not see it for sure, but looked like something big.

FF III just entering "The Pocket" of the "Tongue of the Ocean"....

From 2012-05-18

After 3 hours of trolling I finally gave in and reeled up. We headed on across towards Nassau thinking we might pull in along the shore and troll for awhile like we did two years ago and maybe catch a YF Tuna, but the rains had started up again. The Tongue once again "licked" us, but I will have my "licking" of that Tongue some day.

CTM

SeaArk....ARE YOU KIDDING ME??????

Our departure from Bimini was delayed until Friday due to storms :( In the meantime, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force pulled in to the marina. They heard someone was passing out prescription drugs on the dock (see previous post). We told them we had no idea who Dave Kinscherff was :) Once upon a time, PCM owned a SeaArk rental deckboat....made in Monticello, Arkansas. It was in the shop 75% of the time...in other words....a POS! So since we would soon be on our way to Nassau we knew we could out run them since they were in a SeaArk!

From 2012-05-18

Well, maybe I did embellish a bit as they really pulled into the marina to get fuel. But, an interesting side note....the Captain and Crew were wearing flip flops with their uniforms...albeit leather ones!!!!

Catch you on the flip flop....

CJM

3 Catches and a 175 Pound Release

We decided to fish Tuesday and take Wednesday off before heading to Nassau. I of course wanted to catch a Grouper and maybe a Mutton. CJM did not want to Grouper troll in 40 feet of water because it was too much work if we got hung up on the bottom. So, we decided we would troll a little deeper, around 70 feet, and maybe catch a Grouper or Mutton. And, less chance of hanging up on the bottom. We ran out to 70 feet and headed south. Our plan was to troll as far as Gun Cay, then stop and catch some live bait, then drift fish around 70 feet deep for awhile, then troll back north and make a short day of it. Well about the time we trolled along side the rocks just past the big cut south of Bimini, also our hot spot for Wahoo, we hooked a nice 15 or 20 pound Grouper. Finally! :)

From 2012-05-16

From 2012-05-16

We had a few other bites but only boated a small Cuda which Freddie wanted to keep. Our bait fishing turned out about like our bait fishing at home in that they weren't biting. We decided to troll back north in 40 feet of water. We somehow got CJM to agree. We had several hits, most of which I think were Cudas. Nearing the entrance to Bimini harbour, we hooked a nice Kingfish. They catch lots of them in Florida during the winter, but we have never tried or caught any as we really don't care to eat them. Freddie took the one we caught a few days ago and wanted this one as well. We landed it, no problem. But, as Freddie tried to take the hook out of it, my dreaded fears came true. Freddie got nailed with the second hook. I have always worried about trying to get control of a flopping and fighting fish with a double hook rig. Usually only one hook is in the fish and the other one is flying around. Just imagine how it would feel to get a 10/0 hook in your hand and have the other hook in a "pissed off" big ass Kingfish. Freddie calmly cut the wire holding the hooks together and then wanted me to cut the meat of his hand between where the hook went in and where it came out. I asked if he was sure about that and he said yes. Well, I took one little swipe with the knife and then I convinced him that using the bolt cutters I had on board was the best choice. It worked slick. Before I could save the souvenir, he pulled the piece of the hook on through and threw it overboard. Thus, a 175 pound catch and release. By the way, we both know the best way to get the hook out of the fish is to throw it in the fishbox and let it settle down first, but we got careless. Probably will be smarter about that for a while now. We bandadged Freddie's hand and sent him home with some pain pills and antibiotics we had on board. Freddie is tough as nails but didn't turn down the pain pills we offered.

We are taking the day off Wednesday to make the rounds one last time and planning on pulling out bright and early on Thursday for Nassau.

CTM

MONDAY FISHING REPORT

Bright and early on Monday we headed north to one of our favorite reef spots to fish for Yellowtail Snapper. It was like fishing in a barrel....one block of chum and one pound of squid later we had boated 82 yellowtail snapper. Yes, I said 82!!!!! CTM and I NEVER would have boated that many Snapper but you know Freddie....he won't let you throw anything back!!!! And...honestly we were catching them so fast and furiously that we had no idea we had that many in the box. IT WAS INSANE!!!! Most of the time we would catch 3 or 4 on the same chunk of bait. Poor little guys...most of them didn't even have their "last supper" before they became supper!!!

From 2012-05-16

Oops on the photography but, well, you get the idea....

From 2012-05-16

First ever Kingfish on FF III (I think)....

From 2012-05-16

Trolled for Grouper in the same area, then headed south offshore, and then in to about 60 feet for Grouper again...the score on Grouper is still Grouper 1 CTM 0. Stay tuned for Tuesday's fishing report :)

Catch you on the flip flop....

CJM

MAKING THE ROUNDS....

We took Saturday and Sunday off to piddle dick around, as my good friend Lynda says :)

Now, let's see if Mrs. Smith (and I am not talking the pie lady) wants to try to horn in on my new business in Bimini :)

From 2012-05-14

My new bulk plant....

From 2012-05-14

Fresh conch salad and lobster salad at Stuart's....

From 2012-05-14

Sunset at Sherry's on the Beach....

From 2012-05-13

From 2012-05-13

Going fishing today...fishing report later! Catch you on the flip flop....

CJM

Well hello, Clarice...

From 2012-05-14

The last scene of Silence of the Lambs was filmed in Bimini :)

http://www.hark.com/clips/gykhjjbrpc-well-hello-clarice-dot-dot-dot

(Copy this link and past in your browser :))

Catch you on the flip flop...

CJM

BOBBY, CAN YOU HELP?

I was able to obtain this in a shrewd business deal. Do you think Bobby Gunkel can get it going for me????

From 2012-05-13

Catch you on the flip flop.....

CJM