Capt John 12 Hour Offshore Saturday June 18, 2016
Seventy six of us anglers were aboard the party boat Capt. John as it departed Pier 19 with Captain Johnny Williams in the lead.
Our first fishing stop of the day was over rocks in 125′ of water something like 55 miles to the south southeast of the island. Conditions were sort of on the nice side, that is the gulf had a gentle one foot swell, was clear blue and we had a clear sky. The “sort of” came into play concerning the current, it was running hard and dictated a lot of weight being used to stay sort of vertical in the water columns.
Our first hour or so there had the red snapper biting but a move was made in an effort to get away from the current. At the move about half of the red snapper limit had been caught. My snapper was taken on a 5 oz, red/white, squid tipped snapper slapper with an 8 oz egg weight rigged stationary about 18 inches above it!… Thats fighting the current.
During the move a few miles farther offshore we passed a tide line and the current lessened to a more fishable strength. At times out there its a situation of finding “less” not “more”, thats what Captain Williams did for his 76 anglers today. At the second stop, now in 140′ of water, the rest of the snapper limit along with a “surprise” was caught. While the current was less initially, shortly before our “leave for the house” the tideline we crossed caught up to us and the heavy current was back. With the red snapper limit caught and the P.A. announcing to wind ’em up a guy fishing the middle stern had his line come tight. What first appeared to be a bottom hang turned out to be a ling of about 30 pounds! What a nice way to end a fishing day, for him in particular. I’ve seen it many times in my over 54 years of party boat fishing that a ling hits after the engines start and the bait is on the move that a ling hits. I always anticipate it but most times it doesn’t happen… But it did today, just not for me but I know it made his day.
Now for todays catch totals:
152 Red snapper
1 Ling- 30#
1 Bluerunner
Steve Bamberg, Katy, Red snapper limit to 13# on Carolina rigged Spanish sardines
Patrick Lemire, Texas City, My red snapper limit to 12# hit a 5 oz and 3 oz, squid tipped snapper slapper.
See you on the Capt John!
Patrick Lemire