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