Capt. John 36 Hour Sunday-Monday September 25-26,2016

This 36 hour tuna safari had a new twist to it, a 5:30 a.m. leave of Pier 19 on Sunday morning.

With Captains Johnny and Jill Williams heading up the effort the offshore run in a S/S/E direction began with 20 fishermen aboard.

The first stops on Sunday afternoon were over natural bottom structures in 120 feet of water about 62 miles out. The targeted Vermillion snapper and an assortment of other bottom  residents at those two stops were a bit slow on the bite so an offshore move was made.

The second area fished about 25 miles farther out, had those “others and vermillion biting. Numerous anglers did get their allowable double limits of 20 each using small pieces of cut squid fished at or near the bottom in the 180 feet deep water…then it was off toe the tuna grounds.

The Gunnison Spar Platform area was the target for the overnight tuna fishing. This productive platform is about 135 nautical miles to the S/S/E of the island in 3150 feet of water. The numerous down wind drifts during the overnight period, as usual, had drifts with a bite and others a bit on the slow side. One angler Mike Gullette, had blackfins hit a Halco 130 lure with his rod in the rod holder and letting the drift speed work his lure, as I’ve written many times “theres always another way.” Most other were using chrome diamond jigs, speed jigs or freelined or Carolina rigged Spanish sardines. At the leave shortly after sunrise on Monday 208 blackfin tuna and a pair of yellowfins had been caught. The barracuda were there too, with some nipping at hooked blackfins, and a few being caught and kept.

Before the run back to Galveston’s Pier 19 began a couple of trolling circles were made around the Gunnison Platform. A couple of blackfin and another barracuda were taken with that effort.

With the bottom fishing stops being made Sunday afternoon and the 5:30 scheduled return to Pier 19 the run home started after the trolling around Gunnison.

The trips total catch numbers and species were:

210 Blackfin

2 Yellowfin

354 Vermillion snapper

1 Scamp grouper

1 Almaco Jack

3 Barracuda

4 Lane snapper

1 Kingfish

Ronnie Smith, Granbury, had on the yellowfin tuna, 28 blackfin tuna and 15 vermillion snapper.

Randy Derusha, with 26 blackfin tuna, 16 vermillion snapper, the scamp grouper of 20#in his catch

Mike Gullette, Galveston, 8 Blackfin on a Halco 130 and a vermillion snapper double limit of 20

Peter Letts, Cedar Creek Lake, He had 22 blackfin tuna taken on Williamson speed jig fished deep and a double vermillion snapper limit of 20

This was another good trip I missed due to personal medical problems, maybe next time which is Sunday, Monday October 9-10.

See you on the Capt. John!

Patrick Lemire